Dear readers, hello!:)
Thank you so much for finding the time in your busy days to read what I write, and if you share your thoughts with me, it will be very pleasant, joyful and inspire me to write more!
The eventful chapter is here! I was planning this story for 20-22 chapters, I think that's how it's going to turn out. I have other plans and ideas, but let's talk about it later ;)
The main thing is not to lose inspiration in the series of cold autumn days.
Enjoy reading!:)
I own nothing in regard to GWTW.
Chapter 16.
Scarlett had been staring at the numbers for ten minutes and couldn't count them. Her heart was pounding and she tried to keep her hands from shaking, pressing them against her hot cheeks, glad that Rhett was out with a customer.
"Oh my God, what have I done? Why did I rush to kiss him? I could have avoided it, made a joke, argued with him, kissed him on the cheek at last, damn it!"
Scarlett threw her pencil on the table and clenched her hands nervously, "He's definitely going to guess! He's definitely going to find out, oh my God, he's going to laugh at me and I won't be able to show my face around here at all... Damn it!"
She continued to think nervously, glancing at the table and the ajar window where she had kissed him several minutes ago. A customer's voice could be heard outside, praising the quality of the wood and Rhett's one-word answers. At the sound of his voice, her heart sank and the waves of panic rolled in deeper each time.
"Okay, I have to think of something," Scarlett thought seriously, trying to calm herself.
"I need time, yes! I have to go home, it's Friday and we won't see each other until Monday, and I'll have something worked out by the beginning of the week. I'll learn to act aloof and mocking," at these thoughts she remembered her grandmother in the portrait and mentally asked her for advice.
"Okay, I have to pull myself together! He won't notice or realize anything! It's just a deal, Scarlett! A bet! And you're going to make him believe it! You've always made men believe what you wanted them to believe," she said, picking up her pencil again and looking at the numbers. She evened out her breathing and mentally calmed herself, completely forgetting that the one man, she could almost never fool, was Rhett.
Absorbed in the numbers, she didn't hear Rhett come in quietly after seeing off the client and admiring her profile from a distance. Only three thoughts ran through his mind: "Why did she kiss me? I love her so much... I'm so tired of lying..."
He realized that he was too excited to discuss it with her, he had to concentrate on his future meeting with Wilkerson.
So when he spotted Tom's horse through the window, he coughed and saw Scarlett clutching a pencil, but then she looked up with a calm smile.
"Did you want something, Rhett?" her voice sounded too calm.
Rhett looked intently into her eyes and just said, "Scarlett, we can get ready to go home, Tom's here, we have things to do. We'll take you home, come on."
She just nodded, stood up and adjusted her dress, but her mind working feverishly, "Why is his tone so calm? And he doesn't even smile... And what 'things to do' they have with Tom?"
But, determined to stick to her strategy, they both were suspiciously silent as they drove to Peachtree Street.
After saying goodbye to them and not offering to come in, as she did usually at the end of the week, Scarlett walked briskly towards the house without looking back.
"Rhett?" called Tom questioningly, but he heard back, "Not now. Tom, let's stop at the hotel, we've got to get cleaned up and be at the game by tonight. You said it was at a bar on the outskirts of Atlanta near train station, right?"
"Yes, he usually plays there, then spends the night in a brothel and leaves for his place early in the morning."
Rhett just nodded, staring intently at the road in front of him.
That night Scarlett retired to her room without dinner, claiming a headache, and was very grateful that India had volunteered to tuck Wade in herself.
She'd promised herself to spend the whole weekend with her son, but after the scene at the office today, she needed to collect her thoughts. But as soon as Scarlett began to think about it, here in the silence of her bedroom, her eyes closed and she could almost feel the warmth of his lips, his moustache tickling her skin, the passion with which he held her against him and his disappointed sigh at the end. "It was as if he didn't want it to end," she thought, looking out of her bedroom window at the night July sky.
Rhett stood up and breathed in the warm night air. The feeling of victory and adrenaline made him want to jump into the cool sea water and swim like he used to when he was in the blockade! But here he was, standing on this station, looking up at the starry July sky, feeling nothing but satisfaction and joy that he would soon be pleasing her!
The game started as usual, except there was a new player at the poker table. He was cheerful, joking, ordering a lot of whiskey, telling stories about pirates and smoking expensive cigars.
