2. Leave-taking
If Bonnie had been Gerald O'Hara's granddaughter through and through, there could be no doubt whatsoever that Melly was Ellen's. Where Bonnie had been a sweet, selfish darling prone to tantrums and fits, Melly had inherited Ellen's gentleness as well as her height. The graciousness, kindness, and forgiving nature had to come from somewhere…most assuredly not from me, Scarlett thought with pride as she reflected on the matter, and most assuredly not from him, God rot him.
But Melly was growing up. Already her figure was becoming more shapely, more like a woman than a girl; but she was smart, too! Thanks to Ashley's diligent teachings, she could speak French by the time she was five, read Latin by the time she was six; she had committed large portions of the classics to memory, and it was their favorite pastime to reenact large portions of various plays for Scarlett's entertainment, for all that she didn't have a clue as to what it was they were performing. But in one arena she lacked: she did not yet know the graces of being attractive to men! However could she? There were very few young men in Fernandina, and not one among them a potential candidate for marriage. Besides, Scarlett conceded to herself, Melly was far too young to begin considering such things. To admit that Melly was a young lady was to admit to herself that her last, most cherished baby was ready to leave the nest and face the wild world. And that was something that Scarlett was not prepared to do, not just yet.
To Scarlett's indignation, it was Ashley who first broached the difficult subject one summer evening.
"I've been thinking hard about Ella's suggestion, Scarlett. Melly needs to get out the house more. She has no playmates, no interaction with the other girls."
"That's because the girls her age in town are either Yankees or white trash, and I don't want her associating with either."
"Well, what about sending her to the County for the summer? Suellen has girls her age, and I'm sure there are others. I'd be interested to see where some of the Atlanta girls are being sent to school."
"School? Who said anything about school? I went for two years to a so-called school and didn't learn a thing!"
"You learned well enough how to set a man's heart a-tremble, if I recall."
"Oh fiddle-dee-dee. But there are other options, Ashley, closer ones. The Saint Joseph's Academy for Women accepts day students! Besides, you've already got her reading more than I ever did at her age!"
"She thrives on learning, Scarlett, thrives on it. She's not like you in that regard, my dear. And St. Joe's will teach her no more than penmanship and embroidery. What she needs is Europe…"
"And who do you suggest should take her there? You?"
"I would in an instant if I thought I could make the trip. But if not Europe, Scarlett, then New York or Boston. You certainly had no reservations about sending Wade off to Europe for his Tour. Or for Beau going off to medical school."
"She's not Beau or Wade! She's a little girl, Ashley!"
"She's not a child, Scarlett!"
"She is my child."
Ashley sighed heavily. "I realize that. But I would like a say in her future. I think that I've earned that."
"You want to take her away from me."
"No, not in the least. But she's a caged bird here, Scarlett. She speaks and sings beautifully, but has no one to hear her. She needs to fly, Scarlett!"
"Why must you always talk that way?"
"I think that you know I'm right. You can't protect her forever, my dear. You've raised her well. She needs to see some of her people. She needs to see Twelve Oaks and Tara; my God, Scarlett, she doesn't even remember them! Beau doesn't care anything for plantation life; it'll all be Melly's inheritance when I die."
"Ashley!"
She hated nothing more than to hear him run on about his mortality; dreadfully afraid was she that Melly would hear him and fret over it. But the truth was becoming more and more evident as the years passed that Ashley was not a well man. He's lucky to be alive, Doctor Meade had told her after he had shocked her with the diagnosis of consumption. Ashley had always been so strong, physically at least. So much rage and anguish had filled her when she had realized that she was going to lose him one day, along with everything else; and Doctor Meade had given him little hope, save for the suggestion to relocate to a coastal climate. But Ashley had defied the prediction thus far, and he had been able to hide his condition from Melly. So many secrets, Scarlett thought, all the while reassuring herself that they were in place for Melly's own good.
"I don't have any delusions of attaining a great age, Scarlett. And when I do die, which may in fact be quite soon, I want to be able to do it knowing that I've done everything I possibly could for her. She deserves the world, you know."
