by Lily Loring
- No nobleman would ever think to look for me there (more importantly, nor would any matchmaker).
- I am free to dress like a complete hoyden — complete with saber and pistol — and not earn disapproval for what the ton would surely censure as “scandalous attire.”
- I can practice the wiles of a femme fatale without risk of being branded a “Jezebel” (and quite possibly pick up a trick or two).
- Discretion is second-nature to lightskirts, so my secrets — no matter how unconventional or bold — are safe with them.
- Cyprians are accustomed to flaring passions and fisticuffs, so should I feel the need to raise my fists to keep a certain charming nobleman at bay — or to defend the honor of a friend — I can do so while being spared the long-suffering looks and haughty recriminations of the ton.
- Courtesans are by necessity practical when it comes to matters of the flesh — so a woman can learn much about the precautions one must take to ensure the pursuit of pleasure doesn’t become a family matter. (And since I can’t seem to resist dear Lord Claybourne’s charms — yet insist marriage and motherhood are not for me — I could do worse than pay attention to their sensible ways.)
- Highflyers know their way around the gaming tables, so they appreciate the bad odds of my being able to elude Lord Claybourne (much less his marriage proposals) while cheering on my attempts to remain single.
- Straw damsels often have pain and loss in their past, as have I.. So forgive me, if I admire their plucky spirits and can-do attitude, particularly their willingness to take a chance to improve their circumstances. Amongst them I have witnessed miracles I thought were exclusive to world travelers.
- The London demimonde embraces a one-for-all-and-all-for-one approach to life. If I were in a fix (say I needed to elude a vexingly persistent marquess) I have no doubt these Cyprians would help me disappear — and in a fashionable manner, too.
- Ladies of the night know men as only women of their kind can. They can spot a cad at ten paces — and a good man at twenty. While I may protest my willingness to wed, it does my heart good to know that a certain nobleman passes muster with them.