No preface, just a new chapter.
Enjoy reading!
I own nothing in regard to GWTW.
Chapter 10.
A couple of days later, Rhett and Bonnie were on their way in a hired carriage through Savannah to drive out of town to the cozy houses near the ocean. It was a place Rhett had been recommended to him by a good partner and when he heard of his wife's desire for privacy, he immediately found a way in.
"I hope she's having a good time here... I hope she doesn't feel lonely," Rhett thought, worrying about her.
In general, both he and Bonnie were very happy and excited. Bonnie could not keep still, twirling in all directions, and the maid, who had accompanied them to Savannah, was sent back to Atlanta. Rhett knew that Prissy would be there to help them with their daughter.
So Rhett had to gently reassure his daughter himself.
"Daddy, I'll see my mummy soon, won't I?"
Rhett only nodded and smiled. He was pretty excited himself, they hadn't seen each other in almost a month. A month where he longed for her, a month where he dreamed about her every night, a month where he counted the days.
"I'll talk to her today, without putting it off. I'll apologize for those words in the study. I'll try to talk her into a fresh start, for us and for the children. There was that night and everything she said to me. She wasn't faking it, so it's a chance." At the memory of that April night, he felt hot again, took off his hat and wiped his forehead with his handkerchief. He hadn't slept with anyone since that night, dreaming only of her. He didn't want to sleep with prostitutes for the sake of relieving tension, as he had learnt and remembered what it was like to share a bed with her and was no longer willing to settle for less. He needed his wife. Scarlett.
They arrived at their house almost at lunchtime, and as he helped Bonnie out of the carriage and then paid the coachman, Rhett felt everything inside him shaking with excitement. Here, now, now... A few more steps to the door with his daughter in his arms... A knock on the door... Now... Quick footsteps... Now... The door opens...
"Uncle Rhett! Bonnie!" came Wade's happy voice, and Rhett came into the hallway and set his daughter on the floor, and himself hugged Wade affectionately, saying, "Hello, son!"
Wade was embarrassed and timidly hugged him back, but then he heard another childish cry, "Daddy! Daddy's here! Bonnie!"
Rhett's heart quickened, as it always did, with the joy of hearing Ella called him "Daddy". Wade never got used to calling him that, Rhett suspected that Mammy had been strict about it herself in the beginning of their marriage to Scarlett. But, sweet Ella, whom he'd always considered his daughter, had gently but stubbornly continued to call him "Daddy", Mammy had wavered on that, and he glowed with joy when he heard it. Ella had been his daughter from the beginning.
He crouched down on one knee and affectionately hugged Ella, who had already run up to him. She trustingly hugged his neck in return.
"Ella, baby, I missed you so much!" he whispered.
Bonnie, having already hugged Wade, ran over to Ella and hugged her too.
"What about my mummy? Where's my mummy?" spoke Bonnie, twirling her head in all directions.
Scarlett didn't appear in the hallway, only Prissy smiling politely at him.
Taking Ella in his arms, Rhett stood up and while the girl held him affectionately by the neck, he smiled at Wade and asked, hiding the excitement in his voice, "Where's your mother, son?"
Wade smiled and said, "We ran out earlier with Prissy to change for lunch, Mummy should be here now, she's on the beach nearby."
Rhett nodded to his son and said, "I'll meet her then."
He set Ella gently on the floor, ran his hand affectionately through her soft curls, then told Prissy to change Bonnie out of the trip and went out, leaving his hat in the hallway.
In his white linen suit, he crossed the promenade and walked down to the beach, wondering how their meeting would happen. He was determined to kiss her, at least on the cheek. There was so much tenderness in his heart that he thought that if she looked at him she would realize everything at once. She would realize how much he loved her. How much he missed her.
As he approached the water, he saw a couple in the distance. A man and a woman. And as he looked closer, he froze in place, recognizing the young woman as his wife.
He saw her from a distance, she was saying goodbye to some man, shook his hand politely, and held up her straw hat against the strong wind.
It didn't help, the hat flew off her head and the man rushed after her and in a couple of seconds, handed it to her, smiling. He couldn't see her face, she was standing with her back to him, but jealousy quietly crept into his heart.
She shook his hand once more, turned and walked alone in his direction, looking thoughtfully at the hat in her hands.
"How she's changed," was his first thought and his heart hammered harder. Scarlett. It was his wife walking towards him. She looked so young and beautiful in her light white dress, with blue stripes, her hair were gathered only at the sides with combs.
He immediately remembered those dresses too, he remembered every single one of them, for they were part of his dream. To see them on her. And he did, but jealousy was quietly scratching at his soul again, whispering insistently, "You're not the only one who sees her like that."
