Thank you all for all the support! I certainly was not expecting as much, but then I'm so glad!
Now that I've finished a Million Nights, I believe I will have more time to focus on this one, and I'll try to update it each week-end.
Good reading!
..
1853, Clayton County
Leaning on the windowsill of her room, with the smell of the magnolia coming in on that warm summer day, Scarlett O'Hara, a bit taller than her eight years, was writhing with impatience, her little feet in demure little black shoes stamping quite loudly on the parquet. Her eyes on the outside, she was unaware of the angry frown on her Mammy's face as she tried to discipline the hair of the rather undisciplined child she cared for.
"Come un, chile, do stap fidgetin' lake dat!"
"Oh, but Mammy! Rhett is coming today!"
The scowl on Mammy's face deepened, but Scarlett, in all her childish glory, quickly dismissed it.
"Ah doan want ye to talk about him, miss. Lord only now why Master O'Hara would invite such miscreant dat isn't invited anywhere else, but dat doesn't mean ye shall take notice of dat."
"But Mammy! How can you say so?" The girl cried, before crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Dat man is up to no good, mah lamb, and Ah doan lake how you act when he's dere."
"Well, he's fun, and I'm going to enjoy his visit no matter what you say!" Scarlett said stubbornly.
Yes, of course, she had been quite dismayed when her father had invited him to supper, after the first encounter last year that did not put her in so pleasant a light. It was her first trip that Pa had agreed she might come. Mother agreed to come as well, reluctantly because she had to admit as well that she could afford a break from the work at Tara and she wouldn't say no to a visit to her sister, and Pa was one to take the first soft yes as a whole one.
Well, Scarlett could have lived without Suellen coming, but then she did not have much choice. Carreen was too little yet, and the girl had not quite decided yet.
And then, at supper, he was polite, talking mostly to Pa, a discussion about cotton and market, and whatever else grown-up talked about in public, and she had almost found herself dying from boredom. Yet, one hour after her bedtime, she still slipped from the nursery to the living room, where she managed to hide under one of the big chairs.
Grown-up always seemed to wait for the children to go to bed to say the most interesting things, she had learned, and she liked hearing their stories and jokes, even if sometimes she did not understand quite them.
Pa did not seem to notice her, but when he went to bed, cheerfully accepting the inquiry of his wife that suggested softly (and a bit stiffly) that maybe it was time to retire, the younger man stayed. He was silent at first, before gesturing her to leave her hiding spot. She had been quite suspicious at first, but then she did not quite know how he did this when she was resolved to stay hidden, but in a matter of minutes, he made her want to get up and sit with him to listen to his stories until she fell asleep.
It went like that a few times, and Scarlett felt she had made a friend, and she was pleased by that.
Rhett always had the best stories, and she could say anything to him. He would listen like he would a big person, perhaps even better than that, and in the end, she always felt the tender and happy feeling of being understood and accepted no matter what she did and thought. He would not scold her if she climbed high on trees, nor played with the other children of the plantation. He laughed at her mischiefs and provided more interesting ideas to make it even better.
Yes, Rhett was a lot of fun.
And then, it was the first time he went to Tara, and Scarlett was so very excited at the idea of showing it to him. He always seemed to know everything, with all his tallness and so-called "experience", but he did not know Tara at all. In that, she was superior to him, and she delighted in advance to show him the fields of cotton, their whiteness clashing so delightfully with the red Georgian clay, and the forest of pines, that Pa always complained about, talking about an invasion, yet that Scarlett liked even best because it felt so adventurous and mysterious. Rhett would find it too, she knew that.
Scarlett was waiting for him since the day her father received the answer to his eager invitation to the Plantation.
Pa liked Rhett. He said he understood the young man, and that even if he denied it, he was a gentleman. And anyway, he was good at shooting, horses, and cards, so it was enough to be loved for that fun-loving Irish immigrant turned planter.
And like the scandalous scoundrel that he was, Rhett Butler came a day early, surprising all persons in the O'Hara household, most surprisingly Mrs. O'Hara, who, for the first time in her life in Tara, did not manage to hide her dismay, nay anger, at such an intrusion.
