Dear readers, good evening!
There are many references to smells and aromas in this chapter. I recently visited an exhibition of paintings from the late 19th century. Mostly French artists, Paris... And in each hall there were special glass bottles, and when you lift the lid you are immersed in the aroma of the French bakery, or the street, or the restaurant, or the boudoir of a beautiful woman... In general, I found my inspiration there and made a few notes :)
Thanks for reading, commenting and writing messages! It's all very inspiring to keep writing and developing the story of our heroes, despite the hustle and bustle of December.
Enjoy reading! :)
P.S. About our Captain Butler and his little secret. I think his plan isn't just to keep visiting Scarlett in the North, which of course his mother and brother will find out.
No, I think he dreams of the simplest of things - getting married and having a family. But of course I doubt he could live with her in the North and bring up children there, so either way the South is waiting for them, the question is how and when... I will try to write about this in the next chapters, because for Scarlett, for example, it is now quite normal to have a dark-skinned maid, a cook, who can only come, get paid, etc... Scarlett doesn't remember being a planter's daughter, doesn't remember Mammy, doesn't remember silly Prissy. She would be happy to stay in the North, but the cold climate is a problem for her on a physiological level.
Chapter 6.
Scarlett opened the door carefully with her key and, rubbing her frozen hands together, said to Rhett, barely glancing at him, "Please come in, Captain Butler."
Then she was distracted by Wade helping him take off his jacket, while Rhett put the bags on the dresser in the hall and looked around once more.
The house was warm, softly lit, and he even thought he smelled something sweet, maybe it was a vanilla. As he took off his hat and coat, he saw Scarlett undoing the buttons of her black cape, saw that her fingers were slightly stiff with cold. At that moment, he wanted more than ever to take her hands in his and warm them.
But he pushed those intrusive thoughts away, approached her from behind and gently, barely touching her shoulders, removed the cape, she had unbuttoned.
Scarlett, who had been pensive, suddenly froze at the man's unexpected proximity, quickly turned to him and said, pointing to her cape in his hands, "Please, Captain Butler, don't bother, you've already helped us. Usually we are met by our cook, she is also our helper, but today she is ill and only Ella is at home with her nanny and..."
Rhett smiled as he listened to her quick speech, then carefully hung her cape on the wooden hanger and turned to reply, "Scarlett, it's all right."
She gave him a serious look and nodded, then pointed to the room on the left, "Let's go into the living room..."
Wade went into the room first and Scarlett heard him talking to someone, apparently their nanny.
She walked forward, feeling the tall man following her. "And why is everything inside me shaking so much?" she thought absent-mindedly, deciding that she must be so freezing.
They entered the room and saw Mary standing by the window with Ella in her arms. "Mrs Carter, I think Ella has been waiting to see you eagerly," nanny said with a smile, but when she saw a familiar tall man at the door she was slightly embarrassed and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Welcome, Mr Butler."
Scarlett looked at nanny encouragingly, then with a quick gesture pointed to the couch and said, "Captain Butler, please have a seat."
Rhett nodded, but took his time sitting down, watching as Scarlett walked over to nanny, looked quickly at her little daughter, asked something, and he saw the look of worry and despair on her face.
Rhett sat down, Wade was next to him, reaching for the forgotten wooden soldiers on the table, he'd been playing with all morning.
Scarlett was almost crying, though she didn't show it. Ella was hungry and cranky, she had a stranger in the house counting on a dinner that was almost gone, there were paper bags in the hallway, her son needed to change his clothes and... She did not know where to start and also, Ella, recognizing her mother, whimpered, embarrassing her even more.
"Do you need help, Scarlett?" she heard his voice and met his eyes.
"No, just..." she started to answer bravely with a polite smile, but Rhett suddenly stood up, walked over to them, to the window, and said quietly with a smile, "l haven't met your daughter yet, Scarlett. May I hold her for a while, while you give all the orders?"
Scarlett watched in surprise, as he reached for the baby girl and the nanny, whose dark-skinned face spread into a wide smile, carefully laid her on his arms.
"You might get dirty, Captain..."
"It's all right, Scarlett," he replied, not taking his eyes off the little face and the eyes, that studied him, so similar to her father's.
