Surprise! So I made myself a promise whereby I'd write 500 words for every review the last chapter received and before I knew it this one had practically written itself. Sorry if it's a bit rushed, but I wanted to get it out while the iron was still hot. Hope you don't think my portrayal of Mrs. Meade is too ooc either, I reread the book recently and the scene where she learns that her husband has visited Belle's made me think that maybe she wasn't quite so prim and proper as I'd always assumed. The next chapter will be from Rhett's pov and should be up sometime next week. Thanks for reading.


The silence that greeted his arrival was deafening.

If she had not be feeling quite so shaken herself, Scarlett would have been sorely tempted to laugh at the comical looks of shock being sported by most of her fellow diners. Indeed, Dr. Meade's mouth had fallen open so wide you'd almost have been forgiven for thinking that it was Frank who had just walked through the door instead of Rhett.

As it was though, Scarlett was too busy trying to think of how to best extract herself from this awful mess of a situation without losing too much face to fully be able to enjoy their bewilderment.

Beside her Rhett appeared to be almost ludicrously calm, his hands clasped lightly behind his back as he smiled down at his fellow guests, most of whom were too busy nervously avoiding his eyes to notice.

India in particular looked like she'd just been caught in the middle of trying to swallow an especially sour lemon, her thin lips pursing up unattractively as she no doubt wondered just how much of her earlier speech Rhett had actually been privy to. Scarlett almost pitied her, knowing as she did the fearful regard that most people in this town seemed to hold her husband in.

Like a wolf which has taken up residence amongst a pack of hounds, Rhett would forever be mistrusted by the rest of Atlanta, the underlying hint of savagery that many sensed lingered in his breast meaning that few were brave enough to risk getting on the wrong side of what they rightly suspected would be a formidable, vicious temper.

Seeing the way that India curved up into herself as if trying to hide from his sight, Scarlett knew that she must be regretting her earlier words greatly and wished only that Rhett could have arrived before she had had the chance to utter them. If he had, Scarlett would also have been spared the need to explain away his absence, her paltry excuse looking like even more of a bald-faced lie now that he had decided to turn up out of the blue.

'Oh Ashley, you're back,' came a small voice from the doorway and Scarlett felt herself breathe easier at the welcome break in tension. 'And Uncle Henry as well. Just in time too, dinner is almost ready to be served. In fact, if you all would be so good as to make your way to the dining...Why, Captain Butler! Forgive me, I did not see you there. How good of you to join us.'

'Why thank you Mrs. Wilkes, it's a honor to be invited into your fine home. I'm afraid it isn't much of a gift, but I did bring a bottle of wine for the table. I left it out in the hallway. Shall I go and retrieve it while everyone takes their seats?'

'Oh Captain Butler, you are kind. You really needn't have gone to all that trouble.'

'It was no trouble, I assure you.' He said, flashing her one of his most winning smiles.

Scarlett couldn't help the scowl that crept across her forehead at the sight of him trying to charm Melly so obviously, especially when he had only seen fit to look in her direction once since making his grand entrance.

She eyed Melanie with disdain as her friend, unused to receiving such attention from any man, let alone one as darkly charismatic as Rhett, blushed and stammered under his prolonged scrutiny. Silly fool, she thought contemptuously, doesn't she know better than to let a man know you are affected by his flirtations? Certainly Scarlett herself had always taken pains to appear unmoved by Rhett's charm, even if a part of her had sorely missed being the center of his attention over these last few weeks.

It did not look as if she was going to be on the receiving end of it tonight again either though, Rhett leaving her side without so much as a backwards glance as he went out to collect the bottle he'd brought along with him.

Brushing off his neglect with a careless shrug of her shoulders, Scarlett followed the others into the dining room. Keeping to her earlier plan of securing a seat next to Pittypat, Scarlett stuck close to her Aunt as they approached the table, watching out of the corner of her eye as Melanie engaged Dilcey in a quiet discussion about where would be best to lay the extra place setting now that Rhett had chosen to grace them all with his esteemed presence.

For a moment, Scarlett considered asking them to seat him as far away from her as was possible given the room's pokey dimensions. While knowing full well that she would never actually dare to say such a thing out loud, the idea was nevertheless one that amused her greatly. She could just imagine the appalled looks and nonplussed expressions she would doubtless receive from her husband and fellow diners if she were to act so scandalously.

As her Aunt took her seat next to Mrs. Meade, Scarlett sat down quickly on her other side, hoping that her Uncle might decide to take the vacant spot to her left but resigning herself to the fact that it would most likely be occupied by Rhett.

Sure enough, Henry passed her by in favor of sitting on the other side of the table between Dr. Meade and Ashley, Melanie having added an extra place at the head for herself to sit in.

If the last-minute alteration to the seating plan had flustered her then Melanie took pains to disguise it, acting the part of the gracious hostess in a way that Scarlett herself doubted she would ever be able to pull off even half so perfectly.

Turning to her best friend now as the first course was brought out and carefully set down in front of them, Melanie inquired sweetly, 'Are you sure you are quite well, dear? I did so hate to think about you being cooped up all alone in that big house of yours. I was up half of last night worrying about you.'

