Scarlett said: “What a ragamuffin!” as she kissed the child and turned a cheek for Rhett’s lips. There were crowds of people in the depot or she would never have invited this caress. She could not help noticing, for all her embarrassment at Bonnie’s appearance, that everyone in the crowd was smiling at the figure father and daughter cut, smiling not in derision but in genuine amusement and kindness. Everyone knew that Scarlett’s youngest had her father under her thumb and Atlanta was amused and approving. Rhett’s great love for his child had gone far toward reinstating him in public opinion.
On the way home, Scarlett was full of County news. The hot, dry weather was making the cotton grow so fast you could almost hear it but Will said cotton prices were going to be low this fall. Suellen
