Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Five

The next morning after she had made breakfast she went to the privy before she took her family to the park. After using the privy, Scarlett called for Genie.

When Genie appeared, she said, "Yes, Mistress."

"Does Rhett love me?"

This was too important to trust her new powers of observation to. A lot of what she decided to do in the futured depended on whether Rhett genuinely loved her or not.

"Yes, Mistress, he does. He loves you so much it hurts but, Mistress, you must know that he also freely lies to you."

"No, that can't be. Rhett doesn't tolerate people lying around him," As Scarlett looked at Genie's knowing face, she burst out laughing. She said, "That lying hypocrite. That is something he would do. Insist that everyone tell the truth and not feel a moment of guilt when he lied to everyone else. Does he just lie about his feelings?"

"No, not just about his feelings. I don't know why he does because I can't read his mind, but I know the truth therefore I know when he is lying."

"How do you know all about me and everyone around me?"

"I don't know how it works but once you rubbed the lamp, I knew all information about you."

"Was Rhett in love before?"

"I don't know all information about Rhett. I just know all information about you."

"Oh."

"Was there anything else?"

"Yes, did Melly take advantage of me?"

"In answer to your question, no, but Melly has always known about your feelings for Ashley. She knew that Ashley never wanted to live in the real world. She knew that Ashley was not handling their new world very well. She told herself he just wasn't ready to stand on his own two feet and he needed you to help him for just a little while longer. She believed that someday he would have adapted to your new world and would have succeeded."

"He is not cut out to be a salesman. That requires too much interaction with people. He just wants to be left alone with his books and the few people he loves."

"Yes."

"I will have to find him another job," Scarlett smiled at Genie's expression of disapproval. She continued, "Yes, I am rescuing him once again but this time I think it is for his own good. Not what I want for him. I am not sure if I am going to marry Rhett or just run the sawmills and the store. If I keep the sawmills, then Ashley will have to go for I will need to ensure I can make a profit when lumber sales decline."

Genie smiled and said, "Now there is the Scarlett O'Hara that I was assigned to."

"Thanks. I'm going to the park now."

The next time Scarlett fed the baby, she thought of her love for Ashley. With her insight she now knew that she had not loved him for him. She had thought she loved him because he was handsome. He had been a fine, proper gentleman. He had been going to inherit Twelve Oaks, one of the largest plantations in Clayton County. He had been older than her other beaus and therefore so much more mature. She had been a child and therefore impressed by his maturity and, she could admit it, his aloofness. He was the one man that was not completely under her control. She had never thought about their differences not the least being she hated to read, and Ashley loved to read. She had been bored to tears when he was reading her poetry, but she had sat there and listened because of her infatuation with Ashley

Rhett had not been under her control either, but she had thought that she a naïve, country bumpkin would never be able to ensnare a sophisticated, intelligent, mature man such as Rhett. She had thought he was too cynical for real love, but she now knew that he wasn't. Not because of what he may or may not feel for her but his complete love of Bonnie.

She thought about what Ashley had said when she was out at the sawmill the day of his birthday party. He had spoken the truth. She had pulled him along. She had kept him from drowning. She had kept him and Melanie afloat ever since the war was over. She knew he was so selfish and self-centered. She was working herself to death and ruining her reputation over the sawmills and he had let her so he wouldn't have to be part of the real world. That was so sad to Scarlett. That a person wanted to live life from a distance. She would never understand that.

As Scarlett was nursing Melanie, she was filled with shame when she thought about that conversation after Bonnie's birth. She cringed when she had been so excited with the thought that Ashley might kiss her. She had been so juvenile. She was filled with shame right then. She had been quite willing to be physically unfaithful to Rhett. If Ashley had tried to kiss her, she would not have given Rhett or her marriage a second thought. Scarlett sighed. Admittedly a kiss was not the same thing as having relations with another person but to her shame she knew that if Ashley had wanted to have relations, she would not have stopped him regardless of Rhett.

She had been happy to let Ashley talk badly about Rhett. Rhett had admittedly been difficult to live with, but he had been her husband. Rhett, who at that time, had given her everything she had wanted. She hadn't even put up a token protest. She wondered what Ashley had really meant when he said, 'When I think about him touching you.' For with her insight, she knew that proper Ashley would never have meant what she had thought he had meant that day. Ashley would never have mentioned or referred to the intimate part of her life with Rhett. Scarlett smiled when she decided that Ashley had probably just meant when Rhett was kissing her or hugging her. Certainly not anything more than that. In fact, Ashley may have not meant anything by those words. They may have just been words he said to ensnare her back into his web.

She now knew the point of that conversation. First to get her to stop lecturing him on how badly he had done during her confinement. Second to draw her back into his orbit. She had been drifting away from him. She had Rhett's baby. She was spending lots of time having fun with the Republican and Scallawag wives. She had lots of money to spend. He had been afraid that she was falling out of love with him or already had therefore he had to reel her back in. He had selfishly driven a wedge between Rhett and her. Either so she would continue to carry him, or she didn't sell the sawmills because they were too much work, or so she would continue to adore him. She was quite sure Melly wasn't looking at him like he was Apollo, the most handsome of the gods. Melly would look at him admiringly but not like he was Apollo. As Scarlett thought about it. It was all three.