His face took on an indifferent expression and when Scarlett looked up from her hat, she saw him. At first she couldn't believe her eyes, but, then she remembered the telegram. "So," she thought, "he's brought Bonnie... I wonder if he'll keep only her or stay too... I wish he'd stay with us too. I mean the children. The children miss him... I miss him," thoughts whirled around in her head as she approached him. He stood looking at her, impeccably dressed in his white suit, hands in his pockets. She came close enough to see the expression on his face and her heart sank. It was a detached look, so familiar. The look of a stranger. She suddenly wanted to run away. Or wish he wasn't here. While he was away, she lived in her own fantasy world, woven from memories. She somehow believed that something could change.
"God, I've been fooling myself," she thought bitterly, but she smiled strainedly as approached him.
"Hello, Rhett," he heard her soft voice and saw that she was trying to smile, but not trying to excuse herself.
He smiled crookedly and replied in an indifferent tone, "Scarlett, good afternoon! As I promised, I brought Bonnie, she's at the house with her brother and sister. I went to meet you, Wade said you were here."
Scarlett smiled at the thought of her youngest daughter being here, just around the corner and on impulse, gently touched his shoulder and said, "Thank you so much, Rhett. I really appreciate you bringing Bonnie and also sending me her drawings. You'll see they're on our dining room table," she spoke, and Rhett shuddered at her touch.
"Bonnie wanted to see her mother, I couldn't say no," he replied again in an indifferent tone and Scarlett closed her eyes for a second and turned her face to the water. The cold stranger, who for some reason was called her husband.
"Let's go inside, Rhett," she said without looking at him.
"Let's go," was his audible reply. And they walked at a distance, like two strangers, each going through his personal pain alone.
And now they were home, and again Scarlett was drowning in the scent of milk and honey that her youngest daughter smelled.
"Bonnie, baby," she only repeated as she hugged and kissed her daughter, somehow remembering all their separations and the last time they'd met at the study, when she'd carried another baby under her heart. A wanted baby.
"Bonnie, I missed you so much... My Sweetheart... Little princess..." she repeated, not noticing a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Mummy, why are you crying?" asked Bonnie quietly, not understanding why her mummy wasn't laughing with joy.
"It's from happiness, baby," she whispered quietly to her before anyone could hear, and Bonnie wondered.
"Did you like my drawings Mummy?"
"Yes Honey, come on, I'll show them to you, they made us happy every day," Scarlett said affectionately and they walked from the hallway, into the parlour where the others were waiting for them.
Rhett was losing his temper more and more, but he hid it skilfully.
He saw the flowers on the table! The white lilies that Scarlett had brought into the living room from her bedroom the day before. She was afraid to admit it to herself, but the fragrance of them brought back such memories and dreams that she woke up in a sweat, with her cheeks red.
He saw the flowers on the table in a vase and asked with feigned indifference, "Flowers? From where?"
Scarlett, who had just entered the room with Bonnie only replied calmly, "They were given to me couple days ago."
"You have a new admirer here, don't you, my pet?" he asked wryly, trying to mask his irritation. A strange man was giving her flowers! And not just any flowers, but the ones that had been associated with them in New Orleans. The ones he'd bought up mountains of them from street vendors and their entire room was drowning in them. They drowned in that fragrance. They made love in that fragrance. "Why the hell them," Rhett thought to himself.
Scarlett did not notice his annoyance, but said, "We were in Savannah the other day, and I was meeting with my relatives on my father's side."
"And we met Lizzy!" said Ella cheerfully, and added, "Bonnie, she'll like you! Mummy, is Uncle James bringing Lizzy here?" she asked cheerfully.
"Yes, Ella, James promised to bring her here the other day, to walk with us."
"James?" said Rhett questioningly, looking into her eyes.
Scarlett calmly endured his stare, not understanding the reason, and replied, "Yes, James, he lives nearby, our neighbour. We all go for walks together. He has a daughter who's visiting his parents in Savannah. He's a journalist who works in Chicago," Scarlett told him trustingly, not noticing the dangerous lights in Rhett's eyes.
Rhett just nodded and thought to himself, "So, James... And not a word about his wife... And how that woman managed to get herself another admirer. And in front of the children..."
Rhett tried to stop himself, realizing that this was not the voice of common sense, but the voice of his emotions, but it was hard to do so.
They were about to set the table, it was lunch time and Scarlett, leaving the living room again called out to him as he looked wistfully out the window.
"Rhett?"
"Yes," he said absent-mindedly, turning his head from the window.
"Your things... They're in the bedroom up there," Scarlett said, embarrassed. God, how she hated this situation. At times she felt like if she could go back in time and correct one mistake, this would be that conversation. She had been so upset with her figure after giving birth, so unsure of herself, feeling unattractive and it seemed like the past pregnancy had been the problem. But the way the whole conversation unfolded. And Ashley... She sighed heavily, what's done is done...
