Chapter 18 – Fighter
The next day found Ella standing behind the counter in the dining hall serving her fellow classmates. She had never felt so humiliated in all of her life as she stood there like some kind of side show freak that had been put on display. Some of her classmates snickered as she piled the food on their plates and some of them averted their eyes as if to alleviate her shame. Alice and Sarah had given her looks of pity and she did her best to smile and act as though the punishment didn't bother her. They played along in effort to soothe her feelings. They both agreed to meet her after she was finished her kitchen duties to discuss the situation. She wouldn't be able to feel better about any of this until she had revenge of some sort.
As she glanced at the next set of students approaching her she cringed and then tightened her jaw. Margo and her cronies moved towards her with their plates. Ella said nothing as she served Caroline and then Bessie. She ignored their smirking expressions and steeled herself for Margo's presence.
"I guess it's true what they say about the Irish," Margo stated, a vicious smile on her lips.
"What's that?" Bessie asked with an innocent smile in Ella's direction.
"They make excellent serving girls," she replied haughtily.
Ella picked up the serving spoon and flung a pile of mashed potatoes in Margo's face and then smiled.
"Sorry Margo, that must've been the French side of my ancestry coming out, you know how the French are when they've been insulted."
Margo wiped the potatoes from her face and flung them at the Ella. "You're not French! You don't have any of the class that goes along with being of French ancestry, and besides no decent French person would ever marry a trashy Irish!"
"That just goes to show how much you know, Margo. My grandmother was a Robillard and she married my very Irish grandfather, and just so you know, my Irish grandfather wasn't anybody's servant and neither am I."
"Then I guess your grandmother had no taste," Margo spat angrily.
"At least she didn't give birth to a demon spawn like your mother did!" Ella replied.
"Maybe I'll just go report you to the Mother Superior," she stated evilly. "I don't think you're learning your lesson."
"Be my guest, Margo," she answered. "It wouldn't be the first time."
Margo turned on her heel to leave but Ella called out to her. "Wait, Margo; I haven't finished serving you."
Margo turned to face her just as Ella flung a spoon full of gravy at her. "I can't give you potatoes without gravy that would be against my heritage," she quipped.
"One of these days you're not going to think your so smart, Ella Kennedy!"
"And one of these days someone is going to knock you off your high horse and into the mud where you belong, Margo Sinclair."
Margo gave her a scathing look before storming away. Ella smiled to herself as she began cleaning up the counter. She glanced at the clock and was thankful that she wouldn't have to stand there much longer. She had plans to make and no time to waste. She couldn't wait to conspire with Sarah and Alice. She picked up a tray of leftover chicken and carried it back to the kitchen. When she returned to fetch the next tray the Mother Superior was standing before her.
"What can I get for you, Mother Superior?" she asked giving the impression that she was taking her job seriously.
"What you can do for me, Miss Kennedy, is to stop with your childish antics."
"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about."
"I'm sure that throwing food at Miss Sinclair hasn't slipped your mind that quickly."
"I didn't throw food at her, I simply missed her plate while serving her," Ella answered.
"Your little lies that you think are cute might get you somewhere in Atlanta but they won't here, Miss Kennedy."
"Why is it that Miss Sinclair is never the liar?" Ella asked.
"Because Miss Sinclair has no reason to lie," Mother Superior replied.
"And I do?"
Mother Superior looked down her nose and sniffed, "Girls like you always have a reason to lie and it won't be tolerated at my school. Your actions have just bought yourself another week of kitchen duty."
Ella shrugged, "That's fine."
The Mother Superior leaned over the counter so that she was practically in Ella's face. "I hope your parents decide to leave you here for the next semester because I assure you by the time the school year is finished I'll have knocked your attitude problem out of you."
"I hate to disappoint you, Mother Superior; but that isn't going to happen, now if you'll excuse me I have to sweep the floor," Ella stated before turning her back on the nun and returning to the kitchen.
Hazarding a glance over her shoulder she the outrage on the Mother Superior's face as she stormed away in much the same fashion as Margo had.
That evening in her room, Ella ate a piece of bread smeared with jam and then munched on an apple from her secret stash as she and her friends contemplated the problem that Ella had.
"She's such a brown noser," Sarah stated out of the blue.
"Yes but there isn't much we can do about that," Ella replied.
