@@@@@And what would you say if I told you I
@@@@@And what
would you say if I told you I found two husbands since then, nosy old
man?
"Good," pronounced her uncle"There are too many unmarried
women in
this house already The girl beside him let out a tiny cry, then
turned and ran out of the room"Uncle James, you shouldn't be
tormenting her so," said Jamie severelyThe old man walked to the
fire and rubbed his hands before its warmth"She shouldn't be such a
weeper," he said"The O'Haras don't weep over their troubles
Maureen, I'll have my tea now while I talk to Gerald's girl He sat
in the chair next to Scarlett's"Tell me about the funeral
Did you bury your father in fine style? My brother Andrew had the
finest burial this city has seen in many a yearIn her mind's eye
Scarlett saw the pitiful band of mourners around Gerald's grave at
TaraSo many who should have been there were
dead
before her father, dead before their timeScarlett fixed her green
eyes on the old man's faded blue ones"He had a glass-sided hearse
with four black horses and black plumes on their heads, a blanket of
flowers on his coffin and more on the roof, and two hundred mourners
following the hearse in their rigsHe's in a marble tomb, not a
grave, and the tomb has a carved angel on top, seven feet high Her
voice was cold and harshTake that, old man, she thought, and leave
Pa aloneJames rubbed his dry hands together
"God rest hissoul," he said happily"I always said Gerald had the
most style of any of us; didn't I tell you that, Jamie? The runt of
the litter, and the quickest to fly off at an insultHe was a fine
small man, was GeraldDo you know how he came by that plantation
of
his? Playing poker with my money, that's howAnd not a penny of
the
profit did he offer to me James' laughter was full and strong, the
laughter of a young man