Epilogue

1898, January 18th, Atlanta.

On a little house built on Peachtree Street, just where once laid the ruins of one terrific mansion, it was almost the end of storytime in the O'Hara's family as Ella Kennedy Butler O'Hara finally uttered the last sentences.

"And then, after this last adventure, Robert and Solene finally found their children again, and their family was united again. Nothing would ever separate them again."

That last sentence was uttered, and the dark-haired girl it was told to pouted, her green eyes glaring to the amusement of her grandparents and father, who were watching fondly at her antics.

"And what about the plans, that were supposed to lead to the treasure of Solene's kingdom? This is nonsensical!"

There, seeing his wife's distress, the father decided to intervene.

"Baby. Sometimes, plot points are left unresolved so that one has to focus on what is more important. And then, I do believe once Robert and Solene were together again, these plans were the least of their worries. Now apologize to mama. This story is quite precious to her."

The girl's eyes widened with the realization, and swiftly she jumped into her mother's arms.

"Oh, mama! I did not want to hurt you!"

"I know you don't, sweetheart," Ella said, a smile taking the place of the beginning of her tears. She had already forgiven and forgotten it.

The girl was swiftly tucked to bed, and kissed by everyone in the room, before finally all adults reunited in the living room.

"I can't believe, Ella darling, you still tell her that silly little story," Scarlett Butler berated her daughter, and Ella let out an outraged gasp. Her mother giggled. "There, there… don't be offended like that, it's my little story, after all, I should be outraged with myself. Isn't it, little Billy?"

Said Billy, Ella's husband, winced, and Rhett Butler taped his shoulder in sympathy.

"My dear, I think you are embarrassing him," Rhett said. "I'll take her back, I do believe the sherry had been too much for your mother. Thanks for the welcoming, William, Ella…"

"Ella!" Scarlett cried suddenly, taking her daughter in her arms. "It was so delightful a night!"

"Oh, mama!" Ella cried back, leaning on the embrace.

"And for Ella as well," William let out a warm chuckle as he tried to take back his wife from his mother-in-law.

This was done with quite some protests from each part, but then soon enough, both parts agreed for a temporary separation, promising themselves they would see one another soon.

It was cold when finally Rhett and Scarlett left Billy and Ella's home, and they considered their next steps.

All things considered, the years had been quite eventful for them, since the day they left New-Orleans for Europe (and a little unplanned trip through some lands of Africa that still had Rhett's fur ruffled for he was forced to bear the presence of his wife's friend. Even Pork and Aren seemed quite ill-at-ease by it) in a long-awaited honeymoon. It had been a grand tour, with many adventures, gains and losses. Yet, they faced it all.

But the hardest had certainly been at the end of the travel, when they reached Ireland. For then, when they stopped in the village where one Gerald O'Hara was born, Pork's struggles ended.

Scarlett still remembered the calm way he laid himself on the ground, his eyes on the sky, and his lips frozen in what seemed to be a greeting, but never to be uttered. She had kissed his brow then, distraught, before crying her heart out in her husband's arms.

When they finally came back, the world had not quite changed, as if waiting for them to go back.

So, the years passed, some calm months followed by trips organized by swift fancy that would make them realize much later that mundane life, with everything they had lived, could be quite unnerving.

It wasn't always easy, life together, and sometimes, a suitcase was carefully prepared, and each part had to decide if they wanted to take it or not. Yet, they were not ones to bear the cold of separation anymore. They always returned to the other. It hadn't been for nothing they called their home "Hearth", for they both took strength in the heat of it, though it may sometimes feel overwhelming.

And then, there was this worry, that they would not really talk to one another, for it was already so deeply shared that they did not feel the need to. The worry of leaving the other behind, waiting for death to reunite them again. Having lived what they lived, the idea of separation seemed unbearable, yet with age advancing, it seemed to become more and more probable. Perhaps not for the next two decades, maybe, but then…

But maybe they shouldn't think of it for now. For now, leaning on each other as they walked to their hotel, they could just chat and delight in everything that was happening. Such as the happy marriage of Ella to little Billy. Though it still was quite strange to Scarlett that, Prissy having adopted the boy, had kept the name of O'Hara as it had been customed among slaves to take their master's name, and given it then to all of her children. And that her husband had agreed as well to take it.

But then, it all seemed to come into a circle and, as she reflected on it, she finally decided to find it quite satisfying in a way.

