Chapter 81
As Mrs. Finch had predicted, Aunt Pitty visited Scarlett the following evening. Scarlett spied her from the window and hated the sight of her. When she saw that double-chinned weak face, those fake curls and those podgy legs that walked nearly on tip-toe- "She never visited me before but just because her relative is here, she visits me. Just out of curiosity!" she thought, furiously. Yet she welcomed Aunt Pitty into her drawing room.
"Oh, Scarlett!" said Aunt Pitty with a birdlike chirp. "When I saw Mrs. Finch the other day in town, I was so surprised and then she told me she was staying with you-"
"She is working here, Aunt. She is teaching Ella how to paint-"
"Yes, yes-" Aunt Pitty glossed over this and Scarlett grew impatient over the silliness of the old woman. She clicked her tongue and asked for the maid to fetch her daughter and her teacher.
As Aunt Pitty had her tea, she said, "You have done a very good thing by bringing Mrs. Finch here, Scarlett- I don't know how you thought of it but she is a woman of quality. I can vouch for her! She is an excellent person and very modest too. She wont speak much of herself but that is just her way-"
Scarlett was boiling away in anger when she heard her Aunt say "I don't know how you thought of it-" "What does she mean by it?!" thought Scarlett, feeling sure that she had been insulted in some way.
When Mrs. Finch walked inside with Ella in tow, Aunt Pitty was all smiles and they were all seated together.
"I was just telling Scarlett how the luck she had in securing such a person as yourself to teach dear Ella. I was just telling-"
"Dear Pittypat" said Mrs. Finch, with a quiet smile. "She did not secure me. It was I who came to her. I needed the job, you see-"
Aunt Pitty immediately bobbed her head and turned with a laugh to Scarlett "She is always so modest. She is a knowledgeable woman like our dear Melanie Wilkes-"
"My son gets a very poor salary from his store. He circulates the money back to buying goods for his store. He is not completely good at it, I'm afraid because he keeps thinking he must be generous to his customers- But that feeling is one out of pride rather than integrity, I'm afraid. I told him not to be so foolish but he never listened to me. So, I decided to remove myself from his house. I decided to seek a post, I had already been a governess for two children in England-"
"My dear ,I had no idea- But I thought-"
"It was a pleasure trip?"asked Mrs. Finch. "But that was before the War. I'm afraid I gave up my pride a long time ago-"
Aunt Pittypat looked uncomfortable. But Scarlett looked completely surprised and delighted with this unexpected slice of honesty from Mrs. Finch. She opened her mouth to speak but Mrs. Finch interrupted whatever she was going to say, quickly. "I think Mrs. Butler also feels the same way that I do. She is very resourceful and I am sure she knows all the hardship that women had to come to terms with. All the emotion she feels towards her friends and family is genuine now that she has done so much to support them."
Aunt Pitty laughed blankly at this. She looked from Scarlett to Mrs. Finch. She laughed again.
"Why do you keep laughing, dear- I feel hurt when you pretend not to understand-"
Aunt Pitty finally frowned. "I know how capable Scarlett is. We were always impressed by her resourcefulness and her shrewdness. Melanie sang praises of her all the time, Scarlett knows that-"
Mrs. Finch nodded at this. "But don't you think that Mrs. Butler's feelings were genuine too? Now that she has done the hard work of earning for her family-"
"Scarlett always loves a good challenge-" laughed Aunt Pitty, reached for her handkerchief and wiping some sweat on her brow. Scarlett was afraid she would starting fainting soon. "Even dear Scarlett looks surprised, Ada. I have written to her about you, Scarlett. She knows about the store and the saw mills. I wrote to-"
Aunt Pitty saw Scarlett's brows rushing together in a black frown.
"But as you can see, Scarlett- Her views are different. She is very appreciative of you-"
Again Scarlett felt angry with the condescending tone in Aunt Pitty's voice. It made her want to scratch her face.
"Why don't you show your painting, Ella- you made a lovely one today-" said Mrs. Finch, calling Ella forward and the moment of frustration quickly passed away into a quiet evening of recollections and pleasantries.