@@@@@I'll eat them on the way "But
@@@@@I'll eat them on the way
"But Scarlett-"
"But me no buts, Miss EleanorJust hand me the
biscuits What am I doing? Scarlett thought, near
panic
I should never have dashed off this way, Rhett's going to be furious
with me
And I must look awfulIt's bad enough just to show up where I don't
belong; at least I could look prettyI had it all planned so
differentShe had thought about it a thousand times, what it would
be
like when next she saw RhettSometimes she imagined that he'd
come
home to the house late; she'd be in her nightdress, the one with the
drawstring neck-tied loose and she'd be brushing her hair before
bedtimeRhett had always loved her hair, he said it was a live thing;
sometimes in the early days-he'd brush it for her, to see the blue
cracklings of electricityOften she pictured herself at the tea
table, dropping a piece of sugar into a cup with the silver tongs
elegantly held in her fingersShe'd be chatting cozily with Sally
Brewton, and he'd see how much at home she was, how welcomed by
Charleston's most interesting peopleHe'd catch up her hand and kiss
it, and the tongs would drop, but it wouldn't matter Or she was
with Miss Eleanor after supper, the two of them in their chairs before
the fire, so comfortable together, so close, but with a place waiting
for himOnly once had she envisioned going to the plantation,
because
she didn't know what the place was like, except that Sherman's men
had
burned itHer daydream began all úrightshe and Miss Eleanor arrived
with hampers of cakes and champagne in a lovely green-painted boat,
resting against piles of silk cushions, holding bright flowered
parasols
"Picnic," they called out, and Rhett laughed and ran to them, his arms
openBut then it fizzled out, in blanknessRhett hated picnics, for
one thingHe said you might as well live in a cave if you were going
to eat sitting on the ground like an animal instead of in a chair at a
table like a civilized human beingCertainly she had never thought of
the possibility that she'd show up like this, squashed amid boxes and
barrels of God knows what on a scabby boat that smelled to high
heaven
Now that she was away from the city, she was more worried about
Rhett's
anger than about the prowling YankeeSuppose he just tells the
boatmen to turn right around and take me back? The boatmen dipped
their oars into the green-brown water only to steer; the tide's
invisible, powerful, slow current carried themScarlett looked
impatiently at the banks of the wide riv