Chapter 8-Keeping Secrets

Scarlett's instinct was to pound on Rhett's door again, but she'd heard the key turn in the lock and she knew that he would not open it again, not after she had shouted at him in front of his mother. He was probably wise, and besides, she didn't want to draw any more negative attention to their situation than she already had. He was too close to home, and if he wanted to make peace with Charleston, then he could have it! But not, she thought, without his wife by his side. Sighing, she returned to her own bedroom, needing brandy desperately but also knowing that it would be best to calm herself without it. And Rhett! She stared with narrow eyes at the wall which separated them. He would antagonize her to the end. If he had just been reasonable, he would have listened to her declaration of love, accepted it, and they would have been on their way back to Atlanta. As it was, he wouldn't even allow her to get near enough to have a civil conversation with him.

She lay in the featherbed thinking that she at least ought to make an effort to show him that she wasn't the childish, selfish pet he'd purchased for himself. Oh no, she was in control of her emotions this time, and hopefully, she thought, her destiny.

She knocked softly on Rhett's door this time, which fooled him into opening it and she rushed inside before he could move to stop her. Successful, she had to resist the temptation to smirk as she turned around to see him slam the door furiously.

"Please, Rhett," she said quickly. "Just hear me out."

"I'm only going to say this once more tonight, Scarlett. Get out. Go home."

He said it so calmly that it was easy for her to ignore the apathy in his tone. She warned him, "If I leave tonight, it'll cause a scene."

"I realize that," he spat.

"So, we agree?" his eyes narrowed as she spoke, so she hurriedly added, "We agree that I can't just leave tonight, I mean. And that we can't possibly be seen in separate bedrooms…"

"That is not going to happen, Mrs. Butler. Besides, I think that you've forgotten how little the threat of scandal means to me."

"Even you said that you would come back home often enough to keep the gossip down! You said it, Rhett! And you meant it, too!"

"I did say it. Don't give yourself so much credit, Scarlett. You're not the reason I would be coming back to Atlanta."

Denigrating her already?

"I suppose you're obligated to stay in contact with that Watling woman!"

He laughed. "Trust you to make such an accusation. No, my selfish pet. I was thinking about your children. Or have you forgotten about them already?"

Oh but he was low, bringing them into it! Surely he was baiting her, surely he didn't mean it! But his eyes betrayed nothing: no emotion, not even the faintest semblance of love. She felt the old feelings of fear return, as though she was again a frightened, lost child. She had run to Rhett looking for warmth and security, and he had none to give. Not anymore.

"Scarlett," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "get out."

Rhett's mother's house was only five blocks away. Scarlett had to see, just to see with her own eyes that he had been there. Her chest was tight. She had to have seen him. Even if her eyes had been playing tricks on her, she had felt him. How silly of me, she thought, a sense of unrest sweeping over her. Melly will be home any minute and here I am chasing after a dream. He could care less about what I do and where I go. He made that abundantly clear, all those years ago…

Only a short distance across town, Melly was sharing in her mother's misery. She was quite bored, and the dances seemed to go on and on in endless succession: polka, mazurka, waltz, waltz, reel, another waltz. Melly remained sitting in the corner, her chin in her hands, thinking that all the females in the room were about as graceful as sows wearing rouge. It was all the fashion for the fall season, plenty of rouge to complement the gaudy, popular red and orange hues of the gowns. Why do blondes find those colors so becoming? Melly thought. She was glad to be a wallflower; oh yes she was.

And yet, her heart contracted with that tiny little stab of envy she had felt before. No matter how ridiculous the girl, they all seemed to have a beau behind them…or two in some cases. And then there was that lingering feeling that at every social occasion she had been invited to, there were things that were alluded to but never fully disclosed to her. She was used to being stared at; her mother had told her from and early age that she was pretty and would always attract attention. That had worked on her as a child, but not now!

Heart hammering wildly, Melly stood up from her chair with a start. She had to talk to Wade, she had to. For starters, she needed to know who Rhett Butler was and how he was connected to their family.

But Wade was dancing with Miss Ravenel, one of the bridesmaids, and looked in no mood to be interrupted from his conquest. Of course he's abandoned me, Melly fumed internally. She saw Mason out of the corner of her eye, still seated at the long-gone Captain Butler's table and still partner-less. She jerked her chin up and looked away from him, then suddenly was gifted with an idea-there was always Mason. She could ask him about Captain Butler. He was his bosom companion, apparently. Besides, he had found her attractive enough to ask to dance, and he was sitting alone, without any ladies about him. How surprising, Melly thought, he is handsome to be without a partner!

