It was a pale, worn woman who stood by Melanie Wilkes' grave two days later, green eyes dulled from exhaustion and grief. She stood alone, the sun beating down upon her cruelly as she stared soundlessly into the small grave in which the body of her dearest friend had been lowered into. A shiver ran through her unexpectedly, her body shaking as if from the cold despite the brutal heat of the day.
Not long after her own departure from the dining room that horrible night, she had abruptly realized that she couldn't leave for Tara immediately as she so desperately wished she could. Ashley had been in no shape whatsoever to do anything for himself, and of course neither had Aunt Pitty. What surprised and disappointed Scarlett the most was the way in which even India had turned to her with a lost look in her eyes, their feud put aside at least temporarily in this time of mourning.
And so she had been forced to take on the burdens of arranging Melanie's funeral, of placing the small obituary in the paper, of ordering the coffin, and of making any and all other necessary arrangements before the burial. Surprisingly, Scarlett had done this all with dry eyes, something that only caused the gossip mills to run ahead with a frenzy. How could a woman be so heartless? How could she move through each day following the death of Mrs. Wilkes with such mechanical efficiency? How could she not grieve for the one person who had stood beside her without question? They all wondered and murmured furiously, and yet Scarlett was hardly aware of it all. Not that it really mattered, for Scarlett knew the things they assumed and judged her for were nothing but lies. Because she did grieve. Oh, how she grieved. Melanie's death had been nothing short of traumatic for her, as it had been coupled with the devastating blow of Rhett leaving her at the same time.
However, she refused to shed a tear after that night, knowing that if she did she wouldn't be able to keep going. Even one tear would certainly bring on a collapse of the carefully constructed walls Scarlett had built within herself, containing her grief to the best of her ability. And so she had pushed her way through the following days, hardly noticing the way her once attractively porcelain skin had turned into a faint yet sickly pallor, the way her appearance mattered very little to her as she dressed in the appropriate mourning attire, throwing her hair back in whatever manner would simply keep it up, no longer caring for any sort of fashion. Perhaps that would change soon, but for the time being Scarlett had no desire to make the effort.
And so she finally stood apart from the other mourners at the ceremony as the impossibly small coffin had been lowered into the ground, the minister's droning voice an indistinguishable hum in her ears. The first sound of dirt hitting the lid of the coffin caused Scarlett to gasp softly, eyes widened as her legs shook before she was able to steady herself moments later. She brought her hand up to cover her eyes, her breathing beginning to steady itself after a moment or two. Her hand fell away from her face now, yet she was unaware of the stares she had attracted. Mrs. Elsing watched her with a disapproving gaze as she stood near the Merriwethers and the Meades, all of them barely disguising their shock at this unexpected display of grief from none other than Scarlett Butler.
But off to the side of the large mass of mourners stood another, cloaked comfortably by the shadows of the trees nearby. He watched Scarlett carefully, his eyes sharp and searching for any sign of deceit before he finally found none. Rhett inclined his head slightly with approval even as his mind was working silently, pondering this new and admirable aspect of his wife. Could it possibly be permanent? Or was she simply and temporarily bending beneath the countless weights that had been placed upon her?
Rhett couldn't be sure, and uncertainty was mildly evident within his expression, and he was grateful she didn't know he was there, her gaze still riveted on the small hole in the ground. He had left early the morning following the night of Mrs. Wilkes' death, leaving Scarlett a brief note informing her that he would return sometime within the next six months or so. But he knew he couldn't truly leave Atlanta until after the funeral, and so he had acquired a room in the Atlanta Hotel before he began to observe Scarlett from afar. He admired the way she'd seemed outwardly to handle everything so well, though he knew she was far from being well herself. This knowledge had provoked a sense of regret within him, but he was reminded too easily of how hopelessly cruel she could be, perhaps with not even realizing it at times. He couldn't risk his heart again, and so he kept his distance from her while remaining mildly surprised that she hadn't been informed of his current whereabouts. Or maybe she had, and simply assumed it was a lost cause to pursue him now.
His silent reverie was suddenly broken by the abrupt wails of Ashley Wilkes, his composed demeanor thrown aside in an instant as the ceremony drew close to its end.
"NO! MELANIEEE!" his cries echoed throughout the cemetery, startling all who stood nearby as Ashley fell to his knees, his face contorted with pain. Little Beau stood off to the side, hiding behind the comforting skirts of his Aunt India, who watched Ashley stonily, trembling slightly as she took his son's hand in hers, holding on tightly.
For Scarlett, this great display of grief and lost love was too much. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she watched Ashley as well before abruptly letting out a shaky sigh. Without a word, she turned and moved towards the gates of the cemetery, moving through the crowd who parted easily, almost shrinking away from her. Surprisingly, it didn't seem to bother her as she finally reached the gates, not sparing even a glance over her shoulder as she reached her carriage at last. Still remaining silent, she climbed up unassisted into the comforting darkness where she finally permitted herself to shake uncontrollably, resting her head against the side of the carriage as it began to move, bringing her ever-closer to the train station, and from there to Tara at last.
The crowd she left behind seemed to recover easily from the surprise of both Ashley's public exhibition of grief and Scarlett's exit, turning towards the minister and the ending of the ceremony again. Only one person's eyes followed the disappearance of Scarlett's carriage before it disappeared around a street corner, and those eyes of course belonged to Rhett. He still stared off in the direction she had gone for several moments, apparently thinking silently to himself. But he finally turned, moving towards a different gate as the minister's final words for Melanie echoed softly through the sea of gravestones.
"...may she rest in peace."
