But seriously, something needed to be done about this bare, desolate room. The walls were white. The trim white. The wardrobe was…tiny and made of old wood with nicks and scratches along the sides. Tamara stood beside her bed, wondering when the maids would arrive. She wanted to change clothes but…there wasn’t anyone here to unpack her suitcases or make her bed. Not to mention, she’d been traveling for more than twelve hours, so she’d also love a bath. And a massage! Oh, yes, a massage sounded wonderful about now.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone around here. No one hurried into the room to empty her suitcases or to draw a bath. No one stepped through the doors with refreshments.
She glanced down at the suitcases surrounding her, not sure what to do with everything. At the end of her bed was a stack of sheets and blankets neatly folded, waiting for…waiting for her to make the bed? Was she seriously supposed to…make her bed? How did one even do that?
Tamara stood there, trying to hide her fears as she looked around. But no one else entered the room, although she heard several other girls down the hallway, all of them laughing and talking about…whatever it was that they were discussing. They probably all knew how to make one’s bed, she thought with increasing frustration at her life. She wanted to be independent. Ms. Dunworthy had said something about the girls here at The Burling School being strong and fierce…or something like that. Tamara wanted that! She wanted to be fierce and independent and strong and powerful!
Instead, she was just a girl who didn’t even know how to make one’s bed.
Lana’s Arrival
“I don’t want to go, Bampas!” Lana whispered, leaning her head against her father’s softly padded shoulder as the limousine inched closer and closer. He was a big, gruff man with perhaps fifty extra pounds softening his frame, but Lana didn’t care. She loved him and she knew that he loved her. So why did she have to leave her home in Greece where the world was warm and happy? Where their family and friends came over for extravagant dinners and she could go to a normal school with all of her childhood friends? Why was she being punished like this? Why did her father want her to attend this horrid school in this miserable country where the sky looked leaden and her heard even heavier?!
There was a long line of expensive cars, some limousines, some sedans or SUVs both in front of their limousine as well as behind them. As each neared the front of the long, curved driveway, a girl and her parents exited the vehicle. Lana watched with horror as the girls hugged their parents goodbye, then hefted her suitcase and walked away. Some of the girls ran back to their parents, crying and sobbing, demanding one more hug. Others smiled as they headed towards the entrance to the ugly stone buildings in the distance.
Her father’s awkward attempt at affection distracted her from watching the scene at the end of the long, miserable driveway. “I know, gliko koritsi,” her father sighed. “But you know this is one of the best schools for girls in Europe. And I want the best for you.”
Lana knew that. They’d talked about this school for a couple of years. Until this moment, Lana had been completely on board, eager for the adventure. It would be nice to get out of her father’s house and away from his manic ranting that had been an almost daily occurrence lately. His fury over business dealings in the past year had become louder and more adamant. Over the past several months, their dinner conversations had deteriorated to her father’s frustration with one man; Christoph Anastas.
According to Lana’s father, Mr. Anastas was an upstart, arrogant “ass” (although Lana was never allowed to use that term herself!) who had dared to compete with her father. Even more audacious, the man was winning at these competitions.
Lana had never met this odious Christoph Anastas, but she suspected him to be another man just like her father or one of his contemporaries. Or even better, Mr. Anastas was old and about to retire. That would be the best scenario, because that meant that the man would leave her sweet, wonderful, loving father alone and then things could get back to normal.
Then again, Lana had complete faith in her father’s business acumen. He was ingenious when it came to crushing his competition! There was nothing that Higar Kosta couldn’t do! Her father was big and powerful and Lana just knew that this Anastas man would go away eventually. He’d be crushed and wish that he’d never messed with her bampas!
“We’re here, agapite mou,” her father announced gently.
Lana turned her head and looked out through the passenger side window. “I don’t like it. I want to go home,” she announced, only slightly ashamed of the petulant tone.
