Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

Someone knocked on the door, "Miss? Who are you talking to?" It was Mrs. Jenkins.

"It's Charlie."

Mrs. Jenkins pushed the door open and said disapprovingly: "Master Charles, you are an older child now, you don't want to come into Miss's room in the middle of the night like this again."

Charles stood up with a smile. "Okay, Mrs. Jenkins, I'm here to apologize to Josephine. I'm sorry. I should go home early today. Let's have breakfast together tomorrow morning, and then—let's have a dance tonight!"

He smiled and walked away.

Mrs. Jenkins complained, "Young master is outrageous! He is not a child! You are not a child, please don't let him enter your bedroom again."

"It's his fault, I will tell him. Don't tell the wife, or the wife will scold him again. He used to come into my room casually, and we were young at that time." The siblings have always been close, and Charles has The spoiled child is always ignorant, comes and goes in and out of her room at will, and doesn't even remember that she is now a woman and not a young girl.

Mrs. Jenkins shook her head, "Go to sleep, I will wake you up in the morning."

"Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins."

My brother is a good brother, but he is really too casual. I probably thought they were teenagers and they were very close.A year after Victor's birth, the Robillards traveled across the ocean to Paris to see her and the newborn, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with her, wishful thinking that it was the post-baby depression—although there was no " Depression" term.

Her various differences and changes in living habits were ignored, and even Mrs. Jenkins, who was with her day and night, didn't think there was anything wrong with her.

The Robillard family owns half of Savannah. Of course, Savannah is not very big, that is, the size of a small county town in the 21st century.John C. Robillard inherited most of the family's property. The real estate includes most of the shops on the main street, a dozen houses scattered around the city, and holiday villas in the countryside; some bank deposits, the actual amount is unknown ; How many black slaves, worth a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, the total price is about 5.

The American inheritance system does not exclude daughters like the British and French, but in the case of primogeniture, daughters receive limited property.Ellen, the first girl in her family to marry, got twenty niggers and a little cash; Pauline and Eulalie got similar fortunes when they married.

After the death of Robillard Sr., the will left most of the property to his only son, and each of the three daughters received a small cash inheritance.

Gerald O'Hara's Tara Manor can be completely self-sufficient and a well-off family. The three daughters and the mistress of the O'Hara family can buy new dresses for four seasons every year. There is no problem with the economy. Ellen's dowry will increase in the future. The three daughters are divided equally, and the eldest daughter Scarlett will also get Tara Manor.

Pauline and her husband, Carey, have no children. Carey's farm is a very secluded—too remote—small farm on the outskirts of Charleston, by the Ashley River.Eulalie and her husband Henry live in a large house on Fortress Hill in downtown Charleston. They are one of the wealthy local families and have two sons, a daughter and three children.

Emile didn't know much about her family's financial situation. When she was in France, her mother's family was in financial distress. After she got married, she never had any worries about money, so she didn't care much about the family's property.

Emile now puts all her heart on her little grandson, and loves Victor like a treasure. In the afternoon, she takes Victor out to visit a familiar wife.

Josephine didn't go out and was still resting.

"I heard that you need two whole rooms for your dresses," Charles lazily leaned on the sofa in the living room, "let me see what beautiful dresses you have."

"What about you? You don't have a whole room of coats and boots?" Handsome young men who are not short of money usually have a lot of coats and hats and need a special room.

"I'm a man, and a man needs a lot of coats, coats, hunting suits, fishing suits, boots, booties, hunting boots, riding boots, walking shoes, bowler hats, top hats, deer hats—"

He jumped up suddenly, "Let me choose the dance dress for you. You are more beautiful than when you left a few years ago. You must let everyone in Savannah know how beautiful you are."

"and then?"

"Then—I'll take you to Charleston, to meet our aunt, and then you'll have to go to at least three balls. There's no beauty like you in Charleston, and I dare say you're the prettiest girl in the South."

The ball was the most important social occasion, where unmarried men and women met, married women exchanged gossip at the ball, and both married and unmarried men talked in the smoking room.

People in Savannah don't know that the Robillard girl has returned. The prom is the best public event. The status of a widow will not affect the Robillard girl's participation in social activities. This is also a signal. The Billards are looking for a new husband for their daughter.

What affects a woman's social activities is not being married or widowed, but very practical money. Rich and beautiful widows who have given birth are even more popular than unmarried ladies. Their property can be controlled by themselves, and they must have fertility Moreover, the Robillard family is a prestigious and wealthy local family, and being able to marry such a family will definitely have great benefits.

This is also the reason why John and Emile did not stop Charles from holding a dance at night. Their daughter is only 22 years old, and her youth is just right. How could she be a widow now?

The butler had already sent out invitations, and the black slaves were busy setting up the dance hall. Scarlett was very excited: she was not yet old enough to participate in the ball, but she was still allowed to watch, but she was not allowed to dance on the dance floor.

