TW: Sexual Harassment

Rose Hill, 1779

Hearing a knock, Quinn opened her bedroom's door acting like nothing had happened, in the vain hope that her father would have calmed down, forgotten their fight and put the whole matter aside. One look at her father's face and she knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

"I guess you know why I'm here," he said firmly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Good morning to you too," she whispered under her breath, walking into the bedroom with a stomp of her feet. She had spent most of the night awake trying to find a way to get Rachel out of it, but she just couldn't. Slaves were expensive and there was no way she could come up with the money to pay for another one in such a short notice. "Father, are you really going on with this? What do you expect me to do without Rachel? I can not perform housework like a common wench!"

"That is up for you to decide, Quinn. You have lived for fifteen years sharing Dorea with your mother, I'm sure that can be arranged again," he said. Almost as if he didn't know how her relationship with her mother was.

"Let her at least finish getting me dressed. She will be down soon," Quinn said with a sigh, giving him her biggest pleading eyes. It wasn't enough. He was irreducible. It made her shiver to think there could be a hidden agenda on why he wanted Rachel down the quarters. He nodded with a frown and closed the door.

Quinn pouted and looked at Rachel who peeked her head out of the dressing room's door. Rachel shook her head and waved her hand - as if that hadn't fazed her at all - and walked over to Quinn, grabbing the ribbons on her back to fix them. Quinn wanted to say something. Apologize maybe. Rachel had been right when asking for Quinn to not retaliate, and she knew Rachel knew it. Quinn admired her for taking the punishment herself and not throwing it on Quinn's face. The guilty that grew on her chest was almost unbearable.

"Can I ask you something?" Rachel said in a whisper, fixing Quinn's hair behind her ear. Quinn let out a shaky breath. She didn't know how she would be without those tiny moments every morning.

"Of course, dear," Quinn answered. She wasn't in the place to deny Rachel anything.

"Do you know Lou Lee? Dorea's daughter?" Rachel asked. Quinn nodded, furrowing her eyebrows. "She's pregnant and your father has sold her baby's father because he had been involved in the uprising." Quinn's eyes shot up in surprise, but Rachel didn't give her time to think any further. "She wasn't, though. She was the one who told me, she wanted to stop it. But now she's all alone…" Rachel trailed off.

"What is on your mind?" Quinn asked with a small frown. It was only logical that Rachel would want to help her friend, but Quinn didn't see any way how. If she had money to buy any slaves, she would have bought one to replace Rachel. She couldn't simply buy Lou Lee's boyfriend back. "I'm not exactly in a good position to ask my father to buy him back," she said with a sigh.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant!" Rachel shook her head. "What I was thinking is that perhaps you could make arrangements for her to tend and care for you while I'm away. I think it would be good for her, to change the airs from the kitchen house."

"I guess I can try to make that happen," said Quinn with a nod. No one really watched the slaves from the kitchen house. They were obedient and rarely gave Quinn's father any trouble. Quinn was almost sure she could get Lou Lee to work for her without anyone even noticing it. "You're very sweet, for doing that for her. I hope she can see what a good friend she has in you."

"She can, yes. She's an amazing friend to me too." Rachel nodded firmly, and pinned the last strand of Quinn's hair. Quinn's heart tightened up knowing it was time, especially when Rachel's face showed her she wasn't exactly thrilled about it either, regardless of how strong she tried to appear. "I'll see you when the sun goes down?" Rachel asked unsure.

"Of course," Quinn answered with a nod, grabbing Rachel's hand and dropping a kiss on the back of her palm. "I'll be waiting for you. Be careful there, okay?" Rachel nodded, and walked towards the door. Before she could leave, Quinn called her again and she looked back from over her shoulder. "I'll miss you," Quinn said.

Rachel smiled sadly and nodded. She didn't answer before leaving. She never voiced her feelings, and yet, she didn't have to say one single word for Quinn to see the fear in her eyes. And it terrified her to see Rachel, who had lately been her rock, to be so shaken.

The air was tepid down the quarters. It smelled of sweat and sugar and pain. Rachel wrapped her arms around herself and stood quietly as she waited for her assignment. The smell and the hot sun over her head were nothing compared to the filthy glances of men she had never seen before, but that still felt entitled to devour her body with their eyes. The lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. She prayed quietly. The day would be over soon.

"You," Malcolm said, pointing at her direction. She lifted her head, and he quirked an eyebrow. She hadn't eaten anything, but her stomach twisted as if she was about to puke. "I've heard a lot about you. Let's see what that's all about. You go feed the mill."

