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"You got a lot taller in Texas," she exclaimedTony was laughing as he kissed her offered lipsThen he lifted his trouser leg to show them all the high-heeled boots he was wearingEveryone got taller in Texas, he said; he wouldn't be surprised if it was a law thereAlex Fontaine smiled over Tony's shoulder"You'll hear more about Texas than anybody rightly needs to know," he drawled, "that is, if Tony lets you come in the houseHe's forgotten about things like thatIn Texas they all live around campfires under the stars instead of having walls and a roof Alex was glowing with happinessHe looks like he'd like to hug and kiss Tony himself, thought Scarlett, and why not? They were close as two fingers on a hand the whole time they were growing upAlex must have missed him rolex watches online something awful Sudden tears pricked her eyesTony's exuberant return home was the first joyful event in the County since Sherman's troops had devastated the land and the lives of its peopleShe hardly knew how to respond to such a rush of happinessAlex's wife, Sally, took her by the hand when she entered the shabby living room"I know just how you feel, Scarlett," she whispered"We'd nearly forgot how to have fun There's been more laughing in this house today than in the past ten years put togetherWe'll make the rafters ring tonight Sally's eyes were full of tears, tooThen the rafters began to ringThe Tarletons had arrived"Thank heaven you're back in one piece, boy," Beatrice Tarleton greeted Tony "You can have the pick of any one of my three girlsI've only got one mulberry bags china grandchild, and I'm not getting any younger"Oh, Ma!" moaned Hetty and Camilla and Miranda Tarleton in chorus Their mother's preoccupation with breeding horses and people was too well-known in the County for them to pretend embarrassment But Tony was blushing crimsonScarlett and Sally hootedBefore the light ebbed, Beatrice Tarleton insisted on seeing the horses Tony had brought with him from Texas, and the argument about the merits of Eastern thoroughbreds versus Western mustangs raged until everyone else begged for a truce"And a drink," said Alex"I've even found some real whiskey for the celebration instead of 'shine Scarlett wished-not for the first time-that taking a drink was not a pleasure from which ladies were automatically excludedShe would have enjoyed oneEven cartier ballon blue more, she would have enjoyed talking with the men instead of being exiled to the other side of the room for women's talk of babies and household managementShe had never understood or accepted the traditional segregation of the ***esBut it was the way things were done, always had been done, and she resigned herself to itAt least she could amuse herself by watching the Tarleton girls pretend that they weren't thinking along exactly the same lines as their mother: If only Tony would look their way instead of being so wrapped up in whatever the men were talking about! "Little Joe must be thrilled half to death to have his uncle ? home," Hetty Tarleton was saying to Sally Hetty could afford to ignore the menHer fat one-armed husband was one of themSally replied with cheap prada details about her little boy that bored Scarlett sillyShe wondered how soon they'd have supperIt couldn't be too very long; all the men were farmers and would have to be up the next morning at dawnThat meant an early end to the evening's festivitiesShe was right about an early supper; the men announced that they were ready for it after only one drinkBut she was wrong about the early close to the partyEveryone was enjoying it too much to let it endTony fascinated them with stories of hisadventures"It was hardly a week before I hooked up with the Texas Rangers," he said with a roar of laughter"The state was under Yankee military rule, like every place else in the South, but hell- apologies, ladies-those bluecoats didn't have the first idea what to do about louis vuitton white speedy 35 the Indians