Chapter Text
Chapter 1084
Eileen smiled when she spotted two hands carrying hot water inside the barn.
Dean’s top priority was always a source of merriment for the rest of his family. The thought of checking up on her other kids suddenly flashed through the young Irish mother’s mind. Lady Winchester excused herself to Isa’ for leaving her with numerous purchases to sort out and she marched off to the dining room to see if they were with Jude having tuition. The smell of tobacco greeted her nostrils in a nostalgic way. It always brought back memories of her father back in the old country and she visualised him, for a brief moment, sitting on his worn out paisley armchair staring at the cooking pot dangling over the fire in their humble homestead. Eileen was a tad’ disappointed to only spot Jude and he instantly stood up to politely greet his misguided employer. The tutor reckoned that this might be the perfect moment to have that very necessary “chat” as he kissed her extended hand and helped her to sit down. Lady Winchester began the conversation in a purposeful tone of voice.
“Are you happy with the way the children are progressing?”
Jude smiled and nodded a very affirmative yet silent “yes”. Eileen powered on delighted that her little saint must have behaved himself for once.
“Good. … What did you teach them, today?”
Mr Woodman pointed to one of the Macbeth books and Dean’s wife took hold of it in her dainty hand. She flicked absentmindedly through the pages, clueless about the play but satisfied that it was by Shakespeare and obviously of huge educational value.
“Did they find it interesting?” She casually enquired.
“Yes. Three of your children wrote outstanding essays on the character who interested them the most. … Cass and Caro were very attentive and produced some impressive comments considering their young age. … You should be very proud of them all!”
“I am. … Was my Wayne one of the three?”
“No. He wasn’t well and skipped tuition.”
Lady Winchester frowned, highly suspicious that her boy may have pulled a fast one.
“What was wrong with him?” She volleyed back in an irritated tone of voice.
“He told me that he was suffering from diarrhoea and there’s a bug going ‘round according to Bill.”
“Really?”
“Not nice. Hey?”
Eileen acquiesced.
“Is my son resting in his caravan?”
“No. He’s with Jase on South field, I think.”
“That was a quick recovery!”
“I guess so. … How was Denver? I hear that Al’ got hurt.”
Dee’s wife did not really want to talk about her son’s saloon shenanigans and she swiftly responded to the question.
“He’s better now. Thank heaven!”
Jude instantly clocked the fact that he was not going to get more information out of the lady and he took in a deep breath before cutting to the chase. … … …
“I hope you don’t mind if I share some concerns with you. … … … They’re not about tuition as such. … … … Wayne’s very scared of you, Lady Winchester.”
Eileen heaved a big sigh of relief before responding.
“Good! … The Lord has seen fit to gift me with a challenging son and I always do my best to ensure that he doesn’t stray off the path of righteousness. … Why are you concerned, though?”
Mr Woodman looked at his employer directly in her bright hazel eyes knowing that the moment had come to tell it straight.
“I’ve been told that you don’t hold back when he “strays” as you so aptly say. … D’ you honestly believe that beating an adolescent boy on his bare behind in front of people is good for his wellbeing?”
Lady Winchester was deeply shocked at the man’s critical tone of voice and it took about a minute for her to recover some composure before sternly replying.
“As a matter of fact, I wholeheartedly do! … Has Wayne been complaining about his well-deserved punishments?”
“No. He doesn’t do this.”
“Who spoke to you, then?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does when you call it a concern, sir!”
Mr Woodman was not surprised at the young mother’s reaction and he decided that watering down his strong feelings against any form of corporal punishment might get the lady calmer and more inclined to listen to him.
“D’ you want your kids to fear you? … From experience, talking to them about what they did wrong is far more effective. … Can you honestly say that Wayne has learnt to behave better as a result of what happens to him when he doesn’t? … You have strong moral views and this is to be commended but there are far better ways to get those across, Lady Winchester. … … … I’m aware that you’re deeply religious and, from what I know of the scriptures’, forgiveness features prominently in the New Testament. … I feel that I should share what your son said to me when he was fretting over you finding out about what happened today. … Wayne threatened to hang himself from the nearest tree! … … … I know that this has happened before. … Kids can do stupid things when they’re petrified and your boy was terror-stricken enough to voice this horrendous fulmination.”