"I know how much you love her, Ashley. And she adores the ground you walk on, truly. You've been a much better father than he would have been, I'll tell you that much."
"I don't know about that, Scarlett. I won't lie and say that he didn't love Bonnie." He lowered his voice to a whisper as he said the last, "But he forfeited all rights to Melly the day he abandoned you."
"He broke my heart that day," Scarlett sighed. "I didn't expect it. Not even from him."
"But let us not dwell in the past, my dear. You so kindly reminded me once of the harm of imagining the 'what-if's'…I'm happy, Scarlett. And even if I died tomorrow, I would be a happy man."
She squeezed his hand from across the table, then stood up suddenly, her sharp ears detecting a lingering presence at the top of the staircase.
"Melanie Wilkes! Whatever are you doing, eavesdropping on conversations? Come downstairs, please."
Melly slunk down the stairs and landed on her father's lap and buried her face in his chest.
"I wasn't eavesdropping," she mumbled, "I heard voices."
Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure…well, what did you hear?"
Melly faced her mother and shrugged.
Ashley held her close, stroking her long silky hair, which had been painstakingly brushed by Mammy. "Your mother and I have been discussing the possibility of sending you to school. A real one, not Saint Joe's."
"Where?"
"Well," Ashley pondered aloud, "Savannah perhaps. Or Charleston. I had even suggested New York."
"Oh no," Melly shook her head vehemently. "Not New York, Papa, please. It's so very far away!"
"That's exactly what I said," Scarlett muttered.
"Melly," Ashley's grey eyes fixed her dark ones, "darling Melly. You're such a clever girl. You've read nearly every book in our library; don't you want to read new things? See new people, new places?"
"Well, I suppose that I do. I've always wanted to see Savannah. Grandmother Robillard was from Savannah…" she said contemplatively. "But Papa, may I come home if I don't like school?"
"Yes, dearest girl. Of course you can. If you're unhappy, you can write to us and we'll come get you straightaway. But think of it this way, you can spend the last part of the summer with Ella, then you'll start school the first of September, you'll be back for the holidays in just a few months, and before you know it, it'll be spring and then another summer. Don't you see how quickly the time will pass?"
She let out a heavy sigh. "Will Beau be able to visit me?"
"Certainly he can, sweetheart. If Savannah is your choice, then Charleston is a very short train ride away. Assuming that he can arrange things with his classes, I'm sure that he could make you a visit to see that you're settled in."
"Really?"
"Really. Now, why don't you go back to bed. There's much to be settled, and we can discuss it further in the morning."
"Mother?" Melly questioned hesitantly. "Are you sure that it's alright with you?"
Scarlett stared dumbfounded at her daughter before blurting out, "why of course, baby!"
With a sense of foreboding, as if she had already lost her child, Scarlett steered her up the stairs and into her bedroom, which overlooked the ocean. The gentle sea breeze wafted through the open window, filling it with the aroma of sand and saltwater. She had never slept in any other room, save for a brief trip to Tara at the age of five. Trying to reconcile in her mind that that trip had turned out well, for it had been then that Ella had first met Little Joe Fontaine, Scarlett pulled up Melly's covers and stroked her cheek. She dismissed quickly the fleeting vision in her head, although the truth undeniably showed in her daughter's high forehead and wide-set inky eyes. She just hoped that others wouldn't notice it. Especially him, should Melly have the misfortune to ever cross his path. Surely not! God had been good for thirteen years, surely He would continue to be.
"I remember the day that my parents sent me off to school. The Fayetteville Female Academy. I hated every moment of it. But I was so silly back then, Melly, not at all like you. I didn't think at all about anything but myself and how to make myself pleasing to all the young men that would come calling…"
"I don't believe it, Mother!" Melly said loyally. "Did you love Papa the very most?"
Scarlett let out a small laugh at the remembrance and somehow managed a smile. "I suppose that I did."
