| She
probably
won't even notice that I'm not there"Isn't the
weather splendid?" said everyone at the partyThey played tennis on
the lawn after dinner in the soft clear light that lasted until after
ten o'clock
Scarlett was pleased to be with so many of the people she'd liked most
in DublinThe only one she didn't greet with real enthusiasm was
Charles Ragland"It was your regiment that flogged that pitiful man
to death, CharlesI'll never forget, and I'll never forgiveWearing
regular clothes doesn't change the fact that you're an English soldier,
and that the military are monsters
Charles was surprisingly unapologetic"I'm truly sorry that you saw
it, ScarlettFlogging's a chanel diamond watches filthy businessBut we're seeing things
that are even worse, and they must be stopped he declined to give
examples, but Scarlett heard from general conversation about the
violence against landlords that was cropping up all over Ireland
Fields were torched, cows had their throats cut, an agent for a big
estate near Galway was ambushed and hacked to pieces
There was hushed, anxious talk about a resurgence of the Whiteboys,
organized bands of marauders that had terrified landowners more than
a
hundred years beforeIt couldn't be, said wiser heads
These latest incidents were scattered and sporadic and usually the
work
of known troublemakersBut they did tend to make one a gucci purses bit
uncomfortable when the tenants stared in the carriage as one drove
pastScarlett forgave CharlesBut, she said, he mustn't expect her
to forget"I'll even take the blame for the flogging if it will make
you remember me," he said ardentlyThen he blushed like a boy
"Dammit, I invent speeches worthy of Lord Byron when I'm in the
barracks
thinking of you, then I blurt out some rubbish when I'm in your
presenceYou know, don't you, that I'm most abominably in love with
you?"
"Yes, I knowIt's all right, CharlesI don't believe I would have
iked Lord Byron, and I like you very much
"Do you, my angel? Might I hope that-"
"I don't think so, Charles
Don't look so desperatedon't think so tiffany co bracelets with
anybody
The sandwiches in Scarlett's room lowly curled up their edges during
the night"It's so good to be home! I'm afraid I'm an awful kind of
person, harrietWhen I'm away I always get an itch to be home, no
matter how much fun I'm havingBut I'll bet you I start thinking
about the next party I've accepted before this week's out
Tell me all about what happened while I was goneDid Cat pester
Billy
half to death?"
"Not too muchThey've invented a new game they call 'sink the
Vikings I don't know where the name comes fromCat said you
could
explain, she only remembered enough to make up the nameThey've
put a
rope ladder on the towerBilly hauls rocks up it, then they miu miu leather black coffer bag throw
them through the slits into the river
She's been nagging me about getting up in the tower for agesAnd I
notice she's got Billy doing the heavy workBefore she's even four
years oldShe's going to be a terror by the time she's sixYou'll
have to beat her with a stick to make her learn her lettersShe's already curious about the animal alphabet in her
room Scarlett smiled at the implied suggestion that her daughter
was
probably a near-geniusShe was willing to believe that Cat could do
everything earlier and better than any child in the history of
mankind
"Will you tell me about the house party, Scarlett?"
harriet asked wistfullyExperience hadn't caused her to lose her
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