One by one the players left the table, realizing that they were playing with a professional, but Wilkerson looked at Tom, who nonchalantly continued to play, and decided to stay, raising the stakes, especially as his cards were good and the whiskey was placed in front of him constantly, although he could not remember if he had ordered it.
At some point, as Wilkerson switched drinks and cards, he failed to notice that he was alone with the stranger, and here began what he would later call "bad luck", "drunken frenzy" and simply "mental confusion".
The stakes grew higher and higher, a sum of money, he could only dream of, was at stake, and at last, he simply threw on the table a piece of land title paper, he had inherited when he married Emmy Slattery.
"He'll never beat these cards," he thought, looking at the cards and then at the calm stranger, whose look was serious and somehow suggestive of fear.
As soon as they opened the cards, Wilkerson turned pale and whispered, "Lucky... It can't be... You're lucky... Damn it...!"
Rhett pulled the winnings closer to him, but only took the papers, nodding to Tom who was watching them from behind the bar.
"Guys like you think everybody's lucky. That I'm the lucky one. But, I don't get lucky, I make my own luck."
With these words he left the room with a firm gait, leaving Wilkerson sitting at the table.
Now, as he breathed in the night air and waited for Tom, he only dreamed of seeing her smile, or maybe the warrior light in her green eyes, or maybe she would kiss him again... At the memory of the kiss, he felt the tension below his waist and took a deep breath.
To distract himself, Rhett reached into his jacket pocket and fumbled for the land papers. Yes, he will give them to her the other day as soon as Wilkerson leaves that land forever.
If she only wants, they will burn that bastard's house to the ground so that grass will grow on that land and it will be free of these people...
"Rhett," a cheerful voice distracted him of the thoughts, Tom stand up beside him and smiled, "Just like old times, eh, Rhett?" he said with a grin and added, "I think the bastard's still in shock about what happened..."
"He's got to free the house by next Friday, did you tell him?" Rhett said seriously and Tom nodded.
His features suddenly softened, he looked up at the July sky again and said, "Can you imagine how happy she'll be?"
Tom smiled affectionately and Rhett continued, "She lost her parents because of these people..."
"I know about her father," Tom said, "but her mother? What happened to her?"
"Scarlett told me her mother had died the day before she came home from Atlanta. She caught typhoid while taking care of these people..."
Tom sighed and concluded, "Holy woman, it's so sad..."
Rhett nodded and smiled as he pictured Scarlett again.
He didn't notice Tom watching him, then grinned and asked, "Rhett, when are you going to tell her?"
"I'm thinking tomorrow, even though it will be Saturday, but you can pick her up and ask her to come over for a couple of hours and I'll tell her..."
"Rhett, that's not what I meant," Tom interrupted and added, "when are you going to tell her about your feelings?"
Rhett remained silent and Tom realized that he had no desire to continue the conversation. He sighed and called his friend and her 'stubborn mules' who couldn't be honest with each other. He noticed Scarlett glance at Rhett from time to time when he wasn't looking at her. It was a mixture of tenderness and love, mischief and a kind of sadness. It was as if there was something insurmountable between them. "I have no right to interfere," Tom thought again, and said aloud, "Shall we go, Rhett? I'll pick up Scarlett in the morning and you two can talk at the mill."
"Thank you, Tom."
It was a sunny Saturday morning and just as breakfast was starting in the house on Peachtree Street, there was a knock at the door.
Scarlett and India looked at each other, Wade turned and forgot his porridge, and Miss Pitty reached for her smelling salts.
"You girls aren't expecting guests so early, are you?" she asked, and both young women just shook their heads.
But just then Uncle Peter entered the dining room with Tom, who smiled shyly, clutching his white hat and apologizing for his sudden visit. India caught his eye and blushed, and Scarlett offered him to join them for coffee.
Tom happily accepted and sat down opposite India, watching her neat and graceful movements as she poured coffee for him from the pot and then handed him the cup across the table, their hands touching, causing them to smile at each other.
"So, Scarlett," Tom began, sipping his coffee, "I'm sorry to disturb you on a Saturday, but there's an important question at the sawmill. Rhett asked me to bring you," he finished with a smile.
Scarlett clutched her coffee cup nervously and bit her lower lip.
