A week before Scarlett and Rhett announced their engagement,an election for governor had been held.The Southern Democrats had General John B.Gordon,one of Georgia's best loved and most honored citizens,as their candidate.Opposing him was a Republican named Bullock.The election had lasted three days instead of one.Trainloads of negroes had been rushed from town to town,voting at every precinct along the way.Of course,Bullock had won.
If the capture of Georgia by Sherman had caused bitterness,the final capture of the state's capital by the Carpetbaggers,Yankees and negroes caused an intensity of bitterness such as the state had never known before.Atlanta and Georgia seethed and raged.
And Rhett Butler was a friend of the hated Bullock!
Scarlett,with her usual disregard for all matters not directly under her nose,had scarcely known an election was being held.Rhett had taken no part in the election and his relations with the Yankees were no different from what they had always been.But the fact remained that Rhett was a Scallawag and a friend of Bullock.And,if the marriage went through,Scarlett also would be turning Scallawag.Atlanta was in no mood to be tolerant or charitable toward anyone in the enemy camp and,the news of the engagement coming when it did,the town remembered all of the evil things about the pair and none of the good.
Scarlett knew the town was rocking but she did not realize the extent of public feeling until Mrs.Merriwether,urged on by her church circle,took it upon herself to speak to her for her own good.
“Because your own dear mother is dead and Miss Pitty,not being a matron,is not qualified to—er,well,to talk to you upon such a subject,I feel that I must warn you,Scarlett.Captain Butler is not the kind of a man for any woman of good family to marry.He is a—”
“He managed to save Grandpa Merriwether's neck and your nephew's too.”
Mrs.Merriwether swelled.Hardly an hour before she had had an irritating talk with Grandpa.The old man had remarked that she must not value his hide very much if she did not feel some gratitude to Rhett Butler,even if the man was a Scallawag and a scoundrel.
“He only did that as a dirty trick on us all,Scarlett,to embarrass us in front of the Yankees,”Mrs.Merriwether continued.“You know as well as I do that the man is a rogue.He always has been and now he's unspeakable.He is simply not the kind of man decent people receive.”
“No?That's strange,Mrs.Merriwether.He was in your parlor often enough during the war.And he gave Maybelle her white satin wedding dress,didn't he?Or is my memory wrong?”
“Things were so different during the war and nice people associated with many men who were not quite—It was for the Cause and very proper,too.Surely you can't be thinking of marrying a man who wasn't in the army,who jeered at men who did enlist?”
“He was,too,in the army.He was in the army eight months.He was in the last campaign and fought at Franklin and was with General Johnston when he surrendered.”
“I had not heard that,”said Mrs.Merriwether and she looked as if she did not believe it either.“But he wasn't wounded,”she added,triumphantly.
“Lots of men weren't.”
“Everybody who was anybody got wounded.I know no one who wasn't wounded.”
Scarlett was goaded.
“Then I guess all the men you knew were such fools they didn't know when to come in out of a shower of rain—or of minie balls.Now,let me tell you this,Mrs.Merriwether,and you can take it back to your busybody friends.I'm going to marry Captain Butler and I wouldn't care if he'd fought on the Yankee side.”
When that worthy matron went out of the house with her bonnet jerking with rage,Scarlett knew she had an open enemy now instead of a disapproving friend.But she did not care.Nothing Mrs.Merriwether could say or do could hurt her.She did not care what anyone said—anyone except Mammy.
Scarlett had borne with Pitty's swooning at the news and had steeled herself to see Ashley look suddenly old and avoid her eyes as he wished her happiness.She had been amused and irritated at the letters from Aunt Pauline and Aunt Eulalie in Charleston,horror struck at the news,forbidding the marriage,telling her it would not only ruin her social position but endanger theirs.She had even laughed when Melanie with a worried pucker in her brows said loyally:“Of course,Captain Butler is much nicer than most people realize and he was so kind and clever,the way he saved Ashley.And after all,he did fight for the Confederacy.But,Scarlett,don't you think you'd better not decide so hastily?”
No,she didn't mind what anybody said,except Mammy.Mammy's words were the ones that made her most angry and brought the greatest hurt.
“Ah has seed you do a heap of things dat would hu't Miss Ellen,did she know.An'it has done sorrered me a plen'y.But disyere is de wust yit.Mahyin'trash!Yas'm,Ah said trash!Doan go tellin'me he come frum fine folkses.Dat doan mek no diffunce.Trash come outer de high places,same as de low,and he trash!Yas'm,Miss Scarlett,Ah's seed you tek Mist'Charles 'way frum Miss Honey w'en you din'keer nuthin’'bout him.An'Ah's seed you rob yo'own sister of Mist'Frank.An'Ah's heshed mah mouf 'bout a heap of things you is done,lak sellin'po lumber fer good,an lyin''bout de other lumber gempmums,an ridin'roun'by yo'seff,exposing yo'seff ter free issue niggers an'gittin'Mist'Frank shot,an'not feedin'dem po'convicts nuff ter keep dey souls in dey bodies.Ah's done heshed mah mouf,even ef Miss Ellen in de Promise lan'wuz sayin'‘Mammy,Mammy!You ain'look affer mah chile right!’Yas'm，Ah's stood fer all dat but Ah ain'gwine stand fer dis,Miss Scarlett.You kain mahy wid trash.Not w'ile Ah got breaf in mah body.”
“I shall marry whom I please,”said Scarlett coldly.“I think you are forgetting your place,Mammy.”
“An'high time,too!Ef Ah doan say dese wuds ter you,who gwine ter do it?”