“IT’S ALL BLUFF! … Wayne’s a very naughty boy at times and he does or says idiotic stuff to try and get out of a spanking. All kids do!”
Mr Woodman mopped his sweaty brow with a handkerchief, now very concerned that he may have done more harm than good. He looked up at the tall wooden beamed ceiling for some inspiration before speaking again.
“Public punishments are humiliating and this harms children. …”
“Rubbish! It’s a very effective deterrent. My son’s dictatorial and without some sort of consequence hovering over him, he’d rule the roost and drag us all down the road to perdition! … Wayne must be controlled and to be honest with you, I seem to be the only one willing to put in the effort to do this very necessary duty. … He may not appreciate what happens at the time but the boy learns from his comeuppance and behaves far better in the future as a result.”
“If ya’ had done to me what you do to him at fifteen; I would’ve been traumatised!”
Eileen grinned.
“All children are different. You were probably well-behaved, studious and obedient.”
“I wasn’t, actually. … My parents despaired at times but they didn’t shatter my self-esteem.”
Lady Winchester suddenly stood up as she had heard enough rubbish from the misguided radical. Jude politely did the same, now determined to get to Dean as quickly as possible. The tutor just knew that Wayne was in imminent danger and he needed to do some urgent damage limitation.
… … …
Mr Woodman, almost miraculously, came nose to nose with the young aristocrat as Dee was making his way to the barn for a good long soak. Sir Winchester tapped his Stetson, smiled in acknowledgement of the tutor’s presence but did not stop to chat. Dean did not want the bath water to get cold and Jude had to practically stand in his way to speak to him.
“Can I have a few minutes of your time, sir?”
Dee deeply sighed.
“Ok. What’s up?”
“I can see you’re busy, Dean, but it’s important!”
Sir Winchester then saw a way to kill two birds with one stone.
“Follow me to the barn! I’m goin’ to ‘ave a bath but ya’ can talk to me there. Ok?”
Jude was happy to do this and he walked alongside his employer hoping that he would have more success getting his concerns across to the more enlightened aristocrat.
… … …
“Is Wayne on South field?” Eileen purposefully asked one of the hands who was leaning on one of the corral’s fences.
“Yup, mam’. At least he was, an hour ago.”
Lady Winchester braced herself for a long walk and headed in that direction. Twenty minutes later, she had reached her destination. Jase and her son were having a drink of water under a large ponderosa as Eileen determinedly approached the pair. Wayne, fully versed in his mother’s body language, visibly paled when he saw her and his bud asked him what the matter was.
“sh*t! It’s ma’ and she’s not ‘appy.” He whispered in a scared tone of voice.
The cowboy glanced in the lady’s direction and had to agree.
“What does she want?”
“How the f*ck’ do I know? Probably my hide!”
Jase giggled and then put a serous expression on his handsome face when she finally faced the duo. Wayne attempted a smile and failed in his objective to act cool. His very cross mother spoke first.
“Too sick for schooling but fully fit for ridin’, I see!”
Wayne blushed a dark shade of pink and did not respond to what was, after all, a rhetorical question. Eileen powered on.
“Is this the tree you planned to hang yourself from, mister?” She barked pointing at the tall ponderosa.
Jase stared incredulously at his pal who appeared on the verge of fainting.
“Sorry?” He sputtered out.
“Jude told me that you’ve been childishly threatening to end your days to get out of trouble. WELL, I’VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU, BOY! … You’re knee deep in it, now. … God knows what other drivel you’ve been spoutin’ out to ‘im! … Your papa and I cut your tuition time down to just ONE HOUR and ya’ can’t EVEN do that! … ‘Ave you got a penknife on you?”
“What?”
“A PENKNIFE! … Are ya’ deaf?”
“Why?”
“I want a straight “yes” or “no”, mister. DO YOU ‘AVE ONE?”
“Yessum’.” Wayne abjectly riposted as a horrifying thought crossed his befuddled mind.
“Go cut a switch! A nice sturdy one. … You’re getting a sound whipping on your bare bottom, young man!”
Wayne gulped like a fish out of water and his sidekick actually did the same.
“No, ma’.”
“WHAT D’YOU MEAN “NO”?” She furiously responded. … “Count yourself lucky that there’s just one hand witnessin’ this well-deserved punishment but if you stall, I can make this happen by the corral. Understand me?”