Ella had become some kind of artist, she had been right about that. She was skilled in gardening, and in arranging flowers, and her creations were now quite successful in that store she had inherited, and that her husband helped her manage.

And then for her other boy…

"Wade is climbing high. Soon, very soon…" Scarlett said with a wistful smile.

"Still very fixed on that little fantasy of yours of Wade becoming president, my dear?"

Her husband grinned back at her, his white animal teeth still perfect under these indecent red lips. She dismissed his amusement with a little wave of the hand.

"Fiddle-dee-dee, one can never know! Yet… one can hope. He's smart, all people absolutely love him…"

"Oh, he certainly breaks many hearts."

"Oh, you mean the little Caroline?" She blinked. "God's nightgown, that could not have been!"

Rhett's grin widened, turning into a jeer.

"Well, Ella did marry young Billy, and you were quite supportive of this. Or are you particularly snob with the low-born girls?"

"Name of God! That's not like that, and you know it. Yet… The girl had been like a sister to him!"

"You may be right in that. I do remember… Wade told me once she did make him remember of Bonnie when they were children. A quieter and less confident Bonnie, that he could befriend and protect."

"And then he found Jenny…"

He nodded quietly, his hand soothing on Scarlett's.

"A good match, well-bred from Charleston."

"A sweet girl. A bit too outspoken…"

"You say that because she didn't seem to like that little party we threw last week."

A scowl appeared on Scarlett's face.

"Fi, Rhett! It's not my fault if she does not know how to play cards! Everyone had fun that night!"

He snorted.

"Yes, indeed. I particularly had fun that night…"

"Oh, Rhett!" She blushed by the hint at the end of that night, and protested, still very much vexed by the subject of her daughter-in-law. "And then she tried to hijack it to make it one of her suffragists' reunions. Couldn't she do it somewhere else?" She pouted.

"Woe befalls those who try to take the light from you."

"And from you as well, darling," She purred. "I do remember you did not seem that pleased when she dared interrupt one of your stories to ask about your focus on clothes rather on weapons and bandages during your blockages days."

"That was badly done, but she'll learn," He said in so very patronizing a manner it made her laugh. "Wade and her, they're making their own life, and, understandably, they would want to do differently."

"At least, she loves Wade very much. And Wade loves her as well. What can I ask more?" Scarlett sighed as she recovered. "He managed to marry even with our reputations. Though I have to say to others there's no Scarlett Butler, but one Cathie Butler," She teased.

"And Cathie Butler can be as fearsome as her husband, so it is said," Rhett grinned.

"What terrible persons we are!"

"Terrific, you mean."

Scarlett hummed pleasantly, her head resting with a tender smile on his arm.

"I wish it would go as well with Robert," She sighed. "He's doing good, he's got money of his own. Yet not the girl he wants to settle with. These Knickerbockers… Refusing my son! Fiddle-dee-dee, they have not the sense of a goose!"

"Well, if Robert wants the girl, perhaps it'll be better if he stole her. I do remember stealing you once…"

"And how it worked!" His wife exclaimed with all the indignation she could muster. "Robert… He is not like his brothers and sisters at all…"

"That's the problem of being the child of the middle, I believe. Not to mention Reggie and Rebecca tend to take quite the place."

"Maybe so. But he's so secretive! Even Wade wasn't like that."

"You say that because he doesn't let himself be petted and bullied by you as the others do."

She dismissed it with the same wave of the hand.

"Pet? Bully? You mean you, of course. I still remember that day where you pushed Reggie in the pool, saying you've heard lions pushed their cubs from a rock to see if they were worthy of leading the pride."

"Well, I have to watch out. Young lions are known to slay the old one if they feel any weakness. As for petting… I guess I am guilty of that too. For Rebecca, at least. But she looks so much like you, my dear…"

She batted her lashes, patting his chest teasingly.

"That's nonsense. You're no lion king, Rhett, you're my pirate," She kissed him soundly on the lips, putting her arms around his neck.

"Still a king, though."

"You're just too full of yourself," She chortled joyfully. "Well, as long as I am the queen."

He roared in laughed.

"Sweet, constant Scarlett!" He exclaimed. "Robert loves you, Scarlett. He just doesn't show it to you as the others do."

"I don't worry about Robert loving me. I know he does, and how loyal he is to the family. I still remember that day when, as a child, he picked up flowers when we lost…"

A pained expression marred Rhett's face, and he squeezed her hand in support.

