He looked down at her, the corners of his mouth quivering with amusement. “Tell me the truth on this first morning of our new life together, Scarlett. Do you love me with your whole heart, or did you simply want me because you couldn’t have me?”
“Why, Rhett, what a nasty thing to say! I love you with all my heart and I always will.”
The pause before Scarlett answered his question was so infinitesimal that only Rhett could have heard it. He threw his head back and roared with laughter. “My beloved,” he said, “I can see that our lives are never going to be dull. I can hardly wait to get started.”
A small grimy hand tugged on his trousers. Rhett looked down.
“Cat will go with you,” said his daughter.
He lifted her to his shoulder, his eyes glistening with emotion. “Are you ready, Mrs. Butler?” he asked Scarlett. “The blockades are waiting for us.”
Cat laughed gleefully. She looked at Scarlett with eyes that were bright with shared secrets. “The old ladder is under my quilts, Momma. Grainne told me to save it.”
GREAT ACCLAIM FOR Scarlett
“Fun… entertaining… absorbing.”
—People
“Alexandra Ripley is true to Scarlett’s spirit and to Rhett’s. Her sense of Mitchell’s style is right on target.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Adds new zest to a much-loved classic… Ripley keeps the pace going.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Popular entertainment of the highest order… The narrative has real bite. Ripley’s hard work, research, and writerly competence shines through… She is a skilled professional storyteller… Characters are well-rounded and vital… a complex, compelling adventure. The heroine of this story… is Ripley’s. And she lives.”
—Orlando Sentinel
“A real page-turner… Ripley has remained true to Mitchell.”
—Gannett News Service
“Ripley is…[an] American Rosamund Pilcher.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“As good as romance novels come.”
—Chattanooga Times
“Captivating.”
—Ladies Home Journal
“Evokes the swift pace, the endearing characters, and the vibrant regional color and history of the original.”
—Grand Rapids Press
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Lost in the Dark
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
High Stakes
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
New Life
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
The Tower
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Great Acclaim for Scarlett
Copyright
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 by Stephens Mitchell Trusts
Book design by Giorgetta Bell McRee
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group
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First e-book edition: November 2011
Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
ISBN 978-0-446-50297-9
Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind Page 94