Suddenly, the thought of talking to him again became very real and very exciting, so she drew herself up proudly to her full height and marched over to his table.

"I've changed my mind," she said.

"You're a little bit tardy, don't you think?" he replied jauntily, his lips upturned into a half-smile "I do believe that there are only two more dances at the most."

"Well," she said, a sweet madness sweeping over her as she attempted to pry her eyes away from his mouth, "that is fortunate for me, then. I shall only have to suffer your company for two dances at the most."

He laughed genially at that, and extended his hand, leading her out onto the crowded dance floor.

He slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her close, holding her other hand in his. To her relief, he did not dance as well as she, and she silently lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving for paying close attention to Edelyn's instructions. But she had a purpose, she reminded herself, and she must not be seen to be too involved in this man who had hoodwinked her.

"So, how long have you been an acquaintance of Captain Butler?" she inquired, her tone honey-sweet.

"As long as I can remember," he replied. "He would come to see me quite often when I was a boy and would bring me the most superb gifts."

"That was kind of him," she said. "What sort of man is he?"

"Far too old for you," Mason smirked. "I'm teasing you again, Miss Melly, I do apologize."

"Well, Wade and my sister seem to know him well enough," Melly confided, losing some of her cool reserve. "And my sister seems to equate him with pestilence of epic proportions while Wade seems to genuinely like him. But they never think to tell me anything…"

At that, Mason looked sympathetic and vaguely discomfited. "I believe-well-I was under the impression that he was a friend of your parents', but that their acquaintance soured over the years."

"Oh dear," she pondered aloud, "perhaps he was disagreeable to Mother after her…" Melly paused, thinking that the subject of divorce was not a proper one for a public function.

Seeing her discomfort, Mason cut in. "But Rhett's a case these days. He's quite melancholy, the poor old man; and he's been so blinded by his all-encompassing unrequited love all these years that I think it's turned him rather cynical. Hateful, even."

"Blinded by his love? With whom? Madame Celeste?"

He laughed, "Miss Melly, how ever has the name of Madame Celeste reached your ears?"

She blushed, "well, at another ball in Atlanta-oh never mind! I take it that she is a lady of…" Melly's voice trailed off again, not wanting to state the nasty insinuation aloud. God's nightgown but she was forthright tonight! Perhaps it was the champagne…

"Questionable taste?" Mason smirked. "Madame Celeste is a brilliant French actress about half his age. But as for being in love with her, I think not."

"Well then, whom?"

Mason sighed. "The lady's name matters very little. He was married to her and it didn't work out and he never quite got over it."

"Ah," Melly nodded, her curiosity brimming over. "I take it that he and the lady never had any children?"

"A daughter. She died when she was very young."

"That is tragic," Melly said, feeling more than a smidgen of pity for Mr. Butler.

"Well, I take it that you've forgiven me, since we've now been dancing together quite amicably for several minutes. Either that or your poor little toes were not as pinched as you first suspected. Or perhaps you sveltely changed your shoes while I was not looking?"

"You are very mean, Mr. Kershaw, for teasing me so."

"Please, Miss Melly, I implore you to call me Mason as you did when we first met in the library."

"Very well, Mason. But before I forgive you, I must ask for something in return."

"Anything," he said, his voice alit with eagerness. Oh but he was devilishly charming!

"You must tell me all about Paris."

Again he laughed, as though she had said the most hilarious thing he had ever heard.

"Well, Miss Melly, what is it you'd like to know? Shall I tell you of the latest fashions? Or perhaps of my sordid misdeeds?"

"You do talk scandalous, Mr. Kershaw! Do be quiet! I wouldn't want my brother to overhear you."

"Well, I am aware that your brother has been shooting daggers my way for the past several minutes."

"Wade? Well he's…"

"Over there, shooting me a murderous glare. I do hope he doesn't mean to shoot me."

"What? Oh dear, don't look at him. He isn't dumb. He'll know that we're talking about him."

"I'm teasing; he's a good sport, your brother. Besides, I've witnessed some of his most illustrious indiscretions firsthand."

"Wade's?"

"Yes ma'am.

"Well, whether he knows you or not, it's rather obvious that he objects to how long we've been dancing."

"Do you care?"

"I most certainly do! And if you noticed that he was displeased, why ever did you carry on?"

