A Southern Wind
Chapter 1
It was the spring of 1859, and a new face has just moved into Clayton County. He'd just inherited his new plantation from his uncle, and moved from Atlanta. His name was Reginald Cornelius Thorndyke, and he was a captain in the army, specifically the Second Georgia Regiment of Dragoons. He was hosting a "greet the neighbors" party, and standing on his porch, watching the carriages and horses arriving. He'd invited everyone, even the Slatterys. Ashley Wilkes was the first to arrive.
"Yours at last!" He said jovially as they shook hands.
"My uncle was a decent fellow, but it's good to finally come into my own. Always did loathe being the spare."
"You'll grow into it, Reggie."
Reginald laughed. "Ah, shut up George," he said jokingly.
Ashley laughed and headed inside.
Reginald greeted everyone warmly, and then the O'haras arrived.
"Reginald Thorndyke," Gerald said, "my favorite Protestant!
"Gerald O'Hara, you damned Papist!" Reginald crowed as they shook hands. He smiled as he saw the girls. "Why good morning, Miss Scarlett," he said softly, kissing her hand.
"Oh I do declare, you look ever so handsome in that uniform!" She said. "Did you only wear it so you could be swarmed by the other ladies and break my poor simple country girl's heart?"
"What other ladies?" Reginald countered.
"Fiddle dee dee," Scarlett said playfully, "you don't mean that! We're childhood friends, so if you think you're going to slip anything past me…"
"There are other guests though," said Reginald, "so we'll have to settle this later."
"Alright… but don't you go philandering with some other girl, or I'll be furious."
As Reginald continued to mingle, Scarlett was deep in thought. They were childhood friends, and on top of that, he was, in her mind, reasonably handsome. She wouldn't particularly mind marrying him… but she loved Ashley Wilkes… and she knew he loved her! He had to!
"Ashley!" She called out, walking over to him.
"Hello, dear Scarlett," he said happily. "Have you heard the news?"
"What news?" Scarlett asked.
Ashley beamed. "Scarlett," he said proudly, "Melanie Hamilton has recently accepted my proposal to marry her!"
Scarlett cleared her throat as the balloon of hope that had been inflating in her heart since childhood popped. She forced a smile. "I see," she managed to say. "My… my felicitations, Ashley. I just thought that… you loved me."
"How can I help loving you?" He said softly. "But… but she's like me Scarlett. I care for you deeply but…"
"Oh," she said. "I just… I just thought…". She hung her head. "Oh." She sighed as she headed to a different room that appeared to be a small library. She sat on the sofa to gather her thoughts.
"Miss Scarlett?" Reginald had just walked in. He gasped softly as he noticed her slumped over. "Miss Scarlett, what happened?" He walked over to her.
Scarlett sighed shakily. "My…" she said thickly, "I just talked to Ashley, you know how much I love him. Reginald, he… he's not going to marry me."
"Why not?" He sat next to her.
"He's… he's marrying Melanie Hamilton."