"No, no it is not." The bartender was already serving someone else, and now the only way she could return the drink then was to raise her voice and call him back. Not an action that she was about to commit, but a thought all the same. She shook her head at the question, "It is not considered..." what was the right word? "Proper. For a woman from my caste, to drink alcohol in excess."
Rita smiled at his exuberance at listing off places she should go if/when she did as she always wished and visited the United States. "I will take your advice. If you ever do get around to visiting England, you must go and visit the Tower. The new Globe Theatre and the Hadrian's wall..."
"Yes," she nodded. "It is my first trip off on my own," her first time off from her family, in actuality. Still, Rita raised her bottle all the same. It was an opportunity, this job on this beautiful ship, and one that she had needed to take. No matter how frightening a prospect it had been. "To forced independence."