A/N: Okay. Got a really important couple of things to say first before the ceremonial babbling begins. First of all, in response to a reviewer, yes, this is an alternate universe (AU) fic. I was never really sure what those were exactly because I just basically assumed that all fanfics were. Scarlett didn't date Leif's brother and the Calvert family's mother is living. Second of all, this one is big…I'm postponing the war. Not long, just like a day. It was just rather crucial to the plotline that I had to do that. Anyways, this chapter took me forever to write, but it should be nice and long. So settle down with a snack and a drink (my favorite thing to do before reading fanfics, haha) and snuggle in your little chair and read away! Oh yeah, one more thing: the song lyrics at the beginning are important, so do try and read them. You don't have to if you really don't want to, but…
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scarlett, Rhett, Mammy, etc…or the song at the beginning, but I own Leif and the plotline! Whoopdee Friggin' Do.
Chapter 3 of Georgia Rain
I was 20 and she was 18
We were just as wild as we were green
In the ways of the world
She picked me up in that red ragtop
We were free of the folks and hidin' from the cops on a summer night
Runnin' all the red lights
We parked way out in a clearing in the grove and
The night was as hot as a coal burning stove
We were cooking the gas
Knew it had to last
In the back of that red ragtop
She said please don't stop
Waking up mere hours after returning to her bed, Scarlett looked around her spacious bedroom as the sunlight poured in through the windows. She leisurely stretched her arms above her head, smiling at her memories of the night before.
In all of her sixteen years, Scarlett had never done anything so deliciously bad. She giggled slightly at her defiance of the rules that went unspoken for a lady. As she lowered her feet to the hardwood floor, she remembered the barbecue later in the day. At the barbecue she would see Leif again.
Would things be different between them? She couldn't think of how they could possibly be different for the worst, only for the better.
Lifting her head up to peer into the mirror, she noticed her cheeks were flushed at the mere memory. Plunking down in the chair in front of her vanity table, she studied herself once again. Tilting her head to the side, she realized she looked slightly different than she had before, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Maybe it was her imagination. She gave her head a slight toss, sending all of her hair cascading down her back. She picked up the silver hair-brush and began to brush her dark mane. Satisfied after her routine hundred strokes, she laid the brush back on the table and leaned in closer to get a better look at herself. Still, she couldn't discern what was different.
Standing once again, she approached her closet and peered in at the array of dresses before her. She had color coded her dresses one day in a tizzy of boredom and she looked at where they hung now—the blues, then the yellows, then the pink, then green, followed by Mammy's least favorite, the reds.
Every time Scarlett put on a red dress Mammy went on and on about how she just didn't think it "fittin'," young girls wearing red.
But secretly, the reds were Scarlett's favorites. They made her feel older and desirable. She didn't care that the green brought out her eyes as much as she cared that the red made all of the young men look at her with eyes filled with lust. She decided that today would be a red-dress day. After all, if they were to keep up their act of secrecy she was going to have to play the role of the usual Scarlett: flirtation, proud, and always enough to turn heads.
Scarlett started at the soft knock on her door followed by the sweet voice of Ellen O'Hara.
"Scarlett, darling, may I come in?"
"Of course, Mother," she said quickly closing her closet doors and smoothing her night dress around her.
The door opened and the room filled with the aroma of lemon verbena wafting around the true head of the O'Hara household. "Good morning, Scarlett. Did you sleep well?" Ellen O'Hara questioned gently.
"Oh, yes, thank you. Very well." She now regretted not being dressed as she watched her mother's immaculate gaze take in Scarlett's bedraggled appearance.
"Have you decided what you'll be wearing to the Wilkes' barbecue, Scarlett? Should I send Mammy to help you dress? I can have her bring you a nice warm plate as well. You must be hungry, dear."
"No, I'm sorry Mother; I've yet to decide what I'll be wearing. Maybe you could send Mammy up in a few minutes instead?
She fixed her sweetest gaze on her mother and smiled.
"Of course. Take your time."
Scarlett watched her mother retreat down the corridor and went again to her closet. Which dress was right for today?
Scanning the red garments hung neatly in a row her eyes fell on a red gown towards the back of her closet. Leafing through the others to take out the red silk, she grabbed it and held it up for further scrutiny.
At first glance, it didn't look much different than other gowns. It had bell sleeves, was off the shoulders, and a low neckline. However, one of the reasons that she liked it so well was that if you looked at it for a minute you could begin to see the differences. The silk was so light it could almost be considered chiffon. The neckline wasn't adorned with small rosettes or other flowers like most of her other evening dresses. The neckline on this particular dress had no adornment, really. The fabric was pinched every inch or so and it created a flattering bust line.
Yes, overall, this dress would most definitely do.
Just as she was grabbing a green muslin to wear for the barbecue portion of the day, Mammy bustled in carrying a tray laden with food.
"Mornin', Miss Scarlett. Have you picked a dress for the evening?"