"To be frank, it was difficult to notice him when I couldn't take my eyes off of you."

The flirtatious tone of his words startled her. He'd shown himself to be nothing but a gentleman thus far, and she never would have taken him for anything but that…but why then did his eyes seem to sparkle when he looked at her? Scandalously she thought, it's as though he's undressing me with his eyes…stop it, Melly! She warned herself, this is how girls get themselves called fast, staring up at a man in such a way…

"Have you ever been kissed, Miss Melly?"

"Now just a minute," she objected sternly, "I'm not sure what kind of girl you've mistaken me for-"

"Don't be angry," he cut in, his voice tinged with the sweetness of his appeal. "Again, I was merely overcome by your beauty and again, I owe you an apology."

"You most certainly do," she snapped. "And when this dance is over, I hope never to clap eyes on you again."

"You cut me to the quick, Miss Melly. I must take full advantage of this dance then, if I am to never see you again."

"I think that you're vile," she muttered.

"I know," he sighed abjectly. Of course she had never been kissed before, she mused internally, what sort of man would dare ask such a thing? And yet, for all that she was appalled, she struggled to keep her eyes off of his lips…

"My dear Miss Melly, it is most disappointing that a girl as endowed with charms as yourself has yet to enjoy the titillation of a harmless flirtation. Is there not some part of you that desires to know what it's like?"

She glared up at him. Of course she had thought about being kissed by a man. But a gentleman, not a scoundrel such as he! Perhaps if he had made such a gesture that day at the library…no…not even then would she have considered it.

"You shouldn't speak about such things, sir."

"Tut, tut, Miss Melly. You've certainly talked enough about scandalous notions-women's suffrage for instance! That'd shock the pants off of a society matron, yet the thought of one little kiss sets your teeth on edge?"

"What sets my teeth on edge is the idea of being taken advantage of by a varmint like you!"

Mason laughed again. "You really should get angry more often, Miss Melly, your cheeks gain a new color and it's quite becoming."

More fury to add to the fire of her anger that was currently scorching inside. How dare he? How dare he? Why was she so swept away by him?

Suddenly, the music stopped. Mason took her hand and pulled hard on it as she turned to go. For a moment, Melly thought that he might kiss her in the middle of the ballroom, in front of Wade and all. To her horror, she felt a moment's disappointment as she realized that his lips were only going to touch her hand.

But yet, it was more exciting than she could have ever imagined. The tickle of the hair above his upper lip caused a tingling sensation that spread from her limp hand all the way down her body. She felt her stomach lurch and her knees seemed like to buckle at any moment.

"Melly?" Wade's voice was like a blast of cold water. "What do you think you are doing?"

Wordlessly, Melly felt her brother tug on her arm and veritably drag her out of the room. Somehow in the flurry of activity they ended up in Wade's carriage, where the penned-up outburst was unleashed.

"Whatever were you thinking? Allowing him to take such liberties! And at a public function!"

Melly's face was scarlet. How dare Wade lecture her when he had probably done much, much worse and then bragged about it afterwards. "How could you just drag me out of there? You humiliated me in front of Mr. Kershaw! Dragging me away by the sleeve as though I were a disobedient child!"

"I can assure you that your behavior in there was anything but childlike. But you're doing a fair impression of one now that you've remembered yourself."

"He kissed my hand, Wade! My hand! You act as though it was a criminal offense." But I wanted him to kiss me, she thought vindictively, and now he never will!

"I know the intent behind it," Wade muttered. "I know as well as anyone. And he shouldn't have done it and you shouldn't have allowed it. I spent the whole afternoon telling you how much people gossip, especially when it comes to our family. You do not want to ruin the rest of your life because you acted fast with the first seedy upstart who noticed you."

"Seedy upstart?" Melly cried. "You act as though you're his best friend! Him and that nasty Captain Butler!"

Wade's face whitened. "The circumstances are completely different for me."

"Why, because you're a man?"

"Yes, partly. But primarily because both of them are business associates of mine and must be dealt with some semblance of courtesy."

"Do you call all of your business associates 'Uncle' so and so?"

His voice hardened. "Melly, I want you to forget about Rhett Butler and Mason Kershaw. I had no idea that you had met Mason in Savannah and I certainly did not expect to see him here tonight. He is not an appropriate companion for you, friend or otherwise. Do I make myself perfectly clear? Now, as to your question about Captain Butler, I have known the man since I was practically in diapers. When we lived in Atlanta, he would call on Mother from time to time. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"That really isn't fair, Wade. Mason-Mr. Kershaw-he wasn't doing anything!"

