The Coffee Morning

As she opened the garden gate, Diana Spencer pulled the cuffs of her short white lace gloves up and checked there were no stray threads over her peach coloured silk jacket and skirt.  It was not often that one was invited for a morning coffee with the Lady Mayor, and this lady was determined to make the most of it.  After all, the invitation carried with it an elevation of social standing which was necessary in this small English town, given she arrived in what to many were slightly dubious circumstances.

If truth be told, there was nothing particularly scandalous on her part – it was her husband who had been caught socializing in some of the seedier parts of Hampstead Heath – but she had borne the shame with dignity and grace, as was proper for a woman of her years.  Taking up the post in the primary school had helped as well, and this was going to help enormously.

As she knocked on the door, and checked the way her hat was sitting on her platinum blonde hair, she waited for it to be opened.  She was greeted by a young dark haired girl in a black dress, who said “Mrs. Spencer?”  Diana nodded as the door was held open for her to walk in.  “This way please,” she said as she indicated a door on the other side of the spacious hallway. 

Matilda Greaves turned and looked at the door as the young maid said “Mrs. Spencer.”  “Thank you, Alice,” she said as Diana walked into the room.  “Diana, I’m so glad you could join us,” she said as she walked forward and greeted Diana.  She was about the same age, in her early thirties, with short dark hair and wearing a metallic grey blouse and knee length skirt made from silk.  Her red heels had three inch heels, and tan coloured stockings covered her legs.  “Alice, will you please take Mrs. Spencer’s hat and gloves and bring some coffee?”

The young girl nodded as she took the items from Diana and walked out of the room.  “Allow me to introduce you to my other guests,” Matilda said as she indicated the two other women sitting in chairs.  “This is Suzanna Allcott, a very dear friend of mine.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Diana,” Suzanna said in a slight American accent.  She was in her late twenties, with short dark hair that was set by what must have taken a whole can of hairspray into a raised shape, and wore a long short sleeved white dress which buttoned up the front.  “May I introduce my sister, Joanna – she is visiting for a short time from my home in New England.”

Diana nodded at the slightly younger woman sitting next to Suzanna, dressed in a black silk blouse and knee length denim skirt.  She could see the hem of a white slip peeking out from underneath, but the young American simply smiled back rather than saying anything.

The door opened as Alice returned with a trolley, a steaming coffee pot and cups on the top with plates of small cakes underneath.  She stopped by a low table, spreading a lace cloth over it before arranging the drink and food on the top.  “Will there be anything else?” she asked as she turned to Matilda.  “No, that will be all, Alice,” the older woman replied as the young girls turned and left, closing the room door behind her.

“As I was saying just before you arrived,” Matilda said as she started to pour some coffee into the china cups, “I have been considering for some time how best to get the women of the town involved in some form of charitable work, and I wanted to talk to both of you about some ideas I have.  Suzanna has many business connections, while your position in the school would provide a valuable asset in contacting many of the mothers…”

In the kitchen, Alice was replacing some plates in the cupboards when she heard a slight noise behind her.  Closing the door, she turned round and stood still for a moment, before slowly nodding and raising her hands at the same time.  She watched as an arm reached out and helped he r to walk towards a chair which had been pulled out from the kitchen table, a selection of lengths of rope laid by the side.  She kept nodding as she was asked a series of questions, her arms been slowly pulled behind her as she did so.

“Well, it sounds like a good idea,” Diana said as she put her coffee cup down, “but I can see there may be a few problems.  How, for example, do you propose to start funding these projects?”

“I do believe I may have a way to help with that,” Suzanna said.  “I can use my contacts in the local business community to at least secure some start-up funds, and then after that we may be able to build some form of subscription service.  Tell me, Matilda, what does your husband think of the project?”

“He will support it as he sees fit to do so,” Matilda said with a smile.  Diana wondered what that meant, before a faint voice said “May I be excused for a moment, I need to...”

“Of course, Joanna,” Matilda said as she sat down, “You will find it behind the second door on the right opposite this room.”  The young American smiled as she stood up and walked across the room, the heels of her short bots clicking on the mahogany floor as she did so, before leaving and closing the door behind her.  Matilda turned to Suzanna and said “She is very quiet, isn’t she?” before the door opened and Joanna came back in.

This time she was not alone – there were four men with her, all dressed in grey boiler suits with stockings covering their heads and faces.  Two were armed with sawn off shot guns, one had a large club and the fourth was carrying a large bag which he dropped with a thud on the floor.  The other three women looked on, stunned into silence as the man with the club strode into the centre of the room and looked at all of them.

