Kitobni o'qish: «Gone with the Wind / Унесённые ветром. Уровень 3»
© ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2021
© Матвеев С.А., 2021
Chapter I
Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it. In her face were the delicate features of her mother, a French aristocrat, and the heavy ones of her Irish father.
Seated with the Tarleton twins1, Stuart and Brent, in the cool shade of the porch of Tara, her father’s plantation, that bright April afternoon of 1861, she made a pretty picture2. Her waist was the smallest in three counties, she was sixteen years old. Her manners were the result of her mother’s gentle admonitions and the stern discipline of her Mammy.
The twins laughed and talked. Nineteen years old, hard of muscle, with sunburned faces and deep auburn hair, their eyes merry and arrogant, they were alike. These boys were born to the ease of plantation life. The boys’ family had more money, more horses, more slaves than any one else in the County, but the boys had less grammar than most of their poor neighbors.
Stuart and Brent had just been expelled from the University of Georgia. Their older brothers, Tom and Boyd, had come home with them, because they refused to remain at an institution where the twins were not welcome.
«I know you two don’t care, and Tom too», Scarlett said. «But what about Boyd?»
«Oh, he can study law in Judge Parmalee’s office over in Fayetteville», answered Brent carelessly.
«Why?»
«The war! The war is going to start any day, and we won’t stay in college that time».
«You know there won’t be any war», said Scarlett. «It’s all just talk. The Yankees are too scared of us to fight».
She did not endure any conversation of which she was not the chief subject. War was men’s business, not ladies’.
Then she asked,
«What did your mother say about your situation?»
The boys looked uncomfortable.
«Well», said Stuart, «Tom and us left home early this morning before she got up».
«Didn’t she say anything when you got home last night?»
«We were lucky last night. Just before we got home that new stallion Ma got in Kentucky last month was brought in. When we got home, Ma was out in the stable with a sackful of sugar. The darkies3 were popeyed, they were so scared. And when she saw us she said: ‘Oh, what are you four doing home again?’ And then the horse began to snort and rear, and she said: ‘Get out of here! Can’t you see he’s nervous? I’ll talk to you four in the morning!’ So we went to bed, and this morning we got away and left Boyd with her».
«Will your mother ride the new horse to the Wilkes barbecue tomorrow?»
«She wants to, but Pa says he’s too dangerous. We’ll tell you a secret», said Stuart.
«What?» cried Scarlett as a child.
«You know, Ashley Wilkes’ cousin, Miss Pittypat Hamilton, told us there was going to be an engagement announced tomorrow night at the Wilkes ball».
«Oh. I know about that», said Scarlett in disappointment. «That silly nephew of hers, Charlie Hamilton, and Wilkes».
«No, it isn’t his engagement that’s going to be announced», said Stuart triumphantly. «It’s Ashley’s to Charlie’s sister, Miss Melanie!»
Scarlett’s face did not change but her lips went white.
The twins talked about the barbecue and the ball and Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton. But Scarlett was silent.
Chapter II
When the twins left Scarlett, she went back to her chair like a sleepwalker. She sat down wearily. Her hands were cold, and a feeling of disaster oppressed her. Ashley is going to marry Melanie Hamilton! Oh, it can’t be true! Ashley can’t be in love with her. Nobody can. Scarlett recalled with contempt Melanie’s thin childish figure, her serious face. No, Ashley can’t be in love with Melanie, because he was in love with her!
Mammy emerged from the hall, a huge old woman with the small, shrewd eyes of an elephant. She was black, pure African, devoted to the O’Haras.
«Why are you sitting here, Miss Scarlett??»
«I am tired. I want to sit here and watch the sunset. Please, Mammy, bring me my shawl and I’ll sit here till Pa comes home».
Mammy waddled back into the hall. Scarlett went quietly down the front steps. Soon she was at the end of the driveway and out on the main road. She sat down on a stump to wait for her father.
«Oh, Ashley! Ashley!» she thought.
He never talked about love to her. And yet she knew he loved her. Sometimes he looked at her with a yearning and a sadness which puzzled her. She knew he loved her. Why did he not tell her so?
He was courteous always, but aloof, remote. Ashley was proficient in hunting, gambling, dancing and politics, and was the best rider of all. He was interested in books and music and writing poetry. She loved him and she wanted him and she did not understand him.
Why has he captivated Scarlett? She did not know. Ashley is going marry Melanie! It can’t be true! Oh, where is Pa? She looked impatiently down the road again, and again she was disappointed.
