The Humiliation of Redman Dane (Chapter 6)

The Humiliation of Redman Dane

Chapter 6

It was now five days after the regrettable incident in the

small market town of Rogues Bottom, and the embarrassing and painful performance in the Court house. However, to Redman’s mind his life had become a living Hell. The humiliation of what had been done to him was beyond endurance.

He, Redman Dane, son of the gentry, and the handsomest and most eligible young bachelor in the four counties, had been stripped naked, paraded through town, and mocked before being locked overnight in the most exposing pillory yet devised by man. Then he had been dragged before the court, denied the chance to mount a defence, spanked like a child, in public, convicted like some lowly felon, and then sentenced to the most ignoble and mortifying of punishments, to be spanked, sans-britches, every day for a month.

What had been done to him was beyond tolerable, but he had to tolerate it, the alternative risked the permanent loss of his wealthy Aunt Amelia’s affections, and with it the inheritance he hoped to receive upon her death. Trapped by his own greed, Redman had no means of escaping his punishment, made all the more agonizing by his own arrogance and pride.

Each painful smack to his bared buttocks was an excruciating blow to his inflated ego.

Amelia Dane, of course, was fully aware of her nephew’s flawed nature, she understood that public humiliation would add an extra layer of discomfort to his well deserved corporal punishment. Since the long ago days of her youth and beauty, lady Dane had relished causing physical or emotional suffering to handsome young men, and old age had not diminished the pleasure that secret vice gave her.

It amused the lady to ensure that her miscreant, but very handsome, nephew’s discomfort was acute as possible. To this end, she had taken to instructing the trusty and strong armed Ruth Gallagher to administer Redman’s, court ordered, punishment whenever guests were present to observe the entertainment.

Therefore, it was becoming a routine that, shortly after a coach arrived, a guest was welcomed in and had taken their seat, Redman would be ordered to strip naked and place himself across Miss Galagher’s lap, to receive his punishment, as the rather startled guests, and delighted servants looked on.

It was only his overwhelming desire to get his hands on Lady Dane’s fortune, and the fear of the noose which prevented Redman from taking a musket from the cabinet and shooting both women dead.

——

Redman was in his room sulking, and moodily contemplating the ignominy he would be facing over the following weeks, when he had a sudden flash of inspiration. If he couldn’t remove himself from the firing line without risking being disinherited, maybe the answer would be to remove the weapon.

If the Gallagher harridan became injured or unwell, and therefore unable to perform her role in the procedure, then it would have to be suspended, and it would not be his fault.

However, how could Gallagher’s exit from the fray be achieved, a sudden illness would be hard to pull off, the woman was as robust as an oxen and renowned for never having a day’s sickness, so there would have to be an unfortunate accident, but what sort of accident?

Redman poured himself a glass of his favourite Madeira wine and began to plot,

——–

Well before dawn, while the great house was still silent and bot even the boot boy or the scullery maid yet risen, Redman crept silently down the stairs, carrying beneath his arms a pair of old roller-skates belonging to one of his younger brothers, who was currently away at school.

He carefully placed the roller-skates at a turning place on the stairs, where they were less likely to be seen, and high enough for a fall to cause a nasty injury, but unlikely to result in death, although such an outcome would not be unwelcome.

He had chosen the skates, as that way, his brother would be held responsible, or a lowly maid would be blamed, for failing to tidy away the trip hazard.

Now all that remained was for the prey to fall into the trap. He knew Ruth Gallagher would be the first down those stairs in the morning. His step-mother’s rooms were in the East wing of the house, Lady Dane never rose before ten, and the servants would use the back stairs when taking up her breakfast tray.

The trap set, Redman cheerfully returned to his own room for an hour of sleepless anticipation, blissfully unaware that his every move has been secretly observed.

Later, once the house was stirring, he took up a position in the hall, where he had the pleasure of watching the target, his one time nanny and governess, descend the stairs, trip on the first of the roller-skates, tumble forward and land with a loud thud and a cry of pain, at the bottom of the stairs.

Redman fought to suppress an urge to laugh, before hurrying forward to offer his assistance and as much false concern as he could muster.

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Miss Gallagher had injured her back sufficiently seriously, that she would require an wheelchair for at least three months. More importantly, from Redman’s perspective, she had fractured her spanking arm in two places, and would not be able to spank anyone for some considerable length of time.

Struggle as he might, young Redman Dane could not wipe the cheesy grin off is handsome face, while his aunt clucked and fussed over his, now incapacitated governess, who would spend the next few months convalescing at the home of her spinster sister by the sea.

Redman didn’t care where the old she devil was going, all that mattered was that he was free of her and her damnable hairbrush.

Redman’s good mood did not last for long, moments after Ruth Gallagher’s carriage had clattered off down the drive, Aunt Amelia Dane rang the bell to summons Able Griffiths and reminded him what had been agreed in court. That was, if Miss Gallagher was unable to perform her duty in chastising Redman, he, Griffiths would step into the role.

The grin of satisfaction on Griffiths’s face, provided a fitting counterbalance, to Redman’s startled horror. Meanwhile Redman’s young stepmother, who had been quietly observing the scene briefly turned her head away to hide her own delight at her arrogant stepson’s startled misery.

Aunt Amelia’s words were news to Redman, who, had been so focused on his naked embarrassment, following his spanking in court, that he had ceased to listen to the conversation between his Aunt and the judge. To his horror he realised that his plot had backfired, and instead of being punished by a middle-aged woman, he would now be spanked by a fit and strong young man.