"God, why would he want to see me today... Did he guess... Why didn't he come himself..." the thoughts swirled around her head as she nodded to Tom and went upstairs to change into another dress.
While Prissy helped her with the corset, Scarlett instructed her to take Wade for a walk before lunch. She was supposed to take him to the park herself, but, "That varmint has messed up my plans as usual!" she thought, trying to calm herself.
Tom was suspiciously quiet on the way to the sawmill, and Scarlett was on pins and needles, though she tried to hide it.
"It's just a usual work question! Some silly client has mixed up the counts again... It's just work... Pull yourself together," she told herself as she drove down the familiar forest road.
Arriving at the sawmill, Scarlett immediately saw Rhett's black horse and, taking a deep breath, tried to put on the most indifferent face possible and went into her office.
Tom was somewhere behind her, and while Scarlett was looking at her desk, where there were no papers, she heard a cheerful voice from the next room, "Scarlett, please come in here," he called to her, and her heart began to race.
Carefully smoothing out the creases in the skirt of her light green dress, Scarlett quickly entered the office and met the gentle gaze of his black eyes.
Rhett came up to her with a piece of paper in his hands, but all Scarlett could see was how handsome he looked in his light grey waistcoat and shirt, how sly and cheerful he smiled at her, and the wrinkles around his eyes that she noticed when he was in a good mood.
"Rhett?" she said questioningly, "any trouble with the bills?"
He just smiled and handed her the papers, saying, "This is for you, baby."
Scarlett looked at him incredulously, then at the papers and looked up questioningly, "I don't understand, Rhett... What is this?"
"I promised you, Scarlett, that I would solve the problem with that bastard Wilkerson! And I did it. This land is yours now, and he and his family will be gone in a few days."
Scarlett stared at the papers for a long time, remembering the night she'd been told her mother had died, then the day Wilkerson had shown up at their door, then her despair over the taxes, then her father's death and her pain.
She looked up at Rhett and reached for his shoulder, then ran her hand over it gently and said softly, "Thank you, Rhett... Thank you..."
Rhett, happy that she'd finally found out, leaned over, touched his lips to her cheek and whispered, "I promised you, Scarlett. You're not alone, I told you I'd be there for you," and then he added a little louder, pulling away from her and noticing the blush in her cheeks, "We can burn it all down there if you don't want to..."
Her eyes lit up with fire and she smiled stiffly, but then said, "I've got a better idea, Rhett!"
"What is it, share it with me, Darling!"
"Me and all the neighbours are going to take his house apart board by board and use that wood instead of firewood! Oh, Rhett, thank you so much!" said Scarlett again, clutching the papers to her chest.
Rhett smiled, thinking that now would be a good time to talk about their kiss and his feelings, and he was about to open his mouth and confess, when he heard her thoughtful voice.
"I guess, Rhett, the only good thing that bastard Wilkerson did was for you..."
He looked at Scarlett questioningly, and she continued, looking thoughtfully at the paper with the hateful signature, "If Wilkerson hadn't raised the taxes, I probably wouldn't have come to town, I probably wouldn't have found you, and we probably wouldn't have had our 'deal'... So..."
As soon as the word "deal" was uttered, there was silence in the room and Scarlett was suddenly startled to see Rhett's once soft features harden, his eyebrows furrow, a characteristic wrinkle appear between them, his lips pressed almost into a single line and she saw his hands... He was clenching them so tightly she could see the veins.
In those few seconds, Scarlett realized that he was in a quiet rage and she was frightened, not quite sure what she had said.
"Rhett..." she began, but he cut her off in a tone so cold it made her soul chill.
"That's what you think of me, isn't it?"
"Rhett, I don't know what you mean... All I said was that our 'deal'..."
"To hell with our deal!" he roared, approaching her abruptly, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her straight in the eye, he continued furiously, "how can a clever woman like you be so blind! How can a woman who can easily count columns of numbers in her head not see the obvious?"
"Rhett, you're hurting me..."
But blind rage and anger consumed him! He'd cared so much for her, he'd forgotten how to breathe with her by his side, she was under his skin and he longed for her so much! And to her, it's just money! A bloody deal!
In a rage he threw her hands away and moved like a madman towards his desk, almost shouting, "So I'm just a money bag to you, eh Scarlett?!"
She was silent, not knowing what she had done to offend him or why was he hurting her with such awful words now.