"Yes Mammy, as a matter of fact I have," she said, smiling triumphantly.
Mammy frowned at the look on Scarlett's face. "Let's just see what my lamb's picked out before we go makin' any decisions."
"Oh, Mammy, you're too much."
Mammy looked at her as if she had just acquired a third eye or some other ghastly deformity.
Scarlett displayed the green muslin afternoon outfit for Mammy and heard the click of Mammy sucking her teeth. The dress had short sleeves and she supposed the neckline wasn't exactly modest, either.
Well, at least she was preparing Mammy for the red silk that she was beginning to think was going to be a fiasco. When Mammy put forth no verbal criticisms Scarlett reached into the depths of her closet and reproduced the red silk garment. Holding it up for Mammy she tried not to laugh at Mammy's expression.
"Miss Scarlett! Where'd you done buy a dress like that? If you go to the Wilkes' in that your mother'd have this old Mammy's head. Now what dress is my lamb really gwine ter wear?"
Pouting at mammy's expected reaction to her choice of clothing, she turned her green eyes on Mammy. "Why, Mammy! What's the matter with this dress? It's right pretty."
"Right pretty on some other girl. Now pick you out somethin' to wear."
"Mammy. I'm wearing the red."
"No you isn't. Not while I got breaf in my body you ain't."
"Mammy," she trilled the word so it had more than just the two syllables, "I am wearing this dress tonight. Now, be a dear and help me into the green." She smiled at her words but it turned forced as Mammy didn't move. She was going to have to bring in the guilt.
"Oh, Mammy, you want me to be happy, don't you?
"Of course I do. But it ain't fittin', you wearin' a dress like that."
"Mammy, I'll just die if I can't wear it, I will!" She had even brought on the tears. Fake, of course. Scarlett hadn't truly cried in years, not since…well, she didn't like to think about that.
Seeing her sobs had yet to produce their desired effect she cried more shrilly.
"Now Miss Scarlett your Mama gwine ter hear you carryin' on like that. What you want to upset Miss Ellen for?"
Her words were to no avail. The cries continued.
"Oh, all right," Mammy said as she heard footsteps at the top of the stairs. She had hearing like a bat, to hear Ellen's soft footfalls amidst Scarlett's wailing.
As quickly as they had started, the tears stopped.
Scarlett sniffled, for effect. "Thank you, Mammy. It really does mean so much to me…" she was cut off her rambling by Mrs. O'Hara's arrival in the bedroom.
"Scarlett, darling, is everything all right? I thought I heard someone crying."
"No, Mother, I'm perfectly all right. I was just showing Mammy my dresses." She blinked several times as if in innocence. Ellen stepped closer and Scarlett thought for sure that she knew she was lying. Instead, Ellen placed a hand on each side of Scarlett's face and kissed her forehead.
"You're becoming such a lady, Scarlett."
At this Mammy snorted, but at Ellen's gaze turned it into a sneeze.
Going on, Ellen finished her thought. "If you need me, I'll be helping Careen."
She walked out of the room and Mammy narrowed her eyes at Scarlett. "That was some trick you played on ole Mammy. Now wipe that grin off your face and get dressed."
The barbecue was proving to be much fun. Scarlett was eating with all of the neighboring young men surrounding her. She was slightly disappointed to note that Leif wasn't among them.
"Scarlett, remember you promised Stu and me you'd dance with us tonight," Brent Tarleton told her.
"Of course, how could I forget my favorite set of twins?" She flashed them a smile and walked off to find Cathleen Calvert.
She was standing under a shade tree with Leif.
"Cathleen Calvert! Where have you been hiding yourself this afternoon? I've simply been looking all over for you," she told Cathleen, but while staring into Leif's eyes.
"I really need to get back to Tony, Cathleen. I'll see you later," Leif said and stalked off.
"Whatever's the matter with your brother? Scarlett questioned, trying not to sound too interested. Instead of going over to where Tony Fontaine was sitting with the rest of Scarlett's admirers, Leif had started to talk to a man Scarlett had never seen before. He was tall, taller than Leif, and had jet black hair almost the color of her own. She supposed some might consider him handsome, but there was something about him that made her feel cornered and that took away from his physical attractiveness.
As Cathleen opened her mouth to reply to Scarlett's question, Scarlett cut her off with another.
"Never mind that, Cathleen. Who is that man over there—" she pointed him out to Cathleen and quickly turned around as she saw that he had seen her rudely pointing at him.
"I don't know his name, Scarlett. He's some friend of Frank Kennedy's, I think. It's surprising that old whisker face is friends with someone like that. He's so handsome!"
Scarlett gave her friend a look and Cathleen stopped talking.
"Oh, Scarlett, I do have the absolute best gossip!" she said, trying to recover from her apparent error and regain her friend's favor.
"Do tell!" Scarlett said excitedly. She loved hearing gossip, especially if she was the first told.
"Well, it's about Leif."
