Huck Finn

Landing, Mississippi, 1838

Huckleberry Finn tugged at the turquoise cravat Widow Douglas had tied on him in another attempt to "civilise" him.

Ha. He'd like to see her try.

He wandered the grand halls of the Phelps house in awe. Huck never cared for fancy things, preferring muddy riverbanks and open fields, but this place was something else.

The Phelps sisters, Mary-Jane, Julia, and Susan, had all taken to him. but, Emily, his age, was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. He wondered if his Ma had been pretty too, though he'd never known her.

Now that Jim was free and headed to Missouri to rescue his family, Huck had grown bored. Running had lost its fun, and the books Mary-Jane gave him were near impossible to read. He decided to find Emily and make it her problem.

Passing a mirror, he stopped.

Frills. Buttons. Bows. A blue waistcoat. And a cravat.

That wasn't Huckleberry Finn.

"Hell's bells! I look like a nancy in this! I'm nots having this, no way. I'm nots a posh goody-two shoes!"

His sweet Southern drawl softened the outburst.

He shrugged off the waistcoat, undid his shirt, and ruffled his hair.

"There we's are," he thought. "Better!"

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