A/N. Oh, woe, I've been so busy, work has been horrid, and this chapter hates me! This is the 'bit' I cut off the end of the previous chapter - it just kept getting longer and longer. Thanks for the pokes, I hope it's worth the wait. Sorry to those of you expecting something else - my last a/n had to be deleted after a couple of days because it turned into a big fat lie.

--

She could feel the smile against her lips even before Rhett pulled back and she saw his grin.

The kiss had been gentle at first, tentative even. His lips, soft and warm, were barely a whisper as they brushed over hers. Was it possible that he was as nervous as she, afraid now even though he had kissed her a hundred times before?

But it was different this time, how could it not be. This was the first kiss they had shared that was purely about love, about honesty. It held no jealousy or anger. There was no struggle for control or supremacy, no holding back for fear of rejection or ridicule. It was a kiss of devotion and tenderness and longing. It held the promise of things to come and forgiveness for what had gone before.

Then he had taken her face in his hands and their lips met again, stronger and more purposeful this time. He was flesh and blood pressed against her, and Scarlett delighted in his physical strength and masculinity. His body was hard once more, lean and muscled as it had been in the early days, before unhappiness in marriage and the death of a child had led him down a self-destructive path to misery and ruination.

She clung to his shoulders, ran her hands down his arms, her fingers through his hair as she held him to her. His lips on hers evoked memories of the previous occasions they had shared moments like this, and the images swirled in her mind. February, a frantic coupling on a rain soaked beach when their child had been conceived. That awful night of Ashley's birthday party when he had carried her struggling up the stairs, only for her to surrender willingly to him and the frightening, all-consuming passion his mouth and hands had brought forth in her. She had thrilled at being at his mercy, had revelled in the power he held over her, before it had all ended in tears.

She'd been a fool for years not to recognise what was in front of her, what had been hers for the taking.

--

He'd been a fool to fight against this for as long as he had. She'd said she loved him, and he had known it to be true, yet he had resisted. He could spend an eternity in her arms, in her bed, and it would never be enough to make up for the time they had lost. She was warmth and feminine softness beneath him. Her lips pliant and willing, tentatively inviting him to explore her mouth with his tongue, then returning his motions with a vigour he had known only twice from her. That night following her meeting with Ashley at the mills when he'd used her so brutally. He'd been crazed with rage, mad with jealously, so much so he feared he would have taken her even if she hadn't consented. The thought repulsed him.

And more recently, that afternoon on the beach. Driven by his desperate need to affirm that they had survived, that she was not lost to him, he had proved it in the most primal way.

The little moans of pleasure that emanated from her now made him need to pull away before all semblance of control was gone. He was all but undone and yet he could not stop. He was creating those feelings in her and she was letting him, willing him on. It was a heady rush to know that after so many years of struggling against one another and their feelings it was finally him, and him alone, that she wanted. Desire coursed through his veins at that knowledge.

The smell of her skin and her hair, the feel of her body beneath his, the way she tasted, were an intoxicating, overwhelming assault on his senses and yet he could not get enough. He had been without her for too long. It would take him a thousand nights to drink his fill, and even then he would need more.

If only they hadn't wasted so much time apart.

"No more poison in your blood?" she whispered in his ear as he buried his face in her hair. "No more sickness of your soul?"

Damn her memory. They had so much to make up for. She couldn't forget the terrible things he had said to her any more than he could forget her words to him.

"Do you have to remember everything I say?" He nuzzled her ear before sucking the lobe into his mouth, an action that sent shivers down her spine and made her eyes roll back in her head. She felt him smile against her as she could not withhold a groan. "You're both of those things, Scarlett, and so many more." She was his captor, his tormentor, his saviour. "I've just learned to embrace my need for them." He pulled back and looked down at her, his dark eyes burning with emotion and intensity. "For you."

And then his mouth was on hers again and there was nothing but Scarlett and the rhythmic pound of blood that drummed in his ears.

--

But she was pushing him away, his brain registered, her small hands struggling against his unyielding chest, her body suddenly rigid beneath his. He blinked at her with confused, passion-glazed eyes, before moving away and allowing her to sit up. Had he gone too far, pushed her too fast? Did she not want this after all?

"What is it?" Scarlett's eyes were alert.

"I thought I heard a knock."

"Scarlett darling," came a voice from the hall, and she jumped away from Rhett as if she were a young girl about to be caught unchaperoned with her first beau. "You should have told me you were buying yourself a thoroughbred for Christmas. Now I only have a day to find you a different present."

