iso0804acu

@@@@@It jerked upright when Scarlett exclaimed, "Oh, look!" There were crowds of people on the street outside the iron-fenced classical building, there to watch the -5 arrival of Savannah's elite societyJust like the Saint CeciliaScarlett held her head arrogantly high as a liveried attendant helped her from the carriage to the sidewalkShe could hear murmurs of admiration from the crowdsWhile her grandfather slowly stepped down to join her, she bobbed her head to set her earbobs flashing in the lamplight and cast her train from over her arm to spread out behind her for her entrance up the tall, red-carpeted steps to the Hall's door"Ooooh," she heard from the crowd and, "aaah," "beautiful," "who is she?" As she extended her white-gloved hand to rest on her grandfather's velvet sleeve a familiar voice called out clearly, "Katie Scarlett, darling, you're as dazzling as the Queen of Sheba!" She looked quickly, in a panic, to her left, then, even more quickly, turned away from Jamie and his brood as if she didn't know them, and proceeded at Pierre Robillard's slow, stately pace to mount the stairsBut the picture was seared into her mind Jamie had his left arm around the shoulders of his laughing, bright-haired untidy wife, his derby hat tipped carelessly on the back of his curly headAnother man stood at his right side, illuminated by the street lampHe was only as tall as Jamie's shoulder, and his overcoated figure was thick, stocky, a dark blockHis florid round face was bright, his eyes flashing blue, and his uncovered head a halo of silver curlsHe was the very image of Gerald O'Hara, Scarlett's Pa Hodgson Hall had a handsome, serious interior, appropriate to its scholarly purposeRich, polished wood panelling covered the walls and framed the Historical Society's collection of old maps and sketches Huge brass chandeliers fitted with white glass-globed gaslights hung from the tall ceilingThey cast an unkind, bright, bleaching light on the pale, lined aristocratic faces below themScarlett sought instinctively for some shadowShe felt panicky, as if somehow she was aging rapidly, as if old age were a contagionHer thirtieth birthday had come and gone unnoticed while she was in Charleston, but now she was acutely aware of it Everyone knew that once a woman was thirty, she just as well be dead Thirty was so old that she'd never believed it could happen to herIt couldn't be true'Scarlett," said her grandfatherHe held her arm above the elbow and propelled her toward the receiving lineHis fingers were cold as death; she could feel the cold through the thin leather of the glove that covered her arm almost to her shoulder