Scarlett looked up as Rhett entered the dining room, surprised to find he had not yet changed into his travelling clothes. Instead he was casually attired in only a shirt, trousers, and a pair of scruffy, black shoes. Rhett strode so confidently across the floor, however, one would have thought he was wearing the finest, most expensive of suits.

He slid into the chair next to hers, his sardonically raised eyebrow the only indication that he had noticed the alteration in seating arrangements.

'Why aren't you dressed yet, Rhett?'

'Don't fuss. There's still plenty of time for that,' he replied easily, leaning back in his chair as if he didn't have a care in the world, less still a train to catch in little over an hour.

He tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling, and Scarlett caught sight of a nasty-looking bruise on his neck. Her eyes bulged as she realised she had been the one to put it there, her night-time exuberance returning to mock her in the unforgiving light of morning. She saw now that his shirt was the same one she'd clung to in the early hours, the crumpled white fabric standing out in sharp relief to his swarthy skin.

Mortified, Scarlett quickly averted her eyes down to her lap. What on earth was Rhett playing at? Was this supposed to be a parting shot? One last jibe before he hit the road? He could play silly games to his heart's content, Scarlett had grown too old for such frippery. Defiantly, she raised her head and looked him squarely in the eye, ready to meet his mocking gaze with the disdain it deserved.

Only Rhett wasn't looking at her with contempt. His eyes shined, silently daring her to join in the fun.

It was the same look he'd worn after riling up Atlanta's esteemed citizens by criticising their beloved Cause. Once he had whisked them up into a frothing fury, he would always glance back at Scarlett, eager to share the joke with her. He'd been searching for a sidekick, she realised now. No, more than that, he'd wanted a friend. Someone who understood him and matched him and loved him. Someone he could always count on to have his back.

He'd have been better off befriending a rattlesnake, Scarlett thought glumly, for even that poisonous beast wouldn't have turned on him as devastatingly as she had. Time and again, she had resisted his invitations to play. She'd ignored his earnest entreaties, preferring to cling to the very system that oppressed her.

But not today.

What use was there in pretending to be above such simple pleasures? In pursuing the impossible dream of becoming a great lady? Melly and Scarlett's mother had been the only two genuinely pure souls she'd ever known and both had been made to suffer for it. They had sacrificed their health for the sake of unworthy sinners, and what was their reward? To have their lives cut brutally short while scoundrels and vagabonds got to grow old in their wake. It wasn't fair.

Nor was it the fate Scarlett wanted for herself. Throwing caution to the wind, she smiled back at Rhett. Shock and pleasure bloomed across his cheeks as he took in her expression.

'Conspirators at last,' he chuckled ruefully.

Scarlett laughed, the sound catching in her throat when Rhett stared her straight in the eye and rubbed over the crimson bruise on his neck.

'Are you quite well, my dear?' he asked. 'You seem a little flustered.'

His voice cracked on the last word, unable to hold back his laughter.

Seeing as he looked more like a teasing child than a concerned husband, Scarlett replied stiffly, 'I'm quite well, thank you, just a little tired.'

Her words only amused him further, the muscle in Rhett's jaw straining with the effort of containing his mirth.

'Were you up late last night? Don't worry, my pet, I'm sure a bite to eat will help replenish your depleted strength.'

'You're not half as clever as you think you are,' Scarlett groused.

Rhett held his hands up in mock surrender. 'Don't snap at me again, Scarlett. I beg you. My poor neck can't take much more.'

Rolling her eyes, Scarlett nonetheless appreciated his show of levity. She'd been worrying about her exploits all morning, and was grateful to discover that Rhett thought no less of her for them.

As the clock in the hallway struck eight, Scarlett was pulled out of her good mood by the imminence of Rhett's departure.

'Shouldn't you go and get dressed?' she asked, in no rush for him to leave, but not wanting to sour their last moments by having him think she was plotting to delay him. 'Only if the train leaves...'

'Are we expecting company, my dear?' he asked, interrupting her.

'Not that I know of. Why do you ask?'

'I was wondering what had inspired the sudden change in seating arrangements.'

Scarlett flinched, expecting a lecture on the consequences of underhanded behaviour, when Rhett surprised her by launching into a light-hearted monologue.

'You know, your desire to sit so far away left me feeling terribly insecure, Scarlett,' he said, folding his face up into the perfect picture of wounded vanity. 'I used to spend hours in the bathroom before meals, fearing it was my hygiene that was scaring you away - never have I been so thoroughly clean in all my life!'

Scarlett frowned. That wasn't right. It was Rhett who'd decided to sit apart from her, so why was he pretending otherwise? She wanted to question him, but couldn't think of a way to do so without bringing up her prior request for separate bedrooms, and that sorry debacle was the last thing she wanted to discuss right now.

