Faith, Hope and Charity

"This is one sick crowd of people, I hope that we can nail them this time."

"I hope that you can too. While it was an easy gig for us girls, what they were preparing to do to the good Rev's daughters is disgusting, totally disgusting."

It was early evening, and Faith was in the process of preparing dinner for Brad and herself, when the front door opened and Hope and Charity strode in with self-satisfied looks on their faces.

"Where have you two been?" Faith asked.

"If you must know, getting well and truly laid."

"Don't tell me that you went out and fucked the first man you met?"

"Give us credit for a little common sense." Hope said. "I made love to a boy that I like a lot and who likes me. I didn't just go up to him and ask him to fuck me, I had a long talk with him in which we discussed how we felt about each other and our plans for the future. He is not only smart, but he was actually reluctant to take the next step in our relationship until I had convinced him that it was what I really wanted."

"I made love to my second choice. My first choice turned out to be something of a disappointment, it was all about him. Even before we had kissed properly he wanted me to go down on him and suck his cock, no working up to it, no asking me if I wanted to do it, just suck my cock. I left him there with it hanging out of his jocks like a deflated windsock. The next one was more interested in me and what I wanted. He was gentle and passionate and did it slowly and gave me time to reach my climax before he came himself. It was quite lovely, after the initial pain. He told me that now that we'd got that out of the way, we would make love when we wanted to, not have to do it every time that we were alone together."

"I'm making dinner for us, if you want it, or else we can order out."

"Ordering out sounds good, what'll it be, Pizza?"

"Sounds good, can you find a Pizza place that can deliver two family sized pizzas, you choose, some garlic bread and soft drinks."

The door opened again and Madeline Virtue walked slowly into the kitchen. "Where's Father, isn't he with you?"

"No. He's been remanded in custody. It seems as if there are a lot more charges pending, including fraud, blackmail and money laundering. It seems as if some of the committee were using the church finances to launder money from drugs and prostitution. One of the regular girls has spoken to the police and has outlined the whole operation. I think that the church might well be finished. Even the mayor has been asked to resign in disgrace. And his lovely wife has been charged with prostitution, it seemed as if she wasn't satisfied with wife-swapping, she was charging the husbands that she was screwing."

"This is a mess." Faith said. "All of these years we have lived in strict obedience to Father and his rules, and what do we find, he has broken his own rules. He has given no thought to the trauma that what he had planned would have caused to us girls. The next time that you speak to him you can tell him that our virginity is no longer for sale, we have, each of us, made sure of that."

"Oh no, please don't tell me that you have all gone out and thrown your virginity away."

"No, we are not in danger of becoming known as the 'easy Virtue' sisters. But we have given ourselves to young men that we love and, I'm speaking for myself here, who we intend to marry, as soon as possible. And, let me tell you that it will not be a church wedding either. What Father had planned for us has turned us off church, totally."

"I understand your reaction to this, but would you please think about it for some time before making your decision. The acts of some church people does not equate to acts of all. There are some good people associated with the church. Maybe you'd have a hard time finding one in this church, but there are others not so corrupt."

"How many churches would welcome us into their fold after this? Understanding and forgiveness aren't strong points in churches like ours."

"Not all churches are like ours." Madeline muttered softly, the shame of what had almost happened was sinking in.

The door bell rang. "Saved by the bell, that'll be the pizzas." Hope went off to collect the pizzas and pay the delivery driver.

She returned empty handed followed by Sergeant Caulder and Officer Saunders. "Do you want the bad news or the worse news?"

"What has happened?" Faith asked.

"We have been ordered to drop all charges against the men involved."

"How, why?"

"A combination of a smart lawyer and friends in high places, very high places. Our Mayor is a very competent lawyer, and when he set this whole thing up he did it in such a way that the police would never be able to get enough evidence to prosecute. There are no records of payments to prostitutes in the church financial records and all profits from the men's group meetings, because the bids were sealed in donation envelops, are listed merely as 'donations'. The envelops were retained for the record and the amounts on them are obviously the bid less the prostitute's fee, no record of payments for sex exist."

"But what about the auction for our virginity?"

"Here we have a legal problem. Because Brad stopped it before the final bid, the auction was never completed. You weren't to know that in your hurry to stop the sale proceeding you would actually give them a legal loop-hole that they could use to wriggle out of the charges. As we speak, there is a committee meeting happening where they will probably be hatching a plot to sue us for wrongful arrest."

"I'm sorry I stuffed up guys." Brad was shattered at the news.

"Don't be Darling. You have opened our eyes and given us the strength to defy our father. I for one, do not intend to be here when he eventually gets home. As soon as the pizza arrives we should eat it and then leave." Faith told them.

"Where will we go?" Hope asked.

"Back to the hotel I suppose, at least for tonight, and tomorrow we start to look for somewhere to live. What are you planning to do Mother? Are you coming with us, or staying here?"

"I'm coming with you."

The pizza arrived and was consumed in quick time, with the help of the police. As soon as the cab arrived they left, Madeline, Hope and Charity in the cab and Faith and Brad in the police car. A quick stop for more pizza on the way and they all sat around, some on the floor, eating and planning.