Scarlett looked at the strange man again, but shrugged her shoulders slightly, deciding not to waste any more time as little Ella was calm in the stranger's arms, looking up at his face.
"Mary, help me, please, in the hall, here..." Rhett heard Scarlett's words and the footsteps fading away, but did not take his eyes off the baby girl.
He sat down carefully on the couch and continued to watch her, smiling softly. Yes, this little girl was beautiful, and her eyes were a copy of John's. Rhett didn't know when it had started, but he already felt as attached to her as he did to Wade. "They're just her children," he thought and glanced with a smile at the boy, who was absorbed in the game, arranging the soldiers into figures only he could understand.
Rhett had never held such little babies before, he'd met Wade when he was just over six months old and confidently sitting up. But this little girl... He shifted his gaze back to her again and felt, that Ella filled him with a sense of awe and a little fear...
"Captain, Butler," he heard a familiar voice, looked up and smiled.
"Scarlett, your daughter is wonderful," he said, the first thing that came to mind.
"Thank you," she replied, also smiling. She was always flattered when her children were praised.
"Let me take her, Captain Butler, l'll go to the nursery, just for a little while, and then we'll have dinner," she said, reaching out her hands and gently taking Ella, and then adding, turning to her son, "Wade, finish your game and go upstairs to change, please, Mary will be there soon."
Wade just nodded and Scarlett sighed, realizing that once again her son wouldn't hear her the first time. "I'll send Mary for him," she thought as she went up to the nursery.
As Scarlett fed Ella, sitting in a soft armchair by the window, she gazed mesmerized at the snow falling outside. The snow had always made her happy the previous winter, and John just smiled at her reaction. She didn't know if she'd ever seen it before, as her husband assumed she had been living somewhere in the South, where snow rarely fell and melted quickly.
Scarlett looked down at her still pink fingers and thought, that John had been right, because she was always cold. In winter, spring, summer or in autumn, her hands and the tip of her nose were always cool. She remembered how he had often talked to her about moving to the South, but since she had become pregnant, the talks had stopped. "It wasn't about moving anymore," she thought sadly, remembering his illness.
"Maybe I'll do it with the children," she pondered, but remembering how little Ella was and her own fear of trains, she dismissed the thought and decided to think about it later, and think about more pressing matters now.
Scarlett noticed that Ella had fallen asleep smacking her lips softly, and heard the door open carefully. Mary come in with a round brass heating pad.
"Miss Scarlett," she whispered softly, "now I'll warm the blanket and we'll put little Miss in a warm bed, maybe she'll sleep longer..."
She nodded and after a while, as carefully tucked Ella in, she asked worriedly, "Mary, what about Wade? Where is he? I completely forgot about him and he was supposed to be changing."
Mary shook her head negatively and Scarlett frowned slightly, then went into her bedroom, fixed her hair, looked at herself in the mirror, took a light black shawl and went into the living room.
"I apologize, Captain Butler, for leaving you..." she said as she entered the living room, with the shawl in her hands, raised her eyes and saw the man and Wade.
They were sitting side by side at the table, Wade had brought the chess board from the study, and now their guest was calmly explaining the rules, the names of the pieces to her boy.
Scarlett didn't know what to say, embarrassed that Captain Butler had to entertain her son.
He lifted his head from the board and Scarlett again met that look in his black eyes that she could not understand. A look of affection and a kind of expectation.
Rhett smiled at her and Scarlett walked quickly over to them.
"I'm sorry, Captain Butler," she repeated again, pointing at Wade who was leaning over the board.
"Please don't apologize, Scarlett," he replied and she noticed again how everything inside her froze the moment she heard her name from him. He had already called her that several times today and Scarlett decided not to correct him or take it as an insult. Maybe he was more comfortable that way, and she was almost used to it.
"Mummy," Wade's cheerful voice interrupted them and she looked at her son. "Mummy, Captain Butler said he's going to teach me to play chess!"
Scarlett grinned slightly, then looked at Rhett in disbelief and replied, "Wade, darling, I don't think a man that busy would have time to teach you to play chess, but we can find a teacher here in town if you like..."
