Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews. Thank you for all the feedback. Thank you to all the people who have liked this story.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Scarlett said to Henry Hamilton, "What was the cause of your falling out with Aunt PittyPat." She had always wanted to know what had caused the rift between the two people. If Uncle Henry was ever going to answer her it was today.

Henry sighed. He reached into his bottom drawer and brought out a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a drink without offering anyone else some of the whiskey. He drank it down, poured himself another one and finally offered Rhett a drink. Rhett accepted his offer and ignored the scowl from Scarlett.

Henry said, "I did her a good turn but she didn't see it that way." He drank his whiskey and poured himself another one. Rhett had only taken a sip of his drink yet Henry gave him another serving.

"Our father had left me in charge of Sarah Jane. She was just seventeen when our father passed away. Our mother had died in childbirth about ten years earlier. I was twenty-five and straight out of Harvard. The ink was still wet on my diploma," Henry gave a wry smile. "I was so sure of myself."

Scarlett didn't like where this was going and she took Rhett's drink and took a sip. Rhett looked at her and she mouthed the words, 'Just keeping him company.' Rhett smiled. They were patient but Melanie was not. She said, "Go on."

Henry smiled and said, "Sarah Jane had a suitor; one of our cousins from the poor side of the family. The young man came to me and asked for her hand in marriage. I thought he was a fortune hunter and I offered him a thousand dollars to go away. I was right he was a fortune hunter. He took the money and Sarah Jane never saw him again. Actually no one saw him again. He went to California and ended up on the wrong side of a gun. I don't know all the details. I just know he died in a gun fight in a saloon. I thought Sarah Jane would get over him and she might have but other circumstances intervened. Our sister-in-law died giving birth to you, Melanie. Your father was distraught with sorrow. Charles left you with Sarah Jane still a child herself and went back to his military career. He rarely came to see y'all and when he did, he was distant and formal. Y'all looked too much like your mother especially you, Melanie. Within five years he was dead also. His will left custody of the children to me but I left you and your brother with Sarah Jane. Y'all were happy and so was she. I think. I did what I thought was right and I still think I was right to send the fortune hunter away but my sister never forgave me. After his death she turned the young man into a mythic hero. He had gone to seek his fortune and he was going to come back with lots of money. They would get married and live happily ever after." Henry took his glass and swallowed down the rest of his drink and smiled a sad smile. Melanie reached over and drank down the sip of whiskey that was in the glass. She sputtered and coughed a little bit but Henry never noticed so lost was he in his memories of the past.

Henry poured a couple of fingers of whiskey into Rhett's glass and this time Scarlett drank it all down. Aunt PittyPat's story had been eerily similar to her mother's story. So similar that Scarlett wondered if her Grand Pere had paid Phillipe off and that was why he had left. The thought that Aunt PittyPat, her mother and her had thrown their lives away on a fantasy was too much to bear. After she put the glass down, she reached for Rhett's arm. She had to draw from his strength. She felt Melly take her other hand and she squeezed it but continued to hold it. They both needed Rhett's strength.

Melanie asked, "Why did you never marry?"

Henry looked at the women and smiled. He said, "The woman I wanted to marry married my brother instead." Everyone in the room gasped. With that Rhett grabbed the bottle and filled their glass up. He took a big drink and passed it to Scarlett she took a big drink and passed it to Melanie who drank down what was left. With that Rhett pushed the bottle back to Henry's side of the desk.

Henry looked at Melanie and said, "You look just like your mother. I've always been able to pretend you were my daughter. Good day. I think we are finished here."

Rhett knew there was more to the story but Henry had told all he was going to tell. The rest of his secrets would go to his grave with him.

Scarlett smiled. As she stood up, she said, "Aunt PittyPat did a really good job of raising Charles and Melanie."

Henry smiled and said, "Yes she did." As they walked out Henry didn't stand. He was lost in his memories and probably didn't even notice that they had left.

Rhett, Scarlett and Melanie sadly went back to the hotel. They talked a little bit about Uncle Henry's revelation. They knew there was a mystery there but they would never know the rest of the story.

When the adults got back to their suite all they could say was that everyone was alive. The suite looked like a tornado had hit it. Wade and Beau said that Alex and Bonnie had been good but Scarlett suspected that was because they didn't want Alex and Bonnie to lose their desserts. Scarlett hoped that Wade and Beau learned that taking care of children was harder than it looked. They went downstairs and had supper in the dining room of the hotel. When it was time for dessert Rhett asked his daughter what kind of pie she wanted and she signed that she wanted chocolate cake. Bonnie's parents just smiled at each other. Alex told them he didn't want cake he wanted cherry pie. Alex's parents smiled at each other again. This was going to be their lives for the next several years.

Henry had another drink then he closed up his office. His clerk had gone home long ago. He walked to the boarding house where he had some rooms. Mrs. Mabel Jennings ran a fine boarding house. The meals were good and plentiful. She was happy to rent him an extra room for him to keep his papers in. She had been very happy to rent him a room for Peter to stay in. He had been living in her home since the war was over. It was supposed to be a temporary stay until he rebuilt his home. His home … no his house, it hadn't been a home, had been destroyed in the siege of Atlanta. He had stayed at his office for about six months then decided to start staying at Mrs. Jenning's boarding house. He had gotten along with Mabel and he had enjoyed having someone to come home to but that he hadn't had to be accountable to. It was a fine arrangement. It would do until he passed on. They flirted with each other and they pretended to themselves that it would someday be something more. In truth they were both happy with the current arrangement. Mabel never wanted to have relations again and Henry didn't want to be responsible for a wife.

