Ellen POV
Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
and grant us peace in our day.
In your mercy keep us free from sin
and protect us from all anxiety
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles;
I leave you peace, my peace I give to you.
Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,
and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom
where you live forever and ever.
Amen.
The words to the Catholic prayer soothed Ellen during a rare moment of peace. Little Careen was fast asleep, Suellen was in the nursery and Scarlett had gone to Savannah. It angered Ellen that her father was throwing his weight around. She had spent much of her childhood adhering to his will and when Philippe had come along he had been a breath of fresh air. They were so different. As a child she had admired Philippe immensely and she had tried to love her father but it wasn't easy. The thing of it was that both men were alike also. Both stubborn and pig-headed.
She was concerned about the man's intentions for Scarlett. It was all very well him providing the child with an education but this particular child cared not for books. Ellen even feared that her commanding father would break her spirit. She may not adore the girl, in fact she often found her to be too much as Gerald's daughter, but she did not want her children to be like her sisters.
Just at that moment, Ellen heard little footsteps accompanied by a voice.
"Mother, will you come and play with me?"
"Yes dear. Run along and I'll meet you in the nursery."
"Thank-you."
Ellen's peaceful moments were over. Soon Mr O'Hara would be back, bragging about how he won and his stallion was the finest in the County, perhaps even America, itself. Sighing, she closed her prayer book and made her way to the nursery. Suellen had already lined up hers and Scarlett's dolls. Careen had recently woken up from her nap and was pulling herself up by the bars. Seeing her mother, she held out her arms. Ellen took the child and sat with Suellen. They were just getting comfortable when there were hooves on the driveway. Her husband's voice bellowed as he exclaimed the he'd once again beaten Mr Calvert and that his horse was the wonder of the County!
XxX
Meanwhile, in Savannah, Scarlett and Miss Anne were busy working. Her tutor had given her a list of sums and secretly she marvelled how her charge had such a grasp at figures but did not care much for poetry and literature. In fact it was always such a struggle and they had often had to call for Monsieur Robillard. Only then would Scarlett turn her mind to it but it would still take his snide remarks.
"I should have known that you wouldn't be able to understand. Miss Anne, this child is too stupid for such topics and you will return those books when you take your charge out for her walk."
Scarlett seethed at her Grandfather's dismissal and she had refused to study anymore that day. Instead she went upstairs and wouldn't come down for the rest of the day. Pierre banned his servants from going to her, stating,
"If she is going to sulk, she had better do so in private. No-one needs to see that spectacle!"
When the servants, led by Miss Anne, asked to send up a tray, he refused.
"She has to learn that she won't get anywhere by sulking. If she refuses to come down and act like a young lady, then she will have to do without supper."
So, the little girl suffered a long, hungry and sleepless night. The ticking of the Grandfather clock sounded louder than usual. Scarlett decided that the very next day, she would apologise to Miss Anne and her Grandfather and suffer his odiousness, before deciding to look at the books, just to see what all the fuss was about.
It was a decision she would often find herself cursing in later years. In her childish state of innocence, she did not realise that very action signified her consent to Pierre's plans for her future. It was a move that even the most experienced of Army Generals would find difficult to accomplish.
Pierre Robillard had successfully re-wrote the course of his grand-daughter's life. He would forever be remembered as the man who saved her from herself!