"Rhett," she muttered again, "Bonnie, we need to place her as well..."
"No need, Scarlett," he interrupted her sharply. "Bonnie sleeps in the nursery now and is very proud of it," he muttered with a slight sadness. Scarlett, however, smiled and said, "Really? That's good news, Rhett! I'm proud of our little girl," she said.
That phrase cut Rhett to the heart, he had always been pleased at the thought of them having a child together. But, a memory of a different kind rang through his mind, "No woman would want children with a cad like you!"
He flinched and saw her looking at him with a soft smile. He only nodded at her and Scarlett was already turning to leave the room when the question caught up with her, "Scarlett, where is James' wife?"
She looked intently into his eyes and answered in one word, "Dead."
Rhett froze, but only nodded in response, and Scarlett quickly left the parlour.
At the table, Rhett talked with the older children, Ella wanted to sit close to him and Bonnie next to her mother. The girls missed their parents, and Wade only smiled at them in turn.
Rhett eyed his wife with suspicion, but still his heart was glad that her appetite had returned, that she was eating her portions again, that her cheeks had turned pink.
The image of the other man beside her was still running through his mind, but he tried not to jump to any quick conclusions.
The first tension subsided, and Rhett even began to joke with the children, the mask falling from his face, and Scarlett, seeing that he was no longer looking at her with cold eyes, calmed down a little.
"Maybe he won't bring up the question of divorce right now," she thought as she watched him reading a new book to the children in the evening. She sat with them in the parlour, though earlier she would have preferred to retire to her room.
Bonnie wanted to sit on her mother's lap, and it was only seven o'clock in the evening, but she was tired from the road, had missed her afternoon nap, and was playing vigorously with her brother and sister in the afternoon, so that the whole house was in an uproar.
The baby sat on her lap, yawning and rubbing her eyes, and Scarlett could see that Bonnie needed to be tucked in. At her gentle question about sleep, Bonnie frowned belligerently and said she wasn't tired.
"How about if I tuck you in tonight, baby?" asked Scarlett affectionately and Bonnie looked at her with sleepy eyes and hesitantly nodded. Her mummy had never put her to bed before, this was exciting.
"Mummy, but I want to sleep at your bed tonight," Bonnie said as they changed and she showed her to the cot in the nursery. Rhett left the book with Wade and went up to help his wife. Bonnie could be cranky, and he knew Scarlett had no patience.
Scarlett looked at Rhett, who was standing in the doorway to the nursery, wearing only a shirt and light-coloured trousers. For a second she remembered the dreams that had plagued her for the past couple of nights and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Bonnie," Rhett said gently to his daughter, "you're sleeping in the nursery now. Remember how you wanted to make Mummy proud of you?"
"But I only want tonight, Daddy! Just tonight with Mummy."
"Okay Bonnie," nodded Scarlett, "come with me." And taking the little girl by the hand, she took her into her bedroom and laid her on her bed. She had never put her daughter to bed like this before.
Rhett decided not to disturb them and went down to the older children. They started reading again, then Wade told them about their trip to visit his mother's relatives. Ella sat next to Rhett and sometimes shared her thoughts, but she yawned quietly. He stroked her hair affectionately, quietly telling Wade a story, and he felt at peace. They were all together, side by side, if only he and Scarlett would talk. If only she didn't have any more obscure "friends" around her. He sighed, then called Prissy quietly and taking Ella in his arms, they went upstairs to get ready for bed.
Leaving the children in the nursery with Prissy and wishing them goodnight, Rhett walked curiously to the ajar door of his wife's bedroom. He peeked in and froze in place. It was a picture from his dreams. Their young daughter, his wife cradling her affectionately in his arms, both asleep on the bed. Scarlett had probably fallen asleep tucking Bonnie in herself. He quietly walked to one side of the bed, stroked his daughter's hair. Then he walked over to Scarlett and watched her sleep peacefully, her breast heaving slowly, her features relaxed, her one arm around her daughter as if afraid she would disappear. Rhett reached out and ran his hand gently through her hair. He decided he would talk to her tomorrow.
But after breakfast, Rhett didn't have time to talk to his wife, as they were going for a walk. "There's not really much to do around here, Rhett," she explained to him, fixing her hair while looking in the mirror. "We either walk with the children or go to Savannah. We can show Bonnie the beach today, is that okay with you?"
Rhett nodded and said, "Can I keep you company?"
Scarlett looked at him with surprise and only replied, "Sure."
When they got to the beach and Rhett was furtively admiring his wife in one of those "Mediterranean" dresses, he heard Ella say loudly, "Mummy, look, Uncle James is coming." Scarlett turned around and waved hello to a man in a light beige suit who was heading their way.
