Ashley's
ineptness as a businessman his attempt...
Ashley's ineptness as a businessman his attempt to bury himself with his wife the stacks of unsold lumber the need for secrecy Colleton held up his hand to stop herWilkes, I'll take the job His hand dropped, extended"I'll shake on it, you'll get the best-built houses with the best materials in them Scarlett put her hand in his"Thank you," she saidShe felt as if she'd scored the triumph of her lifeIt was only some hours later that she remembered that she hadn't intended to use the best of everything, only the best lumberThe miserable houses were going to cost her a fortune, and out of her own hard-earned money, too She wouldn't get any credit for helping Ashley, either Everybody would still slam their doors in her faceNot black gucci bags really everybodyI've got plenty of my own friends, and they're a lot more fun than those frumpy old Atlanta peopleScarlett put aside the sketch Joe Colleton had made on a paper sack for her to study and approveShe'd be a lot more interested when he gave her the numbers for hisestimate; what difference did it make what the houses looked like or where he put the stairs? She took her velvet-covered visiting book from a drawer and again to make a listShe was going to give a partyA big one, with musIcians and rivers of champagne and huge amounts of the best, most expensive foodNow that she was done with deep mourning, It was time to let her friends know that she could be invited to their parties, and the best way to do it was to invite them to a party of her tiffany replica ownHer eye skimmed quickly past the names of Atlanta's old families They all think I should be in deep mourning for Melly, no sense asking themAnd there's no need to wrap myself in crape, either ú She wasn't my sister, only my sister-in-law, and I'm not even sure that counts since Charles Hamilton was my first husband and there've been two since himú Scarlett's shoulders slumped Charles Hamilton had nothing to do with anything, nor did wearing crapeShe was in the truest kind ú of mourning for Melanie; it was a perpetual weight and worry in her heartShe missed the gentle, loving friend who had been so much more important to her than she had ever realized; the world was colder and darker without MelanieScarlett had been back from the country for only dolce & gabbana stripe handbags two days, but she had known enough loneliness in the two nights to strike fear deep into her heartShe could have told Melanie about Rhett leaving; Melanie was the only person she could ever confide in about such a disgraceful thingMelly would have told her what she needed to hear, too"Of course ll be back, she would have said, "he loves you so Those were her very words, right before she died"Be kind to Captain Butler, he loves you so Just the thought of Melanie's words made Scarlett feel betterIf Melly said that Rhett loved her, then he did, it wasn't only her own wishful thinking Scarlett shook off her gloominess, straightened her spineShe didn't have to be lonely at allAnd it didn't matter if Atlanta's Old Guard never spoke to her again tiffany co everShe had plenty of friendsWhy, the party list was already two pages long, and she was only up to letter L in her bookThe friends Scarlett was planning to entertain were the most flamboyant and most successful of the horde of scavengers that had descended on Georgia in the days of the Reconstruction government Many of the original group had left when the government was ousted in 1871, but a large number stayed, to enjoy their big houses and the tremendous fortunes they had made picking the bones of the dead Confederacy They had no temptation to go "home Their origins were better forgottenRhett had always despised themHe dubbed them "the dregs" and left the house when Scarlett gave her lavish parties Scarlett thought he was silly, and told dolce and gabbana handbag him