Jase instantly decided to try and get away from the awful situation he was invariably caught up in.
“YOU STAY HERE!” Lady Winchester severely shouted making the cowboy instantly stop dead in his tracks.
Wayne deeply sighed and resigned himself, as he always obediently did, to the inevitable.
“Ok, ma’.”
“Don’t dilly dally! I haven’t got all day to sort out your woeful behaviour.”
The lad quickly glanced at his bud’ who was totally gobsmacked and could not meet the rookie’s grey-blue teary eyes. Wayne knew what a switch looked like because he’d had a conversation with Grant about these implements back at the Rudolph Swan Country Inn; but, he was yet to feel its bite on his sorry ass. The adolescent was fully aware that switches were typically made of strong and flexible wood such as hazel, birch, or hickory and he looked around to find something suitable which would not be too big nor too small. Wayne remembered the oldest Somass boy explaining that it needed to be cut from the stem with twigs and directly attached leaves removed or the flexible stick could cut the skin and make you bleed. Wayne had absolutely no intention, whatsoever, to f*ckin’ bleed! The lad was actually furious with Woodman for spillin’ the beans and he was determined to get him back for this unholy sh*t-shower at the earliest opportunity. … … … … … … … … … Johnny’s bro’ eventually ended up with something he hoped his ma’ would approve of and wearily marched back to hand it to her hoping that it would be quick and that there would be no crying let alone sobbing in front of Jase. The cowboy had not spoken to the boss’s crazy wife as they waited for Wayne to return and he was determined to close his eyes in order to spare the dude’ the added humiliation of a spectator.
“‘Ere ya’ go, ma’!” Wayne plaintively said as he gave her the switch.
Eileen inspected it by swishing it against her left thigh. Something in her heart was telling her that she was also responsible for Wayne’s misbehaviour. There appeared to be no way of getting through to the boy and she was failing in her resolve to be a dutiful, God-fearing mother. Dean’s wife would have preferred Wayne to lie across her knees for the switching as this always hugely added to his shame but there was nothing suitable to sit on so she pointed to the ponderosa and they walked over to it. Jase immediately saw his chance to escape and hopefully get his buddy some help. He ran off as fast as his legs would carry him, hopped onto his critter and galloped away before Lady Winchester could stop him. Wayne was overjoyed to be left on his own as this would give him the opportunity to plead with his tough ol’ ma’. This tactic had worked once in the distant past when he called her “the best ma’ in the whole wild world” and added that he did not deserve such a wonderful parent. She had not bared him that day and the spanking was less painful.
“Lean against the tree, boy!”
The instruction brought a tear jutting down the lad’s right cheek which he quickly wiped off with his shirt sleeve.
“Grásta, máthair!” *
Eileen huffed.
“Why should I show any mercy when you continue to let me and your papa down? … You’ve being very naughty – YET AGAIN – and I’ve reached the end of my tether! … You DO NOT threaten to kill yourself! It’s the worst thing you can ever do in the eyes of Our Father. … He gifted you a “life” and for this you must be very thankful until God decides that the time has come for you to step into purgatory. … On top of all this, the good Lord gave you back the use of your hand and you’re just determined to let Him down. … A good whipping is what you deserve and are going to get, mister! … Face that tree and pull down your trousers!”
Wayne brought out the big guns in a last attempt at saving his butt.
“Is tusa an mháthair is fearr sa domhan fiáin ar fad agus níl a leithéid de thuismitheoir iontach tuillte agam. … … … Tá brón mór orm. … … … Pleeease, don’t whip me!”
Eileen’s resolve wavered for a split second but she mentally hardened her maternal heart.
“Drop them and push out your backside!”
Wayne took in a deep breath trying to find some comfort in the surprising fact that she was not unbuttoning him herself as this was always a part of the unfortunate process. He slowly obeyed whilst tears threatened to spring out of his troubled veiled eyes as the garment pooled down to his ankles. The sight of her son’s bare buttocks greatly surprised his mother.
“Why aren’t you wearing underwear?” She admonished.
The forlorn lad blushed but his ma’ could not see this because Wayne’s tearful face was hidden in his crossed arms as he leant against the rough pine bark which smelled of vanilla or maybe butterscotch. The fifteen-year-old could not make up his mind which scent was the strongest, only that it offered some much-needed comfort at this awful moment in time.