"What do you want to do to her Ella?" Alice asked.
"I don't know something terrible, something to make her scream. I want her to be humiliated."
"It's too bad we can't get another snake," said Alice.
"That would only work on Margo anyway and we have to get Bessie and Caroline this time too," Ella remarked.
"I say we frame one of them for whatever it is we do to Margo," Sarah spoke, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"That is an excellent idea," Ella agreed, a smile lighting up her face.
"Which one should take the fall?" Alice wondered.
"It will have to be Caroline," Ella stated. "No one would think that Bessie had the guts to do anything against Margo. The question is how do we frame Caroline?"
"We put the evidence in her room," Sarah answered.
"But when and how?" Alice asked. "It would have to be during a time when no one is around."
"Nighttime would be best," Ella replied as she thought out loud. "I can pick the lock but the problem is waking her in the process. If only we knew how deep of a sleeper she is."
Sarah smiled deviously, "I know a way we can make sure they all sleep soundly the night we strike."
"How?" the other girls asked.
"I'll get some of my mother's sleeping powder," she explained.
"That would be great, Sarah; but how would we get them to take it?"
"Easy," she replied. "They always get their drinks and leave them on the table while they go get their plates. I'll be at the table with the powder before they get there. Alice can get in line in front of them and hold it up while making up her mind about what she wants, and you can be slow serving them. While their being distracted by the two of you I'll drop a little powder in their drinks and mix it up. That's all there is to it."
"Do you think you could without getting caught?" Alice asked.
"Of course."
"Sarah, you're a genius," Ella stated.
"Tell that to my history grade," Sarah replied with a laugh.
"Are you sure the powder will work?"
"Absolutely! My father always says that you could set off a cannon and not wake my mother when she uses it."
"You're sure you can get a hold of some?"
"It won't be problem, I just have to be careful not to give them too much," she replied.
"Oh Lord," Ella muttered. "I wish you hadn't told me that."
"Don't worry about it I'll be careful."
"Alright, now that we have someone to frame and a way to sedate them what are we going to do?" Ella mused.
"She hates anything squishy or sticky," Alice remembered.
"And she hates her shoes to be unclean," Sarah added.
A plan began to formulate in Ella's mind, "Girls, I think I have an idea."
Giggling they put their heads together and listened as Ella whispered her ideas. They tweaked the plan and agreed upon it. Supplies would be bought and gathered over the weekend and come Monday night at midnight Margo, Bessie and Caroline would get their special treatment.
Ella was anxious to escape the prison like school on Friday afternoon. She retrieved her reticule from Carreen and bounded out the door and into Eleanor's carriage with a renewed sense of vigor in her step. She had much to accomplish this weekend and the sooner she got started the better she would feel. When the carriage came to a halt outside of the Butler home, Ella gathered up her books and her bag of laundry and hurried into the house and up the stairs to change her clothes. It always felt so good to step out of the ugly school dress and to put on something nice. Moving back downstairs she went in search of her grandmother and found her in the parlor with Eulalie and Pauline Robillard.
Ella kissed her grandmother's cheek and then her aunt's before taking a seat on the sofa.
"It's so nice to see you, Ella," Pauline stated as she lifted her cup and saucer from the stand.
"It's nice to see you as well," Ella replied as she hurried to lift the tea pot from the tray and refill each lady's cup.
"Are you enjoying school here in Charleston, dear?" Eulalie asked.
"It's an experience," she replied, allowing each woman to take the statement any which way she wanted.
She caught sight of Eleanor's grin before she hid it behind her tea cup. She sat back and listened idly as the three older women chatted among themselves. She answered when spoken to but for the most part she sat back and observed the social graces that she missed out on at school. Her ears perked up however when Eulalie commented on some pillows that she had been wanting to restuff.
"I could open the seam and do the restuffing easily enough but I'm afraid my eyes are getting too old to thread the needle and restitch the seam, and it seems a silly thing to pay someone to do," she commented.
"I could do that for you, Aunt Eulalie," Ella interrupted. "I can stitch a seam well enough."
"Oh that would be wonderful dear!" Eulalie replied. "If you aren't too busy with your school work."
"I have time to do that; it wouldn't take me long at all. Would you mind if I took the old feathers once I put the news in?" she asked.
"What do you need feathers for, Ella?" Eleanor asked with a suspicious look.
