To the end of her days, Scarlett would never know how she got through that interminable night. She had been distraught when she had found herself alone in the dark. Her strength waning, she had cried weakly for Melanie and fallen into an exhausted dreamless sleep, still clutching the handkerchief with strained, grasping fingers. She woke with a start as daylight streamed into her room. Her head was pounding with headache, and her breathing felt strangely obstructed. Her entire body seemed dull and leaden as though she would never be able to move again. "I must be sick," she thought to herself. "I'll get Mammy to draw me a nice hot bath and then I'll . . . ". But then her eyes fell upon the rumpled little cloth in her hand, and the events of the night before came flooding back to her consciousness. She bolted upright in bed, oblivious to her aches and pains. She stared wonderingly at the handkerchief in her hand. Carefully, Scarlett unfolded the delicate cloth and smoothed out the wrinkles. Melanie had really come to her—she had not imagined it.
Hard-headed and practical, Scarlett did not concern herself with the metaphysical question of Melanie's appearance. She had been raised after all in the church and been subject to countless stories of deceased saints making timely visitations to their earthly counterparts in times of crisis. The Catholic teachings of her youth had begat a deeply superstitious side to Scarlett's character, one more fundamental to her nature than her religious upbringing. No, what was important was that after all that had transpired, Melanie had forgiven her. And as liberating as that was, still more astounding was the fact that Melanie had encouraged her to not give up hope about Rhett. There is a chance for you and Captain Butler to be happier than you've ever been—that was what Melanie had said.
Scarlett rapidly thought through the events of the wedding ceremony. Two things emerged from the memory: Rhett's unabashed love for her, and the solemnity and permanence of the vows she had so carelessly made. The words, ". . . to promise to love and cherish . . . to be true to . . . from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part" echoed through her mind. That was what Melly meant, she thought. She had promised; Rhett had promised; they both had promised to love each other for better or for worse. For better or for worse. Surely, it was at such a terrible time as this that the mettle of that promise would be tested. There is a way for us to love each other through all of this, even through the loss of affection and feeling, Scarlett mused. The question was how. She, Scarlett, was willing to try given the realization of her love for Rhett, but would Rhett ever think to honor the promises he had made in light of his avowal that he no longer cared for her, in view of his stated intention to leave Atlanta for good? And supposing Rhett did stay by some miracle, could she, Scarlett, live with him knowing that he was staying not out of genuine love for her but in order to fulfill a duty? Scarlett suddenly felt depressed, crushed by the weight of these ruminations.
With a Herculean effort, Scarlett forced herself out of bed. She summoned a maid to draw a bath. She caught a glimpse of herself in the glass and gazed dully at her reflection. Her face was white and peaked; her eyes were swollen from crying and had dark shadows under them. Heavens, I look a fright, she thought to herself. She quickly went through her toiletries, selected a black mourning dress from her overflowing closet, and had her maid help her put it on. She meant to hurry as soon as she could to begin arrangements for Melanie's funeral. She faltered slightly, feeling her strength and resolve draining away at the thought of seeing Melanie in repose. She sat down on the bed to wipe away her tears and regain her composure.
A sudden bustle and commotion in the front hallway announced the arrival of Wade and Ella on the heels of the hapless Prissy. Scarlett stopped dead in her tracks. She had forgotten all about Wade and Ella. How on earth was she going to tell them about Melanie? There was no putting it off now or thinking about it later. Scarlett took a deep breath, opened the door of her room, and resolutely stepped into the hall. The two were arguing about something; Wade had a superior, knowing look on his face, and Ella was on the verge of tears. They stopped their bickering in mid-sentence when they saw their mother on the landing.
She cleared her throat and tried to assume a bright tone to her voice. "Darlings, Mother is sorry she had to leave you yesterday so suddenly. Won't you be angels and come into the nursery right this minute? Mother needs to talk to you about something...something very important." The children obediently trotted up the stairs and made their way to the nursery; Scarlett with a heavy heart trailed behind.
Still with no thought of how she was going to break the news to her children, Scarlett sat down on the settee. "Come, give Mother a hug," she said, stalling for time. Wade and Ella came over and gave Scarlett a perfunctory embrace. Scarlett took their hands in hers, gesturing to them to sit down on either side of her. Despite her best effort at normalcy, she could feel her voice starting to break. She bit her lower lip. "Darlings, I need you to be brave. Can you be very brave for Mother? It's about your Aunt Melly. You see, your Auntie Melly...your Auntie...she..." Scarlett's voice faltered. She cleared her throat and tried again. "The reason Mother had to come home so suddenly yesterday was that your Auntie Melly...she..." Scarlett bowed her head. The tears began to fall, and she could not make herself go on. She did not see Rhett's tall figure at the door of the nursery and was startled when his voice spoke.
"Auntie Melly went to heaven yesterday," he said gently. "Auntie hasn't been well—you know that—and God decided that she would be much happier and stronger in heaven than here. If you could just see her now, you would see that she is the brightest, most beautiful angel that there ever was. You would be so happy if you could just see how beautiful and strong and healthy she is." Scarlett glanced at her children's faces. They were in shocked disbelief at what they had just heard. Rhett walked over, knelt down, and without a word took both of them in his arms. Without reservation, they threw their arms around his neck, sobbing brokenly, burying their faces against his chest.
"She's never...coming back?" Ella's tiny pinched voice was muffled.
"Auntie's gone to heaven to take care of Bonnie! Isn't that right, Uncle Rhett?" At Wade's brave pronouncement, a sorrowful shadow crossed Rhett's face. Scarlett felt an almost physical stab of pain in her side as she always did when she thought of Bonnie.
"Yes, that's just what I was going to say. Auntie has gone to heaven to take care of Bonnie. She'll take such good care of her, I'm certain of that." Rhett spoke with the apparent seriousness that he always did when he conversed with the children. Scarlett looked at Rhett in silent gratitude. What a wonderful father he was to Wade and Ella—how loving and caring he was to them. And how truly kind he was to step in and tell the children about Melanie—to do for her what she could not do herself.
"Auntie Melly will watch over you, too. She loved you both so much. We won't be able to see her, but that's what angels do—they take care of their loved ones here on earth. We are all going to have to be extra strong because Uncle Ashley and Beau are going to have a very hard time of it. Can you take care of Beau and look after him and be especially kind to him?" Through her own tears, Scarlett could see her children's heads nodding in mute assent to Rhett's request.
With painful regret, she thought about how Rhett had held her in his arms just a few short hours before when she had woken up in terror from her dreams. How could she ever have had eyes for anyone else? How could she have been married to him, lived alongside of him, borne his child, and still have been so blind to all of his best qualities? Ashamed, Scarlett's mind recalled the countless times that Rhett had helped her and rescued her throughout their long history without her ever once having even thanked him.
The children stayed in Rhett's arms for some time until they were summoned to the dining room. Rhett remained sitting on the floor of the nursery, rubbing muscles that had grown stiff during his prolonged embrace of the children. He doesn't love you or care for you anymore, Scarlett told herself severely. She needed to always remember that. But she did not forget her resolution to be honest with him. "Thank you, Rhett," she said, acknowledging for the first time in words her gratitude for all the kindnesses he had shown her throughout the years. "I just...couldn't find the words to tell them, but...thank you for always being such a good father to them."
"They deserve better than either of us, "Rhett said gruffly, "but I'll always do my best by them."