True to her word, Rose did her best to be gracious to Scarlett from that point on and even helped out around the house when she wasn't caring for Rhett. But Scarlett, having no female friends save for Melly, viewed Rose's sudden kindness with suspicion and did little to cultivate a friendship between them.

Surprisingly Wade Hampton also treated Rose with wary deference. He was no longer the naive little boy he had once been and was not sure what to think of the beautiful stranger living under their roof. He could see how uneasy Rose's presence made his mother and he could sense the strain in Scarlett and Rhett's marriage. This slowly led him to put two and two together. While courteous enough when Rose spoke to him, he refused to interact with her more than absolutely necessary and ignored her as much as possible.

Rose was deeply saddened by the cold treatment she was receiving from her only nephew but was still stubbornly unwilling to reveal the truth about her identity. She did not know of the dark thoughts that Wade was harbouring towards her and innocently believed that given enough time, he would grow to like her eventually.

On the other hand, it didn't take much persuasion for Bonnie and Ella to become fond of Rose. They were awed by her stylish wardrobe and expensive jewels and when Rose offered them the chance to play dress-up in her clothing, she won their little hearts. When not looking after Rhett, Rose spent many happy hours romping with her nieces, as they pretended to be princesses and acted out various fairy tales.

Scarlett was deeply hurt by the 'betrayal' of her daughters and she began to pay them even more attention than she had before. Only this time, her motivations were not as pure. She saw herself in some sort of unspoken rivalry with Rose, reasoning that the charming younger woman might have swayed her husband but that she would never usurp her in her children's affections.

Thanks to Pork's idle chatter, it wasn't long before all of Atlanta had heard about Rhett's mysterious new nurse and tongues were soon wagging excitedly. Once again, Rhett and Scarlett were the main topic of the county's gossip and not even the gentle Melanie was able to defuse it.

Rumours were circulating at full speed and the majority were speculating that Rose must be Rhett Butler's secret mistress. Some suggested that she was one of Belle Watling's girls and that she had turned 'respectable' for Rhett's sake. Others claimed that she must have been a fling from his blockading days and still others posed that she was a childhood sweetheart.

As expected, Maybelle and Mrs Merriwether as well as Fanny Elsing were at the forefront of these rumours.

Surprisingly, India Wilkes was not. Having already been threatened with expulsion from the Wilkes household, she was afraid to partake in the gossip which revolved around the Butler family and held her tongue with difficulty. As much as she hated Scarlett and would have loved the opportunity to be freely vindictive, she was too afraid of Melanie's previous threats to give into temptation. Should her own brother toss her out in the streets with Melanie's approval, she would have nowhere else to go.

Aunt Pitty was grieved and swooned when she heard the news. She immediately took to her bed in a flurry of smelling-salts and declared that she wouldn't accept another cent from Captain Butler.

Since he and Scarlett had married, Rhett had generously been footing the bills for all of Aunt Pitty's financial needs – paying all her expenses and ensuring that she also had an allowance to spend on herself. But in good conscience, she could not let him do this any longer. She would force herself to reconcile with her brother Henry instead and he could take over the burden of providing for her financially.

Uncle Henry was dismayed by the news. Although she might be a Scallywag, Scarlett was his niece by marriage, after all, and a divorce would certainly be a disgrace to the Hamilton family. He realised that his silly sister Pittypat would be scandalised by the rumours and refuse to take any more money from Captain Butler. As her nearest male kin, the burden to provide for her financially would once more be his.

And he was also disappointed in Rhett Butler's actions. Uncle Henry prided himself on being a good judge of character and despite Rhett's dubious past, he had considered him to be a man of honour.

However he would not dwell upon this. Instead, he would turn his mind upon more practical things – such as the exorbitant legal fee he planned to charge Captain Butler, should he choose to issue divorce papers.

Ashley was not surprised when he heard the news. He had been expecting something like this to happen for a long time. He was only shocked that it had not happened sooner. Rhett Butler was a dishonest cad...had he not told Scarlett that from the beginning?

