Chapter nine

Mr. Attleby could only tell Sally and Wladimir the name of the distribution company and although they tried to find someone responsible, it was shortly after six o`clock in the morning when they got the name of the ship the sarcophagus had been loaded at. When they reached the freight harbour some 15 minutes later, they were told that the ship had left for Calais some six hours before.

„Shit! What can we do now? Are there flights from here to Calais?“

„Maybe, but not on a regular basis, I am afraid. I fear that the best we can do is to inform the police in France“, Wladimir answered.

However, Sally didn`t appreciate that idea.

„The problem is that maybe, the French secret service is after Dorothea. So, she could be better off if the police will not find her!“

„You are on the run from both the British and the French secret service? Wow, and I thought that I had turned into a criminal!“

„Dorothea warned me that I would once end up as a gangster`s bride. But now, what can we do?“

Spured by Sally`s concerns, Wladimir asked around in the harbour and so, just one hour later, he had found a solution that was not good, but at least the best he could offer.

„There`s a ferry leaving for Calais in four hours. It start`s from Dover, so if we start now, we can be there just on time. With a little bit of luck, we will reach Calais even before the cargo ship and can free Dorothea as soon as she reaches French soil.“

Sally knew that by then, Dorothea would have been inside the sarcophagus for more than 24 hours, bound and gagged, but it was indeed the best they could do.

„Good luck and be strong, Dorothea“, she thought, looking at the river at the direction where she estimated the ship would be right now.

***

Indeed, the „Jeune Christine“ had reached the North Sea and was just heading for the English Channnel. The sarcophagus was stowed in the storage room, warily ogled by the sailors who were as superstitious as sailors usually were.

„A coffin on a ship means that we are doomed! When my grandfather one sailed to-“

However, the other sailors could calm down their fearful colleague. And Bertrand, the Boatswain, could also stop the cabin boys from taking a look on the mummy inside. He showed his crew members the freight papers that proved that this sarcophagus was a reproduction made in London, bound for a theatre in Paris.

„There is no mummy or any other dead body in it! If this coffin contains anything but air, it`s some old rags to upholster it during the passage! So, no reason to worry – and, even more, no reason to open the lid! You got me, boys?“

The cabin boys nodded, obviously disappointed by this unspectacular explanation. But the Boatswain was a strict man and so, they did as they were told and left the storage room, together with the others. However, they got compensated by the hair-raising story their old colleague told them about the horrific journey his grandfather once had with a coffin on board.

The sarcophagus indeed contained something else but air. Dorothea had long given up working on her bonds or trying to scream through the multiple gags in and around her mouth. Perhaps, she would have tried to scream her lungs out if she had known that five men had been standing just two yards away from her. But with her ears plugged, she had been totally unaware that rescue had been so close. In addition, she was no longer thinking logical and escape-orientated.

The North Sea can be quite rough and so, the waves rocking the „Jeune Christine“ would have been a problem for a smaller ship. But for this big and well-engined steamer, it did not cause real discomfort. The heavy sea, combined with the ship`s movements, caused a constant rolling and swaying.

Of course, the sarcophagus had to follow these movements and so, Dorothea had no other opportunity than to get cradled by the waves. First, this steady, gentle rocking, together with her exhaustion and beginning dehydration, had made her fall asleep. She had dreamed of being in the strong arms of a man that caressed and kissed her and then, even went further.

Though Dorothea was almost completely immobilized, she could still move her forearms a bit, though her wrists were bound and her fingers tightly wrapped, and she could turn her head and even raise it a few inches. The movements of the ship and her tiny prison had forced her to do both involuntarily, even whilst she had been asleep. However, both her long hair and her bound wrists were fixed to the scarf that was tied between her legs. To that, Nymphadora had tied several knots and these increased the teasing of the crotch rope. In her exhausted sleep, Dorothea had been unable to do anything to prevent her body from responding to the constant and tender massage of the knotty silk. One knot had been pressing directly against her clit and so, it had swollen and her middle had become increasingly hot and wet. Some time ago, accompanied by a sigh from the sleeping girl, the crotch rope had slid deep between her now slippery labia. Bound like she was, there was no way she could have removed that rope without help. The saucy knot now was teasing her inside, but the one next to it had taken the job of massaging Dorothea`s clit. Still sleeping, she had continued to slightly pull on the rope by moving her bound arms and had rocked her hips in response.

