The Parting Glass

Chapter One

Elizabeth brushed the flour off her hands and studied her handiwork. Her father hated when she did things like this, but something about cooking and cleaning gave her a sense of purpose. 

"You are a young woman of privilege, Elizabeth. Those tasks are beneath you." He always insisted. But she found a sort of comfort in the fireplace and rough wooden furniture of the kitchen.

 Things had been more then hard lately, her father Herschel Greene nearly losing his trade business and the recent departure of her sister Maggie, and Beth needed an escape. So down to the kitchen she went, and began baking.

 Her earliest memories were in the kitchen. She and her older sister Maggie would slip into the kitchen when their father wasn't around and learn different recipes from The Help. Since Herschel was against slavery, he'd hired men and women to do the work normally occupied by slaves. 

Beth would roll up her sleeves, giggling with Maggie as they made a mess of things, the cooks smiling and shaking their heads at the two little girls, inseparable ever since the death of their mother.

But now, Maggie was gone. She'd disappeared one day without a trace. A few months later a letter arrived from Maggie letting her father and sister know that she was safe and happy but that she  was not coming back. 

    Beth sighed and blew strands of her light blonde hair from her face. The biscuits she'd baked were ready, and she lifted them carefully out of the oven, humming softly to herself. She was so taken by her task that she didn't notice her father standing there. He cleared his throat loudly. 

She looked up startled, and smiled sweetly at her father. He seemed to take no notice of the biscuits as he tilted his head to the side and motioned for her to follow him. 

"Come to my study Elizabeth. We have some things to discuss." 

She swallowed hard and smoothed out her dress as she followed her father up the stairs. 

Their home was beautiful, but not as grand as some of the plantations that surrounded them. Even so, it was a wonderful place that used to be full of light and happy memories, the excited chatter of multiple voices echoing through the halls. Now it was mostly dark, and only two people lived in the house. A young lively girl who dreamed of more, and a lonely old man who had lost almost everything he cared about. 

The study was always a source of curiosity and wonder to young Beth. It was full of stories and maps of far off places, letters to men across the oceans that her father traded with. When she was but a little slip of a girl she would crawl up into her fathers lap and beg him to tell her of the far off places that he'd been to. 

Beth had the feeling that he hadn't called her here to tell her of a journey across the sea. Clutching at her dress she sat across from her father at his large cherrywood desk.

He cleared his throat and ran a hand across his clean-shaven face.

"Elizabeth, you know things have been hard lately. My business has gone downhill, and since the news of my...political standing has gotten out to the public, things have gotten even worse." 

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, picking up a letter off of his desk and fiddling with it absentmindedly. 

"You've come of age where you should be looking for a husband, and since your options here are limited, I went ahead and have arranged something for you." 

It took a moment for his words to sink in. He couldn't possibly mean what it sounded like. Her father would never arrange a marriage for her. 

"Father?" Her blue eyes were wide and questioning. 

"You will be escorted out west to meet your new husband. His name is Richard Grimes, he is the Sherriff of a small town in the west. He is in need of a mother for his two young children, one of whom is a baby, and he is willing to offer a handsome some of money to the family of a young woman willing to become his wife." 

Her jaw dropped open slightly. "You can't possibly be serious, Father. Please this is absolutely ridiculous. You can't just sell me to some cowboy in the west!" 

Herschel looked pained as he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. 

"Bethy," he said gently, using her childhood nickname. "I'm not selling you my dear. I'm sending you to a better place, giving you a chance at a better future. We are on the brink of a war here, and no one here is willing to allow their son to marry the daughter of someone with my strong political and religious views. You will have a good home, a kind husband and a steady income. And the money he's offering will allow me to continue my business and survive here steadily." 

The world was spinning around her, all of this felt surreal. 

"Selling me doesn't sound like the best religious decision, father. He could be abusive, drunk, anything for that matter. And how do you know he is good on his word? He may not even give you the money."

"Rick Grimes is a good man." He father reassured her, reaching over the desk to take her hand. 

"Beth, I love you, but there is no discussion here. You are going to marry Richard, and that is final. You may be upset about this now, but I promise you my sweet girl, you will thank me for this one day." 

She would hear no more of this. She stood up, casting her father a look of mortification before rushing out the door, her petticoats swishing as she slammed the study door. 

Marry some faceless stranger from the west? She most certainly would not.