Of course he protested, arguing that it was unacceptable for someone of Griffiths’s lowly social status to lay a hand on him. However, Lady Dane dismissed his objections with a wave of her beautifully manicured hand. The substitution was mandated by the court, she said, and any failure to comply would have to be reported to the judge, which would have severe repercussions for Redman. Incarceration, hard labour or even deportation to the colonies were all posibilities.

“Now Nephew, you can stop prevaricating and and lets get on with it. It is time for your court mandated punishment, take off your boots and britches!” she then turned to Griffiths “Pull up that chair next to the fireplace, my good man, you can sit on that!”

Griffiths was quick to obey, Redman, of course, was less so. Much as he resented being punished by his governess the prospect of being spanked by a servant, a footman no less was mortifying. The idea of the man who picked up his discarded underwear, and ran his bath putting him, Reman Dane, over his knee and spanking his bare bottom was outrageous and shameful.

Yet that was exactly what was going to happen!

“Get over his knee!” commanded Lady Dane , pointing towards the footman, Able Griffths, who was now seated in a wooden chair by the fireplace, beaming like the proverbial cat that got the cream.

Redman, his face now the picture of a sulking brat, now dressed in nothing but his shirt, glumly stepped forward and lowered himself over the footman’s knee, a now familiar position for him, but never before over the knee of a man.

His hands trembling slightly, Able gripped the tail of Redman’s shirt and moved it down his back, revealing his sometime master’s fully exposed bare bottom , and paused for a moment, marvelling at it’s beauty. Many had been the nights that he had fantasised about having the honourable Redman Dane, in this exact position. Now he had him exactly where he had long wanted him.

He had to pause to savour that delightful situation.

“Get on with it man!” bellowed Lady Dane “Don’t take all day!

A good servant obeys his mistress and Able was no different, on Lady Dane’s command he raised his hand high above his head, then rapidly brought his hand down on Redman’s behind, with a resounding SMACK!

Reman’s whole body jerked forward, and let out an involuntary cry of pain. Miss Gallagher may have smacked hard, but he had never been smacked as hard and as painfully as the first smack he received from Able Griffiths. That was, until he received the next one.

What Redman did not know, and something which would make his bad luck so much worse was, was that Able Griffiths had an unusual hobby when he wasn’t at work. He was the four counties champion Horseshoe Thrower, and had won a number of prizes for the rural sport. Famously he had once achieved a distance of 169 feet, which had broken two pains of glass in Farmer Dossett’s greenhouse. A record only broken 150 years later in 2020 by a very fit Canadian.

Poor Redman, his scheming had, yet again backfired on him, and devastatingly so. He had succeeded in getting rid of Miss Galagher, only to have her replaced by a man with the most effective spanking arm in the West Country.

And indeed Able Griffiths used his arm, together with the work and play hardened palm of his right hand most effectively, and soon Redman’s buttocks and upper thighs where blushing in warm shades of reddening pink and increasingly sore.

It was then that Redman’s young stepmother took her turn in contributing to Redman’s discomfort. “Please spare your hands Griffiths!” she cooed “Use this, you are less likely to injure yourself!” she handed him a hairbrush, which she had helpfully brought with her, an elaborate and very female object, with an embossed silver and ivory back.

Her concern was unnecessary, as Griffith strong hands were more than up to the task, and, indeed he preferred to feel Redman’s hot red skin under the palm of his hands. Yet he graciously accepted the hairbrush, and used it.

The hairbrush, of course, made Redman’s ordeal all the more painful, and within no time he was bawling like the spoilt and pampered brat that he truly was.

His obvious distress only serving to enhance Griffith’s sadistic enjoyment, and also that of at least one of the female observers.

Finally the spanking was over and Redman had to endure the inevitably lecture, while he craved escape and the means of soothing the pain in his burning bottom.

Some degree of soothing was provided by the various creams and lotions with which his, now long time dead, kindly nanny, Abigail Metcalf, had introduced to him years ago, and which he still used when his skin was chaffed, saddle sore or after another punishment.

Once Aunt Amelia had finally stopped lecturing him, he rushed to his room to apply the balms and creams, which would lessen the sting, at least to some degree.

Rosewater, almond oil and beeswax were the ingredients of most Victorian nappy rash cream, and it was these which the now 20-year-old Redman Dane rubbed into his burning, and now cherry red bottom.

He had been in such a hurry, he had left his bedroom slightly open, enabling his intimate, naked, activity to be spied upon.

Clara Middlemass, had been another of those servant girls with whom he had once dallied, and who’s heart he had broken. He has been 17 and she 19 and over the ensuing three years she had watched him use other girls, as he had used her, she had observed his arrogant, selfish and often cruel behaviour. Indeed it was she who had observed him setting the trap for Ruth Gallagher, and she alone who knew he was responsible for that lady’s injuries.

The love she had once felt for him had turned to burning hatred, and she craved for the means of achieving revenge. Perhaps she had now found that opportunity.

Later that evening, she told the Footman Griffiths what she has seen and together they formulated a plot which would present their young master with a very unwelcome surprise.

“This will certainly put a fire on his tail” giggle Clara.

“He won’t sit down for a week!” Grinned Able Griffiths “I’ll make sure of that!” he laughed a husky guffaw “This is going to be so much fun!”

“No fun for for the young master though!” purred Clara “No fun at all for him!”

To be continued.