Chapter 4 – Sunrise at the Stables
Rhett woke early and well before dawn was making his way quietly through a slumbering Tara. Only a few soft murmurs could be heard from the kitchen where the smell of coffee brewing and bread baking drifted through the house, making Rhett wonder if he'd be better off lingering around for a leisurely breakfast or heading out to the stables in the off chance Scarlett was going to keep her promise and meet him there.
As good as the coffee, bread and now bacon smelled, Rhett decided he could eat those anytime, but Scarlett, well, she was something he had to enjoy in the moment for she was part of the local cuisine and this evening he'd be gone and she'd be but a memory. He left out the front door, feeling it better to depart this way to avoid raising any suspicion among the servants working in the kitchen. He made the trek around back to the stables and saw no sign of anyone about. It was still dark and his footsteps sounded ominous as he neared the entrance to the stables. He pulled the door open and in the quiet of daybreak, it made a squeaking noise so loud that he feared he had inadvertently aroused all the neighbors living within five miles of Tara.
"Well, it is about time you arrived. I was worried that you had forgotten our appointment," said Scarlett, who was somewhere in the darkness. As dark as it was outside, the moon still shone slightly, so the barn was even darker and it took a moment for Rhett's eyes to become accustomed to his surroundings. When they did, he saw Scarlett saddling up the horse she had been riding yesterday.
"I never forget a promise, especially to a lady as lovely as yourself," he drawled, walking up to her. "Sleep well?" She was dressed in garb similar to what she was wearing when he had met her. She wore a chambray shirt, open at the neck with its sleeves rolled up slightly. It was tucked into a pair of khaki trousers that were cinched at her waist with what looked to be some twine. The trousers, too, were rolled up slightly as they, like the shirt, were apparently too big on her. Her boots were obviously her own as they fit her tiny feet perfectly. Like the day prior, she wore a hat, but this time, her hair was gathered in a ribbon at her nape and hung down her back in a mass of dark curls. When he neared her, she looked up at him with a luminous smile, her eyes bright and sparkling for so early in the morning.
"How I slept is of no consequence to you, sir. Now, if you want to go riding, we best get along before the entire plantation is up and about."
"As you say, my lady," Rhett waved, indicating that she should lead the way.
"Meet Sumter," she said, indicating the horse she had ridden yesterday, "and this is Dublin. You'll be riding him today. My father brought him over from Ireland. His cousins breed horses there."
"Really," replied Rhett, stroking the neck of the black stallion that stood before him. "He's quite a handsome horse."
"That he is. Fast, too."
"I'm impressed. Typically when I'm lent a horse for a ride, I get something akin to a mule. Certainly, never a horse like this boy." Rhett was clearly taken with the animal and admiration colored his dark eyes blacker.
"Really? I would venture to say that your past riding companions were unsure of their equestrian skills, so they deliberately put you at a disadvantage."
"And my equestrian skills intimidated them?"
"Perhaps, yes."
"But you're not intimated by what you perceive to be my talents at horsemanship?"
"No."
"Well, you may be right. I can be quite clumsy on a horse."
"Oh, Mr. Butler, I highly doubt that. I'd venture to say that you are bluffing, which leads me to believe that you are not only an excellent rider, but a shrewd poker player, a keen shot and, hmm," she continued, eyeing him up and down, "I'm guessing you're quite the lady's man, as well."
He nearly choked with laughter at her statement. "You are making a lot of assumptions, Scarlett, and I suppose we'll have to examine each of them independently to ascertain if you are indeed as correct as you think you are."
"Oh, fiddle dee dee! Are we going to spend the entire morning talking or did you want to ride?" She put her foot into the stirrup and swung her other leg over Sumter's back. At that precise moment, Rhett couldn't help but notice the shapely outline of her legs and backside for as she took her seat, the fabric of her trousers pulled over so slightly over her thigh and higher, accentuating the high, firm roundness of her bottom as she settled into the saddle. "Are you ready or are you just going to stand there?"
