From the moment Joanna discovered she'd pumped out not a useful male heir but a useless girl, she treated Catherine less like a human and more like a receptacle for all her disappointments.
'It was a hard day, Ermie, ' said Sara. She sat down. 'Miss Minchin was angry with Cook. Then Cook was angry with us. Becky and I had no dinner and no tea.'
On going up to put away her best hat, Jo's first look was toward the bureau, for in their last quarrel Amy had soothed her feelings by turning Jo's top drawer upside down on the floor.