Margaret Mitchell owns "Gone With the Wind" and all its characters. I own a handful of OC's and a story idea. Book-verse. Not "Scarlett" compliant.
I have THE BEST reviewers bar none!!!. takes bow, blows kisses
"Please, please, Beau--please do it for me?" Ella pleaded, hands clasped, looking appealingly into her cousin's face.
"Oh, Ella..."
"Beau I need you. Don't let Marybeth be a wallflower. Please dance with her, will you please?"
He looked at her helplessly. She was looking into his eyes with that expression he could never resist.
"Oh...fine. I'll do it."
"Thank you Beau, I can never repay you for this."
Secretly, Beau agreed.
Then, turning to her brother, who had been listening to this exchange with amusement, she repeated her request. "Dance with Marybeth, will you, big brother?"
"You don't need to remind me of my duties as host," He replied although he didn't look too enthusiastic about the idea.
"Good. Because if Beau is the only one who dances with her she might think it was just done out of pity."
"Not pity--coercion," said Beau ironically.
"She's really very nice, Wade," Ella continued, ignoring Beau. "And besides, if you don't do this, I'll whine at you forever and you know how you always hated it when I whined."
"It's true, Wade. You do hate that, you know," added Beau helpfully.
Wade shot him a look before replying to his sister, "I don't think she likes me very much. The last time I saw her alone she barely had two words to say to me."
"Oh, you both make me tired. We can't have her come here as a guest and be ignored. We have to make her welcome. It's the right thing to do."
Although if Ella had only known it, Marybeth was at the same time thinking that it would be very nice to be ignored. Her anxiety about the party had only increased as the date drew closer. She couldn't remember the steps Ella taught her, and unlike the bonfire where there were dark secluded places to hide, she would be out in the open and on display.
Because she was going out after dark, Mrs. Meade had Old Talbot drive Marybeth to the party. She arrived to see the mansion ablaze with lights. Mrs. Butler greeted the guests at the front door, then had Prissy direct them to one of the guest rooms to remove wraps and hats before proceeding to the third floor.
"Marybeth! Hello there," cried Jenny, walking through the doorway as Marybeth was smoothing her hair in the guest room.
"Jenny, are you ready to dance?" Asked Marybeth as she hugged the other girl.
"Why certainly," Jenny laughed. "And if you need a partner I'll dance with you, but only if you promise not to step on my feet."
"I'll remember that. You look wonderful. You too, Virgie," Marybeth said as she exchanged greetings with Virgie Simmons, who came in right after Jenny.
"Thank you," replied Virgie as she gave a little curtsy then twirled on tiptoe. "We haven't had a real dance since the summer, with supper and everything. I've been holding on to this dress for that long!"
The girls climbed the stairs to the third floor where they were greeted cordially and soberly by Wade and more enthusiastically by Ella. A good-sized crowd had already assembled and Marybeth stuck by Jenny and Virgie as they mingled with their friends. She remembered some of the names and faces from the bonfire and was happy to be able to join in the conversation. She thought to herself that if she could have spent the evening like this she would have been perfectly content.
But Marybeth was not destined to be a wallflower all night.
"Would you like to dance?" She looked up to see Beau Wilkes was standing by her side.
Marybeth nodded and took his hand. She held herself stiffly as he put his arm loosely around her waist. When the music started she concentrated on remembering the steps Ella taught her and trying not to trip, but Beau was an excellent dancer and Marybeth had to do little more than move when he did and try not to look at her feet too much. But she really had nothing to say to him and was relieved when the song was over and he took her to the refreshment table for some punch.
He handed the little cup to her and seemed about to make pleasant conversation when they were interrupted by Elsie Wellburn.
"Beau Wilkes, how wonderful to see you again, but I must admit I have a bone to pick with you."
Beau smiled down at Elsie and replied, "I'd hate to think I offended you, Elsie. What did I do?"
"Why I've hardly seen you since you came home from University and I did so want to talk to you."
