"Mortimer, John - Rumpole and the Honourable Member" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mortimer John)

It seemed that it was late at night in the committee room and both Janice Crowshott, the secretary, and Paul Etherington, the agent, had gone home. Bridget Evans asked Aspen into her office, saying the duplicating machine was stuck. When he got in she closed the door, and started to talk about politics.

'You're going to tell me that the door of the duplicating room was locked so you could have a good old chat about Home Rule for Wales?'

'Of course not.'

'Or that it was during a few strong words about the export figures that her clothes got torn?'

' She started to accuse me of being unfaithful.'

'To her?' I was puzzled.

'To my principles.'

'Oh. Those.' I wanted to hear his defence, not his platitudes.

'She said I'd betrayed her, and all the Party workers. I'd betrayed Socialism.'

'Well, you were used to hearing that,' I supposed. 'That must be part of the wear and tear of life in the dear old Labour Party.'

'Then she started talking about Anna.'

'She wanted Ken to leave me." Mrs Aspen was leaning forward, half smiling at me.

'It was the whole set-up she objected to. The house in Hampstead Garden Suburb. The kids' schools.'

'Where do they go exactly?'

' Sarah's at the convent and Edward's down for Westminster.'

'And the loyal voters are down for the Comprehensive.' I couldn't resist it, but it earned me a distinctly unfriendly look from Mrs Aspen.

' I think after that, she started screaming at me. All sorts of abuse. Obscenities. I can't remember. Righteous indignation 1 And then she started clawing at me. Telling me I didn't even have the courage to..."

'The courage. To what?'

'To make love to her. That's what Ken believed,' Mrs Aspen supplied the answer. She'd have made an excellent witness, and I began to regret she wasn't on trial.

'Thank you. Is that true?'

'Of course it's true. Ken made love to her. As she wanted. On the floor.' Again Mrs Aspen provided the answer.

'You believed that was what she wanted?'

At last my client spoke up for himself. 'Yes. Yes. That's what I believed.'

I lit a small cigar, and began to get a sniff of a defence. The House of Lords has decided it's a man's belief that matters in a rape case; there are very few women among the judges of the House of Lords. Meanwhile the Honourable Member carried on with the good work.

'She was goading me. Shouting and screaming. And then, when I saw what she'd done to my face on the poster!'