Rose Hill, 1778

Quinn sat still as Rachel ran her fingers through her hair. She wanted Dorea to do so, but her mother had called for her and Quinn was left with either getting it done by Rachel or do it herself - and she could never figure it out how to make the back of her head look good without being able to see it.

Besides, she looked forward to Rachel's next mistake - although her hair looked better than she would ever admit. Rachel had wooven it in a crown braid and even though it looked neat and tight, it didn't make her head hurt like when Dorea did it. Her smile grew a little too wide, but she shut it before Rachel could see it. Disappointment washed over when she realized Rachel had managed to go through her morning tasks with perfection. Quinn needed to see the anger in her eyes again.

Instead, she was the enraged one that time, and knowing she had no reason to unleash it on Rachel made her want to growl.

But that's when she saw it.

A crumble, resting right on the corner of Rachel's mouth. A wry smile came into her lips, and Rachel gulped taking a step back. Quinn knew it was an instinct and not the fear she wanted Rachel to feel, but she was satisfied nonetheless. She took a step forward, and watched Rachel's eyes twitching. She could try to hide her feelings all she wanted, but Quinn had spent too many years mastering how to read them. Rachel would never be as good at concealing them as Quinn's mother was. Her eyes were all Quinn had to really know what was inside her mother's head, and she became excellent at doing so. After that, reading Rachel was nothing but easy.

Rachel closed her eyes when Quinn reached out her hand, and Quinn stopped for a second. It wasn't what she expected - Rachel wasn't the one to avoid confrontation. Rachel shivered under Quinn's touch, and Quinn watched as she fluttered her eyes open and let anger come to them. There it is. The look she missed.

"What is this?" Quinn asked without a blink, knowing her coldness would unsettle Rachel. The girl didn't respond and instead, looked down. No. She couldn't admit defeat so easily. She had to fight. "Answer me!" Quinn demanded, grabbing the hair on the back of Rachel's neck with a full fist and raising her head so their eyes would meet. And there it was again.

"Apple pie, miss Quinn," Rachel answered. Her eyes sparkled just as bright as Quinn remembered. They held fire to burn the whole farm down. Quinn slapped her cheek, not letting go of her hair. A small moan slipped out of Rachel's mouth, and Quinn was taken aback. Her heart raced, but she breathed deeply and pulled Rachel's hair tighter.

"Who allowed you to eat it?" Quinn demanded to know. Rachel closed her eyes again, giving space for another smile to come to Quinn's lips.

"No one, miss Quinn. I grabbed the scraps you left in your plate last night."

Quinn scoffed and slapped her again, but no moan came out. She furrowed her eyebrow and hit her face again, harder. Rachel's cheeks burned pink and her jaw quivered in rage - but she didn't react. Quinn grabbed her by the chin, pressing her cheeks together and making her lips pop out. "You are not to eat my food. Not even the scraps. I would rather give it to the dogs than to you," Quinn said, pausing between each word.

Rachel took a deep breath, and Quinn could see it was taking all she had to stay in her place. Her stomach flipped, and she let go of Rachel by shoving her away.

"Get out now," Quinn said, turning around to sit back on her chair as if nothing had happened. But once Rachel left, she leaned against the dressing table and laughed quietly to herself. Her hands shook and her heart raced. She found herself relying on Rachel's anger to feel alive - and it was better than anything she had ever felt.

"Come girl," Dorea called, pulling Rachel back in the kitchen house. "Lou Lee will teach you how to tie their stays and corsets. I can't keep doing it for you every morning, it bothers Madam Judy."

"I'm Rachel," she said, reaching out her hand to the other slave. Lou Lee was just about her age, and the physical resemblance left no doubts for Rachel that she was Dorea's daughter.

"Hello, Rachel," she replied, dismissing Rachel's hand as she efficiently untied the laces on her own back. She turned around and Rachel gulped. She had no idea how to do it. "Don't panic, it looks harder than it is." Lou Lee giggled. "Start with the top ones and pull them tightly, like this." She showed Rachel. The fact that she couldn't see what she was doing didn't seem to trouble her at all.

"How's Miss Quinn treating you now?" Abbie asked, sitting by Dorea. Rachel had a break between breakfast and lunch, and she learned to seize those moments. It was the only time she had a voice and could talk openly about whatever she wanted - no judgements or punishments.

"Terribly, like always. She slapped me several times this morning." Rachel rolled her eyes, moving her fingers through the ribbons as she spoke.

