Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

In 1859, one day in August, Savannah, ocean liner terminal.

Victor Thomas Hastings' first impression of America was that it was full of blacks of all colors.

Some are as black as the darkest night, some are as beautiful as chocolate as hot cocoa, and there are very few mulattos with a skin color that is as bright as ivory and almost white.

After more than a month of sailing, the Ride the Wind and Waves, which departed from France, slowly sailed into the port of Savannah, Georgia.The pier was crowded, full of people, and full of smells—cheap perfume, poor-quality pomade, the body odor of sweat-wet cotton that evaporates from human body heat, the scent of fresh or fake flowers adorning women’s curly hair…

Men, women, old people, children, white people, black people, the smell of all kinds of flesh.

The boy, who had never left Paris since he was born and could not speak a word of English, opened his eyes wide, looking at this real "New World" with the eyes of a child who had just discovered the New World.

This made the young Victor have an inherent impression of this strange land: that is, this land is full of such lively and vulgar humans.

He had no idea that his mother was born and raised on this land.

The men are all in good health, even if they look like gentlemen, they have thick arms and flushed faces; the women here are still wearing the clothes that were popular in Paris two years ago, and of course they have a healthy look that Parisian women don't have. Pink cheeks; and so many blacks--all kinds of pretty and ugly ones.

They spoke a language that Victor could not understand, and most of them were filled with joyful expressions. The ladies quickly raised their eyes from under their lace hats, and glanced at Mrs. Hastings's too slender waistline. And the novel patterned lace on the gorgeous long dress, and her proud and reserved face; the gentlemen skillfully glanced at Mrs. Hastings' half-exposed chest.

Mrs. Hastings paid no attention.

Five-year-old Victor has been puzzled for almost as long as he can remember by the pretty woman he only sees every day at lunch.Mrs. Hastings didn't get up until noon every day. She usually had an appointment with someone for dinner, and she didn't return home until early in the morning. She enjoyed singing and singing every night.

Victor, who grew up in the arms of a nanny, always thought that every mother was like this.

When he heard his cousin Katie, who is one year older than him, proudly said that every night, her mommy would read her a funny little rabbit story and print a sweet goodnight kiss on her forehead, This topic aroused the unanimous interest of the children in the children's playroom, and Victor realized that his mommy was the most abnormal one.

Mrs. Hastings claimed that her husband, Mr. Hastings, died in a shipwreck, but no one had seen a photo of the so-called Mr. Hastings, whether in the living room or the bedroom.

Victor also has no memory of his father.

But this does not prevent him from growing into a cute and well-behaved boy.

Josephine Robillard raised her head, half of her small face covered by the exaggerated hat decorated with lace and semi-precious stones was exposed, facing the bright afternoon sun in the southern United States, her skin was shining brightly. White, but the small red lips are as bright as the most beautiful red roses in the garden.

She smiled just right, her red lips curved into a beautiful arc, as if she heard something funny, but the good upbringing she received since she was a child did not allow her to laugh rashly, but she didn't want to hide what she got from it. joy.Therefore, this smile made her delicate face like a gemstone shining in the sun, so beautiful that it was breathtaking.

The young gentleman next to her no doubt thought so.

Victor Thomas Hastings, held by the hand of Mrs. Jenkins, the housekeeper, was ten steps away from his mother, frowning slightly, trying to make sense of what was happening before him.

Not just this country that he didn't know anything about.

He was too young to understand most of what he saw.

Before him stood a gentleman from England.When the Ride the Wind and Waves roamed the Atlantic Ocean, almost no one in the first-class male passengers could resist the charm of Josephine, including this gentleman of course.This young man was already a well-known writer, his appearance could not be called handsome, but he could be called upright.

The young English gentleman knelt down and held out his hand to Victor in a cautious manner, "Goodbye, Victor." The French he spoke was not standard.

"Goodbye, Mr. Dickens." Victor Thomas replied with the same solemn expression, using the aristocratic etiquette his mother taught him.

Charles Dickens smiled, looked at the young boy in front of him, then turned his body slightly, and looked at the beauty shining like a diamond in the sun.

As soon as the ship set sail from France, Josephine willfully resumed her real name: Robillard.It was a French surname, well known in Savannah, owning half the city, and a great and important family.

Josephine was an unruly girl in her teenage years, too active and used to going her own way, which troubled her mother; at the age of 15, her parents decided to send her back to France so that she could study How to be a qualified lady.But what is disappointing is that in less than two years, without the consent of her parents, Josephine became Mrs. Hastings.

