Well, if FanFiction is working properly, this should go out, lol.

I want to thank you all once again for the great reviews. It's very encouraging to me as a writer. A big hug to all of you, lol. So, here's the next installment...

The Journey Home

Chapter Fourteen

Twist of Fate

As soon as Eli and Scarlett stopped in Jonesboro, she exited the carriage and straightened out her taffeta dress. Barely giving Eli a glance, she eyed the small town locating Byron's blacksmith shop down the way.

"Where would you like to go first, Mrs. Butler?" Eli asked as he came to stand next to her.

Turning sharply towards him, she stiffened. "You may wait here, Mr. Barrett. Driving me is one thing, escorting me around is another thing entirely."

"Are you always this stubborn?" he asked crossing his arms. "I have to wonder if Ashley knew you at all because quite frankly, Mrs. Butler, you're nothing like he described you."

"Oh really?" she huffed, offended by his comment. "And just what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It's just that Ashley said you were a lady of a sweet, gentle nature, modest and charming. So far, I've yet to see even one of those attributes. Tell me, Mrs. Butler, is it me that brings out the worst in you or is Ashley a blind fool where you're concerned?"

Scarlett nearly unleashed a torrent of very unladylike insults on his head before she realized where she was. Glancing around, she lowered her voice in harsh tones. "You can go to the devil Mr. Barrett and I hope he hangs you by your toes while your roast!" She spun on her heel and headed toward the postmaster. She could hear Eli's quite laughter behind her and she knew he was following her, which didn't do much to curb her temper.

She took care of the letters in short order and then made her way as quickly as she could to Byron's blacksmith shop. An order from the acting sheriff should put that scoundrel in his place and remove him from her presence before nightfall. She rapped loudly on the door and opened it stepping inside without waiting to be invited.

Byron and another man were in conversation which came to an abrupt halt when Scarlett entered. Both men stared at her and then stood, nodding toward her.

"Scarlett, what in the world is wrong?" Byron asked hooking his hands on his hips. "You look fit to be tied."

"You would be too if you were me," she scowled angrily. Byron's graying, bushy brows shot up in surprise. He was a gregarious man with a stout, muscular frame from hours of hard labor but there wasn't a man who was fairer or more liked in Clayton County than Byron Cagle.

"Well, I'd be happy to help you out, but you'll have to let me finish up with Mr. Olson here. It shouldn't take long."

The man Byron referred to stared at her as if he had never seen the likes of her before. He was a tall man with brown hair, broad shoulders and a firm build. It was quite apparent he was poor by the shabby look of his clothes.

For a moment Scarlett was taken back to the time right after the war when she didn't have anything much to claim and was barely keeping body and soul together, not only hers but all the people who were depending on her to make sure they had food and shelter. It was an uncomfortable feeling and one she wasn't ready to relive. As she looked at the man, she saw a strength of pride and realized for all that he was poor, he was not beaten. She retracted her cat-like stance and stepped back.

"Excuse me, Byron," she said. "I wasn't aware you had anyone here. But, it is very important that I talk to you as soon as possible."

"Of course, as soon as we're finished," he answered.

Scarlett stepped out of the office to the sidewalk, where Eli was waiting for her. He was casually leaning against a balustrade with his legs crossed and his black hat tipped back on his head. Neither said anything but merely squared off with their equally stubborn gazes and waited.

Rhett watched Darcy as she quietly moved around the room. He was propped up against the headboard as comfortably as he could be while holding the crockery mug of broth she had brought him earlier.

She glanced over at him and saw him watching her. She lifted the lid on the pot bellied stove and stirred the flames with a long stick. After replacing it, she sat a cast iron kettle on it to boil. "You'd better drink up, Mr. Butler. The broth will help you get your strength back."

"I'm letting it cool," he answered her. "Thank you for bringing it to me."

"When you're feeling better I'll fix you a proper meal," she told him.

"That won't be necessary. I hope to be with my wife at Tara after your husband returns."

"You really shouldn't be moved," she stated matter of fact, but once again when he mentioned Tara or Scarlett, Darcy's whole body tensed. Tired of sidestepping around the obvious, he decided to go head on.

"Mrs. Olson, is there something you're not telling me? Every time I mention my wife or her plantation you become very cool and distant. May I ask what have you to do with her?"

With her back to him Darcy stopped her movements and held the folds of her skirt. "I have no quarrel with your wife, Mr. Butler."

"Then why the animosity at the mention of her name?"

A long pause held silence and then she finally answered him. "It's not your wife that holds my animosity, it's her sister."

"Her sister?" Rhett asked surprised by her answer. Somehow he knew she wasn't speaking of Careen and that only left Suellen.

