This is a tough question because Isabel is brave throughout the book, and I'm not sure what the defining line for an "act of bravery" is in regards to this question.
I have three possibilities that I feel work. Each involves Isabel putting herself in greater danger than the previous act.
The first occurs in chapter three. The Locktons are deciding whether or not to purchase Isabel and Ruth. Madam Lockton is fairly confident in purchasing Isabel, but she can see that Ruth is mentally handicapped. Madam Lockton asks Mr. Robert about it, and Isabel answers before Mr. Robert can answer. It's a bold, brave move for Isabel because she's a black slave. Some people even consider blacks equivalent to animals. By merely speaking out of turn, Isabel is risking a possible beating. Madam Lockton even comments on it.
"She's [Ruth] prettier than you," Missus said. "And she knows how to hold her tongue."
The second act of bravery that I believe Isabel displays is when Ruth has a seizure in front of Madam Lockton. Madam Lockton believes that Ruth is possessed by the Devil, and she begins to beat Ruth with a broom. Isabel throws herself down on top of Ruth in order to take the blows for Ruth.
''NO! I threw myself on top of my sister. The broom came down my back once, twice, but still it didn't matter. I had to keep my sister safe until the storm passed.''
Both of those previous acts are a bit reactionary on Isabel's part. She is responding to a situation in order to immediately protect Ruth. There really isn't a choice to be defiantly brave. The first time that Isabel chooses to be brave through an act that she very easily could have chosen not to do is when she sneaks out of the Lockton house the first time. She sneaks out in order to report to Curzon what she heard about Lockton's plans to bribe Patriot soldiers. Slaves can be captured and killed for being out at night, and Isabel tells readers that she wants to be brave like Queen Esther from the Bible.
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