25. A Family

The decision to leave Savannah with Rhett was not as difficult for Scarlett to make as it should have been - in fact, she had made it before she had even entered his bedroom, Mason be damned, the rest of them be damned. Stepping out into the hallway, she called for one of Rosemary's maids and told the girl, "Have mine and my daughter's trunks packed today, Captain Butler's too. He'll be accompanying us to Jonesboro."

She glanced down the long corridor to Melly's half-opened door, knowing that the hardest part of that decision was still to come. Melly was bound to be upset over the Mason business as well as with Scarlett herself for the perceived unfaithfulness to Ashley's memory. She didn't like to admit that she had failed at anything, but her failure to communicate with her daughter on all of those points was perhaps the biggest of her life. She had to make it right now, she just had to. "Ashley," she addressed him internally, "please help me make this easier to say…"

Melly was in her room, but not in her bed. She was slumped into a chair, reading a letter, her face screwed up with the effort of reading the miniscule penmanship, tongue clamped between her teeth. Upon further inspection, Scarlett could see the tears falling freely down her daughter's cheeks.

"Baby, what is it?" Scarlett said worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Melly wiped her face with the back of her hand and sighed at her mother's expectant look, stiffening her spine and giving her a hard stare.

"It's nothing, Mother. Nothing important."

"Well, its important enough for you to cry over, isn't it?"

Melly frowned as she said carefully, "There's no reason for me to cry. Not one at all."

"I take it that you're reading some correspondence from a young man, am I right?"

Melly nodded.

"Mason?"

"No," Melly shook her head.

"Great balls of fire, Melly - how many young men have you?"

"None, indeed."

Scarlett sighed. "I'm sorry, baby, I shouldn't have asked that. But when that wretched Mason was here, you appeared to be getting along so well with him, I got the notion that you hadn't met anyone else. Well, tell me about him, Melly. Might something still come of it?"

Feeling a tightness in her throat, Melly glanced away before answering her mother. "He likes me…no…he loves me. I don't know why he does - we're not the least bit suited for one another. He's as poor as anything, he lives for adventure. He spends all of his time writing music…I can't possibly be meant for such a life, can I?"

Scarlett shook her head and drew her daughter close. "Is his lack of fortune the only thing holding you back?"

Melly wished her mother hadn't asked that. She could feel a blush mounting her cheeks.

"You yourself expressed the same concern about Mason, Mother," Melly countered.

Scarlett shook her head adamantly. "I found out Mason Kershaw's credentials along with you. I was frightened, yes, by the fact that he is Belle Watling's natural child. I'll be the first to admit my dislike of that woman…for all that I can't exactly claim that I was a wronged wife in those days. I brought it on myself, largely. No, Melly, I would have overcome my initial shock if he had proven himself to be a worthy young man. Financially secure would have been nice. Undying devotion to you would have overshadowed all that - but Melly, he's…"

"I know," Melly interjected. "I know about everything. Wade discussed it with me. I appreciated his candor. I believe that even I was starting to see him for what he was. His interest in me increased tenfold once he realized my connection to Rhett…Sean has no idea…"

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Sean? I don't believe that I met anyone by that name at the wedding."

"Well, he wasn't there, of course."

"Oh. So he's…"

"Not in society. Not even imitation gentry like Mason."

"I see…"

"He's from Ireland. And he's going back. Oh, Mother!" Melly wailed. "I didn't even get to say goodbye. And I'll never see him again."

Scarlett winced. "Oh, baby. He's from Ireland?"

Melly nodded. "You see, don't you? Its not as if we'll cross paths by accident."

"Has he left, you think? We could ask Maureen where he lives…"

"No," Melly shook her head firmly. "What good will that do, besides make it worse than it already is?"

"I just don't want you to regret not -"

"Not what, saying thank you but no? I think that I should allow him the dignity of not hearing that from me. Its not as if he'll not find someone else, someone from home, someone better suited to his temperament."

Scarlett nodded, "I understand, darling."

Melly cleared her throat. "Was there something else, Mother?"

Scarlett took her daughter's hand in her own and stroked it. "I've invited Rhett to return to the County with us."

"I see…"

"I know that you know, baby…you've always been very perceptive."

Melly raised an eyebrow. "You mean, I presume, the fact that you've left Rhett's room in your underclothes the past two mornings?"

Scarlett's face flushed crimson. "Well, in my defense, there's more to it than that."

"Wade tried to explain to me. And he did. He and Beau explained it well enough."

"But you need to hear it from me. I should have told you long ago…Its just, I was so angry at Rhett. Not that I didn't deserve it. I was not a good wife. I was not a good mother. Your Papa helped me to better myself on both counts."

"But you didn't really love him. It was all a lie."

