The Loden-Twins 17-19

Chapter seventeen – The first lesson 

The twins could not believe they had slept for more than a view minutes in total as the herbal stimulant in their tea did a good job and prevented any sleep until midnight. Even then the heat and the tightness of their corset and their boundaries almost sent them insane. When they were released they got introduced to a new rule for each day. A morning workout they had to process while still in their nightgowns and only released from the neck corset but still in mittens and all the layers of fleece and wool and still laced in a punishment corset. They had to make fifty knee bends, do thirty push-ups and the same number of sit-ups as far as this was possible while wearing a corset. The girls could not believe they would make it but every move that was not perfect was not counted and they had to repeat them twice. As they were twins, Mrs. Kelly had ordered that any error made by one girl had the same effect for the other in the hope that each girl would do their best to prevent her sister from being punished.

By the time the exercises had been finished it was time for morning prayers and the twins were so exhausted that they obeyed every command so they would be allowed to go to the bathroom and get showered afterwards. They even followed the order to stay absolutely silent as their muzzles were removed for some minutes too. Before the governesses had released the girls from their sleeping bags, Miss Kelly had also assigned the dress code for the day and given an introduction to her team about the ‘thousand day program’ from a high perspective and the lesson she had planned for the first day .

“It will be quite simple. I had planned to let them wear one face open balaclava but because of their behavior, specially removing a balaclava last evening, they will wear a second one, double layered with the narrow eye slit only. During their lessons they will be in disgrace so we need two thick blankets waiting for them in the study room, which we will close on the sides with clothes pins to keep the girls completely in the dark. With their muzzles and the in-ear speakers they will be blind, muted and deaf and because of the mittens also unable to recognize anything they touch. We will then guide their mittens to each side of their desks and let them press two coins on the board. As the wooden board´s thickness is about one inch the coins cannot be allowed to move up or down or they will drop down, meaning the girls cannot brace their forearms on the desk and have to concentrate on keeping their arms at an exact angle and put a permanent pressure against the board. They will be warned about being punished IF they drop a coin. The last order they will hear before we turn off the speakers will be to stand absolutely still and wait for next commands.

We will of course record any failure and present them the ‘bill’. That is the program until lunch time. So the girls will NOT know that the lesson is to totally concentrate on remaining motionless and NOTHING MORE. After lunch, if they are well behaved, we will remove the muzzles and let them repeat their rules. Mrs. Kent has offered to make a new mp3 file for the girls, splitting the recorded rules into single sentences with a time lag between each to give the girl’s time to repeat it loud and clear, even with a scarf over their balaclava and under a blanket. BUT I honestly do not believe we will go to this second lesson today as I expect we will have to repeat the first lesson, I call it ‘concentration AND patience’ at least this afternoon, and maybe for many more days. The first lessons are always the most difficult for the girls to learn.

Any punishments will be decided ad hoc but not without my approval. It is important at this stage that the girls feel we are serious. Any weakness now will cause a lot of discussions in the future, but being as strict as possible at the beginning always ends with an obedient girl. And we will show them that they depend on each other as they will discover that failure by one of them means a punishment for both. So they should show their best behavior not only for their own comfort but to prevent any punishment to their sister. Therefore we will react immediately at any failure. For example, force them to kneel down for a while so they have to raise their arms much higher to hold the coins in place. Some weights from a trainings set, five pounds each, clamped on their wrists will also do a good job. Or we arrange additional blankets nicely over their head or let them wear their outdoor wool lined floor length cape where we open the slits for the arms to still allow them to hold their coins. In case we have extreme trouble with one of them we can still finish the lesson in the chamber of reflection. Are there any questions?” “Do we give them breaks if we feel them necessary?” Miss Glass asked fighting against the heat of her own outfit. She could not imagine the girls would be able to press small coins they could not even feel through their mittens to hold them firmly for so many hours. “The girls have a break for lunch and at tea time! IF I decide the girls earn additional breaks I will let you know” Mrs. Kelly answered, again not appreciating Miss Glass’ question as it showed her sympathy and also weakness against the girls.

