Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

Josephine looked at this small pile of golden metal with great interest, her expression was just right, not too happy, just just right, with a pleasant and comfortable smile on her face.

Rhett is a smart man, of course he understands the charm of money.And for people who are not short of money, a little money is not in their eyes. A beauty like Josephine has never been short of courteous men.Josephine had just returned to New York, and the wealthy people nearby had already received the news, and invitations would be sent immediately.

Josephine went out to banquets and parties almost every day, and a lot of men competed to court her, and at every dance someone rushed to invite her to dance.The women judged her for not wearing mourning, but the men didn't care.

Rhett soon became a frequent visitor to wealthy families in the neighborhood, and served as Josephine's male companion most of the time.As he said, New Yorkers really didn't care about his origin or where his money came from. New Yorkers thought he was rich and generous, and his conversation was enough to show that he was a "high-class man". That was enough.

Rhett generously gave her a large amount of property in advance, which made the points he lost to her due to the Thomas incident revised to a positive number again. This is the best way to deal with it!

The two quickly started negotiating the marriage contract, which city to marry, which city to live in after marriage, child support, and the amount of living expenses after marriage.

At the beginning, Philip gave her an annuity of 2 U.S. dollars a year, not including the salary of the housekeeper and servants, and if she traveled alone, there would be 7000 U.S. dollars a year in travel expenses.You must know that Tara's annual income was only 5 US dollars a year before the war, and she had to support a large family including black slaves. 2 US dollars was enough for Josephine to live well.

Rhett raised her annuity to $1 a year, plus $3 a year in travel expenses, and he paid for other housekeepers, nannies, servants, and tutors.

The wedding expenses were all paid by Rhett as a matter of course. The wedding venue was set in New York, and only close relatives and close friends of the two families were invited.

Rhett was very straightforward, and the marriage contract was discussed very quickly. The impatient Rhett wrote back to Charleston to report the great news to his mother, and carefully asked his father, Butler, if he could meet Josephine before the wedding. Getting married and the groom's father not being there doesn't sound very nice.

Josephine also wrote to tell her parents and brother that she was getting married again.Captain Butler was a fellow with a bad reputation, yes; she didn't need to marry again, yes; but if she had the opportunity to marry a man who loved her very much, she wouldn't object.

Emile was amazed at Rhett's generosity, and she never expected to give so much property before marriage.John is dissatisfied with Rhett's bad reputation, but think about it, the bad reputation is not irreversible. People like the story of the prodigal son, and Rhett can definitely become a typical character among the prodigal sons.

As for Charles, he felt that Rhett was qualified to be his new brother-in-law.

Old Mrs. Butler was moved to tears when she received the letter.Although the old Mr. Butler was still unwilling to forgive his eldest son, he couldn't bear the crying of his old wife.The old Mrs. Butler thought that Rhett could marry the daughter of the famous Robillard family in Savannah, which meant that at least the Robillard family could accept him. , from now on, if he is a good husband and father, people will gradually forget his misery in the past.

The old Butler felt that his son was useless, and he had wronged the daughter of the Robillard family too much. He made a special trip to Savannah and visited the Robillards with his wife.

The Butler family was also affected by the war, and even more severely. No house, field, or black slaves were left behind.The Butlers and their daughters could only live in the small house where the black slaves used to live. They couldn't eat enough all the year round, and they all relied on the support of their youngest son.Jeff was not willing to accept Rhett's money at first, and the two brothers had a big quarrel and even started a fight. Rhett finally said that you can starve yourself, but how can you bear to watch your mother and sister starve to death?Jeff then reluctantly compromised.

well!Life is hard!

The old Mrs. Butler successfully persuaded Emile that the wedding should at least be held in Savannah.The war was over at last, and the gentlemen of the South badly needed a grand wedding to cheer them up.Although Emile didn't care too much about it, it was a pity that Josephine had not been married in Savannah three times before, and Charles' wedding was not held in Savannah either.

Then, the old Butlers went north to New York and met Rhett and Josephine.

This is the second time Rhett saw his father again in 20 years. The old Butler didn't get angry with his son because of Josephine's face, but he was awkward and shook hands with his son seriously, which was considered "peace".The old Mrs. Butler was overjoyed, praised Josephine for being beautiful, charming and lovely, and earnestly warned her son not to be an idiot anymore, but to change his mind and be a good man, a good husband and a good father.

Rhett obediently agreed.

Since the wedding was changed to Savannah, Josephine did not stay in New York any longer and returned to Savannah soon.

In August, Savannah is sunny.

The daughter of the Robillards who has been married three times is getting married again!Or marrying the notorious speculator, the Butler son-in-law, the big headlines in the South after the Civil War!

From Charleston to Savannah to Atlanta, people talk about it every time they meet.