"Oh, you messed up her hair!" Dorea exclaimed, her hands flying straight to cover her open mouth.

"No, no! She actually seemed quite pleased about her hair!" Rachel corrected, shaking her head.

"Wait, I think you pulled the wrong one. You should pull this one first!" Lou Lee explained, grabbing a stray lace.

"Oh, sorry!" Rachel apologized, letting go of the one she was holding.

"No, you're doing fine," Lou Lee encouraged with a vigorous nod. "Just try tying it tighter!"

"Why did she slap you, then?" Abbie asked, bringing back the previous conversation. Dorea leaned forward across the table. Rachel had recently realized how much the women in there liked to gossip.

"She found a crumble of apple pie on my face." Rachel admitted under her breath. Abbie shook her head while Dorea and Lou Lee chuckled. Even their laughter sounded similar.

"I told you, you shouldn't have eaten it, Rachel." Abbie sighed. "You need to be more careful. You can't keep being punished all the time!"

"I know, I know. It was my fault, I should have washed my face," Rachel shrugged. "How is it?" She asked, turning Lou Lee around for Abbie and Dorea to see the lacing.

"It's good. Yeah, it's okay." Dorea said. Abbie nodded.

The lack of enthusiasm in their voices said otherwise, and Rachel wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect.

"No, let me try again!" She said, loosening the ribbons and smiling with Lou Lee's giggle.

The Fabrays enjoyed supper with small lulls between the casual conversation. Behind them, standing by the wall, were Dorea, Rachel, Russell's valet and a lady's maid for Lady Angeline. George, as usual, had dismissed his servant. The others, on the other hand, were ready to serve in case any of the family members needed anything.

"When will you be leaving?" Quinn asked, placing her fork down to turn and face her aunt. Judy giggled - clearly Quinn wasn't the only one to be bothered by the lady's presence, although she didn't know why her aunt her mother so much.

"Quinn, that's not polite. Please, apologize," Russell intervened, after clearing his throat subtly and faking a smile.

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to offend, I was merely curious," said Quinn, with a grin that wouldn't fool anyone.

"It's fine." Lady Angeline said, grabbing another bite of meat and taking her time to chew before answering. In the mean time, Quinn saw her eyes glancing up, and followed her gaze to see where it lead. Rachel. "I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. I have business to run in America," she said, for Quinn's relief. "But I might come back more often now, after such a delightful stay."

Quinn choked on her food and coughed hard. She did not want that woman to become a frequent guest. Rachel came to help her, giving a small tap on Quinn's back, but Quinn winced from her touch. George rose from his seat, ready to use his medical knowledge to help his sister.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Quinn shook her head, bringing a napkin to her mouth and giving a small smile to reassure everyone present. The clatter of the silverware replaced their voices, and Quinn realized she would rather dine in silence than to submit herself to another situation like the previous one.

"You could come with me, if you wanted, dear niece." Lady Angeline offered, and Russell's eyebrows shot up. "It would do you well. Look at George, how England was good for him."

"Oh, I think she's fine here." Russell intervened again. Quinn breathed out nervously. "I'm teaching her how to run this farm. She has a good hand."

Lady Angeline nodded in agreement, before George interrupted the conversation. He was clearly not paying any attention to what they were saying - or at least Quinn liked to believe her brother wouldn't let her go so easily.

"Quinn, have you been feeding this girl?" He asked, pointing to Rachel. Quinn giggled, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Can't she eat by herself? She's not a baby, by all means!" Quinn shook her head with a confused smile, tearing a piece of cornbread.

"She's lost a lot of weight since she came in here, and she won't stop looking at our food. Father, she's not being fed." George said, turning to his father. Quinn felt betrayed. George should have sought her for that instead of taking the matter for her father in front of everyone else.

"This is my fault. I didn't recall to mention that to her." Russell shook his head to himself, sighing before turning to Quinn. "Dear, they're not allowed to simply grab food. You're supposed to establish her share of food for the week and then give it for Abigail."

"You can't starve her to death, Quinn!" George snapped. "You have to give her enough food to stay alive, at least!" Quinn gasped. She hadn't done it on purpose!

"George, calm down." Russell said. Quinn thanked him mentally. "I said it's my fault. I'll talk to you more about that tomorrow, dear. Don't worry." He grabbed Quinn's hand, comforting her. She nodded quietly.

Her brothers accusations hurt her more than she liked to admit to herself.

"She still has a lot to learn before she takes charge of the farm," Judy pointed out. Quinn wasn't sure if her mother was taking her or George's side.