"No. It was not a lie. It was a case of us needing one another in our darkest hours. When his wife died, his whole purpose for living died along with her. And when Rhett left, I had just lost Melly. And Bonnie. And another baby…I fell down a stairwell and I miscarried…It was so hard, Melly. But you were born, and Ashley and I both had a reason to carry on…you."

"If you loved Rhett so much, why not tell him about me?"

"I think that even he would have been highly skeptical, back then. There had been a lot of talk, well before you were even a thought - back when we lived in Atlanta. Ashley and I were sort of…well…caught in a compromising position. So, I'm not sure he would have believed me. That and I was very frightened that he might have tried to take you away from me. It would have killed me, Melly, killed me."

"He loved Bonnie very much, didn't he?"

Scarlett nodded. "More than anything. She was easy to love. She was like my Pa…full of herself."

"I wonder if she would have been like me…" Melly mused.

"You remind me more of my Mother. Your kindness and courage. You're very different from Bonnie - you were always very different from her. But if she'd lived, perhaps…no…there's no benefit in dwelling on it. I wouldn't change anything. Not for the world."

Melly smiled. "I love you, Mother. I'm very glad to see you happy…"

Scarlett chuckled at her. "Don't let your imagination run wild, baby. There is so much to discuss, so many amends to be made up…the feelings won't assuage themselves over two nights, no matter how fulfilling. But we're committed to forming some sort of family…"

Melly understood what she was getting at. "So, I should not be caught off-guard if you beat me to the alter?"

Scarlett laughed. "What for, my reputation is already in shambles, is it not, by Atlanta standards? Oh, I'm teasing…your position is foremost in my mind. I do believe that if that was an option, it would not be necessary until after you're safely married."

Melly sighed. "I shan't marry. Please don't hold me to that, Mother. I am convinced that I am the most unlucky of girls in matters of the heart."

Scarlett shook her head. "You've dealt with this with remarkable poise. It takes nothing to fall in love with the wrong person, but it takes a great deal of maturity to recognize it…I wish I had, at your age."

Melly chewed her lip, "Please, don't say that. I've done nothing except make a mess of things. I just wish that - no - I don't wish anything. I simply need to be honored that a man took the time to write me a letter like this, and carry on, right?" She looked up at her mother for reassurance.

"If you're certain, baby -"

"I'm certain, Mother. It makes my heart break to say it. But I realize that for whatever reason, I've caused him a great deal of pain. He feels compelled to return home, because this place reminds him of me…I understand, I suppose…how he feels."

Scarlett nodded, but then sighed, "So, you're sure that you don't want us to find him? We could even delay our trip…or we could visit him in Ireland, I suppose…it wouldn't be that long, surely, a few weeks and -"

"It would take at least two weeks to get there."

"Oh, well…I suppose…"

"No, Mother," Melly said emphatically. "Its best this way."

A knock on the door turned both of their attention to the threshold, and Rhett stuck his head in and said, "May I come in?"

"Please." Melly indicated an empty chair.

"I take it you've discussed it with her," Rhett said hesitantly, addressing Scarlett, who nodded.

"I want to make certain that she understands what all it will mean, Scarlett," he said softly, then addressed Melly, "My accompanying you and your mother is a serious matter. The society folks you've worked so hard to gain acceptance with will consider it the height of scandal. There'll be repercussions that won't be pleasant, at least in a social sense. You may find yourself not invited to parties, even snubbed."

"Are you suggesting -"

"No, Melly. I just wanted to present you with the worst case scenario. I think that's only fair, you see, to consider your happiness in this. It may not be as bad as all that, of course. Your situation is unique, after all. But Scarlett and I have always attracted a considerable amount of negative attention."

Melly shrugged. "Wade and Ella certainly suffered no such repercussions."

Rhett smiled wryly. "They made the best of it. I daresay that Wade's used my mystique to his own credit…"

"I realize that its different for me," Melly said shrewdly, "If I were a young man, I could make my own way, or if I had a husband like Ella, I could rest upon his good name…I believe that is your point, is it not?"

"Melly doesn't care about that kind of silliness, Rhett," Scarlett interrupted.

"Look, Scarlett…I want her to have the opportunity to speak. If she has an objection, I'd like to hear it."

Melly said firmly. "I have no objection, so long as you treat my mother well."

Rhett sank to his knees on the floor and took his daughter's hand in his. "You have my word, Melly. I promise that I will not disappoint you in that…would you mind if I apologize to you, too, for any distress I might have caused you by my actions? Its occurred to me that you should have been the first person consulted in this rather than the last…"

"Oh hush, Rhett," Melly shook her head, "I realize that you love one another. And I realize that it would be nothing short of a tragedy to allow true happiness to slip through your hands…"