The sun was now below the horizon. At last she heard a sound of hooves. Gerald O’Hara was coming home. He came up the hill at a gallop on his long-legged horse. Gerald was an excellent horseman.
«I wonder why he always wants to jump fences», she thought.
Gerald did not see his daughter in the shadow of the trees. She laughed aloud. Gerald recognized her, and dismounted with difficulty, because his knee was stiff, and stumped toward her.
«Well, Miss», he said, «so, you’re spying on me and, like your sister Suellen last week, you’ll tell your mother about me?»
Scarlett teasingly clicked her tongue.
«No, Pa, I’m not a tattletale4 like Suellen», she assured him.
Gerald was a small man, little more than five feet tall, but very heavy. His thick torso was supported by short sturdy legs. He was sixty years old and his curly hair was silver-white, but his little blue eyes were young. His was Irish. And he had the tenderest of hearts.
Scarlett was his oldest child. She was more like her father than her younger sisters, Carreen and Suellen.
«You look very presentable now», she said. «But it seems to me that after you broke your knee last year, jumping that fence…»
«Well, my own daughter is telling me what I shall jump and not jump!» he shouted. «Miss, what are you doing out here without your shawl?»
«I was waiting for you. I want to know if you bought Dilcey».
«Yes I did, and the price has ruined me. Bought her and her little wench, Prissy. I gave him three thousand for the two of them».
«Pa, three thousand! And you didn’t need to buy Prissy!»
«Prissy is a pretty little wench».
«I know her. She’s a sly, stupid creature», Scarlett rejoined calmly. «And the only reason you bought her was because Dilcey asked you to buy her».
«Well, what if I did? Well, come on, let’s go to supper».
«How are they all at Twelve Oaks?»
«As usual. Cade Calvert was there and, we all sat on the gallery. Cade has just come from Atlanta».
«Did they say anything about the barbecue tomorrow?»
«Yes, they did. Ashley’s cousin, Miss Melanie Hamilton, and her brother Charles have already come from Atlanta and…»
«Was Ashley there, too?»
«He was». Gerald turned and peered sharply into her face. «You want to talk about him, right? He was there and he asked most kindly about you. And now, daughter, what’s all this about you and Ashley?»
«There is nothing», she said shortly.
«Really? Has he asked to marry you?»
«No», she said shortly.
«Nor will he», said Gerald.
Fury flamed in her.
«Miss! I learned from John Wilkes that Ashley was going to marry Miss Melanie. It will be announced tomorrow».
So it was true!
«Is it a spectacle you’ve been making of yourself?» he bawled. «Have you been running after a man who’s not in love with you?»
«I haven’t been running after him. It… it just surprised me».
«You’re lying!» said Gerald, and then he added: «I’m sorry, daughter. But there are lots of other lads. If you had any sense you’d have married Stuart or Brent Tarleton long ago. Think it over, daughter. You know little enough of any man, and of Ashley, too. Those Wilkes… The whole family is strange enough. Yes, Ashley can ride and play poker. He can do all those things, but his heart’s not in it. He’s queer».
Scarlett was silent and her heart sank.
«Scarlett! Why won’t you marry Cade Calvert? The Calverts are good folk, all of them. I’ll leave Tara to you and Cade…»
«I don’t want marry Cade!» cried Scarlett in fury. «And I don’t want Tara or any old plantation! They don’t amount to anything5».
«Do you tell me that Tara… that land… doesn’t amount to anything?»
Scarlett nodded obstinately.
«Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything», he shouted.
«Oh, Pa», she said disgustedly, «you talk like an Irishman!»
«And I am proud of it. And don’t forget that you are half Irish, Miss!»
Chapter III
That night at supper, Scarlett’s mind was in a ferment over the dreadful news she had heard about Ashley and Melanie. Of course, she did not intend to tell her mother what was so heavy on her heart. Her mother, Ellen, will be shocked and grieved to know that a daughter of hers wants a man who is engaged to another girl. But she wanted the very comfort of her mother’s presence. She always felt secure when Ellen was by her.
She rose suddenly from her chair at the sound of creaking wheels in the driveway. Looking out the window, Scarlett saw Pork. Pork entered, his usual dignity was gone, his eyes were rolling.
«Mister Gerald», he announced, breathing hard, «your new housemaid is here».
«New housemaid? I didn’t buy any new housemaid», declared Gerald.