"Well, the girl shouldn't wait until tomorrow, should her?" Lady Angeline asked, grabbing a spare glass. "Come here." She said. Rachel complied immediately and Quinn frowned. She wasn't suppose to obey other people - she was supposed to obey Quinn! Lady Angeline poured fresh milk into the glass, and handed it to Rachel.

Judy and Russell watched astonished. George watched with a smile on his face. And Quinn would rather not have watched at all.

The gratitude in Rachel's eyes made she want to barf.

"May I be excused? I'm not feeling well." Quinn whispered, shoving her napkin on the table and getting up when her father nodded.

She was out of the room in a blink.

Rachel was sweeping the kitchen floor when Lady Angeline came in. Abigail had gone to sleep, and Rachel had no idea how she was suppose to behave - so she froze. The Fabrays never came into the kitchen, Abigail had told her. She shivered, assuming Lady Angeline had called and not been answered, like Quinn had a few days before.

"I'm sorry, milady, did you need anything?" She said, clutching to the broom in her hands.

"Oh, no. Everything is perfect. I just came to say goodbye and check on your scar before I left." She said casually, pulling a chair and sitting as comfortable as if she were in the dinning room from the mansion.

Rachel was bewildered. She had never seen a white woman so gentle and cordial towards a slave. She sat on the next chair, and Lady Angeline caught her eyes silently asking for permission to touch her again. Rachel nodded shyly, and the woman pulled her sleeve to see the scar.

"It's healing very well. Soon enough it won't hurt to clean anymore." She said, running her fingers along the edge of the scar. Rachel caught her breath nervously. She had been in situations like this enough to know where it lead. "It was nice meeting you," she whispered.

"It was a pleasure to meet you as well, milady." Rachel replied out of politeness.

"You're very well-mannered for a slave." Lady Angeline said, reaching for Rachel's lips. She closed her eyes, like she had when Quinn did the same in that morning. But her touch didn't burn like Quinn's did.

It didn't melt her either.

Rachel felt lips lingering above her own and a warm breath just too close to her face. She shut her eyes tighter. This couldn't be happening. She was a woman. She was a lady. Yet, she felt lips slipping into her own without hesitation. Her stomach turned sick, and she pulled away avoiding Lady Angeline's eyes.

"I will come back soon." Lady Angeline said, getting up and pushing the chair under the table. "And next time, I'll take you home with me."

"Feeling any better, little sister?" George asked, leaning against the door frame of Quinn's room. Quinn groaned under her breath and turned in bed, to face him.

"Please, George." She shook her head. "I'm not in the mood to take any more accusations from your part."

"I believe we must talk," he said, pulling a chair closer to Quinn's bed. In older times, he would have slipped under the covers with her and caressed her hair as they talked. But they weren't children anymore.

"I don't see why," Quinn replied. She felt guilty being so hostile to her brother, but she was still hurt. "We've talked enough about this matter and we can't seem to come to an agreement. I would rather you just respected my opinions as I do with yours, instead of making me ashamed in front of the whole family during supper. You should have come to me instead."

"I didn't mean to," said George. Quinn could see truth behind his eyes, but she didn't understand his reasons. It didn't hurt any less. "I just don't understand why you've changed so much, Quinn. You were so generous as a child. I don't know what happened to you."

"You are right. You have no idea what happened to me." Quinn sat up. She had held herself enough, and he was pushing too far. It was no surprise she was about to explode. "You have no idea how much of a hell on Earth was to grow up with mother behind me at all times, molding me to be and behave exactly as she wanted to. You don't know how it was when I wouldn't receive any praise even if I had done things right. You don't understand how painful it was to hear over and over again, from her own mouth, that no matter what I did I would never be better than Frannie, I would never replace Frannie and she would never love me as much as she loved Frannie."

"I'm sor-" George tried, but Quinn cut him off.

"I'm not done." She raised one finger, and he obliged. "The first thing I did once I learned how to write, was to write you a letter. And I wrote several along the years, but I never got any answers. Eventually I found out mother intercepted my mail, to make sure we wouldn't keep in touch. She didn't want anyone intervening on how she raised me. You'll never understand how lonely I was, for as far as I can remember. Maybe if you've been there, you'd understand. You'd understand why I was so happy when I was told I would get a slave of my own."

