***
It required many weeks but the dire reality of Gerhard’s situation finally dawned on a mind addled by the constant torment of heavy bondage, unending exertion and humiliation.
He could not leave the Baroness’s enclave naked and in chains. Nor could he continue to endure the wakeful nights, the constant taunting and the drudgery of the furnace room. The daily task of shoveling coal was a frustrating combination of working with fervor while donning many pounds of metal restraints or standing almost immobile with the taut neck chain obviating the ability to sit or lie down and the waist chain limiting lateral movement. As the cold of late autumn approached, he realized that more and more coal was to be shoveled... a task quick and simple when not so thoroughly bound in weighted shackles