Miss Glass had checked her outfit in the morning and was still embarrassed about it. The junior governesses shared a bedroom and she had tried to hide her warm outfit from her young colleague. But the head governess visited them in their room and ordered her to remove her shawl in front of her and Miss Bell. “Lift the turtleneck from the dress and show me you are still wearing the cotton one beneath, then unbutton one of your velvet cuffs to show me that all layers have long sleeves” Miss Glass looked at her and then to Miss Bell but as her colleague did not leave and the head governess seemed to have no objections to her presence she did as ordered. She had not cheated although she had expected that wearing the outfit on an early summer’s day would become very difficult. As a last humiliation she had to lift the skirt of her velvet dress and prove that she was still wearing a pair of her own tights under the thick woolen tights she had borrowed from the girl´s wardrobe. “Are these the thickest cotton tights you own?” she was asked and when she nodded she was ordered to present her drawer. “This pair looks thicker and warmer, you will wear them tomorrow, and for today you will add those woolen leg warmers. And do not dare to cheat again” “But, Mrs. Kelly, I did not cheat …” “MISS GLASS, I do not argue with you, and to make that clear for you, you will change your cotton shawl to hide your turtlenecks with THIS.” She took a long woolen scarf out of the drawer and handed it to her subordinate. Miss Glass swallowed without saying a word, took the scarf and curtseyed slightly. Miss Bell stood beside her and was amused about the way her colleague was treated. She planned to offer her help in monitoring her to Mrs. Kelly sooner or later.

The twins had been wrapped in thick woolen coats before they were muzzled again and were guided to their dressing rooms. They expected to wear the new thermo fleece underwear and be laced into their corsets again. Their ‘regular underwear’, knitted from soft Angora wool was next and also the thick woolen tights and a turtleneck pullover seemed to be part of their standard outfit. They just both moaned as they saw a second pair of woolen tights produced along with the thick woolen dress with a huge turtleneck and a double layered balaclava. “You hopefully did not expect, that last night was the only punishment you would get for yesterdays behavior?” was the answer from the senior governesses as they both saw the question in their guardian’s eyes. When the second Balaclava was pulled over the already wool covered heads they realized that this one had only a small slit for the eyes and covered mouth and nose. The wool lined loden dress was so heavy that they thought it must be lined with lead and not only wool. They also wondered why they got mittens as they thought these were for wearing outdoors only.

To the relief of the twins they where guided to the study room and not to the overheated chamber of reflection. Mrs. Kelly was waiting there and a thick knee length cardigan, the same they had worn the evening before, had been placed on each board. Miss Glass would you please help Miss Angelica into her cardigan. I believe she knows why she has to wear it today. “Yes, Mrs. Kelly the junior governess replied and took the thick woolen cloth. Angelica was obviously thinking about disobeying the additional layer but she looked into Miss Glass’ eyes and saw her nearly begging for obedience. “Miss Bell, would you please do the same for Miss Katharina.” “Of course, Madam” Miss Bell confirmed and started immediately and Katharina raised her arms to slip into the thick sleeves. Miss Glass was just closing the buttons as Angelica could not do it with her mittens when she asked: “Mrs. Kelly, you do remember that Miss Katharina did not remove her cardigan yesterday evening, don´t you?

“Of course I do, but did she report her sister, who removed the cardigan?” “But how could she? She was muzzled as soon as they left the dining room and what Miss Angelica did, was too obvious” “Obvious or not, do YOU not remember the girls rules? OR do you?” “Yes, I do Mrs. Kelly” she replied, as each governess had memorized the rules. “Then please tell me what does rule number fifteen say?” “If I refrain to report failures in others and these are reported or recognized by someone else, I will earn the same punishment as the not reported discretion and an extra punishment for my own omission.” Miss Glass said in a whisper.

“Very well, Miss Glass. So Miss Bell please pull the hood of the cardigan over Miss Katharina’s head and wrap this scarf tightly over her neck, mouth and nose. I did not want to be so strict and insist on an additional punishment, but as Miss Glass mentioned it, I have no other choice. Miss Katharina may thank you later for taking care of her so nicely.” Mrs. Kelly replied with a sarcastic smile. “Oh, I nearly forgot it. Treating them as twins means that both girls get a scarf. Miss Glass, please pull the hood over Miss Angelica’s head then take the other scarf I have here and wrap it around Miss Angelica’s face as well. She waited until the order was fulfilled before using the microphone to talk to both girls again.