"I almost lost you that day…"

She bit her lip. She bit her lip. She was almost lost, indeed, when Pork died. He had been the last link to her childhood home she had kept, stronger than even Suellen and Will, that she managed to surprise one day when after that she returned. Robert had been three, then, but he had a moment of huge empathy that she would always remember, for it had been sudden and unexpected for such a small child.

"I wish I could have given you another child…"

"With these seven we have had in that little family of ours? Darling, you've blessed me enough. We are blessed enough,"

"Eight," She said softly.

He caressed her cheek. "I couldn't have born it if I had lost you. I was dying a little more each day, seeing you like that… And when little Melanie died… It felt like it was happening all over again."

Scarlett's face fell at the mention of the losses, at the two Melanie she had lost.

For once, Rhett and she had agreed to give such a name to their last. A sweet, beautiful girl, though a bit fragile.

She had been sixteen, and she had wanted to nurse a friend from a violent fit of tuberculosis. She would not hear any injunction. She just went away, one morning, dismissing all worry, and never came back home.

The friend survived, but Melanie did not.

"Yes, it felt like it was happening all over again…" Scarlett said softly. "Yet, we faced it together. I wouldn't have done it without you…"

And then, suddenly, as if she could not bear the sadness anymore, she took a step back and squared her shoulders.

"But enough about the drama! She wouldn't want us to linger like that!" She protested. "I worry about that girl. That Robert loves. Why, he's your son, maybe she doesn't even have any idea of his feelings!"

Rhett chuckled. "I guess you'll never let me live that down."

"Talk about being overdramatic and unclear. 'Love me, woman! Poor man that I am, can't you see that when I say you are an investment to me, it means you are very valuable to me and I'm crazy about you?'"

"Perhaps not as overdramatic as you thinking you have to sacrifice yourself to protect our family. Numerous times. You presenting yourself as the sacrifice lamb, jumping into the lion's – I mean me – den? Or you…"

She shrugged with good humor.

"Alright, alright, I understand. And I was no lamb that day in the jails, but very willing, if you had had the mood to be agreeable," She winked slyly at him. "At least, it's easier with Rebecca."

He snorted.

"American girls still are very much liked by Englishmen."

"American heiresses, you mean. No. Our Rebecca is different. I believe even if she had no money behind her, everyone would just adore her anyway."

"I do believe so too," He accepted the claim with pride. "She has my taste, and the determination of both of us combined. She has charms, beauty and brains."

"Yes, she is so loveable," Scarlet said, before faltering. "Yet, I wonder… Sometimes I think she's hiding things from us. Have you seen how Rosemary's little Jack follows her like a puppy? And she has this way of provoking people when she does not like them, and the way she can talk sometimes… I believe she got this from you, of course. Just like she got from you how to play the perfect lady."

"Oh, am I a perfect lady?"

"You know what I mean, you skunk!" She giggled. "Yet… I believe one day it will cause her some problems."

"She's our daughter. Of course, she's hiding things from us. And the world is changing, my dear. It is not like in our time when everything was codified. Morals are more… supple."

"Yet, you're a man. And there are not a lot of men who accept an independent woman, with her own ambitions and talents."

"We did find one another, didn't we?"

"We did. After times and times of hardship."

"Oh, yes. I do remember."

"But that Maximilian… I don't know. He seems a bit too stiff, don't you think?... Well, of course, he has titles and he has that big, big house…"

"He's a clever lad. A bit too rigid, you're right. And very much focused on his family name and his big, big house. I have to say, he amuses me, with his notions of honor and good breeding. He makes me think of your Ashley Wilkes, with maybe a little more backbone and will to live. Funny that he would choose Rebecca. I would think a softer, more malleable girl would be better suited for him. Maybe he does not see it yet. I doubt he'd hurt her, if that's your concern. She would not allow it."

"That's also my concern. Yet… Mrs. Rebecca de Winter… Yes, that has a nice ring to it."

"Thank God we did not name her Clarisse, she would have been confused with the villainess of the Three Musketeers."

"Fiddle-dee-dee, a villainess, indeed? She just killed one person out of revenge, when the so-called heroes did it for fun all the time and were never inquieted!"

He laughed softly. "I knew you would like that character."

"It's not my fault if her story is much more interesting than theirs. But Rebecca… well, I suppose it can be seen as a happy ending."

"Then, this is the end of your concern."

"But… do you truly think she loves him?"

