Page 82 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

In fact, there was very little she could do outside of her home or village without a man or chaperone to protect her. The rules were unfair and she wanted to break them.

The door creaked slowly open behind her.

She should have known that Damian would follow. He likely had no idea why she was angered, nor could she explain it to him.

At least, she hoped it was Damian and not a stranger.

Slowly she turned to note the concern in his blue eyes as he closed the door.

“Were you aware that I am the only woman on this ship?”

“I was not.”

“Do you know why that is?”

“No,” he answered slowly.

“Because women cannot travel without a chaperone or a man and thus those on this ship must not have a female in need of protecting when they are away from their home.”

Damian opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, then closed it, for which she was grateful because Georgie did not want to hear the same excuse that had been given to her since she was a child.

“It is also unfair!” She planted her hands on her hips. “If you announced that you decided to book passage on a ship to Calais so that you could travel through France and then Switzerland to get to Liechtenstein so that you could walk from one end of the country to the other, not one single person would attempt to deter you. They would wish you luck. They would look forward to hearing about the venture when you return. Some men may even offer to accompany you, but for the adventure and friendship and not because you needed to be protected. Whereas if I would make that same announcement, there would be all kinds of voices discouraging me because I am a woman.”

“Women are more susceptible to danger,” Damian acknowledged, except his tone was quiet with hints of sympathy. “I wish it was not that way, but it is and there are those who would take advantage of a woman alone.”

“Because a man may attempt to seduce me. He may claim to love me.” She sighed as she repeated the tired warning. “And, if that were to occur, it is the woman who made the poor decision and the one to blame. Never the man. She is ruined and he carries on without the slightest blemish to his character.”

“There are some who would not even attempt to gain your consent.”

“I know that as well.” That was a nightmare that she could not even begin to imagine. “However, it does not change the fact that it is unfair that I cannot go anywhere I wish without the fear that a man may try to harm me thus I need another man to protect me from that happening.”

“Do not blame or judge all men because of the unscrupulous,” he argued.

“Why not? Women are judged without question. An example. If a man were to take a lover, it is likely that few would comment, or he may even receive a pat on the back from his male friends. However, if a miss did so, she would be ruined for her indiscretion. A man could attend a ball the next evening. A miss would be forced to hide in her parents’ home. She certainly could no longer hope for marriage because she was no longer a virgin. Yet, a man is still free to have as many lovers as he wants before and after the vows have been made.”

The more she considered the hypocrisy of Society the angrier she became.

“It is not fair that I cannot enjoy the same freedom as you do and all because I am a female and you are not.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Damien grew uncomfortable. First, he did not want to think about Georgie taking a lover other than him, but she was also correct in pointing out the absurdity of Society, or the world, since she must have had to suffer under the same rules in Italy.

“I understand why some women, after they have been ruined, may decide that they have no other choice but seek a protector, such as those women who were on that first coach. However, some may not even consider the loss of their so-called virtue as destructive to one’s future as they had once been told.”

Damian found that difficult to believe but he was not going to argue with Georgie while she was busy railing at the unjust rules of Society that allowed him far more pleasures than she could ever comprehend.

“In fact, a woman who has been seduced by a silver tongue and then abandoned, may first be heartbroken and believe any future happiness destroyed, but who is to say that she would have met a man that she could truly love, who wasn’t a rake, and marry.”

Damian supposed that she was correct. How many spinsters had saved themselves only to still end up on the shelf, alone and dependent on family for support?

“There are no guarantees. And once a woman eventually realizes that their loss of virtue made absolutely no difference to her future, she can settle into happiness. She may even find that she has no intention of being married and enjoys being independent. In fact, she may wish that she would be granted the same freedom as a man to take a lover when she wished.”

All Damian could do was stare at her.

Georgie was far more liberal in her thoughts than he had originally believed. Then again, she had stowed away on one of his ships, she had intended to walk to London or ride in the back of a wagon, and she had been willing to take the mail coach without him. In fact, she had only accepted his presence because she did not know London or England and likely saw him as nothing more than a guide.

Then there was her sister.