Monday, February 15, 2010 - The clock on the mantel had to be
wrongEach...
The clock on the mantel had to be
wrongEach minute took an hour to pass"You look tired, dear,"
exclaimed Eleanor Butler when Rhett entered the drawing roomRhett
lifted his mother's hand and kissed it"Don't cluck over me, Mama,
I'm more hungry than tiredButler started to
rise"I'll tell the kitchen to serve right now Rhett gently touched
her shoulder to halt her effort"I'll have a drink first, don't
rush
He walked to the table holding the drinks trayAs he poured whiskey
into a glass, he looked at Scarlett for the first time
"Will you join me, Scarlett?" His raised eyebrow taunted herSo did
the smell of the whiskeyShe turned away, as if insultedSo, Rhett
was going to play cat and mouse, was he? Try to force her or trick her
into doing something that would louis vuitton white speedy 35 make his mother turn against her
Well,
he'd have to be mighty smart to catch her out
Her mouth curved and her eyes began to sparkleShe'd have to be
mighty smart herself to outwit himA little pulse of excitement
throbbed in her throatCompetition always thrilled her"Miss
Eleanor, isn't Rhett shocking?" she laughed"Was he a wicked little
boy, too?" Behind her she sensed Rhett's abrupt movementHa!
That
had struck homeHe'd felt guilty for years about the pain he'd caused
his mother when his escapades made his father disown him
"Supper's served, Miz Butler," said Manigo from the doorwayRhett
offered his mother his arm, and Scarlett felt a stab of jealousy
Then she reminded herself that his devotion to his mother was the
very
thing that permitted her to stay, and tiffany replica she swallowed her anger
"I'm so hungry I could eat half a cow," she said, her voice bright,
"and Rhett's just starving, aren't you, darling?" She had the upper
hand now; he had admitted that muchIf she lost it, she'd lose the
whole game, she'd never get him backAs it turned out, Scarlett
needn't have worriedRhett took command of the conversation the
moment
they were seatedHe recounted his search for the tea service in
Philadelphia, transforming it into an adventure, painting deft word
portraits of the succession of people he talked to, mimicking their
accents and idiosyncrasies with such skill that his mother and Scarlett
found themselves laughing until their sides ached"And after
following that long trail to get to him," Rhett concluded with a
theatrical fake hermes bags gesture of dismay, "just imagine my horror when the new
owner seemed to be too honest to sell the tea service for the twenty
times its value I offeredFor a minute, I was afraid I'd have to
steal it back, but fortunately he was receptive to the suggestion that
we amuse ourselves with a friendly game of cards Eleanor Butler
tried to look disapproving"I do hope you didn't do anything
dishonest, Rhett," she saidBut there was laughter beneath the
wordsI only deal from the bottom when I'm playing
with professionalsThis miserable ex-colonel in Sherman's army was
such an amateur I had to cheat to let him win a few hundred dollars to
ease hispainHe was like the reverse side of an EllintonAnd his wife-my heart goes out
to
her Rhett's mother leaned toward Scarlett"Some cartier woman watches of the skeletons
in
my side of the family," Eleanor Butler said in a mock whisperShe
laughed again and began to reminisceThe Ellintons, Scarlett learned,
were famous all up and down the East Coast for the family weakness:
they would gamble on anythingThe first Ellinton to settle in
Colonial America was part of the shipload only because he had won a
land grant in a wager with the owner as to who could drink the most
ale
and remain standing"By the time he won," MrsButler said, in neat
conclusion, "he was so drunk that he thought it made sense to go take
a
look at hisprizeThey say he didn't even know where he was going
until he got there, because he won most of the sailors' rum ration
playing dice
"What did he do when he sobered up?"
Scarlett wanted to louis vuitton speedy bag on sale kn
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