“Girls, you are now being guided to your standing desks and your governesses will help you to touch each side of your board with the top of your mittens. Before you touch the board coins will be placed between the board and your mittens and I expect you to hold the coins against the board until you receive other orders. I know you will be unable to feel them and therefore you have to concentrate on keeping your hands and mittens exactly where they are placed. Move the mittens or reduce the pressure and you will drop the coins. If this happens you will be punished. And I mean BOTH of you, so each of you is responsible for her own and her sister’s . . . let’s say comfort, or maybe a better term would be discomfort. We will now put a blanket over your heads as you are in disgrace for the next two weeks, and will then leave you alone for a short time while preparing your next lesson. You have to wait here, under the rule of silence, without any motion and fully concentrated on holding the coins. I hope I have made myself clear as I will not repeat it. IF you fail and a coin drops down, we recognize any movement or hear any noise, both of you will feel the consequences. Miss Bell, Miss Glass the blankets please!” Soon the twins had a thick black blanket over their heads and the open edges were closed on each side with clothes pins. “Now the coins” The junior governesses took the coins from the desk board and guided the girl´s thick mittens until they touched the side of the wooden board and pressed the coin against it. It was too obvious that the girls would not be able to hold their arms motionless in this position for hours as would be required.

“Now, stand upright, feet together, heads up and straight forward.” was the last command the twins heard before Mrs. Kelly turned off the microphone. The world for the pair became absolutely silent and they had no idea if the governesses were going to leave the room or would be watching them. It was exactly as designed by the head governess. She knew that the girls would move their arms sooner or later and let a coin drop, but as the girls would not hear it falling to the floor they would still press their mittens against the board. OR maybe one of them would drop a coin on purpose and remove the blanket as the clothes pins were no barrier to doing so. The girl would not be able to remove her mittens, and with them on her hands she would not be able to pull on her balaclavas or open the cardigan, at least not fast enough before one of the governesses would reach her. The governess would hear the coins falling on the floor because of the microphone in the room but maybe Mrs. Kelly would wait a little while before ‘disturbing’ the girls intentions, to allow them to increase the troubles they got into. 

Chapter eighteen – Escaping in a trap

Katharina tried to calm down after the blanked had been closed. It was not easy for her as she had hated any form of hats, caps, bonnets or hoods since she was a little girl. Both girls had been fighting against them with their mother every winter. Maria was not too strict on those things as she had sworn herself that she would never treat her children like her parents had treated her. She and her husband believed that hardening the body was better than dressing them into too many layers. “Sometimes feeling cold does not mean you GET a cold” her father often said supporting the girls wish to leave the caps at home. “If they feel cold they still have their hoods and next time they will take a cap by choice. If you order them to take one they will pull it off once around the next corner and just loose it somewhere”

“Loose or take them off around the next corner” was something that did not work so easily in this situation Katharina thought while beneath the four layers of wool covered by a thick velour blanket. The two balaclavas had been firmly pushed into the turtlenecks and the hood of the cardigan was pressed onto her head by the scarf. Miss Bell had done her best to wrap the scarf over her face and neck as tight as possible and knotted him with all her power. Also the straps of her mittens had been laced as tight as possible and she did not see any chance to pull them off.

So she knew that the blanket would be all she could remove by herself in case she decided to disobey and all she could gain was to breath ‘only’ through the double layered wool balaclava and three layers of a woolen scarf. AND she was sure that it would not last for long and the punishment would cause her to suffer even more. She hoped that they would have to read something or follow any advisor so the removal of the blanket would become necessary. So she tried to condition her mind to the heat and the lack of fresh air and wait for the lesson to begin.

Angelica was different. She shared her sister’s aversion to any kind of head covering and so she was suffering just as much as Katharina but her main focus was not to condition herself to heat and the lack of fresh air but only how she could escape this torture. Even IF she deserved a punishment for yesterday’s outburst, even then she felt it was more than paid for by last night. They had to endure this enormous heat that had built up in the sleeping bag due to the heating blanket, wrapped in another blanked so tight that she could hardly move her wool covered arms or legs. This was from her point of view much more punishment than deserved and so it was harder to accept the fact that it should continue. She wondered why she had not been muzzled this morning but thought that this might not be mandatory for days they remained at home.

“Home”. This was not the right word for this place. Her ‘home’ was near Zurich in Switzerland, this was her was her personal nightmare. A prison or a boot camp she had seen on television for kids, who got in conflict with the law. But it was definitely not the place she would ever feel ‘at home’ in even if it was the home of their grandparents. So she did not only think about how to get out of this ‘lesson’ but also considered, together with her sister, escaping from this house. Somewhere there must be a police station and if they explain to them what happens here, the police MUST help them.