"Leif?" Scarlett started, and then covered it up with, "Leif? But he seems so terribly dull, Cathleen. What gossip could there possibly be about him?"
"That's why it's so exciting! Leif never does anything wrong. But Scarlett, I think he's seeing someone secretly! He was sneaking out of the house last night and he wouldn't tell me where he was going and I didn't hear him come back until a quarter past…"
Scarlett tuned out Cathleen's chatter. How many people had Cathleen told this to? If word got around they would have to stop meeting, and she couldn't bear that! What would she do without their late night conversations and kisses?
"How interesting. If you'll excuse me Cathleen, I need a breath of fresh air."
Ignoring Cathleen say, confused, "But Scarlett, we're outside," she walked briskly away and moved out of the way of other people mingling. Leaning against a tree, she signed deeply.
She crept down the stairs of Twelve Oaks, beginning to hear the sounds of men's voices. She was supposed to be upstairs napping with the ladies but she had to talk to Leif. HE was acting so strangely towards her and it was eating her alive wondering why.
She spotted him standing next to Brent Tarleton near the door of one of Twelve Oaks' many rooms. When she was relatively sure no one was looking, she tiptoed over to the open doorway and gently tapped Leif's shoulder. She inhaled deeply and moved to stand against the wall should anyone look out the door. She heard Leif make his excuses and walk out of the room.
"Scarlett. What are you doing?" he whispered.
"I need to talk to you. It's important."
He gave her an aggravated look and steered her towards a room void of people, his grip tight on her arm. "What is it, Scarlett? You should be upstairs."
Scarlett felt her lower lip trembler at his words, but then a rush of anger swept over her body. "Don't think you can tell me what I should and should not do, Leif Calvert," she said as she shot him an icy glare. "What is the matter with you? You've been acting funny and avoiding me all day. I haven't done anything to you to deserve such treatment."
"No, you haven't, have you?"
She looked up at the bitterness in his tone.
"You've been parading about all day, flirting like you and I weren't even a thought."
Understanding consoled her temper. "Oh, but Leif! No one can know about us. I've just been trying to keep the tongues from wagging. Everyone would know for sure something was between us if I ignored all the boys for you. I'm just trying to keep our secret," she explained with an innocent expression. Then, with a smirk she leaned into him and said, "You know I love you, Leif," and proceeded to kiss him until she was satisfied all was forgiven.
"I'm sorry, Scarlett. I love you, too. So much. And…when I see you with those others…I just…I can't…"
"Shh. Everything's all right," she soothed, kissing him again.
After several more minutes of kissing the two separated and Leif spoke again.
"Scarlett, not here. It isn't right. We're in the Wilkes' home. It's not like last night when we were alone.
In reply, Scarlett only kissed him again. "Oh, all right," she said after he broke away reluctantly. "Will we meet at the same place tonight?"
"Of course, sweetheart. I love you. Now I'll go out first and knock on the door once it's clear." Leif stepped out of the doorway and pulled it shut tight.
At the knock on the door, Scarlett was about to open it and step out when a male voice other than Leif's stopped her.
"Mr. Butler?" Frank Kennedy called into the room. His shock at seeing Scarlett behind the door was evident on his bewhiskered face.
"Why, Miss O'Hara! I'm mighty sorry to bother you, Miss Scarlett!" He blushed red, but then continued, "I was just sure I saw Mr. Butler come in this room," he said, rubbing his whiskers.
"No, no, Mr. Kennedy, it's just me. Perhaps your Mr. Butler is next door?"
"Actually," a man's voice drawled, standing up from the floor, "you were correct, Mr. Kennedy. You did see me enter this room."
Scarlett's cheeked were ablaze. That man had overheard everything! And now, what must Mr. Kennedy think? The audacity of that man Mr. Butler! Who did he think he was? Her eyes flashing, she quickly faced Mr. Kennedy. "I just entered this room by mistake and saw your Mr. Butler," she lied, glad Mr. Kennedy looked as if he were willing to forget the whole incident had occurred. "I really must get back upstairs, "Scarlett explained.
"Of course, Miss O'Hara," Frank Kennedy said, still rather stunned at the absurdity of the situation.
Scarlett hurried out of the room, but not before Rhett Butler called out, "Pleasure to have met you, Miss O'Hara."
Scarlett's cheeks burned hotter than ever at his words. What was he suggesting to Mr. Kennedy? Somehow, though, she found her voice. "Oh, I'm sure it was all yours," she said before leaving the room.
Rhett Butler laughed to himself as he watched the young woman hurry up the stairs, face like fire.
With a nod to Mr. Kennedy, he left the room and walked outside to smoke his cigar.
A/N: so what are your thoughts? Good, I hope. I like this story and hope you guys do too, but I'll never know if you don't review! So please do. Sorry it took me a while to update and I apologize for any typos you might have encountered. I typed it out with lightning speed…so anyways, just review! Next chapter should be up sometime in the near future…it will entail the continuation of the barbecue, etc.