Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

Chapter Three

After a week of being at Tara Scarlett gathered Wade and Ella together and told them that Uncle Rhett was not coming back. They had started the procedure to become unmarried. When she was finished talking Wade and Ella just stared at her. Finally, Wade said, "So are we finally free from that bastard? Or will he keep coming back?"

Scarlett didn't scold Wade for his language. She had smiled and said, 'No, he will not be back.'

"How do you know he will never be back?"

"Uncle Rhett has never taken responsibility for anything, and he won't now. We have become a family of three."

"What about Beau? How long is Beau going to live with us?"

"I don't know but eventually he will go live with his father again."

Wade said, "We knew Uncle Rhett would soon be gone after Bonnie died. He always runs away in times of crisis."

Scarlett said, "Alright. If you have more questions just ask me."

"Sure. Can we go play now?"

Scarlett nodded her head, and they ran off to play. Scarlett smiled and thought, 'They are a lot smarter than me.'

After being at Tara for a month Scarlett walked to what once was Twelve Oaks. As she walked around where the house had once been, she smiled. She had dreamed of being the mistress here. She had romanticized everything. She would be a great lady. Everyone would speak so highly of her. Ashley and she would sit in the parlor by the fire, and he would read poetry to her. She burst out laughing when she thought, 'I would have been so very bored. In five years, I would have been ready to run away to Mexico by myself or with some handsome renegade.' An image of Rhett on their honeymoon popped into her head. She smiled. Yes, Rhett had been very handsome. She hadn't truly realized how handsome he was until their honeymoon. When all the other women were looking at him with admiration was when she really looked at him and knew how handsome he really was. She walked back to Tara with a smile on her face. They had so much fun on their honeymoon until… No! She was just going to think about the good times.

Unbidden the words Rhett had said that last night came into her mind. Of all the things he had said that night the one thing that she could hear clearly was …knowing as you really are – hard, greedy, and unscrupulous, like me…. It reminded her of what he had said that day he had proposed …. A cruel, destructive little cat. She knew that was how he really thought of her. He had never given her credit for all that she had done for others whether it had been for the right reason or not. He had never understood her feelings of responsibility for her former slaves, the people who lived at Tara, and the Wilkes.

Melanie had known she was doing it for the wrong reasons but had still given her credit for doing it. Melanie had truly seen her for what she was and had loved and admired her for being that way. It humbled Scarlett more than she thought possible. Scarlett thought about Melly. She knew Melanie had loved her, but she had also seen her for who she was.

On December the first Scarlett and Rhett were legally divorced. Their respective attorneys notified them of the news. Scarlett felt sad that it was all over, but it had never really been a marriage. She didn't know what it had been, but she did know it hadn't been a marriage. She had married him for his money, and she had not loved him. She had not been an particularly good person to Rhett much less a good wife. She felt a lot of guilt about how badly she had treated him but especially how she had treated him after Bonnie's death. She would move on with her life and she truly wished him well.

She and the children returned to Atlanta. The next day she sold the mansion. The day after that she sold the store. Ashley had been going to the store every day for the last three months and Mr. Elsing had been training him as a salesclerk.

Mr. Elsing said to Scarlett, "Mr. Wilkes is an incredibly good salesperson. He is low keyed. The customers like that a lot especially the Yankees. He is very respectful of everyone. The Yankee customers have never been treated with so much respect in their lives. He makes the Yankees feel important. He never tries to pressure anyone into buying anything. He remembers everyone's name and their spouse's name and their children's names. He remembers what they had come into the store to check out last time they were in. He asks how their latest purchases were working out for them.

When one customer was complaining about how the desk, he had purchased sat too low for him to be using comfortably, Mr. Wilkes had gone and gotten his coat and hat. He had said, 'Let's go see if we can fix that if not, I will give you your money back.' When Mr. Wilkes had gotten to the man's home, he agreed that the desk was indeed too short for the man. Mr. Wilkes had brought him back to the store to look through the catalogs. They had found one that was much taller, but it had been twice as much. The customer had not even squawked at paying the difference for the new desk. That customer had told all his friends what a fine, honest man Mr. Wilkes was. The customers feel like he really cares about them as a person, not as just a sell."

When Scarlett heard that she thought, 'He probably does care about them as a person. He has always had a big heart.'

Scarlett and the children had rooms at the National Hotel. She had gotten a monthly rate. Ashley came to visit Beau every day, but he never suggested the child come home with him. It appeared that looking at Beau reminded him too much of his beloved Melanie. Ashley had suggested they stay at Aunt PittyPat's and Scarlett had actually laughed out loud.

She had smiled and said, "Oh Ashley you are so naïve if you think I can sleep under the same roof as you and we would not be gossiped about." The good ladies of Atlanta were still snubbing her, and she didn't care but she would not give them more to gossip about. In fact since Melanie's death she had been the modicum of decorum.

Mr. Jackson continued to tutor the children in the morning, but Scarlett wanted them to spend the rest of the day in physical activities. She made Mr. Jackson and the children go with her to the park every day and the tutor taught them about things in nature. The man was a truly knowledgeable man without being arrogant about it. Even Scarlett was learning a lot about the trees, the bushes, the grass, even about the benches and the paved walkways.

Ashley had quit drinking for the most part but one afternoon when Ashley came by to visit Beau, Scarlett could smell the alcohol on his breath and thought this is the perfect time to get some answers.

After Ashley had visited with Beau, Scarlett said, "We need to talk. I will walk down to the lobby with you."

Ashley had said, "Of course, my dear."

When they were settled in the lobby Scarlett asked, "Why did you not ever tell me you loved Melanie?"

