Her eyes moved rapidly, assessing the value of...
Her eyes moved rapidly, assessing the value of the meticulously
maintained furnishings she could see through the open door to the
drawing roomWhy, she could paint every wall of Tara, inside and
out,
for what it must cost to gold leaf the plastered ceiling cornersThe
old skinflint! Grandfather never sent a penny to help me after the
War, and he doesn't do a thing for the aunts, eitherScarlett
prepared for battleHer aunts were terrified of their father, but she
wasn'tThe fearful loneliness she'd known in Atlanta had made her
timid, apprehensive, eager to please in CharlestonNow she had
taken
her life back into her own hands, and she felt vibrant with strength
Not man nor beast could bother her nowRhett loved her, and she
was
queen of the worldShe coolly removed her hat and her fur cape and
dropped them on a necklace tiffany marble-topped console in the hall
Then she began to take off her apple green kid glovesShe could feel
her aunts staringThey'd done plenty of that alreadyBut Scarlett
was very pleased to be wearing her green and brown plaid travelling
costume instead of the drab outfits she'd worn in CharlestonShe
fluffed up the dark green taffeta bow that made her eyes sparkle so
When her gloves had joined hat and cape, she pointed to them
"Pansy,
take these things upstairs and put them away in the prettiest bedroom
you can findStop-cringing in the corner like that, nobody's going to
bite you Scarlett, you can't ;,The aunts were
wringing their hands"If Grandfather's too mean to come out and
meet
us, we'll just have to shift for ourselvesGod's nightgown, Aunt
Eulalie! You grew up here, you and Aunt Pauline, can't you just make
yourselves at dolce and gabbana handbag home?" Scarlett's words and manner were bold enough,
but
when a basso voice bellowed "Jerome!" from the rear of the house,
she
felt her palms grow dampHer grandfather, she suddenly
remembered,
had eyes that cut right through you and made you wish you were
anywhere
except under hisgazeThe imposing black manservant who had
admitted
her now gestured Scarlett and her aunts toward the open door at the
end
of the hallScarlett let Eulalie and Pauline go firstThe bedroom
was a tremendous high-ceilinged space that had formerly been a
spacious
parlorIt was crowded with furniture, all the sofas and chairs and
tables that had been in the parlor, plus a massive four-posted bed with
gilt eagles crouching on top of the postsIn one corner of the room
was a flag of France and a headless tailor's dummy wearing the
gold-epauletted chloe paddingtons medal-hung uniform that Pierre Robillard had worn
when
he was a young man and an officer in Napoleon's armyThe old man
Pierre Robillard was in the bed, sitting erect against a mass of huge
pillows, glaring at his visitorsWhy, he's shrunk up to almost
nothingHe was such a big old man, but he's practically lost in that
big bed, nothing but skin and bones"Hello, Grandfather," Scarlett
said, "I've come to see you for your birthdayIt's Scarlett, Ellen's
daughter
"I haven't lost my memory," said the old manHis strong voice belied
his fragile body"But apparently your memory fails youIn this
house, young people do not speak unless they are spoken to
Scarlett bit her tongue to keep silentI'm not a child to be talked
to that way, and you should be grateful anybody comes to see you at
allNo wonder Mother was so happy to have Pa cartier picasso tank watches take her away from
home!
"Et vous, mesfillesQu 'ist-ce-que vous vouie cettefois?" Pierre
Robillard growled at his daughtersEulalie and Pauline rushed to the
bedside, both speaking at onceMy grief!
They're talking French! What on earth am I doing here? Scarlett sank
down onto a gold brocade sofa, wishing she was some place-any
place-elseRhett better come after me soon or I'll go crazy in this
houseIt was getting dark outside, and the shadowed corners of the
room were mysteriousThe headless soldier seemed about to move
Scarlett felt cold fingers on her spine and told herself not to be
sillyBut she was glad when Jerome and a sturdy-looking black
woman
came in carrying a lampWhile the maid pulled the curtains Jerome lit
the gas lamps on each wallHe asked Scarlett politely if she would
move so that he could get behind the men's gold gucci watches so