Author's Note - Don't be terribly shocked, but here is an update within two weeks of the previous. I think that this story is nearly done, but I have more ideas to work on, so the end of this story means the beginning to others. I've taken the summer off from school, but I'm over half-way done with my masters. I got to take a class specifically over the Civil War, and I am very excited to eventually share some that I leaned. So I hope that you enjoy the update. I'm also working on an update for Scalawag, which is no where near to completion. I can't wait to start on something new!
True to his word, Rhett spent a great deal of time with Scarlett over the next several weeks. He planned the menus to reflect Scarlett's favorite foods and made sure to bring her every juicy tidbit of gossip that he heard, which she clung to as a drowning man clings to a lifeboat. Scarlett was constantly on the edge and restless, as a caged bird prepared to fly. But Rhett took great pains to keep her in that gilded cage.
"Rhett, I'm sick of being stuck in this house. You can't seriously keep me in here." She fumed as he entered into the study as he brought in the books from the store and leaned against the desk where she was sitting.
She greedily grabbed the ledger book from his hands eager for anything that tied her to the outside world. "At least you brought me the books. How is the store? Is Hugh taking care of things? Are the shelves fully stocked? Did it look like they were staying busy?" She bombarded him with a long list of questions.
With a laugh he snatched the book back from her. "I already went through the books. Everything appeared to be in order. Hugh isn't you, nor is he quite up to your standards, but he is doing an adequate job. Everything in the store looked as expected. Sales have been steady. There were several people milling about and making purchases while I was there picking up the books." She grabbed for the book. "No, my dear. Not until you promise to quit complaining about being stuck in here."
She smiled prettily at him. "Oh, Rhett. Do be a darling. Let me go out. It has been weeks. I promise not to over do." She dimpled. "I've learned my lesson. I will be a model patient, if you will only let me get a breath of fresh air."
"You aren't going to charm me. No matter how hard you try, you won't convince me." He handed the ledger back that she had been trying to reach for. "Why don't you be a good girl, and just follow Dr. Meade's advice."
"You know that I can't sit still. I never have been able to do anything like that. I drove Mammy crazy as a child, and I was constantly in trouble at school for fidgeting." She frowned at him, "surely you would know that much about me after all of these years. Pa always said that I was like a fairy flitting about"
He smiled softly. "The servants have dinner prepared, and perhaps after dinner I will allow you to go for a carriage ride. I know that it isn't the same as really going out, but at least there will be a breeze. The evening will be cooler."
"Oh, Rhett. That would be marvelous. I am feeling so much better. I just am so tired of being cooped up in the house." She pulled herself from the chair and raised up on her tiptoes and kissed him briefly. "Let's go and eat, so that we can go for a ride."
He couldn't help but grin back at her. Life was returning to her eyes. She wasn't the paper doll that had returned from Tara. There were still flickers of pain and grief in her eyes, but those flickers were growing dimmer as vitality and brilliance returned to her face. And he watched her from across the room, watched with intensity as she came back to life. He encircled her with his arm and led her into the dining room where Mammy had already gathered the children.
It was a friendly meal with the children chattering, as they told Rhett about the day. They frequently included Scarlett into the details. Bonnie and Ella were giggly, and their shrill squeals punctuated the conversation. But Scarlett did not reprimand the girls, for their happiness was matched by her joy at the chance to leave the house. When Wade finished telling a story about what he and Beau had been doing, Ella was given a chance to speak. She told a silly tale of kittens and fairies which Bonnie interrupted with questions about the color of the kittens and other questions that a two-year old would consider. Soon the meal had ended, and Mammy and Prissy arrived to take the children upstairs to prepare for bed.
Once the children were gone, Rhett took Scarlett by the hand and led her outside to the carriage house where he had instructed one of the servants to ready the carriage. He treated her cautiously as though she were made of fragile glass. Scarlett watched out the window as the sun began to set; the brilliant rays painting the roofs and trees with pastels hues. Rhett told her stories about the time when he had been in California and days during the war when he was running the blockade. There was a far off look in his eyes, and Scarlett imagined for a moment that she could smell the salt in the air and see the ocean waves in his eyes. Gradually she scooted close to him, eventually curling up at his side as his words wove a spell around them.
