Hello, Dear readers! :)
Recently in one of the prefaces I promised a "bonus story", about five chapters. And as it happens, I already have part of it written.
It's absolutely not in my rules to write two works in parallel, but I comfort myself with the fact that this one has only five chapters (I really hope so, no more!) So I decided to post it.
The first chapter is already here.
I will be glad to read your thoughts and comments. Enjoy reading!:)
I own nothing in regard to GWTW.
Chapter 1.
The train carried the young woman with a determined gleam in her eyes further and further away from Atlanta toward Charleston.
Scarlett O'Hara did not admit defeat and two months after her husband's hasty and bitter departure, she decided to go to him to talk. To try to explain. To ask for forgiveness. To ask for a chance for their family. To win him back.
A new dress had been sewn and packed, yes she was in mourning for her sister-in-law and little daughter, but for the private conversation she hoped to have with him, it was possible to dress in this dark green silk dress, with a deep neckline.
Yes, she was pale, but she was no longer drinking alcohol, she was forcing herself to eat again to be healthy for the sake of her two children, who walked sad shadows around the big mansion, which made her heart ache all the more. They all needed each other, she thought. Rhett needed her, she needed him, the children needed them. They had to go through this storm together as a family.
As Scarlett rode the train, nervous, she kept thinking through her speech and her plan of action in general.
She would arrive in Charleston on Saturday afternoon, check into the hotel, and send a note to Aunt Eulalie, asking her to arrange a meeting with Mrs Butler, to get to know her better, to talk, to ask her advice. Then she would try to go to their house, and her mother-in-law would probably ask her to spend a few days at their house, and there they could talk to Rhett. She would try to be sincere and confide in him. She just wanted a chance. One chance for their family. A real one.
Charleston was unfriendly as she waited for the carriage, the wind was freezing and Scarlett was glad she hadn't brought the children with her, they could have caught a cold in that wind.
Mammy had come from Tara to stay with them for a few days. Scarlett remembered the unhappy look on the old maid's face as she saw her mistress off, but there was nothing she could do about it, because she knew that her "lamb was very stubborn" and only counted on her discretion and that of Mr Rhett.
As Scarlett drove to the hotel, she had already mentally thought out the text of the note to her aunt. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon and she planned to check in, have dinner, take a hot bath and go to bed, and wait for her aunt's reply in the morning.
Smiling charmingly at the porter behind the counter, she immediately wrote a short message and asked him to take it to the address. Scarlett knew that Eulalie often went to her mother-in-law's house for tea and prayed that her message would reach in time to catch her at home.
After going up to her room on the second floor, ordering dinner and wishing a pleasant evening to the smiling porter who showered her with compliments, Scarlett took off her gloves, hat and cape and sank tiredly onto the velvet sofa. The journey and constant worry had worn her down and she tiredly closed her eyes.
"It won't all be for nothing, you need to calm down Scarlett," she told herself as her bath was being prepared.
She thought about their future meeting with her husband while she was taking her bath, while she was brushing her wet hair afterwards, while she was dressing in her white silk nightgown.
Going to bed that night she was as confident as she had been long ago before the ill-fated barbecue. Scarlett decided that victory would be on her side, because Rhett couldn't fall out of love with her so quickly, he just needed to help her remember those feelings and the new dress would help her do that.
The night passed uneasily for her, she slept badly in unfamiliar places, though on silk sheets. She felt uncomfortable and dreams, those disturbing dreams, haunted her, preventing her from getting a good night's rest. She awoke several times during the night and did not fall soundly asleep until dawn.
Nevertheless, habit prevailed and Scarlett woke up around eight by herself. She got up and began to tidy herself up in the bathroom, brushed her long hair, tangled after sleep, washed her face with cold water, rinsed her mouth.
Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, she saw a pale, attractive young woman, with small shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep.
"The shadows can be hidden," she thought to herself, but she was distracted by a knock at the door.