But Wade was impervious. "Well, it's my intention to see to it that he never does. Not to mention my responsibility. Now, now Melly, don't you cry."

"I'm not," she sniffed.

"Good. But I will be keeping a much closer eye on you from now on. I only want to protect you from men who would take advantage of your youth and inexperience. And don't you think for a minute that I'm being a hypocrite, Missy. I know damn well that I'm no saint; but I do want what's best for you. I just don't want a foolish flirtation to ruin your life, and it can, Sis. It can. I know."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pecked her on the cheek. "Don't be cross with me, Melly. I love you and I want to protect you, that's all."

She sighed as she leaned in against his shoulder. It was all Mason's fault, she told herself. He shouldn't have been looking at me like that at all! It's his fault…besides, he couldn't be all that interesting.

The carriage came to a halt outside No. 5 East Battery Street, and Wade helped Melly down, whispering furtively, "Melly, if you would, I would be most grateful if you would not tell Mother that we ran into Captain Butler this evening. I would certainly return the favor and not disclose your little…indiscretion."

"What?" Melly cried. "I didn't do anything wrong! And why would Mother care about Captain Butler anyway?"

"Because," Wade said evenly, "just trust me when I say that Mother has enough on her mind. Do I have your word, my girl?"

In disgust, Melly pulled away from him and sashayed through the front door of Beau's house, slamming it behind her while Wade ordered the carriage put away. She hated him! How dare he forbid her from speaking to her own mother about Mason, when they had no secrets between the two of them, ever. But she would rather die than disappoint her parents…and if Wade told them that she had behaved badly, she could be forbidden from returning to school or from going to any parties at all. And she did like the parties…occasionally and in moderation.

Her parents had probably gone to sleep hours before, and Melly moved toward the staircase but was halted as a soft male voice reached her ears.

"Is that you, Melly? Come in here," the voice resonated from the study. Beau rose from his desk as she entered, his brown eyes glazed over with drink. He wore no jacket and the top buttons of his white shirt were unfastened. Melly noted a half-empty decanter of brandy sitting atop his desk. "You've grown up," he said, his voice breaking somewhat as he rubbed his red-rimmed eyes with the back of his sleeve.

"Are you alright, Beau?" she said with legitimate concern.

"Never better," he said frankly, slumping into the chair he had pulled out from behind the desk. "Send Wade in, will you?"

"Of course," she murmured, backing out of the doorway and motioning for Wade to enter. He held his hat in his hands, and wordlessly indicated for Melly to go on to the upstairs guest bedroom. She lingered for a moment, in case their conversation could be overheard. She had become an expert eavesdropper over the years, overcoming both her stricken conscience and her fear of discovery with the realization that one really did gain all sorts of useful information.

But Wade shut the study door tightly behind him, rendering it impossible to hear their muffled voices. Resigned to failure and seething with indignation, Melly hurried up the steps. She peeked into the master bedroom to see if her parents were still awake, but beheld only the sleeping form of her father.

Mother must have gone for a walk, Melly thought. Her mother would have understood. Her mother understood everything. Where was she? And on the day that Melly truly needed to talk to her!

If I were a man like Wade, she told herself defensively, I could dance with whoever I like and answer to no one. I could earn my own way in the world, and I would never have to do as my brother or anyone else tells me. As it is, the only thing I seem to be good at is talking tummy-rot about things that nobody else understands but Papa!

As if to add to her sorrow, she heard a hacking cough coming from the direction of her father's bedroom. Oh Papa, she sighed, I'm sorry for thinking of myself when I should be thinking about you…

Quiet tears fell down her face as Melly lay down on the bed and pulled the embroidered coverlet over her…

**NB: I hope that Melly's personality came out in this chapter, and that she'll become as likeable to you (the wonderful readers) as she is in my head. Next chapter, she'll be back in Savannah. I do hope that no one has forgotten about that other young man who asked her to dance once before… THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the reviews. I appreciate the feedback so much! - The Scarlett Starlet

(Also, thank you Patty Griffin, for your beautiful song Nobody's Cryin'. I had not planned to write Scarlett's flashback; but I was listening to it as I was editing this chapter and it inspired me, so that's definitely the background music for Scarlett as she's walking around Charleston in the dark.) There won't be a flashback every chapter, but I promise that the back-story will all be revealed in good time. :)