«Yes, you did, Mister Gerald! Yes! And she wants to speak with you», answered Pork, giggling and twisting his hands in excitement.
«Well, bring in your wife», said Gerald, and Pork beckoned into the hall to his wife. She arrived from the Wilkes plantation to become part of the household of Tara. She entered, and behind her came her twelve-year-old daughter.
Dilcey was tall. Her immobile bronze face was unlined. Indian blood was plain in her features. The red color of her skin, narrow high forehead, all showed the mixture of two races. When she spoke, her voice was not so slurred as most negroes’ and she chose her words more carefully.
«Good evening, young Misses. Mister Gerald, I am sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to come here and thank you again for buying me and my daughter».
«Hm-hmm», said Gerald.
Dilcey turned to Scarlett and something like a smile wrinkled the corners of her eyes.
«Miss Scarlett, Poke told me how you asked Mister Gerald to buy me. And so I give you my Prissy for your own maid».
She jerked the little girl forward. She was a brown little creature, with skinny legs like a bird. She had sharp eyes and stupid look on her face.
«Thank you, Dilcey», Scarlett replied, «but I’m afraid Mammy will have something to say about that. She’s been my maid ever since I was born».
«Mammy is getting old», said Dilcey. «She a good mammy, but you are a young lady now and you need a good maid. Prissy has been maiding for Miss India for a year. She can sew and fix hair».
It was late, and Scarlett went to bed. She dropped her head upon her folded hands, and her thoughts went sadly back to Ashley. How can he plan to marry Melanie when he really loves her, Scarlett? And when he knows how much she loves him? Then, suddenly, an idea, shining and new, flashed like a comet through her brain.
«Why, Ashley hasn’t an idea that I’m in love with him!»
Her mind stood still as if paralyzed for a long, breathless instant.
«How could he know? I’ve always acted so prissy and ladylike around him he probably thinks I don’t care a thing about him. Yes, that’s why he’s never spoken! He thinks his love is hopeless. And that’s why he’s looked so…»
Her mind went swiftly back to those times when he was looking at her in that strange manner.
«He thinks I’m in love with Brent or Stuart or Cade. But if he knows I love him…»
This was the answer to Ashley’s reticence, to his strange conduct. He didn’t know! She had only to…
«Oh!» she thought rapturously. «What a fool I’ve been! I must think of some way to let him know. He won’t marry her if he knows I love him!»
Even now, it wasn’t too late! And Ashley’s engagement had not even been announced yet! Yes, there was plenty of time!
If no love lay between Ashley and Melanie but only a promise, then why wasn’t it possible for him to break that promise and marry her? Surely he will do it, if he knows that she, Scarlett, loves him. She must find some way to let him know. She will find some way! And then…
Lying in the bed, she pictured the whole scene in her mind. She saw the look of surprise and happiness that came over his face when he realized that she really loved him, and she heard the words he said asking her to be his wife.
By this time tomorrow night, she might be Mrs. Ashley Wilkes!
She sat up in bed, and for a long happy moment she was Mrs. Ashley Wilkes… Ashley’s bride!
Chapter IV
As the carriage bore Scarlett down the red road toward the Wilkes plantation, Scarlett had a feeling of pleasure.
«Perhaps it will be my wedding day!», thought Scarlett. «I’ll tell Ashley that I love him and he will marry me. Why not? I am sure he loves me, too»
The chimneys of Twelve Oaks began to show on the hill across the river.
«I’ll live there all my life and I’ll tell my children and my grandchildren how beautiful this spring was».
She was so happy at this thought that she began to sing.
«I don’t know why you’re so happy this morning», said Suellen crossly. «You know as well as I do that Ashley’s engagement is going to be announced tonight. And you cares about him».
«That’s all you know», said Scarlett.
«Susie, you know that’s not so», protested Carreen. «It’s Brent that Scarlett cares about».
Scarlett turned smiling green eyes upon her younger sister.
«Darling, I don’t care a thing about Brent», declared Scarlett. «And he doesn’t care a thing about me. He’s waiting for you!»
Carreen’s round little face became pink.
They crossed the river and the carriage mounted the hill. Scarlett loved Twelve Oaks even more than Tara.
The long picnic tables stood under the thickest shade. As the smell of fresh pork came to her, Scarlett wrinkled her nose appreciatively. She was full of food and tightly laced.