Wade frowned and Rhett remained silent, deciding how to respond, but she continued in a serious tone, "Now, Wade, go and get dressed for dinner, please. We'll wait for you in the kitchen."
Wade sighed, but nodded and reluctantly went upstairs, and Scarlett, throwing her shawl over her shoulders, simply said, "Captain Butler, thank you for your concern, but I know you're a very busy man... I'll be sure to look into all matters concerning Wade, although he's a bit young for a governess, but I'll see to it."
He saw that in her again. That determination, that stubbornness, that strength. Rhett suddenly realized that she had allowed John to be the head of their union, their family. Trusted him. But now, alone, she was showing all the traits that had always been in her.
Rhett smiled softly, rose from the couch and said, "You know, Scarlett, in his last letter, John addressed me as a 'friend'. Called me that..." She looked at him incredulously and he continued, "So allow me to show my friendship and concern wherever possible."
"But what about your business? And the trip to Europe?" she asked suddenly, remembering one of his letters to her husband.
"A trip to Europe?" he asked in surprise, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Scarlett hesitated, biting her lower lip for a moment in thought. "That man doesn't need to know that I've read all his letters," she thought to herself and added in a quick, calm tone, "I think John told me that..."
Rhett looked at her incredulously but simply replied, "The trip had to be postponed. It's not important at the moment."
Scarlett nodded and, remembering dinner, said, "Let's go to the kitchen, Captain Butler."
They entered the small kitchen and Scarlett looked around quickly.
Mary had lit the cast-iron cooker, washed the vegetables, sliced the bread and some ham and even put it on plates.
"So..." she said softly to herself, wondering what to do. She'd heat up the meat and vegetable stew, but it wouldn't be enough and Wade would be cranky about the vegetables, and the man behind her, whose gaze she could feel, was obviously hungry. An idea struck her, and she turned to Rhett, smiling slightly, and asked, "Do you like omelette, Captain Butler?"
He smiled and just nodded, and she continued, "I'll make it, I don't remember many recipes, but John always said, that my hands remember everything," she explained as she took out eggs and milk, and then suddenly looked at him guiltily, embarrassed, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm used to when we cooked something, we did it with John. I suppose, Captain Butler, you might be more comfortable in the next room, it's the dining room, there's a fireplace and I can pour you something before dinner?"
"No, Scarlett," he replied quickly, "let me stay with you and help you."
Scarlett looked at him with surprise and he added with a smile, "Well, or just to entertain you with conversation."
She nodded and began to cook, listening to his observations about their town, about the horses, about the exhibition. Scarlett was so absorbed in cooking that she didn't notice the way Rhett looked at her, the way he sometimes stopped himself from helping her by touching her arms or shoulders.
Suddenly he noticed two light scars on her fingers, thumb and forefinger, and the memory flashed through his mind.
They had just finished dancing at the Atlanta Bazaar and he, taking her aside, decided to kiss her hand politely, but she pulled it away slightly embarrassed.
Rhett noticed two bright red burns on her fingers and heard her say that she had "burned her hands making those stupid cakes for the charity fair". He remembered laughing again at her bluntness, but then Aunt Pitty came over and he left.
"Captain Butler..." he heard her voice and, lifting his eyes to hers, just smiled and said, "I'm sorry Scarlett, I was thinking."
Scarlett smiled and nodded, "You said something about paintings and Paris and..." she shifted her shoulder awkwardly, trying to adjust her shawl, but it slipped and almost fell, but then Scarlett felt the touch of strong hands on her shoulders and the shawl was back in place.
She heard his voice behind her, "Your shawl, Scarlett..."
But she just nodded, and out of embarrassment decided to open the lid and turn the omelette over for some reason, which of course fell to pieces.
She hummed as she heard him chuckling behind her back, and muttered with a sigh, "Oh God... Well, I guess it's not an omelette now, it's a scrambled eggs. I hope you don't mind, Captain Butler?"
She didn't turn, but she could feel him smiling.
"Mummy," they heard a voice behind them and Wade ran into the kitchen.
"Wade, you're just in time," Scarlett said quickly, turning and walking over to her son without looking at Rhett, handing him the cutlery and linen napkins, "Help set the table, darling, we're going to have dinner, the three of us."