"I'm… not sure love is what she seeks, my dear. And maybe that's better. She's young. Like us, I believe she'd soften with time, and under the care of the right person."

"And if not?"

"If not, then there'll be hell to pay for that poor Maximilien. Or at least to his big, big house. Especially if he doesn't worship her like she likes to be worshipped. She'll destroy him, poor lad."

"That'll serve him right, though." Scarlett snorted, before weakening at her lover's tense expression. "What about your concerns? You've been a bit restless these few days, my love…"

He shook his head.

"Knowing her, if we oppose her, she's going to do it anyway. She's one to take the life by the horns, this one. Yet… Well, if he ever makes her unhappy, a divorce could be asked. And, who knows? An accident can still happen… I hear the house is near the sea, perfect for sailing, yet dangerous some nights."

"Rhett!"

"What? I am but a concerned father as you said… Who still knows how to shoot straight."

"She does too, you know. And you did teach her how to sail."

"I still remember her, on that little boat. 'Go on, Papa, go on! Another wave!'. She is fearless, that one. Like…"

"… Like Bonnie," Scarlett completed softly. "Yet, she's not Bonnie, Rhett."

"I know. I know I shouldn't think of Bonnie when Rebecca is there. I know living in the shadow of someone, whether they are alive or dead, is a cruel, terrible thing, that can affect any person deeply, especially children. However, I can't help it. Every time that I see her, I can't help but think of what Bonnie would have been in her age."

"Rhett…" Just as before, her heart squeezed with pain, with a wound that had never truly healed "I miss her too. You are an amazing father, and you love our children so deeply. There's nothing wrong with that."

He shrugged, but his jaw was still tense.

"I know you think so. Yet, I wonder… what if I tried to impose Bonnie on her, and she tried to conform to that idea for my sake? Will she grow to resent me for that, considering I force her to hide what she really was? I think you're right. I think there are things in her that very few see, a glimpse of resentment, and I fear it will shape her relationship with the other men."

The night was silent as they went on, and the words rang between them like a soft hissing among clacking sounds of heels.

"Ouch… such dark thoughts you have, my love!" She whispered, stopping suddenly to face him and cradle his cheek soothingly. "Well, no matter what, we still have time. We can be there to support her."

"Never one to give up and dwell on unpleasant subjects, my dear," Rhett smiled softly. "That sure cheers my heart that this never changed."

"I never quite changed completely."

"No. you matured. A striking girl became an amazing woman. My woman."

"And what can I say about you?" She teased.

"I dare say it takes a great man to get an amazing woman and keep her."

"Oh, really? I'm not sure you'd agree with Ashley and Melly."

"Meh. Miss Melly never knew her value, and if someone had wanted to show her, she wouldn't have believed it."

"And she would have never born leaving a poor soul behind, no matter if they were a stranger or her own husband."

"Well, now I can tell you, I do believe she was fonder of you than you thought."

"Fiddle-dee-dee, Rhett, what do you mean?"

"Nothing, my dear. Just another idea of mine. And anyway, even if it was true, she would not have recognized it. It is not something that is accepted… yet."

"I don't know what I would have done with that."

"I guess we'll never know."

Unwilling to go on in a matter she was not really at ease with, she puffed out her cheek and let it linger the time she found another subject. Then, as she found it, it seemed like nothing else had been uttered.

"And of course, there's this Miss D. who will come with Rebecca. I don't like her, Rhett. I know you are the one who hired her, but still..."

"You don't like many women, Scarlett. With the exception of Pansy. How is she, that insolent creature?"

There was pride in Scarlett's eyes as she replied. "Oh, very well! She published a book! She's on a grand tour to present it."

"Oh, so that was where the money from last month went," Rhett idly commented.

Scarlett presented an innocent, sweet face that did not fool him.

"I have nothing to do with that."

"Of course, you don't," He jibed, as irritated as he was amused. "Suddenly all doors were opened for her alone."

"She is talented. Yet, some people need to be… a little pushed out of their high horses to actually admit it… After all, many people do that kind of thing, and for a terrible cause. "

"Oh, I pity the poor fellows who crossed your path," He chuckled. "Her husband must be overjoyed."

"He hates the attention."

"Of course, he does. When one has been so used in hiding like him, one does not really like such exposition."

"He ought to be proud of her."

"Oh, I do believe he must be," Rhett added, looking at his pocket watch. "I understand, you know. About Miss D.. But I also think Rebecca is much like you in that concern, my dear. She likes being worshipped, and that little governess certainly likes doing it."