Contently, Melly sank back into the pillow. "Will I learn to be a great lady like you, Mother?"
"Oh baby. I'm not a great lady. But I want you to be the greatest lady in the entire South. I don't want you to make any of the mistakes I made when I was younger. But most of all, I want you to be happy."
"I think you're a great lady, Mother." Melly smiled up at her mother, whose eyes were filled with tears.
The first day of August, the date of Melly's departure, came far too soon for her mother, who fretted endlessly over afternoon tea.
"They all taste like sawdust!" Scarlett declared as she threw the offending pastry down on her plate.
"Two more hours," Melly announced as she sank into her chair at the kitchen table. Her green travel dress was longer than her usual one, as befitted a young lady. She looked sixteen rather than thirteen, to her parents' mutual chagrin.
Ashley cleared his throat loudly. "I suppose we'd best make ready for town. Is your trunk ready, darling?"
"Yes, Papa. All packed and ready to sail."
"Mrs. Lee will be waiting with the other young ladies. I think that you'll like them, Melly, even if they are a few years your senior."
"I'm sure I will," she nodded bravely.
"I think it's silly that I'm not sailing with you," Scarlett fumed to no one in particular.
"No, Scarlett. We discussed this." Ashley said firmly, "she needs to do this without her fuddy-duddy parents tailing along!"
"Who are you calling a fuddy-duddy, Ashley Wilkes?" Scarlett smirked.
"I'll miss both of you old fuddy-duddies!" Melly giggled.
"So first I'm a fuddy-duddy and now I'm old!" Scarlett let out a genuine sigh of anguish. "Well, I suppose I am ancient to a ripe old thirteen. I was young and beautiful once, I'll have you know."
"You'll always be beautiful to me, Mother," Melly whispered in her mother's ear, giving her a hug.
Finally, it was time. Scarlett had dug her fingers into the upholstery of the carriage the entire trip into town, Ashley had fiddled with his tie and Mammy, who never traveled anywhere but who had insisted upon coming along, was wiping away tears with her sleeve as she rattled off instructions for Melly.
Even before the harbor came into view, Scarlett steeled herself for the coming goodbye. The carriage stopped and Ashley disembarked first, assisting Scarlett first, then Mammy, and finally Melly.
Melly nervously took in her family's faces, as though she was fixing them in her mind.
"Goodbye, Mammy," she hugged the old dear, who still was weepy-eyed.
"Now brush yo hair. Hun'ed strokes a night, chile. An' 'member says 'yes'm and no'm tah yo elders."
"Oh Mammy! Mammy I promise."
Melly kissed the old woman and then moved onto her father, who was putting on a brave face.
She flung her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Oh Papa! I'll miss you so much."
"Melly, my Melly. I don't know how I shall endure not seeing your smiling face every day, or hearing your laughter…or listening to all the various and sundry inquiries of your sharp little mind. But you'll have all sorts of things to tell me when you return. And I expect a full accounting of it all, my girl."
"Yes, Papa." She turned to Scarlett, whose tears showed no signs of ebbing. "Mother? Mother, don't cry! Mother, it's not goodbye forever."
"I love you, baby," Scarlett whispered.
"I love you, too, Mother!"
Giving her one last hug and kiss, Melly's parents could only watch as their precious child followed Miss Hopewell and Miss Jackson and Mrs. Lee onto the gangplank of the steamship.
"Write every day, darling!" Scarlett yelled over the sounds of the ship making ready to sail. "And I will, also!"
Ashley placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "This experience will form her into the young lady she deserves to be."
"I just hope that it doesn't dim her spirit in any way," Scarlett sniffed. "You know as well as I do that people can be cruel."
"It won't, my dear. I promise you that. Melly's not one to let the opinions of others sway her. She's completely true to herself…very similar to her mother."
They continued to stand there, waving for as long as their eyes could still see the ship out onto the horizon.
**NB: Everybody saw right through the subtle (or not so subtle) hints in Chapter 1! Now, you'll have to find out the back story along with Melly. :)