Scarlett cringed when she realized she had been emotionally unfaithful to Rhett their entire marriage and it didn't make it alright that Rhett knew of her feelings for Ashley before he married her. She should never have married Rhett while knowing how she felt about Ashley. Of course, she had never been emotionally faithful to any of her husbands. She was fairly sure even her father would not have approved of what she had done much less her mother.

Scarlett stopped her thoughts for a minute. So much had happened that awful night that she had returned to Tara to find her mother dead that she had pushed this piece of information to the back of her mind. Dilcey had said that on her deathbed her mother had been calling for someone named Phillipe. Who was Phillipe? Had her mother not loved Pa? Scarlett shook her head. Of course, her mother had not loved Pa. Her mother had been a kind, respectful, honoring wife.

The next thought to pop into Scarlett's mind was, 'Why would a fifteen-year-old girl from one of the finest families in the South marry a middle-aged, Irish immigrant and move to the back woods of Georgia? And why had the Robillards moved from Savannah to Charleston?'

When Scarlett finished nursing Melanie, she went in search of Mammy. Mammy had some explaining to do.

Scarlett found Mammy in the nursery straightening up the room. Mammy came to her to take the baby from her. After she had handed over Melanie, Scarlett said, "You were my mother's mammy, weren't you?"

"You know I was."

"Then you know all her secrets just like you know all of mine."

Mammy looked at Scarlett warily and said, "I don't know if I know all Miss Ellen's secrets or yours either."

Scarlett smiled. Mammy still thought she had to protect Miss Ellen's less than honorable acts. The young woman said, "Mammy, I will always love Mother. I will always be proud of her and strive to be the great lady she was, but I need some answers. I need these answers in order to not make any more mistakes in my life. Will you tell me the truth about my mother?"

"You know the truth."

"I know that my mother didn't love Pa. I know that she died calling for someone named Phillipe. I just need to know who he was and what happened."

"Miss Ellen was a good wife to Mr. Gerald."

"Yes, she was. She was a good wife, a good mother, a good mistress to Tara, a kind and charitable woman to the county. No one could truthfully say anything unkind about my mother. You must tell me why she agreed to marry Pa and give up everything to move to Clayton County, Georgia. You must tell me why Grandpere would approve my mother's match to a middle-age Irish immigrant."

Mammy sighed. She knew Miss Scarlett wasn't going to drop this. She said, "Maybe it is time you heard about Ellen Robillard. She was not like Ellen O'Hara. She was a lively, vivacious, beautiful, spoilt, favorite daughter of a wealthy man. She was a lot like you were before the war. Mr. Pierre loved Miss Solange very much. Miss Solange died when Miss Ellen was four in childbirth. Your aunts were already married by the time their stepmother had passed away. Miss Ellen became Mr. Pierre's entire world. The only time Miss Ellen heard the word no was when I said it. When Miss Ellen met her cousin Phillipe, she fell in love with him. She followed him around like a puppy dog. Mr. Phillipe saw his opportunity to cash in on the Robillard fortune. He had come to South Carolina to make his fortune and he thought the easiest way would be to marry Miss Ellen. Mr. Pierre sent him away for he saw Mr. Phillipe for the fortune hunter he was. I won't go into the details but for the next two weeks your mother behaved badly not the least being that she snuck around to see him unchaperoned.

Finally, Mr. Pierre gave the young man some money to go away. After he had left Mr. Phillipe sent Miss Ellen a letter with his address in New Orleans. He told her that yes, he had taken the money but that was just a stake in order to earn his fortune. She wrote him back saying she would wait for him forever. Several months later after Mr. Gerald had been courting her for a while, she received a letter from a priest in New Orleans telling Miss Ellen that Mr. Phillipe was dead. He had died in a barroom brawl. Your father asked her to marry him the next night and she had accepted. Your mother had created quite the scandal and Mr. Pierre agreed to the marriage to quiet the talk. I guess the gossip settled down after your mother left town because I never heard any more about it. Your mother never forgave her father or your sisters for their part in Phillipe's death."

"What did my aunts do?"

"They told your Grandpere every time they saw Miss Ellen with Mr. Phillipe."

"If I had known Mother didn't like my aunts, I would never have sent them any money."

"What are you talking about Miss Scarlett you have never sent your aunts any money?"

Scarlett smiled and said, "What I should have said was I will never send them any money even after Ashley starts really selling lumber."

"Yes ma'am"

Scarlett left the room while ignoring the strange look Mammy was giving her. She went to the parlor and had a small glass of brandy. She would brush her teeth so Ashley couldn't smell the brandy on her breath.