"You are right about that. I'm sorry mother was always so awful to you, but that's not my fault Quinn." Quinn gasped, and he quickly corrected himself. "I'm not saying it's your fault either. It's no one's fault but her own, who could never deal with losing Frannie. But that's no excuse for the way you're treating Rachel. Nothing of that is her fault either!"

"George, you say as if I was being horrible to her!" Quinn scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm simply teaching her how to be a servant! I'm not doing anything absurd!"

"Quinn, is that what your heart tells you? Or is it what someone else told you?" He questioned, leaning forward and closer to her bed. She felt attempted to scoot further away from him.

"I don't have a heart anymore. It didn't do me any good." She replied with a hurtful laugh, but felt pressured to answer George's question upon his silence. "She's a slave, George. She's used to it. They all are! They are hardly humans in the first place."

"Do you even listen to yourself?" George asked incredulous. Quinn frowned and shrunk on bed. "You complain so much about mother, and yet you sound exactly like her, Quinn."

"Don't you dare…" She whispered, looking deep in his eyes as tears pooled in her own.

"It's true, and it hurts because you know it. We both know that's not what you think," he sighed, and then threw his last card. The one Quinn never expected he would throw in her face. "Don't you remember Mama Minda?"

"I don't like talking about her," she replied coldly. It hurt too much. It would always hurt.

"See? You know she was a human. You're lying to yourself if you say otherwise." They fell in silence for a minute. Quinn had no way neither did want to refute that statement. "Just look at Rachel, Quinn. Look deep inside her, and ask yourself what sets you two apart. You're smart. I know you will find your answers."

And with that, he left her bedroom.

Little did he know all she had done since Rachel arrive was look deep into her eyes. And that instead of finding answers, she just found herself more confused than ever.

Lou Lee ironed the bed sheets and passed them on to Rachel, who folded them. Rachel had dismissed most of Lou Lee's attempts at engaging a conversation. She hadn't slept all night and simply couldn't stop thinking about what happened the night before.

Many men in her life had kissed her and even done… other stuff to her. But Lady Angeline, she was a woman! Rachel didn't know what to think of it. Sure, Lady Angeline had been more tender and careful with her - which was good. But had she enjoyed it? Was it a sin if she had? She was almost sure it was.

"Now, tell me what's going on in that head of yours." Lou Lee teased, poking her side. Rachel grow fonder of her at each conversation - it was just easy to be by her side. Rachel could enjoy a little easiness in her so bumpy life.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just hungry, I guess." Rachel shrugged, letting out the first excuse that came into her mouth.

"We'll eat in a few." Lou Lee nodded sympathetically. "But I know it's not that. Quit lying to me!"

Rachel thought about it. She would drive herself crazy keeping this to herself - and Lou Lee really was the one she trusted the most in the house so far. They had the same age, Rachel was sure Lou Lee had faced at least a little of the same struggles she went through. They could confide in each other. Or so Rachel hoped.

"Alright, do you promise not to tell anyone?" Rachel asked, setting down the sheet to look deep in her eyes.

"Oh, that must be good!" Lou Lee beamed. "Cross my heart and hope to die!"

"Lady Angeline kissed me." She whispered in Lou Lee's ear. The girl dropped the heavy clothes iron from her hand, making a startling noise. Rachel gulped and grabbed it quickly, afraid the heat could set the wooden floor on fire.

"What happened?" Abbie shouted from the kitchen.

"Nothing Abbie, we're fine. It was just an accident!" Rachel shouted back, trembling. Lou Lee grabbed her arm and pulled her to the cellar pantry, where no one would be able to hear them.

"Tell me everything!" She asked, and Rachel did. "Was it good?" Lou Lee asked, before anything else.

"I don't know. I've been thinking about that for a while now." Rachel shrugged again. She didn't want Lou Lee to make a big deal out of it - it made her even more nervous than she already was. "It was different. Softer than boys. But…"

"But what?" Lou Lee asked. She was a ball of energy, and Rachel could barely keep up.

"I don't know. I never really enjoyed kissing anyone," Rachel admitted with a sigh.

"Oh…" Lou Lee whispered, with a sympathetic pout. "Well, can I tell you a secret too?"

"Yes, Lou," Rachel said with a giggle. Lou Lee might have been the best gift this house had brought her.

"I think I'm in love with Bernie!" She whispered, hiding her blushing cheeks behind her hands.

"From the quarters?!" Rachel asked in a squeal. Lou Lee nodded. "Tell me!"

For the first time, Rachel felt like a normal fifteen years old girl. She thanked Lou Lee for taking her mind elsewhere - but she knew this was far from an end.