[Gone with the Wind] Parallel Time and Space

Chapter8Old School

The news of high society, especially the affairs of love, always travels the fastest.Ladies are not allowed to discuss such matters, but when ladies get together they are keen to comment.After Eulalie, Miss Robillard, married to Charleston, she was also willing to discuss with other wives.But when they discussed their sister, Ellen Robillard O'Hara, she got annoyed.The ladies of Charleston, with their particular regard for family status and their love of show, wondered why a Robillard lady should marry a new Irishman.Whenever this time, Eulalie will always defend her sister Ellen.She gave little importance to family background, and was proud of Gerald and what he had achieved from nothing by virtue of his Irish shrewdness alone.

And recently, Eulalie discovered that the object of their discussion involved her niece, Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton.Of course Eulalie knew what they were discussing, because she was also there on the wedding day and witnessed the whole process of this "interesting incident".She was probably one of the few bystanders present who had a close relationship with both parties.She is not only Scarlett's aunt, but also a close friend of Rhett's mother.She may not know Scarlet very well. After all, she married in Charleston, and she is far away from her sister and niece, but she definitely watched Rhett grow up. They are also neighbors.

Rhett is the eldest son of the Butler family. He has shown himself to be different since he was a child. He is smart and quick-witted, and he is praised as a boy who will become a big man.But at some point, he began to seem out of place with Charleston as a whole, and with his father in particular.In the eyes of Eulalie, he is just a rebellious child, but in the eyes of his father, Rhett is like his enemy.From dislike at the beginning, to disgust later, to expelling him from the family and crossing his name from the Bible, Eulalie expressed her regret.Every time she visits Butler's house, Mrs. Butler always pulls her to talk and tells her thoughts to this rare and perhaps only close friend.Eulalie feels sorry for her close friend.

"Ma'am, there's a letter from Georgia." Eulalie was thinking, and was startled by the servant's voice, but she was not annoyed. "Bring it to me."

She opened the envelope and sat down in an armchair, muttering to herself as she read it: "Ah, Ellen is doing well... Scarlett is ill... yes, yes, a change of scenery is needed ... Savannah is a good place ... Charleston is not bad ..." So Scarlett will arrive in Charleston in about a week to visit herself and Pauline.

"Go and tidy up a house, Mrs. Hamilton is coming to visit." Eulalie ordered to the servant.

"Which Mrs. Hamilton?"

"Oh! you silly Tori, Scarlett O'Hara, my dear niece."

Scarlett came to Charleston after visiting relatives in Savannah, first to Aunt Pauline, and after a few days she came to Aunt Eulalie.Aunt Eulalie's house was a large house on "The Battery" in Charleston, hidden by a high-walled garden in front of it.Although Scarlett was warmly welcomed by her aunt, she didn't like it too much.She didn't like the people who came to visit, their traditional customs and pretentiousness and family attitude.Also, their voices are a little fake.

The moon just came out outside, but it was very round and very bright. The moonlight shone through the window, and the silver light sprinkled into the room.Scarlett sat on the bed and watched Prissy, the little nanny, putting a child to sleep.Scarlett realized, ah, that's Wade Hampton Hamilton, that's her son.Prissy walked back and forth with her son in her arms, from one end of the room to the other and back again.Scarlett felt a little irritable, she turned over the quilt all of a sudden, got out of bed, and made a loud noise.

"Easy, Miss Scarlett, I just put Master Wade to sleep."

"Ha! When is it your turn to teach me this?"

"Miss Scarlett, although you are a lady, I have my own reasons for this matter. If the young master is woken up, he will cry."

"I'm so used to you!" Scarlett subconsciously lowered her voice, she hated children crying. "I'm going out now."

"Where are you going? Miss Scarlett? What if the young master wakes up and wants to drink milk?"

Scarlett ignored her, put on her coat and went out.She deliberately didn't take her black gauze hat, which was only needed for widows that covered her knees.The moonlight is really bright tonight, there is no cloud in the sky, and the cool breeze rustles the leaves, making the shadows in the woods appear deeper and darker.The white cobblestone road under Scarlett's feet stretched to the end, and it looked like it was shining in the moonlight.It's eerily quiet here, just a little owl hooting, which Scarlett would have hated if it was normal, but after this year—centuries, she felt, in fact, she longed for quiet, babies crying, people talking The sound lingered in her mind.

Charles went to war a week after the wedding, and Scarlett was a widow two months later.During those two months Charles sent letters of shyness, joy, and affection from South Carolina.In the seventh week, Scarlett got word of Charles' death, first of pneumonia, then of measles, in the South Carolina barracks before he had even seen a sign of the Yankees.So Scarlett had to wear ugly black clothes without flowers, ribbons or trims, and jewelry.The black veil on the hat must fall to the knees, and must wait until three years of widowhood before it can be shortened to the shoulders.

God is so hard on me, I can't even laugh.And the son that others thought was a comfort to her, she was upset when she saw it.

My life is no longer fun, my life is over.

And every time she thought of Rhett Butler, her heart became complicated.Why is her heart not as hard as she used to be at this time?She shouldn't think of him anymore, even if she does, she should hate him.True, she had hated Rhett on the day of the wedding, but it wasn't long before she missed her time with him as a child.How happy it was then, he took her to ride a horse, played with her, told her jokes, and talked about the outside world.He also listened to her complain, listened to her talk intently, as if he was speaking some insight, as if she was an equal adult with him.Alas, all this is over.

Scarlett woke up suddenly, she heard the sound, and found that there was a carriage coming at the end of the road, Scarlett hurried to the side of the road quietly, hiding in the darkness under the tree.The carriage stopped not far from her, which happened to be not too far or too close.A woman got out of the car, and a man rode over after a while.The figure of that man is really familiar.

Scarlett was amused, did this catch up with someone else's tryst?

When the woman saw the man coming, she opened her arms and hugged him tightly.At the same time Scarlett knew the woman was sobbing.

"God, you've lost weight! I miss you, Rhett."

Rhett?Scarlett lowered her breath to hear more.

"I miss you too, Mom."

Scarlett heard a familiar voice.Rhett Butler, with her mother?