Author's rant:

Beta-ed by Lawdimisscarlett

I expected more reviews but none the less:

Thank you for your reviews: Joyce Lakee, Frost Merry Darkness Luver and the guest.

Now on to the main rant. So Rhett is marrying, and this girl is NOT Scarlett, she is someone closer to his age, who will probably bore him to hell. Why is he doing so? Well there are two reasons, one obviously is that he saw toddler Scarlett and realised to his horror how young she was. This horror, made him marry Miss Gibbs. There is another more important reason that you will soon find out. I won't spell it out for you but I will give you a hint, it has got to with the kind of man Rhett is, practical & not some romantic idea of marriage and children. Also Rhett is married to a silly woman this does not mean he can't gamble, speculate & be the crook he was. He can still live life to the fullest, consort with whores.

And yes he will meet Scarlett again.

Now back to the story

Summary: Set after Chapter 63 GWTW, both Rhett and Scarlett find themselves in the past after parting ways. Will they get back to each other or will they be happier with someone else.

Chapter 3

Rosemary walked behind her mother to the Butler Mansion, when a dark intimidating figure appeared. The fact he was a black man, didn't bring any comfort. UpPitty Negroes were dangerous. Beside her she could feel her mother quaking.

The man came close to them then said, "Ah knows you! You is Missus Buttlers kin uf Mistah Rhett."

When the two ladies gave him looks of bewilderment, he added, "Don't you rec'onize me, Ah is Pork, the butler."

"Oh Pork," said Eleanor in a voice specially reserved for family darkies, "I remember you. Where is everyone?"

"Dere's at Miss Pitty's house, Miss Scarlett's bin stayin' dere 'cause of the funeral. Miss Melly died. Den Miss India moved with Mistah Ashley and Miss Honey come live with Miss Pitty. But Miss Scarlett was needed dere too of'en she going and coming. Den Miss Burr and Mistah Willie come from Macon and Miss Suellen and Mistah Will and Mistah Alex. Mistah Alex came with his wife Miss Sally from Clayton. So there was no space for people. So Miss Scarlett moved to Miss Pitty. Miss Honey with Miss India and Mistah Ashley and others in Miss Scarlett's home, day left yesterday after the funeral."

"Oh, so Miss Scarlett is in Miss Pitty's home," said Eleanor, wondering how on earth would she ask him about Rhett.

Rosemary beat her to it. She was direct when she said, "Where is Rhett?"

"Mistah Rhett," Pork spoke surprised at the enquiry," Why, he left before the funeral. He left a day after Miss Melly died. Miss Scarlett say he gone for some urgent business to attend. He not attend the funeral. Everyone so sad, Miss Melly was a great lady jus' like our Mistress Miss Ellen. Miss Ellen took care of folks, she nursed them and –"

"Yes, I'm sure she was a great lady," said Eleanor, a little exasperated, "but you were saying where Rhett went to."

"Yes Ah was sayin' he went to attend a business but dat is all Ah is remembering, but Miss Scarlett knows. Miss Scarlett would tell you."

The rest of the journey to Miss Pittypats' brick house was in silence.

Once they reached there, they were greeted by a plump woman with pale hair. Her eyes were large and looked lash-less, mostly due to her pale lashes. She looked like a large fat rabbit.

After getting acquainted a bit, inside Miss Pitty's feminine parlour, they found out she was the one Pork referred to as Miss Honey. She was happily married to a gentleman from Mississippi and had come here for the funeral. She occupied them with her chatter for a while: Telling them about the funeral, filling them with details of Scarlett's relations with them and the departed Miss Melly and finally left to send for Scarlett. All in all Rosemary thought that Miss Honey was rather silly.

The mother-daughter duo sat for a few minutes in silence. Then Miss Pitty herself came to greet the callers and chat. Scarlett, she told them would come in a few minutes and after that what she told them was of no consequence. If Rosemary thought Honey was silly, she thought Miss Pitty was more so.

