| Do it fuller above the
ears Thank goodness Rosemary had turned down her offer to lend
Pansy
this eveningThough why Rosemary hadn't jumped at the chance was
a
mystery; she needed all the help she could get
She'd probably bundle her hair into the same lumpy old-maid bun she
always woreEntering the ballroom with Rhett's
sister would only call attention to how much prettier she was
"That's fine, Pansy," she said, good humor restoredHer hair shone
like a raven's wingThe white flowers would actually be very
becoming"Hand me some hairpins A half hour later, Scarlett was
readyShe took one final look in the tall pier glassThe deep blue
watered silk of her gown shimmered in the lamp light and made her
powdered bare shoulders and bosom look as pale as alabaster
Her diamonds sparkled brilliantly, as did her green eyesBlack velvet
ribbon in loops bordered the gown's train and a wide black velvet bow
lined with paler blue silk sat omega de ville watch ladies atop the gown's bustle, emphasizing her
tiny waistHer slippers were made of blue velvet with black laces,
and narrow black velvet ribbon was tied around her throat and each
wristWhite camellias tied with black velvet bows were pinned to her
shoulders and filled a silver-lace bouquet holderShe had never
looked lovelier, and she recognized it
Excitement made her cheeks rosy with natural colorScarlett's first
ball in Charleston was full of surprisesAlmost nothing was the way
she expected it to beFirst she was told that she'd have to wear her
boots, not her dancing slippersThey were going to walk to the
Ball
She would have ordered a hackney if she'd known that, she couldn't
believe that Rhett hadn't done itIt didn't help that Pansy was
supposed to carry her slippers in a Charleston contraption called a
"slipper bag" because she didn't have a slipper bag, and it took Miss
Eleanor's maid fifteen minutes to find a basket to use black gucci bags insteadWhy
hadn't anyone told her she needed one of the miserable things? "We
didn't think of it," Rosemary said"Everybody has slipper bags
Everybody in Charleston maybe, thought Scarlett, but not in Atlanta
People don't walk to balls there, they rideHer happy anticipation of
her first Charleston ball began to change to uneasy apprehension
What
else was going to be different? Everything, she discovered
Charleston had developed formalities and rituals in the long years of
its history that were unknown in the vigorous semi-frontier world of
North GeorgiaWhen the fall of the Confederacy cut off the lavish
wealth that had allowed the formality to develop, the rituals survived,
the only thing that remained of the past, cherished and unchangeable
for that reasonThere was a receiving line inside the door of the
ballroom at the top of the Wentworth houseEveryone had to line up
on
the stairs, waiting to enter the room one by one and chanel diamond watches then shake hands
and murmur something to Minnie Wentworth, then to her husband,
their
son, their son's wife, their daughter's husband, their married
daughter, their unmarried daughterWhile, all the time, the music
was
playing and earlier arrivals were dancing, and Scarlett's feet were
itching to danceIn Georgia, she thought impatiently, the people
giving the party come forward to meet their guestsThey don't keep
them waiting in line like a chain gang
It's a sight more welcoming than this foolishnessJust before she
followed MrsButler into the room, a dignified manservant offered her
a trayA pile of folded papers was on it, little booklets held
together by thin blue twine with a tiny pencil hanging from it
Dance cards? They must be dance cardsScarlett had heard Mammy
talk
about balls in Savannah when Ellen O 'Hara was a girl, but she'd never
quite believed that parties were so peaceful that a girl looked in a
book to silver rolex daytona watches see who she was supposed to dance with
Why, the Tarleton twins and the Fontaine boys would have split their
britches laughing if anyone told them they had to write their names on
a tiny piece of paper with a little pencil so dinky that it would break
in a real man's fingers! She wasn't even sure she wanted to dance
with
the kind of pantywaist who'd be willing to do thatYes, she was! She
was sure she'd dance with the devil himself, horns and tail and all,
just to be able to danceIt seemed like ten years, not one, since the
Masquerade Ball in Atlanta"I'm so happy to be here," said Scarlett
to Minnie Wentworth, and her voice throbbed with sincerityShe
smiled
at all the other Wentworths, each in turn, and then she was through
the
lineShe turned toward the dancing, her feet already moving in time
to the music, and she drew in her breathOh, it was so beautiful-so
strange and yet so familiar, like a dream she only omega constellation watch crystal half-remembered |