Swiftly though, she recovered, and it felt like nothing had happened.
When, moments after, the family finally gathered to greet him, said man grinned with an apology he already knew would be dismissed joyfully.
"I did not have anything interesting today. And then I can't stay long," He said, before bowing with hesitation at Mrs. O'Hara. "But then if I bother…"
"Nonsense, young lad," Gerald O'Hara said good-naturedly. "My home is your home. I did invite you, didn't I? Am I not the master of my house?"
Mrs. O'Hara's eyes dropped, and she said nothing. But Scarlett, knowing by heart the face of her mother, felt surprised by an expression she had never seen on it before. Yet, she could not put a sense to it.
Rhett gave a genuine smile to Gerald, and accepted his eager embrace, before leaning at Scarlett's level.
"Hello, little miss," Rhett said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Determined to prove him she could greet him like a lady (and thus prove him wrong), she bowed gracefully, her eyes down demurely. Yet, under his mocking gaze, she dropped quickly the act, and he laughed at her, tossing her hair.
Dinner was taken quickly, and Mother said nothing, barely even ate her food. Suellen was insufferable, and there was one time when Scarlett had to pull her hair, irritated by her childish insinuations over their guest. But then, Rhett was quite pleasant, joking with Pa, and Scarlett, which was quite rare for her, protested when Mother, assisted with Mammy, said it was the time for naps.
"Let her, Mrs. O'Hara," Pa said with a fond smile. "She doesn't bother us."
Her brow raised in an irritated arch, Mrs. O'Hara stayed still, before acquiescing stiffly. Scarlett felt guilty for a moment, but when she met Pa's eyes, she felt the even guiltier pleasure of being preferred and loved by her father. Especially when Suellen looked back, an envious glint in her eyes, which made the older girl grin maliciously.
Sitting at her father's side, her head leaning on his arm, she took part in the discussion as Pa described Tara, and love for the land that had seen her birth filled her little heart in contagion when she heard his own ringing in his voice.
Curious, Rhett expressed a desire to look around, which made his host wince, having not anticipated in his enthusiasm it, when he had to attend whist at the Calverts, and had intended to come with his guest as a little movement of protest after previous remarks done on the subject.
"Well, I would have liked showing you around, young buck, but then…"
Scarlett jumped in.
"Oh, Pa, may I? May I?"
Blinking at her interruption, her father seemed to hesitate over the propriety of such a thing, and what his wife would say. But then, seeing the insistent, eager eyes of his little girl, and the threat of cries he would not be at ease with, he dismissed his concerns and hurriedly consented. After all, it was all quite innocent, and Rhett was a gentleman…
But then, maybe it was more proper if Pork went as well.
"You promise you won't say a thing to your mother?"
Eagerly, Scarlett nodded.
"I promise!"
"Fine, then. Pork will accompany you," His clear blue eyes sparkled. "Go, my Puss. Make that young buck run."
And make him run, she did. Not only him, but Pork also, who bore it silently as she jumped from one spot to another, needlessly explaining things he surely already knew, but still found some amusement in hearing her do it. Her feet seemed to fly on the red ground, and it felt like she was making tiny tempests of dust, as if one with it. She waved, called, and presented him to everyone that she knew, ignored quite rudely Jonas Wilkerson, if only to grit her teeth when she saw he had a whip on his hand (that, Rhett noticed it with quite some satisfaction, though he did not want to really reflect on it any further).
Yes, Rhett realized with amusement. The girl was loved and certainly knew it. Knew she controlled that little world of dust and sweat, that could stop for the cheerful sound of her voice. And she amused herself with it, playing joyfully with the affections of one, praising one so that another might raise to the bait and offer her more.
Somehow, that idea did not quite please him now that he thought about it.
Finally, they rested under a tree, Scarlett accepting with condescension the pause at the limits of the land but taking advantage of it to eat the apple she had swiped on the dinner table.
"Pork can pout all he wants," She said with a careless air after a bite. "You tell the best stories."
At the pained expression on Pork's face, Rhett felt a hint of sympathy for the fellow, and could not help but intervene for him.