Her voice shook him out of his daze and he nodded, somewhat embarrassed, as he took his seat on Dublin's back. Not since he was a gangling adolescent had he found himself so taken with a woman. For years he had prided himself on his self-reliance, charm and ease with which he dealt with the fairer sex. Of course, he had few dealings of late with nice girls. Due to his travels, various social constraints and his aversion to matrimony, he usually steered clear of proper young ladies and had preferred to turn to women of looser moral standings who offered their charms to him free and clear of any bonds. Well, free wasn't perhaps the correct word, for many were quite expensive, but still there were no ties, no bonds, no obligations and he came and went as he felt like it. Now, faced with an educated, proper young lady, who was beautiful beyond belief, he felt out of his depth but nevertheless, waded bravely into the pool.
"Ready?" Scarlett asked just as he took the reigns. He nodded and with that she was off at a gallop, Rhett prompting Dublin to follow Sumter's lead. Once out of the stable, Scarlett tore over the unplanted field adjacent to the house. Sumter ran at full speed and not knowing what Dublin was capable of, at first, Rhett held him somewhat at bay. When he found himself falling far behind Scarlett, he urged Dublin on at full speed and in no time, they were near enough to Scarlett for Rhett to see her profile in the rising sun. There was a look of abandonment on her face. She smiled and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Her hat at long since fallen off and her strands of her hair had come loose and blew about her face. But nothing seemed to matter—the missing hat, the distracting hair whipping over her eyes or the wind in her face—for at that moment, all she thought of was the speed at which she rode, the freedom she felt and her love of the land that surrounded her. Rhett gazed ahead and as far as he could see were rolling hills of newly planted cotton; neat little furrows of green seedlings rising from the red soil. The land was languid, at rest and seemingly rolled on forever into the horizon, ending only where the sun was rising over the land.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Scarlett shouted to him over her shoulder.
"What?"
"Everything! Isn't Tara beautiful?" She had slowed for a moment to gauge his response and once she saw him nod approvingly, she drove Sumter onto new heights. Crouching low in her saddle, she raced ahead where Rhett saw a split rail fence obstructing her path. Without a moment's hesitation, she cleared the hurdle with ease and Rhett found himself working hard to keep up with this enigmatic girl and his admiration for her grew. Rhett, too, cleared the fence and they continued along a dusty, untraveled road for some time, then meandered down a steep trail that led to the woods and eventually, to what Rhett would learn was the Flint River.
"We can rest the horses here for a bit," she told him as she climbed down from Sumter and led the horse to the river for a drink.
"When you ride, you really ride."
"Have a problem keeping up?" She threw him a dazzling smile and Rhett, already winded from the ride, felt his heart skip a beat. If he thought she was beautiful before, now she was absolutely breathtaking. Even dressed in boys garb, this woman was an eclectic mixture of vixen, adventurer, spoiled child and seductress. Did she realize what she was doing to him? God, how he wanted her.
"Not for one moment, Scarlett. But now I do understand why you gave me a racehorse and not some workhorse accustomed to plowing the fields."
They both stood at the river while their horses drank and Scarlett tiptoed down the bank to a sandy area where she bent down, filled her hand with cool, clear water and brought it to her lips. Rhett did the same and then, they climbed the bank again and sat in companionable silence while their horses rested.
"You love the county, don't you?" Rhett asked her as he settled himself on a fallen tree trunk.
"Oh, yes! There's nothing like Tara in the whole world," she said, idly picking up a wildflower that bloomed near the rock on which she sat.
"That's saying a lot. I wager you haven't traveled far a field of Tara. Isn't that true?"
"No! Why I was at Saratoga and I've been in Savannah!"
"A little provincial, aren't we?"
"What?"
"Nevermind, I'm just saying that although Saratoga and Savannah are lovely places to visit, you haven't exactly traveled to the ends of the earth and back to make such an all-encompassing statement."
"How dare you!"
"Now stop right there. I'm not insulting you. I'm only saying that a girl with your spirit for adventure and love for the land, which I can plainly see in your eyes, should see the world. You would love London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Nassau and Havana. Why, the world is at your doorstep, you need only to open the door and step through.