"You realise of course, that we can't disobey orders, but we can slip you information that my help you to do something about this."

"Thank you for that, but I'm thinking that our best plan at the moment is to sit tight and not do anything. The court of public opinion will probably do our work for us." Faith said.

"You could be right. Well, thanks for the pizza, and take care, these guys can play dirty when it suits them." Sergeant Caulder and her off-sider left them.

"I know that you think that I'm a bad mother and should have done something when I found out what they had planned, but, in my defence, your father would not have allowed any interference."

"It's not only Father involved, Brad's father was there as well, and I know that you have a certain amount of influence with him."

"What do you mean?"

"I came home early one afternoon and found the two of you in bed going for it like there was no tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. How long have you and him been having this affair?"

"Oh dear. Oh well I might as well hit you with some other bad news. Your father announced a couple of weeks ago that he planned on filing for divorce so that he could marry Grace Fulton. She is going to file for divorce as well."

"And you will marry my father when that happens, is that it?" Brad asked.

"Yes, that is the plan. But of course, the divorce laws here require couples in non-contested divorces have to wait for 12 months after separation before they can file."

"That's a relief, I seem to remember that there is some law preventing step-siblings from marrying, so we'll need to be married before then." Brad said.

"What a shambles, here we have a church where the members are indulging in musical beds and other forms of depravity, and they're supposed to be setting an example for us kids. Some example for us to follow! I don't think so. Straight down the middle, that's our plan. We'll get married and stay in a monogamous relationship for the rest of our lives, have a couple of kids and enjoy each other's company without looking outside the relationship."

"How boring." Charity commented.

"Charity! While I applaud your intentions," she said to Faith and Brad, "that was my plan when I first met your father, but things happen and times change, people change. When I first married your father there was no way that I even considered the possibility of anything like this happening."

"Hey look at this." Hope had turned the TV on and there was a news broadcast showing. "Reverend Virtue, can you tell us what happened at your church last evening, was there, as the police allege, really an auction taking place in which your own daughters' virginities were being sold to the highest bidder?" The news reporter was questioning the truth or otherwise of the rumours that had been flying around all day.

"We were having our regular Wednesday meeting of the church's Men's Group and the police barged in, any more than that I cannot discuss, there will be legal proceedings involved."

"Mayor Benson, you were there, can you add to what Reverend Virtue has said?"

"You should know better than to ask a question like that, especially after Reverend Virtue has just told you that there will be legal proceedings in regard to this."

"What is the nature of these proceedings?"

"I cannot say anything about it at this point in time. You should know that this church and its Men's Group have done nothing wrong. It is a worthy organisation that raises a considerable amount of money for both church and charity. It carries out its role as a Christian church with pride and with a reputation that can, in no way, be tarnished by rumour and innuendo. That will be all."

"There you have it. There were rumours, circulating since last night, about the goings on behind closed doors at this church. You have heard the Reverend Virtue and Mayor Benson both stating that there is no truth to these rumours. Time, and the courts will tell. Back to you."

"There must be something that we can do about this. We can't have them get away with this." Brad said, "For them to auction off something that it teaches is written in stone by God, the virginity of you girls, is bad enough, but to now deny that they have done anything wrong is so hypocritical in the extreme. I blame myself for this, if I hadn't intervened too soon, they would have been caught in the act and have had no wriggle room."

"Maybe there is a way." Madeline said. "I'll be back, got to rush before it's too late." She had left before telling them what she had planned.

"I've been thinking," Hope looked at Faith for guidance now. "Charity and I have involved others in this mess. I think it only right that we should get them here so that we can bring them up to speed on what is happening, When I asked Julian to make love to me I didn't explain fully my change of heart. Having done that I'm sure that he will be confused and the subject of scrutiny by our friends, and possibly the media. They'll be trolling our friends looking for dirt regardless of context."

"Okay, call them and get them over here. If nothing else it will keep them away from the media for a while at least."

The two younger Virtue girls were soon speaking too their boyfriends. "I don't care what you've heard, you should hear the truth, I want you to know the truth, you can make up your own mind whether you want to stay friends, or more that friends," Hope said in a tone that left no doubt as to her meaning, "I want us to be more than just friends, and that is why I gave in and made love to you. I would not have done that for anyone else."

Charity was having a similar conversation with a boy named Stewart. Directions were given and both were cautioned that they should tell no-one where they were going and why.

Time dragged and conversation was sparse, stilted at best, each deep in thought. Ideas were thrown into the ring and discussed briefly without resolution until there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Faith asked.

"Stewart, I'm here to meet Charity. The door was opened and a bewildered Stewart walked into the room and the gaze of its occupants. "What is going on? Charity was mysterious over the phone. Why am I here?"

"Don't worry, it's alright. We'll explain everything shortly when Julian gets here."

"Who's Julian?"

"My boyfriend." On Cue there was another knock on the door and Hope opened it and went into the surprised but willing arms of Julian.

"Okay, what's the big mystery, and who did you think would be following me?"

