@@@@@She remembered the excitement of the water
@@@@@She
remembered the excitement of the water foaming alongside the
swift-moving sloop, and for a moment she envied Rhett sailing under
the
starsIf only she could have been with him instead of Ross
She wasn't worried that the Yankees would catch him; she never
worried
about RhettWhen Eleanor Butler returned to the
library after seeing the Union soldiers out, she tucked her cashmere
shawl around Scarlett, who had fallen into a deep sleep
"No need to disturb her," she said quietly, "she'll be comfortable
hereLet's go to bed, RosemaryYou've had a long trip, and I'm
tired, and tomorrow's bound to be very active She smiled to herself
when she saw the bookmark placed well along in the pages of
Ivanhoe
Rosemary was a fast readerAnd not nearly as modern as she liked to
think she wasThe Market was abuzz with indignation and illconceived
plans the next morningScarlett listened to the agitated
conversations around her with scornWhat did they expect, the
Charlestonians? That the Yankees would let people go around
shooting
them and do nothing? All they were going to do was make things
worse
if they tried to argue or protestWhat difference did it make after
all this time that General Lee had talked Grant into allowing
Confederate officers to keep their sidearms after the surrender at
Appomattox? It was still the end of the South, and what good did a
revolver do you if you were too poor to buy bullets for it? As for
duelling pistols! Who on earth would care about saving them? They
weren't good for anything except men showing off how brave they
were
and getting their fool heads blown offShe kept her mouth shut and
concentrated on the shoppingOtherwise it would never get done
Even
Miss Eleanor was running around like a chicken with its head cut off,
talking to everybody in a barely audible, urgent tone"They say the
men all want to finish what Ross started," she told Scarlett when they
were walking home"It's more than they can bear to have their
homes
ransacked by the troopsWe women are going to have to manage
things;
the men are too hot under the collar Scarlett felt a chill of
terrorShe'd thought it was all talkSurely no one was going to
make things worse! "There's nothing to manage!" she exclaimed
"The
only thing to do is lie low till it blows overRhett must have gotten
Ross away safely or we'd have h