"I can see you dining on the Champs-Élysées or having tea with Queen Victoria. Or, how about sailing down the Danube or, hmm, swimming in the Mediterranean?"
"Have you done all these things?" Scarlett asked, clearly astonished at the mention of so many places, some of which she admittedly never even heard of but they sounded exciting nonetheless.
"Many of them, yes, except for having tea with the Queen. I haven't found the time to fit her into my date book just yet," Rhett replied, smothering a grin. "Do you desire to do these things?"
"I guess I never thought about it. Sure, I'd like to travel outside of Georgia, but I really haven't dwelled on it. I've heard about placed like Texas and California and oh, I'd love to go to New Orleans, but—I don't know." She sat quietly, picking the leaves off of her wildflower and tossing them into the grass before adding thoughtfully: "Sometimes I wish I were a man."
"For heaven's sake, why?" It wasn't the first time that day when Scarlett's utterance took Rhett totally by surprise.
"Because you can do all these things. Come and go as you please. A man has freedom to do exactly as he wants."
"You could do it too—as a woman—with enough courage and you should go to all these places. Just think about the adventures a non-conformist like yourself could have there."
"A non what?"
"A non-conformist. Someone who doesn't do what everyone else does or says you should do."
"And are you an non-conformist?"
"Yes, I can proudly say that I am. My father expected me to fit into polite Charleston society and I couldn't do it, so he cast me out. I made my living on a riverboat and traveled out to California's gold fields in '49. I've seen a lot in my travels and I expect to see far more. I'm traveling back and forth to England quite a bit right now and will do so more often once the War starts."
"And do you do all this traveling…umm…alone?"
"Alone?" he raised his eyebrows at her question. "Why, yes. I often find it best to travel unencumbered, but it does get a bit lonely now and again. It is a nice thought to be able to share my travels with someone who appreciates it and loves adventure as much as I do," he explained thoughtfully, casting a sidelong glance at Scarlett to observe her reaction to his words.
"Have you ever been in love?" Scarlett asked boldly, effectively changing the subject. She even surprised herself. She was accustomed to playing her role of the coy ingénue. No lady ever asked such blatant questions of man she barely knew. Why it wasn't done, yet Scarlett did it and she didn't even hesitate to cover her mouth at her error of speech or blush at its personal nature.
"What a leading question! I see subtlety is not your strong suit." Yes, Rhett liked this girl. She didn't pussyfoot around like most women did. She came right out and said what she thought and he found it immensely refreshing. "Have I ever been in love? Hmm, I suppose that depends on what you interpret as love. In like or in lust, surely, but that heart-stopping, breathtaking kind of love where you think of one special woman all day and all night, you live for her and you can't get her out of your mind; the type of love that Shakespeare or the Brontë sisters write of, then no. I can't say that I've ever felt like that. What about you?"
"Hmm, I thought I was in love, but it certainly wasn't like you just described," she answered slowly, then added even more thoughtfully, "If that is love, then no." Their conversation fell silent while both sat quietly for a few moments, looking at the grass, the river, the horses, the sky, anything but each other. Scarlett was surprised that she admitted what was in her heart to a relative stranger. At this point yesterday, she was convinced that she was totally in love with Ashley Wilkes. Somehow, somewhere that had all changed and she realized her infatuation with Ashley for what it was, an idealized romantic dream of a fourteen-year old child. It bothered her only slightly to cast off that dream, much like she cast off old clothes that had gone out of style or had grown too small. Scarlett was the first to break the silence.
"We should be going. It's getting late." She got up from her resting place and climbed up into Sumter's saddle and started out of the woods with Rhett following closely on Dublin. Together, they fell into an easy trot.
"But you've been in like or should I say, in lust, with Ashley Wilkes?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm curious about my competition at today's barbeque."
"Your competition?"
"Yes, who will I have to compete with today for your company at the barbeque?"
"I am not a thing that can be won in a competition, Mr. Butler," said Scarlett firmly with a stern expression on her face.
"Oh, no!" he roared with laughter. "Come now, Scarlett. Tell the truth. You highly enjoy having men clamor for your favors and don't deny it. And someday, I hope to prove it to you."
