Scarlett's Sister

Chapter Two: Attraction

Ella was woken to the sound of her bedroom door banging against the wall. With weary sleep-filled eyes, she looked towards the door to see Mammy walk in carrying a breakfast tray.

"Miss Ella it's time for you to get up and ready for the barbeque."

Ella stretched out her stiff limbs before reluctantly getting out of bed to let Mammy dress her. No matter how much she didn't want to go today, getting on the wrong side of Mammy was a very bad idea.

"Here Miss Ella, I won't have you stuffing your face at the barbeque, so you eat up everything on that tray while I go see to Miss Scarlett."

Mammy left the breakfast tray on Ella's bed and left the room.

After putting her hair into a simple chignon, Ella approached her bed and sat on the edge next to the tray. She did as her Mammy demanded and ate her breakfast.

Well, I won't be eating anything at the barbeque after such a considerable breakfast, she thought.

"Mammy, I just need to check on Ella first..."

Ella heard Scarlett before her door opened and her twin entered, not yet dressed.

Scarlett looked at Ella with a disapproving expression on her face.

"For goodness sake, Ella, have you seen the state of your hair!"

Scarlett forced her sister into a chair and proceeded to twist her hair into a more elaborate and complementing style. Scarlett observed her sister's appearance with a sense of accomplishment.

"Much better. You want to be able to catch the eye of any men who are attending today, don't you, Ella."

Ella rolled her eyes at her sister's teasing.

"Shouldn't you be getting dressed Scarlett?"

Ella watched as her sister rushed out of her room calling for Mammy to help her dress. Ella picked up her bonnet and parasol from her dresser. She put on the bonnet carefully so as not to disrupt Scarlett's work, and made her way downstairs to join her family.

Downstairs she found her younger sisters Suellen and Carreen, waiting in the carriage and her father, Gerald, already on his horse and Ella made her way to join them.

"Where's Mother?"

"Your mother won't be joining us today. Mr Wilkerson has been dismissed."

Ella didn't need her father to explain the matter any further. He may be the man of the house, but her mother was the one in charge, of everything. She had a slight feeling of pity for her mother, who she knew would have been looking forward to a day away from Tara and the strain of her duties, but it was what a woman signed up for when she married. Ella only saw that as another reason not to marry.

"Katie Scarlett O'Hara, if you're not in the carriage by the time I count to ten we'll leave without you! One! Two!"

At her father's shout, Scarlett leaned out of her bedroom window and shouted back that she was on her way down.

"Three! Four! Five!"

Scarlett came rushing out of the house and joined her sisters in the carriage. She was wearing her green muslin dress, which had a low bust, too low to be worn before three in the afternoon. Ella looked at her twin with raised eyebrows.

"How on earth did you get Mammy to let you wear that?"

"I refused to eat."

Ella laughed, Scarlett O'Hara always got what she wanted.