She had the freedom of speech of
an old family servant who had never been harshly repressed even when a
slave, and now was added the fearlessness of a free woman. Her affection
for Mara was so strong that in her ignorance she shared in some of the
girl's prejudices against the North, but not in her antipathy. The thought
that Clancy had waned in his regard or that he could even think of a
Northern girl after having "kep' company" with Mara, had been
exasperating, but now Aun' Sheba began to suspect that the estrangement
was not wholly his fault. "She set agin him by his gwine Norf an' his
habin' to do wid de folks dat she an' ole Missus hates. Doan see why he is
mad at me 'bout it. Reckon he's mad anyhow an' can't speak peac'ble to
nobody. Well, I likes him a heap betteh in dat view ob de case an' he kin
glower at me all he please 'long as he ain't 'sertin' young Missy case she
is po'. Couldn't stan' dat no how. He's willin' an' she ain't, an' dat wat
she mean by sayin' 'No, Owen Clancy, nebbeh.' She won't lis'n to him kase
he doan hate de Norf like pizen. Now dat is foolishness, an' she's sot up
to it by de ole Missus. De Norf does as well as it know how. To be sure,
it ain't quality like young Missy, but it buy de cotton an' it got de
po'r. Wat's mo', it gib me a chance to wuck fer mysef. I would do as much
fer young Missy as eber. I'd wuck my fingers off fer her, but I likes ter
do it like white folks, kase I lub her.
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