Chapter 4. Courtroom punishment
Pete, with some help from Trudy finished the repairs to Sally on the Sunday and,
as the day had turned out fine and warm, had several coats of varnish on the new
wood. Monday they rowed ashore and bought fresh supplies of food. Deliberately
he gave Trudy a chance to escape and run but she stayed with him. An hour before
the 2 p.m. high-water time when the tide wasn't running hard, Pete started the
engines and cast Emma May from her moorings to begin the tricky task of
maneuvering her through the lines of moored boats to the quayside to fill both
the water and diesel tanks. Now, both tanks full, Pete headed his large barge
back through the moorings into the fairway and down river. Soon they were clear
of the town and with the ebb tide now under them, made fast progress to the
Crouch estuary and headed north eastwards around the Dengie flats until they
came to the mouth of the Blackwater where they anchored off Bradwell.
The weather was bright and fairly calm so Trudy had an enjoyable first sea
voyage even if they didn't lose sight of the coast or the seawalls at any time.
Pete made her try and row them ashore and showed her how to tie the dinghy up
properly. They walked to the village and then across the fields to the old
church of St. Peters where St. Columba was supposed to have set up his first
church. By the time they returned, Trudy was very tired. Certainly she wasn't
used to walking or rowing.
Early next morning as the tide was flooding, Pete let out a plankton net in tide
flow. Trudy laughed as she thought he was trying to fish, which in a way he was,
but his catch was microscopic or nearly so. After breakfast, they lowered Sally
into the water and wearing life jackets, he began to teach Trudy the elements of
sailing. In the light breeze, Sally seemed to skim the water. It was a fun time
for both of them and Trudy began to get a little idea of the skills involved in
handling a small boat. The following day, they headed back to Burnham. The
changeable weather had become overcast and drizzly with more wind making the sea
choppy. Trudy tried her hand at steering the barge and found it very different
to Sally but enjoyed the sense of power she had in controlling such a large
vessel. She liked the way she could spin the spokes of the brass ringed wooden
wheel and watch as the barge slowly changed course. They were just working their
way up through the tiers of moorings at Burnham when the mobile phone rang. It
was Alison.
"Afternoon Alison. Would you mind if I call you back, were under way and I need
to get the mooring in a short while."
"Put the punk slut on then."
"Now Alison, that's no way to talk about my girlfriend. But I can't do that
either. She's up in the bow guiding me through the boats or at least I am
pretending I'm taking notice of her signals. Look I will call you back shortly.
Sorry."
Trudy was in fact standing next to him in the wheelhouse. "I'm supposed to be up
the front there am I? Signalling? And you're pretending to take notice?" She
burst out laughing. "Did she say what she wanted? And why didn't you let me talk
to her?"
"For a start I objected to her calling you a punk slut and secondly I do need to
watch what I am doing in this channel and thirdly I will need you in the bow to
guide me when we get to the mooring. I can do it on my own but two makes it much
easier. I will take notice of your signals too!"
When they were moored and had a mug of tea in their hands, Pete cautioned Trudy
to remember 'don't get angry, get even'. He fixed up the speaker connection to
the phone and dialed Alison's number. Alison answered almost immediately. "Is
your girlfriend there?" The word girlfriend was said with extreme sarcasm.
"Yes she is and she can hear you."
"Look, Peter, there is a possible way out of the situation for all of us. There
is someone who has used our escort service in the past. Normally I don't have
anything to do with him because what he requires is definitely a sex service but
it is also a special service. One of my girls went on one occasion and came back
with her bottom well striped. Apparently they had set up a act in an old house
where she was a maid in about 1700 that had broken a valuable vase so the master
had to punish her. She said she was very well paid but she couldn't sit down for
a week or so and couldn't take out my clients for longer than that. Even with
the loss of earnings from me she reckoned she was still in pocket but wouldn't
want to go through with it again. Today he happened to phone wanting someone for
a schoolgirl scene. I thought the bitch might do it to pay off part of her debt.
She should be used to getting punished if she is as tough as she makes out."
"I don't know, Alison. What safeguards are there? When? Where? How much? What if
she refuses?"
Trudy snatched the phone from Pete's hand. Pete expected her to yell into it but
instead she quietly said, "I can take a schoolgirl caning if that is going to be
the end of it. No part payment crap. Once and once only. No more being
threatened with lawyers and law suits."
