The Loden-Twins 7-10

Chapter seven - the Rebellion Continues

The three governesses entered the room and Mrs. Hunter was pleased to see her girl standing at the ordered place. She knew that both girls had violated the order of silence but she had also heard, via the hidden microphone in the room, that Katharina tried to convince her sister to obey the orders, and that she still wore all of the clothing that Mrs. Hunter had dressed her in, something that was not the case with Angelica.

Mrs. Kent was angry and could not hide this as well as Mrs. Kelly. “Stand up!!” Mrs. Kent shouted, and Angelica rose slowly while Katharina curtseyed, maybe not as deeply as required and without bowing her head, but at least she attempted to do the right thing.

“Miss Angelica” Mrs. Kelly started with calm voice “I believe you have confirmed you read the rules from your folder, didn´t you?” “Maybe, but …” “NO, young lady, there is NOTHING like ‘but’ required in your answer” Mrs. Kelly interrupted the girl angrily. Although she did not shout or have angry body language, her tone made the girl stop. “Next question, and this time only a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, anything else will be counted as additional misbehavior. And I warn you, your account is already well filled. So, have you been told that it is absolutely forbidden to touch your clothes or make any changes that have not been ordered, especially for the purpose to give you any relief?” Angelica considered for a moment. She tried to get eye contact with her sister, but Mrs. Kelly corrected her sharply. “Look at me when I talk to you and answer my question. Have you been informed or better warned to refrain from this?” “Yes . . . Mrs. Kelly” she finally said, playing with the scarves in her hand.

“So you are aware of the fact that removing the scarves, the balaclava and your gloves are three misdemeanors? Sitting down and chatting are numbers three and four, incorrect salutation and wrong behavior during my inquiry takes the total to more than half a dozen. Good performance for such a short period” she ended with biting sarcasm. “I believe we need to adjust your outfit before we can start with the lesson.” She turned around and whispered something to Mrs. Kent. The governess left the room and returned a few minutes later with Miss Bell, who carried several items from Angelica’s wardrobe.

“Here we go, Miss Angelica” Mrs. Kelly commented on the next actions. The girl was surrounded by the three women who showed that they would bend the girls will with physical strength if required. “Before we start to complete your outfit you need a stronger reminder to keep silent” With this Mrs. Kelly raised a gag for the girl´s mouth. Angelica did not recognize it as she had never seen an inflatable gag with a soft leather stripe and a strap before. “Open your mouth” was the sharp order and just as the girl opened her mouth to ask ‘why’ the gag was pushed between her lips. Mrs. Kent took the strap and buckled it closed behind the girls head. “Don’t dare to touch it” Mrs. Kelly said as she squeezed the bulb attached to the front of the gag, the action quickly expanding the rubber bladder in the girls mouth until she could not make any sound. “Now we will open the backward zipper of your dress as we need to push the balaclava you wore before back under your turtleneck. Mrs. Glass, please leave the turtleneck folded just one time before you pull on the second balaclava” Mrs. Kelly ordered while watching Angelica for any sign of protest. The girl realized that any protest, any kind of misbehavior at all would end in disaster so she stood still and just let them go, although it meant, that the double layer of the thick turtleneck covered her upper part of the face including her nose. A balaclava matching the one she was wearing except the fact that this model had only a small eye slit was the next item that Angelica was made to wear. “Now, Miss Bell, please wrap the scarf as firmly as possible around her face, cover the nose, mouth and neck as tightly as you can” Angelica wanted to step back but Mrs. Kent was standing behind her and made sure the girl did not raise her arms. “Pull the end of the scarf at her back into the dress before closing the zipper” was the next order issued. It was hard work because of the edges of the additional balaclava and parts of the scarf that had to fit into the collar now. But as wool can be firmly pressed together it worked. Angelica wanted to raise her arm because she felt strangled by the collar now but Mrs. Kent stopped her and the girl gave up. “Now pull on your gloves and then this second pair. This time they were not thin Angora wool but a little bit thicker quality. Now get off your boots” Angelica did as she was told although it was a challenge to open the zipper with two pairs of woolen gloves. “Take this one instead” Mrs. Kelly ordered, and Miss Glass handed her a pair of winter boots lined with sheep fur and closed with strings instead of a zipper.

It took Angelica some time to close the boots to Mrs. Kelly’s satisfaction and she was able to straighten herself. “Now just two more items then we can start with the lesson” Mrs. Kelly said as Mrs. Kent held a thick woolen coat open and helped her in. Miss Glass closed every button from knee to neck and Mrs. Kelly pulled the tight hood over the girls already well covered head. A second scarf, longer and thicker than the one that was already wrapped around her neck and face was fitted, pressing the hood firmly against her checks. Now the girl could not keep still any longer. Adding to the tightness of the collar was the feeling that she was suffocating due to the many tight layers of thick wool covering her nose and her inability to breathe through her mouth because of the gag.

But the governess showed no mercy. “Stand still or everything will get worse, and trust me there is room for improvement in this direction!” Angelica did as requested although she felt terrible. Except for her eyes every inch of her body was covered in several layers of the hottest wool and the loden dress was so stiff and heavy she could hardly move. And then there was the gag! She had never in her life imagined the possibility she would ever be forced to wear a gag, but obviously none of the governesses seemed to be astonished when Mrs. Kelly forced the seemingly small thing in her mouth. And now, with two balaclavas, a turtleneck and two scarves over her face she saw no chance of removing it. “How shall I talk to grandma?” she thought watching her twin sister receiving a long grey scarf. “You Miss Katharina are behaving reasonably well. Not perfect but we can see you are trying. Nobody expected you to be perfect on the first day. But you talked with your twin sister during the order of silence, and therefore you will wrap this scarf around your face as tightly as you can.” Mrs. Kelly ordered and, with a little curtsey, took the scarf and obeyed the order while making as little noise as she could, saying only “Yes, Mrs. Kelly”.

