Chapter Two
1 Month Later
"Ella, please, remember what I said about running up and down the staircase. It's dangerous." Scarlett looked up from her chair by the window. Her bedroom door was open, and she felt the floor shake from Ella's running before she heard it.
Ella came into the room, slightly breathless, and opened her mouth to reply. She paused, briefly, noticing the sleeping toddler on Scarlett's lap. She took a breath and then calmly answered. "Sorry, mother, I was chasing after Beau."
"Beau is here? I didn't know that. You do know that we don't chase people around inside though."
"Yes, mama."
"Where's your brother? With Beau?"
Ella nodded again, creeping over to stare down at the curly hair peeking out from the bundle of blankets. She was fascinated with her new brother. He was a sweet baby. He rarely cried, and he always smiled at her.
"Alright dear, go and play with them. I'm going to take a nap with him, I think. Don't get your dress all torn and dirty."
"Yes, mama." Ella dutifully responded once more before bounding out of the room to find her brother and cousin.
Scarlett slowly stood, careful not to wake the baby asleep in her lap. While the entire family and staff called him Baby B, she supposed he couldn't be called that much longer. He was barely starting to walk, although with not much balance, and he was heavy and sturdy. Her arms ached sometimes from carrying him, but she never let it show. She moved slowly to her bed, and laid them both down. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.
"Mother." Wade cleared his throat, and spoke again, with more volume. "Mother."
Scarlett's eyes opened, and for a second she didn't know what had woken her. Then, as she turned, she caught sight of Wade standing at the side of her bed. Just then, in that moment as he looked down at her, all she could see was Charles. He looked exactly like him. At 13, Wade was very steadily moving away from the childish figure and face he'd once had. He was just 6 years shy of how old Charles had been when they'd married. It was hard for her to believe that it all happened so long ago. Why, in just another month, she'd be thirty. That might have be even harder to accept than Wade's age, as she always said she was practically a baby herself when she'd had him.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, Scarlett sat up sharply, startling Baby B when she did so. His small face crumpled, still half asleep, and Scarlett patted his back, shushing him. "Wade. What is it?"
"Uncle Rhett's home." His tone was cool, purely informative, but his eyes looked at her with concern.
Never in her life had Scarlett thought three little words could bring so many different emotions to her, and all at once. She felt her heart beat rise, and she took several deep breaths before she responded. "Well, I suppose I should go speak with him. Will you stay with B?"
Wade looked between the doorway and the baby on the bed. She could tell he wanted to go back down with her, and she loved him for it. "I need to speak to him alone, Wade. It will be alright. Just make sure B stays happy." She paused, and then added, "And quiet."
Wade nodded to her as she stood up from her bed. She brushed the fabric of her dress, noting that there were a few wrinkles, but it was too late to worry about that now. She hazarded a look at a mirror in the hallway as well. Not bad for having just woken up, she mused, although her hair was not the neat arrangement Rhett was used to seeing her in. She spotted him at the bottom of the stairs, leaned up against a wall with a glass of brandy in his hand.
Rhett hadn't noticed her yet, which meant she had a few moments to observe him and collect her thoughts. Seeing him from the top of the stairs reminded her of the first time she'd seen him, much like how Wade's face had reminded her of Charles. It appeared more than one old ghost was resurfacing that afternoon. She moved quietly, but on steady feet as she moved down the staircase. Her hand gripped the railing, her knuckles white as she clung to it. Even now, every time she descended those stairs, her stomach turned in knots, remembering everything that had happened, and what she had lost.
On the fifth step down, the stair creaked beneath her, and Rhett's attention turned from his glass. She'd braced herself for a cruel smile, or condescending grin, but did not receive one. She wasn't sure how she would describe his face. He looked at her intently, his eyes never wavering, but there was a tiredness that she hadn't seen before, and a questioning. She reminded herself to take a few more slow breaths, like her maid abroad had taught her, and she exhaled as she stepped off the final stair, and right in front of her husband.
"Rhett. What a surprise." Scarlett had never been so ill equipped for speaking to a man in her entire life. It was a strange feeling. After not seeing or speaking with him for so long, it was as if she was standing in front of a stranger. "Maybe I am." she mused to herself. She'd found herself wondering a lot lately if either of them ever really knew the other.
"I imagine so. Although, you did ask your Uncle Henry to contact me about the house, so you must have known I'd come eventually."
"That was a month ago, Rhett. I'd assumed your lack of response was an answer in itself."
"Perhaps it was. Perhaps I was busy and had things to finish up before running to your aid."
There it was. There were the words said with a cutting edge that still managed to slice deep into her skin. "Yes, well, you're here now. Will you sign the papers to sell the house? I've had several offers. I'm sure you'll be fine with any of the offers. They're all quite impressive."
"I don't care what you do with the house Scarlett, as I've said often before. If the only thing you need to get rid of this gawd-awful thing is my signature, than you'll have it. However, I've some business in town. I'll be staying for a week, two at the most. I'd appreciate it if you didn't sell it while I was here. Once I'm gone you can do whatever you want with it. Keep the money too. That should make you happy."
It didn't. Well, not in the way she would have expected it to. Money was still one of her favorite things. It ensured safety for her, and for her children. Scarlett wouldn't ever allow herself to feel bad for wanting money. What concerned her more was the fact that Rhett seemed intent to stay at the house, with them, and for two weeks! She hadn't seen the man in almost two years, and now he was walking in and turning everything upside down. Still, she didn't suppose she had a choice. The house was still his too, after all.
