| No, she'd have Ireland firstShe'd never have another
chanceShe'd enjoy the Brian Boru tooHer morning sickness had
never lasted much more than a week with the other babiesIt must
be
almost over nowLike Kathleen, in a day or two she'd be just fine*
Crossing the Atlantic on the Brian Boru was like a continuous Saturday
night at the O'Haras' in Savannah-only more soAt first Scarlett
loved itThe ship soon had a full complement of passengers who
boarded at Boston and New York, but they didn't seem like Yankees at
all, Scarlett thoughtThey were Irish and proud of itThey had the
vitality that was so appealing in the O'Haras, and they took advantage
of everything the ship had to offerAll day there was something to
do: checkers tournaments, heated competitions at quoits on deck,
excited participation in games of chance, such as wagering on the
number of miles the ship would cover the following dayIn the
evening
they sang along with the professional musicians and danced
energetically to all the Irish reels and Viennese waltzesEven when
the dancing was done, the amusement continuedThere was always a
game
of whist in the Ladies' Card Saloon, and Scarlett was always in demand
as a partnerExcept for Charleston's rationed coffee, the stakes were
higher than any she'd known, and every turn of a card was exciting
So were her winningsThe Brian Boru's passengers cartier woman watches were living proof
that America was the Land of Opportunity, and they didn't mind
spending
their lately gained wealthColum, too, benefitted from their opened
pocketsWhile the women played cards, the men generally retired to
the ship's bar for whiskey and cigarsThere, Colum brought tears of
pity and pride to eyes that were normally shrewd and dryHe talked
about Ireland's oppression under English rule, called the roll of
martyrs to the cause of Irish freedom, and accepted lavish donations
for the Fenian BrotherhoodA crossing on the Brian Boru was always
a
profitable enterprise, and Colum made the trip at least twice a year,
even though the excessive luxury of the staterooms and the
gargantuan
meals secretly sickened him when he thought of the poverty and need
of
the Irish in IrelandBy the end of the first week, Scarlett, too, was
looking at their fellow passengers with a disapproving eyeBoth men
and women changed clothes four times a day, the better to show off
the
extent of their costly wardrobesScarlett had never seen so many
jewels in her lifeShe told herself she was glad that she'd left hers
in the vault 445 of the Savannah bank; they'd pale next to the array in
the dining saloon every nightBut in truth she wasn't glad at all
She had grown accustomed to having more of everything than anyone
she
knewa bigger house, more servants, more chanel costume jewelry luxury, more things, more
moneyIt put her nose decidedly out of joint to see display more
conspicuous than hers had ever beenIn Savannah, Kathleen, Mary
Kate,
and Helen had been ingenuously blatant in their envy, and all the
O'Haras had fed her need for admirationThese people on the ship
didn't envy her, or even admire her all that much
Scarlett wasn't at all pleased with themShe couldn't bear a whole
country full of Irish if this was what they were likeIf she heard
"Wearing o' the Green" one more time she'd scream"You're just not
taken with the American New-Rich, Scarlett darling," Colum soothed
"You're a grand lady, that's why It was exactly the right thing for
him to sayA grand lady was what she had to be after this vacation
was overShe'd have this final fling of freedom and then she'd go to
Charleston, put on her drab clothes and company manners, and be a
lady
for the rest of her lifeAt least now when Miss Eleanor and everybody
else in Charleston talked about their trips to Europe before the War,
she'd not feel so left outShe wouldn't say she'd disliked it,
eitherLadies didn't say things like thatUnconsciously, Scarlett
sighed"Ach, Scarlett darling, it can't be as bad as all that," Colum
said"Look at the bright sideYou're cleaning out their deep
pockets at the card tableShe was winning a fortune-some evenings
as
much as thirty dollarsWait till newest chanel bag she told Rhett! How he'd laugh
He'd been a gambler on Mississippi riverboats for a while, after all
Come to think of it, it was a good thing, really, that there was still
a week at seaShe wouldn't have to touch a penny of Rhett's money
Scarlett's attitude toward money was a complex mixture of miserliness
and generosityIt had been her measure of safety for so many years
that she guarded every penny of her hard-earned fortune with angry
suspicion of anyone who made any real or imagined demands for a
dollar
of itAnd yet she accepted the responsibility to support her aunts
and Melanie's family without questionShe had taken care of them
even
when she didn't know where she'd find the means to take care of
herselfIf some unforeseen calamity befell, she would continue to
take care of them, even if it meant that she had to go hungryShe
didn't think about it; it was simply the way things wereHer feelings
about Rhett's money were equally inconsistentAs his wife she spent
profligately on the Peachtree Street house, with its prodigious
expenses, and on her wardrobe and luxuriesBut the half million he
had given her was differentShe intended to give it back
to him intact when they were once again truly man and wifeHe had
offered it as payment for separation, and she could not accept it
because she would not accept separationIt bothered her that she'd
had to take buy tan gucci watch some of it out of the bank vaults to bring on the trip
Everything had happened so fast, there'd been no time to get any of
her
own money from Atlanta in the box with the
remaining gold in Savannah, and she was determined to spend as little
as possible of the gold coins that were now keeping her back straight
and her waist small, filling the channels in her corset where steel
strips had once beenIt was much better to win at whist and have her
own money to spendWhy, in another week, with any luck, she'd add
at
least another $ I 50 to her purseBut still, she'd be glad when the
voyage was overEven with all the sails bellied taut with wind, the
Brian Boru was too big for her to feel the thrill she remembered from
racing ahead of the storm in Charleston HarborAnd she hadn't seen
even one dolphin, despite Colum's poetic promises"There they are,
Scarlett darling!"
Colum's usually calm, melodious voice rose in excitement; he took
Scarlett's arm and drew her to the ship's rail"Our escorts are
here
We'll be seeing land soon Overhead the first gulls circled the Brian
BoruScarlett hugged Colum impulsivelyThen again when he
pointed
to the sleek silvery forms on the nearby seaThere were dolphins
after allMuch later, she stood between Colum and Kathleen trying to
hold her hat on her head against the attack of the strong windThey
were entering harbor under christian dior china stea |
| 