Her father’s deep laugh soothed her. “I know, meli, but this is going to be a very good experience for you. You will learn new things, improve your English and grow up to be a beautiful woman who will marry a handsome man and give me lots of grandbabies to spoil.”
Lana smiled, but inwardly, she cringed. She didn’t want to have babies, but Lana also didn’t want to disappoint her bampas. Her mother had already passed away several years ago, so her father was all she had left. As an only child, it was her job not to disappoint her papa and to carry on the family name, provide a male heir so that her father could train him to take over the family shipping business. It was only in her weak moments that she rebelled against that sort of future for herself.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked, looking up at her father with tear-stained eyes.
Her father smiled gently down at her. “I’m going to be fine!” he said with a grumpy tone. “Just you wait. When you come home for Christmas break, I will have crushed this young man and we will take a trip to the coast. Just you and me. Does that sound good?”
Lana smiled and reached out to hug her dad. “Yes, Bampas. That sounds wonderful!”
With that promise to help her get through the next several months, she slipped out of the limousine. Her father followed behind her as the driver pulled the single suitcase out of the trunk. “I wish I had my…” she sighed, then stopped pressing her lips together. “Never mind.”
A pretty teacher with sandy blond hair stepped forward. “Ms. Lana Kostas?” the woman asked.
Lana turned and smiled politely at the woman. Her etiquette instructor would be so proud! “Yes. I’m Lana Kostas,” she replied, extending her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lana. I’m Ms. Dunworthy. I’ll be your dormitory advisor.” The woman then turned to smile at her father. “Mr. Kostas, if there is anything that you need, please feel free to contact me at any time.”
Lana watched her father shake Ms. Dunworthy’s hand while Lana stepped back and looked around. There were a lot of other girls arriving, each of them being greeted by other faculty members. But none of the other staff members were as pretty as Ms. Dunworthy. She wasn’t glamorous or exotic, Lana thought, tilting her head to the side. Ms. Dunworthy was pretty in a quiet sort of way. It was nice. The woman seemed nice too. She was younger than Lana would have thought the school would hire, but what did she know?
“I’ll take very good care of her.”
Lana’s father nodded enthusiastically. “She has a cell phone and can contact me when she just needs a little papa time,” he told her.
The startled expression on Ms. Dunworthy’s face caused Lana’s stomach muscles to tighten with dread. Her next words confirmed the worst.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Kostas. But there are no cell phones allowed on campus. It was in the freshman orientation package that we sent out to all of the students and parents.”
Higar Kostas looked startled. “No cell phones? But…?”
Ms. Dunworthy smiled reassuringly. “We’ve found that the students acclimate better to the school’s routines when the girls are focused on their current environment.” She moved slightly. “But I guarantee that the girls will be writing home and if there are any issues, even the slightest problem with Lana’s health or welfare, we will contact you immediately. And the reverse is true as well. If you need to contact Lana for any reason, please call me and I’ll ha
ve her reach out to you.”
Lana looked at her father, willing him to take her out of here over that announcement. She wanted to go home. “Bampas, this is wrong. I should be with you. I could go to school at the high school near our house and help you in the office every afternoon. I should be learning the business anyway. You know that I should. You don’t have a son to…”
Lana’s voice trailed off. Her words weren’t convincing her father to take her home. In fact, just the opposite. Her efforts were convincing him that she should stay here at this miserable school and become a “true lady” so that she could come home and get married, become an asset to her future husband.
“Don’t worry, Lana,” Ms. Dunworthy said with a reassuring smile. “We’re going to get along just fine together. Why don’t you grab your suitcase and I’ll show you to our dormitory?” she offered.
Lana’s eyes pleaded with her father. “Bampas, you’re going to be lonely all by yourself,” she offered.
Higar shook his head. “This is for you, agapite mou,” he said and pulled her in for one last hug. “You stay. You learn and become a lady. I will be very proud of you.”
