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He wants a fifteen thousand pound settlement."" Fifteen thousand! "" He says you're a great deal of trouble." She hesitated for one startled moment before choking back a laugh." I am."" I thought so." He leveled Drew a look. "If I pay you the fifteen thousand, do you swear to keep her?" Drew reared back his head. "Forever?"Her father scowled. "Forever.""Oh, I suppose." He gave a long-suffering sigh. "If I must." She bit the insides of her cheeks to keep from laughing outright.Deeanne Gist
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That first scream, my lord, was indeed your daughter, my wife, and if you kill me, your grandchild will be quite without a father. Won't you come in?Deeanne Gist
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You next, " he said. "Out of those clothes and into bed." She nodded but didn't move from Sally's side. The thought of undressing exhausted her. Where would she find the strength such a task would require?" I'm filthy. I'll ruin the new bed."" I'll bring you some fresh water."" I've no clothes to change into." His grin was downright wicked. "I know." A short laugh escaped her.Deeanne Gist
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You were kidnapped not?"" I was kidnapped."" You were forced not into marriage?"" I was forced into marriage."" You want not an annulment?"" I want not an annulment.Deeanne Gist
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Lord Randall barreled inside, brandishing his cane in Drew's face." You beggarly knave, I was told this marriage was in name only! Who gave you permission to consummate the vows?"" Theodore Hopkin, governor of this colony, representative of the kind, and it's going to cost you plenty, for that daughter of yours is nothing but trouble. What in the blazes were you thinking to allow her an education?" Drew bit back his smile at the man's shocked expression. Nothing like landing the first punch. Lord Randall furrowed his bushy gray brows." I knew not about her education until it was too late." Drew straightened the cuffs of his shirt. "Well, be prepared to pay dearly for it. No man should have to suffer through what I do with the constant spouting of the most addlepated word puzzles you could imagine."-----------------------------------------" I require fifteen thousand pounds." Lord Randall spewed ale across the floor. "What! Surely drink has tickled your poor brain. You're a FARMER, you impudent rascal. I'll give you five thousand." Drew plopped his drink onto the table at his side, its contents sloshing over the rim. A satisfied smile broke across his face." Excellent." He stood." When will you take her back to England with you? Today? Tomorrow?"The old man's red-rimmed eyes widened. "I cannot take her back. Why, she's already birthed a child! " Drew shrugged. "Fifteen thousand or I send her AND the babe back, with or without you. .Deeanne Gist
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Their daughter scrunched up her hands and legs, waving them wildly in the air. He opened his palm, allowing the babe to kick his hand." Is she like a puppy?" Constance choked. "What! "He looked up. "Will she get her spots later?" Laughter bubbled up from within her as she playfully whacked him on the shoulder. "Yes. Yes, I'm afraid she will. As soon as the sun touches her skin, the freckles will appear." A delicious two-dimple grin spread across his face. "Good. I find I'm rather partial to freckled redheads.Deeanne Gist
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Thought you didn't like red hair." One of Drew's dimples kicked in as he draped an arm about Grandma's shoulder. "Must have me confused with someone else, but I'm not surprised. Seems to happen to most of the older set at some point or other.Deeanne Gist
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You could have arrived atop a wildcat and no one would have said a word. They will adore you.Deeanne Gist
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Look. Isn't he beautiful?" Drew's expression softened. "Ah, Nellie. He's bald, pink, and has no teeth. What's so beautiful about that?" Nellie's laugh tinkled out like musical chimes while she covered the babe back up.Deeanne Gist
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Bitter disappointment pushed tears from her eyes." Now what's wrong? I said you could wear it." She drew in a shaky breath." I w-wanted you to l-like my dreeessssss." He moved his gaze over her." The gown makes my mouth water, love.Deeanne Gist
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Sneezeweed, Drew?"He grinned. "Jealous?""Surprised.""Remind me, and I'll have a talk with Gerald. Give him a few tips."" Promise?"" Absolutely.Deeanne Gist
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Oh, they'll never believe a woman could solve such puzzles. They'll just assume I'm humoring you by editing it myself and allowing you to put your name to it." She raised her eyebrows. "But you wouldn't be." He humphed. "They'll never hear me admit it."" I will, " she said, a smile curving her lips. He shrugged. "They'll believe me, not you.Deeanne Gist
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Ho! Wise men say, 'He who hath not a good and ready memory should never meddle in telling lies.'" Drew smiled. "I have a good and ready memory.Deeanne Gist
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If you feel like you don't fit into the world you inherited it is because you were born to help create a new one.Ross Caligiuri
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To completely understand me you must first accept that I am not you.Ross Caligiuri
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My dream is to create something so beautiful that it encourages people to present the best version of themselves to me everywhere I go.Ross Caligiuri
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Eternity will not cause our memories to fade, it will force our hearts to accept the past.Ross Caligiuri
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To struggle against the weight of sleep as reality eclipses the moon of your dreams is the purest sign of true love.Ross Caligiuri
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Cherish your existence, for memories become legacies and life can change in an instant.Ross Caligiuri
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Try to think of it as though we are rewriting history——the first time this experience occurred you and I never kissed in this Dream Machine room. But now when we leave here, and open our eyes again near the wall around the center of Constance, that kiss will be included in our memories of the day we first met. We could spend a lifetime recreating this moment here, meanwhile, not a single second of our lives would slip by back in our reality. Time seems to move differently inside of our memories. .Ross Caligiuri
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As her feet beat the concrete ground beneath them, her chest began to ache. It had been a long time since she had run at a full sprint. She was, quite literally, running for her life, and leaving everything she had known before behind. Regardless of her past experiences, here she was, blindly following a girl, who was virtually a stranger, because she had promised to lead Eleanor to safety.Ross Caligiuri
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Eleanor had heard talk of the rebellion that existed inside the city of Constance before. Most of the information she gathered was considered an old fairy tale by the general public. There were a few stories here and there about people angered by their present living conditions, who had demanded that the center of Constance be held responsible for it. However, information was never passed between the five different sectors. Over the years the tales of the rebellion had become children’s bedtime stories, and people did not take them seriously.Ross Caligiuri
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Here we go, ” Phoenix said, turning back to Nora. “Try not to let this room scare you.Ross Caligiuri
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Every decision you make in life will stem from one of two options: love or fear. Choose love.Ross Caligiuri
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Healthy surrender means allowing yourself to "be" rather than being in a constant state of want.Bryant McGill
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Mr. Benedict: "After I woke up and composed myself, however, I realized the flowers must certainly be yours, Constance, to do with as you please. At any rate -- " Mr.Benedict broke off, for just then Constance jumped to her feet, snatched the bouquet from his desk, and hurled it into the wastebasket with all the force she could muster -- so hard that flower petals flew up out of the wastebasket like tiny pink butterflies. Then placing her hands against the wall to steady herself, she stomped one foot repeatedly into the wastebasket as if trying to put out a fire. "I see we are of the same opinion, " said Mr. Benedict as Constance returned to her seat, and the others congratulated her on her judgment.Trenton Lee Stewart