"Oh, little Scarlett. As much as your sudden and quite overbearing affection delights me, your Pork is a good man, the type of people you shouldn't break the heart of, for it is very precious. You shouldn't say such a thing."
She blinked, looked for a moment at Pork, and winced as she saw his expression, before dismissing it and focusing back on Rhett.
"But… but… don't you like me?"
"Oh, I do like you, small tyrant," He jested. "You make me remember what I was, and what I wanted to be, and I have to admit it's with quite a selfish pleasure that I hear such a declaration. Yet…" He paused. "You shouldn't be that careless with the hearts of the people who love you. It is very fragile, a heart, and it can break easily. For now, it is charming…"
"Oh, you find me charming?"
From his lips came a roar of laughter, cracking like a lingering stake in a fireplace.
"You haven't listened to anything that I've said, have you? Alright, play the little monster as you want. I don't like the role of the one who disciplines, after all. That suit doesn't suit me at all."
"Nonsense, your suit is always perfect."
A corner of Rhett's mouth came a little down, and his eyes danced.
"Scarlett… One day, you will need to learn when one means things figuratively."
"Oh, I do," She said firmly, before wincing under his scrutiny. "… Most of the time. But I don't like talking about such serious things. That's not pleasing, and I said I would have fun today!"
"Your wish is my command, little girl."
"Oh, stop saying I'm little! You're doing it since the very beginning!" She stamped her foot, a dismayed pout on her face, that accentuated the roughness of some of her Irish features. "And I'm a lady! I'll prove it to you one day, and you'll bite your words!"
"But this is not the day," Rhett laughed softly.
She shrugged, finishing her apple, before shrugging. "I suppose so."
Time would certainly make her learn to take more offense at such remarks, yet now she saw the truth of it, and only resolved to prove it later, when it would not be so dull to be a lady.
She threw the core without a care in the world, and it was almost with surprise she realized it had reached rather painfully someone who wasn't expecting to be disturbed in such a way.
For indeed, on the other side of the fence, a young man had been reading quite peacefully, before being interrupted in such a brutal way.
Horrified, she let out a gasp. Her eyes widened, and her little hands came to her mouth, before she let out a giggle. She waved cheerfully at the young blond man that was looking for his unexpected opponent.
"Sorry, Ashley!" She exclaimed, before turning to Rhett with an expression of affected seriousness. "That's Ashley."
His smirk stretched on a corner.
"I gathered so."
"He reads big books and says big words," She added solemnly. "Mother says he will be a promising gentleman."
"And you don't understand him at all."
"I don't! It's infuriating!" She exclaimed vividly, her eyes wide and lips pouting. She crossed her arms in what seemed a deep reflection and frowned. "And then, I don't like his sisters, despite what Mother says."
"I think you don't like them because of what your mother says."
"She says India's a good little lady. But she's so dull and stupid! And she always talks behind my back with Suellen, and I hate it!" She straightened suddenly, looking back at Ashley, and Rhett reflected with amusement that, had she been a cat, her ears would have quite raised, alert like her eyes. "Oh, he's coming!"
She made a gesture at hiding behind Rhett for a moment, before finally deciding she was strong enough and she had nothing to fear. Yet, her cheeks burned from the apprehension he might say something to Mother.
"Hello, sir," The young boy, slender and tall for his sixteen-year-old approached them carefully. "I beg your pardon, but I do believe it's a little late for Scarlett to be so far from home."
"I thank you for your intervention, young man. I'll bring that young lady home to her mother and father."
Ashley seemed to hesitate, unsure, swaying from one foot to the other with a disapproving frown, but then, decided better and nodded stiffly, before taking his leave.
Scarlett blinked at his departure, surprised. The reaction of that older boy made her realize suddenly that indeed, Rhett was a man, an imposing man, and that maybe he was strong. Maybe stronger than her own father.
"He seemed quite afraid of you."
Rhett dismissed it as he led her back.
"And a bit afraid for you. I do believe little counties like that make the surrounding people in it like a big family. I bet you know almost everyone in it."
"Fiddle-dee-dee, everyone!" She dismissed it with disdain. "Of course not! Yet, it's true we see often the Wilkes, the Tarletons, the Calvert… Well, the MacIntoshes and the Slatterys don't count, or so Mammy said. And then there are the Munroes, and the Lovejoys…"
She felt proud at telling him of all the people she knew, but she was quickly disappointed when she saw that he did not seem to think it as interesting as she thought it was.