Finally Scarlett arrived. She was dressed in black from head to toe, mourning, no jewels on her except her onyx brooch.

"Where is Rhett?" Miss Eleanor was quite direct; she did not think her daughter in law deserved any sympathy.

"How am I supposed know," Scarlett said even more rudely, "He left for Charleston didn't he? I imagined he would be with you."

The two Butler women were at loss at what to say as their worst fears were conformed.

R&S

"Ashley, how are you feeling now," India asked her brother.

"Better now," said Ashley meekly.

India knowing her brother, clapped her hand on his forehead.

"Still burning," she said, more to herself, and then added, "Dilcey is making some chicken soup I'll bring it over when it is done."

Ashley watched her go away and sighed. He didn't want to tell her he had a fever, but she knew him too well. Why it was India who took care of him and everyone at Twelve Oaks before the war! She ran the plantation, was the perfect hostess to all the balls and barbeques, but also found the time to take care of father, look after Honey and him.

Soon India came back with the soup. She helped Ashley up and then handed him the tray.

"Do sit down for a bit, India."

"I have to go."

"Surely you can spare five minutes, and in those minutes I'll feel as if I'm back home –at Twelve Oaks. Back when there was no war but you tended to us like this – just the same. You remember, the Calverts – the gamblers, they lost so much money to me playing poker once and the Fontaines, who still have murderous rages although, Alex looked rather tired at the funeral and they hardly stayed, left almost immediately."

"Those days are over, Ashley. Then you had no worries. But I toiled while everyone played. The only thing that has changed for me is I had some hope then. Hope for a better life. I hoped one day Stuart would marry me. But Scarlett took him away, only because she could."

"I guess it was rather difficult to care for us, after mother departed. And we never really appreciated you – took you for granted."

"Yes, you didn't appreciate me. Honey married below her station, against her better judgement and my advice and you threw me out of the house for a flighty piece like Scarlett."

"Now be fair India. It was Melly who threw you out and as for Honey, I find her husband a perfect gentleman and he treats her well, they are happy what more could I want."

India took a deep breath and said, "You know I wasn't lying when I told Melly about you and Scarlett. There was something between you two– I had sensed it, back when I arrived. We both know it's true. And I was afraid for Melly, she took Stuart from me and –

"You obviously don't trust your brother; you thought I would've betrayed Melly physically. As if I could live with that, Melanie was the love of my life – the very thought of betraying her makes –

"But don't deny it, you did think of betraying her, did you not."

Ashley looked into India's judging eyes and sighed, "It is hard to control our thoughts, India. Alas! I'm not strong; I can neither live in this world nor renounce it completely. But I loved Melly, loved her enough to marry her, and chose her over Scarlett and to supress my desires."

"But Stuart loved me and Charles was going to marry Honey. If Scarlett could sway them –

"Why not me?" Ashley finished her unanswered question, "To begin with I don't think Charles loved Honey- they were both alike, more spirited and us yet not as mature. Charles, despite living a sheltered life wanted fame and glory. He was attracted to glamour and so he wanted to marry Scarlett so bad, I tried convincing him not to for both his sake and Honey's but I realised that they both won't be happy together. And now Honey has found true love."

"And she is consorting with Scarlett."

"Are you bitter India, even Honey has found love."

"Sure just like I'm jealous of Scarlett, and even my own sister Honey finding love with that loud and barbarian westerner. Of course I wonder why I couldn't find somebody like him," India quipped sarcastically.

"I don't think you are jealous, just upset. Upset with Stuart. But you could never really scold him properly now could you. From what I knew of Stu, I don't think you two could have been happy together, unless you somehow changed him. He would have taken to slaves and whores and even then you wouldn't have been able to say anything. I think Boyd would have suited you more. Like marries like only then there is happiness. "

India was rendered speechless so shocked that Ashley actually said all that. She didn't contemplate on Stuart until later. When she did she wondered why everyone was so supportive of Stu and her, in the first place. They both were too different. Would Stu cheat on her with slaves or visit creatures like Belle Watling?