When she had woke up, it was already too late. Dorothea needed some seconds to realize where she was and all the time, she had continued to tease herself. Knowing that this could get her into a really embarrassing situation, even if someone rescued her, she tried to concentrate on something else, but only one memory came up within her brain.

Early in 1917, when she had been a schoolgirl of 16 and a half, she had come together with her first boyfriend, Karl. Karl had been two years older than her and so, he had to enlist to the army and serve as a soldier. At their last date, he tried to persuade her to sleep with him. When Dorothea had – half-heartedly – protested, Karl had pleaded:

„I don`t want to die as a virgin!“

The emotional manipulation had worked and so, on the 25th of February 1917, both Dorothea and Karl had avoided the risk of dying as virgins. Their relationship hadn`t lasted long, but she knew that Karl had survived the war and currently was living at Nuremberg.

„I won`t die as a virgin, but at least, I can chose between dying happy or dying in modesty!“

Of course, Dorothea didn`t want to die, but she knew for sure that death was a possible option. She had absolutely no chance of freeing herself and during the long hours of her captivity, nobody had taken notice of her. Perhaps, Nymphadora and her henchmen had been caught by the police and refused to tell about her wereabouts.

Sometimes, the human brain acts not fully reasonable and quite often, fear is a stimulant of arousal. In addition, there are connections between the reception of pain and that of lust. Dorothea was deeply frightened and also, she was suffering from pain from head to toe. It wasn`t so much her aching limbs, now cramping from being bound so long, not the tearing on her scalp and not even her hurting jaw, since she wass forced to bite permanently at Sally`s used panties stuffing her mouth. But her nipples, clamped by the cloth pegs, cried for relief. The fact that they had swollen from arousal had only increased the pain and the only relief was coming from her middle, where waves of pleasure and sweet oblivision were waiting to overrun her dams of modesty and rationality.

„Uuuhhhmmmmmm! Mmmmhhmmmmmm! Mmmhhrrrmmmmm!“

Perhaps, it were bigger waves. Perhaps, the ship`s engine had some minor irregularities. However, something caused the sarcophagus to rock even more, and this was enough to force the girl to pull harder on her crotch rope. Now, her resistance broke and she escaped all worries and fears, concentrating on getting herself over the brink.

***

„So, that`s the story written down in the diary. But here comes the interesting part.“

At Dover, Sally and Wladimir had been told that due to engine problems, their ferry would have a delay of some ten hours. Since fuming would get then to nothing and they were quite tired, too, they had checked in at a hotel for the time they would have to wait.

Not that the couple had slept much. First, the fact that they now had a bed, some time and each other had convinced both that it had been quite a long time since their last time together as lovers. Then, since none of them smoked, they had to talk afterwards and of course, Sally wanted to know everything about the conspiracy. Wladimir had summed up the facts from Katharina`s diary Sally hadn`t known already and now, he produced a similar small old book from the inner pocket of his jacket.

„These are the confessions of an ancestor of mine. Actually, he`s the one Katharina described as ,X` in her journal. It seems that he has been an accomplice of Alexej Orlow from the very beginning. Obviously, he hadn`t dared to write this down before 1808, more than 45 years later, the year Orlow had died.“

Luckily, Wladimir had already written translations into English and French of the parts that mattered. So, he could read from his ancestor`s journal to Sally who had her head placed on his chest and listened reverently.


