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Katherine smiled at her ruefully and offered her another slice. She shook her head when Jasmine tried to turn it down, “Take it. You’ve worked hard.” Katherine watched as she tentatively took the apple. She smiled at the young girl. It seemed unfair that someone so young would have to work so much. “I’ll try to take you to see Sadie today. I promise.”

Jasmine shook her head politely when Katherine held out the second slice, not wanting to become too greedy.  Katherine continued to look down at her, a comforting look in her eyes, and Jasmine reached out and took the apple slice hesitantly.  She bit into half of the slice, savoring the sweet taste, knowing that this was one of the few times she would ever taste an apple as fresh and delicious as this.  ”Thank you.  I’d love that.”  

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Katherine took the apple and pulled a knife out of a chopping block on the counter and cut the apple in slices. She put them on a plain dish from one f the cabinets and sat back down. She ate one of the slices and smiled. She looked at Jasmine on the floor and knelt down before her. She held out an apple slice to her. “How long has it been since they let you eat? Did you even get supper last night?”

Jasmine took the apple slice from Katherine, after looking around the kitchen to be sure no one was watching.  If anyone else had seen her taking food from Katherine, she would be accused of stealing.  ”Thank you, Miss Katherine.  I ate at noon yesterday.”  She was usually given a small meal in the evenings, but last night she had more work than usual cleaning the house.  It was something she would have to deal with, though, and she eventually got used to the hunger.

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Katherine smiled and sat in one f the chairs in a corner. “Have there been any apples in from the Evans yet?” she asked. She craved the sweet crisp of the fruit but she worried it was too early in the season for any. Katherine smoothed down her robes. She thought that maybe she could take Jasmine out after luncheon. Perhaps she could send a message out through Tom. He seemed to e spending quite a bit of time with her lately.

Jasmine walked to the other side of the kitchen, picking an apple from a basket on the counter.  ”These were picked yesterday,” she said, handing the apple to Katherine.  Jasmine had never tasted any apples like these before; occasionally she would pick one of the apples from the trees that had been left behind, but she wished she would be allowed to taste one of the fresh apples the Kingston’s had.  She knelt down on the cold floor of the kitchen, retrieving the sponge from the water in the bucket and scrubbing the floor, singing quietly to herself.

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Katherine woke early again and walked downstairs, sneaking into the kitchen. She didn’t feel like sitting on the porch again and she didn’t have her copy of a Tale of Two Cities back from Johnson yet, which she suddenly had a strong urge to read. She slipped open the swinging door to the kitchen, hoping to find an apple and maybe some sweets in one f the drawers. As she opened the door she heard someone humming and she noticed that Jasmine was already up tending to her morning chores. She smiled. For such a young carefree girl, she worked hard, always up earlier than all the other house servants, just as early as the slaves in the fields. “Good Morning,” she greeted her, pulling her robes tighter around her. She hadn’t expected to come across anyone awake in the house this early.

Jasmine looked up at the sound of a door opening, setting the sponge down on the counter and smiling as Katherine walked in.  ”Good morning, Miss Katherine,” she said in her small, sweet voice.  ”Would you like me to make you something to eat?”  She was surprised to see Katherine this early.  Jasmine was usually the only one awake this early, getting a head start on her work.  Although it meant waking up long before the sun rose, she was able to get on the good side of the Kingstons and often get some extra time at night when she finished her work.

Jasmine woke up early that morning, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes.  She looked around the room at the other servants, still sleeping.  She stood up and made her bed quietly, and walked out of the room toward the kitchen in the Kingston’s home.  Jasmine hoped she would have some time at the end of the day with no work, maybe she could ask Katherine to take her to see Sadie to work on her reading.  She stepped into the kitchen and began to scrub the countertops, humming to herself, when she heard someone walk into the kitchen and turned around.

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“Thank you, Jasmine,” she said, turning to the girl with a smile. She noted that the corset was tied comfortably for the first time in days and she was grateful. She saw Jasmine on her way with a pat on the head just as the dinner bell rang.

Jasmine looked up at Katherine, a little taken aback by her kindness.  ”You’re welcome,” she said politely.  As Katherine left the room she walked to the bed, smoothing out the creases in the sheets.  After that she left the room, carrying the dress, and walked down the hallway.

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Katherine looked through the stack of titles until she found one she thought Jasmine would like. She picked out A Mid Summer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s more frivolous works and began to read. She continued to read to the end of the scene even after she noticed Jasmine had finished her work, then closed the book. Thegirl looked so excited and so sweet, Katherine wished she could continue to read, but she knew Dinner would be called soon.

