Dinner was early that evening. They ate on the terrace, E.G. commanding them to finish quickly. He had plans for the evening, he informed them, that he wanted to carry out at dusk.
"When the sun is red in the hills, falling fast, that is the time for excitement," he explained, laughing in a cold, harsh voice. "Things are picking up around here."
He was glancing around the table as he spoke, allowing his gaze to fall across their faces with a smiling, evil intent. It was clear, at once, to both Dashiell and Maggie that he knew what had happened that afternoon.
"You sound pleased, E.G.," Dashiell said, grimly. "You must be in a wonderful mood! Violence always has brought out the best in you."
"That's true, boy," chuckled the older man, savagely. "I like to see who's tough enough to survive in my world."
Dashiell smiled thinly. "You might be surprised this time, E.G.," he said evenly. "This little adventure of yours might blow up in your face!"
Nola and Winston were glancing at each other nervously, now. It was obvious to them that something had happened between Dashiell and Maggie, and the clear fact that the two of them were so obviously concerned pleased Dashiell's wife, greatly.
"Don't look so worried, Nola," she said, leaning across the table and smiling sweetly at the woman. "You were the one that told me of the good that comes from evil, don't you remember?"
"You think you are such a hot bitch," snarled the woman. "You know nothing! You can't begin to understand the beauty of suffering!"
"You just keep on believing that, lady," chuckled Maggie. "I may start slow, but I catch on quickly."
E.G. Talbot watched the two women intently, enjoying their bickering. It was delightful to see them fighting for the edge of his favor. Wonderful to see them both so stimulated to impress him. The big man sighed happily. He was sure this evening was going to be filled with delight and satisfaction for him. He need only to put the forces in motion, and watched the events unfold.
He grinned at the two women. "Listen to yourselves," he chuckled softly. "You sound as if you are the queens of the stage, not the worthless scum you truly are!"
He turned his attention to their husbands, now. "Are you going to let them carry on like that, disrupting our meal with their mindless chatter?" he growled. "You two certainly aren't acting as if you are in charge of your women!"
Taking that as a cue, Winston slapped Nola hard across the cheek. "Silence, bitch," he grumbled. "You'll talk when I tell you to!"
"I'm sorry, Winston;" she mumbled submissively, smiling in triumph at the young woman across from her. "I deserved that!"
"And what about you?" E.G. growled, glaring at his younger son. "Don't you think that bitch of yours needs a little straightening out?"
"I'll punish her when I'm ready, E.G.," the young man replied, softly. "We may be playing your game, father, but we've got a few rules of our own!"
The old man stared harshly at his son, for the first time appearing to be a little confused and shocked. He had not expected such a twist and was at a loss as to how to deal with it.
"You see, E.G., we have decided that discipline is more than just giving punishment," Maggie explained softly. "It is also a fierce sort of passion. A method of enjoying oneself. We are trying to refine it, make it more exciting!"
"We are no longer going to deal with merely mindless punishments," Dashiell went on. "We are making the stakes of this game higher. You are all going to have to come up with something original to win!"
This clever game of cat and mouse was unsettling to E.G. Talbot. He felt a bit of his power and control slipping away from him, for he could not argue with their logic. He had invented the game, and now they were turning it back on him.
"I make the decisions around here," he blustered angrily. "I am master of this house, remember that!"
"You are only master so long as you can control, E.G.," corrected his younger son. "Once you lose the right to that, you lose everything!"
"Are you trying to tell me you're taking over?" the old man said with a vicious laugh. "That's impossible, and you know it!"
"For the time being, perhaps, E.G.," Dashiell said, grimly. "But we shall see, won't we, who is on top in the end."
Winston Talbot glanced back and forth between his father and brother now, something stirring in his mind. He gazed intently as Dashiell, a smile now coming over his lips as he began to speak.
"You mean, if we do better at the game of discipline and punishment than he does, we can beat him?" he asked softly.
Maggie nodded. "He's trapped, even mother will have to agree," she whispered urgently. "He has to play by the rules, he has no other, choice!"
They all looked to the woman at the other end of the table, her lips tight in a thin line. They were pale and trembling, for suddenly she had been cast in a role she had not chosen. Carefully, she searched for the right thing to say.
"I… I don't know," she whispered, avoiding her husband's glare. "I… I have never even thought of such a thing."
"You have to go along, Laurel," Nola hissed savagely. "Otherwise, there is no point to this, and none of us will continue!"
"By God, you'll not defy me," snarled E.G. Talbot. He slammed his hand down hard on the table, tipping over the glasses with the force of the blow. "I am master here, there can be no other!"
Laurel Talbot gazed at her husband now, realizing for the first time her power in this situation. Everything they owned was in her name also, though before this moment, she never gave a thought to defying his wishes. Now, she realized, he was powerless, if she did not agree to his decisions.
She smiled meekly and bowed her head. "Whoever proves the best, should be the master," she said almost in a whisper. "It's the only correct way of doing things!"
E.G. Talbot stared at his wife in shock. "You have gone mad, woman," he hissed. "How can they possibly be better at discipline and punishment than I?"
"As I said, E.G., that remains to be seen," his younger son said casually. "It all depends on who can prove themselves to be the most clever and amusing. Who can find more ways of taking punishment to a high art! After all, we are all accomplished craftsmen, here, it's a noble challenge for us, I think!"
The table fell silent in that moment. All of them suddenly realizing that the game was wide open now, with no one in command. It would be up to all of them to prove they were the better disciplinarian. Up to each to them to show who could enjoy punishment the best.
Already, Maggie was growing excited. She glanced back and forth between the people seated around the table, grinning savagely with excitement. Her loins trembled with excitement and her flesh felt the need of a vicious beating almost as if she could feel the pounding already.
"What are we waiting for?" she hissed wildly. "There's no sense in prolonging this contest. Let's find out once and for all, who is the better of us all!"
"Yes, yes, let's get to work," hissed Nola, now. "I want to show you people what being punished is all, about! I want you to see how one can thrill to their agony and humiliation. I'm ready, are you?"
There was a harsh, whispering murmur around the table and all eyes went to E.G. Talbot at last. The big man was staring impassively at them, his hands trembling as if he were about to lash out at all of them.
"All right," he whispered softly. "Let's begin!"