The kneeling figures, the soft glow of the lamp, the dim shadows where the negroes swayed, even the familiar objects that had been so hateful to her s ...
If no love lay between Ashley and Melanie but only a promise given long ago, then why wasn't it possible for him to break that promise and marry her?
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Even now, it wasn't too late! Too often the County had been scandalized by elopements when one or the other of the participating parties was practical ...