“Good Ladies. Now we are ready for the real reason for being here. You will find paper and a pen on your standing desk. To begin with, Katharina you will read your rules in a clear and audible voice. What you say will be recorded and then replayed from this loudspeaker. You will then both write them down, yes, I know this will be extremely difficult while wearing woolen gloves or, in Angelica’s case, two pairs, but this is your challenge. The writing has to be legible and without errors. In the case that one of you fail, in either form or content of the text, you will both repeat the whole task, as only perfect sheets will be stored in your folder. To write this text will become a daily routine for you, every morning and evening. And of course if ordered as a punishment you will write it maybe ten or a hundred times. So for each year without punishments you will have a folder with more than two thousand sheets. By the end of your education, and assuming that we can add fifty percent as expected punishment exercises, you will write your rules more than ten thousand times. By that time you will hopefully known them by heart then and you will remember them even at three in the morning without any difficulty if asked to recite them. Now Miss Katharina, please begin reading clearly and audibly.”

Katharina took the folder and started reading. At first she got muddled, excused herself and started again. It was uncomfortable to talk with the thick balaclava over her mouth and the long scarf in similar quality wrapped over her whole face, just leaving a small slit between the scarf and the hem of the balaclava. But she finally managed it and after she had put the folder away she took the fountain pen and looked at her twin sister, or at least at the massive wool covered person next to her. She could see that Angelica had opened her fountain pen and was trying to look at the sheet of paper in front of her, a task not made any easier by the scarves wrapped around her head. She looked desperately to her sister and then to Mrs. Kelly but she just nodded and Katharina´s voice came from the loudspeaker.

1. All my thoughts, words and doings are known by GOD, so I must always remember that I might try to hide them from authorities but I can never hide them from HIM
2. If my doings, my words or even my thoughts fail in the eyes of GOD, I deserve a punishment.
3. ….

” The girls did their best, but they were not used to writing with a fountain pen. In addition Angelica found it a big problem to keep the pen in the correct position as the second pair of gloves was made of thick pure new wool. Katharina had spoken as slowly as possible but her voice had been recorded on a PC with Audacity, a freeware tool that allows change to the speed of an audio file during playback. After some lines Mrs. Kelly had a short look at both sheets without stopping the playback and it was obvious that the form was far away from ‘perfect’ but she did not say a word but waited until the text had ended. Then she took Angelica’s sheet, said succinctly “this form is unacceptable. Please begin again.” Then she took Katharina’s sheet which was better, but also not perfect and threw both in the trash basket. After two more trials the girls, especially Angelica became unsettled. Her new boots had much higher heels than she was used to and standing motionless for such a long period was an additional challenge to the heat and the restrictions.

Mrs. Kelly seemed to accept this as she said “Well, still far away from perfect, but maybe you need a little rest?” Angelica nodded enthusiastically and wanted to sit down on the nearest chair but Katarina just waited. “Oh no, not here my dear, I believe you can relax better in your chamber of reflection. Please Mrs. Kent and Mrs. Hunter, would you guide the girls to this room, let them kneel in front of the crucifixes on each side. They can pray and reflect on their behavior and the results of their efforts both under the role of total silence” The girls were happy to leave the sticky room not aware what was waiting for them. The twins had to kneel down shoulder by shoulder, but each of them looking in opposite directions. Both heaters where still turned off and so the twins just starred at the crucifix on the wall above the heater. This ceiling was not as high as normal and after the twins had knelt down shoulder by shoulder the heaters had been moved forward on rollers until the boots of each girl nearly touched the heater. The girls heard a click but could not see that their heels had been locked to a bar on the front of each the heater. But it was evident that they could not stand up or change their position. Pleased with the situation Mrs. Kelly took the remote control and decided that level three of ten would do it for the beginning. “As I said, girls, you are under the ‘rule of silence’. That means not a word or the smallest noise from the one who can speak until we decide your reflection phase has finished. Did I make myself clear?” “Yes Mrs. Kelly” Katharina said overawed. Mrs. Kelly waited some seconds. “And you, Miss Angelica? And don´t worry about your gag, in this situation a simple nod will suffice.” Angelica hesitated for some seconds as she realized that she was kneeling in front of an electric heater that had now been turned on. Hypnotized by the red fake fire and the beginning heat she nodded without looking up. “Very well, then I do not expect you to ‘enjoy you stay her’ but use it wise” the governess said and left the room. The click told them, that this was also a locked door also without any means of opening it from their side, but this was not their major problem. Angelica was the first to try and get her feet out from the bar at the heater that warmed her back and her sister was looking on. Soon she realized that her boots where somehow locked in place and due to the tight lacing she had no chance to move her feet. Sitting back on her heels, what she normally did when kneeling did not work without nearly touching the heater at her back. Moving forward was impossible because of the heater in front of her, and moving sideways was prevented by the locked boots. All she could do was move her head and look into her sisters eyes. What she saw there was a mirror of her own horror she was feeling. Even with three woolen tights and a loden dress it would soon hurt to kneel in this upright position.