Although it would be easier to find help during a trip because she could maybe stop a car or find a policemen, she decided that her chances would be better when not being muzzled, nearly blinded by several veils and specially not bound in a muff that fixes her arms on her back. She was wearing these ridiculous mittens but maybe she could open the straps at her wrists as soon as she removed the blanket, the scarf and the terrible warm and scratchy balaclava covering her face. She was aware of the fact that it would not become easy to remove the balaclavas as they had been firmly tucked into the tight turtlenecks, but at least the scarf was not wounded too tight over her face as Miss Glass obviously had sympathy with her and did not want to torture more than necessary or than ordered by Mrs. Kelly

As far as this was possible under the thick blanket and the wool layers that veiled her Angelica took a deep breath and pulled at the edges of the blanket until half of the clothes pegs dropped down. She did not hear them fall and had also not heard the coins she lost at the beginning of her activity. She was clumsy with the thick mittens and the woolen gloves she wore beneath but as the wool scarf was elastic and not too tight she could remove it over her head instead of unwrapping it. The double layered balaclava was trickier to reach. She tried from both sides of her head but could not move the wool upwards. Then she bored with her thumbs in the eyes slit and ripped the woolen mask from her face. First it looked like it would never slip out of her tight turtleneck that was folded twice and still touched her chin but then it worked and she could remove the heavy wool hood from her head. Now her face was free and she used her teeth to open the straps at her wrists.

Seconds later she had removed her mittens and her gloves and pulled off her remaining face open balaclava. She threw every item she could remove away with a relief and satisfaction and rushed to her sister. Katharina became frightened when her sister removed some clothes pegs as she had not heard her and did not expect to be touched. “It´s me, Kathy, shouted the girl and realized that they both were deaf because of the in-ear microphones. She removed hers and helped her surprised sister out of her mittens, scarf and balaclavas. Katharina removed the ear phones and, while looking to the door, asked her sister “Angie, what have you done? You know they will come in sooner or later and for what you have done we will be severely punished” “I will not allow anyone to punish me just for needing oxygen or for preventing a circulatory collapse because of being permanently overheated. And if we do not find anyone who will listen to us we will search for the nearest police station or at least for a car driver who can pick us up.” “And how do you think we can get out of here?” Her sister asked, not really convinced about the plan. “We wait until they come in to check if we patiently stand at our desks, press these idiotic coins against the board and sweat in this sticky air under the blanket. As soon as they come in, we pull them to the other side, and rush through the open door. If we can close it, we win time as there is no door knob and they have to use their key to open it. We run downstairs and out to the garden. We came from the right as we stopped and left the car to the left and went straight to the stairs. I hope we can climb over the main entrance with this terrible outfit as it might be closed.” “But Angie, are you sure this is the right way? I mean shouldn´t we try to talk to our grandparents, or at least to grandma, again before we go to the police?” “You saw how ‘successful’ we were yesterday. They are in cahoots together, we need to find someone else if we want to get out of this nightmare” While talking both girls had removed the thick cardigan but the zipper from their loden dresses seemed to be locked somehow as they would not slide down and the collar was too narrow to remove the dress without opening the zipper.

Mrs. Kelly and her team was listening to each word and some wondered why Mrs. Kelly did not give the command to enter the room when they heard two coins falling down in the silent room. But Mrs. Kelly wanted to see, how far the girls would go. Did they only fail by mistake or intention? IF by intention what would they do next? Remove the blanket only or even more, if possible? IF they could manage to remove more it would mean the balaclavas needed a better solution, maybe a leather collar with a lock or the neck corset? The head governess did not expect to hear a complete plan to escape. She quickly had to decide if the recorded plan was enough to prove the girls bad behavior if required. OR should she allow them to ‘escape’ from the study room and just pick them up downstairs to prove that the girls would even use violence against their governesses. “Mrs. Kent, Mrs. Hunter, you go downstairs and double check that all doors and windows are locked. I want them to reach the front hall and stand in front of a locked main exit. The windows are all cross-barred and the only doors go to windowless storage rooms. I will hide on the first floor and you hide downstairs. Miss Bell and Miss Glass, you play innocent when you open the door to the study room and allow the girls to pull you in, escape and close the door. You have a key so you should not need too much time to follow them. Cry for help. Make it sound real but not too loud. We then all meet at the door to the front hall and go in together. Any questions?”

Miss Glass realized the trouble the girls were already in and wondered why the head governess let them go even further. “Miss Kelly. Why don´t we all go in together now and stop them here and now?” Mrs. Kelly looked daggers at the junior governess and wondered if she could do her job better if muzzled. “I did not know that I have to explain myself to you if I give you an order, but to make it clear for all of you, I want to see if this is only a confused idea of Miss Angelica’s which they will not really dare to perform. I hope so for their sakes. If we stop them now we do not give them the chance to surrender freely when only you and Miss Bell come in. And now, everyone to her starting point”

Miss Glass knew that it was a trap but she could not do anything as Miss Bell was with her all the time. So after waiting some minutes to allow the senior governesses to check all doors and windows, they opened the study room and went in. Angelica and Katharina waited behind the door and after Miss Bell was pulled in, Katharina did the same with Miss Glass and both girls rushed out closing the door behind them. They lost no time hurrying down the wide staircase and passed the first floor by the time the junior governesses had unlocked the door with the key. The girls heard them cry but it seemed far away already. Without any problems they reached the big hall and opened the folding doors to the front hall. Everything seemed to work perfect. They did not see any of the other governesses nor did any locked door stop them. They seemed to be lucky until they reached the big main exit. This massive door was locked and the windows on both sides were cross-barred.

