Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Evidently there was.
“Don’t make that face, Sasha.” Georgina hugged her arm and leant in close, fluttering her eyelashes at her. “Wouldn’t it be so fun if we were sisters?”
“Yes, but must I hear about your dates with my brother? I think I might be allergic to it,” Sasha replied, patting Georgina’s head. “As long as you’re happy.”
Georgina beamed. “I am. Oh, and to answer your question, Allie—we’ve been on a few dates, but there’s nothing official yet. He did accept my handkerchief today, though.”
“Aw. Young love,” Vivi said, grinning. “How sweet. What about you, Sasha? Have you found anyone up to your standards yet?”
Sasha sniffed. “No, but I think Blair might be considering proposing to Allie’s knight.”
That was a fair assumption. Blair and Rina had been chatting by the curtains ever since I’d left them earlier today, and it’d taken Blair some real convincing to get Rina to sit with her, even though Rina had drawn the line at drinking tea with her.
Just as well.
I’d have been mighty offended if she’d done that before she’d shared a pot with me.
“Actually,” Sasha continued. “I’m thinking I might just forgo the whole marriage business and get a job.”
We all paused.
Not because it was a bad thing, but because that was something that was almost impossible in the empire.
I didn’t call them misogynistic bastards for nothing.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “My house always provides aides to the Imperial Family, so why couldn’t I pursue the same path? I’m just as intelligent as my brothers are, and I’ve assisted my father with many problems when he’s brought work home.”
“It’s not that,” Georgina said, fidgeting uncomfortably. “But none of the palace administration staff are women. Are you even eligible to apply for one of the positions?”
Sasha looked down into her teacup. “I don’t know. But don’t you find it ridiculous? Why can’t I do a job I’m perfectly qualified for just because I’m of noble birth? So few of us operate our own businesses, and even inheriting titles as women is so difficult. Sometimes I think that, despite being much worse off financially, the commoners have far more freedom that we do. If you venture into the lower part of town, the women there all run their own businesses, and they’re not all in fashion, either. Goodness, some even work physical labour jobs. Why can they work but I can’t?”
She wasn’t exactly wrong. I couldn’t say I hadn’t found the change in society restrictive on me since waking up in this world, because I had. After all, in my past life, I’d lived in a world where men and women were largely equal and had the same rights.
Yet here, because women couldn’t become knights or palace officials or even become the head of their house without jumping through endless hoops, the empire was run by men, for men.
Unlike Stein.
It wasn’t a perfect society, and there was still a divide between the sexes, but women were far freer there. Nobody dared argue that Viscountess Evsea wasn’t qualified to take on her role as head of her house, even though she’d assumed it right before giving birth, and there were female knights in almost every knightage across the land.
Women worked in government at both national and local levels. They operated businesses separate from their husbands regardless of their status, and they were free to inherit their father’s titles even if they had younger brothers, something that was simply impossible in the empire.
Yes, there were still manners of thinking that needed to change—like Sir Hayes with the choosing of my aide—but it was still far more progressive than the empire.
Huh. The choosing of my aide…
I wasn’t dense enough to ignore the fact I needed an aide from Stein. Having someone with knowledge of the land would be incredibly helpful, but if I were to stay there, I would need more than one aide.
But would Sasha be willing to move just for me? She and Blair had dreams that couldn’t be achieved in the empire but were perfectly within reach in the self-governing province that was Stein.
What if I could make them fall in love with Stein?
“You know,” I said, setting my teacup down on my saucer. “You should all come to visit me and stay at Stein Castle.”
They all turned to look at me, and even Blair jumped up from her conversation with Rina and joined us, gripping the edge of the table.
“Really?” she exclaimed. “Come to Stein?”
“Of course,” I replied. “Why not? Things are different there, and I believe there’ll be a summer festival in a few weeks. You should come then.”
Vivi paused. “All of us?”
I nodded. “Of course. I’ll find out when it’s happening and speak to Kalon, then send you invitations. Vivi, you could even bring Lord Ivan and he could spend time with the mages.”