16 For the first time with leather cuffs
Before we went back to the house, Dorothy picked up the drill, and from a drawer in the workbench she took the appropriate drill-bit, the same gauge as the holes in the arms of the cross. At the top of the sloping footrest Doro drilled a hole exactly in the centre of the upright, right through it. Then she took the leather cuffs, "Look at them, Lis, custom-made exactly for you!" She showed the things to me, they were made of brown leather and not so big and thick and menacing as I’d expected. The cuffs for my wrists were nearly three inches wide, the two for my ankles only two centimetres. The leather was thick and strong, it felt stiff. Dorothea noticed my scepticism. "Your body heat will quickly make them softer, Lisette. After a breaking-in period, the leather adapts to your measurements. Those things will fit comfortably, and in time like a glove. Look inside - there, they’re very soft. They’re made of two layers of leather, sturdy outside, soft inside." Indeed the cuffs were soft and tender inside, it felt good. "I chose brown leather," she said, "that colour goes well with your red hair and your green eyes, better than jet black I think." I had to agree with her.
I looked at the cuffs in detail. The ones I knew from the internet had on the back a small sturdy metal ring, or an eye, in which you could fit a chain, but these ones Doro had ordered were different - at the back of the wrist-cuffs were projecting bolts, mounted in the leather so they could swivel. Under the soft inner layer of the cuffs I could feel flat metal discs, these were holding the bolts onto the sleeve, or vice versa, the whole thing twisted around easily. Doro took them and put the bolts through the left and right holes in the cross-bar. On the tips she fitted washers and screwed nuts onto the bolts that stuck out below. She tightened them firmly with a spanner, they’ll hold, that’s for sure.
I moved my wrist-cuffs, they turned about - I understood, they’d give me enough freedom of movement in my wrists to dance on the cross, to and fro, up and down. That's good, I thought. The ankle cuffs were linked together, a bolt stuck right out from the mid-point between the two cuffs, it had a wide head fitting exactly in between where the leather bonds ended, below this head the thread began. Dorothea put the bolt into the hole in the footrest and screwed it tight. Now I understood why the spacer was there, the cuffs were fitted exactly onto the wood, so they’ll be able to hold my ankles perfectly. My heels would stand flat against the wood of the upright beam without being pressed forcibly onto it. All in all, a comfortable looking thing! Well .... tomorrow morning I’ll try it!
Dorothea stood beside me, we looked at my new piece of work. "Looks neat," she opined, "real cool - see Lis, leather things are so you, you’ll make a better model than with ropes, especially now it’s all fixed up. You’ll just lie there, arms apart, all four cuffs on, and up you’ll go!" She pushed me towards it, "Are you happy with it already?" I knelt down on it, "Yes, Doro, I'm curious to see how it feels. It looks like I'll have a bit more room to move, then I’ll be able to stand the time on the cross more easily." She turned my face towards her, "Just need to get in there, huh? Two and a half hours in the morning, and tomorrow afternoon the same again, yes?" She smiled, I nodded, "Yes, Doro. Two and a half. Twice in a row."
She gave me a kiss on the cheek, "Five powerful hours on the cross tomorrow. You’re coming on quite beautifully, Lis, one can only admire
you, you really do want to experience it all!" Yes, I did.
Before we went back to the house, Dorothy picked up the drill, and from a drawer in the workbench she took the appropriate drill-bit, the same gauge as the holes in the arms of the cross. At the top of the sloping footrest Doro drilled a hole exactly in the centre of the upright, right through it. Then she took the leather cuffs, "Look at them, Lis, custom-made exactly for you!" She showed the things to me, they were made of brown leather and not so big and thick and menacing as I’d expected. The cuffs for my wrists were nearly three inches wide, the two for my ankles only two centimetres. The leather was thick and strong, it felt stiff. Dorothea noticed my scepticism. "Your body heat will quickly make them softer, Lisette. After a breaking-in period, the leather adapts to your measurements. Those things will fit comfortably, and in time like a glove. Look inside - there, they’re very soft. They’re made of two layers of leather, sturdy outside, soft inside." Indeed the cuffs were soft and tender inside, it felt good. "I chose brown leather," she said, "that colour goes well with your red hair and your green eyes, better than jet black I think." I had to agree with her.
I looked at the cuffs in detail. The ones I knew from the internet had on the back a small sturdy metal ring, or an eye, in which you could fit a chain, but these ones Doro had ordered were different - at the back of the wrist-cuffs were projecting bolts, mounted in the leather so they could swivel. Under the soft inner layer of the cuffs I could feel flat metal discs, these were holding the bolts onto the sleeve, or vice versa, the whole thing twisted around easily. Doro took them and put the bolts through the left and right holes in the cross-bar. On the tips she fitted washers and screwed nuts onto the bolts that stuck out below. She tightened them firmly with a spanner, they’ll hold, that’s for sure.
I moved my wrist-cuffs, they turned about - I understood, they’d give me enough freedom of movement in my wrists to dance on the cross, to and fro, up and down. That's good, I thought. The ankle cuffs were linked together, a bolt stuck right out from the mid-point between the two cuffs, it had a wide head fitting exactly in between where the leather bonds ended, below this head the thread began. Dorothea put the bolt into the hole in the footrest and screwed it tight. Now I understood why the spacer was there, the cuffs were fitted exactly onto the wood, so they’ll be able to hold my ankles perfectly. My heels would stand flat against the wood of the upright beam without being pressed forcibly onto it. All in all, a comfortable looking thing! Well .... tomorrow morning I’ll try it!
Dorothea stood beside me, we looked at my new piece of work. "Looks neat," she opined, "real cool - see Lis, leather things are so you, you’ll make a better model than with ropes, especially now it’s all fixed up. You’ll just lie there, arms apart, all four cuffs on, and up you’ll go!" She pushed me towards it, "Are you happy with it already?" I knelt down on it, "Yes, Doro, I'm curious to see how it feels. It looks like I'll have a bit more room to move, then I’ll be able to stand the time on the cross more easily." She turned my face towards her, "Just need to get in there, huh? Two and a half hours in the morning, and tomorrow afternoon the same again, yes?" She smiled, I nodded, "Yes, Doro. Two and a half. Twice in a row."
She gave me a kiss on the cheek, "Five powerful hours on the cross tomorrow. You’re coming on quite beautifully, Lis, one can only admire
you, you really do want to experience it all!" Yes, I did.