Hello again everyone! Did you miss me? Probably not, because I've updated this story 3 times in 48 hours...I swear I have a life, it's just on hold for GWTW for now. You all know what I mean.
To the guests who review, thank you lots! You get an imaginary cookie. And a cake. For everyone else reviewing, so far I've responded to everyone (I think) and you get copious amounts of dessert too! Woot woot!
Anyways, here is chapter 3.
I don't own anything...shocker right?
A month had passed. Ashley and Melanie's wedding took place two weeks after the barbeque. It was a horrible day for Scarlett, watching her Ashley smile at Melanie and her Ashley kissing Melanie. She had tried her best to put on a cheerful face for the occasion and act like a lady should, but it wasn't without great difficulty that Scarlett pretended to be happy for the couple. She could not help but think, however, that if it wasn't for Rhett Butler and his timely interruption the day of the barbeque, she would have been attending her own wedding at this time.
Rhett Butler.
The name stirred up so many emotions in Scarlett that even after one month she still did not know how she felt about the scoundrel. She had to admit, begrudgingly, that she was extremely grateful to him for stopping her engagement to Charles from happening. Once she calmed down and her jealousy over Ashley marrying Melanie instead of her subsided somewhat, she came to her senses and realized that marrying Charles would not have done any good. In fact, it would have only done bad. Ashley would have known what she was doing and he would have judged her for it. And she could not give Ashley any reason to think badly of her! Further, once married she would have had to share a bed with Charles, and just the thought of what their first night as man and wife would have entailed caused Scarlett to feel physically ill.
Rhett Butler.
Scarlett could not get him out of her mind...and it was driving her mad!
She kept thinking about their encounter under the shade of the tree that afternoon. He had wanted her, badly. There was no doubt about that in her mind. And to be truthful, she had wanted him too. He felt so hard and strong and he was all man, nothing like her other beaus. Her previous kisses were always chaste and caused little more than a blush. But her kisses with Rhett Butler caused her body to go limp and to respond to him in ways she knew were indecent, especially considering the fact they had just met the same afternoon, and after the horrific scene in the library no less!
This man was trouble, but a very handsome, dangerous, mysterious sort of trouble. There was that whole ordeal about a girl in Charleston and a late afternoon buggy ride, but that did not bother Scarlett much. In fact, it somehow made him more appealing to her. He disregarded rules and conventions and he was no gentleman. Just like he told her she was no lady. Why could she not stop thinking about the way his hands felt sliding down her body or the way his hot mouth descended on hers as tilted her head back invitingly? Why could she not block from her mind the way his eyes bore into hers after they pulled apart? Why oh why did Rhett Butler have to kiss her like that?!
Apart from hating herself for enjoying Rhett's kisses, Scarlett was also angry at herself for betraying Ashley. If he ever learned how she allowed that man to touch her the way he did, Ashley would never look at her the same way; she would lose him forever. He would be devastated knowing the woman he loved was in the arms of another man. Although, whenever Scarlett thought about this, jealousy always reared its ugly head. Hadn't Ashley married someone else when he truly loved her? Isn't marrying Melanie a worse betrayal than her kissing Rhett Butler? The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became. She was torn between feeling like she had been disloyal to Ashley and feeling like his offence was worse. At the end of most days, however, she decided that Ashley had committed the more serious crime, making it easier for her to accept that she had enjoyed Rhett's advances.
What happened between her and Rhett had other consequences as well. The night of the barbeque when she had returned home, Scarlett could barely look at Mammy or at Ellen. She was sure that if they looked in her eyes they would see her guilt. Both women noted that Scarlett was acting strange that night, but they attributed it to the war starting. Of course Scarlett would be melancholy considering how almost all of the young men in the county, her friends, were enlisting in the army and would be gone soon. This did sadden Scarlett, but since she did not think the war would last more than two weeks like all the men kept saying, it was not of great concern to her. She was glad Mammy and Ellen never suspected otherwise.
Charles Hamilton also proved to be an issue. He never spoke to Scarlett since he ran away from her and Rhett. He even went so far as to not ever look at her. Scarlett was certain he was doing everything in his power to pretend she did not exist. And this bothered Scarlett immensely. Her girlish ego was hurt and she had lost a beau, but she also simply did not understand why he was being such a child about the whole situation. Of course he was humiliated. He had proposed to her, she had given no answer, and another man (a hateful man) was privy to the entire exchange and was so bold as to tell Charles that marrying Scarlett would be a mistake. But why did he feel the need to avoid her? Scarlett was sure she would never understand how men's minds worked.
