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of her past, and she had never disclosed that information to anyone, and was sure as hell not going to start now.
    "It's wha' I strive for," Cecily continued, ignoring Jane's comment, "even in the smallest quantities."
    Jane glanced over then, Cecily's words having intrigued her. A whore in control, that was unheard of. They were women who did as they were told and nothing more. They were owned by those who used them, completely and without question. But from the way Cecily spoke, Jane could tell she was talking about keeping a hold of the control she currently had and not gaining control. Curiosity sparked in Jane, causing her to throw her fear of the conversation out the window in order to learn more about this strange woman. "How so?"
    Cecily sighed. "It makes me feel like I have a choice, like I'm not completely at the mercy of others. I choose who I flaunt myself for, I choose who gets ta have me for the night." The memory of Cecily shoving at Cooksley flashed across Jane's mind. She hadn't chosen him and had therefore refused his advances, unlike Worth, whom she had made advances toward. "It makes it feel like I chose this life, instead of the other way aroun'."
    "Didn't you?"
    "No, not really. I ran away from home a week before I turned of age. My father had arranged for me ta get married ta this wretched man twenty years my senior and well, tha' wasn't my idea of a good match," Cecily stated with a shrug, like that was the most logical thing in the world, a woman with a mind of her own. "So I left."
    And suddenly, without having been told, Jane knew exactly how Cecily had ended up in the profession she was in. It was a story that was all too familiar, all too close to home.
    Cecily sighed into the silence before continuing, "Not much else for a woman with no money ta her name nor husband ta speak of, besides," she paused, gesturing at herself, "this."
    Jane nodded in understanding. "If I hadn't found the Tantibus , we might have met a bit earlier," she stated, before she could change her mind. It was the first time she had ever given away a hint of her past to anyone. "But fate led me down a different path." She glanced around her quarters, her mind journeying to the past, and when she had first been brought to this very room, a day after she had stowed away and minutes after being found in the cargo hold. Little did she know then that this very ship, this very room, was to become her home.
    "Ya?" And the sound of laughter soon filled the chambers. Jane frowned.
    "I'm sorry," Cecily apologized when she had calmed down somewhat, wiping tears from her eyes. "I just can't see ya in my position, bossin' the men aroun' and slappin' their hands away as ya threaten ta 'wash the floor in their blood' if they so much as touch ya where ya don't desire."
    And Jane, too, found herself laughing at the mental image, despite the dark humor and rawness of it.
    "Obviously, I was unable to see myself in that position either," Jane stated, the smile slowly falling from her face as she realized what she had just said.
    "Ya… ya've never laid with anyone?"
    "No," Jane cut her off a little too harshly, coming to her senses and stopping the conversation before it could venture further down that path. Her hand automatically reached for the ring still nestled against her breast. Yes, she had hinted at her past to Cecily, opened up more to someone who she had known for only a few days than she had to any she had known for years, but that didn't mean she was ready to rip open that painful and bloody wound she called her past. And she might never be ready.
    "But tha' ring?" Cecily continued, and Jane immediately tensed. "The one ya always wear aroun' ya neck—"
    "Is none of your business," Jane snapped, effectively halting the conversation.
    Cecily fell silent there, sensing Jane's refusal to speak more on the topic. After a moment, she extracted herself from the bed and padded over to her corner, lying down amidst the nest of sheets and