Thanks so much for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. He is Chapter 4, this is where the big twist come in. I hope ya'll like it.
Oh yeah, I don't own a dang thing.
Chapter 4
Scarlett's time at Tara had done little to rejuvenate her as she had hoped. She was glad though that the children, even Beau had lost the gloomy look in their eyes. They had been at Tara for almost three months. Scarlett had bonded so much with the children over that time it seemed as though they had never had a rocky relationship. Beau had also found a place in the family. Scarlett thought of him as her own son and he seemed glad to be there with them. In this time Scarlett had also mended another broken relationship. She had finally come to a truce with her sister Suellen. At first they were still quit rude to one another 'til one day when Scarlett had had enough. She went to Suellen and apologized for everything she had ever done to her. Suellen had finally gotten the one thing she had always wanted from her big sister, an apology. From that day on they were as close as best friends. Scarlett hadn't heard much from Rhett during all this time. He had sent her divorce papers. Even though she had vowed to move on, she just couldn't bring herself to sign the papers. She threw them into the fireplace. If Rhett wanted a divorce bad enough he would find a way to do it without her signature. Scarlett had tried hard not to think about Rhett, but it was sometimes too hard. At night when she was all alone and the house was quiet her thoughts would wonder. She would think about the last night she and Rhett spent together. Many nights she would cry herself to sleep.
"Scarlett?" Suellen called Scarlett from the doorway.
Scarlett nearly fell of the side of the bed as she jumped when Suellen said her name, "God's nightgown Sue you scared me half to death. What is it?"
"I'm sorry Scarlett, but there is someone down stair to see you." Suellen had been worried about her sister for weeks. She grew thinner as the days went day and looked unhealthy.
Scarlett was curious as to who would be here to see her, "I'm not expecting anyone. Who is it?"
"I don't know. He said his name was Mr. Wilson." Suellen was just as curious to know who this strange man was.
"Wilson… Wilson," Scarlett was trying to remember where she had heard that name before, "Oh yes I remember. Damn, it's Rhett's lawyer." Once she remembered she was sure he was here to collect the divorce papers. The papers she had burned.
"What would Rhett's lawyer want with you Scarlett?" Scarlett hadn't told anyone about the papers so Suellen had no idea.
"I'll just have to go and see. Won't I?" Scarlett said as she fixed her hair and walked out the door.
As she got down stairs Scarlett started to get nervous. 'What is he going to do when I tell him that I burned the papers and that I won't ever sign them?' She took a minute to compose herself before she walked into the parlor.
"Mr. Wilson, how nice to see you." Said Scarlett with as much cheer as she could muster.
Mr. Wilson could tell she was lying, "It's always a pleasure Mrs. Butler."
Scarlett had never really like this man and she had only met him a couple times. "Please sit down. Would you like some tea?"
"No thank you. I think we should just get down to what I came here for." He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
Scarlett was shocked at his directness, "All right. What is it that you came here for then Mr. Wilson?"
Mr. Wilson dreaded what he had to tell her, "Mrs. Butler I came here to tell you that… that. Well Rhett has been in an accident."
Scarlett's heart sank, "What? What do you mean accident? He's alright isn't he?"
Mr. Wilson could see the fear in her eyes, "I afraid not Mrs. Butler. You see Rhett was on his way to Europe on one of his cargo ships, when a terrible storm came up and capsized the boat. We have found most of the crew, but we haven't found Rhett."
"So your saying you don't know if he's hurt or not." Scarlett was silently praying for Rhett to be alright.
"I don't believe you understood me Mrs. Butler. When I say we found most of the crew, they weren't alive. All of them were dead. The storm was too strong. No one could have survived it." Mr. Wilson could tell Scarlett wasn't going to let herself believe this.
"No…No this isn't true. Rhett can survive anything. This is just some sort of trick. It's just some cruel joke. Rhett is just trying to get me to believe his dead so I'll do something he can divorce me for. I won't believe." Scarlett couldn't believe Rhett would fake his own death to keep away from her.
Mr. Wilson tried to think of some way to convince her, "I assure you Mrs. Butler this is no joke. Your husband is dead. I'll prove it to you. We found some of Rhett's things washed up on shore. What is one thing that Rhett would never be without?"
