The author makes no claims to characters or events relating to GONE WITH THE WIND or SCARLETT.
Older, Wiser
Chapter One
"Momma! Momma!" An excited Cat yelled as she jumped up and down on the decks of the Brian Boru. Her little hands clasped the railings tightly and her dark hair swung around her in a flurry of expectation. Rhett laughed and stood behind his youngest daughter. In so many ways she reminded him of Bonny, yet in so many ways, Cat was so different.
"Come Scarlett, we're almost there." Rhett drawled and extended his arm. Scarlett, clad in a dark green dress took it gratefully and leaned on his shoulder. Returning to the land that expelled her, that saw her as an outcast; there was so much to be done!
Cat had reacted very well to the revelation about Rhett...as much as any four-year-old would. To her, all this seemed like a big adventure. She was on her way to her beloved Momma's homeland; she finally had a father, not to mention a brother and sister! That intrigued the little girl more so than having Rhett as a father. She could hardly suppress the excitement at seeing Wade and Ella, even with the age difference. In the past three months, there were so many stories, Scarlett's life at Tara - her grandparents, the war. So much, how could any child not see the trip as an adventure?
Rhett chuckled as he saw the apprehensive glisten in Scarlett's eyes; it was all over her face. Of course, the first thing Rhett did before they left for Atlanta, was have the divorce deleted...money, will buy anything. All was right in the world, Scarlett was by his side, and this outgoing little girl jumping up and down was his daughter - his! Finally, he was able to let Bonnie rest, and allow him to stop grieving for a child taken to soon from this world and her father's love. It stung at Rhett every time he'd see a girl with dark hair and blue eyes. At various ages, he'd squint and imagine it was his little girl growing up and thus, Bonnie's memory would never die. As Scarlett once had nightmares about being lost in a fog, Rhett would have nightmares about his Bonnie, lost and needing him. Finally, he would put his firstborn and well loved to rest.
Scarlett played with Cat's hair nervously as she nestled her head into Rhett's broad chest. Blast him, how dare he laugh at her! Of course, the swift stir of anger made her laugh; how she missed the sound of his laughter. It was a comfort to have him here, loving her as he did. The difference now, as to the past, was that there were no longer any secrets. How incredible was this feeling of not having to pretend, mask her emotions and have all that she desired. For so long, there was always something within her grasp, but would never be hers - now, that was ancient history.
Of course, Scarlett did have the familiar pang of guilt and regret whenever she thought of her eldest two children; how could she right their wrongs? How could she explain to children that their mother was only a child, but had now grown up?
"Momma?" Scarlett shook her worries away and looked down to the brown face of her youngest and final child. Cat's birth saw to it that there would be no more children.
"Momma's fine, precious. Look, Kitty Cat - Atlanta! Cat, if you squint your eyes, you can make out the Cathedral at Five Points." Cat's mouth made an 'o' and she hurried to squint her eyes. Rhett's eyes gleamed with pride at the energy within his daughter; Cat was everything he needed, she was in no means, a replacement for Bonnie, Cat was what brought Scarlett and Rhett back together again. He leaned down and whispered in Scarlett's ear...
"Won't the old cats be surprised to see us again - and introduce out little Kitty Cat!" Scarlett laughed ruefully. That too, made her nervous. Thank Heaven Cat had inherited some of Rhett's features...enough to have a clear resemblance. But too, there was clear resemblance of Scarlett in her youngest - right down to the dimples that appeared with Rhett. In her eyes, the same shade of green specks, yet Cat was something special. She was no more Scarlett than she was Rhett, yet she was so much like them.
"After we stir the old cats, I want Cat to see Tara. Even it's no longer the home I grew up in anymore." Scarlett said somewhat wistfully. When last she visited, Tara was Suellen's dwelling, inhabited with strange creatures and strange crops. However deep down, in her heart of hearts, Tara was the proud plantation of pre war days. Slaves were plentiful and the slow, quiet moments at twilight were precious...her Tara.
"Darling, Tara is your home - you're just not meant to live there." Scarlett looked to Rhett without fury - at one time, these words would justify a bloody death.
"You're right, but all the same, I need to set things right; by all my children."
*****
Ashley was undoubtedly shocked when a telegram came from Rhett (of all people) three months ago. Hatred flared in his eyes when he'd received a warm invitation to receive him at the Atlanta port - receive! The man who betrayed Scarlett and divorced her? However, Ashley could not quell this pang of suspicion that stirred in his breast. Harriet, his wife, blurted out something he was hurt Scarlett's kept secret from him - a child!
"...Of course, Billy and she were broken hearted the day we left..."
Ashley couldn't help but wonder if Katie Column...Cat was the reason behind Rhett's urgent summons. Surely, he wouldn't be calling on him to duel - not after the physical description of Cat; the incarnation of both Rhett and Scarlett.
So to satisfy his curiosity and to act as a gentleman should, Ashley waited for Rhett (and Scarlett) at the Atlanta port. Beside him, his son, Beau; in his son's eyes, his beloved Melanie lived again. Beau had his mother's quiet strength, and held the respect of his classmates. Ashley was very proud of him, to say the least.
When the Brian Boru's horn blew, Harriet came running out. She was eager to see Cat's father, regardless if Scarlett herself would be with him. Close at her heels, Billy with his younger half-sister, Melanie. At first, the prospect of his mother bearing another child made Billy jealous, but the thought of another Cat around the place chased his jealousy away. Billy was eager to see Cat, and he thought the reason his mother was so excited was because Scarlett would be coming from Ireland - if Scarlett came, so too would Cat.
Ashley saw his second wife and his stepson rush out at the sound of an incoming ship, and he sighed. He hoped, for their sake, Scarlett would be on this ship. However, anyone as determined as Scarlett would have her way - especially after Rhett's wife died in childbirth, effectively making him a free man. Free man? Was any man a free man while Scarlett had her eyes upon him? Once she'd cast her bewitching will upon a man, why, she was like a huntress who never failed. Even though she never snared Ashley the way she'd thought she'd wanted, all those years he fought temptation. Now, Scarlett had grown up and moved on, as they all had. Here Ashley was, married again with another child. No woman could ever replace Melanie, not even her namesake, but Melanie would've wanted him to move on. Harriet never overstepped the boundary with Beau; she understood how Billy would resent that. Yes, it was a happy life for all involved, with memories lingering like a pleasant breeze.