| He was as skillful as Scarlett was at the game
they were playingShe kept her eyes modestly lowered, as if she
didn't know what Courtney was doingThen she glanced up through
her
eyelashes and quickly down again"I hope my silly weak spell isn't
keeping you from dancing with the lady closest to your heart, Mr
"But the lady you speak of is the lady closest to my heart right now,
MrsScarlett looked him directly in the eyes and smiled
enchantinglyYou're liable to turn
my head," she promised"I certainly intend to try," he murmured
close
to her earHis breath was warm on her neckVery soon the public
romance between them was the most talked-about topic of the
Season
The number of times they danced together at each ball the time
Courtney took Scarlett's punch cup from her hand and put his lips
where
hers had been on the overheard snippets of their innuendo-laden
railleryMiddleton's wife, Edith, rolex wrist watches looked increasingly drawn and
paleAnd no one could understand Rhett's imperturbabilityWhy
didn't
he do something? the little world of Charleston society wonderedhe
yearly races were second only to the Saint Cecilia Ball as the crowning
event of Charleston's social seasonIndeed there were many
people-largely bachelors -who considered them the only event"You
can't gamble on a bunch of waltzes," they grumbled mutinously
Before
the War, the Season had included a full week of racing, and the Saint
Cecilia Society hosted three ballsThen came the years of siege; an
artillery shell ignited a path of fire through the city that consumed
the building where the balls had always been held; and the long,
landscaped oval track, its clubhouse, and its stables were used as a
Confederate Army encampment and hospitals for the woundedIn I
865 the city surrenderedIn I 866 an enterprising and ambitious chanel flap bag in canvas Wall
Street banker named August Belmont bought the monumental carved
stone
entrance pillars of the old Race Course and had them transported
north
to become the entrance to his Bellmont Park racetrackThe Saint
Cecilia
Ball found a borrowed home only two years after the end of the War
and
Charlestonians rejoiced that the Season could begin againIt took
longer to regain and restore the fouled and rutted land of the Race
CourseNothing was quite the samethere was one ball, not three;
Race
Week was Race Day; the entrance pillars could not be recovered, and
the
Clubhouse had been replaced by half-roofed tiers of wooden benches
But on the bright afternoon in late January 1875, the entire remaining
population of old Charleston was en route for the second year of
racing
The streetcars of all four City Railway lines were diverted to the
Rutledge Avenue route that ended near the Race Course, the chanel bags for cheep cars
were
hung with green and white bunting, the Club colors, and the horses
pulling them had green and white ribbons braided in their tails and
manesRhett presented his three ladies with green and white striped
parasols when they were ready to leave the house and inserted a
white
camellia into hisbuttonholeHis white smile was brilliant in
his tanned face"The Yankees are taking the bait," he saidBelmont himself has sent down two horses, and
Guggenheim
has oneThey don't know about the brood mares Miles Brewton hid in
the swampTheir get grew into a mettlesome family-a bit shaggy
from
swamp living and unbeautiful from crossbreeding with strays from the
cavalry-but Miles has a wonder of a three-year-old that's going to
make
every big-money pocket a lot lighter than it expected to be
"You mean there's betting?"
Scarlett asked"Why else would anyone race?"
Rhett laughedHe tucked folded louis vuitton graffiti bag banknotes into his mother's reticule,
Rosemary's pocket, and Scarlett's glove"Put it all on Sweet Sally
and buy yourselves a trinket with your winnings What a good mood
he's in, Scarlett thoughtHe put the banknote inside my gloveHe
could have just handed it to me, he didn't have to touch my hand that
way-no, not my hand, my bare wristWhy, it was practically a
caress!
He's noticing me now that he thinks I'm interested in somebody else
Really noticing me, not just paying polite attentionIt's going to
work! She'd been worried that maybe letting Middleton have every
third
dance was going too farPeople had been talking, she knewWell, let
them talk if a little gossip would bring Rhett back to herWhen they
entered the grounds of the Race Course, Scarlett gaspedShe'd had
no
idea it was so big! Or that there'd be a band! And so many people
She looked around with delightThen she caught hold of buy tan gucci watch Rhett's
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