Suddenly the door opened again and Miss Bell entered the room unfolding two thick black fake fur blankets. “Mrs. Kelly had forgotten that girls in disgrace, and that applies to both of you at this time, get hidden, as nobody wants to see them. Therefore she sent me with these blankets, one for each of you. But as you are twins, I will put them together and then place them over both of you. I believe sisters are used to sharing, so you can share the blankets as well.” With this she lowered the two blankets over both bodies and due to their kneeling pose it reached the ground on both sides. “One last thing, ladies: I have placed the blankets exactly in the center and marked the position. If the position is different when we return, you …. Well it is better you do not know, I don’t want to frighten you. And don’t moan, because you are under the rule of silence and the blanket is protecting you from the heat. See you” On the one side Miss Kent was right, for a short time the heater did not feel so unbearable. But as soon as the blankets had heated up it became even worse. Angelica was sure she would faint soon because of lack of fresh air, and also Katharina was on her limit. Then she heard her own voice again

1. All my thoughts, words and doings are known by GOD, so I must always remember, that I might try to hide them from authorities, but I can never hide them from HIM
2. If my doings, my words or even my thoughts fail in the eyes of GOD, I deserve a punishment.
3. ….

At first both girls counted how many times they listened to the text, but at some point they lost the number and any feeling for time. “All my thoughts, words and doings are known by GOD ….” At every new start the words got deeper and deeper embedded in their minds.

Chapter eight - 5 o’clock Tea with the Grandparents

The girls would be made to endure no more than forty minutes under the blankets because Mrs. Kelly knew that they would need some time before the scheduled teatime at four-thirty, but the twins did not know that and for them it felt a lot longer. It was pitch black under the black blankets and so they lost all notion of time. After short time they would have loved to have been able to see the heater again and feel the heat from the backwards standing one on their wool covered body if they could escape the darkness and sticky atmosphere under the blankets. However there was no way to escape, the bar that held the ankles and heels of their boots firmly on the ground made it impossible. So they waited and all they could do was to listen to the continual repeating of the rules.

When Mrs. Kelly and her team entered the room Miss Bell checked the placement of the blankets. “I believe they moved a little bit” Miss Bell said although there was no real evidence. “That’s not true, we did not move an inch” a totally exhausted Katharina exclaimed from beneath the blankets. “Katharina, you disappoint me. You are still under the rule of silence” Mrs. Kelly said in a stern voice. “I am afraid you need a wool lined dress and another pair of thick knitted tights like your sisters. Then she pointed to the girls and both junior governesses removed the heavy blankets, folded them and placed them on a nearby shelf. “All right ladies, I hope you have reflected on the day so far, and regret your failures. And I hope you have learned the lesson as well. You can prove that right now, as you will get changed and meet your grandparents for a cup of tea.

But I’ll warn you now that all of the conversation will be coming from your grandparents. You will answer honestly and in the most polite way you can. If you are asked if you feel hot or uncomfortable in your new clothes you may answer honestly. They are warm and you will need time to acclimatize but you are to show willing to do so as you see the need to perfect young ladies that behave well in the eyes of our Lord and the eyes of your guardians. You will confirm that we do understand each other very well and that you trust in the experience of your governesses that they will guide you to your destiny. Is that clear for you Katharina?” “Yes, Mrs. Kelly” came the answer from the girl, weak but loud and clear. “And you, Angelica?” The girl hesitated again, but then she nodded, her first sign of resignation.

“Very well, then let´s get you changed. As you will not be wearing balaclavas your hair will need styling, or would it be better if we washed it?” she asked her team. “What if they both wear one of these light angora caps? They look nice and they would hide their sweat soaked hair” Miss Bell said. “That’s a very good idea my dear, same as the Velcro you mentioned before. It is a pleasure to have creative people in the team” Mrs. Kelly said with a smile. “So ladies get dressed in a more formal manner. Angelica your gag will be removed together with your balaclavas and the scarves. You will also wear just one pair of gloves but you will still wear the additional knitted tights and the wool lined dress. And for you Katharina, as you did not remember the rule of silence, you will change into an outfit similar to that of your sister.

Thirty minutes later the girls were ready to meet their grandparents in the living room. Both girls wore now light pink turtlenecks under their grey dresses and, as both dresses were lined with thick wool, Katharina now felt how it must have been for her sister during the preceding hours.

“A last warning ladies. I expect absolutely perfect manners including a curtsey to your guardians and devout behavior. Everything less than that and I will excuse you for today. The long journey and all the news must have made you tired. It would take less than thirty minutes to have you in bed, and believe me, you could not be tired enough to sleep well in your punishment night gowns”

Katharina was scared. She did not want to imagine what they would have to endure during the night if her plan to get help from her grandmother failed. What if she did not understand or thought the girls were exaggerating? What if Mrs. Kelly should stop them before they could explain the major points, and even scarier was thinking about what might happen if her grandparents agreed with the way they were being treated or worse yet were the originators? The options of a successful outcome seemed less and less as more possible scenarios passed through her head, all of which would end in a continuing nightmare rather than in ‘freedom’ and light clothing. From a quick glance Katharina could read that her sister felt more confident. Throughout their dressing the twins had been kept separated and on the way to see their grandparents had not been permitted to speak with each other.

