A faint blush was creeping over hisface as she turned, for he was timid with girls. Like most shy men he greatly admired airy,vivacious, always-at-ease girls like Scarlett. She had never given him more than perfunctorycourtesy before, and so the beaming smile of pleasure with which she greeted him and the twohands outstretched to his almost took his breath away.
“Why Charles Hamilton, you handsome old thing, you! I’ll bet you came all the way down herefrom Atlanta just to break my poor heart!”
Charles almost stuttered with excitement, holding her warm little hands in his andeyes. This was the way girls talked to other boys but never to him. He neverknew why but girls always treated him like a younger brother and were very kind, but neverbothered to tease him. He had always wanted girls to flirt end frolic with him as they did with boysmuch less handsome and less endowed a police shieldcould hold me upside down and drainmy gutschange your mindwith this world’s goods than he. But on the few occasionswhen this had happened he could never think of anything to say and he suffered agonies ofembarrassment at his dumbness. Then he lay awake at night thinking of all the charminggallantries he might have employed; but he rarely got a second chance, for the girls left him aloneafter a trial or two.
Even with Honey, with whom he had an unspoken understanding of marriage when he came intohis property next fall, he was diffident and silent. At times, he had an ungallant feeling thatHoney’s coquetries and proprietary airs were no credit to him, for she was so boy-crazy heimagined she would use them on any man who gave her the opportunity. Charles was not excitedover the prospect of marrying her, for she stirred in him none of the emotions of wild romance thathis beloved books had assured him were proper for a lover. He had always yearned to be loved bysome beautiful, dashing creature full of fire and mischief.
And here was Scarlett O’Hara teasing him about breaking her heart!
He tried to think of something to say and couldn’t, and silently he blessed her because she keptup a steady chatter which relieved him of any necessity for conversation. It was too good to betrue.
“Now, you wait right here till I come back, for I want to eat barbecue with you. And don’t yougo off philandering with those other girls, because I’m mighty jealous,” came the incredible wordsfrom red lips with a dimple on each side; and briskly black lashes swept demurely over green eyes.
“I won’t,” he finally managed to breathe, never dreaming that she was thinking he looked like acalf waiting for the butcher.