And with that, he rushed back into the waiting limousine and ducked into the dark interior. The driver firmly closed the door and walked around to the driver’s seat and, a moment later, drove her precious bampas away from her.
Lana looked around, startled to feel so…alone. There were other girls walking along the pathway, talking and laughing in small groups but she felt a coldness settle into her bones. Cold and pain, that’s all she felt. Well, and abandoned. Yes, she’d been abandoned by her own father!
“It’s going to be okay,” Ms. Dunworthy whispered, still standing beside Lana as if shielding her from the other students’ view.
Lana blinked back the tears as her father’s vehicle turned the corner. She stood there until she couldn’t see his tail lights any longer. Finally, she turned and looked up at the woman. “Yes,” she said in response. “I’m going to be fine!”
Lana didn’t believe that lie, but she was going with it for a while. She just needed to find a quiet place and pull out her sketch pad, she thought. Yes, once she was drawing, she wouldn’t feel this pain any longer. She wouldn’t feel abandoned. Maybe she’d draw a dragon. A friendly dragon that would fly her away from this horrible place. But she wouldn’t fly home. No, her father had left her. He didn’t want her at home. Her dragon would fly her to a private island. Some place warm and sunny. Some place where there weren’t any strangers!
“There is a girl named Tamara that arrived earlier today,” Ms. Dunworthy commented. “She is going to be one of your roommates and she is already up in the dorm room, probably just as scared as you are.”
Lana turned to look at the woman, forcing her lips to smile politely. “I’m not scared,” she lied again. “I’m fine. But…” she swallowed past the painful lump of abandonment in her throat. “If this other girl is scared, then I should…probably go and…help,” she stated or suggested, Lana wasn’t quite sure if her words had come across as a question or a statement.
Ms. Dunworthy smiled and the expression changed her features from pretty to…beautiful! It was a startling transformation, and Lana wanted to see it again. “That’s wonderful to hear,” she said. “I’ll show you the way.”
Lana nodded and picked up her suitcase. The orientation form had advised that students bring suitcases with rollers on it so Lana pulled the handle out and started walking, rolling her suitcase behind her. As she looked around, Lana noticed that other students hadn’t read the information packet and were lugging heavy-looking suitcases across the grass. Thank goodness she’d read that information!
Ella’s Arrival
Ella looked at the line of expensive vehicles inch towards the high, stone gate, irritated with herself for feeling inferior. Her father’s serviceable sedan wasn’t expensive, but it had gotten her here to this elite school.
“Are you sure about this, honey?” her father asked.
Ella turned her head and smiled at him. “I’m sure,” she replied. “This is going to be a good opportunity. The girls who attend this school are usually accepted into the best universities.” She laid a hand on his arm. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked. “Mom said that she’d make your favorite meal when you get home today.”
Her father laughed. “Yes, she’s more worried about me than you, isn’t she?”
Ella’s eyes danced with a playful glint. “You’re the one who is struggling with this. I’m thinking that this school is just the first step towards my goal.”
“To win a Gemstone Award for your news reporting, right?” he teased.
Ella nodded her head. “Yes. You laugh, but I’m going to do it!” The line of cars moved forward and Ella’s eyes widened. “Did you know that Marlena Havington and Josephine Marlow attended this school as well?” She leaned her head out of the window, trying to see what was taking so long.
“I believe those two writer’s names were mentioned last week,” he replied, chuckling as he inched forward. They were past the stone gate now.
Ella pulled her head back in, her eyes narrowing at her father’s tone. “You mock me, but some day, another girl is going to be coming to this school just like me. And she’s going to say, ‘Hey, did you know that Ella Fleming, that awesome reporter, went to this school?’ Her father isn’t going to laugh at her.”
Tom chuckled again. “Everyone is very proud of you.” There was a break in the line and the cars moved forward. Suddenly, it was Ella’s turn to step out of the car. “I have to go,” she told him and leaned across the seat, hugging him before he stepped out of the car. “Come visit me next weekend, okay? You’re only an hour away, so you have no excuse not to see me, dad!”