With a frantic look the girls searched for another exit as the folding doors opened and all five governesses entered the front hall. Mrs. Kelly looked very satisfied and presented two thick blankets she had taken from a shelf on the second floor. “You forgot your blankets, or have you forgotten that you are still in DISGRACE?” she said with a sarcastic tone. The girls realized that they had lost again, or even worse, they knew they had been trapped without even a chance to escape. Angelica had planned to fight if necessary to leave the house but with the massive front door locked behind her she knew that any resistance was senseless. The girls allowed the junior governesses to pull the big blankets over their heads and someone seemed to have straps with her, as they felt a strap pinning the blanket and their arms to the center of their bodies. Totally blind they were guided back upstairs but not to the study room but to their dressing rooms.

Miss Bell, Miss Glass, you will pick up the items the young ladies ‘lost’ in the study room and bring them to their dressing rooms. Mrs. Hunter, Mrs. Kent, you wait for them to be present and the door is locked before you start to undress your girl. I want to have TWO of us present for each girl whenever they are not effectively immobilized. Both girls will then be muzzled and undressed down to their corset which will be replaced by the punishment corset and laced as tight as possible. When they are fully dressed again I want you to wait for me before putting them into their loden dresses. Mrs. Kelly called Mrs. Miller to send a maid with two thermos bottles filled with strong lime blossom tea and thought about how to punish the girls.

When she entered Miss Angelica´s dressing room the girl was back in her heavy turtleneck dress, her hands already enclosed in gloves and mittens and her ear phones inserted. “Did you close the straps for the mittens tightly?” Mrs. Kelly asked her young assistant. “Yes, Mrs. Kelly” “Present your wrists” she ordered and using all her strength she tightened the straps until the wool layers were pressed hard against the skin and then locked each strap with a small padlock. “THIS is as tight as required, especially for Miss Angelica, or do you want her to ‘lose” her mittens again?” “No, Mrs. Kelly” Miss Glass replied. “I wonder if you and Miss Bell should change their duties as it is obviously Miss Angelica, who needs more attention?” It was easy to see that the girl was not happy about this idea but as she was muzzled she remained silent. “Now, my dear, I wonder how we prevent you from ‘losing’ your balaclavas and cardigan? For your balaclavas I have a proposal. Miss Glass, please unfold the last turtleneck one time” The thick woolen dress had an extra long turtleneck that needed to be folded twice before it still reached the chin. Unfolding it one time had the effect that the remaining two layers of wool covered the whole face. “Now let me show you how we can protect your turtlenecks against lost. The head governess wrapped a neck corset over the girl’s neck and laced it tightly at the back. This caused the turtleneck to slip down slightly but it still covered the girl´s mouth and touched her nose. “Here we go, this is now nice and secure.” she said as she took a metal tube about two inches in length, lifted the turtleneck and searched for the adapter on the muzzle through the stitches of the balaclava. She found it and connected the tube to the muzzle with a click. Then she rearranged the turtleneck until the metal end appeared through the stitches. “And now I’ll show you how we secure your cardigan. Get in, NOW” The girl was surprised about the order as she did not wear her loden dress yet and had expected that the cardigan would be either sewn or secured with a belt. Once she had obeyed and Mrs. Kelly closed all the buttons herself before she pulled the hood over the girls head. “Miss Glass, now her loden dress, please” “But this . . . I mean I do not think this will fit with the thick cardigan beneath” “You should not ‘think’ but do as you are told. I can assure you that wool is elastic and with a little more effort it will fit. Maybe not as comfortably as before but I am afraid that this is the price we have to pay”.

Mrs. Kelly had studied the wool lined loden dresses. They were obviously designed for punishment only as they were cut to allow at least four layers underneath. She also saw that the two layers were different sizes. The outer loden layer looked formfitting but had some hidden pleats to stretch if required as the fabric was not elastic. The lining made of heavy wool was more formfitting for a girl dressed in some thick layers and would stretch if necessary.

