“Of course you can’t go back,” said Mercy. “Father will not send you back. You will just have to show him that you can be useful here.”

By the end of that first day Kit understood that work in that house never stopped, and much of it Kit didn’t even know how to do. By the evening her eyes hurt, and she had burns and blisters on her fingers.

After dinner the candles were lit and Matthew put the great Bible in front of him on the table. Matthew’s reading was monotonous. Kit could not keep her mind on the words. Her head felt heavy, and she almost fell asleep. The others did not notice. Finally, her uncle closed the book and bent his head for the long evening prayer.

That evening, when Kit was going up the stairs to the chilly bedroom, she overheard some unpleasant words. “Why does she have to sleep with me?” Judith complained. “If I have to share my bed, will she share my work? Or will she expect us all to serve her like her black slaves?”

“Shame on you, Judith,” her mother told her. “The child does her best, you know that.”

“I wish our cousin were a boy!” cried Judith.

Kit ran upstairs. When Judith came to bed, she was already under the covers, crying silently. For a long time after Judith blew out the candle Kit lay there awake. Suddenly, she heard something. It was a strange long sound. Indians?

On Sunday morning the Church bells rang. Matthew Wood stood at the door of his house and examined the three women. Aunt Rachel and Judith were dressed in home-made gowns, but Kit’s flowered silk was obviously out of place. “Your looks will disgrace the Lord’s assembly,” Matthew shouted.

“But these are the only clothes I have,” protested Kit. “If they are not right, then I’ll stay here with Mercy.”

This was the second time this morning that her uncle was mad at her. An hour ago she had said that she wouldn’t go to church because she and her grandfather had only attended the Christmas Mass. Her uncle got so angry! There was no Church of England in Wethersfield, he had informed her, and, since she was now a member of his family, she should forget all her stupid ideas and attend the church meetings like a good woman.

Now Rachel put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Matthew,” she said, “everyone knows that the child has not had time to get new clothes. Besides, Katherine looks very pretty, and I’m proud of her. Please, let her go with us.”

As they left the house, Kit became excited. If they were going to church, then there must be a town somewhere. The sky was blue and the air was delicious. The family walked along the street past simple houses and came to a small square clearing. Kit looked about. “Is it far to the town?” she whispered to Judith. There was silence. “This is the town,” said Judith. The town? There was not a single stone building or shop there. The church, or as they called it the Meeting House, was just a square wooden structure which stood in the center of the clearing. Kit was shocked to see the objects that were there: a pillory, stocks and a whipping post.

Inside the small building on rows of benches sat the good people of Wethersfield, men on one side and women on the other. At the door Matthew Wood left his family and walked to the bench right in front of the pulpit. Rachel and the girls went to the family bench. As Kit walked behind her aunt, she noticed the silence and felt the astonishment of the townspeople. She knew that they were watching her, and her cheeks turned red.

The Puritan service was plain and boring. Kit was surprised when her uncle stepped forward to read the psalm, and the congregation repeated it after him line by line. Secretly, Kit looked at the other people in the church. Some were as fashionably dressed as Kit, but the majority was poorly dressed. One time Kit looked around and saw John Holbrook. He turned away. All of the people sat still and silent. It was impossible that they were listening to the sermon, Kit thought. She couldn’t concentrate on it for a second!