Into living in Miss Pitty's house, but not me. I don't believe I

could bear her vaporings three times a day and, moreover, I believe

Uncle Peter would assassinate me before he would let me live under

the sacred Hamilton roof. Miss Pitty can get Miss India Wilkes to

stay with her and keep the bogyman away. When we get back to

Atlanta we are going to stay in the bridal suite of the National

Hotel until our house is finished. Before we left Atlanta I was

dickering for that big lot on Peachtree, the one near the Leyden

house. You know the one I mean?"

"Oh, Rhett, how lovely! I do so want a house of my own. A great

big one!"

"Then at last we are agreed on something. What about a white

stucco with wrought-iron work like these Creole houses here?"

"Oh, no, Rhett. Not anything old fashioned like these New Orleans

houses. I know just what I want. It's the newest thing because I

saw a picture of it in--let me see--it was in that Harper's Weekly

I was looking at. It was modeled after a Swiss chalet."

"A Swiss what?"

"A chalet."

"Spell it."

She complied.

"Oh," he said and stroked his mustache.

"It was lovely. It had a high mansard roof with a picket fence on

top and a tower made of fancy shingles at each end. And the towers

had windows with red and blue glass in them. It was so stylish

looking."

"I suppose it had jigsaw work on the porch banisters?"

"Yes."

"And a fringe of wooden scrollwork hanging from the roof of the

porch?"

"Yes. You must have seen one like it."

"I have--but not in Switzerland. The Swiss are a very intelligent

race and keenly alive to architectural beauty. Do you really want

a house like that?"

"Oh, yes!"

"I had hoped that association with me might improve your taste.

Why not a Creole house or a Colonial with six white columns?"

"I tell you I don't want anything tacky and old-fashioned looking.

And inside let's have red wall paper and red velvet portieres over

all the folding doors and oh, lots of expensive walnut furniture

and grand thick carpets and--oh, Rhett, everybody will be pea green

when they see our house!"

"It is very necessary that everyone shall be envious? Well, if you

like they shall be green. But, Scarlett, has it occurred to you

that it's hardly in good taste to furnish the house on so lavish a

scale when everyone is so poor?"

"I want it that way," she said obstinately. "I want to make

everybody who's been mean to me feel bad. And we'll give big

receptions that'll make the whole town wish they hadn't said such

nasty things."

"But who will come to our receptions?"

"Why, everybody, of course."

"I doubt it. The Old Guard dies but it never surrenders."

"Oh, Rhett, how you run on! If you've got money, people always

like you."

"Not Southerners. It's harder for speculators' money to get into

the best parlors than for the camel to go through the needle's eye.

And as for Scallawags--that's you and me, my pet--we'll be lucky if

we aren't spit upon. But if you'd like to try, I'll back you, my

dear, and I'm sure I shall enjoy your campaign intensely. And

while we are on the subject of money, let me make this clear to

you. You can have all the cash you want for the house and all you

want for your fal-lals. And if you like jewelry, you can have it

but I'm going to pick it out. You have such execrable taste, my

pet. And anything you want for Wade or Ella. And if Will Benteen

can't make a go of the cotton, I'm willing to chip in and help out

on that white elephant in Clayton County that you love so much.

That's fair enough, isn't it?"

"Of course. You're very generous."

"But listen closely. Not one cent for the store and not one cent

for that kindling factory of yours."

"Oh," said Scarlett, her face falling. All during the honeymoon

she had been thinking how she could bring up the subject of the

thousand dollars she needed to buy fifty feet more of land to

enlarge her lumber yard.

"I thought you always bragged about being broad minded and not

caring what people said about my running a business, and you're

just like every other man--so afraid people will say I wear the

pants in the family."

"There's never going to be any doubt in anybody's mind about who

wears the pants in the Butler family," drawled Rhett. "I don't

care what fools say. In fact, I'm ill bred enough to be proud of

having a smart wife. I want you to keep on running the store and

the mills. They are your children's. When Wade grows up he won't

feel right about being supported by his stepfather, and then he can

take over the management. But not one cent of mine goes into

either business."

"Why?"

"Because I don't care to contribute to the support of Ashley

Wilkes."

"Are you going to begin that again?"

"No. But you asked my reasons and I have given them. And another

thing. Don't think you can juggle books on me and lie about how

much your clothes cost and how much it takes to run the house, so

that you can use the money to buy more mules or another mill for

Ashley. I intend to look over and carefully check your expenditures

and I know what things cost. Oh, don't get insulted. You'd do it.