“Sit down,” he barked at Joanna, who almost ran over and sat next to Suzanna, the older sister putting her arms around the younger.  Matilda started to stand up, saying “Who do you think you are…” when she was grabbed from behind by one of the gun carrying intruders and forced back into her seat.  “You will speak when you are spoken to, not before,” the man said as he looked around the room.  “For now, sit down, shut up and all of you put your hands on your heads – even you, sister.”

Suzanna could feel her sister shaking in her arms, and said “Please – she will not harm you.  Allow me to continue to hold her – I have good reason for it.”

“Oh,” he said as he walked over and leaned in towards the two women, “and what would that good reason be?”

“She is visiting me after she was – attacked at home.  She still suffers nightmares from this – I want her to know the same thing will not happen again.”

He stared at Joanna for a minute, before standing up.  “Take these two upstairs and make them comfortable”, he said to one of the men with a gun.  Nodding, he looked to the unarmed man, who opened the large bag and removed several coils of thin rope and lengths of cloth.  Suzanna said “thank you” as she helped her sister to stand up and walk to the door, the two intruders accompanying them as they walked out.

“Now then,” the leader said as he turned to Matilda, “You are going to tell us where your safe is, or my friend her will give your friend a new orifice in her head.”  Diana watched as the other gunman came behind her and stuck the barrel of his gun against the back of her head, forcing her to lean forward.

“All right,” the man said as he opened the door and looked in, “this will do.  Both of you, get In here.”  He opened the door wide as Joanna and Suzanna were pushed into the bedroom, the gunman closing the door behind them and standing against the exit.

“What are you going to do to us,” Suzanna said as she watched the man putting the lengths of rope down on the dressing table.

“Nothing – so long as you do as you are told.  Your sister – what happened to her?”

“Someone broke into our house in the night and – well, do I have to carry on?”

The man shook his head.  “Listen – all we want to do is rob the woman who owns this house and get out of the way.  For us to do that, we need to make sure you stay in this room, and that means we’re going to have to tie you up.  I promise, that will be all.  All right?”

“Don’t be sacred, Jo” Suzanna said as she held her shaking sister, “I’m here this time, and they won’t touch a hair on you.  Whatever you’re going to do, do it to me first.”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way,” the masked man said.  “I want both of you to take your tops, skirts and shoes off.  Then we will tie you together.”

“Do you have to make us do that?”

“Put it this way – do you want to make my friend angry?”  The gunman pulled back on the barrel of his gun as this was said, and Joanna let out a shriek.  “All right, all right,” Suzanna called out.  “Jo, it’ll be fine.  Look, I’ll do it first, all right?”  The younger girl watched as Suzanna slowly unfastened her dress and let it fall to the floor, revealing a white half slip and bra.  Stepping out of her shoes, she said “Just do as they say, Jo – I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

As Joanna slipped her blouse off and unzipped her skirt, she revealed that she was also wearing a white half slip, the sides cut slightly up from the rest of the hem, and a short sleeved black top under her blouse.  “Take that off as well,2 the intruder said, but Suzanna interceded.  “No – please, the man left a mark there.  For God’s sake, let her keep it on.”  He hesitated for a moment, before saying “All right – both of you, stand by the side of the bed, back to back.”

As they stood there, Suzanna holding Joanna’s hands and squeezing them to reassure her, the man unraveled a length of rope.  “All right,” he finally said as he walked over to them, “I want you to let go of each other, and reach around each other’s bodies with your arms.”

“It would be easier if we faced each other,” Suzanna said, but the man just shook his head.  “This is not about your comfort,” he said, “now – reach round as I have said.”

“Just relax, Joanna,” Suzanna said as she reached round her sister’s body, brining her wrists as close together as she could in front of Joanna’s waist.  She heard her sister gasp as she felt the rope going around her wrists, and the pressure growing against her back as they were drawn together, forcing Joanna closer to her.  She watched as the man walked round and repeated the process with Joanna’s wrists In front of her, feeling her sister forced still closer and also hearing a worrying sound as the black top gave way.

“Are you all right, Jo,” she said as she heard her sister starting to cry.  “Yes,” she sobbed, “it’s just at my bra that it has come undone.”  As the man walked round, Suzanna could hear him gasp and say “My god,” before he did something unexpected.  “I’m sorry,” he said to Joanna, “If you wish I can cover it up.”