Gritting her teeth against the onslaught of Melanie's good will, Scarlett smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. 'I'm fine Melly, really I am. Please don't trouble yourself by thinking about it any longer.'

'How is Beau doing?' she asked, finding herself in the strange and wholly novel position of wanting to divert the group's attentions away from, rather than towards, her own person for a change.

She may well have been successful in her bid too if she hadn't felt a large hand descending upon her shoulder at just that very moment.

'You've been unwell?'

Glancing up, she caught sight of what looked suspiciously like genuine concern in Rhett's dark eyes and was surprised at how much the revelation angered her. What right did he have to play the role of the doting husband now when, for all he knew, she could have been at death's door this past week? In all the time that he had been away she had heard nothing from him, not one single, solitary word to explain his absence or to ask after her health. It was the least any gentleman could have done and yet he had failed to even extend this slim courtesy towards her.

Only with supreme effort did she manage to swallow down the bitter retort she longed to throw at him, her eyes cold as she assured him tepidly, 'It was nothing. I felt a little out of sorts for a day or two last week, but I'm quite recovered now.'

Reading the iciness in her expression for what it was, Rhett's concern soon evaporated and his face was carefully bland as he took his seat beside her. 'Still,' he drawled laconically, 'you should have at telegraphed me if you were suffering some discomfort. I would have come straight home if only I had known.'

The swift, taunting glance he leveled in her direction only added fuel to an already scorching fire and Scarlett had to grip the edges of her seat with both hands to prevent herself from rising up and forcibly wiping the smug smile from off of his stupid face with the back of her hand.

Why, you rotten, lying scallwag!, she cursed savagely under her breath. How dare he come here and try to twist the situation to his advantage? Making it seem as if she had been lacking in her wifely duty in some way when in actual fact he had been the one to up and leave her without so much as a word. Good god, how she would relish sounding him out if only they were alone! For certainly there was no man in the whole of existence who deserved to be taken down a peg or two half as much as her self-righteous rogue of a husband.

As if sensing the discord between the pair, Melanie was swift to try and change the subject. 'Did you enjoy your time away, Captain Butler?'

Turning his smirking face from Scarlett, Rhett softened his features before answering smoothly. 'Why indeed I did, Miss Melly. New Orleans is always charming at this time of year and Wade found himself a firm new friend -not that anyone could ever come close to matching your Beau in his eyes, of course.'

The stab of pain that rushed through her at the the thought of Rhett having visited New Orleans without her, and so soon after they had enjoyed their honeymoon there together, was quickly extinguished when she caught sight of the malicious gleam that his words had lit up in India's eyes.

'Did you conduct any business while you were there?' She asked knowingly from her seat in the corner.

Her heart jumping into her mouth, Scarlett was fully prepared to throw all her good manners to the wind and rudely interrupt the conversation in other to save her blushes, when Rhett beat her to it.

'Business?' he asked, frowning. 'No, it wasn't that kind of a trip.'

Panic engulfing her at the thought of seeing her flimsy lies tumbling around her one after another, Scarlett did the only thing she could think of to salvage the situation, reaching across to dig her nails sharply into the tender flesh of Rhett's inner thigh.

Flinching away from the pain, he jerked his head in her direction, a silent reprimand clearly written across every line of his swarthy features. Upon seeing the almost sickly pallor of her own complexion though, something like understanding flashed briefly across his eyes and, clearing his throat to cover up the misstep, he continued calmly. 'I confess I did go with the intention of securing a rather large deal, but alas I was outbid at the last minute by an old rival of mine from the blockading days. I swear to meet the man you would think him the meekest of all of God's good creatures but, in truth, he's a devil in a dandy's clothing if ever I did see one.'

Scarlett felt her entire body sag into her chair with relief and praised the Lord that, for all his many flaws, Rhett could at least be counted on to always get them out of a tight spot.

She was considering whether or not to throw a triumphant smirk in India's direction just for the pleasure of seeing her bested when Dr. Meade's next words broke though her gloating and brought her back down to earth with a sizable bump.

'That's hardly a surprise. If you ask me, every last blockader is nothing more than a thieving charlatan. Swanning around pretending to help the Glorious Cause when really they were just lining their own pockets with the fruits of its demise.'

Perfect, thought Scarlett wryly, all we need now is for him to start droning on about that damn war again. Haven't we all suffered enough already?

'Can you blame a man?' Rhett asked innocently. 'After all it's usually during times of destruction that you find the ripest pickings have a tendency to fall directly into your lap.'

Scarlett watched as Dr. Meade's Adam's apple bobbed angrily up and down in his scrawny throat like a cat struggling to escape from a cloth sack and wondered earnestly if she wouldn't have been better off staying at home with a book after all. It was beginning to look like she and Rhett were doomed to cause a scene in some way or other tonight and she suddenly felt far too drained to be able to cope with all the ill will they were generating.

Scanning tired eyes around the table as Dr. Meade began his long-winded retort to Rhett's insolent comment, her gaze fell upon Ashley as he sat awkwardly in his seat, his lips drawn together thinly in a way that reminded her unpleasantly of his sister's earlier expression.

