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@@@@@They'll cut the stinkThere's plenty of pine, and holly, too, in the wood next to where the stables used to be And mistletoe, Scarlett added silentlyShe wasn't taking any chances with the New Year's Eve midnight ritual"Very nice," said Rhett when he came up to the house after the platform was built and draped with red, white, and blue bunting"It looks festive, just right for the party "What party?" asked Scarlett"I invited the sharecropper families It makes them feel important, and God willing the men will be too hungover from rotgut whiskey to make trouble tomorrow when the blacks are hereYou and Rosemary and Pansy will go upstairs before they comeIt's likely to get rough Scarlett watched the Roman candles arc through the sky from her bedroom windowThe fireworks to celebrate the New Year lasted from midnight until nearly one o'clockShe wished with all her heart that she had stayed in the cityTomorrow she'd be cooped up all day while the blacks celebrated, and by the time they got back to town on Saturday it would probably be too late to wash and dry her hair for the BallAnd Rhett had never kissed herDuring the days that followed, Scarlett recaptured all the giddy excitement of what she remembered as the best time of her lifeShe was a belle, with men clustered around her at receptions, with her dance card filled as soon as she entered the ballroom, with all her old games of flirtation producing the same admiration that they had beforeIt was like being sixteen again, with nothing to think about other than the last party and the compliments she'd been paid, and the next party and how she would wear her hair But it was not long before the thrills became flatShe was not sixteen, and she didn't really want a string of beauxShe wanted Rhett, and she was no closer to winning him back than she had been He kept up his end of their bargain: he was attentive to her at parties, pleasant to her whenever they were together in the house-with other peopleYet she was sure that he was looking at the calendar, counting the days until he'd be rid of herShe began to feel moments of pa