When they entered the room, tea was already served. “Ah, perfect timing my dears. Tea has just arrived, please have a seat and join us for tea and biscuits. The governesses drew back to leave the family alone but Mr. Blackwood, who felt that the girls needed their head governess nearby invited Mrs. Kelly to stay with them. “That’s very kind of you Sir. I hope the girls do not feel restrained by my presence. I have just mentioned to them that they should be as honest as ever, because there is nothing to hide. Didn’t I say that, Katharina?” “Yes, Mrs. Kelly, you did tell us to be honest” the girl confirmed. “But first” Mrs. Kelly said as she led the girls nearer to the chairs “Show your respect to your grandparents ladies”

Although the girls felt ridiculous in their winter dresses with all the wool beneath they both curtseyed and Katharina said “Grandfather, Grandmother, it is nice to see you” “It´s a pleasure to see you my dear. Please take a seat, all of you” Mr. Blackwood answered in a friendly tone. Mrs. Blackwood had risen from her seat and remained motionless. Then she stepped forward until she stood just two feet in front of the twins. The girls realized that the old lady was crying silently. “Is something wrong, grandma? Did we do something wrong?” Katharina asked with empathy while Mrs. Kelly wondered if she had made some mistake with the outfits of the girls. “No, no. Not at all my dear. I . . . it is just …you must excuse me, I am overwhelmed by memories. Seeing you in your mother’s outfits and even acting like her, it is like twenty years ago. You are the perfect copies of your mother, MY Maria. And this all in a double pack. I mean just one of you would be like getting my girl back, and now we have two of you. It is . . . I can just thank God for this gift. It is a gift to get a second chance in life. Since I knew I would live with you in our home my greatest wish is to stay wealthy long enough to see you growing up and spend time with you” With this words she hugged both girls and whispered “Welcome home my love”. Then she stepped back and found her countenance.”But let´s sit down, please”

Katharina curtseyed again and took a chair, Angelica wanted to sit near to her grandmother to have the chance to whisper to her if possible, but Mrs. Kelly stepped forward and took the nearest chair to Mrs. Blackwood for herself. First they made the usual small talk, like how do you like your room, and do you think you will like your governesses? The girls answered as ordered by Mrs. Kelly. They found it awkward that she had been invited to stay for a cup of tea as they had hoped to talk to their grandparents in private. When the conversation came to their new clothes Mrs. Kelly looked at the girls faces. “Well, to be honest grandmother it is very hot under all these layers and . . .” Angelica started, before she made the mistake of raising her head and met Mrs. Kelly’s steel grey eyes. This look of Mrs. Kelly made her change the words she had in mind “. . . and we will definitely need time to get used to them, along with all the rules and so on. It is hard and we were wondering if this is necessary. I mean all the heat, the chamber of reflection, the blankets and so?”

Angelica had not dared to describe what they had to endure in the chamber of reflection as she had intended but she hoped that talking about the chamber and the blanket would produce interest. As soon as her grandparents would ask for details she would ‘have’ to be honest as ordered by the head governess. Then she could tell about the unbearable heat and the sticky atmosphere they had to endure under the blankets without violating any rules. To her great disappointment it was her grandfather who answered the question. “We can believe that it might be strange to you and even the fact that your mother was very familiar with a ‘chamber of reflection’ in her youth must not mean that she educated you in the same tradition. Your question tells us that she did not. But that does not mean it is wrong. Your governesses will help you to understand that young girls of your age need those restrictions for their salvation”

“But . . .” Angelica began but the firm grasp from Mrs. Kelly on her shoulder made her stop. “Miss Angelica, it is very disrespectful to interrupt an adult” and to her boss she said “Please Sir, excuse her, she might be tired from the exhausting day and forgot her manners. Would you kindly continue?” “Well, as I was saying, we believe it is the best for you and you can trust in the word of Mrs. Kelly as it would come from your grandmother or me.” “But what if it is cruel and . . .” Katharina dared to ask now as she saw that her grandfather did not see the point. “IF something is cruel, I will be the first to protect you my dear” Mrs. Kelly again interrupted the other twin. “Some methods might be, let´s say, no amusement or even uncomfortable at least at the beginning until you get used to it. But I can assure all of you, that nobody will be cruel to you. Strict? Yes! Rigid? Definitely as you need rules you can trust in! Uncomfortable? May be sometimes, but cruel? Never!” “Well said, Mrs. Kelly” Mr. Blackwood agreed and looked at his wife who was obviously not totally convinced.

“Thank you Sir, but now I hope you will not be too disappointed if we leave. I would also like you to excuse us at dinner. For the young ladies it has been a really an exciting day and they need some rest. A good night’s sleep in a cozy bed and they will be ready to face a new day. Angelica desperately looked for a reason to stay but her grandfather obviously agreed with their leaving. The girl looked at her sister and both realized that they had, at least for today, lost. They had not been able to convince their grandparents of the unbearable restrictions they had to deal with, and even worth, the ‘cozy bed’ comment from Mrs. Kelly was a clear message that the governess had warned the girls and they had disobeyed. The twins slowly rose, curtseyed and said good night to their grandparents then the left the room and went upstairs, followed by an angry governess that thought about the consequences for their disobedience. 

Chapter nine - Early bed time

Mrs. Kelly quickly informed the other governesses by during which time the twins had to stand in the study room. They were under the rule of silence again but this did not prevent Angelica from talking. “We should have both insisted on a discussion about this pure madness. I cannot believe what’s going on here. I mean, okay we are not adults yet but does that mean they can do with us whatever they want?” “Scht. Be quiet. You know they can hear us?” warned Katharina. “But I don’t care, they will punish us anyway. Just for telling the truth and asking to be treated like teenagers and not five year old kids” “But these are our rules and for now we cannot do anything else than obey I am afraid” “So YOU are already convinced that this is the best for us to find to God and so on?” Angelica said in sarcastic tone, imitating Mrs. Kelly. “I BELIEVE in God as our Mom had taught us, and it is my free will to pray and to follow HIS word or the Bible. But our rulebook IS NOT the Bible.” With these words Angelica took her folder and threw it with all her strength against the closed door. “And you think that helps?” her twin sister asked her. “Not on the issue, but it is a relief for me” was the honest answer.