The whole County was here, thought Scarlett. The four Tarleton boys and their father leaned against the tall columns, the twins, Stuart and Brent, Boyd and Tom with their father, James Tarleton. Mr. Calvert was standing close by the side of his Yankee wife. On the porch steps stood John Wilkes. Beside him stood Honey Wilkes.
Frank Kennedy was hurrying to the carriage to assist Suellen. Frank Kennedy owned more land than anyone in the County, but he was forty, slight and nervous and had a thin beard. But where was Ashley? And Melanie and Charles?
Her eyes fell on a stranger. He was standing alone in the hall. He looked quite old, at least thirty-five. He was a tall man. Scarlett thought she had never seen a man with such wide shoulders, so heavy with muscles. He was dark of face, swarthy as a pirate, and his eyes were bold and black.
He turned as someone called:
«Rhett! Rhett Butler! Come here!»
«I must run upstairs and smooth my hair», she told Stuart and Brent. «You boys wait for me and don’t run off with any other girl or I’ll be furious».
Scarlett started up the wide stairs. As she did, a shy voice behind her called her name and she saw Charles Hamilton. He was a nice-looking boy with a riot of brown curls on his white forehead and brown eyes. But he was timid with girls. She had never paid him much attention, but the smile of pleasure with which she greeted him almost took his breath away.
«Charles Hamilton, you’re very handsome today! Have you come here from Atlanta just to break my poor heart?»
Charles almost stuttered with excitement. Charles was not excited over the prospect of marrying her. And here was Scarlett O’Hara teasing him about breaking her heart! It was too good to be true.
«Now, you wait right here till I come back, for I want to eat barbecue with you. And remember: I am jealous», came the incredible words from red lips.
«I will», he finally managed to whisper, he looked like a calf waiting for the butcher.
Rhett Butler who stood alone a few feet away from Charles. Evidently he had overheard the whole conversation.
In the bedroom, she found Cathleen Calvert.
«Cathleen», said Scarlett, trying to pull the corsage of her dress higher, «who is that nasty man downstairs named Butler?»
«My dear, don’t you know?» whispered Cathleen excitedly. «He isn’t received!6»
«What did he do?»
«Oh, Scarlett, he’s from Charleston. Caro told me about him last summer. She knows all about him, everybody does. He was expelled from West Point. Imagine! And then there was that business about the girl he didn’t marry. This Mr. Butler took a Charleston girl out buggy riding. And, my dear, they stayed out nearly all night and walked home finally, saying the horse had run away and smashed the buggy and they had gotten lost in the woods. And guess what…»
«I can’t guess. Tell me», said Scarlett enthusiastically.
«He refused to marry her the next day!»
«Oh», said Scarlett.
«He said he hadn’t… er… done anything to her and he didn’t see why marry her. And, of course, her brother called him out7, and Mr. Butler shot the girl’s brother and he died, and Mr. Butler had to leave Charleston and now nobody receives him», finished Cathleen triumphantly.
Scarlett attracted dozens beaux, but not Ashle. Ashley had made no attempt to join the circle about her. He just came forward to welcome her when she came into the back garden. And Melanie was always nearby.
She was a tiny girl. She looked and was as simple as earth. She smiled timidly. Ashley had sat on a stool at Melanie’s feet, apart from the other guests, and talked quietly with her. Ashley did not seem to notice her at all. He only looked up at Melanie and talked on. So, Scarlett was miserable.
Charles Hamilton was on her right. He held her fan in one hand and his untouched plate of barbecue in the other. Scarlett giggled. But Ashley was playing smiling up at Melanie. Pain twisted Scarlett’s heart.
«When all the girls will go upstairs to take naps to be fresh for tonight», she thought, «I’ll stay downstairs and talk to Ashley».
Men were talking about the war.
«Of course we’ll fight… Yankee thieves… We can win them in a month… They want war…»
Charles Hamilton leaned closer and whispered:
«Miss O’Hara… I had already decided that if we fight, I’ll go over to South Carolina and join a troop there».
Scarlett looked at him. He went on rapidly,
«If I go… will you be sorry, Miss O’Hara?»
«I will cry into my pillow every night», said Scarlett.
«Will you pray for me?»
«What a fool!» thought Scarlett bitterly.
«Oh yes, indeed, Mr. Hamilton!»
Charles drew in his breath, stiffened the muscles of his stomach.
«Miss O’Hara… I must tell you something. I… I love you!»
«Um?» said Scarlett absently.