"Sit with me and all will be explained. Faith it's over to you."

"Unless you've both just crawled out from under a rock, you will have heard about the dramas involving the Men's Group of a certain church, our father's church. There are a lot of very influential men involved, maybe even your own fathers, I don't know. The main rumour revolves around last Wednesday night and the plan that this group had to auction off the virginity of us three girls. We knew nothing of these plans until we got to the meeting, We had been told, and saw no reason to doubt it, that we were there merely as waitresses for a dinner. The reality was far from innocent. I knew the real reason, as did Brad because he had overheard his father organising it, and we had a plan to stop it. Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for the police waiting outside, our timing was a little off and it appears as if they might be able to escape prosecution. There will be a lot of mud slinging and we're worried that you two, seeing as how you've become involved with this after the fact, will get hurt by it."

"Hope sort of hinted that there was another reason that she had changed her mind and allowed me to make love to her, something that I've wanted to do for ages, than her just relenting, but she wouldn't tell me what it was. Not that it would have mattered, I got what I wanted and would have walked on hot coals to get that." Julian took Hope's hand in his and kissed her.

"So what happens now?" Stewart asked.

"We have to plan how we deal with any media or personal attention that this will bring on us. As far as the media goes, you know nothing and will refuse to answer any questions on that basis. As far as personal attention, you can either choose to deny any involvement with us, or bask in the reflected glory of having nailed a Virtue sister. It's entirely up to you." Faith looked from one to the other, trying to gauge the response.

"You didn't tell me that your name was Virtue." Stewart said to Charity. "I was just after a bit of casual sex and when you offered it I took it, as any red-blooded male would." He smiled at her and kissed her. The tension of the meeting was broken. Suddenly all were friends and ideas, some preposterous and a few worthy of a second look, were being thrown around.

The mood was broken by a knock on the door. Faith opened it to reveal Madeline, Grace Fulton and Sergeant Caulder. "We've got the bastards!" Madeline was holding a computer memory card in her hand. "The bastards video all of their meetings, including the screwing with the prostitutes, for future use, not only the voyeuristic pleasures of seeing a members arse bouncing up and down, but for future blackmail use to keep members from doing something stupid like going to the police."

"Mayor Benson's introduction to the auction will be enough to nail him." Sergeant Caulder told them. "By the way, who are these two. Introductions please."

"Julian and Stewart are Hope and Charity's friends, and we've just brought them up to speed on what has..." She was interrupted by Madeline's mobile phone.

"Matthew, hi." She put her phone on speaker.

"Where are you?"

"I'm with the police, and so is Grace, they are looking to charge us over the Women's Group meetings, it seems as if the fact that the young men receiving payment for their having services in providing sexual intercourse with the ladies, constitutes us aiding and abetting acts of prostitution."

"What, that's bullshit! They can't do that. I'll have to speak to Benson about this. Don't say anything to the police until he gets there."

"You do that, and thank you." She turned to Sergeant Caulder. "Now I suppose we should arrange a reception committee."

"No sooner said than done." She was on the phone to her colleagues, arranging for the necessary equipment to be set up for the interviews when Virtue and Benson arrived at the station. "Let's go. You guys stay here out of sight until we stitch this up and then you can join us at the media conference as having helped us in our efforts to catch these guys."

It turned out to be a huge and rowdy conference. Sections of the media had obviously been fed questions to ask that would cast doubt on the police story. The police line was that Faith, Hope and Charity Virtue had been saved from doing something against their will, something illegal, and that their boyfriends were there to support their innocence and the effect that they were in no way involved in any of the actions of the church and its members.

"Mrs Virtue, what was you involvement in the activities of the church?"

'I'm ashamed to admit that I was caught up in a part, small part, of the activities. While I set up the Women's Group, my involvement was limited to an administrative role. The women had their own committee that ran its meetings. I did, however, and I'm somewhat, but not totally, ashamed to admit my involvement in one part of the church's activities. You see, how can I put this, there was a certain amount of social interaction between couples within the Inner Circle. As a result of this, my husband has announced his intention of separating and filing for divorce so that he can marry Grace Fulton here,: She indicated Grace. "I have to admit to seeking solace in the arms of another, Grace's husband as it turns out." By giving the media this morsel to chew, on Madeline hoped to minimise their attention on the more serious issues involving the Women's Group.

"What will happen to the church?" someone asked.

"We will have to see. It will depend on the outcomes of any prosecutions that may ensue. We will have to wait and see."

"Faith, what are you plans for the future?"

"That is a work in progress. It's early days in our relationship, but Brad and I are making plans for life after this. What those plans are remains to be seen, we would appreciate room to manoeuvre while we work through this."

Several more questions were asked and when those involved Stewart and Julian the respondents were suitably non-committal and the conference eventually ground to a halt.

A crowd was gathered in the Virtue house, a crowd comprising Madeline, the three girls and their, I suppose they could be now referred to as partners, Grace Fulton and Sergeant (call me Beth please) Caulder. For the moment at least the intention was to divert their thoughts away from what had happened over the past few days and just relax.