She stayed by her cousin's side all day long, looking enviously at Josephine's countless beautiful dresses: there are simple and dignified blue and white stripes, there are pretty peach pink, mint green, and lemon yellow, and there are simple and elegant small plaids. , but by no means a boring little grid.Home skirts, going out skirts, prom skirts, each skirt is decorated with lace, lace, bows, pearls, etc., and each skirt is the latest Paris cut and style.

The Robillard family has many shops, almost all of which are rented out for rent.Owning real estate is a "high-class person", but running a business is not considered a "high-class person", only a "craftsman".John promised to find a shop for Josephine so that Mrs. Valenti, the tailor, could open the shop.

Mrs. Valenti is now living in an apartment owned by the Robillards, free of rent for the first month.She was altering a ball gown to Josephine's request, and there was nothing to modify about the new one, except for a bow here and a satin rose there.

"Can you go to the ball?" Josephine asked.

"Not yet." Scarlett felt very unfair, "Mom said I can't go to the dance until I'm 15."

"Isn't it 16 years old?"

"Do I need to be 16?" Scarlett asked in surprise.

"No. What's your rule in Clayton County? Can a girl go to a dance at fifteen?"

"seems like it."

"Do you know what you go to the ball for?"

Scarlett was not shy, her bright green eyes flashed, "Mother Hei said, I want to meet a boy from a good family at the ball, my future husband."

The most important thing for unmarried girls is to find a suitable husband. When they are about 12 years old, their mothers, relatives and friends will pay attention to suitable husband candidates for them and tell them how important it is to find a suitable husband.

"Yeah, meet nice boys at the ball. But you're young, so don't worry about it."

"I'm already 14 years old." Scarlett pouted.

"You gotta remember, if you like a boy you tell Charlie, and if Charlie says that guy isn't right for you, you gotta listen to him."

"Why?" Scarlett was confused.

"Charlie knows what it's like to be a swinger, and if he doesn't think that's the right man for a husband, it's not for you."

Scarlett couldn't understand and looked confused.

"What did Aunt Ellen teach you? Did she teach you to be obedient, submissive, and centered on your husband?"

Scarlett frowned, "That's what she said. But—"

"You don't think what mother said is quite right, but you can't tell what's wrong, can you?"

Scarlett was taken aback, "How do you know?"

Josephine smiled elegantly and inscrutablely, "She's right, and you're not wrong either."

Scarlett felt that her cousin's words were mysterious and she couldn't understand her.

The ball at Robillard's house invited some guests from the old family, and the wives knew through their social channels that it was specially held for Josephine, but Josephine did not use her husband's surname and restored her maiden name. , which is a bit unusual, but also not worth talking about all the time.

The ladies agreed that the name Robillard, well known in the southern states, sounded much better than Hastings.Reverting back to her maiden name is beneficial to Josephine. The ladies all believe that the girls brought up by Mrs. Emile will not be wrong. They are already busy asking whether the Robillards want to find another suitable husband for their daughter. .

They had actually forgotten that Josephine was a rebellious girl when she was a teenager, so Emile had to send her beloved daughter back to be raised by relatives in France.They were busy inquiring about Josephine's experience in France, but because the time was too short, they hadn't found any inside information yet.

The ball had already started for half an hour, and Josephine hadn't come downstairs yet. The guests gossiped for a while, and someone asked the hostess and hostess when Josephine would appear.

As soon as this question was finished, the band paused, the door of the dance hall was reopened, and a black master of ceremonies in a formal dress announced loudly: "Mr. Charles Robillard—"

"Miss Josephine Robillard—"

Everyone looked towards the door, and a radiant young beauty appeared at the door.

She has a fair complexion, a pair of clear and bright blue eyes, her blonde hair is skillfully braided into a loose bun behind her head, and there are hair accessories made of fresh yellow roses in the bun; the small Nose with a slightly raised nose tip, a pair of red lips as red as rubies, a string of small and delicate ruby ​​necklaces around the neck, the pendant is a perfect drop-shaped ruby; it is matched with a pair of drop-shaped ruby ​​earrings, and there is a delicate one on each wrist The diamond bracelet sparkles with a crystal chandelier lit by candles.

People forgot to accuse her of the bright red lipstick on her lips, and forgot to calculate the value of the gemstone jewelry she wore. Her beauty surpassed jewelry. This kind of breathtaking beauty is rare. For a southern city, it has an impactful charm.

The ladies worked on two things, and quickly recalled in their minds what Josephine looked like before the age of 15.The men, regardless of age, all interpreted the word "amazing" with facial expressions.Maidens covet her delicate dance dresses, dazzling jewelry, and are all overwhelmed by her beauty.

The Robillards were very proud that their daughter had attracted the attention of everyone in the ballroom, and it was indeed a matter of pride to have a beautiful daughter.

Low-key is a virtue, but not absolute.

