Forbidden Seduction (The Diamond Club Book 12)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  When the woman had pushed out through the doors, Naya held her breath as she stared up at the two women that were now in control of her future.

  “I’m very sorry that you had to endure that vile woman’s treatment, Ms. Banks,” the headmistress apologized. “Rest assured that you will be treated with respect while here at The Burling School. We consider our girls to be some of the finest and smartest in the country, possibly the world.”

  Naya swallowed. She wasn’t very smart. She earned excellent grades in school, but only because she didn’t want the teachers to point to her and tell her that she was wrong. Naya didn’t want the other students to look at her as if she were a bug. Naya couldn’t afford new clothes or shoes, so the only thing she had was her grades.

  The other woman, the pretty one, stepped closer. “I’m not just a teacher here at the school,” Ms. Dunworthy explained. “I’ll also be your dormitory advisor.” She smiled gently and Naya felt a small bit of tension leave her shoulders. “I’m honored to meet you, Naya. Why don’t we get you some school uniforms? Then I’ll show you to your dormitory. The other girls arrived yesterday, but I have your bed all made up for you.”

  The headmistress nodded approvingly. “Ms. Banks, if you ever need help, please feel free to visit my office. For anything,” she said with a firm nod. “Ms. Dunworthy will take very good care of you, dear.”

  And with that, the stern woman turned on her heel and walked back into her office.

  Naya looked around, not sure what to expect from the others working in the office. But they were all diligently working on computers or doing…whatever it was that people in school offices did.

  “This way,” Ms. Dunworthy called out. “May I call you Naya?” she asked.

  Naya nodded, not sure what else to say.

  “Let’s have a look at the school uniforms that are available,” she said and stepped into a room filled with blue and grey plaid skirts along one wall, in various sizes with the smallest at one end and the largest at the other. Along the back wall, there were white shirts and the next wall, navy jackets, the clothing forming a U with the doorway at the other end. Along the floor were dark shoes and boxes of socks.

  “Why don’t you try these on?” she said and took a skirt and shirt off of the racks, handing them to Naya. “There is a dressing room there,” and she pointed towards a door.

  Naya stepped through the door, feeling self-conscious and nervous. The uniform felt stiff, as if no one had ever worn it before. The material couldn’t be new though. She’d never worn anything that someone hadn’t already broken in.

  But she pulled off her clothes, turning away from the mirror because her bra and underwear were ugly. Simple, white cotton underwear and bra was all that the foster care system would pay for. Naya slipped the skirt on first, adjusting the leather buckle on the side of her left hip. Then she carefully unbuttoned the blouse and pulled it on, rebuttoning and tucking it into the waistband of her skirt. Only then would she turn and look at her reflection in the mirror.

  “Wow!” she whispered, running her hand down the front of her skirt. “I look…normal!”

  She stared for a moment, enjoying the sight of her image in the mirror. She wouldn’t stand out in this uniform, she thought with her first happy thought of the day. She’d be just one of the other students. No one would know that she had no money or that she was the school’s charity case for the year.

  Stepping out of the dressing room, Ms. Dunworthy turned and looked at Naya. “That looks perfect!” she said with an approving nod. “Okay, now you need socks and shoes.” She bent and pulled a pair of shoes out of a box. “Try these on.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Naya had five complete uniforms, four of them in her suitcase and was wearing one, including new shoes and socks. She also had tights for the winter months and the uniform’s winter wool coat.

  “Let’s get you settled into your dorm room now, shall we?” she offered.

  Naya nodded, eager to start this wonderful new life with her new clothes that no one had worn before her.

  Ms. Dunworthy led her across the campus and Naya shrunk back slightly when many of the girls turned to look at her. She hated being the center of attention, but she also refused to look ashamed. She was a normal girl here, she reminded herself. She looked exactly like the others.