"Yes, the O'Hara sister that married Jonas Wilkerson," she replied, her voice cold and hard. "The man who ruined our lives."

The picture she painted was beginning to take form in his mind. A sense of trepidation crept in his gut. "What did Wilkerson do?"

Darcy's face lost some of its color as she slowly moved to a nearby chair and sat down. "He took everything we owned, he stole it just as sure as the sun rises."

"How?" he asked quietly.

She lowered her head and held her forehead in her hand. A long sigh escaped from her as she began her story. "We had a small farm near here, it wasn't a large farm but it was just enough for James and me to raise a good crop and provide for ourselves. It butted against land that Wilkerson owned and the one thing our land had that his land didn't was a good running creek. James had figured out a way to irrigate the crops and things were going good for us.

Wilkerson wanted the land, he wanted it bad enough to make us outrageous offers for it, but James refused. We didn't want to leave our home. Then one day the creek began to go dry and we couldn't figure it out. James did some searching and discovered that a mile up stream a dam had been built to block the flow and since it wasn't on our land we couldn't do anything about it. James later found out that the man who owned the land was paid a large sum of money by Wilkerson to build the dam. Without the water we lost the crop and then the animals."

"And you lost the land when you lost those…" Rhett finished for her.

"Yes," she nodded stiffly. "The day we were forced out by Wilkerson he and his wife came by to look over 'their' land. That woman told him the first thing she wanted done was to have that shack burned and an elaborate barn built for her horses. It was almost more than I could stand hearing her talk about my home that way."

"No doubt," Rhett sighed. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"We're survivors, Mr. Butler, there's no need to feel pity for us. We rent this place, but we're trying to save up to buy another farm."

A smile of humility played on Rhett's lips as he stared at Darcy Olson. He had no doubt that she and her husband would do just as they set out to do and it made him feel almost guilty at his own wealth. Perhaps when he was healed and he had settled the matter with Scarlett he could find a way to help them out. "I wouldn't dream of offering you pity," he told her and he meant it.

"Thank you," she said reluctantly as if she weren't expecting his answer. She stood and faced him, "Drink your broth, I'm sure it's cooled by now."

"Yes ma'am," he held it up and took a sip.

"I have other chores to tend to, I'll check on you in a while."

"I'll be here," he teased to lighten the mood. Darcy stared at him and then a smile came across her face. She was still smiling when she lifted a milk pail and headed for the door leaving Rhett to think over what she had told him and what he was going to do about Jonas Wilkerson when the time came.

Finally the door to Byron's office opened and he and Mr. Olson stepped outside. The man tipped his hat to Scarlett and then left them. Byron asked her inside which prompted Eli to leave his place on the balustrade and follow them. Bryon turned to him and he broke out into a smile.

"Why, Mr. Barrett, what a pleasant surprise. I see you found you're way to Tara after all."

"What?" Scarlett gasped at him. "You know him?"

"Why sure. This is Eli Barrett, a friend of Ashley's."

"Nice to see you again, Byron," he held out his hand, smiling at Scarlett as he did.

"Byron, he's the reason I'm here!" she nearly screamed in impatience. "He's been trespassing on my land for days now and I want him gone."

"Trespassing?" Byron repeated with a short laugh. "He's not trespassing, not really, Scarlett. Ashley sent him to look out for you and quite frankly I think it's a wise idea. Mr. Barrett here used to work for the Pinkerton's, he knows a thing or two about protecting someone."

"I don't believe this!" she looked back and forth between the men. "A bunch of pig headed skunks, all of you!"

"Now Scarlett, I've known you since we were kids and this business with Wilkerson is serious. He's done nothing illegal that I can arrest him for, but everybody knows what kind of man he is."

"Jonas Wilkerson is a fool, just like most men I've ever met," she fumed. "He'll never try anything against me and I don't care what any of you say."

"Mrs. Butler seems to resent my presence Byron and she refuses to see that she could possibly be in danger. I'll leave this up to you. You tell me to go and I'll go, you tell me to stay and I'll stay on."

Byron considered his words and then nodded. "Why, you should stay of course. Ashley trusted you and that's good enough for me."

"Byron!" Scarlett gripped her fists at her side.

"Now Scarlett, be reasonable. I'm only part-time and I can't be everywhere I need to be. Eli here is a good man and he'll make sure Wilkerson doesn't try anything. It just makes sense with you being alone out there at Tara like you are."

Scarlett couldn't even find the words to express her anger and frustration. She turned on her heel and marched down the sidewalk. She was so angry in fact, that for the first time in weeks she forgot to check the telegraph office for a telegram from Rhett.