Hello all, sorry for the brief haitus.. :) I sortof lost my muse to write.. :D Oh well, on with the story..

RMB: Thanks for your support!

Chapter 38

Scarlett turned the large key in the lock to the basement quarters and handed it to Pork. "There's enough food and water for Cobbs and Cotton for the day. Mister Rhett has told them to stay put so that Mr. Westley's men can't find them and kill them. So, under no condition are you allowed to let anyone take this key, do you understand, Pork?"

"Yes,Miss. Scarlett. I won't let this key out of my sight!"

"Good." replied Scarlett, smiling for just a brief moment before worry filled her eyes. She wondered if Will would have gotten things under control yesterday. She wondered over the ten men who were taken into custody. She wondered if the police would inquire over Boy's mysterious death. And the more she wondered, the more anxious and determined she became. Rhett was right. She needed the support of her hundred field-hands. She needed it desperately if she were to fight things out with Mr. Westley.

"But I mustn't show them that I am desperate.. they might-" Scarlett stopped and remembered Rhett's words.

"Oh dear.. and after I had promised him so faithfully that I wouldn't bully anyone-" thought Scarlett, ruefully. "But I'm so afraid."

Scarlett arrived at Tara by mid-morning and was at once heartened to see nearly all the field-hands tilling the burnt grounds and clearing away the blackened soil. Will was standing out in the fields and as soon as he saw her, he motioned for her to stay by the carriage. Scarlett waited as he hobbled up to her. She chanced a look at the house and saw Suellen standing by the doorway. As soon as her eyes met her sister's, Suellen shot the nastiest glare and stormed inside. Scarlett gazed after her, a smirk hardening on her face. She wasn't wholly surprised by Suellen's rudeness. In fact, she congratulated herself on having expected it.

"Scarlett, you better not come down to the fields today-" said Will, interrupting her thoughts as he finally stood next to her.

"Why not? What do you mean?"

"Well, the men are pretty much upset about those ten blacks who were arrested last night. I've gotten them to work now but one can never tell when another fight may break out. And the police were here all day yesterday. They plagued Suellen with questions over Boy's death and unfortunately, some of Suellen's friends, were down here.. and well, you can imagine her embarrassment-"

"I suppose the news is all over the County by now that I've made a mess of things here at Tara!" Scarlett sounded very bitter and angry.

"Most of it is idle gossip and I don't think you should pay much attention to it. It's the seed poisoning that set the tongues wagging-"

"What did the police say about it? Did they ask about Cobbs and Cotton?"

"Well, they know that Cobbs and Cotton had done the poisoning. But they didn't ask any questions because I think old Mr. Westley's somehow silenced them with enough money. Something's going on...that's for sure. I think they are trying to pin the blame for Boy's death on one of our field-hands-"

"Perhaps if I could talk-"

"There ain't nothing you can say right now, Scarlett. I reckon tomorrow might be a better day. I know that you're upset and upset folks always say the wrong things. One wrong word now and we might have another rampage. I think you ought to go into the house, rest up a bit and collect your thoughts."

Scarlett grudgingly gave into the Will's common sense. "I suppose Suellen has started griping about me-"

"She's was as mad as a hornet yesterday when her friends heard first hand news from the police of all the goings-on here-"

"Oh, Suellen's friends are all as silly and vain as her!"

"That may be." answered Will. "But they are all the friends she's got! Grandma Fointaine had been here just this morning-"

"Thank the saints I missed her!" said Scarlett, with a heartfelt sigh of relief.

"Suellen's mad about that too. Goodness, that old lady can yell some pretty mean truths-"

"I suppose I'll get to hear all this from her when I enter the house."

Will grinned lightly. "Well, Scarlett - she is your sister. But don't go picking on her. What's done is done and nothing can be changed. We just got to learn to move on from here and mend things back the way they were. I know it's not going to be easy but Rhett gave me some hopes. I suppose he's gone in search of those sharecropping documents. He told me all about it and I thought it was the sensible thing to do-"

Scarlett nodded glumly. "But Will, don't you see, that even if he got all the documents and we brought Cobbs and Cotton as witnesses, the police may take a entirely different view of the matter and take Tara away from us?"

Will took her hand and patted it reassuringly. "Don't worry, Scarlett. We'll manage things somehow."

Scarlett entered the house, her eyes narrow and spirited. If Suellen was going to give her any trouble, she'd show her! It was such a pity that she was stuck with such a vain fool of a sister! Suellen saw her and her lips trembled with unspoken emotions which Scarlett guessed would be terribly scathing. She raised her eyebrow faintly and walked into the parlor room.

The air was decidedly tense.

"Where were you yesterday?" began Suellen, angrily. "Did you know that Will had to go tramping about constantly from the police to your precious Pine Grove and back to Tara all day yesterday? And he hasn't had a moment's rest! Not with all those murderous blacks that you've surrounded us with!"

Scarlett's eyes instantly blazed with spirit. "Looks as if you couldn't wait a moment to blame everything on me! What did all of your friends say? They must have laughed at you when you fumbled with explanations for the riot and Boy's death!"

Suellen's mouth flew open in outrage.

Scarlett smirked spitefully at once, happy to aggravate Suellen into fury. "I suppose its pricked your vanity!"

