She was followed by a second maid, who quietly...
She was followed by a second maid, who quietly moved
the
tea table to a place in front of Julia Ashley, and a manservant with a
larger silver tray holding a different, larger silver service and
stands of fresh sandwiches and cakesScarlett had to admit it: no
matter how disagreeable Julia Ashley might be, the old woman did
things
with style! "Rhett tells me you're to make the Tour, Rosemary," said
Julia"Yes, ma'am! I'm so excited I could die
"That would be inconvenient, I should imagineTell me, have you
begun
to map your itinerary?"
"Not really, Miss JuliaI've only known for a few days that I was
goingThe only thing I'm certain of is that I want to spend as long
as possible in Rome
"You must be sure to time it correctly
The summer heat is quite intolerable, even for a CharlestonianAnd
the Romans all abandon the city for the mountains or the seaI still
correspond with some delightful people whom you would enjoy
I'll give you letters of introduction, of replica swiss rolex submariner courseIf I might suggest
"Oh, please, Miss JuliaThere's so much I want to know
Scarlett breathed a small sigh of reliefShe didn't put it past Rhett
to tell Miss Ashley about the mistake she'd made, thinking that the
only Rome was in Georgia, but he'd let the chance go by
Now he was putting his two cents in, talking a blue streak with the old
woman about all the people with strange namesAnd Rosemary
lapping it
all upThe conversation interested Scarlett not at allBut she
wasn't boredShe watched, fascinated, every move that Julia Ashley
made as she presided at the tea tableWithout any break in the
discussion of Roman antiquities-except to ask Scarlett if she took milk
or lemon and how many lumps of sugar-Julia filled cups and held each
one up, to a level slightly below her right shoulder, for one of the
maids to take it from herShe held it up, waited no longer than three
seconds, then removed her handShe doesn't even look! Scarlett
marvelledIf the maid wasn't there, chanel classic bags or wasn't quick enough, the
whole
thing would just fall on the floor
But one of the maids was always there, and the cup was delivered
silently to the correct person without a drop spilledWhere did he
come from? Scarlett was startled when the manservant appeared at
her
side, offering her a napkin with its folds shaken out and the
three-tiered stand of sandwichesShe was just about to reach out and
take one when the man produced a plate, which he held near her hand
for
her to takeOh, I see, there's a maid handing him things for him to
hand to me! Mighty complicated for a fish-paste sandwich no bigger
than a bite's worthBut she was impressed by the elegance of it all,
even more impressed when the man held an elaborate silver pincer in
his whitegloved hand and lifted an assortment of sandwiches onto her
plateThe final touch was the small table with a lace-edged cloth on
it that the second maid placed beside her knees just when she was
wondering how she was going omega seamaster orange to manage, with a cup and saucer in
one
hand and a plate in the otherDespite her hunger and her curiosity
about the sandwiches- what kind of fancy food called for such fancy
serving?-Scarlett was more interested in the silent efficient routine
of the servants as first Rosemary and then Rhett were provided with
plate, sandwiches, tableIt was almost a disappointment when Miss
Ashley was given no special treatment, only a return of the stand to
the table in front of her
Fiddle-dee-dee! She's even unfolding her napkin herself! It was a
definite disappointment when she bit into the first sandwich and it was
only bread and butter, even though the butter had something else in
it-parsley, she thought; no, something stronger, maybe chivesShe
ate
contentedly; all the sandwiches were goodAnd the cakes on the
other
stand looked even betterMy grief! They're still talking about
Rome!
Scarlett glanced toward the servants
They were standing still as posts, along the wall louis vuitton gold bag behind Miss Ashley
Obviously the cakes weren't going to be passed any time soonFor
heaven's sake, Rosemary had only eaten one half of one sandwich
but we're being inconsiderate," Julia Ashley saidButler, what city would you like to visit? Or do you share
Rosemary's conviction that all roads rightly lead to Rome?"
Scarlett put on her best smile"I'm too enchanted by Charleston to
even think about going any place else, Miss Ashley
"A graceful response," said Julia, "although it does rather put a
period to the conversationMay I offer you some tea?" Before
Scarlett could accept, Rhett spoke"I'm afraid we have to go, Miss
JuliaI haven't gotten the woods trails in condition yet for riding
in the dark, and the days are so short
"You could have avenues, not trails, if you'd put your men to work on
the land instead of at that disgraceful phosphate mine
"Now, Miss Julia, I thought we'd reached a truceFurthermore, I'll admit that you
should take care to be well home before bag gucci