kilo33ped

@@@@@O," Rosaleen Fitzpatrick murmured to her, "it's naught to do with youNo farmer's boot has ever crossed the threshold of a Big House in IrelandWe're a people ruled by the old ways, and we're not ready for change "But I thought the Fenians wanted to change everythingBut the change is for a return to even older ways than the ones that keep the boots out of a Big HouseI wish I could explain more clearly "Don't bother, MrsI've just made a mistake, that's allI won't do it again "It was the error of a generous heart Scarlett forced a smileBut she was bewildered and upsetWhat was the point of having all these Irish-decorated rooms if the Irish didn't feel comfortable in them? And why did her own cousins treat her like a stranger in her own house? After everyone left and the servants removed all traces of the party, Scarlett went from room to room aloneWell, I like it, she decidedIt was, she thought, a damn sight prettier than Dunmore Landing would ever be, or ever wasShe stood in the midst of the reflected images of the High Kings and imagined Rhett there with her, full of envy and admirationIt would be years from now, when Cat was grown, and he would be heartsick that he had missed seeing his daughter grow up to become the beautiful heiress of the home of the O'HarasScarlett ran to the stairs and up them and through the corridor to Cat's room She was sitting at her little table, carefully pouring milk into a cup for her big tabbyOcras was watching attentively from his commanding position in the center of the table"Sit down, Momma," Cat invited Scarlett lowered herself onto a small chairIf only Rhett were there to join the tea partyBut he wasn't, and he never would be, and she had to accept itHe would have tea parties with his other child, his other children-by Ann