He thought about Rhett and Scarlett Butler. He didn't know what had happened but after their marriage they had become decent people. After that ill-fated raid they had become great people. Henry could tell that Melanie was happy and felt loved. He had worried about her after Ashley's death but Scarlett had rescued her. Scarlett had taken her into her home and made her feel loved, wanted and needed. Henry thought, 'Scarlett seems to need Melanie as much as Melanie needs Scarlett. That is good.'

After dinner Henry allowed himself to think about Blanche, his one true love.

He had been in his first year at Harvard. He had been courting Blanche the two years before he had gone to Harvard. They had been corresponding that entire year he had been in Cambridge. He had not declared his feelings to Blanche but he had known that he loved her. Blanche had never been a good correspondent but she had gotten worse in the spring. It had not alarmed Henry. He had been happily working and living in Cambridge and dreaming of his future with Blanche. That is until he got the letter from his father telling him that his brother had eloped with Blanche Devereaux. He had gotten drunk and stayed drunk for two or three days.

What Charles and Blanche had done wasn't proper and there had been a minor scandal but everything had blown over because of the social standing the Hamiltons and the Devereauxs had enjoyed. It had been so very hard that summer to come home to his true love married to his brother. It was plain to see Blanche loved his brother. Charles had loved Blanche which always made Henry feel better.

In September Henry had gone back to Harvard. Charles had gone to West Point and Blanche had stayed in Atlanta with her parents. Her parents had contracted Typhoid Fever and Blanche had been sent to live with the Hamiltons until they recovered. Her parents never recovered. Father had taken care of the disposing of the Devereauxs' holdings and belongings. Blanche continued living with them. Charles came home for Christmas but Henry had not.

Both Henry and Charles came home for the summer. That was when Henry found out that Blanche was with child. That summer Blanche was in her confinement. They had spent time together but she never treated him as anything but a brother-in-law. She never referred to his calling on her.

Charlie was born the next September. It had been a difficult delivery but within two months Blanche appeared to have made a full recovery. He was at Cambridge and Charles was at West Point at the time. His father had written him with the news of the birth of his nephew. He hadn't found out until her death of her difficult delivery with Charles. Charles and he had come home for the summers. Henry had stayed in Cambridge during the Christmas season. Henry had watched Charlie grow and had wished he was his son.

His father had tried to get him to marry one of his cousins and he had refused. Charles and John Wilkes had talked about Charlie marrying his daughter if John ever had one.

Henry went on to law school and a year later Charles went on with his military career. Henry had wished on a couple of occasions that his brother might get killed in action but had always felt ashamed by those thoughts.

Blanche stayed in Atlanta where it was safe. She lived in the Hamilton House with Sarah Jane and their father. Charles and Henry came home for visits. Henry got his degree and he was home for good. His father had been a lawyer also. His father passed away a month after Henry got his degree. He had inherited a law practice; Charles had inherited the house and Sarah Jane a nice dowry.

Charles had come home for their father's funeral. Charles had said that soon he would be able to take his family with him to his posting which everyone knew was not true. Blanche's health was too delicate for that. The next March Blanche was dead and Henry had a new beautiful niece. Sarah Jane took Melanie into her heart and there was no separating them. She had quickly accepted her role as their caretaker. After about three years Henry couldn't live with Sarah Jane anymore. Between her anger at him and her foolishness it was an unpleasant atmosphere. How many times a day can a woman pretend to faint?

As Henry thought about his actions with Sarah Jane's suitor, he didn't regret his actions. He still believed he had done the right thing. He just wished Sarah Jane hadn't been a stubborn nincompoop and had just accepted that he had done what he had done for all the right reasons. No, Sarah Jane never stopped believing that the young man would have made his fortune and come back to her. She blamed Henry for his death because if he hadn't been trying to make his fortune he wouldn't have gotten killed. She felt that he hadn't needed to make a fortune because she already had one. Silly twit but he said it with a smile. He was going to miss her.

The next morning, Scarlett was at Suellen's house at nine on the dot. She quickly got the children and got them in the cab. She didn't waste time with Suellen over false pleasantries. The only snag came when Ella had said, "I want to tell Daddy goodbye."

Suellen had said, "Your daddy is sick. Go on with your Aunt Scarlett."

It was plain that Ella still wanted to tell her Daddy goodbye but she wasn't going to argue with her mother.

Frank had too many hot toddies the night before and he felt so bad. He was missing Miss Hamilton. She had always fussed over him and taken care of him. He had wanted to get up and tell the children goodbye but he just couldn't. His head hurt so much and his sweet Ella's voice would have cut through his brain. He had not wanted them to go to Tara. They were the only joy in his life but he couldn't argue with Suellen any more he just felt too bad.