Reckless Josephine, so young, almost a child, was suddenly the mother of a small baby, which terrified her.She was afraid to hold the baby, and the baby's crying kept her up all night; she ate a lot and then vomited it all up; she lost almost half of her beautiful golden hair, and she lost a terrible weight.She suffered from what we would later call the postpartum depression, but at the time only Mrs. Jenkins, the housekeeper who followed her all the way from Savannah to Paris, could take care of her.Mrs. Jenkins declared to her mistress that there was nothing sadder in the world than a woman who lost her beauty, a mere baby, and no problem at all.

Mrs. Jenkins found a nurse for the baby so that the infant Victor would not die of hunger (Josephine was unwilling to breastfeed the baby herself because of the need to keep her figure); Funny maid; found a new tailor for the mistress, and a very good cook.

Josephine has a generous pension and extraordinary beauty, so although people feel sorry for her being named a widow at a young age, and think that she doesn't have the self-consciousness that a widow should have at all, but Because of her wealth, people are still willing to attend Mrs. Hastings's party.

The relatives of the Robillard family had a completely helpless attitude towards Josephine.

They couldn't control her, and neither could her own parents.Victor met his grandparents only once, and they liked him very much—not at first, John C. Robillard didn't even want to hold him, but then, they almost snatched him away from his mother. gone.

Charles Dickens bids farewell to Josephine Robillard, and greets her protector with great politeness.He only brought a suitcase, and he carried the suitcase with one hand easily, maintaining the graceful demeanor of a British literary youth, and left the pier proudly.

Philip Talent looked away and said, "Miss Robillard, are you really not thinking about it anymore?"

"No. Thank you." She held out her hand, the back of it up.

Philip Talent smiled and kissed the back of her hand.

He seemed to hold her hand a little too long.

The Robillard family's carriage had already parked at the pier square, and a young black youth was lazily leaning against the carriage with a toothpick in his mouth.This out-of-the-ordinary libertine style was popular among the high-class footmen of southern manor houses, presumably considering the manner attractive enough to captivate young maids who never left the mansion.

Philip Talent insisted on waiting until Josephine's butler found Robillard's carriage and sent her into the carriage, and then he politely left.

"Are you okay?" Josephine looked at her young son.The little boy was very delicate, with a small round face, bulging cheeks, fair skin, and a pair of blue eyes that moved flexibly, looking at the furnishings in the carriage.

"I'm fine." The child said politely.

The child is very well-behaved, but it may be too well-behaved, and it has lost some of the child's fun.She never knew how to get along with the child, even if the child was her son.

"When I arrive at my grandfather's house, I have to start learning English, you know?" She had always had an equal conversation with Victor, treating him as a little adult who could talk to her.A little polite and rusty, not like a mother and son.

Victor nodded, "Okay, Mom."

The doors were closed and the windows were too high for him to see the scenery outside.

The mansion of the Robillard family is a slightly old colonial-style three-story building. After the death of his grandfather Pierre Robillard, his father John C. Robillard inherited the family property and was a wealthy man. rich man.

Miss Josephine's bedroom is on the third floor.

The black nanny was nagging, "Miss, you are back! I cleaned up your room, just like when you left. And the young master's room, let me tell you, The young master is the most obedient young master in Savannah!"

The Black Sister watched Miss Josephine grow up, and she loved and cared for the little mistress, and became the first person in the family to praise her beauty. The little mistress received the most care and enthusiasm from the Black Sister, even the little male mistress no.

The author has something to say:

*Dickens actually went to America in 1842, already a sought-after literary young man with a team, not alone.Here is a little bit, and will not appear in the future.

* In the original book, Scarlett was 16 years old, Mei Lan was 17 years old, and Rhett was 35 years old.Clark Gable was 37 or 8 when he played Rhett Butler.The timeline of this article is 2 years earlier than the original. At this time, Josephine was 22 years old, Scarlett was 14 years old, Melanie was 15 years old, and Rhett was 33 years old.

*The next book will be "Little Miss Borgia" - my brother always wants me to be a widow

Dressed as the youngest daughter of the Borgia family, her father is the treacherous Pope, and her elder brother is the future "Duke of Poison". Lucresa found out in horror that her fate would be to marry a pig-headed middle-aged man at the age of 13. Aristocratic male.

All right, then I'll make you unable to take care of yourself first.