Rhett tensed. James stepped closer to them, said hello to Scarlett, asked her something quietly and walked over to Rhett.
"Good afternoon, Mr Butler," he said, extending his hand and Rhett shook it firmly.
They exchanged a couple of polite phrases and Rhett stepped aside. Scarlett somehow walked over to James and began to tell him about her youngest daughter, but he listened inattentively, only nodding. James looked closely at Rhett and realized that the atmosphere was tense. Finally, James turned to Scarlett, interrupting her story.
"Scarlett, aren't you going to have a problem?" asked James calmly, looking away at Rhett who was near the children and talking to Ella.
"I don't understand you James," said Scarlett perplexed, "what do you mean?"
James smiled slightly, this clever woman was ridiculously naive at times.
"I'm talking about your spouse, Scarlett. He seems very tense."
Scarlett looked with even more surprise at Rhett and then at James.
"What makes you think that? He doesn't care who I hang out with, James and hasn't for a long time," she said.
James smiled slightly and said, "You're very naive, Scarlett. Now... Look what I'm going to show you. Come a little closer to me and here, look at my notebook as if you're reading something."
Scarlett looked at him in surprise, but moved closer to him and leaned into the notebook. Their shoulders were almost touching, and strands of her hair from the wind were almost touching James' cheek.
"Now Scarlett, look carefully at your husband. Look at the way he clenched his hands into fists, barely glancing in our direction. Is that the behaviour of an indifferent man, Scarlett?"
Scarlett was shocked to see all that James was talking about. Moving slightly away from him she looked at Rhett once more. He caught her gaze only nodded slightly, smiling crookedly.
Scarlett looked at James again in surprise, but he smiled and said, "You're going to tell me your spouse always tells you the truth again, aren't you? Come closer to them Scarlett, I don't want to be challenged to a duel," he joked and as he tucked the notebook away in his pocket he smiled slightly.
Rhett was quietly furious, jealousy creeping into his heart, his soul, his mind, preventing him from thinking clearly. He was angry at himself for letting her go to Savannah, for running around like a boy with those letters and drawings, and she'd already had a new admirer and was talking to him so openly! Not hiding from him or the children!
He didn't know what else to call those relationship. Another "friendship". What the hell was that woman doing! He won't let her treat him like that! They will go home and there they will talk! He'll tie her up if he has to, but she'll listen to him! Damn, he's her husband for now!
"What an idiot I am!" he pondered as he paced around the living room, waiting for Scarlett to come down from the children, she was helping them to change after their walk on the beach. He decided that he would go to the railway station now! Now!
Rhett didn't notice her quietly enter the living room, he was looking out the window. Scarlett decided to tell him more about James, about Gladys, she thought he would be happy for her.
"Rhett," he heard a soft voice behind him, and felt her hand touch his shoulder lightly with her own. He closed his eyes for a second, sighed, and turned to her. Scarlett recoiled, noticing that familiar steely gleam in his eyes. She took a step back. And Rhett went on the offensive.
"Scarlett, I think your holidays have gone on long enough. It's time to get back to Atlanta, the house, the shop, Bonnie, everything needs your attention," he said sharply.
Her eyes lit up dangerously, but she said calmly, "I'm hardly ready to go back, Rhett. And you could always leave Bonnie..."
"I'm not leaving my daughter here, in this company! So we're going back, Scarlett."
She looked at him questioningly, but said in a serious tone, "You don't have to tell me what to do."
"I'll go and buy tickets for the bloody train, now. And we're going home," he said angrily.
"I won't do that, Rhett," she said sternly.
"I'm your husband," was his reply.
"That's an easy thing to change," was her clear answer.
"You could have gone to Tara, to Charleston, finally! But you came here and not a month later you're being followed by another 'friend', aren't you Scarlett?" he said wryly.
"You're out of your mind, Rhett. Yes, can you imagine, there are those who are interested in just being friends with me. Talking to me, listening to me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Darling!"
"You shouldn't have come, Rhett."
"Of course I did, I disturbed your idyll. I'm sorry, you still have a daughter, if you remember."
"You're the one who didn't let her come here with me! It was you!"
Scarlett was almost crying, she didn't have the energy to argue with him. She was just learning to breathe again.
"Answer me Scarlett, why didn't you stay in Tara? That's where you belong! Why didn't you stay there?"
She instinctively put a hand on her belly and answered quietly, "Because."
"Why?"
"Because!"
"Answer me, why the hell not?"
"Because!! Because my sister's expecting a baby, you know?! She's expecting a baby! A baby! And I..."
She blushed with anger, but forced the tears not to flow. Without looking at his stunned face, she just walked quickly out of the parlour and he heard how she went up the stairs to her room and closed the door.