"Oh, you're not even listening to me!"
He blinked, before smiling indulgently to her.
"Oh, I'm amiss as a companion, am I not? It's just that there are too many names, I can't seem to remember it all."
He lied, yet it was no use to upset the girl further.
She smiled, feeling satisfied by his answer, and allowed herself some generous inquiry about his own people.
"Oh, but you must know so many people, with you coming from Charleston, and living all these adventures..."
"Quite the number. But let's not talk about that just yet. It is dark indeed, and I do believe we made Pork run enough for the day."
Pork smiled in relief at this, and Rhett nodded at him, before giving him some gold coins for his efforts. The black man seemed about to refuse at first, as if offended, but it was said in such a manner that refusal was certainly not an option. Yet, the disgruntled face puzzled Rhett. In him came a hint of curiosity and he resolved to get to know the man later if only to be polite.
Rhett stopped in his tracks, surprised. Well, that did not sound like him. What should he care of a house slave? That was preposterous.
Unaware of his thoughts, Scarlett had continued to talk, and it was only when she said this he became aware of the direction the discussion had taken.
"When I'll grow old, I'll marry you."
She said it with all the seriousness of a child deciding of her meal of the day, and he could not help but guffaw.
"Oh, dear girl. Believe me, you wouldn't want that. Your mother would faint if she heard you, and you wouldn't want that, would you?" The laughter died out, and he found pleasure in the way she had joined it too. Slowly recovering, he ruffled her hair and smiled. "Scarlett, don't ever grow up. I loathe the idea of you losing that innocence, that refreshing frankness that is so lacking among many growing girls. Yet, you will, and that will be alright. One day, you'll want to forget, and I'll be no more than a memory, some kind of big brother figure to you."
"Never!"
"Little darling girl. I like the idea of you as a little sister. I certainly wish mine was more like you."
"How is your little sister?"
"Oh, I wouldn't quite know. She was but a baby when I left, but then I had hoped… Well, it doesn't matter."
She grimaced.
"No. Sisters are no fun. They pull hair and take too much place, and always tell on people. Especially Suellen."
"You've pulled her hair first, from what I've seen."
"That's because she's so annoying," Scarlett said simply. "No, you don't want a sister. And then why do you want a sister when you can have me? Oh, don't laugh, or I'll pull your hair too!"
"By God no. I need my hair to stay handsome and please the ladies."
At this, Scarlett laughed. Oh no, Rhett was not handsome, of course! He was not handsome as the princes in the book, and she did not know why he said so. Certainly, it was all a joke.
"You're not handsome and ladies are not pleased by you."
Rhett paused, a bit vexed.
"My dear, I do believe I have to take back what I said about frankness. You may be a little too frank."
"Why?" Her eyes widened. "Mother does not like you, and she's a lady. Though I don't understand why she doesn't."
His look softened. They were in front of the house now, with Mammy waiting on the steps with a frown that hadn't left her since Rhett had arrived, yet he wanted to stay a little more outside.
"You too noticed it."
"Oh, I'm wrong, Mother likes everyone," The girl's eyes widened in distress. "No, Mother is good to everyone. She just doesn't… look very happy when you're here."
Rhett was tempted to say she did not look happy at all, but then, there was indeed something in Mrs. O'Hara's attitude that innerved him. It was very faint, a shadow behind perfect politeness, thin yet solid ice covering a sweet demeanor.
His expression must have shown it, for then, she stopped and stamped her feet, her lips in a thin line as she frowned at him heavily.
"Oh, you're insufferable!" Scarlett scowled. "You can't understand good people like my mother, and I won't have her insulted by a scoundrel like you!"
"And there I thought you wanted to marry me," He chuckled. "Alright, little girl. You can pout all you want during supper. The night will make the problem disappear, and you'll think no more of it."
With that, she huffed, and kicked the ground, sending some of the red clay towards his otherwise spotless suit. He laughed, before taking a stroll on the land, before the upcoming supper.