"What a fine little women," someone said as Rachel walked towards her working spot. She ignored the comments around her and tried to focus on the work she had to get done. The sooner it was over, the sooner she would be gone from there. She had no idea how to operate the mill, but she had even less courage to ask how to do so. She would have to learn it on her own. Luckily, she had always been a fast learner.

"Isn't she?" Malcolm said, taking one step towards her. She swallowed thickly, but didn't say anything. She stood tall, hoping it would be enough to keep him away. "Looks even better with all that purple around her eyes. Can you believe I've heard rumors she was a difficult one? Aggressive, even. It sure doesn't look so."

"Oh, they all like to resist a little at first," said another man with a scoff. "It's just to make it more fun when we catch them."

Rachel gagged. She sought shelter in the eyes of the other women who worked near her, but they either didn't hear them, didn't mind what they said, or didn't like Rachel. She could bet all her money on the latter. She had never come down the quarters, but she had always heard about how jealous the slaves were of the treatment the slaves in the main house had. It sure wasn't fair. But it wasn't Rachel's fault either. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. She wasn't sure if God ever heard slaves. She sure didn't feel like he had ever heard her.

It didn't stop her from trying.

"Have you seen her legs? They sure look strong for someone who just sits in the main house doing nothing all day." Rachel couldn't even know where the voice had come from. She didn't wanna look up and put a face on the disgusting commentary. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to wipe her mind clean.

A sharp leaf cut her hand. It was the first of the many injuries that would come. Her eyes welled up, but she didn't say a thing. She would do anything to fly under the radar. To avoid getting any attention to herself. To make sure the harassment was restrict to the mean words that she tried to ignore. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.

She didn't think praying would save her. But it was all she could do.

They had been sitting at the library, side by side, for hours. George arrived while Quinn had been trying to distract herself from Rachel's absence with a book. Quinn didn't say a word. He didn't either. A lot of time had passed since she got bored by her book, but she didn't want to be the first one to get out and leave the library all for him. The silence killed her, but she would never be the one to break it.

"Can we talk?" George said with a deep sigh, after what seemed like forever. Quinn shrugged. She wouldn't give him the taste of knowing how much that whole situation bothered her. "Quinn, you can't be angry at me forever," he said. Watch me, she wanted to reply. She had to remind herself she was a grown up now and she had to act like one if she wanted to earn anyone's respect in that house.

"I'm not angry at you anymore," she said, getting him to flash her one of his side smiles that made girls swoon all over the island. She was quick to take it back down from his face. "I simply don't see a point on investing in a relationship that you chose to destroy by moving away again. There's no reason for me to try to get close to you, since in just a matter of weeks you won't be close at all anymore."

"I don't know why you are doing this," he said, shaking his head with a disappointed look that made Quinn want to punch him. "You do know I could help you, right?" She knit her eyebrows together skeptically and he explained. "I could talk to father on your behalf. He is mad at you, but he would listen to me. I could get Rachel out of there, if you wanted me to."

"If you would only be talking to him to try to get me back, then you're not half the man I thought you were. You're always talking about how slaves are humans and should be treated like so, but I hardly see you complaining anymore. I guess you have just grown used to how convenient it is to have them around," said Quinn, with a small victorious smile.

"That's not fair, Quinn. You know I try, but I can't win alone. I don't plan on having slaves at my own house," he said, only reminding Quinn again why she was mad at the first place. His home was there, with her. Not anywhere else. "But I can not change how father runs this farm. You, on the other hand, can." She didn't answer him. Somehow, he thought that was motivation enough to keep talking. "You should understand my reasons. And you should give Arabella a chance. She could be the sister you never had. Instead of losing me, you would be winning one more person on your side."

"I have a sister," Quinn sneered. Perhaps she got it from her mother - the whole denial about Frannie's death thing.

"Quinn, you didn't even meet Frannie." He chuckled. It was repugnant.

"I didn't have to meet her to feel her constant presence in this house, George. And you might find it funny, but she was more present in my life than you ever was while in England. Mother never let me forgot about her, and about how I wasn't her. If this is anything close to what having a sister feels like, I would really rather die without one."