Oh, what a fool that man was – to have a wife like Scarlett and to throw his marriage away!

He decided that he would call on Scarlett at a more appropriate time and let her know that he would always be there for her.

Suellen sent a poorly-written and misspelt letter when the news reached Tara. Scarlett scanned it briefly and tossed it into the rubbish almost immediately. Under the pretence of sympathy and kindness, Suellen's spiteful gloating was apparent.

She had never quite forgiven Scarlett for taking Frank Kennedy away from her and living the life that she, Suellen, was meant to have lived. She had been even more resentful when Scarlett had married Rhett and had seemed set up for life with a beautiful mansion, grand carriage, expensive clothing and luxurious holidays. It wasn't fair...why had her oldest sister always gotten everything?

Now Suellen finally had the chance to lord it over Scarlett. After all, she was still married and financially stable, while her sister would have to fight tooth and nail to get any of Rhett Butler's property. With relish, Suellen imagined Scarlett finally experiencing the poverty and hardship she deserved and having to beg for hand-outs from the mistress of Tara.

Amidst all these accusers, Rhett Butler would have been very surprised indeed to learn that he had a staunch defender in Mammy.

Mammy was unhappy about the rumours, obviously. But although she was fiercely loyal to her lamb, she seemed to be less willing to crucify Rhett than the majority of Atlanta's population.

Like Uncle Henry, Mammy trusted her instincts...but the difference was that she rarely questioned them. Having first considered Rhett to be a mule in horse harness, she had treated him with disrespect and distrust for such a long time; only to discover that he had the qualities and characteristics of a true gentleman.

When Bonnie had been born, she had finally come to respect and appreciate Mist' Rhett and see him for the good man he truly was. No, Mammy could not accept that her instincts could be wrong again. Once perhaps...but not twice.

But it was Melanie who struggled the most when she heard the news.

She was quick to dismiss the majority of the rumours as merely being idle gossip and was pleased to see that India, for the most part, refrained from participating in them. She was aware of how much control and effort it cost her sister-in-law.

While Melanie realised that her refrain was mostly due to fear of being expelled from the Wilkes residence, part of her still fervently hoped that India and Scarlett would one day reconcile, so that they might be a proper family.

However, although she had been able to dismiss many of the rumour mill's claims, Melanie could not ignore the fact that Rhett Butler's nurse was young and beautiful and seemed to have an especially close relationship with him.

Knowing the truth of the seriousness of Rhett's condition, Melanie had stopped by the Butler mansion to visit him daily. Several times, she had walked into Rhett's room to find Rhett and Rose in some sort of situation that seemed inappropriate between a nurse and her patient. She had caught Rose holding Rhett's hand at least twice and she had seen Rhett with his arm around Rose.

They had sprung guiltily apart when Melanie had entered, almost as if there really was something to hide.

Melanie was distressed as she strongly believed that Rhett did love Scarlett but could not conceive of another logical explanation for his actions.

She had worriedly considered telling Scarlett of what she had seen but had quickly let go of the idea, not wanting to upset her pregnant sister-in-law without good cause. She had thought of confronting Captain Butler and demanding an explanation, yet the very thought of doing so had sent a flush to her cheeks. It simply wasn't her place to do such a thing.

But Melanie need not have worried about this. For Scarlett had no such qualms. She was tired of the rumours and of Rose's presence and had made up her mind to do something about them.

And even as Melanie was still inwardly debating the pros and cons of talking to Captain Butler, Scarlett was marching to the library and preparing for her own confrontation.

Author's Note: So as you can see, I decided against letting Wade ride Bonnie's pony. I did offer him the opportunity but he turned it down, saying he was still frightened of horses and he'd stick with his dog, thank you very much.

In the next chapter, Scarlett will confront Rhett and she might finally get some answers to her questions.

The response to this story has been quieter of late but I know a lot of people are still reading it.

Come on, lurkers...please be nice and click on that review button. It won't bite you! ;)