“What do you think, shall we just put them in a standard sleeping gown, fully closed over their heads of course, or shall we use one of the nice sleeping bags the girls have inherited from their mother?” the head governess asked after it was agreed to put them to bed as soon as possible instead of taking them to the chamber of reflection for another session. It was again Miss Bell who had a comment on that. “Well, we all know about the effect of the standard sleeping gown and if they are made to wear a fully closed balaclava beneath this would be a good lesson for the girls. But I have also seen that the girls own a mass of wonderful blankets and we have had delivered some very large German quality electric blankets that are big enough to totally enclose them. A problem would be that they will not fit inside the sleeping gowns and they would isolate the body heat inside, but also everything else we could wrap around their bodies outside.

The electric blankets would do a very god job if worn in conjunction with one of the wool lined mummy down sleeping bags. If we dress them appropriate in wooly underwear and wrap them in some of their normal blankets they would still feel the heat from the electric blanket on top of this. “That is a really good argument, Miss Bell” the head governess agreed. For tonight they will think that they are nearer to hell than expected. For this, the electric blankets can do a good job. As you proposed they will be dressed nice and warm, maybe a little bit itchy too, depends on their behavior now, then wrapped in some sheep wool blankets and fixed with leather straps, maybe with some scarves at their necks to make sure the blankets are well closed. We will then place them on one electric blanket and wrap them in before we close the sleeping bag firmly.” Mrs. Kelly decided.

“But what is about the electric cable? Won’t it be dangerous if this runs beside the girl´s neck where it comes out of the bag?” It was Miss Glass who worried about the girl´s health and although she agreed that the girls deserved a punishment, she sympathized with them as she could imagine how hot it would become inside of the sheep wool down mummy bag along with an electric blanket.

While Mrs. Kelly was wondering if this was a valid concern, Miss Bell had the solution. “We could place them in the sleeping bag upside down! The girls are not too tall to fit in the bag without using the hood, so the closed thermal collar would be the ‘hem’ of their sleeping gown and then the cable could come out from this ‘hem’ at the girl´s feet. A side effect would be that the bag would become tighter on the upper body as mummy bags have a smaller size for the feet, but I believe WE could live with this.” she smiled sardonically.

“A perfect idea my dear. This is the most effective and most secure solution”. We just need to define the rest of their outfits then each team can take care of their ward.

“As they will have to spend the first night without a night corset they could stay without one of the corselets tonight as well. This will allow them to feel some itchy underwear over their whole bodies. I have seen some from the existing wardrobe. Turtlenecks and knitted leggings made from Shetland wool I think. At least it felt like that, and it felt scratchy on my hand when I touched it. Please check if both girls have the same set, including balaclavas then a pair of normal thick tights made of sheep wool and a balaclava plus turtleneck dress of the same quality down to the ankles”

“Mrs. Kelly, may I ask a question?” Miss Bell said at this point. “Of course, what is it?” “I have checked the night gowns Miss Katharina had inherited from her mother, and although most are made from cotton or wool I found some with an attached hood made from fleece. Polar fleece if I am not wrong. This would be a good middle layer for all this wool and as an extra benefit they have zippers from shoulder to each wrist to fix their arms in the correct position at each side of her body. But of course if this is too hot or you have other plans . . .” Miss Bell looked at the head governess as humbly as possible, knowing that ‘too hot’ would not exclude the proposal. “Miss Bell, I see you have the right requirements to become a head governess one day” Mrs. Kelly smiled and said. “Well ladies, that´s it. The Polar fleece nightgown with closed zippers before one of their thick blankets, then into their sleeping bag and wrapped in the electric blankets before closing them. I’ll leave it up to you how many scarves are required to remind them of the rule of silence.” Mrs. Kelly said to end her little speech.

Mrs. Kent, Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Kelly went to the study room to tell the girls the good news that they have no more ‘reflections’ to do before bedtime and sent them to the bathroom. In the meantime Miss Glass and Miss Bell prepared the sleeping bags with the blankets and the outfits for the night. “Why do you make such proposals?” Miss Glass asked as they prepared the sleeping bags. “What do you mean by ‘such’?” “You know what I mean. You seem to take pleasure in suggesting even harder sanctions for the girls than Mrs. Kelly, or at least you try to top it. And I wonder why, as your girl is definitely the one with the better behavior. Miss Katharina has not given you any reason to punish her even harder than Mrs. Kelly.” In a disgusted tone Miss Kent answered. “You know that we are not in the position to punish the girls. And as Mrs. Kelly wants to treat them equal for bedtime I cannot see what the behavior of one of the girls has to do with that” “That’s not the answer to my question. WHY do you want to let them suffer even more than they already have due to the hard and nearly unbearable rules and punishments from our head governess?”

“So you mean that our head governess is incompetent and the girls do not deserve what she has decided for them? Very interesting. Maybe we should discuss that with Mrs. Kelly?” “You know that I did not mean that, the girls deserved punishment and they need to be treated strictly to find to God and accommodate them into our society, but from my point of view she goes near to the limit in terms of what the girls can handle. And YOU try to top it and cross the red line.” “What is the ‘red line’ from your point of view?” Mrs. Kent asked in a sarcastic tone. “To propose an electric blanket and a sheep wool lined down sleeping bag, or put TWO thick blankets over the girls as sign of disgrace instead of one. Such things could be more the girls can endure, and then they will not learn from their punishment but only think when does it end or how can I escape”.

