"Excuse me my good man. I need to have a word with you."

"Ah... Yes Ma'am? Just a second. Larry! Drop them there. No, beside the other pile. Yep. John, take over here, would you? Now, what was it? No, over there. Can't hear. Come with me."

"Yes, much better. Thank you kindly. Now listen, I need to check before I start. Are you the superintendent here?"

"I'm the foreman, Ma'am. What seems to be the problem?"

"Do they have to make all that noise?"

"It's a building site Ma'am. What would you suggest?"

"Don't start that attitude with me, Sir. To whom do I complain?"

"About the noise?"

"No! Not the noise."

"Well, to me, I guess. What is it about?"

"It is about your fellow thugs, Sir. What is your name then?"

"Thugs? I am Robert Woods. Rob."

"Yes Mr Woods. Thugs. I am Elizabeth White..."

"Uhhh... yes?"

"... headmistress of St Lucia's..."

"Oh, the White Witch?"

"... for young ladies. How dare you!"

"Sorry Ma'am. It slipped out. I expected someone much older. Frumpy."

"In your social circle, does this qualify as flattery?"

"What? No, no. Look, what can I do for you?"

"It's a delicate matter."

"Oh. Look, it might be a little quieter in the office there, if you prefer."

"No, no. We are here now. Thank you for the offer. Perhaps you are not a thug after all."

"I should hope not, Miss White."

"Well, then, this matter... I'm no longer sure how to... Well, I think Sir, that I could be blunt without causing offence?"

"You going to call me names again?"

"No, no."

"I can take it."

"All right. I had one of my young ladies report to me in the office yesterday. The poor girl was beside herself."

"I might be able to guess where this is going."

"I thought perhaps you might. This girl thought she was with child."

"And?"

"She is not. I was a little surprised at her lack of basic biology understanding. I will be having stern words with her teachers. Nonetheless, she did have cause for her upset. She had, Sir, lost something."

"Oh, is that all? Perhaps if you tell me what it is, I could assist?"

"No Mr Woods. You misunderstand. It cannot be found."

"No?"

"No Sir. Her innocence, Sir. She has become a woman."

"Oh?"

"Oh, you are very exasperating! She lost her virginity!"

"Oh! I'm sorry. You need to speak more plainly. I'm a builder, for God's sake."

"Yes, I see now."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"One of your fellow builders took it!"

"Are you sure, Miss White?"

"Oh I'm sure. I obtained the entire story from her. It seems she is not alone, and there are a number of brutes from this building site involved."

"Brutes?"

"Brutes, to take advantage of a young woman that way."

"I can assure you Miss, there was no taking advantage. In fact, the girls started it."

"So you admit it?"

"I don't know whether you ever leave the school and spend time with real people Ma'am, but those girls are of age. They are able to make these choices themselves."

"They are children."

"You might think so."

"So Mr Woods, you admit fornicating with my girls?"

"Nothing of the sort. I have heard stories around the site. I'm sure some of them are true."

"Well, are these assignations common?"

"Assig... what?"

"The meetings with the girls. Do they happen often?"

"Oh. Could you walk with me a little, Miss White? Perhaps I can explain."

"That would be most appreciated."

"Around here behind this wall."

"Oh, this is a little more quiet."

"Yes. We're not working here for a while yet. Anyway, look up on the bank there. See the school wall?"

"Oh, yes of course."

"Your young ladies sit on that fence..."

"They do not. That area is forbidden."

"... and pull their skirts up almost to their hips, showing off their legs..."

"No!"

"... and their knickers. Flash their breasts."

"This is hardly a crime, surely, though I will have to have words."

"Look over here. We mostly have lunch at the top of that wall over there, beneath the crane."

"Where, Sir?"

"There, between the two columns."

"You... Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'. The workers were mostly well behaved, at least at the start. Maybe a few whistles."

"I see."

"But then, the girls started to show even more of their skin, amongst other things. Bared their bums, and told the guys to come down and eat lunch with them."

"Grown men with girlfriends and wives, Sir."

"I'm not arguing. Anyway, one thing led to another..."

"Another?"

"Some of the girls stopped showing up. The others took things further."

"But Mr Woods, how did they get from flirting and whistling to fears of pregnancy?"

"It started as a dare. One of your young ladies suggested that none of us were men enough to 'take care of her'."

"I take if she was proven wrong?"

"Yes."

"But... I'm still stunned. Where did he take her?"

"Take? Oh, no. They did it here."

"Here?"

"Yes, yes. Against the wall in fact, just there, so the rest of our boys couldn't see them. The girls could, though."

"This man is disgraceful. Something must be done."

"I don't think so, Ma'am. After all, she asked him to. In any case, he, and she were just the first."