Chapter 11

Hi readers, once again I want to give a disclaimer that I do not own the characters owned by Margaret Mitchell but hope to do them justice. Enjoy!

Scarlett kissed her children goodbye as they left the hotel room. She sighed heavily against the door, her arms wrapped around her body to soothe herself. Her arms itched to reach out and grasp Rhett by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. By coming to Savannah, she had planned on making a new start, and she found that quite difficult when he stopped by so frequently. In as much as the children needed time with him, she in turn needed some time away from him. It was too hard for her to see him as much as she did. There was a whole slew of emotions attached just knowing he was coming to drop them off at the end of the day. She felt anxious and excited hoping that this time he would say or do something that might give her hungry heart hope. She was such a fool; a stupid fool who had hoped for the moon only to receive empty replies and false hopes.

She had to do something to relieve her mind from its incessant obsession. Silently, she walked towards her room and collected her things. She was going to tour the town and find something to keep her occupied.

The stairs creaked loudly as she found her way to the bottom. She adjusted the cream colored hat that she intended to wear outside. She would never intentionally endure a sunburn again. For the past several weeks, she had hidden herself inside in anticipation of hiding all evidence of her carelessness. The last thing she needed was to be the talk of this town for looking as she did. By now, her face had finished peeling and the daily soaks in buttermilk had lessened the redness.

The same lady who had checked them into the hotel stood before her. Her weathered face and aging gray hair was tucked neatly into and elegant chignon which spoke silently her position of authority. She gracefully tipped her head forward to show a sign of respect as Scarlett walked by.

Scarlett was still a mystery to the town. There were those that assumed she was a widow, while others assumed she was on vacation or perhaps her husband was away on business. No one would dare imagine the predicament she had gotten herself into. How tongues would wag.

"Mrs. O'Hara," she called politely as Scarlett passed her. Scarlett's body stiffened as she turned her body slightly back towards the voice and stopped as if uncertain that the lady was talking to her. It was going to take some time to get used to being called O'Hara again. But like it or not it was hers now and it would have to do.

Scarlett's look of concern vanished the moment the lady smiled. "Mrs. O'Hara," she called again this time closing the large gap between them. "Hello, my name is Beatrice and I don't believe we have been properly introduced." A sort of puzzled look came across Scarlett's face as she tried to ponder what the intent of the person before her was. "I've noticed you are new to this town as you have been here for several weeks." She nodded in reply. Scarlett was never good when it came to conversations with women.

"I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I just thought I would welcome you to town by inviting you to a little luncheon with the women's league tomorrow afternoon. I was thinking that it was high time you were introduced to Savannah's finest." Scarlett nervously twisted her fingers not sure that she even wanted to be introduced or belong to any group. The expectations were just too high. Then again she was looking for something to do and maybe if Rhett saw that she was trying it would…wait what was she thinking? Of course she didn't care what he thought. She didn't need to prove anything to him. Yes it would be nice to be around people who knew nothing about her; people who she might actually be able to befriend.

With confidence Scarlett smiled and turned to face the woman before her. "Yes, I would very much like to come. I appreciate you including me in something that means so much to you." The woman before her beamed with happiness, as she had been reluctant to ask before for fear of rejection. Scarlett had always been intimidating to other women. It was as if she radiated a warning signal of sorts. Maybe being included into something would lift her self-confidence.

"Excellent, I'll let the other ladies know that you will be joining us."

"Thank you." She replied honestly. "Just let me know where it will be at and one . It was nice to finally meet you."

"My pleasure," Beatrice replied as she hurried across the room to the other ladies in the room who were waiting for Scarlett's reply.

Turning back towards the street, she sighed a heavy sigh as she continued her journey towards freedom.

The road in front of her twisted dramatically several times. It did not go unnoticed that a lot of the homes were severely damaged with the aftermath of war. It's scars blanketing the road itself. It was reassuring to see a few that were unaffected at all. She imagined that this neighborhood must have been grand to look at once. One plantation in specific was overgrown with weeds. She frowned as she imagined how displaced the family must feel. She wondered if they too had succumbed to the hardships she had also endured.

She carried on hoping to clear her head. The heat of the day began to set in and she found herself resting against the trunk of a large willow tree, enjoying its shade. It's branches looming around her, almost enclosing herself off from view. It was the start of a very hot day and the layers of clothing began to stick uncomfortably against her skin.

When she was younger, Brent had built a rope swing down behind the old horse barn on his grandfather's property. That part of the land had been abandoned after his grandfather built a new one. Her and her friends had been sneaky and had spent many hours of fun swinging lazily into the river. She knew the trouble she could get into had she been caught, and the strap was not something she had wanted to become acquainted with very often. She remembered laying under the willow trees and watching as the branches swayed with the wind. She was mesmerized by the gentle sway of the leaves the soft rustle of the sound almost putting her in a relaxed trance.

"Are you lost or just hiding from someone?" A familiar voice called out. Startled she stood up straight, eyeing her surroundings for the owner of the voice. Turning around in haste, she watched as Benjamin walked towards her from the footpath leading from the house.

"You frightened the living daylights out of me!" she responded, holding her hand against her chest in surprise.

Ben chuckled as he came with in a few feet of her, his hands tucked neatly in his pockets as he kicked a small pebble casually off of the walk way.

"I'm not going to lie, I'd do it again in a heart beat if I got that same reaction. You should have seen your face!" He teased raising one eyebrow with amusement.

"Oh Benjamin, how old are you? I would expect that from Wade not you." she smiled, playing along. "Besides, how did you find me? Were you following me?"