“No, I will cope,” she said as he unraveled another length of rope.  He quickly passed it round both women, just below their breasts as he secured their bodies still closer together, before taking two of the cloth strips and tying their arms together at each side where they crossed.

“Right then,” he said as he stood in front of Suzanna, “Time for you to be nice and quiet.  Say your goodbyes to your sister here – you won’t be able to talk for a little while.”

“What do you mmmgfdgdf” Suzanna said as the man forced a small wad of cloth into her mouth, before stretching a length of white cloth over her mouth and lower face and tightly binding it around her head, the ends secured at the back of her head.  She heard Joanna saying “Please, don’t do this,” and the man replying “I promise it will be all right” before she too was silenced.  They were helpless to stop the men pushing them over onto the bed, the white counterpane cushioning their fall as their legs were bent at the knees.

Suzanna looked down as her ankles were tied together with a final length of thin rope, which was then sued to bind Joanna’s ankles together as well.  As Joanna buried her head in the cover, her sobs muffled by the material, her sister stared straight ahead wondering what had happened to the others.

She glanced over at the door and saw both Diana and Matilda been forced to walk past, their hands on their heads, and could only guess at what was going to happen to them.

Matilda stared defiantly at the man as he emptied the safe.  Diana was sat still, her hands behind her head as the gunman stood menacingly behind her.

“Just what do you hope to achieve by terrorizing my guests and I?” Matilda said as he closed the heavy iron door, “And what happened to Alice?”

“The maid?  We made her comfortable as well,” he said with a smile as he picked up his bag.  “Don’t worry – she’s perfectly safe and cannot interfere.”

In the kitchen, Alice was trying to free herself from the old wooden chair she had been tied to with ropes. Her wrists were tied parallel to each other behind the chair back, while rope was wound through the latticework of the back support and around her body.  Her ankles were secured to the front legs, while her knees were tied together against the seat.  Finally, several strips of white tape had been smoothed over her mouth, but only after a large sponge had been stuffed into it.

“On your feet,” he then said as Diana felt the shotgun poking into her back, “I want you, Mrs. Spencer, to lead us to your bedroom.  I’m sure there are things there that we would like to see.”

“Do I have a choice in the matter?”

“Yes, you do – you can some with us, or you can strip naked right here and now and we will tie you up so tightly it will be both painful and ecstatic with every slight move that you make.  Your choice – which will it be?”

Matilda looked at Diana, who was starting to shake as she sat there.  “All right, I don’t want anyone else to be hurt,” she said as she stood up.  “I’ll take you to our bedroom.”  She walked towards the door as the gunman forced Diana to stand and follow her, the leader of the intruders bringing up the rear as they climbed the staircase.

As they passed a guest bedroom, Diana could see Suzanna and Joanna lying on the bed, bound together and gagged in their undergarments, and another involuntary shudder went through her body.  Matilda heard the gasp that came from her friend and glanced over as well, whispering “Oh God” as she was pushed forward.

“In here,” she finally said as they stopped in front of a door.  The unarmed man opened it and looked in, before nodding to his partner who pushed Diana in the back.  The two women entered a large room with a king size bed against one wall, the mattress bare for the moment.

“Very nice,” the leader said as he looked round and then stared at Diana.  “I need you to do something for me, young lady.”

“What’s that,” Diana asked as she held herself, feeling cold despite the sunlight coming in through the window.

“Take off your jacket and skirt – I need to ask Mrs. Simpson here for some help, and you’re going to make sure that she does what I ask her.”  Despite her fears, Diana actually felt flattered at being called young, and without realizing she was doing it she began to slowly unbutton her jacket, letting it slip down her arms and onto the floor.

“Interesting tattoo,” the man said as he looked at Diana and her hand involuntarily went to cover the design visibly under her bra on her left breast.  “No, don’t cover it up,” he said as he walked forward and moved her hand out of the way, looking at the ink work.  “I think it suits you.”

“You’re not going to make me take my bra off, are you,” Diana said, and she let out a sigh of relief as the masked man shook his head.  “No – but take your skirt off, then lie face down on the bed and put your hands behind your back.  We need to make sure you cannot interfere – that’s all.”