Slowly, I lowered the blonde woman I had just narcotized to the ground and took the soaked rag from her face. Again, I had to admit that she looked like our beloved Tsarina. Some weeks ago, Alexej had asked me if I would like to spend some time at the etablissement of Miss Stella, the best brothel of St. Petersburg, on his costs. Of course, Alexej never made such offers from sheer generosity and so, I asked what he wanted me to do. He told me that, according to his informants, there was a whore named Sophie whom he suspected to use her strong resemblance towards the Tsarina for an intigue.

So, I became a regular at Miss Stella`s house and indeed, after a while, I could arrange that said Sophie became my personal mistress and after some days, she really started to ask me about the Tsarina and about Alexej. At this point, I was totally convinced that she was an impostor. A real pretendent to the throne would have never shared the bed with a simple guard Lieutenant like me!

However, Orlow seemed concerned that perhaps she would plan something and introduced me to join the game. After a while, she and her colleague, a whore named Darija, had involved me in a hair-raising plan: they wanted to abduct the Tsarina and replace her with Sophie! Sophie was totally convinced that actually she was the real Tsarina and had only landed at Miss Stella`s brothel by an intrigue! It took me all my acting skills not to laugh at her, but Orlow helped me to pretend that I was someone of influence. He even handed me a diary that Sophie had started earlier in which she described her imaginated intrigue. I handed it to her and indeed, she had been writing into it when I grabbed her.

Alexej had developed a plan to make sure that all who might be a problem would be out of his way. First, he had sent Miss Stella a feigned letter in which he announced a visit of the secret police the following days. So, she temporarily closed her etablissement and sent away most of the servants. Only Sophie, who had strict order to stay within the walls, would remain there. So, when Alexej,  his mute servant Juri and I arrived, there were indeed only Sophie and Darija. This was strange for we would not have expected that Stella would have left the house that unprotected. So, we searched everywhere and inthe cellar, we found Stella, her right hand Vera and a certain Polina, of whom Sophie had pretended she had been her maid. All three women were naked, gagged and tied in a quite embarrassing position. They pleaded to be freed, but we just took advantage of their helplessness and narcotized them, too. Alexej said it would make it easier to prepare them for leaving. He had told me that he wished no witnesses. We had always been good friends, but at that moment, I feared for my life if ever he would think that I had betrayed him.

Whilst Juri brought the girls from the cellar to the living room one by one, Alexej and I removed all clothes from Sophie and Darija. He took great care to remove every bit of jewelry, too and I shuddered when he muttered:

„Good for Sophie she hasn`t got any tatoos or birthmarks.“

Then, Juri went for the coach we had parked in the locked inner court. He brought coiled leather thongs, some leather bands and, to my astonishment, a bucket filled with water to which he threw all these items. Also, he had brought several bandages he threw to Alexej and me. Now, I felt like the scholar of an inquisitor, as Alexej painstakingly told me what to do.

First, every of the five women was tied at wrists and elbows with parts of the bandages. I was worried that this might be too loose, but Alexej took some of the now soaked leather rope and tied that over the bandage ties. He told me once the leather had become dry, the knots could not be opened without a knife whilst the bandages would prevent to cut off circulation.

Next, he cut five pieces of leather thongs, each some five yards long. Taking Sophie for demonstration, he showed us what to do next. First, he slung the rope twice around her waist and tied it off below her navel. Then, he threaded the long end between her legs, through the narrow gap between her tied forearms, between her palms and back to the front, where he threaded it through the waist belt. This, he repeated about eight times, until the rope was used up and he tied it off to her waist rope.

„Do it snug, but not too tight. It will be entertaining enough once the leather gets dry.“

Though I obeyed and tried to do my very best, I felt quite strange. I had been a regular at this house, but tying up a naked woman that intimately and stringent felt more than wrong. However, when Alexej examined my work, he seemed satisfied.

