***
At the time I was not really certain of how Mother Curry made her living. I knew that she had enough income to feed and clothe about a dozen other girls who lived in separate rooms down the hall from us. They were fairly pretty things, but all of them older than myself and obviously much more worldly as well. Initially I fancied that the girls knew not my secret relationship with our guardian, but from their little smirks and a snippet of conversation overheard now and then, I soon received the impression that they understood my position all too well. My face burned whenever I saw the wenches. I was not ashamed of mine own desires, but the knowledge that they could see right through me, laughing at my state, infuriated me.
Yet eventually I realized that the girls did not seem to disa