"You're too stubborn. I'm done. I'm not gonna try anymore, Quinn," he said with another sigh, and she frowned in confusion. "I've tried to reach out for you ever since I came back and it was very hard to finally get an opening from you. I'm sad that I lost it, but I'm not gonna run away from my happiness just to make sure all your wishes are granted. I've apologized, and I've tried to show you all the bright sides this change can bring us, but you never let go of what you think. I just want you to know that regardless of what you may think, I'm still here for you. And that if you ever need, you can just come to me - about anything. I'll always be here for you. But you're gonna have to be the one reaching out, from now on."

He left the library. In theory, she would finally have a quiet moment in peace to finish her book. But her mind wouldn't stop spinning around the words he had said, and how truthful they felt, even if Quinn tried not to believe them.

"What is she doing here?" Russell asked, bumping into Rachel following Quinn through one of their hallways. "Quinn, you know she should be in the quarters! Harvesting isn't over yet!" He complained with an angry sneer.

Quinn had managed to hide Rachel for a couple weeks. The girl would work all day, but come up to the main house just before bed time. Quinn never asked her to do anything for her - she knew Rachel would be tired for even the easiest tasks. She just wanted to ensure Rachel would get a good night of sleep, on the comfiest of beds instead of sleeping on the thin mattress down the quarters. But more than anything, it filled Quinn's heart with relief to see Rachel after every working day and know she was well - or as well as she could be. Quinn cared for Rachel's ruined hands and massaged her back until she fell asleep, and it helped to get at least a little of her guilt out of her back.

It had been working fine, until her father came back earlier from a trip and ran into them on the hallway.

"She can't sleep there, father, it isn't safe!" Quinn argued.

"It isn't practical for her to sleep up in here, Quinn. She will have to get up much earlier and climb the whole hill back every night. Why don't you just give her a break?" He placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder. Quinn froze. She wanted to put herself between the two of them. To get his hand out of Rachel. To hide Rachel behind her and not let anyone in the world see her.

"She doesn't mind," Quinn replied with a tight jaw. Her father sighed, not convinced at all. "She's small father, she can't be there all alone."

"Child, she is a woman already!" He said with a chuckle that made Quinn's spine shake. As if he knew how much of a woman she was.

"She's my age," Quinn reminded him, in an attempt of making him feel guilty or even to just make him see how wrong it all was.

"Will that make you complain less, Quinn?" He asked with a sigh. Quinn licked her lips and nodded firmly. "Alright then," he tapped Rachel's shoulder before getting his hand off. Quinn felt like she could finally breathe again. "As long as she is there on time, I guess that's fine. Whatever makes you sleep at night."

Everything changed when their door was closed. Quinn was less irritated and Rachel less tense. The tiredness of the hard work showed in her every expression, but Quinn could see her relaxing with every single touch of their hands. Instead of being dressed and braided, Quinn was the one to help Rachel into her night gown. She was the one to let Rachel's hair out of the tight bun, and to caress her scalp with her fingertips. Rachel closed her eyes as they engaged in the small talk that was all their relationship boiled down to, lately.

"Has Lou Lee been treating you well?" Rachel asked as Quinn pulled the covers of the bed. A bed that had never felt so big as the night Quinn tried to sleep there alone while Rachel slept down the quarters.

"Yes," Quinn said with a nod. "She has been very useful and she can be very handy."

"I'm glad," Rachel replied with a smile. Quinn could almost swear she saw a hint of sadness there somewhere, but tried to make it up before it could develop any further.

"She's not you, though," Quinn whispered, dropping a kiss just under Rachel's ear. Rachel flinched. Or shivered. Quinn couldn't quite tell.

"I'll be back soon. The season is almost over," Rachel whispered, closing her eyes. Quinn left another kiss on her neck, just a little lower. "I hope you can find a new position for her when I'm back. So that she can stay up here in the house."

"I'm sure we can think of something," Quinn replied, without really paying attention to what she was saying. Rachel tasted saltier than usual. Perhaps it was the taste of longing. She had never missed anything more in her life. As one hand held Rachel's jaw in place, Quinn nibbled on the skin just above Rachel's breast. Rachel caught her breath and Quinn smiled. But Rachel grabbed her arm and not with the usual strength. Rachel whispered her name, but it sounded all too different. "Yes?" Quinn replied, again without really paying attention.

"No, Quinn," Rachel said, shutting her eyes tightly as if she was in pain. "I'm really tired."

It was the first time Rachel had ever said no to her. Quinn wanted to feel happy. She wanted to feel reassured on knowing that Rachel felt like she could say no to her. She wanted to be relieved that she would never again have to wonder if all that Rachel did was because she thought she was being ordered. She wanted to believe that Rachel was just tired. But she couldn't.

