Gone with the Wind / Унесённые ветром

And, besides, Beatrice Tarleton never willingly permitted anyone, black or white, to hold reins. She had borne eight children, as red of hair and as full of life as she, and had raised them most successfully, because she gave them all the loving neglect and the stern discipline she gave the colts she bred.

She loved horses and talked horses constantly. She understood them and handled them better than any man in the County.

She waved her whip when she saw Gerald and stopped the horses. To a casual observer it would seem that years had passed since the Tarletons had seen the O’Haras, instead of only two days.

“That’s a fine bevy, Ma’m,” said Gerald gallantly. “But it’s far they’ll go to beat their mother.”

Mrs. Tarleton rolled her red-brown eyes in appreciation, and the girls cried, “Ma, stop making eyes or we’ll tell Pa!” “I vow, Mr.

Scarlett laughed with the rest at these jokes but, as always, the freedom with which the Tarletons treated their mother came as a shock. They acted as if she were one of themselves and not a day over sixteen. To Scarlett, the very idea of saying such things to her own mother was impossible. And yet – and yet – there was something very pleasant about the Tarleton girls’ relations with their mother.

“Where’s Ellen this morning?” asked Mrs. Tarleton.

“She stayed home to go over the accounts with the dismissed overseer. Where’s himself and the lads?”

“Oh, they rode over to Twelve Oaks hours ago – to sample the punch and see if it was strong enough, I dare say! I’m going to ask John Wilkes to keep them overnight, even if he has to bed them down in the stable. Five drunk men are just too much for me. Up to three, I do very well but —”

Gerald hastily interrupted to change the subject.

“My girls have been so excited,” said Mrs. Tarleton, “ever since we heard the news this morning about Ashley and that little cousin of his from Atlanta. What’s her name? Melanie? Bless the child, she’s a sweet little thing. Everybody’s known for years that Ashley would marry her. Just like Honey Wilkes is going to marry Melanie’s brother, Charles.