It sounded as if he were facing the other way, perhaps walking towards the stairs.

"God's nightgown! That's Colum." she whispered. "He's supposed to be taking us to lunch at the Adamstown Hotel, I completely forgot." She stood up on shaky legs and ran her hands over her body, trying to smooth her rumpled clothes. She did not miss the lascivious leer Rhett rewarded her with. "Keep your mind out of the gutter for the moment, please," she castigated him, "and give me a hand with these buttons. I can't seem to get my fingers to work." He removed her hands to her sides and positioned her in front of him, before he deftly began to refasten the buttons of the high-necked black shirtwaist. Scarlett gave him an accusing look. "However did you manage to get these undone in the first place, Rhett Butler, without my noticing?"

"It's one of my many talents, my dear," he winked at her, his black eyes dancing with mischief.

"Impressive, I grant you, though where you perfected such skills I shuddered to think. Perhaps you'll be good enough to demonstrate the others to me sometime." Their eyes met and Scarlett's face flushed at the thought of what he might do to her later, at the knowledge that she had invited him to do it.

She was in danger of dissolving into giggles, but the threat of embarrassment at being caught half-clothed by her cousin kept her together. "Lord, I must look a fright!"

"I never saw anything more beautiful." He twisted a stray lock of her dishevelled hair around his finger, then pulled her closer and placed a kiss on the side her neck that raised goose bumps all over her body. Scarlett blushed with pleasure at his words.

"Stop it, Rhett." She tried to sound commanding and keep the tremor out of her voice, but failed miserably. She pushed him away. "You're not exactly decent yourself," she commented, looking pointedly at his lap and he grinned back. Again she heard her cousin call her name.

"I better head him off and explain before he tries to do you an injury." She straightened her skirts as best she could, and felt a smack on her bottom as she scrambled over his out-stretched legs and ran for the door.

--

"Colum, how lovely to see you!" She hoped her flushed face didn't betray what had just recently transpired in the next room, as she turned her cheek to accept a kiss.

"Tis a fine day to be leaving your front door wide open. You'll have used up half the peat in your bog on the heating of this place before winter's out." He took her hand in his. "It's bit early yet, but I know what you ladies are like. Without somebody to chivvy you along we won't be leaving before it's dark."

"Oh, Colum, you do talk nonsense. When have you ever known me to be tardy where food is concerned?" She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"All right, you found me out. I just wanted the opportunity to spend a little time with my beautiful godbaby while you and Rosaleen are getting ready." A look of horror came over his face as his eyes went passed her and Scarlett looked back over her shoulder to see Rhett standing in the doorway of the sitting room.

He looked as immaculate as ever, not a single hair out of place, and Scarlett wondered for the umpteenth time since she had known him, exactly how it was that he managed to accomplish it. At least from his appearance Colum wouldn't suspect that they had been behaving like a couple of teenagers on the sofa only minutes earlier.

"It's all right, Colum," she put a reassuring hand on his arm, realising he probably thought he had just unwittingly divulged her secret. "He knows." The priest's eyes betrayed nothing.

"Father O'Hara." Rhett approached the pair and placed his hand at the small of her back.

"Mr Butler. This is certainly a surprise, though it would appear not an unwelcome one." He looked questioningly at Scarlett for confirmation of what he had said, and on receiving a nod, extended a hand for Rhett to shake.

From the expression on the priest's face, Rhett had the distinct feeling that his presence was going to be a hindrance to the conversation to come. As an awkward silence descended on the three, he thought it perhaps best to remove himself from the equation for the time being. "You mentioned something about a horse, Father? It's on loan and I should very much like to be able to return it."

"Ah, yes. Magnificent beast it is too. He's grazing down round the south side of the house, near the stables." Colum pointed him in the appropriate direction.

"Thank you." He looked down at Scarlett, then over at Colum. "Well, I'll just go and tie up the animal then. If you'll excuse me." Rhett bowed slightly, went to retrieve his coat from beside the fire, then disappeared out of the front door, pulling it shut behind him.

Colum watched him go then rounded on his cousin. "Scarlett, what the devil is that man doing in your house? Did you ask him to come? Did you finally come to your good senses and decide to tell him about the baby?"

"No, he just appeared out of the blue on my doorstep not more than an hour ago."

