Chapter 28

Scarlett and Rhett arrived in Atlanta that afternoon and decided they would spend the night at their house before leaving for their honeymoon the next morning. Scarlett had picked out Baltimore as the place they'd spend their honeymoon. Rhett was amused that Scarlett never seemed to want to venture beyond the borders of the old Confederacy. If someone had given him a choice of where to go on vacation, he would have chosen a more glamorous locale like Boston or Manhattan. Still, he was relieved she'd only chosen to go as far as Baltimore since a train ride from there back to Atlanta would be much shorter if something unpleasant developed between them during their trip.

Scarlett's interest in Baltimore was largely because her oldest and dearest friend, Cathleen, had moved there many years ago with her family and had often written to her about the old world charm of this harbor side city. Cathleen's letters had intrigued her, but she had never managed to follow through on planning a trip there. She also wanted to catch up with Cathleen, who had five children by now.

Before she finished getting ready for her trip, Scarlett decided she'd like to check on the mill first. She asked Rhett if he'd like to join her, but he declined since he wanted to take it easy for the rest of the day.

About a half hour after she left the house, a knock came at the front door. Rhett opened it and found Ashley standing there cradling the tureen that Mammy had used to bring the soup to him in on the day of the blizzard.

Both were surprised to see one another. Ashley suddenly wished he hadn't been so remiss about returning the tureen sooner. It wasn't that he was afraid of Rhett, but he wasn't sure what state of mind he was in and this was not one of those days when he felt like inadvertently being pulled into some kind of drama.

"Good afternoon, Ashley," Rhett said congenially. "Won't you come in? Scarlett went over to check on the mill and Mammy's down at Tara right now with Mable Rose and Chandler."

"Thank you, Rhett," Ashley replied, trying to sound gracious for Rhett's unexpected hospitality.

As he followed Rhett into the parlor, Rhett offered to take the soup tureen into the kitchen. When he returned, he poured them each a glass of brandy and invited Ashley to take a seat.

"My, I haven't seen you in ages," Ashley remarked. "Have you and Scarlett decided to return to Atlanta good?"

"As to whether or not we want to stay in Atlanta for good remains to be seen," Rhett replied cryptically.

"I'm not following," Ashley responded as a look of seriousness crept into his face. "Does this mean you two might not be reconciling?"

"Not necessarily," Rhett replied. "If we decide to reconcile, then we will have to discuss with one another if we wish for our home to continue to be in Atlanta. As you know, Scarlett has been at Tara for quite sometime and I went back to Charleston, but in doing so I am afraid I became a victim of that worn out cliché, 'You can never go home again.'"

"Oh? And where might the two of you go otherwise?" Ashley asked skeptically, thinking Rhett was chasing a nirvana that didn't exist at Scarlett's expense.

"As I stated, that would be a decision between Scarlett and myself," Rhett responded dryly, thinking the tone of Ashley's voice was sounding at least a tad bit judgmental. "Why don't we change the topic, Ashley?"

"As you wish," Ashley responded with equal dryness.

"I have a question to ask you that I should have asked many years ago."

"Which is?" Ashley responded nervously as he took a large swallow of brandy to prepare for whatever was about to fly out of Rhett's mouth.

"It has been a matter of curiosity for me for quite some time as to what sort of relationship you and Scarlett shared before that fateful day when you became officially betrothed to Melanie at your father's barbeque at Twelve Oaks."

"I find that a bizarre question," Ashley responded defensively. As much as he wanted to flee from this abrupt inquisition, he decided to stay to see what Rhett's intentions were towards Scarlett by asking this question.

"Actually, not as strange as you think. You see, Ashley, I happened to be in the library that day in repose on the sofa when Scarlett followed you in there to plead for you to change your mind about Melanie and marry her instead."

"I see…" Ashley paused thoughtfully as this had given him he the opening he needed – or so he thought. "I am quite sure you have an excellent memory of that episode and would likely recall that I told her I was in love with Melanie and not her and at first she refused to accept my answer and then became quite spiteful about the matter when I refused to budge. By the way, did Scarlett ever discover you'd been tucked away out of sight observing our private exchange?"

"She wouldn't have, but once you stormed out of the room, I felt compelled to reveal my presence as I was quite taken with her. Needless to say, she was deeply embarrassed that her feelings about you had been discovered by another human being and instantly transferred her declaration of hate from you onto me. Listen, I know Scarlett is an impetuous creature, but I find it hard to believe that she had been worshipping you from afar like you were some legendary figure that she'd never had an encounter with until the day of barbeque. You two must have at least one meaningful interaction before you decided to make your plans with Melanie official for her to carry on the way she did that day. I know you are under no obligation to share anything with me, but I beg you to consider sharing the truth with me to help me decide whether staying in this marriage is a viable option."

"I hardly think it is germane to making that determination considering the many years of history you and Scarlett have shared together. Nevertheless, if it so pleases you, I will indulge you with the tidbits I am able to recall from that era."