Chapter I
As it turned out, Scarlett didn't have to do much thinking at all about how to get Rhett back.
Fate had it's own plans.
Melanie's funeral was as somber and desolate as a funeral can be. All of the citizens of Atlanta
turned up, including, of course, the Old Guard. Scarlett went alone, without a shoulder to lean or
cry on, and then as soon as she possibly could, broke away from the social events following, and
returned to the empty, lonely house on Peachtree Street.
Had she been more observant, and had she been less selfish, and not so consumed by her
thoughts of being alone, and feeling more ostracized than she ever had in her life, she would
have noticed that she wasn't entirely alone after all.
Hidden in the shadows of the peachtrees for which the street the cemetery was on was named,
stood Rhett. As much as he wanted to get away from Atlanta, from Georgia, from his entire life
here, especially that which he spent with Scarlett, and as much of a cad as he had ever been in all
his 45 years, Rhett would not miss the funeral of the finest woman he had ever known.
Though he didn't want to be seen, he of course wanted his presence known. Not that he did
what he did for his reputation, but he did it out of respect; he quietly went to the florist
responsible for outfitting the arrangements for the funeral, and insisted on paying for the entire
floral affair. The money which had previously been given to pay for the flowers was to be
returned to Rhett, where he then donated a quiet, simple plaque near the church in Melanie's
honor, inscribed from the citizens of Atlanta.
After the funeral was over, he returned to his hotel room downtown, collected his belongings,
and boarded the next train to Charleston.
Scarlett quickly made her way through the Peachtree house, which was dark, and dim, just how
she had ordered it to be. She wanted to spend as little time as possible there, and she didn't want
that time to be spent in the light. She wanted to see nothing of the life she and Rhett had spent in
that house.
Pork drove her in her carriage to the train station, and she quickly boarded the next train for
Jonesboro. She had made up her mind the minute Rhett walked out on her that there was only
one place for her to go, and that, of course, was Tara.
Rhett settled himself in for the long journey to Charleston. His seat was comfortable, his
conscience was not. The death of Melanie Wilkes while tragic in itself, had also brought the
final end to his marriage to Scarlett. There was still no question in his mind about that, despite
Scarlett's professions of love, and apologies for her past wrongdoings. Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton
Kennedy Butler was poison to his blood, worse than the whiskey and brandy and scotch he so
loved, and he'd rather die a drunk than live forever with the toxicity of Scarlett which now
plagued his soul. He was too old for games, for mistakes, for foolishness, and Scarlett was
nothing but a fool. He couldn't believe it had taken him thirteen long years to realize that. He
sighed as he loosened his cravat, gazing out the window at the Atlanta skyline, hoping it would
be a long time until he saw it again, if ever. He closed his weary eyes for a second, and when he
opened them moments later, he was still so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the woman
standing on the other side of the platform. Her shoulders were squared, her feet firmly in place,
and her head held haughtily high. For a moment, he thought it was Scarlett, and his heart
actually skipped a beat. Why it did, he couldn't explain, but he was relieved when a young chap
soon came up to the woman and took her hand, which he then noticed bore no wedding ring, and
she looked up at him, and smiled. The face before Rhett was not Scarlett's, for this woman was
breathtakingly beautiful. She had dark hair, and sparkling eyes, and her skin was whiter than
cotton. She was mature, and dignified, and possessed a certain calmness about her. No, Rhett
thought, there was no question that the woman could not be Scarlett.
He closed his eyes, and tried to relax himself as the train sped off to Charleston.
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