The same easy conversation went on at the table, sometimes Scarlett would recall moments with John, sometimes she would make remarks to Wade, who was eating his vegetables badly, sometimes she would nod to Rhett and listen to him. It was unusual for her to sit at the same table with this seemingly unknown man, but she did not feel awkward, rather cautious, for she noticed that Captain Butler's jokes were sometimes sharp.
Rhett had stopped himself several times when, out of some invisible habit, he'd begun to joke with her. That strange cocktail of tenderness and mischief towards her had always haunted him. And now, when he thought there was no need to mock at her, now that there was no Ashley Wilkes in her memory, no more another military beau, even now he liked to joke, though he tried to do it more gently than usual.
As he finished his meal, Rhett complimented the food and said with a smile that it was "tastier than the restaurant in Paris" and although Scarlett raised an eyebrow at first, she suddenly decided to ask the first question that came to her mind, "Have you ever been to Paris, Captain Butler?"
He nodded.
"What does Paris smell like?" she asked suddenly, carefully breaking off a piece of bread.
Rhett looked at her with interest and smiled. Scarlett was embarrassed at first, thinking she'd asked a silly question and feeling an overwhelming desire to defend herself if he laughed at her now.
But he didn't seem to find the question silly, just replied, "You know, this is the first time I've ever been asked what the town smells like."
Scarlett looked at him, smiled slightly and went back to her plate, waiting for an answer.
Rhett looked thoughtfully at his plate, trying to remember what Paris smelled like to him.
Horses, the railway station, the dampness of the Seine, oil paints in exhibitions, expensive cigars and obsessive perfumes in gambling houses... It was all like that, but it wasn't the answer he wanted to tell her.
Paris also smelled to him of little streets, with a fashionable shops, while he was looking for that special green bonnet for her. It was the shop, where the scent of jasmine wafted through the air. And vanilla-scented pastry shops, where he searched for the most delicious sweets to bring her during the blockade...
Rhett looked at her thoughtfully and said only, "Maybe jasmine, Scarlett, fresh vanilla pastries..."
She smiled back at him, but noticed Wade chasing vegetables around his plate again and made a few remarks to him.
When they were finally alone in the living room, Scarlett sent Wade upstairs to play in her room and offered Rhett some tea or coffee.
"Especially as you've brought us some delicious sweets, these are just my favourites, John used to buy them for me all the time too," she chirped as untied the green ribbon, opened the box and placed it on the coffee table.
"Would you prefer tea or coffee, Captain Butler?" she asked, lifting her green eyes to him.
"Coffee, Scarlett," he answered, making himself more comfortable in the chair opposite, but then she suddenly sighed and smiled guiltily.
"I'm sorry, Captain Butler, I only just realized I'd bought coffee beans, but we don't have a grinder at home. My husband and I preferred tea... But for some reason I bought coffee to try... Oh, this is embarrassing..."
"Then I'd like to have tea with you, Scarlett," he replied with a broad smile and suddenly added, "but the coffee the next time, Mrs Carter."
Scarlett smiled and was on her way to the kitchen for tea when a question caught her, "May I smoke a cigar? Would you allow it?"
She turned and just nodded.
While Scarlett was in the kitchen, Rhett took out a cigar, lit it and enjoyed the silence of the room, the warmth of the fireplace, but most of all her... Their dinner, their conversation, their jokes - everything was the same as before, the only difference being that he didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted to make her laugh sometimes.
Scarlett entered the living room and immediately felt a slight excitement that grew with each step towards the table. The smell of cigars enveloped her and she took a few deep breaths, covering her eyes as if to drown in it, then suddenly opened her eyes, feeling even more anxious, her knees trembling, and quickly she put the tray on the table and sat down on the couch.
She looked somewhere above him, at the fire in the fireplace, frowning slightly, clenching her fingers, but nothing, nothing she could remember.
"Are you all right, Scarlett?" she heard his deep, worried voice, then she looked at him and just said, "That smell... of your cigars... It seemed very familiar to me... Perhaps someone close to me has smoked them, maybe my first husband, or my father, or my brother... " she told, not noticing his hands trembling slightly, and then sadly added, "But I can't remember..."