Scarlett made a face.

"Sometimes, she acts as if I'm dead. Certainly, she must think I'm not a mother worthy of her. Do you remember that time when she asked if I was the stepmother? I could have slapped her!"

"Let her be, Scarlett, she's an old maid. And then I do believe it's because she feels you have a tiny preference on Reggie."

"Oh, darling Reggie!" Her eyes glinted pleasantly.

"He's a little rascal. That's why you like him that much."

"He's much like you. Only sweeter." She teased.

"Yes. Maybe he is… to you," He admitted begrudgingly. "A bit lost and lazy, though. He's too confident he'll get the house when I die, and it shows. And you cosset him too much, my dear."

"Fiddle-dee-dee, you're just jealous."

"And you are easily bought, dear."

"What can I say if he likes to lavish me with gifts, and I do like receiving gifts? Let him be, Rhett, he's a darling," She cried. "My, each time you are both in the room, you're like two cocks in a yard, the both of you."

"Maybe so," He said, humoring her. "I do believe kicking him out of the house will shake him up a little, make him learn a little of life."

She narrowed her eyes on him.

"You throw him out of the house, I throw you out of the bed."

"And now, that would be quite the tragedy. Though I doubt you would resist a long time, honey."

"Do you want to try me?"

"Absolutely not." He said quickly. "Let's talk of pleasantest things, darling. Didn't you say you've got something for me?"

"OH, yes!" Her eyes brightened as she rummaged through her sash and raised the object of her fancy in front of her husband's eyes. "Here it is!"

"Oh… A ticket for the SS La Bourgogne."

Dark orbs danced as he took her in in all her glory, marveling at her capacity to dismiss the bad things to take pleasure in everything else. And then her beauty, which seemed to have grown with age.

"So many happy years together," She squirmed joyfully under his gaze. "so many memories. I feel so lucky, my love."

"Darling!" He said softly, taking her into his arms.

"Care for a last adventure with me?"

"With you? Always. You know I've always loved the sea. And, who knows? What a formidable ending it would be, Rhett and Scarlett Butler, lost at sea in each other's arms, sinking what was supposed to be one hell of a good ship! Much more formidable than dying of old age, in my opinion."

"Fiddle-dee-dee, you're saying nonsense. It is said it is unbreakable."

"Oh, it is said, indeed. But with us, everything can happen," He raised his finger toward the sky as a teacher giving a lesson. "We could have something that prevents us from going."

She pouted.

"Oh, Rhett, I so want to go back to France! You promised me we'll see that big iron tower they made last time, but then…"

"But then you also wanted to supervise Ella's entire pregnancy. I do believe you almost threw little Billy out of his own house."

"He wanted the nursery to be colored in yellow! Yellow!"

"Not of a great taste, I must admit."

Appeased at his agreement, Scarlett drew a coquettish little smile on her face, her eyes glinting as she put her hands on his chest in an attempt at seduction that was spoiled by her eagerness.

"Rhett, do say yes! I am so very thrilled by the idea!"

"So am I. But let's explore our options, shall we? I could take you to another honeymoon."

"For the fourth time? Dear, what have you done, this time, that you want me to forgive?" She teased.

"Oh, maybe the sin of not having kissed you tonight."

"A grave sin," She nodded solemnly, and a corner of her mouth twitched. She decided to join him in his game. "We could finally decide to go back to Ireland, and see once again the lands of our ancestors."

"The ship can maybe survive our formidable presence."

"Or you could just hijack it and become a true pirate king."

"For you to boss around my crew and make them call you queen? I'd love to see that," He let out a short laugh, before kissing her cheek tenderly. "Or I could properly steal you away, now that the children are grown up."

"Well, we still have time for that, haven't we?"

She sighed pleasantly, her head on his shoulder.

"Who knows? There are so many ways this story could end. I think I'm good with either of them."

"As long as there's both of us together in the end, so am I, my darling," He said softly, before finishing in a little jest. "And anyway, no one would truly know if we just left…"

"Rhett!"

And indeed, no one would ever truly know. Yet, everyone had their ideas about it. All that was sure was that one day, they disappeared suddenly, leaving an enormous fortune, five children and their grandchildren behind them, and a delicious atmosphere of scandal and mystery to their name for the years to come.

As for the children in question… well, they have their own stories to be told.