"I need them for a school project," she replied, a gentle smile tugging at her lips.
Eleanor knew she was up to something but allowed it to pass.
"Of course you can have the feathers, dear," Eulalie told her. "Let me know when you're able to do the work and I'll get the pillows and the stuffing ready for you."
"I can do it tomorrow afternoon after I run a few errands, Aunt Eulalie, if that's alright with you."
"That will be fine," the older woman said with a delighted smile. "Shall we say around two in the afternoon?"
"I'll be there," Ella answered.
"You're such a nice girl, Ella," Pauline commented. "Scarlett has done a fine job bringing you up to be a gracious young lady."
"Thank you, Aunt Pauline, I'm sure Mother will be happy to here that," Ella answered with a smile as she ignored the probing look of her grandmother.
At dinner that evening Ella ate hungrily.
"I take it they're not feeding you at school again?" Eleanor stated as Ella took a second helping.
"I'm allowed breakfast," she answered.
"What happened this time?"
Ella explained the theft of her paper and all that she went through to prove Margo guilty and how she ended up working in the kitchen for it.
"I hate that woman," Eleanor said; her jaw clenched in anger.
"So do I."
"I'll have another package of food for you to take back to school with you."
"Thank you, grandmother, it is a help."
"Do you want to tell me about this 'school project' you have that requires feathers?"
"Not particularly," Ella replied. "I'll tell you about it after it is finished."
"I see," Eleanor stated. "When will the project be completed, so to speak?"
"Late Monday night," she answered.
"I'll be sure to be home Tuesday if you should need me for anything," Eleanor told her.
Ella laughed lightly, "Thank you."
The next morning, Ella set out for the shops to purchase some supplies for her special project. She picked up bottles of glue, paintbrushes, and a jar of red paint, and then remembering Sarah's comment about Margo being a brown noser, she selected a jar of brown paint. One her next stop she picked up a few jars of honey. She hurried home and stowed her supplies in her room and then hurried down the street to the Robillard home to help Eulalie with her pillows. By the end of the afternoon, Ella returned home with a large sack containing the old feathers of six large pillows, and a glowing report of her lady like temperament would most likely be on its way to Atlanta by Monday. On Sunday, she handed Thomas a nickel and a small box and told him to dig up all the worms he could find. She also made arrangements for Alice to ride to school with her the next morning so she could help her sneak the supplies in. When she retreated to her room that Sunday evening, she placed her laundry bag on the bed and removed the clean clothes from inside and wrapped the jars of paint and a jar of honey in them and returned them to the sack. She shoved the brushes and the bottles of glue in on top of the clothing and carefully slid the box of worms inside and closed the bag. Alice would have to shove the other jars of honey and the sack of feathers into her laundry bag during the ride to school. Knowing what she was going to do the next evening filled her with excitement and she found it hard to settle down to sleep but when she finally did drift off her dreams were filled with images of Margo's coming humiliation.
When Ella had retreated to her room that evening, Eleanor moved to her desk in the library. Setting down in the elegantly upholstered chair, she picked up her gold wire framed glasses and placed them on her nose. Lifting up a paperweight she picked up a small key and unlocked the middle drawer of her desk. She removed a large packet that had been delivered the day before and another thick envelope that Samuel had slipped her before dinner that day. She had put off opening the first packet until now due to various interruptions and fears that Ella would stumble across it and discover what she had been up to. Lifting her letter opener she sliced open the heavy envelope and pulled out a thick stack of papers. On top was a letter from Julia Sinclair Philips, outlining the documents that she had sent and offering any further assistance that may be needed.
Eleanor sifted through the pile of documents that Julia had sent and smiled. Each page carefully laid out the involvement between the Sinclair's and the Mother Superior, and what her hold was on the people. The answers were as she had expected, but seeing it spelled out so clearly and having the proof in her hands to back it up filled her with satisfaction.
"I've got you now, Agnes," she whispered as she gave the papers a final look.
She shuffled the papers back into the packet and placed it back into the drawer before opening the envelope Samuel had given her. Laid out before her were Margo's school records from New York, and the reasons for her dismissals from five prestigious schools in the state. The school records coupled with everything that had been revealed by Julia allowed all the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. She returned the pages to their envelope and placed it in the drawer with the first packet. Closing the drawer she locked it and then slipped the key into another drawer instead of the usual place under the paper weight.
