A/N Thank you so much to everyone who left reviews for part 1. I am thrilled it was well-received. Y'all made my week.

For those unfamiliar with Scarlett, Cat's birthdate is 31 October 1875.

This chapter starts with a flashback to earlier in the year, and then we go back to the present, picking up towards the end of 1875. This chapter deals with an aspect of the book that I find unrealistic (and consequently hate!) but the story hinges on it. Mine does not.

I really like this chapter, I hope you do too.

FLASHBACK: April 1875

"Why on earth should I marry her, Mama?" asked Rhett, pacing back and forth before his mother in the small study of her house on the Battery.

"You know perfectly well Anne's been compromised, Rhett, and the rules of society dictate that-" From his look, Eleanor Butler bit down on what more she wanted to say, knowing full well her son's opinions on that subject had not changed since the last time they'd found themselves in this situation so many years before.

"Well, you're familiar with them, I'm sure." she finished quietly.

"Mmmm." He did not need a lecture on propriety.

"Besides," she continued, undeterred, "there's a nasty rumour circulating that you've divorced your wife." She carefully avoided meeting his penetrating gaze as she spoke.

"However do these things get started?"

He sat down in the wingback chair next to his mother's and took a sip of brandy, his voice laden with sarcasm.

"Be serious Rhett. You can't use the fact that you're a married man as an excuse any more," Eleanor pointed out.

"It's just a rumour, Mama. I'll tell people if they ask that they've been misinformed, that I'm still married. It's not as if my divorce is common knowledge, and I don't imagine any of the family is going to broadcast the news." he countered.

"Rhett, you must be reasonable. These things always come to light eventually."

He sighed heavily, flinging his cigar stub into the fire.

"I can't marry her Mama, it goes against everything in me. She has all my sympathy for the situation that she finds herself in, but I won't marry someone I don't love." There was a finality to his words that Eleanor could not fail to hear.

"But she loves you," she offered, "…and perhaps in time you may come to-"

"Good Lord Mother!" he rounded on her, exasperation clear in his expression. "I never took you for a soppy sentimentalist. Love isn't enough to make a successful union. You know that as well as anyone. Especially a love that's unrequited. I won't be a party to a such marriage, not again."

Eleanor Butler raised her eyebrows at his comment, but said nothing. She knew little of her son's failed venture into wedlock, but she did know enough to be sure that there had been love on both sides. With personalities such as his and Scarlett's there were bound to be fireworks, but what had caused everything to go so horribly wrong between them she still didn't know. She hoped that in time he would come to confide in her some of those details.

"I'm not interested in Miss Hampton, Mama, and that is something I can promise you is not going to change. I do care about her, she's a sweet girl, but I can't see her as anything more than that." He slumped back in his chair and stared darkly into the flickering flames.

"Love isn't enough when two people are as different as we are. Anne's barely more than a child. She doesn't yet know her own heart. She may think herself in love with me but it's a childish infatuation. It'll pass. Besides, you can't really love somebody you don't know. I'm not sure she'd even like me if she knew the real Rhett Butler."

There's only one woman I know who can do that. Well, perhaps two, he admitted to himself.

He took a deep breath and turned to face his mother.

"Mama, I spent five years living with a woman who didn't love me." Eleanor reached out and touched her son's cheek at his words. He took her hand in his and kissed the palm before releasing it.

"I wouldn't want Anne to suffer the way I did. She may be young, but she's not stupid. She'll realise sooner or later that I don't love her, that I will never feel anything more than affection for her, and she'll come to hate me for it. I don't want to see her life wasted that way. She deserves better than that, better than anything I can offer her."

"Oh, but Rhett, she'll be ruined!"

He got up out of his chair once more and walked towards the fireplace. He rested his elbow on the mantle-piece and absently fingered the china figurine standing there, considering what more he could say. The room was silent for several moments save the crackling of the fire, before Rhett once more turned to his mother and spoke.

"Times are changing, Mama. Have changed since the war. This isn't thirty years ago. And it's not as if she'll be having a baby in 9 months."

"Rhett!"

He smiled at her shocked expression.

"Oh Mama, calm yourself. God knows I'm so sick of polite society's ridiculous rules. Why shouldn't people believe what I tell them. We were searching for an orphan and couldn't locate him before nightfall. It is that simple. There's no crime in that, is there? And it's not as if it's a lie. Why should we be punished for something that was beyond our control?"

When Eleanor said nothing he continued.

"I hope I have a little more standing in this community than I did the last time I was run out of town. Some semblance of respectability, even if it's only that. I'm a grown man, for heaven's sake, and a middle-aged one at that, not some hormone-driven teenager. People will react differently this time, they'll understand." He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself as much as he was her.

"What if they don't?"

"I've made up my mind. I won't marry her."

Eleanor sighed. She knew there was no point in pursuing the matter further. Once he had made up his mind, Rhett could not be prevailed upon to change it. She took a few moments, carefully considering her next words, then looked her son in the eyes and spoke.

"Edward Cooper seems to have a sincere affection for Anne," she said slowly. "Perhaps-"

"Thank you, Mama," he breathed quietly.

"I only want what's best for you, my darling, and I'll support you in whatever decision you take."

"Not marrying Miss Hampton is what's best for me." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I'll speak to Edward first thing in the morning, but my resolution remains the same, whatever his thoughts are on the matter. I'm not going to change my mind."

Eleanor knew she would have to leave it there. While she felt she had done her duty in trying to convince Rhett to do what was right by Anne, she was secretly pleased her son had a will of his own. It had landed him in trouble on more occasions than she cared to remember, but this time she knew he was right. Anne would not be able to make him happy.

"You're still in love with Scarlett," she said. It wasn't a question.

Rhett sank back down into his chair with a sigh.

