When I arrive at the clock 10 minutes later, she's changed back into her usual clothes, and is leaning up against the banister. She's got the yellow pants on again, but now she's wearing a black waistcoat over her shirt.
"Wanna go to a real party?" She smiles down at me.
I'm sat at a table, in-between Santana and Brittany's Irish friend, Rory, while Brittany dances with a young girl. Brittany's a very good dancer, which is surprising, and I watch as she twirls the girl round in the air. Rory places a pint of dark liquid in front of me and I smile at him in thanks as the song changes.
"I'm gonna dance with her now, okay?" She points to me, and the girl nods, looking displeased. Brittany looks at me and waves a hand. "Come on!"
"What?" I reply looking startled.
"Come on! Dance!" She pulls me up to my feet and onto the makeshift dance floor.
"I can't do this!" She ignores me.
"We're gonna have to get a little closer, like this." She puts her hand on my back and pulls me into her, my stomach flutters. The little girl next to us looks angry but Brittany smiles at her. "Don't worry Cora, you're still my favourite."
She starts moving. "I don't know this dance!"
"Neither do I, just go with it." We start moving, and it's so easy to dance with her it's like we've been practicing together our entire lives.
There's a stage in the middle of the room, and she climbs on to it, pulling me with her, and starts to do some sort of tap foot work, then looks at me as if to challenge me. I pull of my shoes and throw them to a woman standing near us, then match her step for step.
This is the most fun I've had in my entire life.
We're sitting down for breakfast the next morning when I realise Finn knows. He dismissing most of the staff almost immediately and looks at me across the table, stony faced.
"I see you had that undertaker of a man-servant follow me. How typical."
"You will never behave like that again Quinn, do you hear me?" His voice is low and menacing.
"I'm not a foreman in one of your mills that you can command."
That really sets him off, he springs out of his seat and flings the table across the room, moving forward to lean in my face.
"You are my wife! My wife in practice, if not by law, so you will honour me. You will honour me the way a wife is required to honour her husband, I will not be made a fool." He storms from the room, leaving me shaken.
Rachel is there in an instant, already cleaning up the shards of glass on the floor. I lean down to help her. "We had a little accident. Sorry Rachel" I can hear her murmuring that it's alright. "Let me help you."
"It's alright, miss." She holds on to me when I slip back. "It's alright."
Rachel's helping me get dressed for the day when my mother comes into the room. "Tea, Rachel?"
"Yes ma'am." Rachel moves off to make the tea and my mother takes her place, lacing up my corset. She's doing it tighter that Rachel usually does and I start to feel crushed.
"You are not to see that girl again, do you understand me?" Her voice is quiet, but I can hear the threat underneath it.
"Oh stop it mother, you'll give yourself a nosebleed."
She starts talking, and I know she's trying to guilt trip me into behaving as she wishes, but it works anyway, she leaves my room under the promise that I'll never see Brittany again.
I don't know if I can keep it.