Angelica could imagine how warm this cardigan would become under her dress but she had no say in the matter. It took some minutes until the girl was dressed and Miss Glass had to confess that the loden dress did not look so bad although the girl obviously felt the pressure and could bend her arms only with effort. “Next is the scarf, Miss Glass and in case you tie it as loose as last time I will show you on your own scarf, what I mean by ‘tight’” The junior governess could not do anything else apart from wrapping the scarf over the hood and the turtleneck as tight as possible. Mrs. Kelly secured the knotted ends with a cable through the stitches and a padlock for both ends. She found the end of the metal tube as it would be needed to feed the girl later. Locking the zipper of the dress at the loden collar was a challenge for Miss Glass and the girl as the hood of the cardigan meant an additional thick layer to be covered beneath. Also the winter boots were locked on and the girl knew that there was no chance to escape this time.

“Just one more adjustment then you’re finished. This morning I thought it unnecessary but I see now that I was wrong” Mrs. Kelly stood in front of the girl and searched with her fingertips for a zipper at the eye slit of the double layered balaclava. The black zipper was hidden between the two layers of black wool and the slash was nearly invisible. When she found it she closed the eye slit and the balaclava completely sealed the head. The girl could only see through the small spaces between the stitches and the chance to get some fresh air before she got under a blanket was gone.

“Will you please guide our student to her desk board again and help with her coins” she said to the governesses while she turned off the microphone and left Angelica deaf, blind and gagged again. She went to Katharina’s room where the governesses had waited for her. Here she found the mittens perfectly secured and Miss Bell had absolutely no worries when the girl was ordered to get dressed in her loden punishment dress on top of the cardigan. There was also no need to advise about the need for a tight fit of the scarf that hid the neck corset but also pressed the folded turtleneck hard against the mouth. Mrs. Kelly knew that by closing the balaclava she lost the only definite sign to distinguish the twins as Angelica had a tiny scar between her eyes, the result of a skiing accident a couple of years ago. But as she treated both girls the same, there was no need to be sure about the ‘who is who’ for the next few hours.

While Katharina was also guided to the study room Mrs. Kelly went to a storage room where she had left some items from her personal equipment. She took two metal racks that looked like mini stepladders with metal rods instead of steps. When she entered the room both girls had been guided to their boards and were pressing the small coins with their mittens against it. She turned on the speaker and said in her microphone. “Kneel down but don´t dare to lose your coins” The girls hesitated for some seconds and she added “NOW!” when Katharina reacted first. It did not look very graceful and Mrs. Kelly saw that there was some training required but both girls managed to keep their mittens on the coins. They needed to stretch their arms and hold them above shoulder height to reach the board which was much more tiring than the previous standing position. Mrs. Kelly placed one of the metal racks at Angelica’s ankles and moved both insteps to the highest rod. With a self locking belt that needed a key to be unlocked she strapped the girls feet together and to the rod. Then she walked to Katharina and repeated the action. The lower legs were fixed at an approximate sixty degree angle and so the girl´s weight was mostly borne by their kneecaps.

Mrs. Kelly took the thick blanket that lay on the desk and asked Miss Bell to take the second one. “Miss Bell, please cover Miss Angelica. I have decided that you will be responsible for her from now on, as she needs more attention. Miss Glass will help Mrs. Hunter to care for Miss Katharina.” “As you wish Mrs. Kelly” said the proud young governess and then they covered both girls at the same time leaving just their stretched arms free. “I want to remind you that the rule of silence forbids any talking, or moaning, any noise at all and I hope you believe now that disobeying this rule, dropping the coins or removing the blanket means another hard punishment.”

It was clear to the four governesses that nobody could follow the instructions from Mrs. Kelly long enough to satisfy the head governess. The girls kneecaps would hurt too much and their arms would become to feeling unbearably heavy to hold the coins in this position. But none of them made a comment when they silently left the room.

Both girls dropped their coins twice before lunch but Mrs. Kelly just told them that they earned additional punishment without changing the current torture. They were fed with hot tea before lunch. At lunch they were fed with liquid food, very healthy with vitamins and proteins but a lousy taste. At the end of their ‘meal’ they got another bottle of hot tea as Mrs. Kelly was aware of the high fluid loss caused by her treatment.