His teasing countenance was confusing her no end. After years of living with his cantankerous replacement, Scarlett did not know how to handle the sudden return of Rhett's formerly charming self. Shedding the misery that had shrouded him for so long, he seemed to have rediscovered his ability to smile along with his tendency to view the world as nothing more than one great big glorious joke to which only he was smart enough to know the punch-line.

Deep down, she knew that it must be an act. Too much pain had been inflicted on both sides for Rhett to have simply forgotten about it. He hadn't forgiven her for everything she'd put him through, Scarlett was sure of it, so why was he pretending otherwise?

Fearing the situation was rapidly slipping out of her control, Scarlett was relieved to see Prissy enter the room carrying their breakfast. As she set the tray down on the table and began to serve, Scarlett risked a glance at Rhett and was surprised to see how fierce he looked. Feeling her gaze upon him, he looked up and smiled, all traces of anger disappearing.

So he is playing a part, Scarlett mused. But to what end?

As Prissy finished serving and left the room, Scarlett went on the attack. 'What time does your train arrive in Charleston?'

Rhett frowned, his face full of disappointed reproach, as if chastising her for not playing along with his infuriating charade.

Scarlett decided to change tact and be more subtle. 'You're not eating much, Rhett. Is there something wrong with your meal? I did give Prissy plenty of notice, but you know how useless...'

'It's fine, thank you.'

'Only you'd better eat up if you're going to leave in time to catch the train,' she continued, quickly growing bored of subtlety.

A heavy silence greeted her words, pressing down on Scarlett's shoulders and making her feel small.

'Scarlett,' Rhett said, pausing to weigh up his next words, 'I'm not catching the nine o'clock train.'

'You're not?' she repeated lamely.

'No, I'm not.'

'Are you catching a later one?'

'No.'

'What about tomorrow?'

'No.'

'So you've changed your mind? You're not leaving me?'

Rhett sighed, dropping his empty fork and running his hands through his shaggy hair. 'No. It was foolish to think I could escape.'

Scarlett was too busy celebrating to take in the bitterness of his tone.

'Oh, Rhett,' she gushed, reaching across and squeezing his hand tightly in hers. 'Thank you! I promise you won't regret it. I'll make it up to you, I swear I will. I'll be the best wife in all of Atlanta...'

'Charleston.'

She stopped smiling. 'What?'

'We'll head there later this week. Of course today would have been more convenient, given that Mother is expecting me, but I know how long it takes you to pack, my pet.'

'Pack?'

'Yes,' Rhett grinned, 'You know I've never been partial to you in mourning clothes. You'll have to bring plenty of other dresses with you. And clothes for the children, too, of course.'

Scarlett started to frown, comprehension dawning. 'You want us to come to Charleston with you? Me and the children?'

'Indeed I do. I was going to suggest you bring Prissy along as well, but on reflection, you'll probably prefer to have one of my mother's maids see to you.'

'You mean for us to live with your mother?'

'Be fair, darling, it is her house. I can hardly kick her out on the streets. We'll buy our own place soon enough.'

'But...'

'But what?' Rhett asked, a hint of irritation slipping through.

'I can't go that soon. I need to be here for Melly's funeral.'

Rhett frowned, but it soon cleared. 'So join me as soon as it is over.'

'You don't want to stay for it? I know how highly you thought of her.'

'Yes, a damn sight too highly to want to watch her go into the ground,' he barked. 'No, I'll go on ahead and you and the children can follow a few days later.'

'But...'

'What is it now?'

'But I don't like Charleston,' she muttered helplessly, unable to better articulate why the idea didn't sit right with her.

She should have been over the moon to know Rhett wanted her there with him. Only yesterday she had begged him to take her with him. But now something inside her railed against having her autonomy stripped away, chafing at the thought of Rhett making such a huge decision without even consulting her.

Rhett only laughed in response, leaning across to whisper in her ear, 'I'm sure we'll find plenty of ways to liven it up, my dear.'

Fighting to keep a clear head despite his proximity, Scarlett tried to clarify the situation, 'But I thought you wanted to go alone?'

As Rhett pulled away from her she saw a flash of rage flit across his face, before it vanished, as if it had never been.

'That was yesterday. Aren't you happy you've changed my mind?'

'Yes, but...'

'Well congratulations, Mrs. Butler,' he cried, dropping her hand to clap his sharply together, 'you've succeeded in your endeavour to win me over. Last night proved that I am as hopelessly addicted to you as ever. No doubt I always will be - though Lord knows there are murderers who've been handed shorter sentences. Still, no matter now. It's done and we shall have to make the best of it. Even so, I refuse to spend anymore of my life living in this godforsaken excuse for a house, so it's off to Charleston we go!'