He took a wad of notes and a few gold coins from his jacket pocket hanging on the chair and threw them at her feet, continuing sharply, "Here, Darling! If you want money, you can have it!"
Scarlett turned pale, then couldn't take a full breath, and then became furious and wanted to hit him, but he was standing far away, so all she could do was to throw land papers on the floor and shout, "I don't want anything from you, you... you pompous turkey!!! You are blind and can only see your own kind! You're scoundrel! I hate you!!!"
Their eyes met and it felt as if they could burn through the walls looking at each other. Both were silent, only the sound of breathing could be heard in the silence of the office after the mutual insults.
Scarlett was about to shout something else when the door creaked open and a worried Tom walked into the office.
"Scarlett?" he asked questioningly, looking at her nervously clenched hands, than at the banknotes and coins on the floor, then turned his gaze to Rhett, who looked menacing and heard his husky voice, "Tom, take Mrs Hamilton home, here's nothing to do today..."
Scarlett went numb with anger at him calling her that and he continued, "I have personal 'meetings' today, but not here. I'm leaving."
And without looking at her, he grabbed his jacket and walked quickly out the door, a minute later they could hear him saddle his horse and gallop away from the sawmill.
There was silence in the room and Scarlett suddenly covered her face with her hands and wept bitterly. Now that he was gone, now that he had said so many hurtful words, now that he had thrown the bloody money in her face, now that he had named her so coldly and told her almost directly that he was going to that woman, only then did it begin to dawn on her that they had a terrible fight. The anger faded and tears tickled her eyes.
"I am such an idiot," Tom heard her whisper softly, interrupted by sobs. "Idiot, idiot..."
Tom looked around awkwardly, then walked over determinedly and asked her quietly, "Are you okay, Scarlett?"
She was silent, her hands to her face, but her sobs became softer and less frequent, as if she remembered she wasn't alone in the room.
While she was standing there, Tom picked up the money and the papers from the floor and put it in Rhett's desk drawer, then came back to her and, seeing that she had taken her hands away from her face, silently handed her a clean handkerchief from his pocket.
Scarlett looked at him gratefully, then grinned bitterly at her thoughts and began to wipe her eyes and cheeks carefully.
Tom watched her in silence, then asked quietly, "Shall I take you home or...?"
"Home."
"Can't we wait a while? Your eyes are red, Scarlett, there will be questions..."
She suddenly looked at him seriously, then a cold grin appeared on her lips and she said, "Don't worry Tom, I'll pull myself together now, no one will notice anything. Thank you for your help... And actually, thank you for being a gentleman and being there all these months..."
Tom looked at her suspiciously and said, "Scarlett, you say that like you're not going to come here anymore..."
She just shrugged. To see Rhett after all the insults, to see him after he'd quietly gone to see that woman, when God only knew how many times he'd left here for her. But right now it was physically painful.
"I intend to return to Tara, Tom. Cotton picking's coming up, things to keep an eye on and..."
"Does Rhett know?" Tom interrupted sternly and she grinned, "Do you really think he cares?"
"And you?" he asked quietly, and as he saw her cheeks turn slightly pink, he realized he didn't need an answer.
After taking her home, Tom drove quickly to Belle's, and when he got there he saw that there weren't many customers, as evening hadn't come yet. When he looked around the room, he did not see Rhett, and his heart grew cold: "Is that fool already in bed with that woman? No, it can't be! It can't be!" he said to himself as he started for the hotel.
Now Tom realized that whatever was happening between them, he had to intervene, even if it was not his business. Now he couldn't keep quiet when he saw Scarlett's reaction.
"And if that idiot hasn't made a mess of things, he'll thank me later!" thought Tom as he entered the hotel and was told by the porter that Rhett was in his room.
Climbing the wooden stairs, adjusting his jacket and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Tom thought for a moment that Rhett might not be alone. But there was no time to think, and a moment later he was knocking hard on the wooden door.
A minute later he heard a noise inside the room, a muffled grunts and the door opened. Rhett was standing there in his shirt and trousers, his hair a little mussed, a whiskey glass in his hand.
"What do you want?" Rhett asked sullenly.
"We need to talk," Tom replied quickly, entering the room uninvited and mentally thanking the heavens, that Rhett was alone.