"But you've told him about Katie?" he asked, ushering her by the arm into the warm sitting room.

"I didn't have to. He already knew."

"What? But how can that be?" Colum asked, his brows coming together in confusion.

"I wrote him a letter just before Cat was born when I started to fear I wouldn't survive. I never intended for him to see it unless I died, but Steven took it with him by mistake last month." Colum digested this piece of information.

"What about his wife? It's too late to go back now, but have you made peace with the fact that he's going to want to have the baby some of the time, and that she'll be raising her as well?"

"He's not married to Anne, Colum. He never was. He's wanted me all this time, he just didn't know where to find me." Before Colum could respond Mrs Fitzpatrick entered the room.

"Has he left?" she whispered, as she hurried over to where the other two stood in front of the fire. "I saw him go outside."

"He's tying up his horse. And I thought I told you not to come downstairs until I said it was all right," Scarlett groused.

"I thought it would be safe while he was out of the house," Mrs Fitz answered, unperturbed. "He's her father isn't, he?" Scarlett stared at her with wide eyes.

"What? How did you-? Colum!" she shot an accusing glance at her cousin.

"I never said a word." He held up his hands defensively.

"So it's true. And you knew, Colum?" asked Rosaleen surprised. "You knew and you never told me?"

"I made a promise to Katie Scarlett and I wasn't going to break it." Mrs Fitz pursed her lips and set her hands on her hips. She was displeased that she had not been let in on the secret, but more because Colum was her good friend than due to the fact that, as a priest, he had lied to protect someone. He wilted somewhat under her stern gaze, and satisfied she turned her attention back to Scarlett.

"It was only a guess, but I'm not blind, Mrs O. I could see it a mile off. You've always said Katie was the spit of her father." She held up a hand to stop Scarlett as she made to interrupt. "And before you go accusing me of anything, I wasn't eavesdropping. I saw him out of the window just after he arrived."

"Yes, he's Cat's father," Scarlett admitted.

"But you said your husband was dead."

"I lied, all right." Mrs Fitz stared at her open-mouthed. "I lied because he divorced me, and I was ashamed to admit it. Are you happy now?" Rosaleen ignored her outburst.

"Why is he here? He hasn't come to take Katie away, has he?" She was suddenly as afraid for Scarlett as she felt for herself at the thought of losing the baby.

"No, he hasn't. Do you remember that letter I wrote when I was in labour?" The housekeeper nodded. "It went to America by mistake and Rhett read it. I thought he'd married someone else, that's why I stayed in Ireland when I was expecting. But that turned out to be a lie and- oh, nevermind. The point is he's here for both of us. We're going to be a family again."

"Are you sure, aroon, that he hasn't just come because of Katie?" Colum's concern for her welfare was clear in his face.

"Yes Colum, I'm sure. You don't need to worry about that."

The other two remained silent, looking sceptical.

"Oh, don't you look at me like that, Colum." Scarlett crossed her arms over her chest, her expression defiant. "This is for real and we have no intention of messing it up this time."

"Scarlett, I just don't want you to get your hopes up too high. I don't know if I trust the man."

"How can you distrust him when you don't even know him?" She relented slightly. "All right, maybe I haven't painted the prettiest picture of Rhett Butler, but that's only because I was hurt and angry. He really would have been the best of husbands if I'd ever bothered to give him half a chance. We love each other, Colum, and that's all that matters. There's no reason for this to end badly. I won't let it."

"All right, Scarlett darling. I just don't want you to get in over your head too quickly only to find tomorrow or a week down the line that things aren't all moonlight and roses like you want them to be."

"I'm not naïve, Colum. I know this is going to take work on both our parts, but we're prepared to do it. And now I don't want to hear another word out of you on the subject. If it's a disaster, you may tell me 'I told you so' with impunity. But until such time, I will thank you to keep your mouth shut."

"Scarlett, aroon, I only want what's best for you."

"Rhett is what's best for me!"

"Just be careful. I'm only saying this because I love you. I wouldn't like to see you hurt."

"I know that, Colum, and I adore you for caring like you do, but everything is going to be just fine. You'll see."

"I hope you are right."

"Mrs Fitz." Scarlett turned her attention to the housekeeper before he could say any more. "How would you like a few days off to spend with your family? Colum could drop you off after lunch."

"That would be wonderful, Mrs O. But are you sure you'll be able to manage all on your own?"

