I hope the racial words 'darkie' and 'nigger' in this chapter don't cause offense. I have used them because they are used in GWTW and because they were the words used at this time in history. I am in no way suggesting that they are appropriate for modern usage.

From Philadelphia they travelled to New York. Up until this point they had brought Dilcey, Pork and Prissy with them to attend to their needs. As they travelled further into Yankee territory however, they noticed more and more that their darkies were being stared at and muttered about. 'Don't you know slavery's been outlawed in the United States of America?' a man called out to them from across a street once.

In New York Prissy begged to be allowed to return to Altanta.

'Please Cap'n Rhett, I doan like it here with all these Yankees. I doan like the way they look at me and talk 'bout me. An' I is scared to be so far from home. Please doan make me go on that big ship. I want to go home.'

'Well, Prissy, you are free you know,' Rhett said thoughtfully. 'I can't keep you here against your will. Perhaps it might be better if you did go back to Atlanta. I have a feeling that Australia is not a very welcoming place for darkies either and I don't want you to be unhappy. What about Pork and Dilcey? Do they want to go home too?'

'Well, I doan know 'bout that Cap'n Butler, you best ask them yourself,' Prissy hedged.

So he did ask them himself. They reluctantly admitted that they too felt uncomfortable about travelling so far from home, and anxious about what sort of reception they would receive in Australia. 'I doan want t' leave you Cap'n Butler,' said Pork. 'You and the O'Hara's ha' been mighty good t' me. But I's afraid of those mean white people that doan unnerstand us folks like you do.'

'That's alright, Pork, I quite understand,' Rhett answered. 'You have been invaluable to me, and I am sorry to part with you, but I think it is for the best. I will go to the Railway Station this afternoon and enquire about getting tickets for you all to go home.'

'Thank you, Cap'n Butler, you are very kind,' said Dilcey. 'And we will look forward to your safe return.'

Rhett frowned. He was not at all keen on the idea of ever returning permanently to Atlanta, but he had not yet broached that subject with Scarlett and certainly had no intention of disclosing his thoughts his devoted staff.

When Rhett told Scarlett he was sending their darkies home, she was appalled. She had never been without darkie servants in her entire life.

'But how will we manage?' she asked. 'We can't employ free issue niggers! Who will press your shirts and polish your shoes? You will never find another valet as good as Pork, and I need a maid, and we will have to find someone to look after the children too. You will have to make them stay!'

'And have them abused, misunderstood and unhappy? No, I won't do that. Besides, they are free, remember? I couldn't force them to come with us even if I wanted to.'

'But what will we do?' Scarlett asked.

'Well, my dear, we shall have to employ white servants, as people do here,' Rhett answered calmly.

'White servants?' echoed Scarlett. 'We couldn't do that! It wouldn't be right.'

Rhett smiled at her condescendingly. 'My dear, what a sheltered life you have led. In many parts of the world it is considered perfectly normal to employ people of your own race as servants.'

And so Pork, Dilcey and Prissy went home, and Rhett set about to finding new staff to accompany them to Australia. He would have liked a French maid for Scarlett, but he could find none willing to go to travel so far. Instead he engaged a young Irish woman named Kathleen who had been employed with a well to do family in New York but was keen to see the world. For the children he engaged an experienced nanny who would also be competent in caring for an infant, and a well educated young Frenchman to be their tutor. For himself, he had great difficulty finding a valet that would satisfy his exacting standards. All the good ones were already in good positions that they did not wish to leave. In the end he resigned himself to the fact that he would just have to train one up himself, and employed a young man of French descent who had reason to wish to leave the country and was eager to please. His name was Jacques, but he preferred to be called Jack.

Scarlett was uneasy when she met the new staff, and unsure of how to treat them. But Rhett had chosen well, and it was not long before she was quite comfortable with the new arrangements.

Finally the day of their departure arrived. Eagerly they boarded the steamship that was to take them on the next leg of their journey, to the Panama railroad in Columbia.