Suellen disappeared for just a moment before stomping back into the parlor. She threw the chine blue dress at Scarlett's head. Little Susie trailed vaguely behind her mother's skirts, wondering at all the commotion. "There! You wicked manipulating thing, you can take the dress back! I should have never let you talk me into this sharecropping nonsense! Now, you've made us a stench in the County. You don't know what everybody's saying-"

"Oh, and you've always cared so much about what everybody else says! Everybody happens to be jealous!"

"Grandma Fontaine spoke some pretty smarting words about you. She called your schemes a disgrace to Mother's memory and I told her everything you did. I told her how you charged extra for everything and how your encouraged those three field-hands to bully everyone in the fields. Grandma can't wait to give you a piece of her mind!"

A cold streak of apprehension ran through Scarlett's heart for she feared the old lady's sharp words. "Well, I'll tell her about how you never lifted a finger to help. I'll tell her how I had to slog in the fields, managing and supervising everything and all you've done is whine and complain! And as for this dress-" Scarlett folded it up, triumphantly. "I'm glad you returned it, you ungrateful ninny. You are so fat, it looked terrible on you in the first place-"

Suellen's lips trembled and she was on the verge of hot tears. Scarlett called after her as Suellen went into the kitchen with Mammy. The severe look on Mammy's face, warned Scarlett not to speak her mind so brutally. Suellen began to bawl inconsolably.

Scarlett moodily sat down at the kitchen table, watching her sister garner Mammy's moral support.

"Miss. Scarlett, you best not be picking on your sister. Miss. Suellen, you've got to stop crying for everything thing that Miss. Scarlett says. You know she doesn't mean it-"

"She's as hateful as ever! After everything that's happened - the riot, the fires and even the murder, she doesn't even show her face until a day later and now she acts as if she had nothing to do with this entire scandal! She's shamed our family!"

A twinge of hurt twisted Scarlett's face. This was exactly what she knew Suellen would say.

"And if you think I'll lift one finger to manage that beastly meal kitchen of yours for the field-hands, you are very much mistaken!" continued Suellen, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'll never boss people around like you. It's hateful and unladylike and you know it. We were brought up to be fine ladies with sweetness and decency-"

"According to you, being lady-like is plumping yourself in front of the mirror all day and powdering your nose." laughed Scarlett, scornfully. She tried to sound light-hearted but Suellen's words had cut her more deeply than she cared to admit. "And as for all your wailing, I brought sharecropping to Tara with the best of intentions. By himself, Will couldn't have tilled the entire fields and pretty soon, the forest would have crept back into our lands. I wanted Tara to look like the days before the war, when Pa and Mother were alive and we were all so happy together. I never thought this riot would break out. And while you are moaning about this being a scandal, you might remember that I am just as frightened as you are-"

"Ha! You.. frightened? That's a joke!"

Mammy ushered Scarlett back out into the hall and as Scarlett climbed the stairs to her room, she felt drained of her energy.

But Suellen was not finished with her. She wiped her eyes and stormed after Scarlett. "Were you frightened when you took Mr. Kennedy away from me?" she called as Scarlett was half way up the stairs. Her eyes gleamed with spite and Scarlett's own green eyes became as hard as gimlets.

"I didn't think you deserved him, to be absolutely frank. If you married Frank Kennedy, Tara wouldn't have seen even a few pounds of his money. All you would have done was to buy yourself new clothes, give yourself airs, attend parties and flatter yourself about how lady-like you were. You wouldn't have cared about Tara!"

"You stole him from me!"

"I don't regret it at all. And your vanity hasn't lessened a bit! You are still selfish and conceited, whimpering and whining at the slightest bit of hard work!" Scarlett slammed the door to her room and bit back angry tears. Rhett was wrong. Suellen was just as mean and nasty as ever and the only way to get any cooperation from her was to bully her into it.

Scarlett sat in her room for a long time, disliking the forced solitude and yet wishing to be left alone. She thought of Careen and wished she was there to take the sting out of Suellen's words. Careen was always so sweet and unworldly. And she'd support Scarlett even if Scarlett manipulated her into doing things.

There was a knock on the door and Suellen peeped inside.

"What do you want?" asked Scarlett, morosely.

"I'm going to Fanny August's house. We have our own sewing circle there. You remember Fanny?"

"Yes, Sally Munroe's school friend. I know her-"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Why?" asked Scarlett, suspiciously.

Suellen shrugged. "Will told me that he didn't want you talking to the field-hands today and I suppose I don't want you sulking here all by yourself."

"I am not sulking."

"Oh come, Scarlett. It'll help you take your mind of things. Fanny has a large, rambling place, newly renovated and all our old friends will be there."

"Wouldn't my presence be a scandal to you?" asked Scarlett, sarcastically.

"You weren't entirely wrong when you told me that I was vain. And believe it or not, after I lost Frank to you, my vanity suffered quite a bit." Suellen laughed awkwardly. "And Will was so terribly nice. Scarlett, you don't know how it was. Everyone hated me for pushing poor Father to his death. That was a scandal in itself. I only took him out to Mother's grave and reminded him that Mother was dead and he should stop his childish notions that she was still alive. Father cried like a baby and then I made him sign the Ironclad oath. He was livid with anger. Everyone hated me when he died but Will was so kind. Until then I didn't know what love was. He protected me and .." Suellen hesitated awkwardly. "I suppose I never really cared about Frank Kennedy. Isn't that silly? After all the fuss I made over him?"

Scarlett was taken aback by this unexpected speech from Suellen. She didn't even know how to respond.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

Scarlett nodded once and began to get ready.