Summary

Paulette’s life with the Burnhams at their estate -- dubbed Bethel – has not been easy for her because she struggles with English manners. She likes to bathe every day, but Mrs. Burnham informs her this practice is only acceptable for men. She doesn’t have the right clothes and although Mrs. Burnham gives Paulette some of her dresses, Paulette is so tall and thin that the dresses do not fit, revealing her ankles. When Paulette’s father died, she was slated to be assigned to a home for destitute white women before Benjamin Burnham intervened. The judge who told her Burnham was to rescue her told her to prove herself worthy of his household and to learn subjects she was ignorant about including piety, penitence and Scripture. But Paulette longs for her former life. She wakes at dawn to try to work on...