For the afternoon she even allowed the girls to change to the standing position and she did not mention the outstanding punishment. She was sure that the waiting for additional punishments caused the girls mental pain and she wanted to use this for their training. At four o’clock they did not get only tea but liquid food again and if the girls would have had a choice they would have definitely avoided eating it but as they were given no option it was out of question to avoid being forced to do so. After the meal Mrs. Kelly ordered them to the chamber of reflection and the girls worried about the following orders. The room was well heated but not extremely so and the twins were only ordered to say their prayers, of course kneeling in front of the two heaters and their fake fires.

It was four thirty-five when the two junior governesses were given the order to get the twins to their dressing rooms. They helped them undress and sent them to the bathroom. With their ablutions finished the twins found themselves laced into their punishment corsets again. A short time later both girls were not dressed for any evening lesson. Mrs. Kelly had only one ‘activity’ in mind for the girls and it required their sleeping gowns, the same as the previous day. Without any explanation they were guided to their bedrooms where Mrs. Kelly was waiting for them. “It must have been an exhausting adventure for you to run to the front door without any company and lightly dressed. Therefore I believe you will enjoy the heating blanket at full power to warm up again, and for your failures during your lesson I want to grant you an extra hour in your cozy sleeping bag that is, for disgrace reasons, covered by your bed-cover again, the nice thick black blanket you have seen there. We will wake you up, or shall I better say, release you at nine o’clock tomorrow morning, that gives you . . . let me see . . . sixteen hours to rest. I believe tomorrow, so well rested, you will find it already a bit easier to obey. And this will increase day by day by day. So sleep well and think about it.” Miss Glass, Miss Bell, please put the girls to bed and make sure that both are wrapped in their blankets tight enough that they can’t move a muscle. You can use some Velcro straps for support. Miss Bell, you have the authority, Miss Glass will follow your example”. “I will do my best, Mrs. Kelly” was the answer before she forced Angelica into the widely open sleeping bag with the blankets waiting inside.

Chapter nineteen – A night with troubles

In general, Mrs. Kelly did not expect any problems during the night. She had treated dozens if not hundreds of similar girls in her long and successful career as a governess. Maybe not with that quality of wool items and maybe only a few of them with the combination of heating blankets and fully closed sleeping bags but therefore the technological progress had given her very helpful tools. Monitoring the girls with webcams was so easy and the sensor they were both wearing on their left wrist delivered exact values of the girl’s condition every minute. Due to the fact that the girls were tightly wrapped in heating blankets she had set up the maximum that caused an alarm higher than usual, as even with the built in isolation against outside temperature the sensor could be influenced by the external heating source. She had done this in the past when a girl was placed in the bright summer sunshine for hours, and it had always shown that the sensor measured an incorrect body temperature IF the also measured and displayed outside temperature went too high. So a displayed body temperature up to thirty-nine or forty degrees Celsius under those conditions did not mean the girl had a fever or was dangerously overheated as it definitely was influenced by the heating blanket.

Nevertheless the head governess had arranged a permanent human monitoring to prevent any harm to her guardians. She was strict, maybe hard and from the girls point of view even cruel, but she would never allow any girl under her care to be seriously endangered. It was not required to stare on monitor the PC in their staffroom permanently, but she insisted that someone was awake around the clock. In a family she never had the luxury of four plus one governesses for only two girls, so it was no problem to arrange a shift. Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Kent were well known for being ‘early birds’ and she never went to bed early which meant she could wake up one of the junior governesses when she went to bed. They just had to share the time until five o´clock in the morning. First she wanted to leave it to the young colleagues how they arrange their duties. Either each had to wake up for a few hours or they would share it per night. But because of her preference for Miss Bell she decided to leave the decision to her.

Mrs. Kelly followed the junior governesses to her room and asked Miss Bell “We need to make an arrangement about the monitoring at night. I can have an eye on the PC till around midnight. Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Kent have agreed to share the morning, starting at five o´clock so we need to agree about the four or five hours in between” Miss Bell never went to bed early so she answered “I would prefer to do the first shift and hand it over at two thirty Madam” “Fine with me” Mrs. Kelly answered without giving Miss Glass any chance to reply. “In this case, my dear, YOU should go to bed early, as you need to be fresh at two fifteen and get another rest between five and seven only if no other duties are required for the morning. “Yes, Mrs. Kelly” Miss Glass said, but thought at the same time “It’s unfair that I have the lousy shift every night but you can at least leave it to ME when I go to bed”. Mrs. Kelly looked in Miss Glass’ eyes and it seemed she could read her mind. “It is seven o´clock now, and this will give you seven hours to rest. But you should not undress completely as there is nobody there to help you to get properly dressed during the night. So you should just change your velvet dress against your nightgown and wait till end of your shift to undress and open your corset.” “That’s not nec . . .” “I KNOW it is NOT necessary to remind you of your status” Mrs. Kelly interrupted the young woman. “But I do not care only for those we are guardians to but also for MY team, therefore you should show me your cardigans” Miss Glass did not see any reason for that but she obeyed and presented first her thinner cotton jackets. “Don’t you own any woolen cardigans?” “Yes, Mrs. Kelly, they are here” Miss Glass had a thick black cardigan made from synthetic fiber “That’s the one I was looking for my dear, you should wear this one over your velvet dress during your night shift to protect you from the cool of the night.” “This is very nice of you Mrs. Kelly, but I am sure I can manage all of it by myself.” Miss Glass wanted to refuse all the ‘good advices’ the head governess had given to her. “I am afraid you misunderstood me again my dear. You should listen more carefully to what I say.
You WILL go to bed NOW, I expect you to be in bed daily by seven fifteen until you get other orders. You WILL only change your dress with your nightgown, remove your shoes and go to bed
You WILL start your monitoring duties at two thirty each morning fully dressed with the additional cardigan
Did I make myself clear now?”