Scarlett decided to play along. She thought long and hard, "Ok, I'll bite. Since the day he got it Rhett never even stepped outside without his gold pocket watch that Bonnie and I gave him for his birthday last year."
Mr. Wilson began to dig in his pocket, "You mean this watch?" He said as he pulled out a watch.
Scarlett grabbed the watch from him and opened it up. Inside she read the inscription, 'To: Rhett From: Your girls Bonnie and Scarlett.' Scarlett realized this was the one thing Rhett would never let go of. Even for a cruel trick like this.
"No. This can't be. If you have this then that means that… No. It can't be true. NNNOOOO." Scarlett screamed the last no as she fainted to the floor.
Upstairs in her room Suellen heard her sister's blood curdling yell and raced down the stairs. She was met at the parlor door by Mammy and Will, who both had heard the scream. As they opened the door the saw Scarlett passed out on the floor with Mr. Wilson standing over her, not sure what to do. Mammy and Suellen ran over to Scarlett trying to revive her as Will walked up to Mr. Wilson.
Will didn't know the man and was afraid he had done something to Scarlett, "What's going' on in here?"
Mr. Wilson saw that the man before him was ready to sock him in the jaw if he gave the wrong answer, "Nothing. Well I had to tell Mrs. Butler some devastating news and she didn't take it very well."
"What did you tell her? Scarlett's not one to faint at just anything." Will backed off Mr. Wilson a little believing his story.
Mr. Wilson breathed a sigh of relief, "I had to tell her that her husband, Rhett is probably dead."
All three, Mammy, Suellen and Will looked at Mr. Wilson with a shocked stare, so he proceeded to tell them the story about the ship wreck. By the time he finish Scarlett was starting to come to.
"Scarlett…Scarlett honey are you awake?" Suellen was so afraid of how this news would affect her sister.
Scarlett was somewhat confused at what was going on, "Oh, Sue I had the worst dream. I dreamt that… that," Scarlett cut of short as she felt the watch in her hand, "Oh my god Suellen Rhett's dead. Oh my god no, no, no. What am I gong to do? Oh god no, no." Scarlett was sobbing into Suellen's shoulder.
Scarlett stayed there on Suellen's shoulder until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. While Will was taking her up to her room, Mr. Wilson talked to Suellen.
"There is a few legal things that I need to finalize with Mrs. Butler," Mr. Wilson wasn't sure if now was the right time to bring that up.
Suellen realized Mr. Wilson was just trying to do his job, "Well Mr. Wilson I don't believe that right know my sister is capable of taking care of all that now. Is it possible to put it off for a while and let her get in contact with you later?"
"Of course that would be alright with me, but Rhett's mother wanted to get into contact with Mrs. Butler and talk about some sort of funeral service." Mr. Wilson knew the transfer of Rhett's money and things could wait, but a funeral service shouldn't.
"Maybe if you will leave her address with me, I can talk to her when she is a little better." Suellen knew that this would be a touchy subject for Scarlett.
Mr. Wilson figured that Suellen's would work alright, "That sound Mrs. Benteen. I'll inform Ms. Eleanor that Mrs. Butler will be in though with her. And now I really should be off. I want to be back in Atlanta before dark. I have a train back to Charleston in the morning."
"Ok Mr. Wilson. Thank you for coming in person to deliver this news." Suellen wasn't sure that Scarlett would have believed this news if it had come in a letter.
"I wouldn't send that through the mail. I do hope that Mrs. Butler will be alright." Mr. Wilson didn't know that Scarlett was so close to her husband. He knew that they hadn't seen each other in quit sometime and that Rhett had had him draw up divorce papers a couple months before.
Suellen herself was worried about how this last blow to Scarlett would affect her, "This has been quit a shock for her but I think she will make it through."
"I hope your right. I should be off now. Goodbye Mrs. Benteen."
"Goodbye Mr. Wilson." As Mr. Wilson went out the door Suellen ran up the stairs to Scarlett room. Mammy was there tending to Scarlett.
"How is she Mammy?" Suellen's fear for her sister was written all over her face.
Mammy was afraid that this could be the last straw for her favorite child, "I's don know Miz Suellen. She ain't woken up since we brung her up here."
"Maybe all she needs is a good sleep." Suellen hoped that she was right.
"Maybe yous right chile, maybe yous right."