@@@@@And she couldn't really stay mad at 269
@@@@@And she couldn't really stay
mad at MrsFitzpatrick; they had grown too close for thatThe older
woman had moved into the housekeeper's apartment the day after Cat
was
bornShe was Scarlett's constant companion while she was illAnd
readily available afterwardsMany people came to visit Scarlett in
the long convalescent weeks after Cat was bornColum almost daily,
Kathleen almost every other day, her big O'Hara men cousins after
Mass
each Sunday, Molly more often than Scarlett liked
Fitzpatrick was always thereShe brought tea and cakes to the
visitors, whiskey and cakes to the men, and after the visitors left she
stayed with Scarlett to hear the news the visitors had brought and
finish off the refreshments
She brought news herself-about the happenings in the town of
Ballyhara
and in Trim-and gossip she'd heard in the shopsShe kept Scarlett
from being too lonelyFitzpatrick to call her
"Scarlett" and asked, "What's your first name?" MrsFitzpatrick
never told herIt wouldn't do for any informality to develop, she
said firmly, and she explained the strict hierarchy of an Irish Big
House
Her position as housekeeper would be undermined if the respect
accorded
to it was diminished by familiarity on anyone's part, even the
mistress'sPerhaps especially the mistress'sIt was all too subtle
for Scarlett, but MrsFitzpatrick's pleasant unyieldingness made it
clear to her that it was importantShe settled for the names the
housekeeper suggested
Scarlett could call her "MrsFitz," and she would call Scarlett "Mrs But only when they were alone togetherIn front of other people,
full formality had to be maintained"Even Colum?" Scarlett wanted to
knowFitz considered, then yielde