When it came time for the men to leave, Scarlett was relieved to see Charles go so that the awkwardness would be over, but she was devastated to see her Ashley go. Charles left two weeks before Ashley. When he came to Tara before he departed, Charles, due to duty more than willingness, kissed Scarlett's hand without looking at her and mumbled a faint goodbye. Melanie was teary-eyed when she and Ashley came to Tara to bid the family farewell and Ashley, with Melanie's prompting, kissed her hand just like Charles did. Then they left for the train and Scarlett was alone at Tara and more bitter than ever.
A little over a month after Charles left for the army, he died of pneumonia in camp. Scarlett felt sorry for the Wilkes family, as they and the Hamiltons were always very close, but she could not help but think for a quick moment that if her and Charles had been married two months before, she would be a widow now.
The war continued and there seemed to be no end in sight. It was now February of 1862, and Scarlett was completely bored and unhappy. There were no more balls, no more barbeques, no more beau. Ashley was married and gone. What did she have to do? What did she have to live for now? Life seemed to drag on slowly and miserably, with nothing for Scarlett to do except wallow in her own thoughts about Ashley. Rhett Butler made frequent appearances as well, but her thoughts about him were only a faint desire she would tell herself. Her thoughts about Ashley, however, were pure and full of love and truth. Ashley was the one she loved. And he was gone.
As February came to an end, Ellen was growing concerned for her eldest daughter's health. Scarlett was becoming pale and thin, and she no longer had life in her eyes. After consulting Doctor Fontaine who said that a change in scenery would do wonders for Scarlett, Ellen suggested that Scarlett go visit her family in Savannah and Charleston. Scarlett absolutely refused. All of her relatives were older and boring and she would have even less to do with them than she did at Tara. But this gave her another idea. Scarlett would go visit Melanie in Atlanta, and maybe she would get to see Ashley if he came home on furlough. Seeing Ashley would make everything better!
Perhaps Rhett Butler might also be in Atlanta at this time. "Where did that come from?", she wondered. "I don't actually want to see that man again, do I?" She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and set about putting her plan into action.
Scarlett wrote to Melanie first, telling her how she missed her dear friend now that everyone was gone and how she longed to see her. She told Melanie how everyone left her at Tara with nothing to do and she wanted desperately to have a friend to help her through the trying times of the war.
The second Melanie finished reading Scarlett's letter she talked to her Aunt Pitty Pat and convinced her to have Scarlett come stay with them. This did not seem like a bad idea to Aunt Pitty, who was so fearful of having only two women in the house now that the war has started, and having someone else there with her and Melanie would be a relief. Scarlett wasted no time packing her trunks and setting off for Atlanta, hoping that the city would prove to be more diverting that Tara. And maybe, just maybe, she would even get to see her precious Ashley.
Rhett Butler sat at the desk in the captain's quarters of his ship. The ship will be making port in Savannah soon. They had been back and forth at sea for a couple of months, finally coming back from England to the United States with a cargo hold full of goods for the Confederacy. They were not desperate yet, but Rhett knew the time was nearing for the South to go into a panic, not that they would never admit it. As much as he disliked most confederates' view on the war he was sad to see the life he knew growing up disappearing, as he knew it would once the Yankees won the war. It was only a matter of time. During that time, however, Rhett was going to make the most of it, and so far he was making profit and lots of it. This next haul would no doubt bring in a decent sum. At least there was this upside to the foolishness of the South.
Apart from the money waiting for him, Rhett's thoughts also lay somewhere else. Since that day in April when he met Scarlett O'Hara, he could not stop thinking about her. And this frustrated him to no end. He had seen more beautiful women in his lifetime. Hell! He had bedded more beautiful women not too long ago. But why on earth did that stubborn, spoiled southern belle not leave his mind these last several months?
There was something about her, dare he say it, a passion for living that he admired and seldom saw in other girls. There was also what happened the day of the barbeque. Many nights on the ship when sleep escaped him, Rhett would remember what it felt like to hold her in his arms kissing her. How she moaned softly. How she pressed her body against his. How she wrapped her small arms around his neck wanting him to kiss her harder. He had stored in his mind much more illicit scenarios from other encounters with women, but he always returned to his kisses with Scarlett that day. So simple yet so powerful. He was a man who prided himself on not getting too involved with women and always staying detached, so having this girl constantly penetrating his thoughts was disconcerting.
Will he ever see her again? Will he ever kiss her again? He was certain that if the former happened the latter would quickly follow if he could help it. Was she still infatuated with that Mr. Wilkes? He hoped not. For some reason he greatly dislike the little gentleman.
Perhaps she will be in Atlanta when he stops there in the summer to say hello to Belle? But he quickly wiped that thought away from his mind. Why should he care if he ever saw her again? There are plenty other girls in the world, and he could have his pick of them. Scarlett O'Hara was definitely not the woman he wanted...