| Rhett had always loved her hair, he said it was a live thing;
sometimes in the early days-he'd brush it for her, to see the blue
cracklings of electricityOften she pictured herself at the tea
table, dropping a piece of sugar into a cup with the silver tongs
elegantly held in her fingersShe'd be chatting cozily with Sally
Brewton, and he'd see how much at home she was, how welcomed by
Charleston's most interesting peopleHe'd catch up her hand and kiss
it, and the tongs would drop, but it wouldn't matter Or she was
with Miss Eleanor after supper, the two of them in their chairs before
the fire, so comfortable together, so close, but with a place waiting
for himOnly once had she envisioned going to the plantation,
because
she didn't know what the place was like, except that Sherman's men
had
burned itHer daydream began all ?rightshe and Miss Eleanor arrived
with hampers of cakes and champagne in a lovely green-painted boat,
resting against piles of silk cushions, holding bright chanel bucket bag flowered
parasols
"Picnic," they called out, and Rhett laughed and ran to them, his arms
openBut then it fizzled out, in blanknessRhett hated picnics, for
one thingHe said you might as well live in a cave if you were going
to eat sitting on the ground like an animal instead of in a chair at a
table like a civilized human beingCertainly she had never thought of
the possibility that she'd show up like this, squashed amid boxes and
barrels of God knows what on a scabby boat that smelled to high
heaven
Now that she was away from the city, she was more worried about
Rhett's
anger than about the prowling YankeeSuppose he just tells the
boatmen to turn right around and take me back? The boatmen dipped
their oars into the green-brown water only to steer; the tide's
invisible, powerful, slow current carried themScarlett looked
impatiently at the banks of the wide riverIt didn't seem to her that
they were moving at allEverything was the same: wide stretches of
tall brown grasses that swayed slowly-oh, so slowly-in the rolex explorer tidal
current, and behind them thick woods draped with motionless gray
curtains of Spanish moss, under them the tangled growth of
overgrown
evergreen shrubs
It was all so silentWhy weren't there any birds singing, for
heaven's sake? And why was it getting so dark already? It began to
rainLong before the oars started a steady pull toward the left bank
she was soaked to the skin and shivering, miserable in body and mind
The bump of the bow against a dock jarred her from her huddled
desolationShe looked up through the blur of rain on her face and
saw
a figure in streaming black oilskins, illuminated by a blazing torch
The face was invisible under a deep hood Rhett
leaned forward, one arm outstretched"Good trip, boys?" Scarlett
pushed against the crates nearest her to standHer legs were too
cramped to hold her, and she fell back, toppling the topmost crate with
a crash"What the hell?" Rhett caught the noosed rope that snaked
to
him from the boatman and dropped the circle over a mooring post
"Toss
up fake vintage chanel wallet the stern line," he ordered"What's making that racket? Are you
men drunk?"
"No sir, Mister Rhett," the boatmen chorusedIt was the first time
they had spoken since they had left the dock in CharlestonOne of
them gestured toward the two women in the stern of the barge"My
God!" said Rhetto you feel better now?" Rhett's voice was carefully
controlledScarlett 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 fake prada 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 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 newest chanel bag railing |