„Not bad for the first time. Now, let`s prepare the gags.“

I wondered because Stella, Vera and Polina already were gagged, but Alexej removed these. Then, Juri brought a bowl and began filling it with Wodka. I thought Alexej wanted to start binge drinking, but instead, he thoroughly soaked the three knickers that had gagged the women plus the two we had taken from Sophie and Darija.

„Like this, we can squeeze them more densely into their mouths and in addition, they will get thirsty and even a bit dipsy during their journey!“

One by one, we stuffed the soaked knickers deep into the girls`s cheeks and throats. Once, Alexej interrupted me when I wanted to gag Sophie with her own knickers. Instead, he handed me those of Darija.

Once this was done, each woman got a complete bandage wrapped between her lips and around her head, followed by a broad leather band that even went over the chin. Alexej told me that once the leather had dried, this would force the girls to keep their jaws close and it would become as hard as iron. He was like in high spirits, but I knew I would be glad when this all was over.

„So, now help Juri to get the others into the coach. I will take care of Sophie in the meantime.“

So, the servant and I carried Stella, who was the tallest, outside. The coach had a shack designed for four persons. During our trip here, I had just recognized that the walls and even the floor were heavily uphostered, but now, I could see another modification. Several iron rings, each some inch in diameter, were attached to the framing.

Juri sat Stella at the middle of one of the benches, then, he tied her ankles to two rings at the sides, forcing her to sit with her legs spread wide. This time, he used rope instead of leather. Another rope, he threaded through her armpits and tied it to a ring behind the back of her head. Now, Stella could not fall off the seat and also not bend forward more than a few inches.

The next was Darija who was tied the same way. At the bench opposite to Stella. Once they were awake, they would have an excellent view at each other`s breasts and loins, I thought involuntarily.

I wondered where he wanted to place Vera, but Juri – or rather Alexej - had thought of this. He sat her at the floor and leaned the back of her head against Vera`s lap. Then, he brought her legs up and tied them to rings left and right of Stella`s head, forcing her to stretch and spread her legs. He then bent over the unconscious girl and began fumbling behind her neck. When I curiously watched, I could see he had tied the ends of the leather band gagging her to one of the thongs between Darija`s legs.

„At least, now her most intimate area is covered, albeit by another woman`s head“, I giggled nervously as Juri brought Polina. She became Vera`s vis-a-vis, though this meant squeezing both girl`s hips and butts to get both in the foot space. Then, her legs were tied to the sides of Darija`s head and her gag was connected with Stella`s crotch rope. Since she half sat on Vera`s thighs, this meant she had to arch her back in a hideous bow.

As a finishing touch, Juri took a short piece of rope and tied it tightly between both Polina`s and Vera`s crotch ropes.

„It promises to be an interesting ride for the four of them.“

Alexej had stepped beside us and examined our work whilst I greedily took a sip from my flask. I knew that this would not be the last drink for me if this was over!

„I also wanted to tell you that Sophie`s awake now. So, if we wait a few minutes, these will recover, too. I just want to say them farewell before Juri will get them to their destination.“

He had told me that he intended to get them to some remote village some 300 miles from St. Petersburg. There, they should become the wives or mistresses of the wardens of a jail located there. It would ensure they were out of the way, but could stay alive.

Years later, Alexej told me that, since he suffered from his part in the assassination of Tsar Peter – though it had been for the country`s best and the Tsarina had rewarded him - , he had sworn to never kill a person anymore and therefore had taken these rather laborious measures.