  “Here we are,” Ms. Dunworthy said and pulled open the door. “We’re on the third floor, so we always get lots of exercise.” She allowed Naya to step through the door first. “The dining hall is next door to us, the stables are…”

  “Stables?” Naya asked, surprised by that one word.

  “Oh yes! All the girls here at The Burling School learn to ride. It’s one of the required courses for our physical activities. Plus tennis and golf and a variety of other sports. We also have team intramural sports, so if you want to join one of the teams, just let me know and we’ll get you the equipment needed.”

  Naya couldn’t believe this heaven she’d stepped into. Sports? She’d never played sports, never had the money for the team fees.

  “Thank you,” Naya whispered to the kind teacher.

  Ms. Dunworthy laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, don’t thank me now, Naya. This is a very challenging school. But I suspect that you will be up for the challenge. You’re very smart, and very beautiful. You have a lot going for you, although, I think we need to buck up your confidence a bit, don’t we?” she offered with a gentle smile.

  Naya didn’t reply to any of that. She wasn’t smart, but she was determined. If remaining at this school meant upping her game, she was going to do it! No way would she get kicked back into the foster care system just because she’d earned less than stellar grades!

  Cassy’s Arrival

  Cassy stared at the stone buildings, moving closer to her dad as she watched the other girls in their pristine uniforms rush past.

  “It’s going to be better, honey,” her father said, trying to sound reassuring, but Cassy heard the tension in his voice. “The girls here…there aren’t any boys.”

  Cassy felt more than saw her mother’s hand tighten on her father’s arm. They were both concerned for her. She loved them both and was sincerely appreciative of what they were doing. But this school…it was very expensive. Her parents weren’t rich and sending her here was going to be difficult.

  “Mom, Dad…” she turned to face them, “I don’t need to come here. It’s too expensive.” She sighed. “I’ll be fine at my old school. I can just ignore the boys who…” she couldn’t say the words, the pain and humiliation of the rumors that had been going around were just too painful.

  “Honey, don’t you worry about the expense,” her father reassured her. “Because of your excellent grades, you’ve earned a very good scholarship.”

  Her mother smiled gently. “In reality, this school is practically paying us to send you here.”

  Cassy perked up at that news. “Really?” she whispered, her eyes widening.

  Her father nodded, a smile breaking out over his features. “Really, honey.” He pulled Cassy in for a hug. “The reason we’re worried is because you’re so young. And I was hoping for more time with you at home.”

  Cassy’s mother sniffed as she wrapped her arms around her daughter’s shoulders. “But this is going to be good for you. The things that those boys said about you, I know that they weren’t true. And I also know that they hurt you deeply. So if this school can shield you from those horrible things, then that’s a good thing, dear.”

  Cassy’s arms tightened around her mother, feeling her father move in to wrap both of them in his strong embrace as well. “I love you guys,” she whispered, fighting the tears again. “I promise that this will work out! I promise that I won’t do anything that will create even a whiff of those rumors!”

  Her mother pulled back and looked at Cassy with urgency. “Don’t you dare think that any of those rumors were your fault!” she said forcefully. “You did nothing wrong! You have a figure that those girls e
nvy and the boys are simply juvenile imbeciles that don’t know how to treat a lady!”

  Her father nodded his head. “As you get older, honey, the boys will as well and they’ll start to see your brains and your wonderful personality. You just...” he stopped awkwardly, but all three of them knew what he was thinking. Her breasts. Yes, Cassy had developed faster than the other girls in her class, although now she wore a tight sports bra to hide that fact.

  Her lashes lowered slightly so that her parents couldn’t see the pain of her friends’ betrayal. “I know, but their words hurt.”

  Her mother put a hand to Cassy’s cheek and Cassy leaned into the reassuring touch. “This is a fresh start, honey. Here, your brains will shine. Not your figure!” her mother told her.

  “Excuse me,” a new voice called out from behind Cassy. “Are you Cassandra Finnegan?”