As Diana allowed her skirt to fall to the floor, revealing the matching half flip to her bra, she looked at Matilda, who simply nodded and said “I’m sorry you had to go through this, dear.  I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said quietly as she lay on the mattress and crossed her wrists in the small of her back.  As she watched the gunman lay his weapon on the bed next to her and shake out a coil of white rope, she watched Matilda as the other intruder forced her to reveal where she kept her jewelry.  As a result, she was distracted enough not to notice until she felt her wrists drawing together as the rope encircled and bound them.  She looked back over her shoulder, clenching her hands into balls as the rope passed between her arms and tightened the coils that encircled them.  With a satisfied grunt, the gunman then placed her ankles together and wrapped the rope around them.

She could hear the click of the heels of her sandals as they were brought together while her legs were bound, her stockings offering some protection from the rope as it dug into her flesh.  As she felt rather than saw the gunman stand up, she turned onto her side and watched Matilda walking round the room.

The door opened and the other two gang members walked in.  “Check the little maid is all right, and then start loading the plate,” the gang leader said as they turned and walked out of the room, before bringing Matilda back into the centre of the room while Diana watched.

“All right, Mrs. Simpson, your turn now – strip.”

“What are you going to do to us,” Matilda asked as she stared back at the intruders.

“Just make sure you cannot raise the alarm,” he said quietly. Nodding, Matilda reached around her back and unfastened her skirt, allowing it to drop to the floor to reveal a short grey slip, with straps that attached the top of her stockings to the bottom hem.  Removing her blouse also revealed a grey silk bra which barely held in her breasts.

“Lie down,” the intruder said, and as Matilda lay on her stomach and crossed her wrists against her back Diana rolled over so that she could face her.  “Do you think the others are all right,” she asked as Matilda winced when the rope pulled against her bare wrists.  “I hope so – I’m most worried about young Joanna, but her sister will keep her safe, I’m sure.”  As she was saying this, Matilda glanced down to look at the way her ankles were been bound together, her red shoes squeaking as they were forced to rub against each other.

“All right ladies – roll onto your backs,” the gunman said – the first time he had actually spoken.  Surprised, both Diana and Matilda rolled over to see the other man standing there with two pairs of knickers, one black and one white, balled into cloth wads in his gloved hands.  “Oh, shit,” was all Diana said as he walked forward.

In the other bedroom, Suzanna was pulling her arms back in an attempt to comfort her younger sister.  She had stopped sobbing, but she could feel her chest rise and fall against her own arms, so she knew that physically at least she was all right.  For her part, Joanna was lying still, her eyes closed as she tried to apply the relaxation techniques she had learnt after the last incident, desperately trying to stop herself from panicking as the cloth in her mouth slowly soaked up the saliva and leaving her parched.

“U bstrd,” was all Matilda could say as the black cloth was forced into her mouth.  Diana watched on, the edge of the white knickers poking from between her lips as her host was effectively gagged by the silk packing.

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” he said as he stood back and picked up a roll of white adhesive tape.  Tearing a strip off, he smoothed it over Matilda’s lips, the edges of her gag sticking out from underneath.  As more strips were applied, the edges stubbornly refused to go underneath, although the silencing effect was clear to Matilda as she tried to complain and only a mumble escaped her mouth.  Diana looked on throughout this, unable to say anything except “ogd, ogd, ogd…”  As she heard another strip been torn off the roll, she looked up for a moment as the masked man stood over her head.   “Your turn now,” he said as he leaned down and smoothed the tape over her mouth, the adhesive pulling on the skin around her lisp as more strips were placed over in a “X” shape.

“One last thing, ladies, I need you to roll onto your sides and face each other.” the man said as he stood up.  The two women turned over, looking mutely at each other as they felt their legs been drawn back.  Diana could see the gunman tying a length of rope between Matilda’s ankles and wrists, leaving her legs so that they could not be straightened, and figured the same thing was been done to her.  This was confirmed as she felt the man let go of her legs, but was unable to straighten them as she felt her wrists been pulled down as she tried to.

“It’s been a pleasure, Mrs. Simpson,” the lead intruder said as both Diana and Matilda looked up at him and the other three.  “Please, have a good day and enjoy your time together.”  He laughed as he led the gang away from the room, leaving the two bound and gagged women looking at each other.

They lay there in silence, save the occasional squeak of their shoes as each of them tried to loosen the ropes around them.  From the other rooms there was no sound, save for the occasional moan from where the others were left.  As Diana closed her eyes, she wondered how long it would be before anyone came to their aid, if at all.

In the kitchen, Alice looked over her shoulder as she gingerly pulled out a drawer from a cupboard.  It had taken her hours to slowly move to that position, and she did not want to ruin her chances of finding the large and gleaming knife that she could see the blade of inside…