"I ran a plantation during the War, Mrs Fitz. I'm sure we'll be fine." She appreciated the older woman's concern and the protectiveness she felt for Scarlett and the baby. "It's Christmas, you should be with your loved ones. Besides, I think it'll be good for us to spend some time alone together. Rhett needs time to get to know Cat. He hasn't even seen her yet."

"Well," she was suddenly all aflutter with excitement, "I'd better go and get a few things together and then we can be off." She paused, "If you're sure-"

"Stop fussing, both of you. I'll be fine." Mrs Fitz nodded and hurried out of the door to pack.

"I take it you won't be joining us for lunch then?" asked Colum quietly.

"Oh Colum, would you mind awfully if I didn't?"

"I will be completely and utterly devastated by the loss." He clutched at his chest and Scarlett smiled at his dramatics.

"Do you think you could do me a favour and stop off somewhere on your way to Adamstown? Rhett stayed near Dunsany last night, at a place called Morland Hall."

"I know the place. It isn't too far out of our way."

"Would you mind asking them to send his bags over this afternoon? Please?"

"Scarlett-"

"Don't start, Colum," she warned, "I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so, aroon. If this all works out I will be truly happy for you."

"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. "How about a drink while you wait?"

--

"Is everything all right?" asked Rhett as he entered the house to find Scarlett standing in the hallway. "I fear my presence has created quite a stir this morning."

"Yes, everything's fine." Scarlett motioned for him to come closer and put her arm around his waist, drawing him near to her. "My housekeeper is going away for a few days. I've managed to convince her and Colum I'll be safe all alone with you." He bent down to kiss her hair and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Now I'm beginning to have second thoughts!" She leaned back slightly and looked up at him. "Where've you been anyhow?"

"Chasing an evasive horse around your back lawn."

"Now there's something I should like to have seen," she laughed.

"I'm rather glad you didn't. Fortunately he didn't put up too much of a fight once I caught him and is now safely, if not happily ensconced in your stables. And very fine they are too," he added with a smile.

Mrs Fitzpatrick and Colum came down the stairs and deposited her luggage in the hall. Once Scarlett had made the introductions, the two men took the bags down the front steps and loaded them onto the small carriage.

"Handsome beggar, isn't he," commented the housekeeper.

"Why, Mrs Fitz!"

"Pity I'm too old for him, or you might have a fight on your hands." She nudged Scarlett in the ribs and she laughed in return.

"Come along, Rosaleen," groaned Colum as he took her by the arm and ushered her out the front door.

"Oh, just a minute, Mrs Fitz, I have a present for you under the tree." She ran off to the sitting room to retrieve the gift.

"Mr Butler," Colum addressed Rhett who was standing in the doorway, "take good care of our Katie Scarlett. She seems to think you will and I wouldn't like to see her proved wrong."

"I'll do my very best to make her happy."

"Make sure that you do, or you'll have more than just myself to answer to." He put on his hat went outside to the waiting trap.

Scarlett ran back into the hall and thrust a parcel into the housekeeper's hand. "Merry Christmas, Mrs Fitz."

"Thank you," she leaned down and kissed Scarlett on the cheek, "and a happy Christmas to both of you."

"I'll be back later to check on you, Scarlett darling," called Colum.

"For heaven's sake, Colum, that won't be necessary."

"I'll be back just the same. Someone has to deliver the man's bags." He gave Rosaleen a hand up into the carriage, then climbed up himself and took the reins in his hands. "Til this afternoon then." He tipped his hat. "Walk on, Bessie."

Rhett came up behind her and put his arms around Scarlett's waist. She turned in his embrace and looked up at him. "He thinks I'm putting the cart before the horse where you're concerned."

"Yes, I rather got that impression as well." He brushed the backs of his fingers over the apple of her cheek.

"Why?" She pulled back slightly, looking at him curiously. "What did he say to you?"

"Oh, something along the lines of if I did you any harm he'd hunt me down and kill me."

"Not really?"

"I think it was implied." He pulled her closer to him than was decent and whispered in her ear. "I gave him my word as a gentleman that you would be safe with me."

"Fat lot of good that'll do me!" She laughed, then pushed away from him slightly as a soft cry carried down from upstairs. Rhett had heard it too and his eyes were suddenly alert. She smiled up at him. "Are you ready?"

"I can hardly wait." Scarlett took his hand in hers and pulled him towards the stairs.

--

Thanks for reading. J.