Hope this works...I need to credit Ms. Ripley in this one as I borrowed a line or two from her which are displayed in italics. I'm not sure if that's allowed, hope someone will let me know if it isn't so that I can repair it. And thank you for the feedback thus far...:)
Chapter 2
Rhett needn't inquire as to how Scarlett acquired the ugly line which sharply contrasted with the rest of her. He already knew. It was a direct result of Cat's childbirth. And this was one of the rare moments in Rhett Butler's life where he lacked control of his normally impenetrable disposition. Because, it brought to light Cat's delivery had not been an easy one, for Scarlett or their child.
Not beyond him, was the fact his fixed gaze had made Scarlett self-conscious. In the past, he had prided himself on his capabilities in that regard. But not this time. Still, he found himself unable to remove his focus from it. This blemish signified all the ills that had transpired between them. All the pain. The hurt. And perhaps most of all, it conveyed not only much she loved him, but how much love she felt for their baby. If not, she very likely would have ridden herself of the child she had carried. After all, she knew how and had threatened to do that very thing at first learning she was pregnant with Bonnie.
One was consumed by guilt. His counterpart, however, was slowly gathering herself, creating an even rarer situation. So many times Scarlett had fiercely battled for the upper hand and lost. How many times had she plotted how to gain superiority over him, relished how she would wield it? Now, she possessed that power. But her desire for it had waned. Four...five years ago she would have held it over his head, utilized it as a weapon. But not now. Not ever.
Scarlett's hands away from her abdomen, fell so they rested loosely over her hips. "Rhett...," she calmly began, breaking the silence between them.
"I didn't know..."
"You couldn't have, Rhett. And it's nothing..."
"It is to me."
This was, perhaps, the greatest example of how she had changed, evolved into the lady Scarlett had sought after but due to circumstance, was never allowed to become. The woman who at one time would have been ashamed of the ghastly mark ceased to exist and instead, wore it with pride. What represented hurt to Rhett exemplified love to her. In truth, once the wound healed Scarlett had paid it little thought until now.
To Rhett, it was a reminder of how cruelly he had pushed her away. She had asked, begged for another chance. I must not and will not ever see you again and you cannot find me Scarlett...don't try, raced through his mind. Those were the words he'd written her just before she had left Charleston for Savannah, and then Ireland. The words of a coward, he told himself.
He could face a blockade. He could face the decent people he had profited from during the war, then practically gloated in front of afterwards. He could stand upright and face the cannonballs and gunfire shot at him in the heat of battle. He could do all of those things. Yet, he couldn't face her. And in his cowardice, he had sentenced her to withstand a pregnancy and subsequent difficult delivery all alone. That, whether Scarlett comprehended it or not, made her stronger than him.
How should she broach this subject, she wondered. She had never truly, in all their years together, partaken in any in-depth discussion with him that did not eventually erupt in an argument. Scarlett didn't want that.
"I feel I should offer you some explanation, Rhett...," she started, grappling at her robe.