Josephine Robillard's reputation is not very good because her three husbands died unexpectedly. A beautiful woman is enviable, but her short-lived husband is considered a disaster for her. If it can't bring her a happy life, then it's better to look ordinary, find an ordinary husband, and love each other for decades!

As for Rhett Butler, he is also working hard to restore his bad image. It can be said that smart people do everything with half the effort and maximize efficiency.He often took Victor out for horseback riding, and accompanied Cynthia for walks and horses in nearby parks; little Tom was in poor health, and would have a fever every two or three months. Reid went to ask a pediatrician himself in the middle of the night to take care of him.If it weren't for the three children and three surnames, people would have thought that these three children were all his children!

A man who loves children is always good, especially the women, all of them softened their hearts and expressed their opinions, thinking that Josephine was really lucky to be able to marry a "good man" like Rhett Butler again!

Emile was in high spirits, and was busy preparing for Josephine's wedding. The problem was not to be too grand, but also not to appear cramped.Too extravagant will embarrass most relatives and friends who are not rich now, and too simple will make people laugh.

It's difficult!

Most of the people who were close to the Robillard family at the beginning have become the struggling people at the bottom. Both sons of the Beauval family died in battle, and one of the four daughters of the Beauval family died of illness in the war. The Vals moved to the neighborhood of their eldest daughter; Louis of the Mayville family had a broken leg, and now lives with his mother and niece, living a hard life, Louis can only do some odd jobs, and Mrs. Mayville took her granddaughter to do The cakes are sold, and the Robillards always send Manny, the white maid, to buy the cakes from the Mayvilles;

Mrs. Antenson was also not as good as before. She lowered her noble head in the past, embroidered some lace garters and put them on consignment, barely making ends meet.

As for Mr. Darcy, who almost married Josephine, he later married one of his cousins, sent his wife and two other young cousins ​​to California during the Civil War, and joined the army himself. Fortunately, he was not affected. What serious injury, discharged after the war, moved to California.

Sigh!

Everyone's fate is different, but in comparison, the Robillard family is not bad.

Emile doesn't need to please any wife now, but she doesn't feel happy.As a Frenchman, Emile was always an "outsider" in Savannah, and local-born wives did not look down on a foreigner very much, even if she came from France, was an aristocrat, and was not a local.

Emile lamented the cruelty of the war, and also admired the Robillard family for buying the Bahamian island. Otherwise, the current situation of the Robillard family would not be much better than that of the Antonson family or the Mayville family.

The wedding is scheduled for the last Saturday in August.

Because Rhett is finally about to accomplish one of the most important things in his life, and his relationship with Butler's father has eased, he is in a very good mood recently.

Josephine was originally in a good mood, but just a week before the wedding, her mood inexplicably became extremely bad.

It showed that he would suddenly lose his temper, scolding the servants, scolding the housekeeper, scolding Rhett, and once even got angry at Victor. Victor was so frightened that he deeply reviewed himself.

Rhett reassured the soon-to-be stepson boy, "Your mother is just in a bad mood, she doesn't really want to blame you."

Victor's eyes were red, "Mother has never scolded me so severely! I, I didn't do anything."

"It's not your fault, Myson." Rhett said kindly, "Mother is a woman, and women are always in a bad mood. Mother loves you very much, you know that."

Victor nodded.

"Okay, I'll talk to your mother and find out why she's upset. Let's make her happy and laugh every day, okay?"

Victor nodded again.

"Wipe your tears quickly, boys don't cry easily. Do you want money?" Rhett took out his wallet.

Victor hurriedly said: "No, sir, my mother gave me pocket money."

"Go and play with Damian, this afternoon's class——" Rhett took out his pocket watch to check the time, "There is no need for this afternoon's class, I will ask you for leave. Go and play."

Victor bowed slightly and left the living room.

Rhett thought that Josephine had been in a good mood since she received the gift of 20 US dollars, and there was no reason for her sudden mood to turn bad.She doesn't have to worry about the wedding herself, it can be said that there is nothing that can bother her——

He asked the maid that his wife hadn't received any strange letters recently. The letters at home were all replies from relatives and friends asking whether they could come to the wedding, including Tara's reply, Scarlett and Karin, Melanie and Elaine. Ashley, Suren and Kennedy will all attend the wedding.

No one came to visit Josephine, but only to Madame Emile.

So neither received a letter from a stranger, nor came to visit from a strange person, why did Josephine suddenly become in a bad mood?

The author has something to say: Butler's father is worried about this unworthy son of Ruide who actually became a gambler and got involved with a wronged woman. His reputation has been ruined, and he has never been willing to forgive him.He is a typical old-fashioned southern gentleman. Rhett broke up with the family because of his father's pedantic and patriarchal style. He bowed his head and compromised.