@@@@@Almost immediately Rhett stepped easily
@@@@@Almost immediately Rhett
stepped
easily down the ladder, his head bent to clear the hatchHe
straightened up, and his head grazed the polished wood above it
Scarlett glared at him
'You did that on purpose," she grumbled"Did what?" He opened one
of
the small portholes and closed the hatch"Good," he said then,
"we've
got a following wind and a strong currentWe'll be in the city in
record time He dropped onto the bench opposite Scarlett and
lounged
back, sleek and sinuous as a cat"I assume you won't object if I
smoke His long fingers dipped into the interior pocket of his coat
and extracted a cherootWhy ,am I shut up down
here
in the dark? I want to go upstairs in the sun
"Above," Rhett corrected automatically"This is a rather small
craft
The crew is black, Pansy is black, you are white and a womanThey
get
the cockpit, you get the cabinPansy can roll her eyes at the two
men, laugh at their somewhat indelicate gallantries, and they'll all
three have a pleasant timeYour presence would spoil it"So at the
same time that the underclass is enjoying the journey, you and I, the
privileged elite, will be thoroughly miserable cooped up in each
other's company while you continue to pout and whine
"I'm not pouting and whining! And I'll thank you not to talk to me as
if I was a child!" Scarlett pulled in her lower lipShe hated it
when Rhett made her feel foolish
"What was that quarry we stopped at?"
"That, my dear, was the salvation of Charleston and my passport back
into the bosom of my peopleIt is a phosphate mineThere are
dozens
of them scattered along both rivers He lit his cigar with prolonged
appreciation and the smoke spiraled upward to the porthole"I see
your eyes gleaming, Scar