"Do you have a dance left for me?" He asked with friendly humility.
"Well, let's see." She opened her dance card and looked down the column. "The fourth reel is open..."
"Write me down for it. Now, if you ladies will both excuse me..." With that he left them alone at the table.
Elsie watched him go before she turned to Marybeth.
"I just couldn't be sure it was you from far away, Mrs. Dandridge. You look so nice I didn't even recognize you."
Marybeth wished she could think of something just as biting to say back, but she never could think of witty things to reply when faced with sarcasm. So she decided to take the high road.
"Good evening, Miss Wellburn," she said as she clutched her punch cup.
"Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised to see you here. I hope you're well, Mrs. Dandridge?"
"Very well, thank you. And you?"
Elsie didn't deign to reply, but she was now scrutinizing her minutely. "My, what a dress! I'm sure I've never seen anything like it before."
"Is that right?"
"I didn't really expect to see you tonight, but I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, you're so lucky to have a friend like Ella to see you don't get left out."
"Ella Kennedy has a gift for putting people at ease. Wouldn't it be nice if more people did?"
Elsie raised an eyebrow at her, shrugged and left to find her admirers. Marybeth, with a knot in her stomach, made her way back to Virgie (for Ella and Jenny were both being partnered).
oOoOoOo
After the last of the guests arrived Scarlett went to the kitchen to supervise the cooking, then upstairs to the third floor to chaperone and mingle. Watching the young people suddenly made her conscious of the passage of time. Scarlett was thirty-nine this year, older than her own mother had been when she died. And Ellen had been considered middle aged.
All these guests, her children's friends--and yet it didn't seem that long ago that she had been the belle of the County and all eyes were on her.
The belle of this generation was definitely Fanny's daughter. Even now she was holding court and Wade was there, entranced. Scarlett couldn't stifle a little stab of irritation. It should have been her daughter who was the belle. If Bonnie had only lived...she would have been old enough now to collect plenty of beaux. Bonnie would have outshone them all and for another generation an O'Hara rather than an Elsing would be the belle of Atlanta...
However, contrary to Scarlett's expectations, Ella had done surprisingly well. Despite that she had never outgrown her childish giddiness and persisted in looking too much like Frank to ever be beautiful, she had acquired a certain amount of popularity. Dozens of girlfriends and a beau who obviously adored her (even if Albert Whiting was a little too bland and insipid for Scarlett's taste). Of course, Scarlett would have preferred dozens of beaux and no girlfriends at all, but Ella seemed happy with the situation. And maybe that was the difference between mother and daughter.
Had Scarlett ever really been happy? She'd had plenty of fun and intrigue enough to satisfy, but had she ever been truly happy? It was too abstract for her to pursue right now. I'll think about it tomorrow.
But it was interesting to watch the party as an impartial observer. Funny how some girls so easily lured men to their side. Others had so much trouble. For instance, there was poor little Miss Trevick--she had no tricks of feminine allure--but she wrung her hands and smiled nervously and so obviously wanted to be noticed. Then there was Ella's new friend, Marybeth, who also seemed to lack any tricks of allure, but didn't even seem to want to learn. She seemed content enough to talk with her girlfriends and made no attempts to flirt even when attractive young men approached them.
oOoOoOo
Ella was being twirled in Albert's arms when something made her look at Scarlett, standing over there by the orchestra. She smiled at her mother, but Scarlett didn't seem to have seen. Nothing unusual there. Ella was too used to not being the center of her mother's attention to be surprised by it, but she felt a stab of concern. Mother was wearing that expression again, the one Ella saw on her face with increasing frequency in the last year. Mother was deep in thought and her thoughts were not entirely pleasant ones.
oOoOoOo
When the song ended, Ella sent Albert to Marybeth to beg a duty dance and once again Marybeth managed to avoid disaster on the dance floor. But as Albert whirled her around she caught a glimpse of Elsie's mocking eyes looking right at her before turning her attention to one of her beaux. Marybeth stiffened again and felt a knot forming in her stomach.
