They passed slowly through the crowd which closed behind them and went up the shady path toward the house, Mrs. Tarleton’s eager helping hand so strong under Scarlett’s elbow that she was almost lifted from the ground at each step.
“Now, why did Will do that?” cried Scarlett heatedly, when they were out of earshot. “He practically said: ‘Look at her! She’s going to have a baby!’ ”
“Well, sake’s alive, you are, aren’t you?” said Mrs. Tarleton. “Will did right It was foolish of you to stand in the hot sun when you might have fainted and had a miscarriage.”
“Will wasn’t bothered about her miscarrying,” said Grandma, a little breathless as she labored across the front yard toward the steps you beauty ，There was a grim, knowing smile on her face. “Will’s smart. He didn’t want either you or me, Beetrice, at the graveside. He was scared of what we’d say and he knew this was the only way to get rid of us. … And it was more than that. He didn’t want Scarlett to hear the clods dropping on the coffin. And he’s right. Just remember, Scarlett, as long as you don’t hear that sound, folks aren’t actually dead to you. But once you hear it … Well, it’s the most dreadfully final sound in the world. … Help me up the steps, child, and give me a hand, Beetrice. Scarlett don’t any more need your arm than she needs crutches and I’m not so peart, as Will observed. … Will knew you were your father’s pet and he didn’t want to make it worse for you than it already was. He figured it wouldn’t be so bad for your sisters. Suellen has her shame to sustain her and Carreen her God. But you’ve got nothing to sustain you, have you, child?”
“No,” answered Scarlett, helping the old lady up the Steps, faintly surprised at the truth that sounded in the reedy old voice. “I’ve never had anything to sustain me—except Mother.”
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