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their word, and you will be forced to go with them. We need to get married as soon as possible and I do not wish to hear any arguments. Now, do as you are told."
    "I will not! I am not your child, and I do not have to obey you!" I lost my temper, even though I knew full well that the real target of my anger wasn't in the room. "I will be gone before they return." I turned to leave the room, but Robert snagged my wrist with his strong finders, and then he pulled me over his lap and started spanking quite hard. "Stop it!" I ordered sharply.
    "I will stop when you are being reasonable. You and I are going to be married, and you are going to stop giving me an argument."
    "I don't have any desire to be married to a man who does not love me!" I kicked my legs, trying to free myself from the hold he had on me.
    "Would you rather be married to a man who only wants you for monetary reasons? As soon as that guy gets his hands on Shirley's inheritance, she will disappear again… permanently. But, I guarantee that man will use you over and over until he does kill you." He spanked me several more times. "Is that what you want?" Robert demanded.
    I was shocked. "No! Let me go, damn it!" As soon as the swear word left my mouth I knew I was in trouble. I'd been warned and I still went ahead and used bad language. What was wrong with me? "I'm sorry!" I cried out immediately, but the damage was done. Robert was going to have my hide, and that is precisely what he did. He put some real strength into spanking my backside, in spite of all my 'sorries' and promises not to do it again. He made sure that I would remember this spanking the next time I was tempted to curse. It didn't take long for me to be reduced to tears, and it was hard to say who was most embarrassed when Nellie came into the parlor… her or me!
    "Robert! Stop!" Nellie rushed forward to grab his hand and stop him. "Poor Gillian has been through so much already!"
    "Help her find something suitable to wear to be married in, Nellie. I'm not about to have those two fortune hunters come back here and cart Gillian away."
    "I can't permit you to marry me!" I couldn't stop crying.
    "You cannot stop me, and if you try, I will paddle you in front of the Judge. Now go along with Nellie, and Nellie, see if you can repair her face so she doesn't appear she has been forced to speak her vows. The Judge knows me well, but I don't want to put him in a tight spot."
    "Come with me, Gillian. There is no reasoning with Robert when he sets his mind on something."
    "Nellie, I don't need any of your sass, either."
    "You are not always right, Robert, and it is high time you realize that. If Gillian does not agree to marry you I will not stand by and see her forced into it."
    Robert moved in her direction and I quickly slipped in the middle, preventing him from reaching for her. "Stop this at once! If you are so set on marriage to me, then I will marry you, Robert. Just realize that this whole thing is your idea and if it doesn't end well, you have no one to blame but yourself." I gave Nellie a little push and followed her from the parlor. Robert was right about one thing… I would rather find myself married to him than to that weasel who came here looking for any woman that he could pretend was his. Robert was right; the man was the type to force himself on me over and over until he had money in his hands, and then he would see me dead, or left behind to fend for myself. It wasn't a good option, and at least I knew I would be safe here with Robert. However, I didn't want a loveless marriage. Why would God send me all the way back in time to be miserable? It didn't seem fair.
    "My brother doesn't realize just how bossy he is," Nellie exclaimed, her temper showing. "No matter what he says, he won't force you, Gillian."
    "I know that, Nellie," I reassured her the best I could. "Robert is afraid for me because he knows that man and woman will be back and bring the law with them. I have no proof of who I say