第383章

“An’ den—Miss Melly, you know whut he done? His face got right gentle lak an’ he come ter me an’ put his han’ on mah arm. Dat’s de fust time he ever done dat. An’ he say: ‘She wuz so brave, wuzn’ she? ‘Cept fer de dahk, she wuzn’ sceered of nuthin’.’ An’ wen Ah bust out cryin’ he say: ‘Now, Mammy,’ an’ he pat me. ‘Now, Mammy, doan you cahy on so. Ah’s glad you tole me. Ah knows you love Miss Bonnie an’ kase you love her, it doan matter. It’s whut de heart is dat matter.’ Well’m dat kinder cheered me up, so Ah ventu’ ter say: ‘Mist Rhett, suh, what ‘bout de fune’l?’ Den he tuhn on me lak a wile man an’ his eyes glitter an’ he say: ‘Good Gawd, Ah thought you’d unnerstan’ even ef nobody else din’! Does you think Ah’m gwine ter put mah chile away in de dahk w’en she so sceered of it? Right now Ah kin hear de way she uster scream w’en she wake up in de dahk. Ah ain’ gwine have her sceered.’ Miss Melly, den Ah know he los’ his mine. He drunk an’ he need sleep an’ sumpin’ ter eat but dat ain’ all. He plumb crazy. He jes’ push me outer de do’ an’ say: ‘Git de hell outer hyah!’

“Ah goes downstairs an’ Ah gits ter thinkin’ dat he say dar ain’ gwine be no fune’l an’ Miss Scarlett say it be termorrer mawnin’ an’ he say dar be shootin’. An’ all de kinfolks in de house an’ all de neighbors already gabblin’ ‘bout it lak a flock of guinea hens, an’ Ah thought of you, Miss Melly. You got ter come he’p us.”

“Oh, Mammy, I couldn’t intrude!”

“Ef you kain, who kin?”

“But what could I do, Mammy?”

“Miss Melly, Ah doan know. But you kin do sumpin’. You kin talk ter Mist’ Rhett an’ maybe he lissen ter you. He set a gret sto’ by you, Miss Melly. Maybe you doan know it, but he do. Ah done hear him say time an’ agin, you is de onlies’ gret lady he knows.”

“But—”

Melanie rose to her feet, confused, her heart quailing at the thought of confronting Rhett. The thought of arguing with a man as grief crazed as the one Mammy depicted made her go cold. The thought of entering that brightly lighted room where lay the little girl she loved so much wrung her heart. What could she do? What could she say to Rhett that would ease his grief and bring him back to reason? For a moment she stood irresolute and through the closed door came the sound of her boy’s treble laughter. Like a cold knife in her heart came the thought of him dead. Suppose her Beau were lying upstairs, his little body cold and still, his merry laughter hushed.

“Oh,” she cried aloud, in fright, and in her mind she clutched him close to her heart. She knew how Rhett felt. If Beau were dead, how could she put him away, alone with the wind and the rain and the darkness?

“Oh! Poor, poor Captain Butler!” she cried. “I’ll go to him now, right away.”

She sped back to the dining room, said a few soft words to Ashley and surprised her little boy by hugging him close to her and kissing his blond curls passionately.

She left the house without a hat, her dinner napkin still clutched in her hand, and the pace she set was hard for Mammy’s old legs. Once in Scarlett’s front hall, she bowed briefly to the gathering in the library, to the frightened Miss Pittypat, the stately old Mrs. Butler, Will and Suellen. She went up the stairs swiftly, with Mammy panting behind her. For a moment, she paused before Scarlett’s closed door but Mammy hissed, “No’m, doan do dat.”

Down the hall Melly went, more slowly now, and stopped in front of Rhett’s room. She stood irresolutely for a moment as though she longed to take flight. Then, bracing herself, like a small soldier going into battle, she knocked on the door and called softly: “Please let me in, Captain Butler. It’s Mrs. Wilkes. I want to see Bonnie.”

The door opened quickly and Mammy, shrinking back into the shadows of the hall, saw Rhett huge and dark against the blazing background of candles. He was swaying on his feet and Mammy could smell the whisky on his breath. He looked down at Melly for a moment and then, taking her by the arm, he pulled her into the room and shut the door.

Mammy edged herself stealthily to a chair beside the door and sank into it wearily, her shapeless body overflowing it. She sat still, weeping silently and praying. Now and then she lifted the hem of her dress and wiped her eyes. Strain her ears as hard as she might, she could hear no words from the room, only a low broken humming sound.

After an interminable period, the door cracked open and Melly’s face white and strained, appeared.

“Bring me a pot of coffee, quickly, and some sandwiches.”

When the devil drove, Mammy could be as swift as a lithe black sixteen-year-old and her curiosity to get into Rhett’s room made her work faster. But her hope turned to disappointment when Melly merely opened the door a crack and took the tray. For a long time Mammy strained her sharp ears but she could distinguish nothing except the clatter of silver on china, and the muffled soft tones of Melanie’s voice. Then she heard the creaking of the bed as a heavy body fell upon it and, soon after, the sound of boots dropping to the floor. After an interval, Melanie appeared in the doorway but, strive though she might, Mammy could not see past her into the room. Melanie looked tired and there were tears glistening on her lashes but her face was serene again.

“Go tell Miss Scarlett that Captain Butler is quite willing for the funeral to take place tomorrow morning,” she whispered.

“Bress Gawd!” ejaculated Mammy. “How on uth—”

“Don’t talk so loud. He’s going to sleep. And, Mammy, tell Miss Scarlett, too, that I’ll be here all night and you bring me some coffee. Bring it here.”

“Ter disyere room?”

“Yes, I promised Captain Butler that if he would go to sleep I would sit up by her all night. Now go tell Miss Scarlett, so she won’t worry any more.”

Mammy started off down the hall, her weight shaking the floor, her relieved heart singing “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” She paused thoughtfully outside of Scarlett’s door, her mind in a ferment of thankfulness and curiosity.