After a pause of several seconds Mrs. Kent answered. “And didn´t you see what happened after the girls had spent a lousy forty minutes under TWO blankets? Miss Katharina broke the rule of silence at the first possible moment.” “And did you really see any change in the position of the blankets” Miss Glass asked skeptically. “That´s NOT the point in this situation. They have to wait until they get released and even in case they got punished for something she did not do it is still her duty to obey. And that is what Mrs. Kelly wants to teach our Misses. Not more but also for their salvation NOTHING LESS. And if you cannot support this you should tell Mrs. Kelly and quit the job. Now, please excuse me, I have to prepare the night gown for Miss Katharina, and you would be well advised to do the same for Miss Angelica, and do not try to get thinner wool items than decided, I would see the difference”

Miss Glass finished preparing the two blankets in the mummy bag and left the room to search for the appropriate turtlenecks, knitted leggings and tights, balaclavas and the polar fleece night gown to put it on the girls ‘dressing table’. Miss Kent did the same in the room for Miss Katharina and during the search for the Shetland wool items Mrs. Kelly had ordered as first layer she thought about the question of Miss Glass. Her colleague was right with her guess. There was more than the wish to become a head governess some days and more than just fulfilling the orders of Mrs. Kelly.

Miss Bell found and picked up the required items and as she laid them properly on the dressing table she went back in her own childhood. Memories came up that let her drag on her own collar, although there was no turtleneck and no layers of the thickest of underwear below her velvet dress. But this was not always the way she got dressed in the past. It all started at the age of sixteen. Her mother had died one year before from inflammation on the lungs. She was always weak and very often sick. During a stay in hospital her shape got worse and the lung inflammation in addition was too much for her. Since that time her father had given the strictest direction to her guardian to make sure she is ‘properly’ dressed to prevent any type of slight cold. One cold day in January she had to dress herself for school and go home on her own because her nanny was sick. It was one of the rare times they had snow. Her father was always afraid the girl could dress too lightly and her guardian had to always dress her in warmer clothing than her friends. But this day her father was at work, her guardian had to stay in bed to prevent a contamination and Miss Kent saw her chance to spend ONE day in clothes that would not make her sweat in the classroom the whole time. By the end of school she even played with her friends in the snow without wearing her extra balaclava and the scarves, instead of going home immediately as required. Then she had to hurry to catch up the delay which would have bought a punishment. Her dress was wet from snow that found its way through the collar of her coat and her underwear was soaked in sweat from rushing home. Normally, being sweaty resulted in a change into fresh even thicker clothes or an extra thick wool coat and a comforter to prevent a cold. But this time she could not confess her wet clothes without telling the reason, so she stayed in her clothes for the whole evening.

As her body was not hardened as she was always overprotected and it was flu season it was bound to happen. She got sick, and by the end of the week she had a slight inflammation in her lungs. Her body was young and she was not really in danger of losing her life but her father and her guardian where so concerned that they brought her to hospital. There they had to follow the doctor´s advice NOT to bury her under tons of thick blankets. Before she left hospital - almost recovered - she was allowed to be visited by her best friend Isabelle. As she swore her to secrecy Miss Bell told her the real reason for her sickness. Her friend was shocked that she did not confess it to her father but swore again to keep the secret.

Later at home Isabelle obviously changed her mind, broke her oath and told her mother whod informed Miss Bell´s family the next day. On this day Miss Bell was coming home from hospital and required no more strict bed rest. She hated the thought of having to go home as this meant she would be dressed in her standard outfit again or even a little bit warmer as she must be weak and would need extra protection.

She will never in her life forget the unbelievable amount of warm clothes she found on her bed when she entered her room. She desperately asked for a reduction as this was too much, even after a sickness. But she was told that she must not see this as only a protection to keep her body secure from coldness, but as the bill for the reason she got sick.

Apart from going to school she spent the following three months in disgrace sitting on a fireside bench with her headphones on listening to the Bible while hidden under a thick blanket. From that day she never wore less than three thick layers of underwear and up to six layers in total. She wondered that if after marriage she would end up under the same regime with her father instructing her governess to go with her and take care of her dressing for her whole life, she decided to become a governess and swore to herself never to trust anyone or have mercy on any teenager she would be responsible for and that she would ‘pay back’ what she had on her bill for just twenty minutes in the snow. She went to a boarding school for two years to become a certified governess and although this was not what her father had in mind for her future, she finished the school with honors. Her excellent grades brought her the job as junior governess at the Blackwood’s, although she had no references to present.

At her interview with Mrs. Kelly she did not mention her own experiences with extra warm clothes as something negative although she had hated it and never accommodated to it. She stopped dressing so ridiculously warm at the boarding school although it was obvious that her father had given some advice to the teacher there but she mainly wore the standard outfit plus some extra cardigans or woolen tights. This was still uncomfortable but nothing in comparison with her outfit for nearly three years until she left her home to live in the governess training college. Instead of telling the truth about her fate, she mentioned at her interview with Mrs. Kelly how important it is to keep young girls not only warm and protected, but overheated most of the time, as this will reduce their intention to clamor or behave in a way that is not ladylike. “Better one layer too many than one too less my own governess used to say and I can prove from my own childhood that she is right. You think twice before behaving imperfectly if you already feel the heat, you might endure twice if you fail.” This convinced Mrs. Kelly that Miss Bell was the right person to join her team.

