How It All Goes Down
- Scarlett gives Gerald's watch to Pork who is groveling and grateful.
- (An aside: Racism works in two major ways in this book. There is out-and-out hatred of black people who are supposed to be the bad guys, and then there is condescension toward the black people who are supposed to be faithful and loyal.)
- Scarlett appeals to Ashley to help her with the mill, but he doesn't want to because he knows she's taking pity on him and that he'll be terrible at running a mill.
- Also, he's worried they might kiss again or some such.
- Scarlett gets Melanie to take her part by pretending she needs Ashley's help, though.
- Ashley can't handle the two of them and he loses. Losing is kind of Ashley's thing.
- Suellen and Will marry; Melanie and Ashley get a house in Atlanta, and Ashley's sister India comes to live with him.
- Melanie becomes a center of social activity because she's so awesome and sweet and suffused with a deep gentleness.
- Scarlett is eager to get the baby born and done with so she can maybe spend time with Ashley and take care of her mills.
- She decides to hire Johnnie Gallagher to run her mill. He's an unpleasant and brutal man.
- Scarlett's going to get convict laborers rather than free black people because you can treat them worse, supposedly.
- Frank is horrified and he wants to forbid her to do it.
- For her part, Scarlett is determined not to have another baby ever.