Charles quickly brought a strange man to Josephine, "Josephine, let me introduce you to Rhett Butler. He is from Charleston and has been to New York and Washington several times."

Josephine was a little surprised, but not particularly surprised: Mrs. Butler was a good friend of Aunt Eulalie, and Eulalie mentioned in her letter that the eldest son of the Butler family was a libertine who was kicked out of the house by Mr. Butler. Mrs. Le was very sad and worried about this.

Rhett Butler's age can't be considered young, he is in his early 30s, with black hair and a black mustache, and his smile seems enthusiastic, but with a bandit-like coldness that doesn't care about anything, "You Well, Miss Josephine."

"Hello, Mr. Butler." She held out her left hand.

Rhett Butler smiled. "My father is 'Mr. Butler.' Call me Rhett." He kissed the back of her silk-gloved hand.

In this day and age, a woman of status can't go anywhere without her company. It's not only a matter of "rules" that are customary, but more importantly, a matter of safety. Josephine will not make fun of her own life.Although New York is now the economic center of the United States, it is also a very chaotic city, full of hooligans, gangsters, and countless penniless immigrants who came to the New World to "try their luck". Men will accompany them, and they will also bring a large number of strong black slaves as bodyguards.

What the father meant was to let Charles accompany her to New York, and then find a southern gentleman who is familiar with New York to accompany her. Rhett Butler is indeed a very suitable candidate. He is older and has been to Washington and New York many times. He knows how to do things, and knows how to do things; being kicked out of the house means that he is not very disciplined, that is to say, his wrist is flexible and does not follow the usual path, and there is no psychological burden for doing bad things.

Scarlett stays obediently beside her uncle and aunt. Under the wide skirt, a pair of little feet have been secretly kicking on the floor. She has already mastered the dance steps, and she is waiting to attend the ball after she turns 15.

She was also amazed by the costumed cousin, and looked at Josephine fascinated.Cousin is a beautiful and attractive adult woman, and all the young men want to ask her to dance, those eyes are really hot!Although she didn't quite understand what those gazes meant, she was very willing to see the day when those gazes would stare at her.

My aunt was whispering to my uncle about the young man who invited Josephine to dance: this one is not good, because he is not handsome enough; Leaving a seemingly dignified air; that is even worse, they heard that they had a child with a mixed-race female black slave at home, although there is no definite evidence, but they don't want to be married to such a family at all.

Scarlett listened secretly in the mood of listening to gossip, but later her aunt found out that she was too close, so she asked the house maid to take her aside for a snack.

As for Rhett Butler in Charleston, Josephine danced with him once, and Josephine has been dancing with other people since then, while Rhett stood on the dance floor most of the time.

Scarlett had never seen a man like Rhett. He looked different from any young man she had ever seen. He was too thick for a "respectable gentleman", tall, broad-shouldered, and dark-skinned. too dark.Although southern gentlemen are not proud of their delicate fair complexion, and because they spend more time outdoors, many people like to have a tanned complexion, but this person's complexion is too dark!

Young is not really young. She seems to be 10 years older than Cousin Charlie. In her eyes, she is an old man. She can never imagine what Charlie will look like when he is 30 years old, let alone himself when he is 30 years old. When—that is still too far away, so far away that it seems like it will never come!

My aunt mentioned that he had nothing bad to say, and only said that although he was kicked out of the house by his own father, it was not a big mistake for a young man of his age to be absurd. He is not the only boy who was kicked out of the house?

My aunt didn't like Rhett's experience of traveling all over the world. She thought it might be too complicated, and Josephine couldn't restrain him, so she didn't have the chance to be a son-in-law.

As for this point, Scarlett felt that she could still reserve her opinion.

She subconsciously followed Josephine's figure. The beautiful cousin didn't need to say sweet words, or even seldom spoke. She just smiled at a certain man, or just glanced at the man gently, and the man became dizzy and excited. endlessly.

She should really learn this trick.

It was impossible to say that Rhett Butler was not attracted to Josephine, and his eyes followed Josephine most of the time.Scarlett knew beautiful girls would be attractive, but since there weren't enough beautiful women in Clayton County or Atlanta or Savannah to give her a reference, she never saw them." "Beauty" is such a great wealth.

And now, behold, what a demonstration the beautiful cousin is!

The author has something to say:

*斯嘉丽这时候14岁，原著里写她14岁再次见到从欧洲游历3年回来的艾希礼。按照欧洲贵族子弟有钱人家的子弟18岁出门游历来算，艾希礼大概比斯嘉丽大7岁，斯嘉丽14岁艾希礼21岁。

*The geographical location is that Savannah is by the sea, at the junction of Georgia and South Carolina, and belongs to Georgia; Charleston is on the coastline, northeast of Savannah, and belongs to South Carolina.Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, is inland.Clayton County, where Tara Manor is located, is directly below Atlanta, very close to Atlanta.