However, he had not become weak or mildly. Once the four naked, bound and gagged women opened their eyes and began to moan and look at us with pleading eyes, he gave them a farewell I will never forget, even if God gives me another 66 years:

„Now, it`s time to say Goodbye forever. Your life will not be over, but before you reach your destination, you will get a glimpse of hell. You will not be able to loosen your ties and gags and your position will become more and more uncomfortable. Once the thongs between your legs have dried, they will tighten up horribly. You will become mad with thirst, but you only will have your saliva, filtered by another woman`s used underwear stuffed into your mouths. At the changing stations, you will hear people who could help you, but you will not be able to produce any sound that will be loud enough. Frustration will add to your fears, and then, a growing arousal from the constant massage to your most intimate parts. And then, you will more and more become literally obsessed with relieving yourselves. By the way, there will be only one stop for you: at your final destination, two days from here!“

I turned my head to not have to see the desperate eyes of the four captives and when Alexej closed and locked the door, I thanked the heavy upholstery that the frantic moaning from inside had indeed become nearly inaudible. I emptied my flask on the few steps back inside whilst Juri mounted the coach and drove off.

Though I had thought that now, I had seen every cruelty Alexej was capable of, I nearly had screamed when I saw Sophie. Her legs had been tied ankle to thigh and then. He had spread them to her sides and tied them to a stick, forcing her to keep in that humiliating position. Together with her bound elbows, it meant she had to present her ample breasts and her middle to everyone. It was an extremely embarrassing position and from her deep red face and her terrified eyes, I could tell that Sophie was feeling the same.

Taking all my courage together, I asked Alexej why he hadn`t sent her away, together with the other women. He padded my shoulder and said:

„I can`t allow her to stay in Russia, not even in the most remote area of Siberia. So, she will have to go somewhere else. I organized an auction exclusively for the foreign sailors and salesmen at the harbour. Only those whose ships are leaving within the next twelve hours are allowed to participate. If I present her like this, I sure will find someone who`s interested to buy her. I heard that there is even a ship from Turkey.“

„Mmmmmhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Hhhhrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm! Nnnnnnnnnnnggggggg!“

Sophie`s cries of sheer horror and panic were so terrifying that I left immediately and up to now, I haven`t spoken about these events and I only dare to do so now that Alexej is dead. May God forgive me what I have done.

Even Sally could not say anything and shuddered slightly when Wladimir had stopped reading. He took her in his arms and then, he spoke:
„At least, it seems that this story hasn`t ended as grim as this journal implies. Do you want to see the final piece in this puzzle?“

Sally nodded, still too overwhelmed to speak. Wladimir took another folded paper from his pocket. This time, it still looked old, but it was written in English.

„This is from a churchbook at Falmouth. We could find out that Katharina had not been sold to a Turk, but to an English Captain instead. The owner of a schooner from Falmouth. And obviously, this Captain could persuade the former Tsarina that he was not the worst thing in life. Little after his comeback from Russia, this pages say that Captain Alan Pike, 38, married a wife named Sophie, 33, who was born in Russia.“

Sally wanted to say that this was a more than vague connection, but Wladimir continued:

„It seems that Katharina, or Sophie, arranged quite well with her new life. Although she was 33 at their marriage, she gave birth to four childrem who all survived and they could even celebrate their golden wedding before she died at the grand age of 86.

Unfortunately, in later generations the family became impoverished and it seems that in 1906, a Irina Pike gave birth to an illegitimate child that was baptized as Olga, but to avoid a scandal, the baby was given to an orphanage in Londan where she was raised as Olga Smith.“

Sally still was not convinced, but indeed, all this made a more or less plausible story. Maybe, Olga really was an illegitimate heir of the Romanow dynasty. But then, she smiled and kissed Wladimir before she said:

„Maybe, that`s the moral of all this: that you are better off if you are not the Princess. Well, maybe, Olga has at least found her Happy End then: where she is going now, they don`t like the aristocracy and besides, it`s some thousand miles away from here, and even more from Russia. So, maybe, she`s just now feeling like me: happy with the new man in her life, although she doesn`t even have a pair of panties.“

„I am sure if Olga knew that Nympha`s currently chewing on yours, she sure would appreciate that. But I have to admit I don`t like what you say about the aristocracy. After all, I am the son of a count.“

„As long as you will not chose me to be the next pawn in any conspiracy to turn Russia back into a monarchy, I can ignore the fact.“

She smiled at him, but suddenly, her lips trembled and Wladimir could even see a tear in her eye. Wladimir gently grabbed her shoulder and asked:

„Sally, dear, what`s wrong with you?“

She sighed deeply and nestled against him.

