Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter! I'm so happy you liked Jeanette and Alexander!

This chapter was finished sooner than expected, so here it is! Back in Charleston... Enjoy! :-)

CHAPTER 14

She was so excited about their visit to Dunmore Landing that she could barely sleep that night. It was going to be her very first time on a ship and she couldn't stop asking Rhett questions about it.

"Don't get your hopes up, Scarlett," he was trying in vain to bring her down to earth. "We are not going to travel on a luxurious ship. It's a simple ferry that carries working staff to the plantations. No comforts, no facilities, nothing like that."

"But it's a ship," she exaggerated. "I've never been on a ship before."

"Let's try Ashley River first and, if you pass the test, I'll take you to the open sea for a ride," he suggested.

"Really, Rhett?" she clapped her hands happily.

"Yes, Scarlett. Really," he smiled with her enthusiasm. "You never seize to amaze me. You will always be a child in a woman's body," he kissed her hair. "By the way, Rosemary will be joining us as well."

Her spirits sank in a blink.

"Is it necessary?" she pouted.

"Scarlett, please."

"Don't 'Scarlet please' me," she protested. "I didn't start this."

"I know you didn't and I appreciate it. She made a mistake and she is sorry. Can't you just let go?"

"I don't recall her offering an apology. She doesn't like me and she doesn't even try to hide it," she complained.

"She will come around. Give her time. Do it for me," he asked.

"I am already doing it for you."

"Thank you."

Scarlett spent the entire ride going from one side of the ferry to the other barraging everyone with queries about the things they saw in each side of the river. And then she wanted to visit the captain's cabin and learn what all those instruments were for. Rhett answered all her questions smiling joyfully. Her enthusiasm was contagious. Even Rosemary got carried away by her sister's-in-law cheerfulness.

Ross was waiting for them at the dock.

"Welcome," he greeted them and offered his hand to help the ladies off the boat. "Did you have a pleasant ride?"

"This was so much fun," Scarlett said merrily.

He showed them to their horses.

"No carriages available here I'm afraid," he apologized quickly. "Do you know how to ride?" he asked Scarlett.

"Of course I do. My Pa taught me how to ride before I could even walk. It's been years since I last rode, but I think I will manage," she gave him a smile.

Rhett helped her up and they set for Dunmore Landing.

It was a warm sunny day, quite unusual for late January. Through endless meadows they drove deeper into the land. Alders and bald cypresses were dropping their shadow over the country road that lead to the landing. Ross was riding next to Scarlett showing her around. He could name each and every plantation and who the owners were. It wasn't a pleasant sight. Ruined properties, deserted houses, fields left unattended for way too long. Ross' voice was becoming heavier and heavier. She knew, she understood. She was once upon a time the witness of a similar disaster. She had seen Clayton County burned, her friends' houses derelict. And then she saw it. In front of her eyes stood the old manor house surrounded by Live Oaks.

A single "Oh" was all she could utter. It must have been a marvelous house back then. A fine example of Georgian Palladian architecture, that's what Ross had called it. Two storey high, built with brick, a double projecting recessed porch on the facade and multi-pane windows symmetrically arranged on each side of the porch. A huge amount of repair was needed, the back of the house was in ruins, but even in this condition, it was imposing, still emerging grace and grandeur. A small lake lay in front of the house, willows around it.

"It's simply stunning," she murmured.

Ross turned his head to face her and the sight of her made his heart pound loudly in his chest; her green eyes enormous, almost transparent under the bright sunshine, her lips half parted in admiration, her alabaster skin slightly rosy despite the fact that she was holding a parasol. She was a true beauty.

"Yes, it is," he breathed.

He heard his siblings' horses halting behind them and he cast his eyes down. Not before Rhett had a chance to notice his expression though. He frowned and his gaze gawked on Ross. He saw him getting down from his horse to assist Scarlett and his hands were trembling. Rhett's good mood evaporated.

"What's wrong with him?" Rosemary asked Rhett in a low voice, while stepping into the house. "I haven't seen him so talkative in years."

"I guess he is excited to have guests around," he gave her a half-hearted smile.

It wasn't what Scarlett had pictured in mind, when Ross told her the house was now habitable and comfortable. Only the ground floor rooms were livable and they had the very basic furniture. A table and six chairs in the reception room, Ross' bed and clothes in the left front room, his desk and a bookcase with a few books in the right front room and Joseph's room and the kitchen at the back of the ground floor. She was shocked beyond words. He was living like a hermit.