Alison seemed taken aback for a moment. "What I would get out of it would be far
less than the cost of the repairs so it can only be a part payment."
"Crap. You know, I know, Pete knows, that estimate was far too high. If you are
any good as a negotiator then you should be able to get it reduced by half
especially if you try one of the other firms that are along the quayside. If I
do it, then it is a once only thing. That way you should get something even if
you don't haggle over the bill. If I refuse, you just get extra legal bills that
I will never be able to pay. You may get the satisfaction of knowing that I am
sitting in jail doing nothing but is that satisfaction worth it? Will you not
get more out of knowing I was given a caning? And you are getting paid for it?"
Pete took the phone again. "Alison, I think Trudy and I ought to discus this
between ourselves. I have severe reservations especially as we are not being
told exactly what punishment is going to be inflicted or what, if any,
safeguards there are. Can you get back to your client and find out? I will talk
with Trudy and see if she is really up to it."
Pete and Trudy had a heated argument over it. Pete was certain there was no
go-between man it. Alison was behind it all. She had the contacts with her
escort service. Trudy just shrugged, what did it matter as long as she was free
of the stranglehold. He praised Trudy for the way she handled Alison though.
An hour later Alison rang again. "Sorry Peter, I can't get any real guarantees
but the people who go to these do's are apparently in positions of prominence
and any scandal could ruin them so they have to take precautions and that
includes the safety of the girl. It would be arranged for next Saturday but they
will not tell me where or any other details. Is she willing to go with it?"
"I've said no, but she says yes so you can see how much notice she takes of me
but I'll hand the phone over to her." Trudy asked Alison to confirm is was a
once only payment and when she did, gave her consent.
"When I have further details, I pass them on to you but I gather they pick the
girls up by car and return them afterwards. Depending on where the location is,
collection would be sometime Saturday evening with the return sometime in the
early hours the following morning. I won't be told until Saturday afternoon."
An apprehensive semi-depression fell over the pair for the next few days. Trudy
wondered just how bad her punishment would be. Pete expected the worst although
he did his best not to alarm Trudy. Don invited them to his home for a meal
which lightened the atmosphere for a short time. Otherwise the days passed
fairly quietly. They took Sally out for a sail one morning and noted Ayala was
on the slipway. They would dearly have loved to have known what the actual price
of the repairs would be as Pete was beginning to believe the whole invoice thing
as a fake. Trudy's interest in the tiny sea creatures grew and they started
another aquarium for her with some of the more colourful local anemones and
shrimps.
Saturday morning they stayed by the phone. There was no response from Alison
works phone number nor her mobile. It was not until mid afternoon the call came.
Trudy answered it. "A car will pick you up at the marina at 7 p.m. tonight. You
will get a call a few minutes before the car will arrive. Wear the same stuff as
you wore when you came to Burnham. Shirt, cut-off shorts and boots. Do your hair
up in the green and red spikes too. Expect to arrive back about 3 or 4 a.m.
Peter, you will get a call when she is brought back to the marina. Wait on your
boat until that call comes through. Sorry I am told not to give any more details
than that."
Pete took her ashore when the call came and found a limo type car with dark
windows waiting. The driver was in full uniform and wore dark glasses. He didn't
get out of the car but just waited until Trudy got herself in. Pete kissed her
and wished her well.
Sitting back in the luxurious car in the warmth, Trudy, despite her fears at
what might happen to her, began to doze. She knew from what little she could see
outside, they were headed for London and had gone part way around the M25 but
she had no idea where. After travelling for two hours, the car pulled off the
motorway and stopped. The chauffeur opened the rear door. "Sorry miss but my
orders are to put these on you." He held a pair of handcuffs and what looked
like a strip of cloth. "You are not to see where I am taking you. I should have
put them on earlier but you seemed to be sleeping." Trudy allowed the man to
fasten her hands behind her back and to cover her eyes.
"How much further?" she asked.
"About an hour if the traffic isn't too bad."
It was just an hour later when the car pulled up. Trudy heard a door open and
the car drove on for a short way. Her door opened and the chauffeur helped her
out and guided her for a short way.
"Any problems with her?" She heard a man's voice.
"No Sir. Quiet as a lamb."
