Diana, the worker at the mill who befriends Lyddie and helps her learn to do her job, has no family. When Lyddie goes to Diana's room after Lyddie's first day on the job, Diana draws Lyddie into speaking about her family and personal situation. Lyddie realizes she may have talked about herself too much, so she says, "But I reckon you know how it is with families, eh?" Diana explains that she can hardly remember her family. She had an aunt who cared for her until she was ten, but the aunt has since passed away.
When July comes around, the month when most of the girls go home to see their families, Lyddie doesn't expect Diana to take a vacation. When she finds out Diana will be taking time off, she asks her where she will be going before she remembers that Diana has no family. Diana then responds that she was "orphaned young." She has worked in the mill for fifteen years, having started as a doffer when she was just ten years old. Diana considers the other workers at the textile mill to be her family, which may be one of the motivations she has for being so active in the Female Labor Reform Association.
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