Marjorie J. Hanes
Born: July 23, 1844
Hometown: Bracey, VA.
Occupation: Halfway house operator and reformer for troubled young women.
Hobbies: Reading, writing, political studies, feminism.
Fears/Worries: Conservative Politics
Goals: Women's Suffrage
Ethel M. Rutherford
Born: January 13, 1878
Hometown: Richmond, VA.
Occupation: Student
Hobbies: Cooking, sewing, beauty, singing, drawing.
Fears/Worries: Being compared to her sister, food, not being able to find a husband.
Marie N. Rutherford
Born: March 4, 1880
Hometown: Richmond, VA.
Occupation: Student
Hobbies: Dancing, Smoking, Drinking, Promiscuity.
Fears/Worries: That she won't be able to return to Richmond.
The room was quiet other than the sound of forks scraping against plates. Only two, however, when there were three present.
"Why don't you eat, girl?" Asked the mistress. Ethel snapped out of her daydreams and stammered an apology. Her younger sister snickered. "Do not laugh at your sister." Scolded the mistress as she cut another piece of her meal. "I'll ask again, but not more, Ethel. Why don't you eat? You prepared this meal and you did so well. You should taste your work."
The older sister swallowed and looked down at her stomach. A slight roll sat in her line of vision. Rude thoughts filled her mind. "I eat enough, mistress." She finally answered.
"My sister is dull," Marie, the younger sister, added with another giggle. "She wants to be beautiful and slender like me. I get all the boys back in Richmond and they call her a piglet." She stuck her nose up and honked for emphasis. She was the only one laughing, but by the volume of it you'd think the joke was hilarious. Ethel's eyes were brimming with tears now.
Mistress Marjorie's eyes narrowed. She wiped the corner of her lips with a napkin. "Ah, yes. Your parents told me about your promiscuity. That's why they sent you girls to be reformed by me. To become real, husband attracting women." She glanced between the girls. "While your sister may be lacking the confidence to shine on the outside, she has the skill to be a home maker." Marie's eyes widened and her giggling stopped as the mistress went on, "She can cook a full meal, sew a hem, clean a home... You can do none of that, Marie. You only know how to spread your legs. You'll never find a man like that. Only other women's husbands." The younger sister's face turned a deep red. She stood from the table and stormed upstairs angrily. The mistress only smiled as Ethel looked to her.
"Mistress... That was quite rude..." She said, bewildered.
"Ah, yes it was my dear. However she has tasted her own sourness now." Mistress Marjorie patted Ethel's hand before continuing to cut at her meal. "You both have many things to learn, and this summer is going to be a long journey for us all."
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