Rachel knew what it was to work hard, but hers had been the hard work of the endless cycle that sugarcane demanded: planting, tending, harvesting, crushing. There was skill in it, but it was the skill of forcing aching muscles to repeat a movement to the point of exhaustion. Mrs. Armstrong’s sewing was a completely different kind of work. No dress was the same. Customers demanded embroidered details on the bodice, or a particular gathering of lace around the sleeve. There were whole hours where all that moved would be Mrs. Armstrong’s nimble fingers as she created a dress just as the customer
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