Gone with the Wind / Унесённые ветром

There was a look of surprise in them and something more – what was it? Then something like a well-trained mask came down over his face and he smiled gallantly.

“Isn’t it enough that you’ve collected every other man’s heart here today?” he said, with the old, teasing note in his voice. “Well, you’ve always had my heart, you know.”

Something was wrong – all wrong! This was not the way she had planned it. For some reason, Ashley was acting as if he thought she was just flirting with him. But he knew differently.

She knew he did.

“Ashley – Ashley – tell me – you must – oh, don’t tease me now! Have I your heart? Oh, my dear, I lo —”

His hand went across her lips, swiftly. The mask was gone.

“You must not say these things, Scarlett! You mustn’t. You don’t mean them. You’ll hate yourself for saying them, and you’ll hate me for hearing them!”

She jerked her head away. “I couldn’t ever hate you. I tell you I love you and I know you must care about me because —” She stopped.

Never before had she seen so much misery in anyone’s face. “Ashley, do you care – you do, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he said dully. “I care.”

She plucked at his sleeve, speechless.

“Scarlett,” he said, “can’t we go away and forget that we have ever said these things?”

“No,” she whispered. “I can’t. What do you mean? Don’t you want to – to marry me?”

He replied, “I’m going to marry Melanie.”

Somehow she found that she was sitting on the low velvet chair and Ashley, at her feet, was holding both her hands in his, in a hard grip.

He was saying things – things that made no sense. Her mind was quite blank, quite empty of all the thoughts. His words fell on unhearing ears, words that were tender and full of pity, like a father speaking to a hurt child.

“Father is to announce the engagement tonight. We are to be married soon. I should have told you, but I thought you knew. I never dreamed that you – You’ve so many beaux.

I thought Stuart —”

“But you just said you cared for me.”

His warm hands hurt hers.

“My dear, must you make me say things that will hurt you? Love isn’t enough to make a successful marriage when two people are as different as we are. You would want all of a man, Scarlett, his body, his heart, his soul, his thoughts. And I couldn’t give you all of me. And I would not want all of your mind and your soul.