A slave girl who is 11 years old is revealed to be pregnant. It is never clarified whether it was the slavemaster who impregnated her or another slave. Towards the beginning of the book, the main character, who is also 11 at the time, gets invited to the bedroom of the slavemaster's brother, who is visiting. Another slave insists that the main character be prepared to defend himself in case the brother intends to molest him. The visit turns out to be entirely benign, and the possibility of molestation never re-emerges.