"It's not a good time for your visit," he replied gruffly, closing the door.
"What the hell happened in the five minutes I left you two alone?" started Tom, but Rhett just turned back to the window, with glass in hand.
Tom looked at him again and asked, "What are you going to do, Rhett?"
"I told you, I have personal 'meetings'".
Tom clenched his hands into fists and began to speak softly but angrily, "That's right, Captain Butler! I'm only saying this now! I promised I wouldn't interfere, but I see you ruining your own life and Scarlett's! You've been trying so hard to hide your feelings that you haven't noticed hers!"
He saw Rhett's back tense and continued, "Yes, sir, the girl is in love with you! And if you go to that madam tonight, believe me, you won't see Scarlett at the sawmill again, that's for sure..."
Rhett turned abruptly, put the empty glass down on the table and asked sullenly, "What do you mean?"
"She's going back to Tara with her son and she's not going to work with you anymore. Look, Rhett, I don't know what's between you, but I know it's in your power to clear this up and set you both free," Tom finished his speech and then walked out of the room without another word, leaving his friend alone.
Rhett looked around, sighed heavily and then went to the wardrobe to get some clothes and clean up.
He knew where he had to go.
That evening, a light but insistent knock on the door found Scarlett in the parlour.
Pictures of Rhett touching that woman flashed before her eyes and caused her unbearable pain, so she was sitting on the couch and staring thoughtfully at the wall, when she heard some quite noises in the hall. Something in her soul snapped at that moment and she got up from the couch, walked to the door on wobbly legs.
She was about to grab the handle when a slight rustle came from the other side and the door opened.
Her green eyes were burning into his black ones.
Rhett was standing a few feet from her, staring straight into her eyes, as if he could see right into her soul.
Scarlett stood up straight, but her knees were shaking.
Silently, without a word, Rhett reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. A familiar piece of paper on which Scarlett recognized her son's drawing.
Silently, without a word, looking straight into her eyes, he took the paper and tore it up with both hands. Then he gave it to her.
Scarlett's heart froze, she had to remember how to breathe but she wanted to cry from the feelings that overwhelmed her. She took the pieces of paper with trembling hand.
"Rhett..." his name came out in a low whisper.
A moment and couple paces away to her. His hand on her hand, his arm around her waist.
They took a few steps back into the parlour and Rhett closed the door behind him without letting her go. Somewhere nearby, the 'remnants' of their 'deal' fell to the floor.
He pulled her closer to his chest, never breaking eye contact, and she could feel his heart pounding. Or was it her heart.
"Scarlett..." she heard him whisper huskily and the next moment she felt his hot breath and then his warm lips on hers.
Holding her close, Rhett kissed her so passionately, so desperately, so freely. He was free of the conditions he'd placed on them. They were free.
Scarlett didn't remember how she was being pressed against the wall in the parlour, barely able to remember her name. She had dissolved in his caresses, in his strong arms that gave her that feeling of protection and tenderness at the same time. Dissolved into every touch of his lips on her lips, her cheek, her neck, lower and lower, and then his lips on hers again. Dissolved in his soft, incoherent whisper, "Scarlett... My Darling... My girl... My..."
Rhett could feel her clinging to him, her waist arching. The way her fingers traced the fabric of his jacket, from his shoulders down his arms and then back to his shoulders, then he felt them on his neck. She stroked his neck so gently, almost timidly, running her slender fingers through his hair. He could feel in his skin that she cared for him and he dissolved in this feeling.
When he pulled away from her lips, Rhett wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her to his chest and gently stroking her back, feeling her arms around his waist.
The room was so quiet, only their breathing breaking the silence.
"I won't let you go again," she heard him whisper softly and felt him kiss her hair.
She only nodded in response, not yet able to realize that he really cared about her.
"Scarlett..." he whispered softly, then there was a long pause and she pressed herself against his chest again, covering her eyes to listen to the pounding of his heart as she heard, "I love you," and opened her eyes sharply.
It was so good... So unreal, too... How could he love her? Just like that, her...
"Is it true, Rhett?" he heard a soft and disbelieving voice say.
"Yes."
Rhett felt her hug him tighter around his waist and he pulled her gently against him, kissing her hair again and covering his eyes slightly.
"Me too..." he heard a soft voice and opened his eyes at the same moment.