I glared at her. Rinse them out my arse! We were to be on the ship for five days, and I for one was going to be wearing clean knickers every day. I watched her take out two blouses and skirts and two pairs of knickers. I supposed it was all the clothes she had. I shrugged and turned away to avoid feeling sorry for her. Then she pulled out her books and set them on the bed. Her and her books—you’d think they were her children. On account of all that reading, she used words so long they would choke you. I always believed she did it on purpose to make me look ignorant; school hadn’t been my strong point.

She turned around, smiling. “Do you need help unpacking, Nora?”

As I watched her, my irritation grew, and when she spoke to me, I blew up.

“No!” I shouted. “I’ll be needing no help from you. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be enjoying the luxury up in first class instead of being down here in this dungeon.”

Delia stood there, her mouth a perfect O, waiting for me to finish shouting. But I wasn’t finished.

“You’re a devious little devil. How you got around Da to arrange a passage for you, I’ll never know.” Tears stung my eyes and I balled up my fists. “You’ve been jealous of me since the day you were born. You’d do anything to spite me, wouldn’t you?” I paused to catch my breath. “Well, just you wait, you’ll get your just dues. A week from now you’ll be down on your knees scrubbing floors for strangers, while I’ll be at ease in Mr. O’Hanlon’s posh home with nothing to do but amuse his young daughter!”

I turned my back on Delia so she would not see the fear on my face. The truth was, I was nervous as a cat at the thought of going to some posh house and pretending to be a governess. What if the seven-year-old daughter was already able to read and write better than me? I shook off the doubts as best I could and turned back to Delia. She was quiet for a moment before she spoke.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Nora. But it comes as no surprise. You’ve always been a selfish girl. And to tell you the truth, I’ll be happy to scrub floors day and night as long as I’m away from you and Ma. All you two have ever done is torment me. The only one who ever showed me any kindness was Da.”