Instead, all she could think of was all the men and women that surrounded Rachel everyday down the quarters. Of how they were slaves like her, and how she could feel like she fit in there, with them. Better than with Quinn. Of how she could have met someone there that understood her better. That was funnier. That was prettier.

She nodded. Rachel smiled in gratefulness and hugged Quinn tighter against her chest. Rachel didn't take a minute to fall asleep. Quinn took forever. Rachel's heart beat strong and steadily. Quinn was afraid there was nothing but broken pieces in her chest.

She couldn't lose Rachel.

Time alone didn't do Quinn no good. She could take advantage of Rachel's absence to study, or read, or even paint - which she hadn't in a long time. But instead, all she could do was sit by her window and try to get a glimpse of what happened down the quarters. It was too far, and she couldn't even see Rachel, but still. She didn't leave her place. And while she was at it, her mind wouldn't stop wondering either.

A few days had passed and Rachel still wouldn't let Quinn touch her. Not even on Sundays, when the slaves down the quarters had a day off and Rachel didn't have the tired excuse. And with each day, Quinn grew more and more nervous that Rachel had traded her for a slave from down there. She felt like her affliction wouldn't end until she found out who it was, but she would never be brave enough to confront Rachel about it.

So she decided to see it with her own eyes instead.

As the sun started to set, Quinn marched her way down the hill and into the quarters. One by one, she saw slaves coming back from the plantation, with the most tiresome look on their faces. Rachel wasn't among them. She knew Rachel had been working on the mill and she did her best to ignore the strong smell of the place. She had traced her plan. She would simply tell Rachel she had come to pick her up and surprise her. Rachel wouldn't even question it. It was the perfect plan - unless she caught Rachel with someone else. Then Quinn just would never talk to her again.

"It's even better when she's all sweaty like that," she heard someone saying. She cringed at how weird that sound, but her heart stalled when she heard a low whimper. A low whimper that she knew all too well.

"She's looking better now because she's putting all those muscles to work," another voice said.

Quinn peeked her head behind a wooden wall and had to lean against it to ensure she wouldn't fall onto the ground when she saw it. Three black men and Malcolm, the overseer, surrounded Rachel way closer than she was comfortable with. Quinn's mouth tasted sour. One of them had his hand up Rachel's thigh, and another one caressed her hair. Rachel had her eyes shut tight, but didn't move at all.

It was nothing like her. Quinn wondered if she had been enjoying it, thus why she hadn't moved. But she cried out again and Quinn understood it all. Of course Rachel didn't like it. She didn't like it, but she knew better than to move. One of the men started lifting Rachel's skirt and Quinn's heart fell to her feet. If only she had a gun there, she would have killed all of them right then, regardless of the consequences that could have brought her.

"Get off of her!" Quinn yelled. The perks of being the daughter of the master - they moved right away. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She had never cursed out loud in front of people. The surprise showed on their face. The men slaves moved further away and looked around trying to find a way to escape. Malcolm, on the other hand, didn't look fazed at all.

"Calm down, little miss," he said, bringing a hay straw to his mouth. "We're just having a little fun."

"Well, go have fun with your own people!" she yelled, her face boiling up in anger. Rachel's eyes shot open, as if just then she had realized that the voice she heard was coming from Quinn. She smiled, and it broke Quinn further to realize that even though she felt like she should be grossed out, she still felt like Rachel's smile could rock her whole world. "She's my slave and if I ever see anyone touching, or just talking to her like you had, I will kill you all!" Malcolm giggled. Quinn's body trembled in anger. "I'm serious! You can have whoever you want, but you don't touch my slave!"

"We all know why you're saying that, miss Quinn," he said, with a mocking tone that made Quinn want to rip his jugular apart. "And you're sure going to hell because of that!"

Quinn froze. He was bluffing. He had to be. There was no way he could know. Still, she thought arguing further would just make him more sure of his suspicious - so she painted her most disgusted face and shook her head, as if the thought of having Rachel had never crossed her head before. She didn't have the courage to look at Rachel afterwards, afraid of what she could see. She hoped Rachel would understand why she had just done what she had done.

"Let's go, Rachel," Quinn said, waiting for Rachel to move before she turned around. She wouldn't take her eyes off of Rachel if her life depended on it. "And just so you know, my father will know about this." She completed, in an attempt of scaring Malcolm - if she hadn't already.

"Oh, as if he had never done her either," Malcolm replied, and Quinn felt bile rising up.