„Wladimir, a few weeks ago, I was just an ordinary student nurse, born and raised at Inverness. And then, everything changed. I had encounters with foreign spies and criminals, I was repeatedly bound and gagged, I was stripped and humiliated, and now, I am on the run from the police and one of the two persons that really matter to me is bound and gagged in a box aboard a ship that`s God knows where. This is all getting so fast!“

„You mean, you are overwhelmed? You, the plucky Salome Dirk who fears nothing and who can escape from the strictest of bondage?“

She smiled at him, looking gratefully. Then, she let her head sink on his chest and breathed:

„I just need a little break. For a moment, for a small moment only, I just want to be the girl and not the hero!“

Wladimir caressed her neck and said nothing for a while. Then, he looked at his watch and meant to Sally:

„We still have some three hours until we have to leave. So, let me just have a drink and then, I will be the man so you can be the girl.“

***

„Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink!“

Nymphadora had read Coleridge`s „Rhyme of the ancient Mariner“ when she had been studying the English language and now, this poem came up to her mind because it described her current situation in an almost ridiculous precision.

When she had awoken from her narcotic doze, she had found herself tied over a toilet, thoroughly gagged and hogtied. Before she had even fully realized her predicament, a gush of cold water had splashed over her face.

With a mixture of horror and fascination, she had examined the way she had been tied up. She could feel a rope pulled deep between her labia and this rope had obviously been threaded through her ankle cuffs and then tied off to the toilet`s flush. Nymphadora had fumed and pulled at her bonds, but soon, her calm side had won and she had started working on her escape more methodically.

First, she had tried to do something with her fingers, but they had been tightly wrapped in tape and she could not move them at all or get the tape peeled of, no matter what she had tried.

Also, Sally had tightened the cuffs to a level that even if she had risked dislodging her thumb, she would not have been able to slip her hands through, not even when perspiration made her skin more slippery.

Next, she had worked on peeling off the tape from her mouth, but not only was it impossible for the toilet seat was too smooth and there were no sharp edges anywhere, but also Sally seemed to have used some 100 feet of tape, wrapping her head more than 50 times.

„Mhhmmrrrmmph! Uuuhhmmm! Mph!“

She had pulled on her bonds, but this movement had only brought her another involuntary shower from the flush. This was so humiliating! Nymphadora swore to herself that once she was free, her revenge on the little Scottish girl would be more than gruesome.

Nymphadora had no idea that she had plenty of time to work on her bonds, since the new tenant would not arrive before Sunday morning and now, it was just the first hours of Saturday.

Her thirst was driving her mad. Nymphadora knew that she would not die from dehydration so soon, but since she had been awake, her throat was dry and she had literally sucked every drop of saliva from the mass of silk balled up in her mouth, though she knew from the taste that it was a pair of used panties and since she had not put on any underwear, this definitely were not her own.

After a while, desperation had overwhelmed her and she had screamed through her gag and tried to make any noise. Any rescuer would see the proud Nymphadora stark naked and in that humiliating position, but she just wanted to get out of this predicament! She had tried everything to alert someone until she had literally collapsed, but all that had happened had been that someone at the flat below had turned his radio louder.

„No, I must not fall into panic! I must concentrate on any possibility to get free or to at least remove my gag. And, first of all, I have to lie as still as possible! This will not be easy, with this rope chaffing my crotch and with my legs pulled up, but I just have to relax! The longer I remain still, the longer will I be able to act if necessary and if I concentrate, I will find a way to get out of this and to avoid being freed by anyone who sees me like this!“

For a while, Nymphadora was lying as motionless as possible and tried to collect some strength. Then, she felt a growing urge to pee.

***

The End