Forced to Love (Historical Romance Collection) The Fires of Love & Hate

Chapter - 3 For Better Or For Worse

CHAPTER 3--FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Hattie stood gently touching her cheek where Rebecca had kissed her only two short months before as she slowly drifted back to reality.  She didn’t know quite how long she had been lost in thought, but guessing it had been awhile, she took a second to gather herself.  As she gazed around the room, she saw Rebecca by the window, Laville working on the hem of her wedding dress alongside Minerva, while Dakota sat quietly in a chair near the door.  Hattie was glad to see her sister and mother working together and not fighting for a change.  Happy that things were peaceful, Hattie addressed Laville.  “Just think, Laville, it’s hardly been a year since I was workin’ on the hem of your weddin’ dress.  Now here I stand waitin’ to marry Abner, who, I must say, makes my skin crawl every time I see him.” 

Getting to her feet and stepping in front of Hattie, Laville turned to admire herself in the large oval mirror before them.  Taller than her sisters, Laville’s long legs provided the perfect base for her voluptuous body.  Couple that with her exquisite face, ruby red lips, and sparkling smile and she was the dream of every man she had ever come in contact with.  Unfortunately, her ravishing beauty belied her devilish nature.  Brushing her long, raven black hair away from her face and carefully eyeing her own dress, she cooed, “It’s perfect!  The blue in this dress brings out the blue in my eyes.  I don’t think I’ve ever looked more beautiful!”  Then, with a puzzled look on her face, she turned to her sister and asked, “How in the world can you complain about marrying Abner?  He’s absolutely gorgeous to look at, he’s intelligent, and,” she leaned forward so only Hattie could hear, “from what the girls around town say, he’s quite a stallion.”  Laville raised her eyebrows up and down for emphasis, but Hattie was less than impressed.  Seeing she was getting nowhere, Laville started to back away but stopped halfway to add one last thing.  “And on top of everything else, Hattie, once you marry him, you’ll be filthy rich.” 

Hattie and the family had purposely kept Laville unaware of the agreement with Rebecca, as Laville had a knack of interfering with things, and they didn’t want to take any chances by letting her know too much.  It worked too, because she had no idea that Hattie, at the end of the day, would become one of the wealthiest women in the country.  Rebecca had kept her promise as James and Lewis were transferring companies, stocks, bonds, and vast real estate holdings into Hattie’s name as they spoke.

Laville was quite surprised with Hattie’s radiant appearance and commented sarcastically, “I must say, Hattie, even dressed as beautifully as you are, you’re still not quite as pretty as me.”

Hattie, rolling her eyes, looked down at her mother, who abruptly stood up and turned toward Laville.  Speaking sternly, she said, “Laville!  For heaven’s sake, what a terrible thin’ to say!  Believe me, Dear, we’re all painfully aware that you’re beautiful.  Now, please move so Hattie can see herself in the mirror.”  Laville didn’t budge.  “Move out of the way I said, so that Hattie can see her hem.”  Laville moved away sullenly but not before looking closely just one more time.  Then, with a smirk, she joined Dakota near the door.

Stepping closer to the mirror, Hattie took a moment to look at herself.  In doing so, she was taken aback by what she saw.  Instead of seeing a half-grown girl like she had seen so many times before, she saw the form and face of a beautiful woman.  Her wedding gown, which was made of the finest satin and lace and was created by the best seamstress in the state, sparkled.  Her delicate features were complimented by her innocent, green eyes, dazzling smile, and youthful, peaches and cream complexion.  Hattie stared at her reflection in awe, as she had never considered herself pretty.  It was Laville who had always been known as the pretty one.  At fifteen, however, Hattie’s beauty was the envy of any woman.