  Cassy turned, wiping the tears from her cheeks and pasting a bright, positive smile onto her face. “Yes, I’m Cassy Finnegan,” she said, startled by the beautiful woman standing about two feet away. Her sandy blond hair and her pale skin glowed despite the conservative, tweed suit that she wore.

  The woman stepped forward, extending her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Finnegan. May I call you Cassy? Or do you prefer Ms. Finnegan?”

  Cassy blinked, not sure how to respond. No one had ever asked her that before. No one had ever respected her enough to care. “Um…Cassy is fine,” she replied awkwardly. She’d been called some pretty horrible names over the past several months, so someone calling her by her nick name sounded pretty darn nice!

  “Excellent! I’m Ms. Dunworthy and it is a pleasure to meet you, Cassy.” She turned to Cassy’s parents, introducing herself to each of them with a professional smile that only made her features look even more beautiful. Cassy wondered what it would be like if someone looked at her face first, instead of her protruding…well, she was overly developed and people tended to notice her breasts first.

  Ms. Dunworthy hadn’t though. She’d looked directly into Cassy’s eyes. Not even a passing glance downward. Nice!

  After the introductions, Ms. Dunworthy turned back to Cassy. “I am an English teacher here at the school, but I am also your dormitory advisor. How about if I lead you to your dorm room and introduce you to your roommates? They are already here and I suspect that the three of you will get along extremely well!”

  Cassy smiled for the first time in days at those words. Friends, she thought. Cassy might have friends!

  She’d had friends at her old school, until the rumors had started. Those horrible boys had said…she pushed those old comments aside. There weren’t any boys here. No boys to start mean, disgusting rumors about things she didn’t even understand. She was safe here. Safe and…might even have a few friends!

  Chapter 1

  Tamara stared at the two other girls in the room, furious with her father for abandoning her here and wanting to lash out at anyone to ease her heartache. But the two girls looked just as sad and confused as she was.

  “I’m engaged,” she blurted out, then looked around, startled to hear those words.

  There was a long pause and she looked at the girl with a mass of curly, brown hair, her hazel eyes wide with surprise.

  Tamara shrugged as she took another shirt out of her suitcase, placing it on her bed. She wasn’t really sure what to do with her clothes, which was why she kept glancing at the other two girls. Tamara had always had maids to tend to her clothing, so “putting things away” was an absolute mystery.

  “My father just married his fifth wife,” another voice announced.

  Tamara’s head swung around. The red-head, she realized.

  “Five wives isn’t unheard of in my world,” she said. That was true, but it had never felt right that men could have multiple wives. She didn’t want that from her marriage. “But I’d prefer having five husbands to being one of five wives.”

  There was a giggle and Tamara smiled, relieved that someone appreciated her sarcastic humor.

  “He doesn’t have five all at the same time,” the red-head explained, taking a stack of shirts and putting them in the middle drawer of her wardrobe. “He marries them, then divorces them. Has a few affairs during, after and before he finds the next wife.”

  Tamara quickly took a stack of shirts from her suitcase and placed them in the middle drawer of her own wardrobe, then glanced back, trying to be surreptitious about her efforts to observe and learn.

  “That’s nicer, probably,” she replied, although the idea of never having to deal with a husband at all sounded ideal.

  The one with lots of curls wiped a tear and Tamara realized that she wasn’t the only one who was sad and scared and…well, confused.

  That girl sniffed, straightened her shoulders and pulled herself up as if girding herself for whatever might come next. “My mother died a few years ago and my father doesn’t know what to do with me. Hence, my presence here at The Burling School,” the curly haired girl explained, then lifted a stack of jeans, putting them in the bottom drawer.

  Tamara hesitated. “That really sucks,” she commented with feeling.

  “Yeah,” the curly haired girl agreed. “It did.” She then turned to Tamara with a tentative smile. “Thanks for not saying ‘I’m sorry for your loss’.” She shook her head, those amazing curls dancing around her creamy skin, then lifted a bunch of her underwear, panties and bras, into her arms and dumped it all into the top drawer. “People keep saying that to me and it just sounds so insincere. It’s like they don’t know what else to say, so they spout those stupid words and look at me with pity.” She turned, her shoulders pulled back and her chin up for the first time since she’d walked in.

