@@@@@They delighted in telling all the facts,
@@@@@They
delighted in telling all the facts, and all the rumors, about what Rhett
was doing when he left the city without explanationSome said that
their husbands knew for sure that Rhett was financing the political
movement to throw out the carpetbagger government In the state
capital
Others whispered that he was recapturing the Butler family portraits
and furnishings at the point of a gunAll of them had stories about
his exploits during the War, when his sleek dark ship raced through
the
Union blockade fleet like a death-dealing shadowThey had a special
look on their faces when they talked about him, a mixture of curiosity
and romantic imaginingsRhett was more myth than manAnd he
was
Scarlett's husbandHow could they not envy her? Scarlett was at her
best when she was constantly busy, and these were good days for her
The social rounds were just what she needed after the terrifying
loneliness of Atlanta, and she quickly forgot the desperation she had
feltAtlanta must have been wrong, that's all
She'd done nothing to deserve such cruelty or everybody in Charleston
wouldn't like her so muchAnd they did, why else would they invite
her? The thought was immensely gratifyingShe returned to it
often
Whenever she was paying her calls, or receiving calls with Mrs
Butler, or visiting her specially chosen friend, Anne Hampton, at the
Confederate Home, or gossiping over coffee at the Market, Scarlett
always wished that Rhett could see herSometimes she even looked
quickly around her, imagining that he was there, so intense was her
desireOh, if only he'd come home! He seemed closest to her in the
quiet time after supper when she sat with his mother in the study and
listened with fascination while Miss Eleanor talkedShe was always
willing to remember things Rhett had done or said when he was a little
boyScarlett enjoyed Miss Eleanor's other stories, tooSometimes
they were wickedly funny
Eleanor Butler, like most of her Charleston contemporaries, had been
educated by governesses and travelShe was well-read but not
intellectual, spoke the romance languages adequately, but with a
terrible accent, was familiar with London, Paris, Rome, Florence, but
only the famous historic attractions and luxury shopsShe was true to
her era and her classShe had never questioned the authority of her
parents or her husband, and she did her duty in all respects, without
complainingWhat set her apart from most women of her type was
that
she had an irrepressible, quiet sense of