She leaned back into her chair and thought about the power that now lay in her hands. She couldn't rush into revealing the Mother Superior's past, not when Ella still had several weeks to go before the end of the semester. This matter was one that required tact. It was one that was all about a matter of timing. She was a patient woman by nature and she could bide her time for a few more weeks, besides she had a letter to write to the Archbishop of South Carolina informing him of her findings and she wanted that letter to reach him before she took the woman down. Yes she could wait; she had a lot of experience in the task. She had waited for Rhett to settle down and create a family of his own, she had waited for Rosemary to find the right man to marry, she had waited for her second son Richard to shake off the influences of his father and become his own man, and of course she had waited in vain for her husband to change his cold hearted ways but that wasn't something she wished to dwell on any longer. She had a letter to write and the sooner it was done the better.
The next day with her supplies hidden away in her room, Ella went about her business with a sense of calmness. She went to her classes and completed her work. She served her time in the kitchen without any incident. She had allowed Margo to make her snide remarks without saying a word. She simply smiled and took her time serving the evil trio as Sarah completed phase one of the plan. When she returned to her room for the evening she uncovered the items she would need and placed the jars, bottles and brushes into a basket that Sarah had given her that morning. She sat the sack of feathers near the basket and paced the floor in nervous anticipation.
Alice and Sarah quietly slipped into her room around eleven and they extinguished the lamp and sat in the darkness listening to the sounds of the school settling down for the evening.
"Who's going to be the lookout?" Ella whispered.
"I will," Alice answered.
Ella nodded, knowing Alice preferred to be in the background due to her nervousness. She turned to Sarah and broached the question that had been weighing on her mind.
"Do you think the powder worked?"
"I'm sure it did, but I'll go in each room first and make sure that they're out and then you and Alice can come in."
"Alright," Ella agreed. "We'll get Margo first and then Bessie."
"And then we frame Caroline," Alice finished for her.
They all nodded in agreement and then using the shaft of moonlight streaming through the windows they gathered up the basket and the feathers and listened to the ticking of the clock as it neared midnight.
"Alice, check the hallway while Sarah and I put on our gloves," Ella whispered as the hands on the clock moved to 12.
Alice found the hallway to be clear and the three of them crept down to Margo's room. Surprisingly the door was unlocked and Sarah pushed it open quietly while Alice and Ella hid in the shadows. They watched as Sarah poked at Margo to make sure the powder had taken effect. She didn't even flinch. Hurrying back to the door Sarah motioned them forward and once inside Alice closed the door until only a small crack remained allowing her to peer out into the hallway and then they began to work.
Ella motioned to the wardrobe and Sarah opened it and handed out the fancy pairs of shoes that Margo wore after school hours. Ella lifted a bottle of glue and a brush from the basket. She slathered the bottoms of the shoes with glue and then stuck them together. She repeated the process for all ten pairs that Margo had and then reached for the shiny boots that she wore to school. She took a piece of sandpaper that Alice had provided her with and rubbed the shiny surface several times until it was dull and then she dumped the worms into the left boot and poured honey into the right. She then handed the still half full jar of honey to Sarah and instructed her to pour it onto Margo's golden hair that was fanned out on the pristine white pillow case. While that task was being completed Ella opened the jar of brown paint and painted Margo's nose, and then with the red paint she wrote the word LIAR across her forehead. Finally they threw back the blankets and dumped honey and glue all over Margo's flannel nightgown and then dumped handful after handful of feathers onto her until she looked like a brown beaked chicken. As the final insult they laid three boiled eggs that Sarah had provided next to her.
They could barely stifle their giggles as they gathered up their supplies. Signaling Alice to check the hallway, Ella quickly turned to Margo's desk and uncapped the ink and then spilled it across Margo's completed assignments that laid on the desk. Sarah gave a nod of approval as Alice motioned them forward. The trio moved quietly to Bessie's room where Sarah once again checked to make sure the powder had worked and then waved Ella inside so that they could repeat the process of gluing, painting and feathering that they had already done to Margo. When they were finished they moved on to Caroline's room. The door was locked and Ella was forced to fish a hair pin from her pocket and pick the lock. As Alice stood guard they set about framing Caroline for Margo and Bessie's 'misfortune'. They dabbed splotches of paint, glue and honey onto Caroline's hands and then they sprinkled the remaining feathers onto her clothing, shoes and the floor. Ella quickly sat the jars of paint on Caroline's desk and shoved the brushes into the drawer. They quietly placed the empty jars and bottles into the wastebasket, and shoved the basket they had used under her bed. They then relocked the door and left the room and crept back to Ella's room.