"You know me better than sometimes I would wish. And if you weren't my mother I think I might try to deny it, but yes, Mama," he smiled ruefully, "I'm afraid I am."

"You do realise that if you hadn't divorced her, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"Yes, I'm aware of that irony, thank you." he said, running his fingers through his dark hair. "And no 'I told you so's, please, I beg you. I know what your feeling's are on that subject. You've made them abundantly clear on numerous occasions and I can't say I feel the need to hear them again right now. You championed her cause admirably, considering the fact that I am your flesh and blood, and not Scarlett."

"I had my reasons."

"Grandchildren?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Eleanor smiled at his question. "No, my dear, your happiness. I know your relationship suffered a great deal following Bonnie's death. No, Rhett, let me speak." She held up her hand to silence him when he moved to interrupt. "I don't pretend to know even half of what went on between you and Scarlett, but it was as plain as day to me, and I'm sure many others, that that girl is desperately in love with you," She paused before adding, "and you with her."

He sighed. "I thought I would get over her, that if I put enough time and distance between us, I'd stop loving her. And for a time I truly believed that was possible." He stared moodily into the fire.

"I was so angry, so hurt by what had happened in our marriage. That's why I came back to Charleston, to give myself some space. I didn't want her anywhere near me. But then she had to come after me, to worm her way back in. She made me fall in love with her all over again. It quite thoroughly ruined all my plans." He couldn't help but smile at himself.

"But then she just disappeared after the accident without telling anyone she was going to Savannah. I thought she was punishing me for treating her the way I had, and I just couldn't take it. I had to make the break."

He paused and Eleanor waited.

"I don't know why I expected her to stay. I told her to leave and for once in her life she had to go and do as I asked. After that I was so determined to win, to beat her this one last time, that I fear I may have shot myself in the foot in the process. I think," he took a deep breath, "I think I may have made a mistake."

Finally he admits it, she thought.

"Well, what are you going to do about it, my boy?"

Rhett chuckled at his mother's effrontery.

"Admit the error of my ways and go crawling back to her?" he asked with a smile, then sobered as he continued.

"I honestly don't know, Mama. I want to make things right between us, really I do. I just don't know what right is. I'm not sure I'm ready to let her back into my life yet. God knows I do love her, and I suppose admitting that to myself is half the battle won. I do believe that she loves me, but I don't know if I'm ready to let go of all the past hurts and forgive her. So many terrible things happened between us.

"I'll be going over to the Landing for a while when this mess with Anne is cleared up. I need some more time to think things through, to make plans. Decide once and for all what it is that I want. All I know for sure is that I'm tired of running away from her."

The truth was he wanted Scarlett back, if she'd have him, he just wasn't ready to admit it aloud.

"If you do decide you want her back, she won't make it easy for you," warned his mother.

"I wouldn't expect her to."

"Women, as a rule, don't take kindly to their husbands divorcing them and I don't imagine Scarlett will be any different. But if she really loves you, as I believe she does, she'll forgive you eventually - once she understands why you felt compelled to do it." Rhett rose and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"I might just have to explain it to her first," he said, then turned and made his way to the door. If I can find her.

"And another grandchild certainly wouldn't go amiss," Eleanor called after him.

--

When she heard her brother's approaching footsteps, Rosemary Butler crept quietly away from the study door where she had been eavesdropping. She couldn't let that poisonous woman back into Rhett's life, no matter what he thought he wanted. She would only destroy him. And if Rosemary couldn't convince him to marry Anne Hampton, she would have to convince Scarlett to stay away. The further the better.

END OF FLASHBACK

Early December 1875.

Rosemary stood at the window staring out through the rain at the grey sea towards the east. She hated winter and today was particularly dreary. Her mother was out at one of her charity meetings, Rhett had buried himself at Dunmore Landing and she was alone at home and bored.

"The post come, Ms Rosemary," came a voice from the doorway.

"Thank you, Alice," said Rosemary, and turned to take the silver tray that held the letters from the girl. She bobbed her head and left the room, closing the door behind her.

On the top of the pile was a Christmas card for her mother from one of her old lady friends. Rosemary could tell by the spidery writing that crawled across the paper. She tossed it onto the table and looked through the rest of the post.

There was a correspondence from one of her friends in Columbia. Finally, thought Rosemary. She certainly took her sweet time about writing back. Not that the girl ever had anything to say that was worth reading anyhow, but penning the response would give her something to do later to pass the time. She put the letter aside. She would read it later.

The next envelope caught her eye and caused her stomach to flip over. It was addressed to Rhett, the directions scribbled in a messy, but unmistakable hand.

Rosemary's blood ran cold. It had been over 8 months since she had had any news of Scarlett, and now, large as life, here was a letter from her addressed to her brother. She fought the urge to fling it into the fire, to erase any evidence of it, as her curiosity got the better of her. She was interested to know what Scarlett had to say to him. Would the letter implicate Rosemary in any deception? She had to find out. She could dispose of it later if necessary, without her brother ever knowing it existed. She had done it before. It was for Rhett's own good to have that woman out of his life.

She seated herself in a comfortable chair by the fire, tucked her feet under her, and eagerly tore open the envelope. Scarlett's writing leapt off the page at her. 'My dearest Rhett'. Rosemary snorted in disgust and rolled her eyes at the salutation, before continuing to read.

TBC

A/N In my opinion, the major flaw of Scarlett is Rhett's marriage to Anne. Mr 'I'm not a marrying man' goes and marries someone he doesn't love after having spent 5 years living with a woman who didn't love him and made him miserable? I don't care if he wanted to make amends with his people, I don't care if he was off his head because Scarlett had disappeared, I just don't buy it. So I wrote it away. I hope you don't find that implausible. Please review. J