| 3:19a |
@@@@@
"Julia Ashley invited Rosemary to dinner at
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"Julia Ashley invited Rosemary to dinner at her house," Eleanor told
her"And Rhett took pity on the Cooper boy
"Today? It's so coldJust when I'd begun to think we were going to escape winter
altogether this year, tooI felt it yesterday at the racesThe wind
had a real bite to itI took a bit of a chill, I believe
Butler suddenly smiled in a conspiratorial manner"What do you say
to
a quiet dinner on the card table before the fire in the library? It
will offend Manigo's dignity, but I can bear it if you canIt'll be
so cozy, just the two of us
"I'd like that very much, Miss Eleanor, I really would Suddenly it
was what she wanted above all thingsIt was so nice when we used
to
have our quiet suppers that way, she thoughtBefore Rosemary came homeA voice in her mind
added: before Rhett came back from the LandingIt was true, though
she
hated to admit itLife was so much easier when she wasn't constantly
listening for hisstep, watching for hisreactions, trying to guess what
he was thinkingThe warmth of the fire was so relaxing that Scarlett
caught herself yawning"Excuse me, Miss Eleanor," she said hastily,
"it's not the company
"I feel exactly the same way," said Mrs"Isn't it
pleasant?"
She yawned, too, and the contagion caught both of them, until
helpless
laughter took the place of their yawnsScarlett had forgotten how
much fun Rhett's mother could be"I love you, Miss Eleanor," she said
without thinkingEleanor Butler took her hand"I'm so glad, dear
Scarl |
| 3:19a |
@@@@@"So much so that I'm
not going to ask any
@@@@@"So much so that I'm
not going to ask any questions or make any unwelcome commentsI
just
hope you know what you're doing Scarlett squirmed inwardly
Then she bridled at the implied criticIsm"I'm not 'doing'
anything!"
She pulled her hand awayEleanor ignored Scarlett's anger"How
are
Eulalie and Pauline?" she asked easily"I haven't seen either of
them to talk to for agesThe Season wears me outThey're trying to make me go to Savannah with them
for
Grandfather's birthday
"Good heavens!"
MrsButler's tone was incredulous"You mean he's not dead yet?"
Scarlett began to laugh again"That was the first thing I thought,
too, but Aunt Pauline would have skinned me alive if I'd said so
He must be about a hundred Eleanor's brow creased in thought and
she
mumbled under her breath as she worked out the arithmetic
"Over ninety for sure," she said at last"I know he was in his late
thirties when he married your grandmother in 1820I had an auntshe's
dead long since-who never got over itShe was mad about him, and
he'd
been quite attentive to herBut then Solange-your grandmotherdecided
to notice him and poor Aunt Alice didn't stand a chanceI was only
ten at the time, but that was old enough to know what was going on
Alice tried to kill herself, and everything was in an uproar
Scarlett felt wide awake now"What did she do?"
"Drank a bottle of paregor |