When they arrived back at the house, she had grown drowsy from her time swaying along the road, feeling secure by Rhett's side. He shifted as the carriage stopped, disturbing her from the cocoon that she had made for herself. She meowed in protest, slowly stretching as Rhett held out his hands. He lifted her from the carriage, and they walked in silence together towards the house. As they walked the drowsiness fell away, and Scarlett felt refreshed from the ride and the fresh air.
Rhett was relieved to watch as she walked without stopping up the main staircase, as regal as a queen. They stopped outside of her bedroom door, as he watched her waiting for a sign. She smiled seductively, "Rhett, I want you to stay with me."
"I'm not sure that we are ready for that, Scarlett." She interrupted him by leaning forward and kissing his neck. His breath hitched. He tilted his head down and kissed her forehead. "I want to check on the children first."
Scarlett nodded reluctantly, taking his hand as they walked towards the nursery where Wade and Ella slept. Both were sound asleep, and so Rhett led the way to Rhett's room where Bonnie slept, her soft breath causing her chest to rise and fall in a steady pattern, her small mouth hanging slightly open. Her dark eyelashes spread out like a star on her pale cheek. Scarlett cautiously bent over and kissed the soft pink blush of her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered open, "Mother," she whispered drowsily.
"Hush, baby, go to sleep. I was just checking on you. I love you, baby girl."
Bonnie smiled back at her. "I love you too, Mother." Her eyelashes fluttered shut, allowing Scarlett and Rhett to slip from the room.
"Scarlett, we can't... your body isn't ready yet." Rhett offered as they slipped into the master bedroom.
"Rhett, I just want to feel something. It has been so long, and we are finally getting to a place where we don't constantly try to hurt each other. I want you to love me. Please, Rhett. Hold me."
Rhett grinned indulgently as he took her in his arms. He softly began humming as they swirled around the room. Rhett stopped for a moment opening the drapes so that the room was bathed in silvery moonlight. They resumed dancing as Rhett began to serenade her, " Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;" He paused singing and kissed her slowly. His breath hot against her skin. She smiled against his lips, feeling as though he had completely given in to her wishes. "Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day, Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away! Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song, " He grabbed a crytal comb from the vanity and clipped it in her dark tresses. "List while I woo thee with soft melody; Gone are the cares of life's busy throng, Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!" She kissed him laughing softly as she stared up at him. "Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!" They spun and weaved across the room.
The words of the song floated around them. "Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea, Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelei; Over the streamlet vapors are borne, Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn. Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart, E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea; Then will all clouds of sorrow depart, Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me! Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!" The dance ended, and they were left silhouetted in the moonlight. Rhett's head dipped and he found Scarlett's lips. He brushed softly against them.
"Are you... did you think of me when you were bloackading? Did you think of me when you were sailing?"
He laughed. "I always imagined you as a mermaid. You would make a beaufitul mermaid."
But she pressed the issue. "did you think of me though? After we met, did you think of me when we were apart?"
He paused for a moment before answering, but then he pulled her over to the bed. "I'll be honest, I did. I tried not to think of you, but there was part of me that had been captivated by you. Did you really think that I merely came back to Atlanta for the enjoyment of it."
"I thought that I would feel differently knowing that you had thought of me, but I just feel peaceful. Like I've found a piece of me that I didn't realize was missing." She kissed his cheek. "Can you help me get ready for bed?"
Rhett nodded mutely and helped Scarlett remove the layers of clothing, replacing them with a simple cotton shift. She turned and began kissing him with no restraint. Her small hands pushed at the jacket that hung smoothly on his broad shoulders. He laughed and attempted half-heartedly to push her away. But she would not be deterred and he found himself swept away by the slow kisses that she was offering him, kisses that he couldn't help but cherish. His wife wanted him, and despite all of the tragedy that they had gone through to get to this point, they actually had a chance to made their marriage be what he had promised her that it would be.