Joseph, however, did his best to serve them and make them feel as comfortable as possible. A strong fire was burning on the reception room and hot tea was served upon their arrival. They enjoyed a simple, but hearty dinner and then Ross took them on another ride around the fields.

Throughout their visit Rhett's eyes never left his brother and his wife. Ross was making quite an effort to impress Scarlett, presenting everything under a much more optimistic light. Scarlett, however, was his primary concern. He was observing her closely, trying to detect signs of her usual flirtation techniques in her posture -eyelashes fluttering, dimples deepening, smiles too sweet, blushing for no apparent reason- but to his relief he found none. She hadn't realized that Ross was courting her. She was listening closely to what he was saying, asking questions and commenting, but her face was the face of a woman looking at a friend. Her expression was changing only when her eyes were resting on her husband, a realization that met with Rhett's immense surprise. Scarlett wasn't encouraging Ross and that was enough for now. He would deal with Ross later.

"You were awfully quiet today," Scarlett commented while cuddling in his arms the same night.

"Seeing Dunmore Landing in such a decline isn't among my favorite things," he lied. "How did you find it?"

"I wished I could have seen it in its prime," she sighed. "Rhett, you should help Ross rebuild it. It's a shame leaving it like that. It's such an amazing house."

"He won't let me help him. I already told you that."

"You mean to tell me that you of all people can't find an indirect way to help him?"

"I'm open to suggestions," he challenged her.

"Find a business that is profitable and involve him in it. Create an imaginary investor who wants to sink money into a rice plantation. I don't know."

"I'll think about it," he consented. "You seemed to be very fond of my brother," he said nonchalantly.

"I am, Rhett," she failed to notice the faint hint of jealousy in his voice. "He has been through enough. How he lives in a place like that, I will never understand."

"He is fond of you too," he commented.

"I'm glad to see that at least one of your siblings likes me," she laughed.

"You always had your way with men, my dear. Women were never your forte," he mocked.

"Allow me to remind you that your mother likes me very much," she retorted.

"My mother is a saint and you are my wife. She would have liked you even against her better judgment," he teased.

"Are you implying, Captain Butler, that I'm not a likable person?" she arched her brows menacingly.

"Far from me to utter such a lie," his eyes were gleaming playfully.

"Who cares?" she made a careless gesture. "You like me and that's all I need."

"I do," he kissed her nose. "Usually against my better judgment."

The idea had been formed in his mind for quite some time, but he was still hesitant. Were they ready to take such a step? Was their life in Atlanta over once and for all? Could they live in Charleston forever? Was she happy here? Was he? All these questions were wandering in his mind and he couldn't make a decision.

"Do you like it here?" he asked her one day while taking a walk at the Battery.

"You mean in Charleston?" she smiled.

"Yes."

"I like it, yes."

"Why?"

"I like that people don't know my past and I was able to make a good first impression. I feel accepted and respected here. It's been years since I last felt this way. I like that your family is here. I do love your mother dearly. She reminds me so much of mine. Sometimes it feels like I have her back. And I like the city."

"Isn't it too regressive for your taste? Charlestonians still believe the Old South is alive."

"It might have been a few years back. But I have the need to rediscover my roots. To live among folks that have been through the same as me and they can understand me. Believe it or not, after Bonnie's death I realized I missed the Old Guard's company. But my relationship with them was beyond repair. Nothing I could have done or said would have made them change their opinion for me. Especially after Melly was gone."

"Don't you miss Atlanta?"

"No, not at all," she answered immediately. "There is nothing there for me anymore. Do you?"

"Of course not. I never liked it in the first place," he said. "So, are you telling me you would consider living here for good?"

"Yes, I wouldn't mind living here for good. Why all these questions?" she smiled.

He stopped walking just outside a house she hadn't noticed before. It was a white house of Colonial architecture. Two symmetrical staircases led to a covered entry porch. The facade was accentuated with six columns rising to the second floor forming another porch. The entrance door and all the French doors had decorative surrounds. It much have been unoccupied for many years; time and negligence were slowly leaving their marks on the walls, the front garden had turned into a wild jungle.

"Why did we stop here?" she asked again.

He gave her an ambiguous smile and took a bunch of keys out of his pocket. He unlocked the gate and he managed to open it without much effort.

"Are you coming in?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I don't understand. What does this mean?" she muttered.