“Ladies, please listen carefully” Mrs. Kelly said entering the study room. “I have warned you not to bring shame on yourselves, and so onto us as well. Of course we have just started with your education but you both confirmed you had read your rules, and I warned you to show your best behavior. Do you think you did that?” “Mrs. Kelly, you ordered us to tell the truth, and we did nothing else” Katharina replied as advocate for both girls. “So neither of you interrupted Mr. Blackwood during his speech to you, and neither of you dared to predict you are treated cruelly?” “But . . .” “NO, there is no ‘but’ at this stage. Did YOU, Angelica interrupt your grandfather as he explained to you the need of a strict education for young girls, and did you, Katharina dare to predict your treatment is cruel? Is the answer YES or NO Miss Katharina?” The girl gave up “Yes Mrs. Kelly”. “And you, Angelica?” “It was a . . .” “Shut your mouth!” Mrs. Kelly shouted. “It was a rhetorical question as I was a witness to your fault. Till this stage I thought it was your sister who deserved the harder punishment as her question about being treated cruelly was outrageous. But with your contradiction now you are equal again. You will be sent to bed after a short stay in the bathroom. This means your bedtime will start at exactly six o’clock. As you have your first appointment tomorrow at eleven in the morning we can allow you to rest until nine o’clock. This will give you fifteen hours in total to rest, think about your failures today and hopefully make plans for better behavior tomorrow.

You will follow your governess to the bathroom and when finished there go to your wardrobe where your outfits for the night have been prepared. You are under the rule of silence from now on and every word or any kind of sound, will result in additional punishment. Did I make myself clear?” This time both girls answered with “Yes Mrs. Kelly” without hesitating. “Good. You will say your night prayers fully dressed kneeling in front of your bed. I hope it is clear that you will not show any hesitation during being dressed or laid to bed. I will come at six to say goodnight to you. Mrs. Kent, Mrs. Hunter, the girls are yours”

The twins went to the bathroom and when both were ready each governess guided her own charge to the separate dressing rooms. As they cleaned their teeth they had a short chat. “What do you think will happen now?” Angelica whispered. “What do you expect they will dress us in? Hot wool and wrap us in wool blankets and let us boil in our own sweat for fifteen hours? What else?” “And what if we refuse to get dressed in wool for the night?” “Do you really think that works? I am afraid we have to pay the bill for failure when we tried to get help from our grandparents. Maybe we need to talk to grandma alone next time” “Good idea. Hope ‘next time’ is soon, because I cannot guarantee I can stand this treatment very long” Angelica agreed that they had to hope that the night would not be too hot and wait for another chance.

So the girls obeyed and went to their dressing rooms. Getting undressed was no problem and the girls appreciated removing the corselets as well. But then they got to the Shetland turtleneck, the Shetland knitted leggings and the balaclava and both girls forgot their ‘rule of silence’ at this moment. “That’s no nightgown” “Nobody wears this on bare skin, it itches like hell” but the governesses showed no mercy. Now the twins could see the next layer only through the stitches of the fully closed balaclava. They could however feel that the next layer was made from thick wool although they were given woolen gloves first to put on first. The last layer made them totally blind as the polar fleece nightgown had an attached hood that was closed at the back of their heads. They where guided into the bedroom and the zipper of the nightgown was closed. They had to kneel in front of their beds and do their night prayers. Then they had to lie on their backs and felt a thick blanket wrapped tightly around their bodies. Next were some linen belts at ankles, waist and elbows followed by a woolen scarf wrapped around the neck. Both girls moaned softly but the only effect was that the last loop of the scarf got bound around the mouth and nose. “For disobeying the rule of silence you got the scarf, for your general disobedience you will now be wrapped into electric blankets. They will stay turned on for the whole night and we hope this will teach you to obey your rules tomorrow.” Mrs. Hunter said when Mrs. Kelly just entered the bedroom. “Well said, Mrs. Hunter, I can see, you are in good time, its twelve minutes before six.” “Shall we wait before closing the sleeping bags and turning on the blankets” Miss Glass asked as she felt mercy for the girls in their extreme punishment. “Not at all, an additional twelve minutes may not be the world but learning to do the right thing can never begin early enough.” Within a minute the bags were closed and due to the tight fit the girls realized that they had been plugged into a sleeping bag top down. “The blankets have six levels of heating. I would say let’s start with level five and lower it in four hours to level three. That leaves room in both directions and if you earn it with perfect behavior in the future the blankets might stay turned off for the whole night. Goodnight Ladies, sleep well, or if not well then at least have an instructive night.”

With those last remarks the shutters at the windows were closed and the light was turned off. The room was in complete darkness and as the windows had not been opened the sticky and hot air from the day was still in the room. Mrs. Kelly and Miss Kent were extremely satisfied with the conditions and smiled as they firmly closed the door. 

Chapter ten - First Morning

The governesses had a relaxed evening as they just needed to check the bedroom from time to time. For ‘safety reasons’ there was a microphone in all of the rooms the girls used so Mrs. Kelly could also listen to the noises coming from the bedroom. At the beginning it was quiet upstairs, but later she could hear low noises followed by a muffled talk. “Kathy, can you hear me? Are you awake?” The voice was extremely muffled, but this was explicable as the girls voice had to go through a scarf, the electric blanket that was wrapped around her from head to toe and through down mummy sleeping bag that had been extra lined with sheep fur. Angelica had to ask twice until her sister could hear her, as she was nearly numb under all the layers. “Yes I AM awake, or can YOU sleep in this heat with your own breath in your face and no fresh air in this awful sleeping bag?” “That’s exactly my problem, I am afraid I have consumed all the fresh air and will suffocate in here. Or die from overheating, your choice” Angelica said in a desperate tone.

