Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

Josephine was scared to death.

She has lived a prosperous life since she was a child, and has never encountered any danger, and someone always takes good care of her; she also understands that this era is not safe, and she does not feel at ease when she goes out without three or five servants.

Uncle Peter tried his best to protect the two of them, but they were dragged away, and their life and death were uncertain; while Sheldon was stabbed several times on the spot, and it seemed that he would die.

Tara is in Clayton County, and it takes at least two hours to travel by carriage to downtown Atlanta. There are some places that are very messy, especially the section near the woods.Some homeless and idle blacks gathered in the woods, waiting for an opportunity to rob.

In the past, when Scarlett passed by here, she had to rely on Uncle Peter to drive the carriage quickly. It was not safe, but it was okay. The main reason was that her time to go to Atlanta was not fixed, and the gangsters could not find the rules.

Today she set off with Scarlett because she was going to withdraw money from the bank in Atlanta. She carefully brought Sheldon and two other strong black men who were working in the fields.It was very calm when I went there, and nothing happened along the way.Uncle Peter first sent Josephine to withdraw the money, and then sent Scarlett to work in the timber factory. Josephine also watched with great interest how her cousin negotiated business with the man.

Scarlett has been in a hurry to get angry recently because another timber factory started to sell at a lower price in order to suppress her timber factory. Once Scarlett figured out that the other party was just trying to drive her out of the timber market, she was very angry and very patterned She decided to sell at a targeted price reduction. If the other party sells 1 dollar, she can sell it for 99 cents.It's been less than a month since the sale started like this, and the other party can't stand it anymore.

This time Josephine would go to the bank to withdraw money because Scarlett was determined to take down the other party's timber factory at a low price and ask her cousin for a loan.Josephine is still very supportive of Scarlett's business decision to develop a business.Of course, the loan will not be in vain, and interest will be charged.She wanted the funds to be invested in the shares and dividends at the end of the year, but Scarlet shrewdly disagreed, so it could only be regarded as a loan.

She is not short of the little dividend money, but she laments that the eldest lady of the upper class has now become a strong woman in the business field, and Scarlett is only 21 years old this year, and she may become the female tycoon of the new United States in a few years. It can be seen!

Scarlett signed the contract on the spot, paid the money, and won the new timber factory.Immediately went to the lumber factory and asked someone to remake the label. The staff did not move, and everything remained the same, but the boss was changed.

On the way back, Josephine praised Scarlett, and Scarlett couldn't be more proud. The two sisters talked and laughed, but unexpectedly came to the most dangerous place.

A tall black man carried Josephine, she couldn't look up, she couldn't see Scarlett, she could only hear Scarlett's terrified screams.The blacks were not well educated, they spoke English mixed with a lot of slang, and they smelled of sweat, which made Josephine faint.

The women who fell into the hands of these black gangsters did not end well, let alone white women. These blacks used to be black slaves and hated their white masters. Usually, the most common method used by men is to rape || White masters, this is double humiliation.Blacks were hanged on the streets every week because of violent cases and rapes all over the South, and the Ku Klux Klan everywhere lynched criminal blacks.

But if this kind of thing is not heard by your side, you will always have no direct feeling.

Originally Charles was supposed to escort them today, but both Scarlett and Josephine thought it was unnecessary.Scarlett had no idea about the safety of the outside world, and the Robillard family was even more clueless.

Josephine regretted it, but her idea was that Sheldon was no worse than Charles or Ashley, both horseback riding and marksmanship were very good, and she would not lose the wind if she dismounted and fought alone.The two of them brought a total of 4 strong black laborers, which should be enough to ensure their safety——

She suddenly remembered that those two black men in the field were gangsters who ran away as soon as they came!

So this is why Sheldon was stabbed several times. Even if they couldn't win, they should be able to drive the carriage and leave quickly.

Her bun was messy, her hair was disheveled, her skirt was torn, her lambskin shoes were all gone, her handbag had been snatched long ago, and there were hundreds of dollars in it.

Scarlett kept screaming. Josephine wanted to scream, but as she walked deeper into the woods, she couldn't calm down anymore when she thought of what she was about to face. She also started screaming desperately, as if she could shout It's like coming to the rescue.

There was the sound of horseshoes in the distance, then the sound of hooves died away, and a moment later there was the sound of gunfire, and the Negro gangsters were swearing in dialect and slang, and languages ​​that were neither intelligible nor intelligible.

The tall black man started to run, and within a short distance, he threw Josephine to the ground and ran wildly.

Josephine didn't know who was coming, she just yelled, "I'm here! Help! Help!"

A shot was fired very close, and the tall black man fell down in response.

Josephine started to shout again in a panic: "Don't shoot! I'm here! Is it Charles?"

Someone hurried over, "Don't be afraid, Josephine, it's me."

Josephine's voice trembled, "Red, Rhett! I can't stand up."

It was late at night, and Tara Manor was busy.

Scarlett was not injured, her skirt was torn, her shoes were lost, everything else was fine, she was not beaten or raped.She was terribly frightened and restless, Mama Hei hugged her holding back her tears, unwilling to scold her.

Josephine thought she was too scared to stand up, but Rhett held her all the way, put her on the horse, and sent her back to Tara.When she got to Tara, she realized that it wasn't just her legs that were weak. The black man had dropped her on his feet, and the tops of his feet were now swollen.