Scarlett threw on a dark green silk dressing gown over her nightgown, went through the room and opened the door, hoping to see the smiling face of the porter, but what she saw was a large and menacing male figure.
She recoiled and whispered, "Rhett..."
He stood tall before her, in his grey wool suit and grey hat, his gaze serious and dangerous, and a smile playing on his lips. "An unkind smile," flashed across her mind.
"Won't you invite me in, My Dearest Wife?"
Scarlett's throat was dry, she wanted a meeting, but on her own terms. She had a new dress, after all. And here she was, barely having washed her face and combed her hair.
"Come in," she muttered confusedly.
He entered the room, barely glancing at her, but as she slowly closed the door and furtively looked in the mirror, he took in her entire figure with his eyes. Her seductive curves, that dressing gown that only emphasised them, the revealing cleavage, and that loose hair of hers... God, just looking at her made him horny in a way that hadn't happened to him in a long time.
"Bloody hell," he thought to himself and, taking off his hat, stood at the window with his arms crossed over his chest.
Scarlett decided to start the conversation amicably, not to argue, because she loved this man and wanted him back in her life and the lives of her children.
"Rhett," she addressed him politely, with a slight smile, "what a pleasant surprise, why are you here?"
"Can I ask the same of you, Darling? Why the hell did you come to Charleston, Scarlett?" he began the conversation at once rude and attacking. Scarlett bristled and replied wryly, "Do I have to ask your permission if I want to go somewhere?"
"Yes, if you want to go somewhere where you can find me or my family! What's this trick about writing a note to your aunt and wanting to meet my mother? She doesn't know anything about you and she doesn't need to know!"
Scarlett got even more angry at the hurtful words and defiantly asked, "Why is that? I'm her daughter-in-law! Your wife."
"On the papers, Darling, only on the papers. You don't give a damn about my mother and you always have!" he replied with irritation.
Scarlett looked at him resentfully and thought that no one ever appreciated what she did. But, she might as well remind him.
"Maybe I didn't care about your mother, Rhett, but that's because you never introduced us over the years and hid me like a person with the plague. But just remember that when I worked in those damn sawmills after the war, when I came home cold and lonely and drowned my pain in brandy secretly from everybody, I sent cheques here to Charleston so that my relatives, and yours, would have food on the table," she finished her speech in a calm tone, but there was a metallic note in her voice.
He was silent, seeming to think for a moment, then said with a cold smile, "I can write you a cheque for all those amounts? Would you like it?"
It felt like a slap and Scarlett said proudly, "Not everything is bought in this world."
"Everything, as practice shows. So, Scarlett, for what it's worth, I forbid you to see any members of my family! Go back to Atlanta, Darling!" he finished his speech angrily.
"You have no right to force..." she began to raise her voice, blushing, and her eyes lit up with a desperate gleam, but he interrupted her sharply, "I have, Darling! I don't want to let you into a family that you'll soon no longer be a part of ," he cut him off gruffly.
Scarlett looked at him fiercely, resentfully, her hand reached for the table by the velvet sofa, fumbled for the crystal ashtray, and with all her might, she threw it against the wall, past Rhett, shouting, "I hate you!"
Rhett stared at her and his insides burned. Ever since the time they met each other, he'd often had the same dream where she'd given herself to him in that very library, after she'd sent Ashley Wilkes to hell. On that very sofa.
Now, in the hotel room, it all came together for him at one point, a point of supreme tension that needed to be released.
It was her. His woman. With an angry fire in her eyes and her hair loose like a siren. It was her. Her breasts heaving hard and fast, her dressing gown loose, the seductive neckline of her nightgown barely covering her breasts. And that velvet sofa she was standing by.
He didn't hesitate a second longer. With the agility of a predator, he caught up to her and pulled her against him, grabbing her waist, his lips already searching for hers.
She tried to push him away with the words, "Go away!"
But he pulled her tighter against him and kissed her neck with his hot lips, making her shiver with excitement and anticipation.