"On the contrary my dear, I fear you must have searched me out." Scarlett looked at him with confusion. "You see, my dear Mrs. Butler, the house you are standing in front of belongs to my family." Her gaze drifted from him to the pathway behind him. She moved out from beneath the cover of the willow to gain a better view. From the stone pathway leading down the center of the yard, stood a large windowed home with two staircases that jutted from each side at a slant and met at the middle with a large porch. The building itself was white with black shutters and arched doorways. The surrounding trees seem to shelter it from view to serve as an invisible shelter so to speak. From their branches hung grayish brown Spanish moss that swung hauntingly in the wind. The manicured lawns were lined on both sides with magnolia and peony's staggered with red and white blossoms on each side. It wasn't a very large house, not compared to the Peach tree house or even Tara, but it held a majestic inviting charm. On the porch she noticed a woman on the porch swing staring out at them.

She turned to face Benjamin with a satisfied grin. "What a charming home. I must say you have taken great care of it."

"Well I'm afraid that it's a recent transformation, for half of it was burned when Sherman decided to pay us a visit. Over the past few months of hard work, we have managed to restore her mostly to her former beauty. There are several trees out back that were cut down and the stables I'm afraid were completely gone. I've yet to finish those. It's a work in progress Mrs. Butler."
"Please, I think we've shared enough secrets to drop the formalities. I no longer go by Butler. I would like it if you just called me Scarlett." She blushed slightly remember the days when she would have taken advantage of the situation and would have tried to wrap him around her finger and loved every minute of it. But not now, her heart still belonged to Rhett.

"We? You don't mean to tell me you built this?"

He smiled turning back towards the house. "Yes Scarlett, who else would I have trusted my childhood home with? You see had I hired someone to rebuild it I would not have had the satisfaction of seeing it coming back to life. The foreman would not remember the cabinets or the stairways like the back of their hand. They would not recall the way it felt to slide down the banister or which stairs creaked as you walked down them. They wouldn't know exactly which window was slightly hard to open or the way the wood carving on the mantle matched the railings on the stairs." Scarlett sensed he was living each memory as if was just yesterday. The sadness tore at her for she knew exactly how he felt. Tara took a while to rebuild but she had not taken the time to help her family. Without knowing what she was doing she walked to towards Benjamin, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly, surprised by her innocent gesture. Their eyes met and try as she may she could not tear them away from his. A look of understanding passed between them and he nodded feeling slightly uncomfortable about how close he was to her.

"Well," he started, gesturing towards the house, "Would you like to see the house? I think my mother would create quite the storm if I did not introduce you to her." Offering her his arm he proceeded towards the homestead, content to have her in his company.

They heard a creaking sound as Benjamin's mother rose from the wooden porch swing. She shifted her green shawl back over her shoulders and smoothed her skirt out. Her old tired eyes lit up and a broad smile crossed her face as she lifted her arms and clasp them together with excitement

"Mother this is Mrs…." Benjamin began unsure how to introduced her.

"Miss O'Hara" Scarlett interrupted turning on the charm. "I'm sorry to have dropped by without letting you know in advance. I went out for a walk and ended up here. I feel as though I'm intruding."

"Heavens no!" Mrs. Kane replied, "We are always grateful to entertain company." She leaned forward and embraced the newcomer. Scarlett looked towards Benjamin with surprise but he just shrugged and watched her, a little smirk teasing his lips. His mother moved back examining Scarlett from head to toe as if trying to decide if she met her approval. "Now then, tell me Ms. O'Hara, where are you from? I have not seen you around here before, and believe me I would know if I had. You are quite an eye catcher, wouldn't you agree Ben?"

Benjamin sighed loudly then tilted his head slightly to the side, knowing what his mother was trying to do. "Mother, don't! "

His mother pretended to be shocked at his reply. "Why Benjamin Edwin Kane, do I detect sarcasm? Would you really disrespect your mother by not answering a simple harmless question that I'm sure even the lady would like a reply to? Come now Ben, you know I'm right."

Scarlett was enjoying his mother putting him on the spot. It took a practiced effort to not smile.

"Ben, come now it's not that hard to admit that she's quite pleasant on the eye." Ben stared at his mother. The two of them had a silent conversation. He tried to plead with her with his eyes for him to not reply. His mother on the other had wouldn't give up. She knew her son needed a woman in his life. He had shot down every other girl she had tried to set him up with. It was a rare thing for him to bring one home for her to meet. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently waiting for a reply. "Well, isn't she?"

Ben met Scarlett's gaze and to her surprise he relaxed and nodded his head.

"Yes," he began slowly. "I'd be lying if I answered any other way."

Scarlett felt the heat rise to her cheeks. This was the second awkward moment they had had in the short time that they had seen each other today. She had no response to his genuine reply. She wasn't used to honesty from a man. Rhett would never left himself vulnerable. She stood there moving her eyes to the ground suddenly interested in the ladybug walking across the porch rail. She chewed her lip nervously not willing herself to raise her gaze.

"Now look what you've done mother, you've made her uncomfortable." Mrs. Kane folded her arms and leaned forward. "No son, your answer made her feel that way. Shall we proceed inside for some mint julep? It's getting rather muggy out here and I for one have had a hinkering for one since this morning." She turned and walked towards the door, as Ben whispered, "I'm sorry," to Scarlett as they followed after his mother.

"This should be interesting he whispered. "She thinks she is the town match maker. Just ignore her probing questions and follow my lead."

"Only if you keep telling me how beautiful I am." She teased. He rolled his eyes and opened the screen door for her. He heard her giggle as she passed.

Let me know what you think guys. I plan in picking up this story and updating regularly.