“Don’t promise yourself you can get out of just pushing up daisies. I do not believe it is so easy. They must have checked if we have enough oxygen to survive in here, but not much more. And the heat, we find it unbearable, but all we can just hope that it becomes better after they reduce the heating blanked at eleven” “But how will it get better than? This monster of a sleeping bag is retaining the heat. Beside that I am going crazy from my itchy underwear, or what they call ‘underwear’. Did you get the Shetland wool placed directly against your skin?” “Yes, it looks like they think we both deserve the same punishment for what happened at teatime” Katharina said. “BUT WE DID NOTHING WRONG OR FORBIDDEN!” Angelica cried “It was just the THRUTH” “But she warned us . . .”

Mrs. Kelly decided that the girls need another ‘warning’ and went up at around eight o’clock. “Ladies I know, you are not asleep, so please listen. You have broken the rule of silence several times since you were put to bed, therefore I will NOT reduce the power of the electric blankets in two hours. They stay at the current level for the whole night and if you continue to talk I will have them set to the maximum heat. And now goodnight!”

Next morning the girls were exhausted although they had fifteen hours to ‘rest’. They weakly went to their dressing room and removed their clothes. Katharina was released first and so went to the bathroom first. After she came back her hair was still wet from the shower but she felt a little bit better. Her hair was dried and in the meantime her outfit was laid out. With relief she saw an Angora wool set as first layer, followed by thick knitted tights and a turtleneck that went down as far as her knees. She was confused by herself as she felt relief for wearing Angora underwear on a summer’s day, but after a night in itchy Shetland wool she did feel it. What they hated most were the thick, but at least face open balaclavas, which had been pushed inside the turtleneck before closing the stiff collar of the dress.

Both girls wore unlined loden dresses again but this time, in addition over their woolen gloves, both wore a pair of mittens. Not only that the mittens had straps to fasten them at the wrists, they had no thumbs and were made from heavy loden and of course lined with wool. So the girls could eat only almost liquid porridge and hot tea with a thick straw. The tea made them sweat again but they had to drink a lot to compensate the loss of fluid during the night.

“Ladies, it is time to prepare you for our first appointment of the day” Mrs. Kelly said after both girls had finished their strange breakfast. Before you go back to your dressing room let me tell you some rules. As you cannot be muzzled you will both wear normal inflatable gags on the way to Dr. Blackstone’s. You will wear a woolen cap with attached gauze veils and a face veil made of thin loden – same color as your coat that will cover the lower half of your face. Your coat has a hood that will cover your eyes as soon as you look upwards. So you need to look down, let´s say at an invisible point three feet in front of you on the ground. This is the appropriate position for you during a walk in public IF not told anything else. For example when we stop and introduce you to someone else, WE, means one of your governesses, will pull on your hood a little until you can raise your head. This will be done only AFTER you have greeted the person with a perfect curtsey. As you will not see who is in front of you, the command for you is ‘girls, show your respect to Mrs. or Mrs., which will be followed by the name of the person’ If we have no time to introduce you, you will then just wait until a governess asks you to follow them. Otherwise somebody will pull back your hood for some inches to allow you to raise your head.

You will wear muffs made of loden, they arrived yesterday and to help you to remember that a young lady never pulls her hands out of a muff without permission they will be secured with straps at your wrist and elbows. IF you behave well now, the muff will be placed in front of you, if not you will wear it with your arms across your back. If this is the case you will find yourselves wearing an additional loden cape down to your hips to hide the muff. Did I make myself clear? Miss Katharina?” “Yes, Mrs. Kelly” the girl said obviously shocked by the statement of her governess. “Miss Angelica?” “Does that mean you will gag us, nearly blindfold us, AND handcuff us with this ‘muff’? You can´t be serious, we are not dangerous criminals on the trip from jail to court! I want to speak with my grandmother right now. I cannot believe she is aware of what you want to do to us” “MISS Angelica” The governess repeated in a stern voice. “All I need to hear from you is IF you understood my instructions! Everything else, including this outburst results in an additional punishment” “So, what do you want to do with me? Shoot me like an escaping criminal? I do not think my grandparents would appreciate that. And what could you do worse than the fifteen hours you let us boil in this sleeping bag?”

The governess suddenly ignored the girl and turned to her colleagues. Mrs. Kent, Mrs. Glass, we have another twenty minutes before we need to leave. Do you think this will be enough time to add an additional pair of thick leggings, another woolen turtleneck dress under a wool lined loden dress, a second extremely thick balaclava with only an eye slit. Add to those a woolen coat with a tight hood on top of the loden dress fixed by a scarf under her veil. Fix her muff behind her and she is to wear an ankle length cape on top of the coat to hide the muff. Did I forget anything? Yes, of course, she will wear knee high winter boots lined with thick fur. Do you think that is possible in twenty minutes?” “I believe it is, otherwise the young girl is really in big trouble Mrs. Kelly” Mrs. Kent replied. “IF she disobeys any of our orders from this point on last night will have been nothing compared what she will endure if we miss the appointment.”

“Good to hear that, I trust in your word. And for the love of God, Miss Angelica don’t provoke Mrs. Kent or myself. You can trust me, you would regret it more than you can imagine. By the way, Mrs. Hunter, I believe the girls should look like twins in public. So Miss Katharina will wear her muff also at her back and wear a long cape over her coat” The calm and business-like voice of Mrs. Kelly had more effect than shouting at them. Angelica looked in the eyes of her twin sister and Katharina’s shake of the head was nearly invisible. Just Mrs. Kelly noticed it and knew that the key to breaking Angelica’s revolt was her sister and that’s why she had decided that the girl would at least get the same long cape on top of her heavy coat.

Exactly twenty minutes later both girls were ready to leave the house and they really looked like twins. Both heavily veiled, both with bowed heads, shuffling due to the tight skirts of their dresses and both completely dressed in thick dark grey loden. Soon their nickname ‘The loden twins’ was born in the little town.