"So are you asking me for a dance at tonight's ball?"
"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I'm not."
"You're what! Why you…!" She couldn't think of anything she could call him, but to think he was leading her on, flirting with her when, when—
"I can't ask for a dance, although I would love to dance with you. But I'm afraid, I have to leave for Atlanta this afternoon. I won't be staying for the ball this evening."
"Oh." Her voice fell as did her eyes.
"Dare I hope that you are disappointed?"
"Oh, don't presume!"
"Ah, well, I must admit, I'm sorely disappointed. I bet you're a beautiful dancer."
"Well, I guess you will never know, will you?"
"Alas, no, I will never get a chance to find out. Unless…well…er…What is stopping us from having a dance here?"
"Are you mad? Have you lost your mind?" Either he was crazy or she was. At this point, she couldn't be quite sure which was the case.
He climbed down from his horse and looped the reigns around a tree. He sauntered up to her and stared up at her, extending his hand to help her dismount Sumter. She simply sat there for a moment, returning his stare with a look of incredulity when she ignored his hand and dismounted on her own but seemingly against her will. They stood face to face, neither speaking, eyes locked, then Rhett bowed from the waist and offered her his hand.
"May I have this dance?"
"You are crazy." This was different, entirely different from any encounter she had with a potential beau in the county. There was something about this that made Scarlett feel unsure, hesitant and yet ever so alive. With all the county boys, she could always predict what would happen. If she said thus and so, they would respond with this or that. Then, depending on which response they provided, she would use it as her cue to respond as she was so carefully taught by her mother and Mammy. This encounter was not anything like those. She could make no predictions. There was no rulebook to follow here. Her oft-rehearsed responses didn't even come into play. Her mind was frantically searching for a response—something that would be appropriate—but nothing came to her. He wasn't acting like any of the county boys and she couldn't tell where this was going and the feeling was both frightening and absolutely exhilarating. Her hands went hot, cold and clammy and she wiped them nervously on her pant legs. She nervously looked up at him. He was smiling as though delighted as her flurry.
"Not crazy, miss, merely captivated by your beauty." He was mocking her, but she felt sure there was a grain of truth to his assertion.
He took Sumter's reigns and secured them to the tree, then turned back to Scarlett. They stood literally toe-to-toe and the difference in their heights became obviously apparent. At more than six feet tall, he towered over her diminutive form, as she was a good foot shorter. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist and standing alongside Scarlett, in her masculine wardrobe, the odd pair resembled a young boy out with his father.
"Shall we?" Rhett extended his hand and leaned closer to put his arm around Scarlett's waist.
"What are you doing? We don't have music! We don't have—"
"You know," he said, removing his panama hat and dropping it on the ground before raking his fingers through his hair, "I wager you're stalling because you don't know how to dance," he teased. "I mean, look at you. I've seen you three times and on two of those occasions you've been wearing pants."
Scarlett looked down at herself and back up at him and she burst out laughing, then tilted her chin up proudly. "So, you think I can't dance. Is that it? Sir, well, I am usually accustomed to dancing with my finest ball gown and—"
"Yes, yes, spare me the long explanation," he replied impatiently with a chuckle. "If you can dance, it doesn't matter what you're wearing only that you have a skilled dancing partner who knows all the steps."
"And you're such a skilled dancer?" Scarlett asked with some skepticism.
"More than adequate, my dear. In fact, I'll even provide the music. Do you know the song, Alice, Where Art Thou? No matter, I'll sing it anyway." And, so Rhett started to sing the first verse to the song in his deep baritone, as he slid his arm around Scarlett's waist and took her right hand in his. Once again, she was aware of the charge of electricity when their hands touched; the surge tingled up her arm and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. Without having a skirt to hold up in her left hand, she placed it tentatively on his arm. It was as if this man's touch sparked her skin to heightened sensitivity and she cast her eyes down and moved to his steps as his voice lulled her as he sang.
The birds sleeping gently,
Sweet Lyra gleameth bright;
Her rays tinge the forest,
And all seems glad tonight,
The wind's sighing by me,
Cooling my fever'd brow;
The stream flows as ever,
Yet Alice where art thou!