  Tamara slumped down onto the bed. “My father knows exactly what to do with his only daughter. He betrothed me to some stranger when I was a baby. And then he pretty much washed his hands of me. Except when he needs to tell me I’m doing something wrong, or that I’m a disappointment to him.” She looked at the other two girls, a slow, secret smile forming on her lips. “He sent me here because he wants me to become a lady and ‘learn my place’, whatever that means.”

  The red-head, who Tamara would have pegged as too shy for that kind of full-bodied laugh, turned around and looked at her companions. “My father doesn’t care what I do, as long as I don’t interfere with his ability to have affairs with a succession of buxom women.”

  Tamara grinned, relaxing for the first time since she’d been told she was being sent away to boarding school. “Sounds like we all have ‘daddy issues’. But since I don’t want to be a lady, I have other plans.” She looked at the other two girls, feeling kindred spirits. “I’m Tamara,” she told them, leaving off her title of princess. She didn’t want her title to be a hindrance to making friends with these girls. She’d never had friends. Living in a palace meant that she’d been surrounded by people, but none that she’d consider friends.

  The red-head stepped forward, extending her hand. “I’m Willow,” she announced. “But let’s agree that we have issues, but they aren’t daddy issues. Because that puts the power in someone else’s name.”

  Willow looked at the other two girls, Tamara and…well, the curly haired girl hadn’t said her name yet but she looked friendly enough. “What if we thought of our issues as…abandonment? I read that term once and it feels right. And it also gives us the power.”

  Tamara smiled, nodding as if she agreed. “And how do we stop feeling abandoned?”

  The other girl stepped forward, shaking Willow’s hand first, then Tamara’s. “We agree that men don’t have power over us,” she said. “I’m Lana,” she told Tamara and Willow. “And I think you’re brilliant Willow.”

  Willow felt as if she might start sparkling with that praise. No one had ever complimented her before and…it felt really nice. “I guess we should finish unpacking. But maybe afterwards, we could wander around the campus together?” she offered, feeling silly for wanting friends so desperately. And
not wanting to be alone. She was so tired of being alone! Of tiptoeing through life, trying to remain invisible so that one of her step mothers didn’t walk into a room and offer “advice” on how she should dress, or going out to a dinner with her father, only to have him talk to his fans, forgetting that she was by his side.

  Tamara and Lana looked at her. Really looked at her! It was nice to be seen. To be acknowledged as a human being and not someone to be “fixed” as her step mothers constantly tried to do. Or ignored as her father did to her on a daily basis.

  Lana smiled, feeling hope for the first time in a long time. “I think that’s a great plan,” she replied, feeling brave all of a sudden. “My father’s a good guy, but he gets a bit wrapped up in business. And I don’t really like business or numbers.”

  Willow tilted her head slightly. “What do you like to do?”

  Lana hesitated, but then remembered that she was going to be brave going forward. “I draw,” she announced. “I love drawing. Anything and everything.” She lifted her chin. “I’ll draw both of you, if you’d like?”

  The exotic girl turned, her long, dark hair spinning around, wafting over her shoulders like a dark, silk cascade, and looked in Lana’s direction. “You can draw? Seriously?”

  Lana turned and took another stack of shirts out of her bag, hugging them to her chest as she turned back to her roommates. “Yeah. It soothes me. I work out all of my issues by putting them on a paper.” She grinned and shrugged slightly. “My notebooks are filled with drawings, even my math notebook. It drove my math teachers crazy!”

  Willow laughed as she unloaded the rest of her clothes, then stored her suitcase under her bed. “I think that’s really cool!”

  Lana sighed with relief. “My father says I can’t earn a living by drawing stuff. He tells me that I need to focus more on math. That the world is all about math and science.”