Far from being reassured by his speech, Scarlett felt a growing sense of horror. Addicted. He'd said he was addicted to her. Not in love with her, not captivated by her, not even legally bound to her, but addicted to her.

She had witnessed addiction during her time as a nurse when the wounded soldiers would call out for morphine with manic, fretful voices. Hell, she had known it herself during these last few years when a warm glass of brandy had become her only reason for making it through the day.

Addiction wasn't some sweet, romantic emotion. It was a fierce, overriding need. It imprisoned you against your will, stripping you of your strength and sanity until all that remained was that gnawing sensation for more. Addiction wasn't love, it was dependence. No one cared for the thing they were addicted to, indeed they often despised it for making them so weak.

She didn't want Rhett to be addicted to her, let alone to feel that their marriage was a severer punishment than those doled out to murderers. Those were hateful things to say to anyone, let alone your own wife.

Exhaustion bore down on her then, draining Scarlett of her will to fight. It was a hopeless cause anyway, she could appreciate that now. The sweet mist brought on by her newly-discovered love for Rhett had melted away in the face of his irrational behaviour and she could see him clearly once again. He did not love her. Last night may have reawakened his lust, but it had not re-opened his heart.

Scarlett had confused a man's desire for devotion once before and it had ended up costing her decades of her life. She would not let Rhett become another Ashley. She respected him too much to let him debase himself so.

Her heart breaking at the realisation of what she must do, Scarlett closed her eyes and dreamed of home. Tara's white walls and rust red fields rose up to greet her. The front door opened and Mammy walked out, wrapping her lost lamb up in the comfort of her arms as Scarlett dropped all her troubles and fears like bags at her feet.

Drawing strength from the thought of it, Scarlett made one last ditch effort to save her marriage.

'I agree that leaving this house is a good idea, Rhett - heaven knows I'm no fonder of the place than you are - but perhaps instead of Charleston, we could go to Tara for a while? You've never visited before and I'd love for you to see it. Wade and Ella would be happier there too.'

'I'm not cut out to be a farmer,' he replied curtly.

Hurt that he had managed to dismiss her suggestion and insult her dear plantation in one go, Scarlett ignored his darkening countenance and ploughed on, 'But it would be good for us, and the children...'

'Spare me your belated maternal concern, my dear,' he snapped, his tone icy as he no doubt recalled the girl who would never get to experience it. 'I've already told you that I intend to return to where I grew up. I find myself hankering for the finer, purer things in this sordid little world of ours.'

It was then that Scarlett realised he hadn't really altered his plans at all, only slotted her into his existing ones. He was treating her with no more consideration than he would a piece of luggage he'd initially intended to leave behind, but had now decided to bring along after all.

Scarlett rose from her chair, incensed, 'I'm sorry, Rhett, but I don't think us living in Charleston is going to work. Perhaps you are better off going on your own.'

Turning towards the door, Scarlett gasped when Rhett shot out his arm and pulled her bodily down onto his lap.

'Come with me,' he entreated.

He kissed her then, kissed her so perfectly that all of the worry and strain and gnawing confusion she had felt this morning fell away to nothing. She pushed herself deeper into his embrace, wishing she could carve open his chest and crawl inside. She wanted to hide away in a warm, snug haven that smelt only of him.

Feeling her compliance, Rhett buried his hands in her hair, pulling at the pins that held it in place until her raven locks tumbled down her cheeks to rest upon her shoulders.

Scarlett's heart thumped in her chest as Rhett ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip, back and forth until she couldn't stand it anymore and parted her mouth to pull him inside. Her hands found purchase on his shoulders, gripping his wasted muscles as she clung to the comforting white fabric of his shirt.

Rhett pulled her up so that her forehead lay against his and they panted heavily into each other's mouths, humid breath intermingling in the space between their swollen lips.

'Say yes,' he whispered, his words making her skin shiver even as a warning bell sounded in her head.

Something was still not right. While Rhett's actions were more perfect than she could have dared hope, his words kept throwing cold water over Scarlett's rising desire. She remembered how he had commanded her to say yes once before, had overpowered her with kisses to disguise his manipulation.

Last time it had worked. Last time she had married him, and just look how that had turned out!

This time was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be about love and not control. This time her heart was at stake as well as his. Scarlett wanted a fresh start, she wanted an equal relationship, but Rhett seemed intent on dragging them back down the same well-worn paths of old. That way lay only misery and disappointed hopes. Scarlett should know, she'd visited them often enough.

Her mind escaping the haze of his kisses, Scarlett broke free of Rhett's grasp and looked past the mask in search of the man beneath. When she found him, she said the words which saved them both even as they broke her heart,

'I think it's time you left.'