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Scarlett nodded dumblyShe was wrapped in a...
Posted on 2010-Mar-7 at 11:17
Scarlett nodded dumblyShe was wrapped in a blanket,
wearing a coarse work shirt of Rhett's underneath, and sitting on a
stool near an open fire with her bare feet in a tub of hot water"How
are you doing, Pansy?" Scarlett's maid, on another stool in another
blanket cocoon, grinned and allowed as how she was doing just fine
excepting that she was powerful hungry
When you dry out, we'll eat Scarlett pulled the blanket more closely
around herHe's being too nice, I've seen him like this before, all
smiles and warm as sunshineThen it would turn out that he was
really
mad enough to spit nails all the timeIt's because Pansy's here,
that's why he's putting on this actWhen she's gone, he'll turn on
meMaybe I can say I need her to stay with me-but for what? I'm
already undressed, and I can't put my clothes on again until they dry,
and Lord knows when that will be, with the rain outside and the inside
so dankHow can Rhett black gucci bag bear to live in this place? It's awful! The
room they were in was lit only by the fireIt was a large square,
perhaps twenty feet to a side, with a packed-earth floor and stained
walls that had lost most of their plasterIt smelled of cheap whiskey
and tobacco juice, with an underlay of scorched wood and fabricThe
only furniture was an assortment of crude stools and benches, plus a
scattering of dented metal cuspidorsThe mantelpiece over the wide
fireplace and the frames around the doors and windows looked like
some
kind of mistakeThey were made of pine, beautifully carved with a
delicate fretwork design and oiled to a glowing golden brownIn one
corner there was a rough staircase with splintered wooden treads and
a
sagging, unsafe railingScarlett's and Pansy's clothes were draped
over the length of itThe white petticoats billowed from time to time
when a draft caught them, like ghosts lurking in deep shadows
"Why necklace tiffany didn't you stay in Charleston, Scarlett?" Supper was over and
Pansy had been sent to sleep with the old black woman who cooked
for
RhettScarlett squared her shoulders"Your mother didn't want to
disturb you in your paradise here She looked around the room
disdainfully"But I believe you should know what's going on
There's a Yankee soldier creeping into bedrooms at night-ladies'
bedrooms-and handling themOne girl went clean out of her mind
and
had to be sent off She tried to read his face, but it was
expressionlessHe was looking at her, silent, as if he was waiting
for something"Well? Don't you care that your mother and I could be
murdered in our beds, or something worse?" Rhett's mouth turned
down in
a derisive smile"Am I hearing correctly? Maidenly timidity from the
woman who drove a wagon through the entire Yankee army because it
was
in her way? Come, now, ScarlettYou've been known to tell the
truth
Why did you chloe bay bag camel come all this way in the rain?
Were you hoping to catch me in the arms of a light o' love? Did Henry
Hamilton recommend that as a way to get me to start paying your bills
again?"
"What on earth are you talking about, Rhett Butler? What has Uncle
Henry got to do with anything?"
"Such convincing ignorance! I compliment youBut you can't expect
me
to believe for an instant that your crafty old lawyer didn't notify you
when I cut off the money I was sending to AtlantaI'm too fond of
Henry Hamilton to credit such negligence
"Stopped sending the money? You can't do that!" Scarlett's knees
turned to jellyRhett couldn't mean itWhat would happen to her?
The house on Peachtree Street-the tons of coal it took to heat it, the
servants to clean and cook and wash and keep the garden and the
horses
and polish the carriages, the food for all of them-why, it cost a
fortuneHow could Uncle Henry pay the bills? He'd use her chanel watches money!
No, no that couldn't beShe'd scrabbled along with no food in her
belly, broken shoes on her feet, her back breaking and her hands
bleeding while she worked in the fields to keep from starvingShe'd
given up all her pride, turned her back on everything she'd been
taught, done business with low-down people not fit to spit on,
schemed
and cheated, worked day and night for her moneyShe wouldn't let it
go, she couldn'tIt was the only thing she had"You
can't take my money!" she screamed at RhettBut it came out a
cracked
whisper"I haven't taken any away from you, my pet
I've only stopped adding to itAs long as you're living in the house
I provide in Charleston, there's no reason for me to maintain an empty
house in AtlantaOf course, if you were to return to it, it would no
longer be emptyThen I'd feel obliged to begin paying for it
again
Rhett walked over to the fireplace where he could see her face in the
light of the chanel j12 watches fl
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