Chapter 3

Anna blows out the candles and turns the oil lamp off.She used to sleep in her own room,the room that used to be Hannah’s,very near to my apartment.But when I started ringing my bell several times a night just to see if maybe one time Hannah would come instead,Papa told Anna she must sleep on a pallet at the foot of my bed until I get a little older.He thinks I’m afraid of the dark,but I’m not.Hannah used to sing me lullabies and rock me and care for me when I was sick,and now she’s never here.

“Does your mammy ever sleep in your little room?”I ask Anna.Usually I don’t talk to her about anything.

“No,Miss.She sleeps in the house-servant quarters now.”

I frown.The house slaves,like our butler and cook,sleep in cabins that are nicer than the ones the field slaves live in,and closer to the big house.But some very special ones like Hannah and Anna get to sleep right inside our house,and I don’t know why Hannah would ever have to move.