A faint frown appears on Pearl's face, the slightest wrinkle of frustration between her eyes. Unable to escape Rose's gaze on her, she shuts her eyes tightly and opens her mouth as if to speak. Her throat works for a moment but nothing emerges. No tender confession, no bold declaration, no bitter accusation. In a fit of nervy courage -- or perhaps fuzzy panic, it's unclear even to herself -- she closes the rest of the distance between them and kisses Rose hard.