"Girl, you better get your hiney outta bed."

"Huh…?" Evelyn peered up from her down pillow encased in lilac linens now covered with drool. I must've slept well, she thought, wiping excess moisture from her lips.

"I said, get your little white hiney outta bed, girl! Your daddy wants to see you. I don't know what you did, but he mad atcha. Pacin' around his study all furious… what you groanin' and hidin' for? You must be in trouble. What'd you do?" Mamma Loretta, Evelyn's favorite maid, stood over the bed with a look of concern over her plump, matronly features.

Evelyn threw the covers back down, sat up, and grunted a soft "Ha!" "Are you sure you want to know, Mamma Loretta?"

"Of course I wanna know! You think I ask just to hear myself talk?"

Evelyn couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. There was no beating around the bush with Mamma Loretta. "Dad's business partner's son asked me to marry him last night."

"That little rat-faced white boy? Don't even tell me you said yes to him!"

Evelyn giggled. Sam was attractive in his own right, but he did have a bit of a ratlike look to him. His personality certainly did nothing to help that. "Of course not, Mamma. You know I'm waiting on God's direction."

" 'Someday my prince will come,' " she quoted. "That was your favorite movie when you was a little girl. I must've rewound that thing a thousand times for you."

"Unfortunately, that 'someday' is not today," Evelyn replied, "so I'd better get down there before he loses his patience."

"Got that right," Mamma Loretta said as she finished putting away some laundry and started to leave the room. "Good luck."

Evelyn showered and dressed, careful to apply just the right amount of makeup and hairspray before leaving the bedroom. "Nice girls never leave their bedrooms undressed," Jacqueline always said, and "undressed" meant anything below perfection. Rebelling against this or any Hammilton standard in even the slightest way would only make matters worse.

She had realized that last night at Bobbie Faye's apartment. They had spent hours talking until it was two o'clock in the morning and Bobbie Faye suggested she go home to sleep. "They won't appreciate you being out this late on my side of town, let alone spending the whole night. You know you still have to honor your parents even if they are… well, you know." Then they spent another hour deciding what "honoring" them truly meant, finally agreeing that she needed to follow their rules as best as possible while still under their roof, but that God's rules took first priority (which meant, thankfully, that she did not have to marry Sam even if her parents insisted). Not for the first time, Evelyn had considered moving out.

She made her way across the white carpet to the winding, almost sickeningly ornate staircase and descended one story to her father's study. The study was really more of a library; David owned a very successful law firm and therefore needed to keep many law books on hand. A large desk sat in front of the bay window in the center back of the room, and a tall, slender man in his early fifties stood in front of it. The man's sleek black hair had begun years earlier to show streaks of gray, which served only to make him seem wiser and more in control. He would have been very handsome had Evelyn ever had the opportunity to see him smile. At the moment his steel-gray eyes were piercing Evelyn's deep blue ones with more intensity than usual. Evelyn promptly dropped hers to the floor, as was proper etiquette in their home.

"Evelyn. Where were you last night?"

Lord, help me to be honest and respectful, she quickly prayed before answering. "I was with Bobbie Faye in her apartment, sir."

"And what time did you decide to grace our home with your presence again?"

"I was home late, Father. I apologize."

"I asked for a specific time, Evelyn."

"Forgive me, Father. I came home at three-thirty this morning, sir." For once she was glad he forbade eye contact, for she was positive a visible wince had crossed her face as she answered that time.

"Evelyn, that is entirely inappropriate, especially in that part of town. You may not stay out there past nine, for your own safety. I am quite positive your fiancé would agree."

Evelyn's head snapped up. "Fiancé?!" she exclaimed incredulously, momentarily forgetting etiquette.

Her father didn't seem to mind this time. "Yes, I hear congratulations are in order. Samuel was vastly disappointed after the scene you made last night, but I assured him you were simply seeking attention and that you were preparing to accept his proposal later this week. Was I mistaken?"

Evelyn couldn't say anything, only gape and stammer in bewilderment.

"Good, then. You are excused." David turned his back on his daughter to go back to work.

"Wait… no! I mean…." She took a deep breath. "Father, sir, I cannot marry Samuel."

"Of course you can. You have my blessing. I have arranged for Samuel to take you on a date – chaperoned, of course – on Friday. That gives you six days to work out an explanation for him."

Evelyn closed her eyes and took another deep breath, attempting to keep her head clear. "Father," she started, trying desperately to keep the tremor out of her voice, "I mean, I must be honest with you, sir, I respect you and Mother, but I must honor what God says before I honor what you say, and I do not think…"

"Nonsense," her father interrupted. "You will accept Samuel's proposal on Friday evening or there will be… consequences. Now, you are dismissed."

"I…."

"You are dismissed."

"But sir…."

"You are dismissed, Evelyn!" he finally snapped, dropping the calm façade. Dumbfounded, Evelyn quietly slipped out of the study without another word.

Author's Note: Well, I'd apologize for waiting like two years to update this story, but by now I probably have a new audience entirely, so whatev. Anyway, I love reviews, so tell me what you think! Hopefully there will be a new chapter soon, "soon" meaning before the next two years… haha 