Lyddie works almost sixteen hours a day in Cutler's Tavern. She has to rise early in the morning so the guests won't see that she sleeps under the eaves in a hallway outside the guest rooms. She works all day long until she is "ordered to bed late." She has no leisure time--and no one to share it with if she had. Mrs. Cutler is a mean woman who watches Lyddie intently to make sure she is not making mistakes or stealing. Lyddie rarely speaks to anyone, but she listens to conversations in the tavern and plans to tell the stories to Charlie.
The first time Lyddie sees the woman in the pink dress, she does not know she is a factory girl. She sees her get off the coach and marvels at the woman's beautiful dress--although she feels it is inappropriate clothing to wear in a "dusty coach." The woman smiles at Lyddie in a friendly way, not at all proud. Lyddie has a hard time taking her eyes off her.
That September Lyddie sees the same woman and has a conversation with her. The woman tells Lyddie she is a good worker, and then she mentions that Lyddie could make much more money at the mill in Lowell and probably have more time to herself. Lyddie finds it impossible to believe that a person can save two dollars a week by working at the factory. Yet she knows the woman herself has made enough money to be able to afford a beautiful pink silk dress.
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