One year back this even,
And thou were by my side;
And thou wert by my side,
Vowing to love me,
One year past this even,
And thou wert by my side;
Vowing to love me
Alice what e'er might betide.
"Of course, I could substitute Scarlett for Alice. How would that be?" asked Rhett as the pair danced in the road as though they had danced together for years.
"You dance divinely, Mr. Butler."
"And, may I say that you are the most beautiful dancer I've ever held in my arms." His eyes ran over her appreciatively.
"Thank you, Mr. Butler."
Together, they both sang the second verse, their voices and steps becoming more confident as they each become more comfortable with one another.
The silver rain falling,
Just as it falleth now;
And all things slept gently!
Ah! Alice where art thou!
I've sought thee by lakelet,
I've sought thee on the hill,
And in the pleasant wildwood,
When winds blew cold and chill;
I've sought thee in forest,
I'm looking heav'nward now;
I'm looking heav'nward now
Oh! there, mid the starshine,
I've sought thee in forest,
I'm looking heav'nward now.
Oh! there amid the starshine,
Alice, I know art thou.
Their voices trailed off as the song to an end. Rhett bowed politely and Scarlett dropped into a curtsey.
"Thank you, Miss, that was a pleasure that I'll reflect back on this evening while sitting alone in my Atlanta hotel room.
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad I could oblige." Suddenly they both started laughing at their outrageous pretenses and Rhett comfortably took her hands in his, swinging them lightly.
"Oh, Scarlett, you are a joy!" he said sincerely, smiling so broadly that his eyes danced in appreciation and he chuckled warmly. She stood before him, savoring his praise, basking in it as if it was the sun that was warming her face and not his gaze alone. The look on her face made Rhett stop laughing. There was nothing funny about this moment.
How it all happened, neither one could say for sure, but suddenly Scarlett was in Rhett's arms and he was kissing her deeply, passionately. She pulled her head back and Rhett half expected to be on the receiving end of a fierce slap, but she only snaked her arms up around his neck while her eyes searched the planes and contours of his face. Gazing into the brilliant green depths of her eyes, Rhett leaned in to kiss her again. Tentative now that he held this marvelous creature securely in his arms. His mustache lightly grazed her face as he placed feather light kisses on her cheek, her chin and her nose before focusing once more on her red lips that trembled just a little and parted ever so slightly. His lips met hers and he savored the sweetness of her pouty lips. Her body became pliant and he could bend her to him, molding her to his chest, abdomen and thighs. She was so small, her waist so tiny—even without a corset—that his arms crossed over each other as he held her tightly against his body. Their kiss turned into two, three, four until they both lost count. Each was lost in the other, his scent, her taste, his hardness, and her softness, until they both melded into one.
Off in the distance Rhett heard a bell tolling eight times. "Umm," he said, as his lips moved from her to her neck and down her throat, "I always heard that in times of high passion one can hear bells ringing, but I always thought it was an old wives tale," he murmured.
"Umm," Scarlett replied as if waking up from a deep, slumber, then just as one crosses the bridge between dreams and reality and wakes with a start, Scarlett mind snapped to attention and no matter how wonderful Rhett's arms felt at that moment, cold, hard reality set in when she realized what the bells meant.
"God's nightgown! I've got to get back!"
"Wha—"
"That's the bell tolling the beginning of the workday for the field hands. Oh, my God! It's late!" Scarlett tore herself from his arms, climbed onto Sumter without any preamble and started galloping back from whence they came.
Still breathless from their encounter, Rhett shook his head in an effort to shirk the feeling that he really wanted savor and luxuriate in while sipping a brandy and smoking a cigar, but that was not to be the case. He'd have time this evening to conjure up a mental image of Scarlett and thumb through his memories of his visit to Tara like a favorite, timeworn book. For now, all he could do was gather what he could of his wits, jump onto Dublin and set off after her. He needed every minute of the ride back to Tara to compose himself and he only hoped Scarlett was able to do the same and return to the house undetected.