When she was again safely deposited by the refreshment table she sidled towards her friends. She guessed that Ella had put both young men up to asking her for dances so she wouldn't feel left out. Marybeth was touched by her friend's concern, but it really wasn't necessary. She had no great desire to be asked and wouldn't have felt sad if she weren't. She knew that after Beau and Albert the only one else likely to ask her to dance would be Wade; etiquette demanded that he ask her, a guest in his house. And in due time she watched with something close to amusement as he detached himself from Elsie's side and made his way across the room to her. Politely she accepted his offer of a dance and she dutifully stepped into his arms and followed his lead. But she burned with anger when she saw Elsie once again looking at her with that same mocking face. Marybeth didn't feel any jealousy when she saw Ella and Jenny and Virgie being asked to dance, but something in Elsie's demeanor made her defensive and anxious to prove that she really did belong here and wasn't merely invited out of Ella's pity.
Acting against all her own inclinations, she steeled herself and said to Wade, "Dr. Meade liked the work you did for him."
She could feel him startle. Marybeth had been silent for the first half of the song, so her suddenly talking must have been unexpected.
"Dr. Meade said that?" He asked. She looked up quickly to see that he had a pleased expression although he didn't look directly at her. Then she glanced casually at Elsie, who was looking a little less smug that one of her beaux looked happy talking to another girl.
She looked away from Elsie and continued, "Yes, Mr. Hamilton and he told Mrs. Meade that you were young, but smart."
"Is that right?" He looked even happier and Marybeth noted with satisfaction that Elsie was starting to watch them both narrowly.
Affecting an innocent, bland expression, she said, "Oh, absolutely. He had the utmost confidence in you from the start. Mrs. Meade was a bit worried, but he told her that if you had explained the case to her, the way you did with him, she wouldn't have worried at all."
Wade forgot to be shy for a moment and just beamed. He turned Marybeth at that moment and she got a momentary glimpse of Elsie's face and she was almost glowering. Marybeth was disgusted. Elsie didn't care about him at all; he was just another beau she could brag about to the other girls. Not that Marybeth wanted Wade, but it angered her to see Elsie use him like that. Especially because he was Ella's brother and Ella had been so kind and welcoming to her, a stranger in town.
She looked up at him then and he met her eyes. She gave him the faintest trace of a smile before she looked away. At that he remembered to be shy and blushed violently, looking away from her.
oOoOoOo
Later that night, after a prolonged and sentimental goodbye to Albert, Ella tiptoed up the steps to her mother's room and knocked timidly.
When she was granted admittance, she saw that Scarlett was still dressed and sitting at her vanity table, turned a little from the waist to face Ella. To the girl's relief, the brandy bottle was nowhere to be seen.
She went up to her mother and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for letting us have this party, Mother."
Scarlett shook her head dismissively. "I liked having young people in the house. We used to have such magnificent parties...but you wouldn't remember that."
"No, I think I do sometimes."
Scarlett looked at her amused. "You were so little then, I wonder..." She reached out and held Ella's wrist lightly. "Tell me about Albert. Is he in love with you?"
Ella, taken by surprise by Scarlett's interest in her life, answered truthfully. "I don't know. He never said he was. Is that normal? Shouldn't he have said something by now if he were?"
Scarlett snorted. "At sixteen, I would have said yes. At twenty-eight, I would have said yes. Nowadays I wonder if I'll ever know the answer to that one." Her hand tightened gently. "Just make sure you look out for your own heart. This probably isn't something a mother should say to a daughter, but it's the men you love who have the power to hurt you. So be very careful who you let yourself fall in love with."
oOoOoOo
"So you want to buy Mother a what?"
"You heard me, Wade Hampton. I think we should buy Mother a dog for Christmas."
"Ella, whatever for?"
"I think she needs something to take care of."
"She has the store to take care of. Besides, Mother isn't all that fond of animals."
"We had pets..."