As they steamed down past the Bahamas and on past Cuba to the Caribbean Sea, the weather became increasingly humid. Now and then they would catch tantilising glimses of land. 'Have you been here before, Rhett?' asked Scarlett curiously one day as they leaned over the rail, admiring the view. 'As a matter of fact, yes, my dear, I have sailed many times to Cuba and Central America, and know these seas quite well. Although I admit the whole experience is quite different on a large steamship such as this.'

'It is beautiful, isn't it?' Scarlett said, a minute later.

'Yes, it is,' he agreed, roused from nostalgic memories of his gun running days.

'And the place where we are to disembark, have you been there?'

'I have been to Columbia,' he replied, 'but not to the area where we are headed. I have heard much about this Panama railroad though, and I am very much looking forward to travelling on it.'

As they steamed closer to their disembarkation point, Rhett related to Scarlett and the children some of the tales he had heard about the building of the railroad.

'Do you know,' he said, 'they say that many thousands of men died while building that railroad? And when they started, the swamp was so deep it took 200 feet of gravel backfill to stop the track sinking into the mud. They had all sorts of trouble with alligators, mosquitos, tropical diseases, deluges, termites. It's a wonder they ever managed to complete it.'

'It sounds awfully dangerous,' said Scarlett. 'Are you sure it is quite safe to ride on?'

'Oh yes, I believe it is quite safe now that it is completed,' Rhett replied. 'Certainly it is much safer and faster than the alternative, which is to travel by ship around Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America. Cape Horn is renowned for its strong currents, high winds, enormous waves and icebergs. Many a ship has come to grief there.'

Scarlett shuddered. 'How dreadful!' she said.

'Yes, indeed,' Rhett agreed. 'That's why the Panama railroad is such a marvel. It is only 47 miles long, and easily ridden from one end to the other in six hours, and yet it spares us from such a long and perilous sea journey.'

On the morning of their last full day at sea before they disembarked for the Panama railroad the following day Scarlett was watching Rhett get dressed. He seemed a little on edge and she was not sure why.

Rhett noticed her watching him. 'Do you know what the date is today?' he asked casually as he tied his cravat.

'I confess I have quite lost track', said Scarlett.

'It is the 24th of October,' he replied.

'Bonnie's birthday!' Scarlett exclaimed. 'She would have been five today. Oh Rhett, what will we do?'

He considered her in silence, then frowned. 'You may do what you like my dear, but I am afraid I can think of only one thing I would like to do, and that is to get very drunk.'

'Oh Rhett!' she said again, and she went to him and put her arms around him. 'Must you?' she asked then.

'Yes, I must. I am sorry, but I can't get through this day sober,' he said uncomfortably. He walked away from her and reached for his hat. 'I will be in the saloon, please don't expect me for dinner.' Then he left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Scarlett spent the day in a state of constant agitation. Initially she was angry at him for running away and for leaving her to cope alone with her grief, but as the day wore on she began to be concerned for him, and she longed to comfort him. She hoped he was alright, and that he would not make himself ill. If only she could go into the saloon herself!

She sent Jack to check on him in the late afternoon. He reported back to her that Rhett had merely told him his assistance was not required. Jack was not forthcoming with any further information, so Scarlett had to content herself with waiting.

It was late when the saloon finally closed for the night. And it was the purser who delivered Rhett back to his room.

'I am sorry to disturb you Madam, at this late hour,' he began, holding onto Rhett's arm firmly to keep him upright.

Scarlett took in the sight at once. Rhett was hatless and disshevelled. His eyes were bloodshot, his gaze unfocussed, and he was swaying on his feet. 'That is quite alright, thank you for returning him to me,' she replied calmly. 'Would you be so kind as to assist him onto the bed?'

'Certainly Madam,' he replied smoothly. Then, his duty discharged, he bowed, wished them both a good night, and left.

Scarlett turned her attention to Rhett. He reeked unpleasantly of alcohol.

'Rhett?' Scarlett said softly, stroking his head. 'Are you okay?' To her alarm, he began to cry. His speech was slurred and interspersed with sobbing but she could make out his words 'didn't work . . can't forget her . . miss her . . my Bonnie.'

'Rhett darling,' she murmured gently. Then she lay down beside him and held him while he wept, and she wept with him.