"Scarlett, please, let's not speak of this."

"Damn it! Ashley, tell me the truth for once in your life. You owe me that. Your compassionate lies destroyed my life."

Ashley looked at her, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "I suppose so. I didn't tell you at Twelve Oaks because I was trying not to hurt your feelings. I thought you were so shallow that you would soon get over your feelings for me." Scarlett gasped at Ashley's bluntness but almost as if he had not heard her Ashley went on. "And you probably would have if the war hadn't come. If you hadn't married Charlie. If you hadn't become a widow so quickly. You had nothing to distract you from the idolized version of me that you kept in your head. The romantic hero. You probably dreamed of me and in a very idealized setting. I knew that you were still seeing me as your hero when I came home for my leave that Christmas. So, I used your feelings against you."

Scarlett gasped again and said, "You used me!"

"Yes."

This honesty was hurting her, but she would never see things clearly if she didn't let him continue.

"Go on tell me all of the truth. I am finally ready to listen."

"I made you promise to take care of my wife. Oh Scarlett, you were so young, naïve and had me on such a high pedestal." Ashley stopped and stared off in the distance for a few moments.

Scarlett finally said, "Go on."

"What man ask the woman he loves to take care of his wife? None. I asked you because I knew you would do anything for me." Again, Ashley paused. "Rock Island was hell on earth. I did things there I never thought I would do. It broke me. When I came back and found y'all at Tara I was not all there, but you never saw that. You continued to look at me like I was wonderful. When you came to me in the orchard, I tried to tell you I didn't love you, but I didn't try very hard. When you ask me to run away with you, I didn't go not because of honor. I didn't go because I didn't want you to see the broken man that I was. Scarlett, you were so determinedly ignorant. No matter what clues were put in front of you. You ignored them all and continued to see me as a hero. I wasn't even a good friend to you. I let you go to Atlanta to sell yourself to Rhett Butler. I was that weak and broken."

"Oh, Ashley."

"Just so you know I don't think it would have mattered if I had gone to New York. I was doing a poor job of living in the world I found myself in." Scarlett smiled because Rhett had said the same thing that night.

"Why did you say all those ugly things about Rhett and then encourage me to turn him out of my bed?"

"Oh, my dear, to stop you from lecturing me on what a bad job I had done while you were in your confinement. To bring that hero worship back into your eyes. Once I got started, I couldn't stop criticizing him. I really do hate Rhett Butler. I am a failure and have followed the rules and he is a success by not following the rules. I was jealous that he had everything even you and I had nothing. I wanted to take at least one thing away from him. When I found out what you had done, I was gleeful."

"Are you saying that you said what you said just so you could take me away from Rhett, like I was a trophy."

"Yes. I know now it was one of the things that destroyed your marriage."

"It wasn't the only thing. Rhett and I were already having problems. Why did you act guilty after India caught us?"

"You know that day I was trying to tell you in my gentlemanly way I was not the man you thought I was. I tried to tell you that your husband and I were so very much alike but instead of listening you were blathering on about how good and honorable I was. I wasn't good and I certainly wasn't honorable."

Scarlett took a deep breath. She wanted to tell him to be quiet. She didn't want to hear all these horrible truths, but she knew she finally had to hear them and accept them as truths. She said, "Again why did you act guilty?"

"I couldn't help myself. I felt so guilty. I had put your reputation at risk."

"You put my reputation more at risk by acting guilty!"

Ashley went on like she hadn't spoken, he said, "I couldn't talk India out of spreading that piece of gossip. I felt ashamed because I did lust after you."

Scarlett gasped but Ashley hadn't heard her. He seemed intent on getting it all out now that he had finally started telling her the honest truth much like Rhett and his final speech.

Ashley didn't even pause but continued, "I was happy when I heard that Rhett Butler had left town. I had hoped he would because he always ran away when he was not in control of a situation. Over the years I have just become a weaker and weaker man. I would wish for things to be different, but I never would do anything to make them different. I am nothing like the man you imagined me to be. I am sorry Scarlett. Maybe things would have been different if I had been honest with you."

Scarlett wanted to yell at this man in front of her, but she couldn't. She stood up and smiled. She said, "Yes, things would have been different if you had told me the truth years ago, but you were living by the rules of a bygone time. You must start living in the world we are living in if you are going to survive. I won't be here to catch you anymore. I'm going to live the rest of my life at Tara. I'll see you tomorrow, Ashley. Get some sleep and stop drinking. You are going to kill yourself. I can't let that happen. You are one of my few friends still alive from before the war."

Scarlett went back upstairs. It hurt to think that she had basically been a bone two dogs had been fighting over. Rhett wanted to take that bone away from Ashley and therefore be the victor and Ashley had wanted to take her away from Rhett to make himself feel good. Neither had really cared about her feelings. Sadly, neither one wanted the bone anymore. She and Ashley had both held on to whatever it was that was between them. They had now ripped the wound open and all the poison had flowed out. Now they were both free of it. The truth was that Ashley had acted as a gentleman would act. That was how he saw himself and a gentleman never hurts a lady with unkind words. He was a man who procrastinated. He pushed off until tomorrow what he didn't want to deal with today like telling her he didn't really love her. Of course, he had never really wanted to lose that adoration she gave him.

She thought about what Ashley had said about Rhett always running away. Wade had said the same thing. She had never realized it. She really was obtuse. Yes, he did run away. That was how he retained control of a situation. Rhett hated being out of control. Rhett had even controlled every aspect of Bonnie's life while making it appear that Bonnie was the one in control.