I liked the humor, but I killed it because Dolley did NOT speak with a modern Virginia accent! To our ears she’d probably sound British. Also, it doesn’t contribute much to the story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Warning! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The following is a deleted scene, mercilessly cut from the heart of the novel and tossed screaming into the outer darkness of this web site for your sadistic amusement. It’s raw stuff, unrefined, un-wordsmithed, probably not even spell-checked. Read at your own risk!
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“Sukey, I’m not angry at all. Where did you learn to be that observant? The amount of detail in your explanation was incredible.”
Sukey shrugged. “I learned it from you, Mizz Dolley. Ever listen to yourself when you ask me to buy you something?”
Dolley shook her head.
Sukey stood straight, placed her left hand on her hip and gestured with her right. She lowered her voice an octave. “Sukey, dahling, Ah need you to buy me some new laces for mah shoes. Be shoo-wer they match both the cherry red leathah shoes with the brass trim that Ah wear for Friday Night dinnahs and the pale blue leathah walking boots Ah normally wear to State Dinnahs when the French Am-BASS-a-door is present. It is ray-lee, ray-lee im-PAW-tant that they contrast nahcely with mah skah-blue turban, and must not clash with the dahhhwk blue dress, the one with the mothah-of-pearl buttons.”
“I sound like that?”
Her answer came in the form of applause from John, Joe and Paul. Sukey faced the men and performed an elaborate theatrical bow. The three men stood and cheered,”Encore! Encore!” Dolley felt her face and ears burn. Sukey half-turned and extended a hand toward Dolley, in the manner of a stage director introducing the star performer. Dolley grinned in spite of the embarrassment and mimicked Sukey’s elaborate bow. In time the men sat down and resumed eating.