Emile was so frightened that she could only cry, and it was Melanie who asked the maids to do things, boil water to bathe the two ladies, change the torn skirts, and check them for other injuries; Dessert for two frightened wives.

Melanie didn't know much about the specific situation, so Ashley briefly explained to her afterwards.

After Robillard and his son and Ashley went out, they met Rhett who had just returned halfway. Rhett took some sailors with him. When Charles said that Josephine and Scarlett were robbed in the woods, they Turn the horse around immediately.After entering the woods, John and his son chased them separately with Rhett and Ashley. John and his son rescued Scarlett, and Rhett and Ashley rescued Josephine.

"Where's Rhett?" Scarlett asked.

"He... went out." Melanie was worried.

"What are you going out for now?" Scarlett said dissatisfiedly: "Shouldn't he stay, stay—" She was still a little shy after all, and couldn't continue.

Melanie glanced at Josephine quickly, "What should he do?"

Josephine just took a shower, her hair was wet, "You should get a good night's sleep, and think about other things tomorrow." What happened tonight was not that simple, and it might have something to do with the two black men working in the fields.Scarlett ran on this road so many times without incident, but she was robbed when she went to the bank to withdraw money today?If Rhett hadn't come back just in time, the father, brother, and Ashley might not have been able to save them both.

When she thought about what happened today, her face turned pale with fright and her heart beat faster. It was an indescribable sense of insecurity. She felt that she could never find the indifferent elegance of the years.In the past, she always believed that money was omnipotent, and she was not a cheapskate, and she was not willing to pay employees salaries and bonuses. She always believed that using money to buy services was a normal economic problem, but now she understands that money is not omnipotent.

Didn't she take out her wallet immediately, saying that the money and jewelry were taken away, and she just asked to let it go?But those niggers -- my God!She quickly closed her eyes, not thinking about it.

Scarlett was still complaining about why Rhett didn't stay to protect her, as if she forgot that there were uncle, cousin and Ashley at home.Josephine was absent-minded, wondering why she mentioned Rhett in front of Melanie, as if she was still very intimate, was it because she could cover up her coveting of Melanie's husband?Does Scarlett still like Ashley?

Speaking of which, Ashley and Melanie are the same people, they represent the good old days before the war, Ashley has never been able to get out of the "leisure rich boy" mentality, even when he was in the southern army After staying for several years, the war did not change him, which was something Josephine couldn't understand.

Melanie understood very well, she was a traditional southern lady, pure and kind, and a little too kind.She never doubted Scarlett's love for Ashley, and defended Scarlett tenderly when Ashley's two younger sisters were fighting to speak ill of Scarlett.In Josephine's view, Melanie is in love with Scarlett from the bottom of her heart, they are sister-in-law, Little Wade and Little Bo are cousins, Scarlett is the widow of her poor brother who died, With her petite body and strong spiritual strength, she protects Scarlett in her own way.

Scarlett, a shallow woman, actually didn't understand that she had always loved Melanie. She didn't realize until Melanie was dying that she didn't really love Ashley, what she loved was always a phantom , Ashley represents the old age, representing her carefree youth.

ah!Scarlett!

Josephine also likes Melanie very much. Who wouldn't like a gentle, kind, firm and responsible woman?

As for Rhett—it was a coincidence that he was back in Atlanta just today.What is he doing out again?Are you going to hunt down those gangsters?Probably.Rhett is not a person who will be merciful, otherwise how could he have been successful in the blockade for several years and made so much money?There must be someone who wants to kill him so that he can replace him. After all, one less person who does business will make more money, and it is impossible to be a speculator without offending others.

She thought bitterly that Rhett should avenge her and kill those villains!

Charles carried the handicapped Josephine back to the room. It was too late to go to the doctor, and the men were worried that they would be retaliated by the black hooligans, so they decided to watch the night downstairs until Rhett came back.

Mama Hei got a lump of black, smelly moss from nowhere, and applied it on her instep, saying it could reduce the swelling.All right, better than nothing, Josephine agreed.

The curtains were closed tightly, and only a three-headed candlestick was lit in the room, so the light was not bright.

With a crying voice, Victor asked tremblingly, "Mother, are you still in pain?"

"It still hurts a bit. How are you? Are you scared?" Josephine waved her hand and motioned him to stand in front of the bed, "Don't be afraid."

Victor wiped away his tears, "I'm not afraid, I'm worried about you."

Hey, the son was not raised in vain.Josephine was very relieved, "It's all right now. It's time for you to sleep, can you sleep?"

Victor nodded, then shook his head again, "I can't sleep. I just slept for a while, and I had a terrible nightmare."

"What dream did you have?"

The boy was crying, "I dreamed that you were gone. I took Tom to look for you everywhere. I was so scared!"

"I'm afraid too. I'm afraid I won't see you again. Where's Tom?" She noticed that little Tom was not in the room.

"Auntie took him and said you needed a good rest."

Josephine sighed softly and patted the top of his head.

"I really want to grow up faster so that I can protect you." The boy knelt by the bed and buried his face in the mattress.

"You don't grow up too fast." Josephine said with a smile, "I appreciate your wanting to protect my heart, but you are still a child."

"I, I'm already ten years old!" Victor said anxiously: "Captain Butler said that ten years old is a big boy!"