Once inside her room, she and Sarah removed their gloves and Ella hid them away in one of her trunk's secret compartments. They made sure all traces of feathers were gone and then they covered their mouths with their hands and laughed as quietly as they could before saying their goodnights and separating for the evening. Ella found it hard to fall asleep and once she did fall asleep she found it hard to remain that way. Her mind was on full alert, the anticipation of what morning would bring keeping her from relaxing. She tossed and turned and finally settled into a dreamless restless slumber.
The first scream sounded at precisely 6:32 a.m. It was soon followed by another scream which soon became a chorus of distressed screeching along with the sound of doors opening and the murmurs of the other girls as they filled the hallway to see what had happened. Ella quickly finished buttoning her dress and then joined the crowd in the hallway in time to see Margo and Bessie stagger from their rooms covered in feathers from their necks to their ankles, their noses painted brown, honey caked hair and the bold red paint that proclaimed them liars splashed across their foreheads. It was one of the most beautiful sights Ella had ever seen. Bessie was clutching the eggs, a look of confusion on her face while Margo practically hyperventilated over the state not only of herself but of her shoes. All of the girls that had gathered in the hallway broke into fits of laughter and Ella allowed herself to join in as Sarah and Alice moved to her side. The more Margo raged the more everyone giggled and pointed. Someone ran off to fetch the Mother Superior, while other nuns who had heard the screams filtered into the hallway.
"Oh my god," Carreen's voice whispered as she stepped into place beside Ella and viewed the spectacle before them.
"God had nothing to do with it," Ella whispered back.
Carreen hid her smile behind her hand. "I'm sure I know who did have something to do with it," she stated so lowly that Ella barely heard her.
Carreen quickly moved away from Ella and took her place with the other nuns, fearing that if she were seen next to her niece it would cast suspicion upon both of them.
When the Mother Superior arrived and saw the state that Margo and Bessie were in she was livid. Ella was sure that if the woman's eyes got any bigger they would pop out of her head. She listened as Margo screamed about how she had woken up and about her ruined shoes and then she listened as Bessie recounted the same tale. The nun surveyed the two rooms examining what had been done before turning to the flock of girls assembled in the hallway.
"No one leaves this floor until I know who has done this unspeakable act!" she roared.
All of the girls mumbled their denials as they tried hard to keep from laughing at the sight of Margo and Bessie looking like over grown chickens.
"Miss Kennedy!" the nun screamed.
"Yes ma'am?" she answered calmly.
"Have you done this?" she asked the fury in her tone unsettling but Ella refused to be afraid as the woman made her way towards her.
"No ma'am, I have not," she replied.
The Mother Superior looked at her with disbelief. "I believe I will search your room."
Ella twisted the door knob and swung the door open, "Be my guest," she told her.
Everyone watched as the nun tore apart Ella's room. She dumped the contents from the drawers; she threw everything out of the wardrobe. She searched the shelves and under the bed. Ella held her breath as she searched the trunk, praying she wouldn't stumble across the secret compartments. When she had ripped threw everything she could search she turned to Sarah with fury in her eyes.
"Miss Wills, I believe I will search your room next!"
Sarah opened the door of her room and once more they all watched as she tore through Sarah's room and came up empty handed again.
"Miss Callahan!" she bellowed.
Alice stepped forward and opened her door. When the Mother Superior found nothing for the third time, Ella was sure that the woman was either going to tear the school apart brick by brick or have a stroke from her anger. The vein sticking out on her forehead was quite unbecoming, she mused as she observed the nun seeking assistance from Sister Mary Stewart to search the rest of the rooms.
"I know they had to have done it!" Margo shrieked.
"How would you know?" Mother Superior screamed. "How in the world were you able to sleep through something like this being done to you, Margo!"
The Mother Superior had never called any of them by their given name and Ella thought it strange that she would do so now.
"I was very tired last night!" Margo declared in defense.
"So was I," Bessie cried.
"Caroline has paint on her hands!" someone called out interrupting the tirade.
