Elsing and her daughter
approaching
on footScarlett paused, ready to smile and say helloThe two
Elsing ladies stopped dead when they saw her, then, without a word or
a
second look, turned and walked away
Scarlett was paralyzed for a momentThen she scurried into her
carriage and hid her face in the shadowy corner of the deep
enclosure
For one horrible instant she was afraid she was going to be sick all
over the floorWhen Elias stopped the carriage in front of the store,
Scarlett stayed in the sanctuary of her carriageShe sent Elias
inside with the clerks' pay envelopesIf she got out, she might see
someone she knew, someone who would cut her deadIt was
unbearable
even to think of itIndia Wilkes must http://www.naluxury.com/categorys_90_Coco-Chanel-Cambon-Bag_1.html" target="_blank be behind thisAnd after I
was so generous with her, too! I won't let her get away with it, I
won'tNobody can treat me this way and get away with it"Go to the
lumberyard," she ordered Elias when he returned
He'd have to do something to stop India's poisonAshley wouldn't
stand for it, he'd make India behave, and all India's friends, too
Her already heavy heart sank even lower when she saw the
lumberyardStacks and stacks of pine boards were golden and
sweetly resinous in the autumn sunThere wasn't a wagon to be
seen,
or a loaderScarlett wanted to cryUncle Henry
said this would happen, but I never thought it could be this badHow
could people not want that beautiful clean lumber? She http://www.naluxury.com/scategory_25_Gucci-Watches.html" target="_blank inhaled
deeply
Fresh-cut pine was the sweetest perfume in the world to herOh, how
she missed the lumber business, she would never understand how
she'd
let Rhett trick her into selling it to AshleyIf she was still running
it, this would never have happenedShe would have sold the lumber
somehow to someonePanic touched the edge of her mind and she
pushed
it awayThings were awful all around, but she mustn't fuss at
Ashley
She wanted him to help her"The yard looks wonderful!" she said
brightly"You must have the sawmill running day and night to keep
such a good stock up, AshleyHe looked up from the account books
on
his desk and Scarlett knew that all the cheerfulness in the world would
be wasted on himHe looked no better than http://www.naluxury.com/categorys_99_Gucci-Tote_1.html" target="_blank when she'd given him the
talking-toHe stood, tried to smileHis ingrained courtesy was
stronger than hisexhaustion, but his despair was greater than bothI
can't tell him anything about India, Scarlett thought, or about the
business eitherHe's got all he can bear just making himself draw the
next breathIt's like there's nothing holding him together but
hisclothes"Scarlett, dear, how kind of you to stop byWon't you
sit down?"
"Kind," is it? God's nightgown! Ashley sounds like a wind-up music
box of polite things to sayHe sounds like he
doesn't know what's coming out of his mouth, and I reckon that's
closer
to the truthWhy should he care that I'm chancing whatever's left of
my reputation by coming here http://www.culuxury.com/scategory_9_Louis-Vuitton.html" target="_blank without a chaperone? He doesn't care
anything about himself-any fool could see that-why should he care
anything about me? I can't sit down and make polite conversation, I
can't stand it"Thank you, Ashley," she said, and sat
on the chair he was holdingShe would force herself to stay for
fifteen minutes and make empty, lively remarks about the weather,
tell
amusing stories about what a good time she'd had at TaraShe
couldn't
tell him about Mammy, it would upset him too muchTony coming
home,
though, that was differentScarlett started to
speak"I've been down to Tara-"
"Why did you stop me, Scarlett?"
said AshleyHis voice was flat, lifeless, devoid of real
questioning
Scarlett couldn't think what to http://www.irluxury.com/categorys_37_Oyster-Perpetual-Ladies_2.html" target="_blank say