He laughed a moment before Ella jumped out of the car. “I love you!” he called out.
Ella turned, a huge grin on her pretty features, then she shifted on her heel and started speaking to a pretty woman. “I’m Ms. Dunworthy,” the woman explained.
“It’s great to meet you,” Ella replied, shaking the woman’s hand. “I understand that you’re my dormitory advisor. Where do I go?”
Ms. Dunworthy smiled, laughing just as her father had done moments ago. Ella didn’t mind. She loved this place already. The old, stone buildings were grey and dark, but the sun was shining for the moment. There was a chill in the air but Ella ignored the cold. She simply pulled her handmade sweater closer as she hefted her duffel bag higher onto her shoulder.
“This way,” Ms. Dunworthy said and turned, heading towards one of the long buildings running along the side of the school campus. “I understand that you are signed up for my writing class,” she started off as a conversation.
Ella nodded. “Yes. I’m going to write for The London Times as soon as I graduate from university. So I need to take as many writing courses as possible.” She wrinkled her nose. “No creative writing though. I don’t want anyone to assume that my work is fiction. I will concentrate strictly on fact-based reporting.”
Ms. Dunworthy nodded, but Ella wasn’t sure if her serious expression was mocking or honest.
“I understand. I’ll also introduce you to the head of the student newspaper. The student population is only about two hundred, but…”
“I’ll take anything. Even small assignments. Everything will help me hone my writing skills,” she replied.
“That’s the spirit!” Ms. Dunworthy replied. “Here we are,” she said, and pulled open a heavy door. “The stairs are to the right and you’ll be in the second bedroom on the third floor.” Ella’s dark pony tail bobbed along as she raced up the stairs in her worn jeans and hoodie. The jeans had obviously seen better days, but Ella didn’t worry about that. She was here on a scholarship and wasn’t going to worry about the price of her jeans. She was here to learn, not to compete on a fashion issue. Besides, she’d change into her school uniform as soon as she was unpacked. Uniforms tended to put everyone on an equal footin
g, she thought.
“Ella, you are in the room to your right,” Ms. Dunworthy announced.
Ella peered into the room to the left and noticed a dark haired exotic beauty and another girl with dark, curly hair but Ella couldn’t see this other girl’s features. The dark haired girl was…well, nothing short of amazingly beautiful, except for the sneer on her face as she lifted things out of her suitcase.
“Good grief, how many suitcases did you bring?” Ella asked.
The dark haired girl looked up and froze while the curly haired girl swung around, staring in stunned horror.
“Sorry!” Ella replied, lifting her hand in the air.
The curly haired girl walked over to the exotic girl, and dual chins lifted in defiance. “What do you care?” the curly haired girl asked.
Ella lifted her hand into the air, palm out. “Just asking,” she said, then backed away and moved into the room on the opposite side of the hallway. Ms. Dunworthy was talking to several other girls so Ella moved into the room and dumped her duffel bag onto the nearest bed. Then she looked around, assessing the layout, mentally determining which bed would be the best for studying. “Window!” she decided and lifted her duffel back up to move it onto the bed closest to the window. “The better to see out into the world,” she whispered and looked down at the tree-lined courtyard below. There were girls moving around the campus, most of them in pairs with their heads leaning towards each other. For a brief moment, Ella thought it would be nice to have friends here, but when she looked at the girls in the other bedroom, they were now speaking in hushed tones.
The curly haired girl was pretty as well and Ella slid her hands over her well-worn jeans. A self-conscious spurt of awareness hit her and she wished that she had hips. Or boobs. Or something that could lend her a bit of the beauty that the other two girls had in spades. It wasn’t really fair that those two girls were so beautiful and she was…well, plain. She had dark hair and non-descript, blue eyes. There wasn’t anything especially interesting about her, but…
Forbidden Seduction (The Diamond Club Book 12) Page 9