Alice and Sarah shot guarded looks at Ella and they moved into the background as the Mother Superior grabbed hold of Caroline's hands.
"How did this paint get on your hands, Miss Stevens?" she demanded.
"I…I don't know," the girl stammered.
"Open the door of your room!"
"I didn't do it! I swear I didn't. Margo and Bessie are my friends!"
The Mother Superior wasn't interested in her pleas of innocence as she stormed into her room. "Do you want to explain to me why there is paint on your desk? Why there are feathers all over the floor? Do you want to tell me why there are empty bottles of glue and empty jars in your wastebasket, Miss Stevens?"
"I don't know how those things got in here!" Caroline cried. "They aren't mine!"
"Do you think they just walked in on their own?" Mother Superior yelled.
"Someone must've put them there! I haven't been out of my room all night I swear!"
"How dare you swear while lying!" the nun thundered.
"I didn't do it!"
"You are going to be severely punished, Miss Stevens!" the nun threatened.
"How am I going to get out of this mess?" Margo yelled bringing attention back to herself.
"I will take the two of you to the infirmary, Miss Sinclair," the Mother Superior stated through gritted teeth. "I am sure we will find away to restore you to your normal self. Go put some shoes on and come with me."
"I can't put any shoes on!" she screamed. "They're all ruined!"
"Then come as you are!" the nun thundered. "I've had about enough of these childish antics and dramatics for one morning!"
Margo burst into tears and for a moment Ella almost felt sorry for what she had done but then she remembered all the cruel things Margo had done to her and all the tears she had shed because of her. She wasn't going to feel sorry for any of it. They all got what they deserved. All day everyone waited for the reappearance of Margo, Bessie and Caroline but they didn't come to class and with the exception of Caroline who appeared shortly before the dinner hour, they didn't show up at meal times either. Ella had no sooner entered the kitchen when the Mother Superior came in dragging Caroline behind her.
"Miss Kennedy, you are excused from kitchen duty," she stated.
"I am?" Ella asked in surprise.
"Yes, I don't want both of you working here together so I'll have to dismiss the rest of your punishment, but mark my words, Miss Kennedy; your behavior has not been forgotten."
Ella figuring it best to say nothing simply nodded and backed out of the room. A triumphant smile spread across her face as she hurried up the stairs to her room. She could hear Margo's wails of humiliation as she passed by her room and it exhilarated her. She didn't like having to be cruel but in this case she felt justified.
Two days passed before Margo and Bessie returned to classes. The paint Ella had used wasn't easily washed away and left them with brown stained noses and the word liar still legible across their foreheads. The 'feathering' as the incident was called was talked about for days on end and there was little sympathy for Margo and Bessie. Some of the girls even went as far as to cluck whenever Margo entered the room which never failed to send her into a fit. The school was in an uproar and everyone was looking forward to the two day break that Thanksgiving would bring.
With her evenings free now that Caroline was being the Mother Superior's kitchen servant, Ella spent some of her time trying to convince Carreen that it was time for her to shake off the shackles of the convent and return to Georgia. Her efforts however didn't seem to be getting her anywhere. Carreen was still being hesitant and for the most part tight lipped about the topic. Ella wished her mother would come and speak to Carreen, if anyone could convince her to go home it would be Scarlett. Surely she had received her letter by now, Ella thought to herself. The month was slowly sliding towards December and time was running out to convince her aunt that she'd be better off away from there.
Moving away from her window she mused over the events of the past week. She was sure that Margo knew that she was not only behind her humiliation but an active participant in it. She knew this because Margo had not severed ties with Caroline, but so far no one had made an attempt at getting even. That of course didn't mean that she was going to let her guard down. She kept her door locked at night and the desk chair angled beneath the door knob and she had instructed Alice and Sarah to do the same. She hoped that the embarrassment that Margo had suffered would signal the end of the torment she had endured and that she would be able to finish the semester peacefully…but she wouldn't hold her breath.
Scarlett sat in the silence of the library holding the pages of two letters in her hands. She wasn't sure which one she should be more concerned about. There had been the letter from Ella that she had eagerly tore open in anticipation of being included in her daughter's life once more, but all she had found in Ella's missive was her concern's about Carreen and the confession she had made about how unhappy she was with her life. Knowing that Carreen wasn't happy with her choice to join the convent left her feeling bothered and somewhat guilty about the role she had played in that pivotal moment in her sister's life.