Miss Glass took a deep breath before she lowered her eyes and answered with flat voice “Yes, Mrs. Kelly, it’s crystal clear” As the head governess made no move to leave the room, Miss Kelly wanted to go to the nearby bathroom taking her cotton floor length nightgown with her. “You will change here after coming back from the bathroom” Mrs. Kelly ordered with cold voice. After the young women had left and before leaving the room, she ordered Miss Bell to search for a winter nightgown in Miss Glass’ wardrobe. As expected the governess had taken nearly all her personal belongings with her so her winter outfit was also stored in her new home. The flannel nightgown her colleague found was much thicker and could fit much better to the thick wool layer beneath. When Miss Glass came back Mrs. Kelly was not there and she hoped that she had changed their plans. But the head governess arrived just as she recognized her winter nightgown “Who was in my wardrobe?” “That was Miss Bell but on MY orders. Ah, I see, you have found what I asked for” Mrs. Kelly had also seen the flannel nightgown on the bed and touched the fabric. “It is seven seventeen already and you are still not changed and in bed. Miss Glass started to remove her long scarf which she had worn the whole day over her turtlenecks and her velvet dress. “Miss Bell, you were a witness when I gave Miss Glass her orders. Did I say anything about removing the scarf?” “No Mrs. Kelly, definitely not” “So I wonder if my orders are in Chinese or what’s wrong with them?”

Miss Glass had just finished rewinding the scarf and stopped after she had heard the questions. She started to wrap the scarf around her neck but was stopped again. “No, as you have already removed it, lay the scarf on the bed, remove your dress and get dressed in your nightgown” With this order she left the room for some minutes and returned with several items. Miss Glass was standing next to her bed, with the bed-cover removed and her duvet revealed as she was used to in her youth. Mrs. Kelly handed her a mug of hot tea. “Here, a ‘goodnight cup’ for you, but hurry, as you have already earned this blanket as a ‘reward’ for your delay.” She opened a thick velour blanket and laid it on the bed. Miss Glass recognized the same smell as for the girl’s tea and knew that it was lime blossom and not a ‘goodnight mixture’ but she tried to ignore the taste and drank it as quickly as possible.

“Now, my dear, I will wrap you in the blanket and fix it with your own scarf. This will help you in the future to fulfill orders to the word. After the young women had laid down in the middle of the large blanket and allowed the head governess to wrap her from both sides and from head to toe tightly the scarf was wrapped around the neck and head and pressed the blanket against the face. Then the duvet was placed up to the woman´s invisible nose and tucked in from both sides. At the end came the bed-cover, as in all rooms a heavy wool blanket, back over the whole bed. “Miss Bell will help you to leave your bed and get ready in the morning at two fifteen. Until that time I do not want you to move. Do you understand me?” “Yes, Mrs. Kelly” came the muffled answer from under the bed-cover, the scarf and the velour blanket. “Good girl! Miss Bell, please do not disturb your colleague until her shift begins. And now have a good night” None of the junior governesses knew that the tea was again prepared with the herbal only stimulant that would dope Miss Glass instead of making her sleepy. But Miss Glass already felt the lime blossom blend doing its job as she started to sweat much more than just because the warm layers. Before Mrs. Kelly left the bedroom room she whispered to Miss Bell. You will keep an eye on her when you are in the room. If she moves or tries to get out before her shift you will report it to me in private tomorrow.” “Of course, Mrs. Kelly” was the answer and Miss Bell wondered what she would observe and what she would report in the morning. Would it be the same?