Monday, May 27, 1776
- Our heroine, Isabel, and her younger sister, Ruth, are on their way to the funeral of a woman named Miss Mary Finch, along with a pastor, the wagon driver, and Mary's nephew and only living relative, Robert, who's kind of a jerk. He didn't waste any time getting to her Rhode Island home to care for her—and snatch up her money after she died.
- Isabel leaves the funeral procession to visit the nearby grave of her mother, who died of smallpox a year before. Things get kind of Poltergeist-like when Isabel starts talking to the grave, saying that the day they've been waiting for has finally come and asking her ghost to make a brief appearance to give her instructions on where to go next.
- Miss Mary's funeral is about to begin, and Robert shouts at Isabel to join him in the cemetery for white folks. We learn that Isabel and Ruth are slaves, and Miss Mary was their owner.