She would have appealed to men of any age, and pleased them well. It was not a haidened face at all. Indeed, it was a face of soft loveliness with most attractive and understanding eyes of green.

Her skirt was short, in style with the times, and her legs were still very much fit to wear such things. She motioned for the girls to sit.

"My name is Ravan," she said in a soft voice.

"Not Miss Ravan, or wardeness, or mistress or anything else. Just… Ravan. I am in charge of the ten slaves that are here. Jan is in charge of you two specifically."

It was that word again. Slaves. How easily and naturally she had used it, the same as Jan!

"Avondale is not.a game. It is not fun… at first. You consider yourselves fortunate to be sent here rather than jail, I'm sure. Within very many days however, you will be willing to trade your six months here for a few years in jail You can count on it. But. in time, that will pass. There is a school of thought that young ladies are redirected more efficiently by a shorter and more severe incarcera- tion, than by languishing in jail for two or three years. The latter seem to come out worse than be- fore, but an Avondale girl leaves a very beautiful and reoriented young lady indeed. Society has willed, mistakingly I might; add, that the training of young ladies in 'proper schools' is against the grain of modern living. A century ago, even thirty years ago, England abounded with training schools. Not prisons, or reform schools, but, proper schools of great esteem where every young English girl would give her right arm to at,tend. It was an honor, for such girls who were fortunate to go left as beautiful young women."