The Country people, mostly Beatrice Tarleton, had hoped she would calm him, turn him into a sensible man but she had failed. Sure she could placate him with a few well-chosen words but in the long run that amounted to nothing.

Captain Butler was missing. All of Atlanta knew and everyone had something to say about it. The old guard unanimously blamed Scarlett. They believed he was dead.

"What else do you think could have happened? He wrote to his folks in Charleston that he was going there, and he never showed up. I think he was robbed or something," said Mrs Elsing, who never really liked Scarlett.

"Captain Butler couldn't have died in a robbery," said Mrs Merriweather, "that man was strong. He probably committed suicide."

"But Dolly, he wasn't the type to commit suicide," said Mrs Meade.

"But he really adored that child of his," said Mrs Whiting, "Bonnie, such an endearing child and then she died and Scarlett was hateful."

"Oh well, I don't know how he died," concluded Mrs Elsing, "they are investigating."

"Oh yes Pitty told me that Mrs Butler had come to their place along with her daughter to find Rhett. And now the police here and in Charleston are looking into the matter while Henry Hamilton is looked up his investments and finances," said Mrs Merriweather.

Belle Watling meanwhile believed Rhett was alive. She wouldn't even think otherwise. She told all her girls that Rhett had run away from Scarlett. He had initially planned to go to Charleston, and then simply changed his mind. He was probably in London or France.

When the girls wondered why he had bothered to write to his mother at first and later never inform her about his change of plans, Belle was at loss.

"He probably forgot or maybe doesn't want to let them know. He is running from his Missus ain't he?"

But even when she would say this, Belle knew that Rhett had means of being discrete. He could have somehow conveyed to his mother news about his well-being and safety.

The investigators were in a fix. Rhett Butler had left Atlanta, everyone had seen him take a train but he never arrived in Charleston. This could mean either he departed the train somewhere in between the journey and had left for someplace else or he was dead. Now if he had left for someplace else why hadn't he written to his mother and if he was dead, where was his body? Known business associates from around the world were contacted. Keyword "Known", there might be others of course but nobody knew his whereabouts.

That Rhett Butler was dead came as a shock to some but to most others it was something they expected. Scarlett was shocked to find she now owned everything that was Rhett's, including his property in Charleston and Belle Watling's house. Scarlett was rich but she really didn't want the money.

What Scarlett did next shocked everyone. She asked Uncle Henry to give the Charlestonian property to Rhett's mother, her reasons only known to her. She thought she'd be damned if the welfare of Mrs Butler and her daughter would be her responsibility too. And just like she had ignored Frank's sister she was going to ignore them too.

The Peachtree street mansion was put up for sale. Scarlett didn't really care about the money only she hated the house and she was going back to Tara. When she would be visiting Atlanta she would be staying at Aunt Pitty's.

Scarlett's leaving Atlanta became another topic of discussion. The old guard, was surprised. They had expected her to marry to Ashley the very next day.

"She never waited after Frank's death," said Mrs Elsing, "One year is hardly any interval."

"I told her not to marry Captain Butler," said Mrs Merriweather, "Now that I think about it, I should have had a talk with Captain Butler himself."

The ladies laughed, only India Wilkes was quiet. In her haste to expose Scarlett, she had made her brother Ashley a laughing stock too.

A/N: I like India, I really do. She is a lady, but more practical than Melly. Melanie is sheltered, there are times when you get frustrated for Melly won't believe the truth even if it is naked in front of her. India meanwhile is different, the book India at least. In the book she is cool initially. When she is able to keep her animosity for Scarlett to herself, she is successful when so many other girls fail. Later on too her action is justifiable, India really believes, Scarlett is leading her brother astray. Sadly the movie turned her into an amalgam of India and Honey, their worst.

So about 2080 words, I would have updated it sooner but my laptop had issues the motherboard to be precise. I hope you liked it. Review