She wondered why he didn't say something to stop their argument. It was his roof they were all currently sitting under after all and so naturally it fell to him as the man of the house to ensure that the dinner ran as smoothly as possible.

Probably he was simply too good to ever want to risk causing offence to either party, but still she could not help but think that it was surely doing even more harm to let such behavior carry on unchecked?

Caught up in thoughts which confused and unsettled her greatly, Scarlett did not realize she had been staring so intently at Ashley until she felt a hand encircle hers from where it still lay idly between Rhett's thighs.

Looking up, she found Rhett glaring at her fiercely and her cheeks instantly colored as if burnt by the heat of his look. She tried to extract her hand from his suddenly crushing grasp, but he held on almost cruelly, squashing her knuckles up against each other as he tightened his grip almost to the point of pain.

Eyes watering, she bent her head back down towards her still full plate and hastily busied herself with eating her supper as well as she was able with only one free hand to help her.

Around her the conversation had thankfully moved on to much safer ground, the men speaking of the latest political reforms while Mrs. Meade regaled Melly and Pittypat with a tale of an irate customer who had gone into Mrs. Merriweather's bakery to complain about having found a tooth in one of her famous pies.

'Surely not!' cried Melanie in alarm while, to Scarlett's left, Aunt Pittypat looked like the shocking news may well trigger yet another fainting spell. 'Whatever did she do?'

'You know old Dolly, she's as tough as they come and it would take someone far braver than myself to even attempt to go up against her. According to Mrs. Elsing, who heard it from Maybelle, who got it from Grandpa Merriweather who was himself a witness to the whole sorry affair, she refused to give the poor man a refund, declaring that it must have been one of his own teeth that had fallen into the pie while he was eating it and that he was probably just too dim-witted to have noticed it was missing.'

Struggling to hide her grin, Scarlett considered how nice it was to hear someone other than herself speak about old battleaxe Merriweather in less than glowing terms. Sometimes she forgot that Mrs. Meade wasn't nearly so much of a pompous fuddy-duddy as her husband and that, were it not for their difference in ages, she might even have been friends with the woman.

As if overhearing her thoughts, Mrs. Meade turned her attention towards Scarlett and said conspiratorially, 'Indeed, I don't think Dolly's been in so much of a state since the day that Scarlett here tore into her for daring to suggest that Captain Butler hadn't served in the army.'

Unused to finding herself on the receiving end of compliments from a woman other than Melly, Scarlett first bristled at the comment, past experience telling her that Mrs. Meade much be intending to criticize her. Something about the small, twinkling glance the older lady flashed her though soothed Scarlett's ruffled feather and caused her to smile tentatively back at her.

To Scarlett's left, Rhett had suddenly gone very quiet, cutting off halfway through an impassioned monologue on the benefits of trying to look amenable to the new Republican rule as he tried to process what had just been said.

Beneath the table, the hand which had been grasping hers hard enough to leave bruises eased up, his strong fingers rubbing lightly over where they had been biting into her skin mere moments before.

Sensing that most of the table was waiting for her to respond, she swallowed thickly and smiled. 'Her face did go a rather worrying color when I told her she was wrong.'

Mrs. Meade laughed the laugh of a woman overjoyed to finally be able to get one up on an old adversary. 'Of that I have no doubt, although I'm sure you telling her that you'd still have wanted to marry Captain Butler even if he'd fought on the Yankee's side had something to do with it too!'

Dimly, Scarlett was conscious of the other diner's reactions to Mrs. Meade's statement. Of Melanie and Uncle Henry's good-natured laughter, Ashley and India's matching grim, disapproving expressions and Pittypat's nervous intake of breathe.

Yet, for all her awareness, none of them really touched her.

She was too caught up in studying the surprised, searching look that Rhett was directing at her from out of the corner of his eye.

His face was still turned towards the table, preventing her from being able to fully grasp the meaning of his expression, and yet there was something there in the lines of his cheeks and the upturned corners of his mouth that looked curiously like joy, perhaps even hope.

There was also something undeniably gentle about how he now held her hand, his grip tight in a way that suggested that he could not bring himself to let go and that, if not for the confines of the current surroundings, he would have taken great pleasure in drawing her much closer still.

She was confused by the depth of his response to such a seemingly minor revelation. In truth, she had forgotten all about her encounter with Mrs. Merriweather and would most likely never have thought to share it with him if Mrs. Meade hadn't decided to broach the subject now.

His reaction was particularly offsetting in light of how coldly he had been acting towards her all evening, only seeming to acknowledge her presence at all when he either wanted to taunt or chastise her for some perceived failing or another.

As the servants stepped forward to take away their empty plates however, he surprised her again by twisting her hand around so that it now lay palm up on top of his leg.

Circling her slim wrist with one hand, he took his other index finger and slowly began to trace a pattern upon her open palm.

It took her a few moments to realize that this wasn't just an idle gesture, but that he was actually trying to write something on her skin. A secret message passed from him to her away from the prying eyes and gossiping tongues of their fellow guests.

Half-shutting her eyes, she concentrated hard on trying to decipher his meaning, a tremor running through her as she finally understood what it was he was trying to say:

THANK YOU