| 3:10a |
@@@@@"By the time he won," MrsButler said, in
@@@@@"By the time he won," MrsButler said, in neat
conclusion, "he was so drunk that he thought it made sense to go take
a
look at hisprizeThey say he didn't even know where he was going
until he got there, because he won most of the sailors' rum ration
playing dice
"What did he do when he sobered up?"
Scarlett wanted to know"Oh, my dear, he never didHe died only
ten
days after the ship made landfallBut in the meantime he had
wagered
some other gambler at dice and won a girl-one of the indentured
servants from the ship-and, since later she turned out to be carrying
his child, there was a sort of postfacto wedding at his grave marker,
and her son became one of my great-great-grandfathers
"He was rather a gamester himself, wasn't he?" Rhett askedIt truly ran in the familyButler continued along
the family treeScarlett glanced at Rhett oftenHow many surprises
were there in this man she hardly knew? She'd never seen him so
relaxed and happy and totally at homeI never made a home for him,
she realizedHe never even liked the houseIt was mine, done the
way I wanted, a present from him, not his at allScarlett wanted to
break in on Miss Eleanor's stories, to tell Rhett that she was sorry for
the past, that she'd make up for all her mistakes
He was content, enjoying himself and his mother's ramblingsShe
mustn't break this moodThe candles in their tall silver holders were
reflected in the polish of the mahogany table and in the pupils of
Rhett's gleaming black eyesThey bathed the table and the three of
them in a warm, still light, making an island of soft brilliance in the
shadows of the long roomThe world outside was closed off by the
thick folds of curtains at the windows and by the intimacy of the small
candlelit islandEleanor Butler's voice was gentle, Rhett's laughter a
quiet, encouraging chuckleLove made an airy yet unbreakable web
between mother and sonScarlett had a sudden consuming yearning
to be
enclosed in that webThen Rhett said, "Tell Scarlett about Cousin
Townsend, Mama," and she was safe in the warmth of the candlelight,
included in the happiness that ringed the tab |