“I didn’t ‘ave any clean ones and it’s easier to pee this way.” He truthfully spluttered out.
“IS IT NOW!”
Wayne slumped.
“Push up your bottom!”
Wayne begrudgingly did and he heard a swooshing sound before feeling an excruciatingly painful sting right in the middle of his ass across both cheeks.
“f*ck’!”
“Cussin’ will only make things a lot worse for you, son.” Eileen warned as she administered five rapid fire strokes of the medium sized switch which Wayne had fearfully but obediently created, all across the bare posterior.
The boy bit his tongue and deeply inhaled the smell of warm bark. The young Irish mother was determined to dish out a tough sanction but not break her son’s skin. … Riding, over the next few days, needed to be painful not impossible. … Nine more excruciatingly painful hits landed on Wayne’s bottom before she took a step back to check the effect of her handiwork. Judging the job to have been done to her satisfaction; Eileen ordered her crying son to pull his trousers up and added for good measure a chore for him to accomplish on their return.
“… When we get back, I want you to wash all your underwear. … No son of mine wanders around bare assed! … What next?”
Wayne registered the irony of the irate exclamation but he did not talk back. The red-faced boy just lowered his head and walked off to get his horse which he would be unable to ride for a while. Eileen huffed as she watched him depart and the now much-calmer mother girded her loins for the long walk ahead, fully aware and not bothered in the least that it would be on her own.
… … …
“Eileen’s goin’ to whip Wayne, Bill!” Jase shouted out marching into the office without knocking.
“So, what!” The foreman responded pissed off at being interrupted whilst conversing with his buds.
“She’s crazy!” Jeff’s bro’ added for good measure.
Chuck and Tim were more concerned than the tough man in charge of the cowboys and the former spoke next to the shocked hand.
“Where are they?”
“In South field, sir. … She wanted me to watch! … I ran away and I s’ppose I’ll be in deep sh*t for that. … I couldn’t do this to the rookie! His ma’s lost the plot!”
“Is this over cuttin’ class?” Tim enquired.
“Yup’ and somethin’ ‘bout Wayne threatening to kill ‘imself. … With a ma’ like the one he’s got, it comes as no surprise, if ya’ ask me.”
Knowshyte stood up deciding that Dean should be made aware of what was going on. The caretaker quickly left the room and marched off to the barn. When he entered the large area, Chuck was surprised to see Jude sitting on a bale of straw seemingly conversing with Dee at a short distance from the tub. Sir Winchester instantly looked at his friend and the ex-Sergeant-Major, standing next to Mr Woodman, recounted what Jase had said. Jude’s face paled and Dean appeared totally flabbergasted.
“I bloody despair!” The young aristocrat finally sputtered out, involuntarily swallowing a mouthful of soapy water. “Is it too late to stop ‘er wadin’ in?”
Chuck reckoned that it was and nodded a firm “yes”. Dean slapped his thigh in frustration after having heard all that Jude had told him.
“Ok, gents! … Let me get outta’ of ‘ere and sort this sh*t shower out. … Jude, I don’t wanna’ lose ya’ over what’s transpired. … I’m goin’ to ‘ave a word with my wife and I promise you that any disciplinary matters will be handled privately. … Wayne did deserve a consequence for cuttin’ class and feedin’ ya’ full of sh*t, though. … Eileen just doesn’t know how to hold back. … I’ll sort this crap out! … Jesus! Can’t a man have a peaceful bath on this goddam’ ranch!”
Chuck and Mr Woodman saw this as their cue to get the hell out of the barn. They very politely nodded their heads and left Sir Winchester covered in white sweet-smelling foam. Dean sank deeper into the bath water, closed his forest green eyes and tried very hard to put aside his increasing worries that he may have made a mistake to marry such a cold-hearted woman.
SPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNS
*Translations from Irish to English:
“Grásta, máthair!”: “Mercy, ma’!”
“Is tusa an mháthair is fearr sa domhan fiáin ar fad agus níl a leithéid de thuismitheoir iontach tuillte agam. … … … Tá brón mór orm. … … …”: “You’re the best ma’ in the whole wild world and I don’t deserve such a wonderful parent. … … … I’m deeply sorry.”
