Her mother died before she could remember her, and her father remarried quickly. The new wife wanted a new family, without a reminder that she was not Mr. Jennet's first wife, and so Sukey was typically left to the care of an old servant. She was a favourite of the servant's and, in her eyes, could do nothing wrong. Sukey became very spoiled. She had a playmate, the daughter of one of the other servants, that she would be cruel to whenever she felt in a poor mood. If the girl complained, it only made her angrier that the girl would dare to challenge her. No matter her position, she thought hers to be the right, and anything else wrong – until she came to the school.