"We had the horses and Rufus." Rufus was the St. Bernard puppy Scarlett and Rhett had bought for Wade when they were on their honeymoon. He died during Wade's first year at Harvard.
"But don't you miss Rufus?" Ella asked wheedlingly.
"He was a good dog. But have you thought of who would take care of it? I'm at the office all day, Mother is always at the store or tending to other business, and you do...come to think of it, what do you do all day?"
"I'll take care of it. With the servants' help, of course."
"Then how would that be a gift for Mother?"
"Because it would be...oh, never mind, it just would be."
"I think this is a bad idea. We should give her a real present."
"Like what Wade? She only wears the jewellery Uncle Rhett gave her. She doesn't read books. She has everything she could want--or could buy it."
"That's just what I'm talking about. She could buy a dog if she wanted one."
Ella sighed. "Wade, I don't like to say it, but haven't you seen how lonely Mother is? Uncle Rhett rarely comes around and," she paused, blinking back tears. "They're not happy, Wade," she whispered. "I love Uncle Rhett and I hate to admit it, but he's mean to her. And she tries so hard..." Ella started to cry in earnest, now. "Sometimes she drinks too much. I know it's true because I've kept track of the brandy. Mother needs something to love--something that will love her back. You're a grown man now, Wade; you're hardly ever home. And eventually, both of us will probably get married and move away. Then what will she have? I tell you, she needs this."
Wade was shocked. He had rarely seen his sister cry since they were small children. She was so happy-go-lucky all the time he didn't think she ever felt sad about anything.
He also didn't realize how aware she was of the estrangement between their mother and stepfather. Wade understood just how bad things were between them, but he never talked about it to Ella because he wanted to spare her innocence. She was forever making those casual references to "Uncle Rhett away on business", and Wade assumed she believed it. He looked at her closely for the first time in years. She was nearly a grown woman now, with a woman's sensitivity. He did love his sister even if she annoyed him frequently growing up and even now. He realized he couldn't treat her as a child anymore, but he wished he could have spared her the knowledge of what their family life was really like.
He patted her on the shoulder. "Don't cry, Ella. If you want to get Mother a dog for Christmas, that's what we'll do."
But the scene that unfolded on Christmas morning was exactly what Wade had predicted. They presented her with a wriggling Labrador Retriever puppy, which Scarlett looked at blankly.
"For me? Why that's a dog!"
"Merry Christmas, Mother," said Ella, kissing her cheek.
"Thank...you..." Scarlett said, uncertainly.
"Isn't he cute?" Ella pressed, placing the puppy into her mother's lap.
"Yes, I suppose he is," said Scarlett still dumbfounded, but she did go so far as to stroke its head.
Ella took Wade aside later. "See? I told you so. She loves it!"
Wade was a little dubious, but wisely said nothing.
Scarlett wasn't particularly disturbed by having a dog in the house. There were servants enough to take care of it so she wouldn't have to. And she agreed with Ella that it was cute. But for the life of her she couldn't imagine what possessed her children to buy it for her.
Late that night Scarlett lay awake, thinking about the brandy bottle. Rhett hadn't seen fit to come home for Christmas and it hurt, hurt, hurt. She was debating whether she wanted to tiptoe past both her children's rooms to get to the liquor cabinet when suddenly she heard a whining that turned into a whimpering that turned into a howling. If that darn dog was awake, she could never hope to make it to the brandy bottle undetected. She lay there, yearning for the bottle, hoping the puppy would fall asleep, but it howled louder and louder. Nobody else seemed to hear it, for she didn't hear anybody else trying to do anything about it. Finally she got up, put her wrapper around herself and trotted downstairs to find her dog.
She found its basket and it yelped and licked her hand when she reached for it. Ow! Its little needle teeth nipped her hand, but luckily didn't break the skin. She gently held its muzzle shut and said firmly, "No." The dog whimpered and licked her hand again, appropriately contrite. Sighing, she picked it up, scolding it again when it licked her face but she took it upstairs with her. Just tonight it can sleep in my room. She thought. Just tonight.