@@@@@If he said five o'clock, he should sail at
@@@@@If he said five o'clock, he should sail at five
o'clock
The sooner she got away from Charleston, the happier she would be
This must be the hottest place on the face of the earthShe shaded
her eyes with her hand to look at the skyShe started along deck towards her rooms
Poor baby Cat must be practically cookedAs soon as they got out of
the harbor she'd bring her up on deck for whatever breeze the ship's
movement might causeClattering hoofbeats and feminine laughter
caught her attentionMaybe this was who they were waiting forShe
glanced down at an open victoriaWith three fabulous hats on the
women in itThey weren't like any hats she'd ever seen, and even
from
a distance she could tell they were very expensiveWide brimmed,
decorated with clusters of feathers or plumes held by sparkling jewels
and swirled with airy tulle netting, from Scarlett's perspective the
hats were like wonderful parasols or fantastic confections of pastry on
big traysI'd look simply wonderful in a hat like thatShe leaned
slightly over the rail to look at the womenThey were elegant, even
in the heat, wearing pale organdy or voile trimmed with-it looked like
wide silk ribbon or was it ruching?-on cuirass fronts and-Scarlett
blinked-no bustle at all, not even a hint of one, and no train
either
She hadn't seen anything like that in Savannah or AtlantaWho were
these people?
Her eyes devoured the pale kid gloves and folded parasols, lace, she
thought, but she couldn't be sureWhoever they were, they certainly
were having a good time laughing their heads off and not hurrying to
get on the ship they were holding up eitherThe Panama-hatted man
with them stepped down into the streetWith his left hand he took off
his hatHis right hand reached upward to hand the first woman down
Scarlett's hands clutched the railing
Dear God, it's RhettI've got to run insid