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As he poured whiskey into a glass, he looked at Scarlett for the first time "Will you join me, Scarlett?" His raised eyebrow taunted herSo did the smell of the whiskeyShe turned away, as if insultedSo, Rhett was going to play cat and mouse, was he? Try to force her or trick her into doing something that would make his mother turn against her Well, he'd have to be mighty smart to catch her out Her mouth curved and her eyes began to sparkleShe'd have to be mighty smart herself to outwit himA little pulse of excitement throbbed in her throatCompetition always thrilled her"Miss Eleanor, isn't Rhett shocking?" she laughed"Was he a wicked little boy, too?" Behind her she sensed Rhett's abrupt movementHa! That had struck homeHe'd felt guilty for years about the pain he'd caused his mother when his escapades made gucci leather wallets his father disown him "Supper's served, Miz Butler," said Manigo from the doorwayRhett offered his mother his arm, and Scarlett felt a stab of jealousy Then she reminded herself that his devotion to his mother was the very thing that permitted her to stay, and she swallowed her anger "I'm so hungry I could eat half a cow," she said, her voice bright, "and Rhett's just starving, aren't you, darling?" She had the upper hand now; he had admitted that muchIf she lost it, she'd lose the whole game, she'd never get him backAs it turned out, Scarlett needn't have worriedRhett took command of the conversation the moment they were seatedHe recounted his search for the tea service in Philadelphia, transforming it into an adventure, painting deft word portraits of the succession of people he talked to, mimicking omega seamaster orange their accents and idiosyncrasies with such skill that his mother and Scarlett found themselves laughing until their sides ached"And after following that long trail to get to him," Rhett concluded with a theatrical gesture of dismay, "just imagine my horror when the new owner seemed to be too honest to sell the tea service for the twenty times its value I offeredFor a minute, I was afraid I'd have to steal it back, but fortunately he was receptive to the suggestion that we amuse ourselves with a friendly game of cards Eleanor Butler tried to look disapproving"I do hope you didn't do anything dishonest, Rhett," she saidBut there was laughter beneath the wordsI only deal from the bottom when I'm playing with professionalsThis miserable ex-colonel in Sherman's army was such an amateur I had to cheat to let him win a chanel cabas bag few hundred dollars to ease hispainHe was like the reverse side of an EllintonAnd his wife-my heart goes out to her Rhett's mother leaned toward Scarlett"Some of the skeletons in my side of the family," Eleanor Butler said in a mock whisperShe laughed again and began to reminisceThe Ellintons, Scarlett learned, were famous all up and down the East Coast for the family weakness: they would gamble on anythingThe first Ellinton to settle in Colonial America was part of the shipload only because he had won a land grant in a wager with the owner as to who could drink the most ale and remain standing"By the time he won," MrsButler said, in neat conclusion, "he was so drunk that he thought it made sense to go take a look at hisprizeThey say he didn't even know where he was going until he got there, because he won fake louis vuitton wallet most of the sailors' rum ration playing dice "What did he do when he sobered up?" Scarlett wanted to know"Oh, my dear, he never didHe died only ten days after the ship made landfallBut in the meantime he had wagered some other gambler at dice and won a girl-one of the indentured servants from the ship-and, since later she turned out to be carrying his child, there was a sort of postfacto wedding at his grave marker, and her son became one of my great-great-grandfathers "He was rather a gamester himself, wasn't he?" Rhett askedIt truly ran in the familyButler continued along the family treeScarlett glanced at Rhett oftenHow many surprises were there in this man she hardly knew? She'd never seen him so relaxed and happy and totally at homeI never made a home for him, she realizedHe never even liked the black prada leather handbag hous