"It means that I own the house," he smiled with the evident surprise on her face. "Come," he took her by the hand.

It was a big house; two very large rooms on each side of the entrance stair hall, a third room and a spacious kitchen at the rear. Wooden stairs were leading to the upper floor; four rooms there and another reception room. Rhett opened the French doors of the larger front room and beckoned her to follow him outside. An exclamation of delight left her lips. The view was breathtaking. The sea was spreading at their feet. An amazing sunset was bathing everything with its reddish light.

"This on the left is Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island," he pointed with his hand. "And that straight ahead is Fort Sumter."

She, however, remained speechless.

"Don't you like the place?" he fretted.

"Like it? Like it?" she exaggerated. "I adore it!"

"You want to renovate it and move here then," he teased.

"Yes," she exclaimed and stormed into his embrace.

"Good," he laughed. "So, tell me your ideas."

"Three bedrooms and a guest room on this floor," she said. "Can this large room be our bedroom, please? I want to open my eyes in the morning and look at the sea."

"Done. What about the ground floor?"

"Parlor and dining room the two front rooms and library the room at the back."

"Agreed," he nodded. "Any decoration ideas?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but she thought better and she paused. She looked straight into his eyes.

"You know what? Why won't you be in charge of that?" she suggested.

He stared at her with growing interest. "Why?"

"You barely had a say in the Peachtree mansion. It's your turn."

"I hadn't realized we were taking turns," he chuckled. "I'm asking again. Why?"

"Because you deserve to live in a house that suits your taste," she offered quietly.

"And what about you?"

"Make this room our bedroom and we can call it even," she smiled.

"Since when did you become so easy to please?" he teased.

"Take a guess," she said and she stood on her tiptoes to meet his lips.

The news of their moving out met with Eleanor's enthusiasm.

"These are excellent news. I never asked, but I was so worried you would decide to go back to Atlanta eventually," she confessed coyly. "I'm so glad you won't. I'm quite used to having you around all the time. I'd hate to have you so far away from me again," she patted Scarlett's hand gently. "Tell me about the house."

"It is just wonderful, Miss Eleanor," Scarlett began to chatter lively. "I absolutely love it. It's so beautiful and spacious. And the view… You can actually see Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter from the porch."

She didn't notice Rosemary's quick shift of mood nor the lack of any comments from her side. But Rhett did. So before he joined Scarlett in their bedroom he made a stop at the library where his sister was.

"Sorry to interrupt," he smiled. "I'll just pick a book and leave you in peace."

He pretended to scan the titles.

"You are moving out," Rosemary said, just as he expected her to.

"Yes, we are."

"But you just came back. Why don't you stay here for a while longer?"

"We will only be a few blocks away," his tone indifferent.

"She talked you around, didn't she?" she made the mistake to ask. "This is her idea."

"What idea are you talking about?"

"Rhett, can't you see?" she stood up. "She is taking you away from us."

Rhett's face turned hard in a split second. When he spoke, his voice was low. Dangerously low.

"Don't take advantage of my tolerance, Rosemary," he was angry, she took a step back. "The very first day you came back I asked you to give her a chance and you promised you would. You broke that promise. You betrayed my trust by telling her things I had confessed to you. You made me argue with her. I chose not to talk to you then, because I could tell you'd regretted it. I hoped that you would start behaving properly. I see now that I was wrong," his eyes bored into his sister's. "I will only say it once and I hope I won't have to repeat it. I won't tolerate my sister speaking ill of my wife."

"But, Rhett, she is…" she uttered, but he cut her off with an abrupt gesture.

"I told you to stay out of this. This is my life, my marriage, my wife. It's none of your business, no one asked for your help or your opinion. For the months that we will be staying under the same roof, you will treat Scarlett exemplary."

"What about her?"

"She is named Scarlett. And Scarlett has been treating you impeccably since they day you met."

"Is that what she told you?"

"I can tell when she is lying, Rosemary. And she isn't. She is being very patient with you and you better appreciate it and start acting accordingly. Did I make myself clear?"

Rosemary hesitated.

"Did I make myself clear?" he demanded.

"Perfectly," she whispered.

"Good," he walked towards the door. "Don't you even consider disobeying me behind my back. I will find out. Good night."

He stepped out of the room and Rosemary sat heavily on the armchair. Beaten.

This is it! Please let me know what you think! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :-)

Coming next... An unkept promise remembered! :-)