"Okay, Wait in the car and be ready in a couple of hours to take her back."
Trudy was led, still blindfolded, along passageways and up and down several
flights of stairs. Eventually they halted and she heard the voice ask if
everyone was ready. After murmurs of assent the blindfold was removed. She found
herself in a courtroom. A real courtroom she could tell, she'd seen them enough
times. There was the coat of arms above the judge's chair, she was in the dock
looking over to where the briefs in their funny wigs and officials sat. The only
thing that made it unreal was everyone in the room wore a grotesque latex mask.
"Court will rise!"
All stood and waited for the 'judge' to take his seat before seating themselves
again.
"Trudy Ahern you are charged that on Friday April 14th in the year of our Lord
2001 you did steal a craft from the marina at Burnham on Crouch and then did
willfully and deliberately cause considerable damage to a boat belonging to a
Miss Alison Frouget. How do you plead?"
Although she knew it was irrelevant to save time and to get it over with Trudy
pleaded, "Guilty."
"Trudy Ahern, you have pleaded guilty to this very serious charge. Have you
anything to say in your defence before I pass sentence?"
"I didn't mean to do any harm. M'lord. It just happened."
"But you did steal the boat and in fact damaged it in addition to Miss
Frouget's?"
"Yes M'lord."
"Trudy Ahern, you have pleaded guilty to a serious crime. You have a record of
criminal activity going back many years, I therefore have no hesitation of
sentencing to two dozen strokes of the birch. Sentence to be carried out
immediately in this courtroom."
Although it couldn't be seen on their faces, gasps of horror at the severity of
the punishment came from several members in the courtroom. Never had a girl been
given more than eight with the cane at these meetings. They knew the judge was a
friend of Alison's and they knew he liked to see girls given a good sadistic
thrashing but they didn't expect it to be this severe. They knew too, something
of the reality behind the accusations and Alison's anger. Normally the girls she
supplied were volunteers who just got paid to take the cane. This one was
blackmailed.
Trudy was stunned. The birch was only something she had heard about but she knew
it was like a bundle of canes. It was going to be much more than she had
expected. It was not the schoolgirl caning Alison had mentioned. She started to
protest but was immediately silenced.
An official lead her from the dock to the body of the room where a space had
been cleared. Four others were bringing in a curved stand which she later
learned was an old birching bench that had been in the storage vaults since
Victorian times. She also noticed the tall pot with two bound bundles protruding
from the top. Only sheer will power and the knowledge she was expected to be a
toughie, stopped her fainting. It was all very archaic.
"Strip the girl and fasten her to the birching horse please, Mr. Bailiff."
Hands quickly removed Trudy's shorts and thrust her to the semi-upright
structure where her ankles were fastened to two straps at the base. After
releasing the handcuffs, they removed her shirt and then fastened her wrists to
straps near the top of the structure. Apart from the boots, she was now naked
before the court, her buttocks and back displayed prominently ready for the
birch.
"Get the doctor to check her to see if she is fit enough to take the punishment,
Mr. Bailiff."
A man wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck stepped forward.
With bare hands he felt Trudy's flesh. "Flesh with just a little fat," he called
out. His hands went round Trudy's body and squeezed her tits. "Tits firm."
Pinching the nipples for a few moments he declared, "Nipples hard."
Trudy shouted back at him, "You're no doctor, you're just another pervert!"
"Silence her, if you please Mr. Bailiff." A strip of cloth was tied around
Trudy's mouth effectively reducing her outbursts although she could still emit
guttural sounds.
"Continue with the examination Doctor."
The make-believe doctor applied the stethoscope to her back and declared the
heart to be beating quite fast which was normal in these cases. Then, much to
the amusement of the onlookers, he applied it to her bum cheeks. "Bowels empty
of gas. Buttocks full and ready for treatment." He slid his hand between her
legs and even though Trudy was not aroused, the doctor declared she was very wet
and therefore eagerly waiting for her punishment. He nipped her clitoris
painfully between his thumb and forefinger and declared that it being hard
confirmed her readiness to receive satisfaction by the birch. Without further
ado he declared, "This young lady is fit and well enough to receive her allotted
punishment."