She hadn't wanted her to join the convent, she had never thought it was the best course of action for her sister but she had sat back and said nothing. She had been to numb from Gerald's death and too uncomfortable from her pregnancy with Ella to do much of anything but heed Will's advice that it was what Carreen wanted and that she shouldn't fight her on it. She regretted not fighting her and if she had been more of herself that day so long ago, she would've not only forbid it but she would have dragged Carreen back to Atlanta with her and found some way to marry her off. If only she would have done that, then maybe Carreen would have a family of her own and she wouldn't have to face each day feeling the way she did. She, like Ella couldn't understand why she simply didn't tell her that she wanted to come home.
Scarlett knew that she hadn't been the easiest person to live with during those hard years at Tara, and that the stress of the situation had led her to believe that she had no love for her sisters and that they were nothing more than burdens to her but that wasn't how she felt now. Now she was more mature, more settled and content with life and she had discovered that there was love connected to the family ties that linked her to Carreen and Suellen. Didn't Carreen realize that things were different now? That she would always have a home with her or Suellen? Why did she have to keep it all inside? She had thought that things had improved in her relationships with her siblings but perhaps not enough if Carreen was too afraid to come to her with her feelings.
Laying Ella's letter aside she turned her attention to the one from Carreen. It told only of Ella's recent heartbreak and hinted that perhaps it would do Ella good to see her mother. Her heart ached knowing that Ella was hurting and that she wasn't able to comfort her. A part of her felt relieved that Johnny had finally confessed his true intentions but the other part of her sympathized with her pain. It was never easy to realize that all the dreams you had pinned your hopes on had came down to nothing. It was hard to realize that you had wasted your time and in the process made all the wrong and irrational choices that went along with being in love with the wrong person. It hurt to know that you had almost thrown everything you had away for someone who didn't deserve you. Yes she had been there and done that, she had walked that path for far too long and could only be glad that Ella wouldn't travel it for as long as she had. That didn't mean however that she shouldn't be there to soothe the pain of her daughter's first heartbreak.
Gathering up the letters she went to find Rhett. She found him in the parlor with James on his knee and Joy beside him on the sofa. He was regaling them with tales of pirates and spies and his audience was captivated.
"Rhett," she called softly.
He raised his gaze towards her and seeing the serious expression on her face he lifted James from his lap and abruptly ended his tale. She smiled as they called out in protest making him chuckle and ruffle their hair.
"I'll finish the story after dinner," he promised before joining her in the hallway.
"What's wrong?" he asked as they moved back towards the library.
"I have a change of plans for Thanksgiving," she announced as they entered the room.
"And what might that be my dear?" he questioned with a smile.
"We're going to Charleston," she answered.
He studied her face for a moment before replying. "Is she alright?"
"Read these and you'll understand," she told him as she handed the letters to him.
He read both letters and then met her eyes. "So he's revealed his true colors has he?"
Scarlett nodded, "I'm sure you noticed that she didn't mention it in her letter but I feel like I should be there to comfort her in some way."
"Of course you should," he answered. "You're her mother and the only person that can pick up the pieces of her heart."
She gave him a grateful smile of understanding. "She's not the only reason though."
"Yes, I see that," he replied. "It looks as though you have issues to resolve with Carreen as well."
"I just don't understand why she didn't tell me she wanted out."
"She's an O'Hara, they all have trouble admitting when they've been wrong," he quipped.
"That's not funny," she scolded but the glimmer in her eyes told him that she hadn't been offended.
"You'll have to ask her why she has said nothing, Scarlett. I don't have the answer to that for you. All I can say is that if Carreen wants to leave the convent she is more than welcome to make her home with us if she chooses."
"You wouldn't mind?" she asked.
He shook his head, "Of course not, she's your sister, Scarlett. I would never ask you to turn her away."
"I love you, Rhett," she whispered before kissing him gently.
He grinned, "I'm pretty fond of you as well, Mrs. Butler."
She laughed softly, "I guess we have arrangements to make if we're going to Charleston."
"I'm beginning to feel as though I should own stock in the railroad company, at least then I'd recoup some of my traveling fees."
"It was your idea," she reminded him coyly.
"Yes I know," he replied; "And I'm sure I'll never forget it."