Chapter 14: Sleepless Nights

I met Harwell Tusker for an early morning coffee with the aim of providing him with a report on the progress of his two nieces. When he entered the coffee shop that I had suggested for our meeting, I at once saw that he was in a state of some disarray. He was unshaven. His furrowed brow spoke of a disturbing head ache and dark bags below bloodshot eyes further suggested a night that had not provided him with the requisite eight hours of sleep. "You look awful," I said.

"How extraordinary," Harwell replied testily. "That is exactly how I feel."

A waitress approached us. Harwell growled a request for a cup of coffee and she scuttled off to fulfil his order.

"You might," Harwell started, "in your programme of training do something to ensure that a woman allows her man a decent night's sleep. Amelia was tossing and turning all night. The result of some affliction as a result of her gender and its relationship with the lunar cycle no doubt. I couldn't get a moments peace."

He had a point and I told him so. In some respects I count myself fortunate not to have to share my bed with a wife. We went on with our discussion on Amanda and Estelle but at the conclusion I took myself for a short walk to consider Harwell's plight and what lessons might be learned from it. I was determined to include measures to address his concerns for my future clients.

The principles of learning that I try to exploit in my methods suggest that skills only become second nature when the student moves from a state of unconscious incompetence, through conscious incompetence, and conscious competence until eventually they achieve a state of unconscious competence, the ability to perform the task well without thinking. The challenge was how this sequence of learning could be induced during the hours of sleep.

A conversation with the community of artisans that had created the Orrery and the shock machine provided me with both a method and the means of implementing it. And so it was that, only three days later, a new double bed was installed in one of the attic rooms that were once used for the domestic servants of the house.

Amanda and Estelle viewed the new equipment with well-founded suspicion. They soon appeared to have formed the view that the various straps and fastenings were unlikely to contribute to their comfort. "This is," I said by way of introduction, "an important part of your training. You are learning to please your husbands when you are awake; you must learn to please them – or at least not disturb them – while you are asleep. This bed will help you learn to be still while you sleep."

Amanda and Estelle looked at me as though I had taken leave of my senses, something I had found they were often inclined to imagine until being brought to a full understanding of what was being presented to them.

"Please," I said, "make your ablutions and then take your places. I wish to start this part of your learning this very night."

The two girls each took their turn using the toilet facilities and the washstand that had been made available in the room. I knew how much they hated me standing by while they did this but it was part of their education to become adjusted to being constantly appraised and at no time allowed privacy. In very little time they completed their preparations and presented themselves beside the bed, in the approved position with their hands behind their backs and their heads bowed.

"Very well, ladies," I said. "It's bed time."

I took Amanda first and had her lay down on her back with her arms by her side. Estelle watched as I first of all fastened straps around her wrists and the upper part of her arms and followed this with the application of further straps around her ankles and her thighs.

I did the same for Estelle, noting that, while I did so, Amanda was testing the extent to which the straps restrained her and was pleased to discover that while the straps did appear to be attached to cables that ran through the mattress and underneath the bed, she was still able to move without much restriction. For my part, I was concerned lest the cables might present the risk of strangulation, becoming entangled about their necks in some way. To avoid this risk, I provided each of the girls with a broad and thick leather collar buckled around their necks. Although this would prove somewhat uncomfortable for them, since the collars were so wide and heavy as to prevent almost any movement of their heads, at least it prevented any possible tragedy of the kind I feared.