«Yes!» whispered Charles. «I love you! You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever known and I love you with all my heart. I will… I want to marry you».
Scarlett was thinking Ashley, and she looked at Charles with irritation. And she murmured:
«Mr. Hamilton, I do not know what to say».
Charles swallowed the bait.
«I will wait forever! Please, Miss O’Hara, tell me that I may hope!»
«Um», said Scarlett.
«You promised to show me your library, sir», Rhett said to John Wilkes.
Ashley strolled over to where Scarlett and Charles sat. But Ashley was not looking at her. He was looking at Charles. They began to talk about the war.
Scarlett stood on the landing and peered cautiously over the banisters into the hall below. It was empty. Melanie was lying down on the bed with Honey and Hetty Tarleton, and then she slipped into the hall. The library was in darkness. Large numbers of books always depressed her.
She closed the door.
«Why, Scarlett!» said Ashley’s voice. He stood in the hall.
«Who are you hiding from – Charles or the Tarletons?»
She could not speak, but she drew him into the room. He entered, puzzled but interested. Automatically he closed the door behind him and took her hand.
«What is it?» he said, almost in a whisper. «A secret to tell me?»
«Yes… a secret. I love you».
For an instance there was a silence. Why did Ashley look so oddly and say nothing?
«Isn’t it enough that you’ve collected every other man’s heart here today?» he said.
Something was wrong! This was not the way she had planned it. Ashley was acting as if he thought she was just flirting with him.
«Ashley… tell me… Oh, my dear, I lo…»
«You must not say these things, Scarlett! You don’t mean them. You’ll hate yourself for saying them, and you’ll hate me for hearing them!»
«I will never hate you. I tell you I love you and I know you must… Ashley, do you love me?»
«Yes», he said dully. «I do. But, Scarlett, can’t we forget that?»
«No», she whispered. «I can’t. What do you mean? Don’t you want to marry me?»
He replied, «I’m going to marry Melanie».
She looked into his crystal eyes.
«Father will announce the engagement tonight. We will be married soon. I never dreamed that you… You’ve so many beaux».
«But you just said you loved me».
«My dear, I don’t want to say things that will hurt you. Love isn’t enough 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 if you do not have them, you will be miserable. And I can’t give you all of me».
«Do you love her?»
«We understand each other. Scarlett! I’m going to marry Melanie. How can’t I love you? You who can love and hate with a violence impossible to me?»
«You coward! You’re afraid to marry me!»
«But dear Scarlett», his voice pleaded. «Did I ever…»
Her anger rose, the anger of hurt pride and feminine vanity.
«I shall hate you till I die, you cad… you coward!»
«Scarlett… please…»
She slapped him across the face with all the strength she had. He said nothing but lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he was gone. She sat down again.
Her hand dropped to a little table beside her. She picked up the bowl and hurled it viciously across the room toward the fireplace. It splintered with a little crash against the marble mantelpiece.
«This», said a voice from the depths of the sofa, «is too much».
Rhett Butler rose from the sofa where he had been lying and made her a bow. He had heard everything!
«Sir», she said, «you are no gentleman!»
«An apt observation», he answered airily. «And, you, Miss, are no lady».
She walked out of the room and banged the heavy door behind her.
She went up the stairs swiftly. The she stopped and saw Charles. When he saw her, he hurried toward her. Charles stared at her.
«I’m so clumsy», he said. «I forgot how delicate ladies are. I’m sorry. Shall we sit on the bench?»
She nodded and he carefully handed her down.
«He has a lot of money», she was thinking. «And he hasn’t any parents to bother me and he lives in Atlanta. And if I marry him right away, it will show Ashley that I don’t care… that I was only flirting with him. And it will kill Honey. And it will hurt Melanie, because she loves Charles so much. And it would hurt Stu and Brent…»
«I can’t decide now whether to go with Mr. Wade Hampton’s South Carolina Legion or with the Atlanta Gate City Guard», said Charles…
She said, «Oh» and their eyes met.
«Will you wait for me, Miss Scarlett?»
«I don’t want to wait», she said.
«Can you possibly love me?»
She said nothing.
«You will marry me soon, Miss Scarlett?»
«Um», she said.
«When may I speak to your father?»
«The sooner the better».
He leaped up and looked down at her radiantly. The white house will never be her house now. Ashley will never marry her. Oh, Ashley, Ashley! What have I done? She loved Ashley and she knew she loved him.
