Sin and Scandal. Carol Storm

      When she put on a hair net, and rubber gloves for her hands, Crystal May felt mighty proud. She was doing honest work, and she didn't need to be a part of anybody's show. That was how she felt washing dishes for a solid week. And mopping floors for a second week. And vacuuming and dusting all up and down the stairs for a week after that. And then straight back to the kitchen, standing over the sink for hours with aching shoulders and big black sweat patches under her arms.

      It wasn't all hard work, of course. Madame Madeline kept her promises about schooling and becoming a proper lady. Crystal May had to laugh when she thought of how nice it felt to get out of kitchen overalls and put on a nice dress and sit down to a proper meal with the other girls … until the real teaching got started!

      Some things came easy, like using the right forks or spoons, sitting up straight and so on. But the girls were expected to talk over dinner, or even lunch. They had to use educated language, and it was very hard work. The first thing Crystal May cut out was saying "ain't." Then she had to work on enriching her vocabulary. Instead of being hungry she was famished. And she couldn't be "mighty" hungry either. She worked from dawn to dusk, from sunrise to sunset, and she was always either "terribly" hungry or "dreadfully" tired. The food was divine, but mealtime was not a break. Madame Madeline and her assistants carried a pack of cards everywhere they went, and on every card was a word a girl would want to employ frequently. Crystal May reckoned – no, she imagined – that in a few months she would look and sound exactly like a fine lady from a fancy college back east.

      Either that or her bottom would be red as a lobster. The girls who couldn't come up with a fancy word at the dinner table got a demerit. There were more demerits for girls who cursed or used slang or exhibited poor posture. Even girls who tried very hard were sure to get demerits for every little thing they did wrong. And when enough demerits piled up, it was time for a spanking.

      "Getting hungry, Goldilocks?"

      "Hello, Carla." Crystal May smiled, but she didn't cry out "hey there!" That was bad vocabulary. She was entitled to a short break every hour, but Madame didn't like girls congregating in the kitchen. And she certainly didn't like to see them eating chocolate bars!

      "Where did you get these?" The slim blonde asked, her blue eyes lighting up as she quickly unwrapped the forbidden treat. She had gone four weeks without a spanking and she was really mighty proud ... certainly quite pleased with herself.

      But she had been dreaming of junk food the entire time.

      "Right out there." Big beautiful Carla's sun-browned cheeks bulged out as she stuffed half the candy bar into her mouth at one time. With her thumb she pointed to the delivery truck outside. "Let's see if we can get them to leave us some cookies for after lights out!"

      "We really shouldn't, Carla." Crystal May nibbled on her chocolate bar, savoring the taste. "You know Madame is always watching."

      "Not today she's not," Carla snorted. "She's got some big law-enforcement type in her office. I think she's trying to convince the guy that we're really a private school!" The sexy Italian girl rolled her eyes as if Madame Madeline's wonderful school was really just a nasty old whorehouse.

      "We are a school," Crystal May said, in an injured tone. "We learn new things every day!"

      "I'll say." Carla wolfed down the rest of her chocolate. "Are you coming outside, baby doll?"

      "Oh, no, I really shouldn't. I have so much work to do!"

      "Well, I'll see you later then, honey. There's more to life than scrubbing pots and pans!"

      "Be careful!" Crystal May felt torn as she watched Carla scamper off to flirt with the boys. She wasn't trying to escape or anything, but even just talking to a delivery boy would get her in trouble. Carla knew that, of course. She was the one who had taught Crystal May all the rules weeks ago. The shy country girl felt mighty obliged — deeply grateful — to the sexy, wise-cracking big-city girl. But it was more than that. She looked up to Carla like a big sister. And she didn't understand why her best friend had gotten so careless lately.

      Crystal May sat down on a low stool behind the kitchen door, frowning as she finished her candy bar with dainty little bites. Maybe the reason Carla was getting such an attitude lately was because she had gotten off kitchen duty and gone back to doing shows. The girls who performed in public always enjoyed their extra privileges. But was it really worth it?

      "... and it's certainly better than being a checkout girl or working at a fast food place," a very sexy and cultivated female voice was saying. Someone was coming down the hall. Crystal May cringed, but there was no place to run. She hoped Madame Madeline wouldn't see her!

      "Crystal May? What on earth are you doing back there?" Madame peeked around the kitchen door. Her kindly dark eyes were puzzled at first, then indignant. "Eating chocolate, I see. Do you have any idea what that can do to your complexion? Not to mention your waistline and your hips."

      "Daisy Mae's figure looks fine to me," said Madame's male companion. He was terribly good looking, with curly black hair and piercing dark eyes just like Madame's. But he was definitely not a lady. He was a tall, broad-shouldered football type in a black suit, sort of like a policeman.

      "My name is Crystal May," she said sharply. She hated being in trouble. She hated letting Madame down. But she also didn't like the way the tall, dark stranger was looking at her.

      "Wait until you are introduced, child," Madame said sternly. But her eyes were twinkling. Deep down Madeline Charles liked a girl with spirit, even if she ran a very tight ship. "Special Agent Matthew Gold, allow me to present Miss Crystal May Snow, one of our most charming new faces."

      "How do you do, Crystal May," the Special Agent said politely. He did have a nice smile.

      "How do you do, Agent Gold? Is someone in trouble? Are you here to arrest someone?" Crystal May knew from watching television that a Special Agent was with the FBI.

      "It's against the law to transport a young woman across state lines for immoral purposes," the FBI man told her. "Madame Madeline here says she's running a school, not a house of prostitution."

      "That's right," Crystal May said breathlessly. "None of the girls here ever have sex with any of the men who come to watch them." Color flooded her cheeks at once. Had she said too much?

      "Watch them do what?" Agent Gold asked, his black eyes sparkling just like Madame's.

      "As you know, Agent Gold, this is an old-fashioned boarding school." Madame Madeline sounded grand yet not quite truthful, like she was reading from an official press release. "We believe in strict discipline and corporal punishment. Public humiliation is a powerful deterrent as well."

      "You mean you spank your girls in public?" Matthew Gold came on all innocent, like this was news to him. But Crystal May could see the all too knowing way he checked out her behind.

      "We never force any girl to take her punishment in public, unless she chooses," Madame said silkily. "But some girls accept it for the good of the school. Isn't that right, Crystal May?"

      "Yes, ma'am." Crystal May blushed, but her big blue eyes were innocent as she looked the handsome FBI