"Go away." again he heard the muffled whisper, and with one movement he tore the dressing gown from her shoulders.
"Go away..." he heard a faint protest, paralleling the shedding of his jacket and feeling her hands dive under his shirt and burn him.
"Come to me..." he heard her hot whisper as he laid her down on that velvet sofa and a moment later lay down next to her.
The hot and greedy kisses drowned out the whispers that were getting quieter and quieter, while her moans grew louder, his movements faster. He could barely hear his voice from the side, "Scarlett... My... Love..." trying to merge deeper with her. Everything was leading to the vivid release they both wanted.
Their heavy and frequent breathing, her head on his chest, his trembling hands and the silence in which they lay afterwards.
Scarlett felt happiest at that moment. He loved her. Her. He wanted her. They were going to be all right.
Rhett lay there with one thought in his head, "Damn it all!" He didn't want to fall back into that relationship trap. He was scared by his dependence on her, scared by the intense feelings, scared by the caring. But he didn't want to go there again...
"For us, it starts now," Scarlett thought and with a slight smile ran her hand down his chest.
"For us, it ends now," he decided and gently but firmly pushed her hand away and then stood up himself.
She watched him search for his trousers, put them on, as he frantically buttoned his shirt without looking her in the eye and remained silent. That silence frightened her. "Even whores are worthy of words" she thought, and she stood up too, adjusting her nightgown and looking for her dressing gown. Suddenly, she wanted to cover herself.
She decided she was braver and watching him put on his jacket, she called out to him quietly, "Rhett..."
She heard a cold and metallic reply, "Yes, Scarlett..."
"Don't go now, we need to talk," she heard herself as if from outside and she didn't like her voice. It sounded too thin, too confused.
"We have nothing to talk about. I apologize, Darling, you've knocked me off my feet again with your charms," he said clearly, looking at her with a detached look, and then he adjusted the lapels of his jacket.
She flinched, but decided not to back down, "You said you loved me... Now..."
"That's not love, Scarlett. It's lust. You're very seductive, My Dear," he was telling her, trying to end the conversation faster and go away.
She looked at him confused and didn't know what to say. It wasn't like that. It was awful.
"I don't love you, Scarlett," he said clearly into the silence of the room
"It's not funny, Rhett," he heard her quiet voice and saw the desperate glint in her green eyes.
"Life isn't a comedy at all, Scarlett, more like a tragedy. Sometimes a drama," he said and felt the scalding clap of her palm against his cheek.
"You used me!" she said suddenly with despair and disgust.
"Don't play the victim, Scarlett. You wanted this as much as I did, and I didn't take you by force. The difference is, you're experiencing some feelings that I'm not. I'm sorry, Darling, I'm just a husband who has a right to sleep with his wife," he replied, hating himself. But, this knot had to be cut now.
"I will divorce you!" she suddenly cried out in despair and realized that tears of humiliation were coming to her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and repeated, "I'll divorce you, Rhett Butler!"
He only grinned and said, "Try me," looking her in the eye.
"Get out of here, get out of here!" she screamed at him, feeling the tears creep closer and closer. "I hate you and I will hate you until the day I die!"
"I've heard a similar speech somewhere before," he said thoughtfully and grinned. Then he bowed slightly and quickly left the room, slamming the door. Scarlett sat down on the damn sofa in despair and wept bitterly.
Rhett walked further and further away from the hotel he had just loved her in.
He could still feel the taste of her lips on his and tried not to stop and think, or he knew he'd turn around and go back to her and be on his knees apologizing for that awful scene at the end. For those disgusting words. No, he had to cut the knot now, and it was better if she was angry and hated him. They would both feel better, soon enough.
Walking through the streets of Charleston this morning, heading toward the waterfront to get some sea air and calm down, Rhett kept catching himself wondering if he'd made the biggest mistake he'd ever make, the one he'd regret for the rest of his life.