Scarlett's mind was racing a million miles an hour. "I'll see to it that the staff gets your room ready. I'm afraid it's still covered in sheets to protect from dust while we were all gone. Now, if you'll excuse me I have something upstairs that requires my attention…"She trailed off, turning to head back up the stairs. She never bothered holding the handrail on the way up, it didn't seem as dangerous to her as heading down did.
"Actually, I'd like to see the children. I'll be in the parlor, if you'd send them down."
"I don't…"
"I want to see them Scarlett. I've missed them."
"You certainly didn't show it." The words were cool and slipped from her mouth before she could stop them. She regretted the saying of them, but didn't deny their truth. Ella and Wade had been heartbroken, for months. She hadn't known how to comfort them, initially, but the trip had at least distracted them. Then, Baby B had come, and they were further distracted.
Rhett opened his mouth to respond, but Ella chose that precise moment to come running in from the kitchen. "Mama, Beau said he'd like to come to dinner, I said yes, also do you know where-" Her trail of words came to a sharp halt.
Scarlett watched, sure her daughter would run over to Rhett to greet him, but she did not. She stood back, eyeing him in a way that Scarlett shouldn't have found amusing, but did. Then, she took several steps until she was right next to Scarlett, and grabbed her hand. Scarlett felt her heart clench as she felt Ella's small hand grip her own. She squeezed the hand in encouragement, offering a small smile to her daughter. "Uncle Rhett has come to visit. Will you go get Wade? He's upstairs."
Ella nodded and headed upstairs without so much as a backwards glance at where Rhett was standing. If he was honest with himself, Ella's complete lack of greeting tugged at his heart. He wondered if Scarlett had filled her head with things. Scarlett followed behind him as he turned and walked into one of the two parlors on the ground floor. Everything seemed exactly as it has been when he'd left. He supposed she hadn't had time to order any other atrocities of furniture or gaudy gilded mirrors when she'd been away for so long.
They weren't alone for long when Wade and Ella joined them. Wade stood straight, with his back stiff and offered a small bow of greeting to Rhett when he entered. Ella immediately moved to Scarlett's side. This time, Scarlett moved away, remembering Baby B upstairs, and not wanting him to be alone. "Children, I'll let you speak with your Uncle Rhett. I'll be upstairs."
She'd almost rounded the corner, exiting the room, when she heard Rhett call. "I said I wanted to see all the children, Scarlett. I suppose if you're going to claim a child, I should meet them too."
Scarlett froze. How did he already know? She knew Baby B was the talk of the town, but it surprised her that he'd already heard. She walked back up the stairs, moving quicker than she normally did. Wade and Ella had placed the baby inside the crib at the side of Scarlett's bed, and he was currently amusing himself by chewing on an old wooden horse that Scarlett recognized as having belonged to Wade. It had been a gift from his Aunt Mellie, years ago.
She picked him up, smiling when he clapped his small chubby hands at seeing her. She'd known that she'd have to speak to Rhett about him, but had also wondered if it was ever going to be an issue. If he would have just stayed away, and signed the papers, Scarlett could have continued happily with her little family, far away from Peachtree Street. Scarlett cuddled the child to her chest, and sighed.
She stayed in her room for several more minutes. Speaking quietly to B while going over everything she needed to say to Rhett in her head. Eventually, she once again made her way back to the stairs. At the top, she glanced around out of habit. Usually she always had a staff carry him down the stairs. He was big enough that she preferred to carry him with both arms, but then she couldn't hold the rail. She stepped down the first step and felt her knees shake. She froze, gripping B so tightly that he began to fuss. She bounced him slightly, and tried to settle him.
You can do this, Katie Scarlett. For heaven's sake, it's just stairs. She took another breath in and placed her foot down on the next step. She continued this, one breath in and out and one step down until she was halfway down the staircase. As she placed her foot down on the next one, she overstepped, catching her heel on the edge of the stair. Her foot slipped and buckled beneath her and she came down hard bending her leg beneath her body and slamming her bottom on the steps as she did. Scarlett clutched at Baby B as she fell and let out a sharp cry as she felt her angle bend and snap.
Frantically, she looked at B, ensuring he was okay, although he was no crying harder than she'd ever seen him cry. Distantly she heard a crash from the parlour, and looked down to see Rhett coming around the corner. His eyes were frantic as they scanned the room, trying to find her until they landed where she sat, squeezing the baby with tears streaming down her face on the stairs. Wade and Ella were quick on his heels, but his long legs were a benefit to him as he took the stairs two at a time to reach them quickly.
"Scarlett! What happened? Are you alright?" The look of concern in his eyes, the hint of genuine care for her that lingered was all that it took to send Scarlett into hysterical sobs. Rhett's eyes widened, having never seen his wife this upset. "Not even when our daughter died" he thought bitterly, but did not say it out loud.
Then, as Rhett ran his hand over Scarlett's leg, which she had moved from beneath her, he looked up and into the eyes of the child that Scarlett held. The sight that greeted him knocked him back almost as hard the fall had done to Scarlett. Behind the puffy face, and pouting lips on the baby, were a pair of beautiful blue eyes. They looked just like Bonnie's.
Post Note: I started this just today and was really feeling inspired, so I wrote the second chapter as well. Thanks for the reviews that I've already gotten! It means a lot to do you think?
Also, if you read the story just after I posted it, you'll have noticed some really bad "I was sleepy when writing this" moments. I think I've fixed them all, but if you see one, let me know :)