Chapter 13

"Gosh, Frieda, it feels funny not to have the sound of the sea in your ears any more."

Francesca and her beloved Frieda were resting on the grass outside a shepherd's hut, high up in the hills. Below them was a wooded valley and grassy pastures, and towering above them were the tall snow covered mountains. Frieda had never seen such awesome scenery before.

This pair had been kissing and crawling all over each other madly for the past half hour and this was pretty well Fran's first speech since leaving the island earlier that day. A few yards away, Annie was playing at being a nurse, tenderly washing the dried blood from Joanne's battered but still lovely face and fussing over her numerous other cuts, bruises and abrasions. Fran caressed Frieda's solid, compact little body, for the millionth time feeling the little redhead's firm swimmer's muscles.

"I know, Fran. Still this mountain air is lovely and Jo says there's a lovely lake in the valley, just around that spur. I'll still get plenty of swimming with you!"

"Whatever you say, darling. I'm getting as daft as you about cold water! I expect we'll both become famous for it in time! Let's stop talking - I get SOOO bored with talking. Lets do things, eh Frieda? Nice things!"

The rest of the girls were in the hut getting the place into shape. Except for Angela, that is. She was tied to a tree, looking pretty badly beaten up herself, which she was! Joanne saw that she could not be trusted and had decided to keep her under restraint until she could make contact with her General and return her to his tender mercies.

But there was plenty do before that, so Angela would have to put up with her lack of freedom. At least she was being fed three times a day and in no great discomfort, thought Joanne. She was not in the cage, although this had been dismantled and brought here with them at Joanne's command. The State would no longer be able to use it to break its victims, but Jo knew, with resignation, that it had not yet served its purpose. It was being reassembled at that very moment high up almost at the snow line. Any future occupant would have a splendid view, but be rather cold!

"Oh, Jo. I was sure you'd win!" said Annie, pausing in her unnecessary but welcome fussing over her old friend, "The others were certain she'd got you time and time again, but I knew you'd win."

"I'll let you into a little secret, Annie. I was certain I'd had it loads of times, but somehow I kept managing to shake away the dizziness and keep going. She has one hell of a punch, that one! Normally I'd have eaten her for breakfast, but I was still weakened after all those days cooped up. No, Annie my love! How I came through that, I'll never know. I think it was just the thought of never seeing you again, my precious! That's what gave me the strength I needed."

"Well - you won! That's all that matters! Now we can get on with the real struggle! No more of you having to purge your guilt. I think the suffering you went through in that fight pretty well evens up the score!"

Jo was finding speech painful and she did not reply. She was finding it very hard to bear the throbbing pain in her battered head and face. Her nose had been broken, her upper lip badly bruised and her lower one cut right through - she would bear that mark to her dying day, many years later.

Her jaw ought, by rights, to have been fractured several times by Angela's blows, but it had somehow stayed intact, though badly bruised. Joanne had tried to eat and the pain had been terrible. The taste of blood in her mouth felt as if it would never go away. Bur when she had stood, triumphant and bleeding all over her fallen rival, and with all the others, except for the angry Forster cheering her wildly, crowding around her to clap her on the back and then raise her shoulder high in triumph, she had felt on top of the world, raising her battered arms in an ecstasy of jubilation. Then she had broken free of the rest and embraced a delighted and crying Annie. As clasped and was clasped in turn by her darling, she experienced all the joy of Heaven. So this is what Victory does to one, she had thought. It feels great!

Now, though, hours later, she was very glad to rest and be fussed over by Annie. Tomorrow, she would have to face up to her continuing guilt once more, and she knew how that would turn out. But now all she wanted was to be with that sweet and loyal little angel. She rose painfully and stiffly to her feet, and the two wandered off to be alone together.

After Jo's hard won and bloody victory and the brief celebration which had followed, they had all climbed aboard and taken off. First, they had landed on the other beach and loaded up with guns and ammunition and then Joanne had directed to them to what she knew to be a safe area, well inside the zone of rebel control. Five hours later the boat had arrived. When Duke Albert heard that all his birds, including a precious metal one, had flown, he was more unhappy than ever.

He guessed that Annie and Joanne had not, after all, been drowned. He was sure they were involved in the non return of the helicopter, all along, but the old fool would not believe him.

But the new Duke was no fool. He had a mind to be compared to Joanne's. In the coming times he and Joanne were to come to know each other well, though from a distance, until he found himself facing his proud and ever naked enemy across the table as he signed the surrender. This is in the future, though. We must not push ahead too fast!
...

PENITENCE RESUMED

Five days after their escape, Angela had just left them, promising faithfully that she would return to her unit. She had carried with her a request from Joanne that her unique group of naked, hardened and fearless females be loosely attached to the wider struggle in some way. It could be a long time before they got an answer. Angela had a long trek ahead.

Jo and Francesca were talking things over. "It's still not right with you, is it Joanne?"

"No, Fran! Anything but! I sense the feeling among the women that I got off too lightly, and I agree. I can't lead without paying my debt in full. We'll call a meeting for later today. I'll hand over to you and you must decide what to do. Here we go again, Francesca! But I trust you, devious girl though you are! This time I think we should co-opt a couple of other girls onto the court. I leave it up to you who you choose! Just make sure it's a proper fair, square and above board decision! I want to be able to look those women in the face again, Fran! You simply have no idea how much I need that!"

And so the scene of Joanne's disgrace was partly re-enacted. Once again, she was ordered to stand to attention, while the spectators sat around. Fran, who had appointed Annie and Rosie to assist her, questioned Jo closely about her reason for falling asleep, skilfully drawing out of her an account of all the ghastly suffering she had so recently gone through, at that that time, at the Inspectors' hands. There was obvious sympathy among the women as this story unfolded. Finally the three retired to confer, Joanne being ordered to remain standing to attention, even though the proceedings had already lasted half an hour.

Three hours later, they came back. Annie remained standing while the others sat down, one on either side of her. She spoke to Joanne and the rest of the women. Poor little Annie was terribly pale and looked as if she was about to cry, but she spoke clearly and without wavering.

"I have been asked to deliver the court's judgment. I am happy to make it clear that we all agree on every detail of the following judgment." She paused and said with great emphasis. "All of us."