Katherine sighed. “I guess I should ready then. Help me will you, Jasmine?” Katherine got up and Jasmine helped her change out of the house dress and into the evening gown. Katherine leaned with her hands against the vanity table as Jasmine laced her corset and looked at the reflection of the young girl behind her in the mirror. It seemed so strange, having this young girl dress her. It was the way it was though, Katherine had to remind herself, it didn’t matter how old the girl was, this was her job.

Jasmine walked over to Katherine, helping her remove her dress and folding it, laying it gently on the bed.  Even the dress Katherine had worn during the day was nicer than anything Jasmine could ever imagine wearing, and she wondered if Katherine was attending some special occasion that night.  She laced Katherine’s corset quickly but gently, being careful not to tie it too tight.  She looked up and caught Katherine’s glance in the mirror and gave her a warm smile before continuing to help her into her dress.  

When she was finished she stepped back, looking up at Katherine in the beautiful dress.  ”Thank you for reading to me, Miss Katherine.  Enjoy your dinner.”  She picked up Katherine’s other dress from the bed; she would have to wash it when she was finished here.

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Katherine followed Jasmine’s gaze to the stack of books at her side ans smiled softly. She looked back to Jasmine and decided to give her a little treat, “Would you like me to read to you while you ready the dress?” She asked pleasantly. Katherine felt a little bad that since the Mares had arrived, she hadn’t had a chance to take Jasmine to see Sadie. Then again, Sadie’s mother had tightened the belt, so to  speak, recently, and there was no guarantee Sadie was available to teach either.

Jasmine nodded, her eyes lighting up and smiling.  ”I’d love that.”  She picked up the dress, feeling the soft fabric between her fingers.  She had never even come close to wearing anything that nice, and she could only dream about wearing fancy dresses and eating nice dinners.  

She listened to Katherine as she worked, temporarily forgetting what she was doing and getting lost in the story.  That was one of the things she enjoyed most about the stories she read - it was so different than her life, and she could lose herself in the story for a few minutes, forgetting about her life on the plantation.  She didn’t quite understand every word, but enjoyed being read to nonetheless.  When she was finished with the dress she sat down in a chair in the corner of the room, listening carefully as Katherine finished the story. 

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Katherine smiled at the small girl. Jasmine was sweet. Katherine believed that slaves had their place the way her father believed so of women, but she had a soft spot in her heart for Jasmine, “As well as can be expected, Jasmine,” Katherine knew that no one else in the house ever called a slave by their name and Jasmine’s face lit up when she did. “How are you?” she asked in return, another thing that never happened to slaves. Katherine tucked a lose curl of Jasmine’s dark hair behind her ear as she resumed her seat at the foot of her bed.

Jasmine smiled at Katherine’s use of her name; she rarely ever heard anyone use her name.  Katherine was the only one of the Kingstons she felt comfortable around, and at times Jasmine almost thought of her as an older sister.  However she still couldn’t act too casual around Katherine, as she was only a slave, as she was constantly being reminded.

“I’m good, thank you.”  Truthfully she was starting to get tired, but she still had quite a bit of work to do before she would be allowed to return to her room.  Jasmine stood against the wall and watched as Katherine sat down on her bed.  She looked down at the chest at the foot of the bed at the books that were sitting on top.  They were much more difficult than the ones she was able to read, and she could only hope that one day she would be able to understand the long, difficult words.  

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Katherine returned to her quarters after Darius returned her to the manor. Her timing was well as her mother came in not a quarter of the hour later to tell her to dress well for dinner and that someone would be in to help her dress soon. Her mother left her alone in the room and Katherine sighed.

She opened her chest and looked through her books to realize one was missing. Johnson still had her copy of A Tale of Two Cities. Katherine sighed again and closed the chest. A few minutes later, one of the younger slave girl, Jasmine, came it carrying her dress, which seemed to overflow in her arms with its thick layers of cloth and the fact that Katherine was a fair stint taller than the young girl. Katherine smiled at her and helped her hang the dress so that it could be brushed and readied for Katherine to dress for supper.

Jasmine walked through the hallway of the Kingston’s home, carrying a dress for Katherine in her arms.  She gathered the many layers of the dress in her arms, being careful not to let the end of the dress brush against the ground as she hurried down the hallway toward Katherine’s room.  Jasmine stood in the doorway and waited patiently for Katherine to notice her.  When Katherine looked up Jasmine stepped inside, hanging up the dress.  She looked up at Katherine and smiled, grateful for her help, as this was one of the few times any of the Kingstons helped her with her work.  ”Hello Miss Katherine.  How are you?”