For 5 years I grew used to the pleasure of being cared for. As a young child, I’d been brought up in the ways of a farm, but had never yet worked. I remember clearly the rules and standards my Uncle imposed. Even as a child I’d always thought that they were unfair and harsh. That’s what usually got me into trouble. Though, these rules were not imposed on me until a few days after my fifth birthday

I wasn’t content with being the least important in the family. As a child, and a girl, I would never reach any where near the level of superiority that my cousin Thomas assumed. He is six years my senior and for my entire time at Troughton Farm, he never let me forget it.

Two sunrises after my birthday, my Aunt comes in to my chamber, a small, dark place with little comfort save my cot, and wakes me before the rooster has crowed. She handed me a new set of clothes. A working girl’s dress, brown and modest, and a white apron.