this is short more of a chapterlet but I have a wake and a funeral service in the first half of the week and i honestly don't know how I will feel tomorrow and Tuesday.

I almost never ask but leave your opinions on the story as a whole so far if you have the chance, just interested in what everyone thinks...even if it's bad :d thanks

The motivation behind his teaching her chess would never be know to Scarlett. She only saw the good deed in it's purest form. John Wilkes had been so kind to her that year and she never knew why, she assumed it was because with all three of his children gone the large plantation house must have been lonely and as silent as a tomb. Perhaps too he had seen her own loneliness during that long ago Autumn and had reached out hoping to comfort her during Ashley's absence.

A frown settled on her features for a minute, could it have been possible that Ashley's father had felt something more for her than a friendly interest toward a young woman that was in love with his son? The thought came unbidden and she attempted to dismiss it out of hand but…

Had John Wilkes harbored tender thoughts toward her? Her analytical mind, as Rosemary so astutely called it, allowed that he very well might have, after all when he came to Atlanta with the Army he had kissed her gently on the lips three times telling her that the first kiss was for her and the other two for Pitty and Melanie. Why hadn't he gone to the house to see them? There had been time, but he had spent it speaking with her about her family and all sorts of small things. Why wouldn't he go to Pitty's house unless he wanted to spend that last hour with her?

He had given her their chessboard as a wedding present when she married Charles Hamilton. She closed her eyes against the sudden tears that pricked the backs of her eyes. John Wilkes was in his grave nearly 10 years next August, what good would it do to look back. Never look back toward moves made and long countered.

But she did look back for a moment, allowing herself that usually denied luxury. Things he had said to her now made sense in a way that she had never before seen. How he was too old to keep up with her, how he'd always rise to pull her seat out for her at the chess board, holding her hand as she seated herself and sometimes not relinquishing it for several minutes.

Oh no, that couldn't be possible. She couldn't accept that someone she had been so fond of had harbored anything more for her than the affection of a carefully cultivated friendship between teacher and student.

If she was going to allow herself to wallow in the past then at the very least she could force it to dwell on more pleasant times. She forced her attention to other times, to Rhett. Scarlett suspected that Rhett knew she had at least a rudimentary understanding of Chess. Once, while they were on their honeymoon, they had been talking about the war and how even if the South hadn't lost several crucial battles the North still would have triumphed because of their position of strength over the South.

Scarlett was packing some of the stockings and underpinnings that had been delivered that morning to their hotel and without thinking had replied, "Restrain, blockade and destroy," the mantra she'd learned over John Wilkes's chessboard.

It was out of her mouth before she realized it. It wasn't that she didn't want Rhett to know she played chess, it wasn't as though he didn't find her to be intelligent, it was that she just didn't want to hear his words of scorn about Ashley and if she told him just who taught her to play chess he'd immediately conclude why she had taken the time to learn such a challenging game.

But he hadn't commented and the conversation continued onto other subjects.

Rosemary had come back with the chess board and had set it up on a lap tray, it truly was a beautiful set. Rosemary told her it was based on the War of The Roses. She had further elaborated on the battle for the English throne through which Scarlett only nodded and smiled. She had slowly come to enjoy Rosemary's company, but that didn't mean she wouldn't mind soundly trouncing her.

"And you said you've never played Chess before," asked Rosemary losing a bishop.

"When did I say that," asked Scarlett innocently, but her eyes gleamed with a predatory light.

"You said you were willing to learn what ever I could teach you."

"And I am."

"You sneak," exploded Rosemary good naturedly, "you know how to play and very well at that. Did Rhett teach you?"

"Certainly not, I did have some skills before I met the great Rhett Butler of Charleston and later parts unknown," answered Scarlett primly.

"Do you know how to play poker?" asked Rosemary with a grin.

"No," replied Scarlett eagerly, she had always wanted to learn after all it was how Rhett had made much of his early fortune. "Do you?"

"I do indeed." She looked down at the chessboard; Scarlett had her soundly beat no matter which way she moved. "To hell with chess, I'm going to teach you to play poker, and then," Rosemary lowered her voice and leaned forward as though she was afraid of being overheard, her eyes were alight with mischief, "I'm going to teach you how to cheat."

They were still playing nearly three hours later, making outrageous bets on losing hands and raising each other sums of money they could never hope to posses in a lifetime. Rosemary taught her how to count cards and draw from the bottom. She taught Scarlett all about the importance of a good poker face,

'That bland mask Rhett so often wore must have served him well while playing cards,' thought Scarlett with a faint twinge. 'Oh why didn't I ask him to teach me how to play poker years ago, maybe we would have ended up laughing every bit as much as Rosemary and I have during the last few hours.'

"I'm all in", said Rosemary grinning devilishly as she used the pieces of the chessboard as currency to up the ante. In leaning forward she crumpled the front of the honeydew colored gown Scarlett had loaned her. Rosemary voice held a seductive breathless quality as she was unused to being laced so tight and her breasts were fuller from the extra inches that a tighter lacing pushed upwardly into her bosom.

Scarlett's new pupil in the womanly arts was an apt pupil indeed. With a little more work on both their parts Rosemary would be beating off suitors with a stick.

"All in with what, and do sit back, you are crumpling my dress."

"All in with the money I've been stealing from your pot. And I am not crumpling your dress, it's crumpling all on it's own."

Scarlett looked up and met Rosemary's steady gaze with her own. They tried to out stare one another each employing her best poker face. Scarlett could feel a mirth that had been bottled up inside her for years start to course through her once more. Not since the early days of her marriage to Rhett had she ever been so satisfied with the course her life was beginning to take.

Rosemary was funny when she wasn't being a bluestocking and Miss Eleanor was right, she had charmed her. They were becoming confidants and there was Emily too. She had friends again. Friends to laugh with and share her thoughts, friends who were related to her husband so there was no fear that either would try and sink their claws into Rhett.

With an air of superiority Scarlet raised her chin and narrowed her eyes slightly before slowly sticking out her tongue. The gesture took Rosemary so unaware that her poker face dissolved into outright belly deep laughs.

"You're incorrigible," Rosemary gasped as she laughed till her sides ached and tears streamed down her eyes.

"You're absolutely right," replied Scarlett giggling.

Every time they tried to return to their card game they dissolved into bursts of laughter. Finally they abandoned all hopes of finishing the game and filled the afternoon with gossip and story telling.

It was one of the best afternoons of Scarlett's entire life.