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Bess was very cross when I returned to the house, and her glare deepened when she spied Potato trailing faithfully behind me. "Get that misbegotten, bitch-bred mule out of my sight," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm sick of that thing following you around like a damn puppy!"
Potato pinned his ears back, and I rubbed his nose to calm him. "Leave him be, Bessie," I said, grinning as Bess's face hardened at the nickname our parents had used whenever she was particularly snippy. "He's just giving me back up, isn't that right, spud?" Potato whickered happily at this, his temper easing, although he still gave Bess severe side-eye. Bess sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You're hopeless," she said crossly. "Where the hell were you, anyway?"
"Hunting for crabs," I said.
Bess rolled her eyes again. "You were supposed to be here when your fiance got here," she said, practically tossing that hideous rock Rob insisted on calling an engagement ring at me. It almost beaned me square between the eyes, and as it landed on the ground near Potato's hooves, he side-eyed it as it lay there sparkling in the dust. For half a second he looked ready to stomp on it and reduce it to a million glittering shards, but, as I found out later, the thing was insured, and would've cost Bess a pretty penny to replace. I sighed and rescued it, grimacing at its weight in my palm. "You're supposed to put it on," Bess reminded me snippily. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xUflRwDSg
"This'd suit you better, Bessie," I said, slipping the hated shackle in my shorts pocket. "Besides, I never agreed to this engagement in the first place, so I don't see why on God's green earth I should wear a thing that screams slave ownership!"
"I went through hell and high water to get the contract signed," Bess said through gritted teeth. "And if you don't want me supergluing the damn thing to your finger, do as you're told for once and put it on!"31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApAUFXh4uU
I stood my ground. "No," I said firmly. "And neither you nor Rob can make me."
Bess sniffed. "He's coming here tomorrow night," she told me. "I've arranged a party to celebrate the engagement, and you will be there, even if I have to lock you in the damn house all day. You've run away from this thing long enough - time to put on your big girl panties and do right by your family for a change."
"You could marry him," I suggested snidely. "You know, since you''ve been so busy singing this guy's praises."31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCeaJyySK6
"Someone has to keep this plantation running smoothly," Bess retorted. "You'd run it into the ground in a heartbeat. Oh, and since we're on the subject - Jesse comes nowhere near this house from now on. I don't care that he's your friend; he's the help, and high class doesn't go rolling around in the mud with the help. You stay the hell away from him."31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4F7d4i9mmw
Now my back really was up. "You can't make me stay away from him," I said angrily. "He's my friend, and I don't care if he's 'the help'. He and Potato are the only two souls on this whole damn place who give two shits about me, and if you think for a second you'll keep me away from them, you've got another damn thing coming."
Bess sniffed again as she turned to go back into the house. "Rob will set you straight," she said over her shoulder. "He doesn't like sharing, and you belong to him now. He'll make sure you stay away from Jesse, even if he's got to take you back to Atlanta to do so."
I glared at her back as she shut the back door. "Ain't no one's gonna make me do anything I don't want to do," I said through gritted teeth. Potato gently butted me in the back, and I gave his nose a grateful rub. "Yeah, you're right, spud. Let's go get you them oats, since you asked so nicely."
But as we made our way to the stable, I felt a chill pass over me. I'd never met Rob Gellert, but he had a fearsome reputation as a man who didn't let anything stand in the way of getting what he wanted. He really would take me back to Atlanta and keep me a prisoner in his house if that was what it took to separate me from those who truly loved me.
I clenched my jaw in anger. Rob Gellert would have to tie me up and drug me into unconcsiousness before I'd do anywhere with him!
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