\n\t\t\t\t\tzingIn the normal course of events, the girls of the Silver Street House guard themselves carefully against the possibility of pregnancy. Calendars are kept, with days marking estrus cycles highlighted in red. As a last resort, certain medicines are kept on hand for any girl who is brave enough to take them. Even those girls who want children follow these safeguards because any child who is born in the brothel belongs to the city the same as her mother.
Unfortunately, there is no protection for any House girl who steps out of line or, worse, tries to escape from her enslavement. If she is caught she's taken to the City Prison, where she is harshly punished. Jessamine's own experience in the Iron House left her with a fresh set of nightmares and with the child she now carries.
Jess has never been afraid of the future before. Her own course was set before she was born, and she could see every step laid out before her through all her life. But now she is determined that her daughter will not suffer the same fate she has endured. Abigail will belong to no-one but herself.
Just what she might actually do against a world that has kept her in chains is uncertain, but she is not alone. She has lost count of the girls she has helped free over the years and some, like Charlotte Templeton, have kept in contact with her over the years. Charlotte is the closest thing to a lover Jess has ever had and they see each other as often as they might for the comfort it brings. It's in Charlotte's embrace where Jess begins to find the courage to move forward.
Jess Bryar and Charlotte Templeton belong to me.