"Let us get on with it then," voiced the judge, "Bailiff pass me the birch." It
was a vicious looking instrument. The rods were long and thin, five or six being
bundled together. The judge showed it to the helpless girl and then whispered in
her ear, "Your trial may have been a fake but your punishment won't be. Bitches
like you need a good thrashing." He swished the birch through the air, shaking
brine from it and then brought it down hard on Trudy's back. She screamed, or
tried to, but the sounds were muffled by the gag. A series of vivid lines
appeared with spots of blood at the ends. He waited for some seconds for the
terrible pain to sink in and for the gasps from some of the onlookers to
quieten. Trudy had been in fights and had beatings before but never anything
like this.
"This is the type of birching that would have been common for criminals to
receive in the 18th century," the Judge announced, "Unfortunately, it has been
banned as a punishment we can give today with the result we have much more
delinquency. Ladies and Gentlemen of this privileged group, you are about to see
just how effective the old system was." With that he brought the birch down for
the second time. Then a third and a fourth. Each one lower but overlapping the
previous stroke. Trudy, unable to scream or plead, just writhed and struggled
with her bonds. All to no avail. She couldn't see how she could possibly take
two dozen of these terrible bites.
After ten she very nearly fainted. Her shoulders and back were one big blister
of criss-crossed lines with trickles of blood seeping out. The Judge turned his
attention to the lower part of her body and placed the next cut on the back of
her thighs just above the knee join. With each stroke he worked higher. After
thirteen, Trudy's bladder relieved itself of its contents. The urine ran down
her legs making the cuts smart even more. She passed out after the fifteenth and
was revived by having water poured over her head and smelling salts held under
her nose.
A few of the audience were beginning to voice that the punishment was sufficient
but the Judge rebuked them. "We shall never again be able to see what a real
medieval punishment was like. For once we have a girl that deserves punishing
and cannot complain about it afterwards. We must and will continue."
Still groggy, her mind drifting into half consciousness, Trudy took the next
four directly on her buttocks. The next laid directly on top of a previous one
split the skin in two places. Trudy passed out and it took several minutes
before they were able to bring her round. Again ignoring requests to stop, the
Judge now really hyped up, laid the last four on with just the same vigour as
the earlier ones. Several more splits opened and Trudy's arse and legs were now
freely running with blood. He might have continued had not two of the other men
not restrained him.
The 'doctor' then came forward with towels soaked in antiseptic and washed some
of the blood from Trudy's body. The bleeding didn't stop. He took fresh towels
and laid them over her wounds and left them for some minutes as crude bandages
but when he tried to remove them, the bleeding started again and he had to put
them back. Trudy, wracked with pain no longer moved. She knew she would die. She
could only hope death would come.
"Usually after these punishment meetings," the Judge addressed his audience
again, "We allow all who want feel the stripes and to give the girl a good
fucking but the state this bitch is in, we may have to limit the fucking to one
or two and I suggest all of you try and keep your fingers out of the blood. I
wish to be one who, in the term used in past times, rogers her to make sure my
friend the victim of her crime gets her money's worth, any volunteers for the
other?" He was surprised when no one volunteered.
Opening his trousers, the Judge produced a hardened prick and, after moving the
towels to one side just sufficiently to enter her vagina, proceeded to fuck
Trudy with great gusto. It hardly registered with Trudy. Nor did it really
register when they released her. Vaguely she realised she was being wrapped in
sheets by two women who spoke quite kindly to her. Her gag was taken off but she
had lost the ability to scream. Neither was of the right build to be Alison.
They took her to a washroom, cleaned her face and gave her water to drink. Trudy
could hardly stand but she couldn't sit either. The women, aided by two men half
carried her for the walk back down the passageway. Halfway they remembered she
wasn't supposed to see where she was and blindfolded her again before taking her
to the waiting limousine.
As they were about to help Trudy in the car, the horrified chauffeur stopped
them. "My God, they really hurt this one. Wait until I get some blankets from
the boot so the blood doesn't get on the seats." They lay Trudy face down across
the back seat without making any attempt to buckle her in and the driver headed
back to Burnham. He stopped the car once they were outside the city and removed
her blindfold. "I'll never do this again," he said to the only half awake girl,
"Not even if they do prosecute me. The other girls had sore arses but they
weren't bleeding or anything. Can I get you anything?" Trudy didn't answer.
