My Dear Readers!

Thank you for all your reviews, thoughts and your patience while waiting for the update!

I'm sorry, I'm writing less often, I'm trying to find a balance that takes into account all aspects of my life - family, creativity, socialising, work. Something always suffers, but, anyway, I'm trying!:)

By the way, a few days ago I celebrated a year of my writing. A year since the first chapter of my first story "To let him go..." was published. All this time I've been flying with inspiration and it's all thanks to you! Thank you for reading what I write!

Well, the new chapter is here:)

https//polinka22malinka/779219741709631488/my-inspiration-for-chapter-27-of-the-story-trying?source=share

Enjoy reading!:)

Chapter 27

Along the busy street, passing carriages, nodding to acquaintances and squinting against the bright sun, Ross walked beside Scarlett, carrying a bundle with a piece of peach pie in his left hand and feeling his sister-in-law's slender arm under his right.

They walked in silence, and fast enough to reach the waterfront as soon as possible.

When they finally reached it, they came to a fence, and Ross noticed that Scarlett was a little out of breath, and that there was a slight blush in her cheeks.

"Are you all right, Scarlett?" she heard her brother-in-law's slightly worried voice and, catching her breath, she smiled.

"Yes Ross, don't worry, it's just a corset and it's very hot today..."

"Yes, I agree..." was his serious reply.

They looked at each other intently and suddenly laughed, Scarlett slapped him lightly on the shoulder and said, "Stop acting like I'm your distant relative from the North, Ross!"

He grinned and she continued, "Come on, eat your pie and let's talk..."

Ross smiled as he opened the bundle, broke off a slice and then asked his sister-in-law, who was fixing dishevelled strands of her hair, "Do you want it, Scarlett?"

She wrinkled her nose slightly, remembering the constant lack of appetite and morning sickness, and shook her head in the negative.

A few minutes later, when Ross had shaken the last crumbs of cake from his hands, they walked slowly along the seafront, trying to catch the light breeze from the sea.

He looked again at Scarlett, her dimples on the cheeks, her light blue dress, and said suddenly, "You've changed somehow..."

Scarlett held her breath in surprise and only replied with a slight shake of her head and a giggle, "It's just that I haven't seen you for two weeks and you've forgotten what I look like, Ross Butler!"

Ross smiled back and began to recount the latest news, trying to avoid the reason for their quarrel, but somehow the subject hung between them and finally, stopping and looking into his companion's green eyes, he said, "I wanted to apologize, Scarlett. For not telling you the whole truth as soon as I found out..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and only replied, "I'm not angry, Ross. Not angry anymore... But I want to understand why you kept quiet? And how did you even know about me and my past?"

Ross looked up nervously and ran his hand through his hair, then said, "On that trip, in Marietta, I met your uncle, Scarlett. Henry Hamilton was one of the lawyers, remember I said his name?"

Scarlett's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she remembered Ross's words and the way her obnoxious husband had behaved that day.

She pushed the memories away and only asked, "What did Uncle Henry say about me, Ross? Why didn't he try to find Wade and me?"

"Apparently he was desperate, Scarlett... You see, it was Rhett who did the searching..." Ross started to explain and stopped when he saw his sister-in-law's face darken and she lightly stamped her foot and quickly replied, "That's enough! We're not talking about that rascal anymore!"

"Scarlett, Darling, you both have to talk... You have to listen to him," Ross began again.

"I won't!"

"You see, my brother was driven by fear, Scarlett. Fear of losing you, of losing the children. Fear of hurting you... It's ironic, but what we fear so much becomes our trial."

The last sentence hung in the air, and though Scarlett tried to forget it, it lingered in her mind, throbbing in her temples.

Seeing that the last words had made an impression on her, Ross carefully added, "Promise me you'll give him a chance to talk to you, Honey... Not now, but when you want him to... Please, Scarlett..."

"Hell freezes over," she muttered, not looking at Ross, and added louder, "Okay, if I have to, I'll find a way to talk to that rascal... Now... Now let's go back to our place and have some coffee, okay?"

Ross smiled softly, put his arm around Scarlett's shoulder and said, "My pleasure, Darling... I've missed Wade and Ella so much..."

A few hours later, a happy Ross, who had put aside all his business to spend time with Scarlett and the children, arrived at the estate. As he got out of the carriage and adjusted his light suit, he didn't see his older brother, but heard the sound of hammering. Squinting into the sun, Ross took off his hat and walked quickly towards the sound.

He saw Rhett at the far end, at one of the downstairs windows, trying to fix the shutters. Dressed in a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and simple black trousers, his brother seemed oblivious to the blazing sun, concentrating on his work.

"Hey, Rhett," Ross called, seeing that he barely nodded in his direction, never taking his eyes off the nail between his fingers.

Ross shook his head slightly, realizing that his brother had been obsessed with physical labour for the past few days, so that he could fall asleep faster in the evenings from exhaustion. He sent a few notes to his house and waited nervously for reply from his wife, but Scarlett was silent and that annoyed him.

Ross ran the palm of his hand lightly over his damp forehead and said, "Let's go inside, Rhett, it's cooler... Give me something cold, it's so hot today... You've still got the cook here, haven't you?"

Rhett looked at his brother in silence, put down his hammer, brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and nodded.

Five minutes later, Ross sat in the living room with a glass of cool lemonade, drinking it leisurely and glancing at his brother, who was staring silently out the window, as if hoping to see something or someone... He didn't touch the lemonade, but he drank a lot of cold water and had a cigar in his hand for a smoke...

"Rhett," Ross began in a calm voice, "I met Scarlett today and..."

He saw his brother turn sharply, his eyes flashing, he walked quickly to the couch and said, "Ross, you idiot! You've been here for fifteen minutes and you're just telling me this now?! How is she? Did she want to see you? Have you been home? How are the children?! Just tell me!"

"You don't let me get a word in edgewise!"

"Tell me! Does she want to see me? Is she ready to talk?"

Ross sighed, put the empty glass down on the table and began to tell his brother about the events of the morning, starting with their meeting on the veranda, their conversation on the promenade and his visit to their house.

"I'll go to her!" exclaimed Rhett, as soon as he had heard his brother's speech.

"Rhett, you don't have to! She's not ready to talk to you yet, she's mad at you, yes, but she's worried. She's hardly eating, she's pale..."

But Rhett didn't listen to his brother, he paced the room, working out a plan of action in his head.

"I've waited enough, Ross, sent that bunch of notes and no reply! Enough is enough! If she met with you, she'll talk to me too! Let's take your carriage, wait for me, I'll be ready in a few minutes!"

Ross just shook his head, unable to argue with him, wondering how the future meeting and conversation would go.

Scarlett stood on the waterfront where she and Ross had walked not so long ago and looked out over the water. It reminded her of her father's vast fields, acres and acres of land. Water wasn't her thing, but she tried to find solace there, to figure out what to do next.

After saying goodbye to Ross, she spent some time with the children, then abandoned lunch, the heat making her nauseous more than usual, and she decided to walk down to the seafront again, hoping to work up an appetite. Mary, seeing the pallor of her mistress, tried to dissuade her, suggesting a walk in the garden, but Scarlett stubbornly insisted on going to the seafront.

It was here that Rhett noticed her as he and Ross drove down a familiar street in the carriage. Rhett motioned to the coachman, shook his brother's hand quickly, and walked towards the familiar and beloved female silhouette.

She couldn't remember what made her look round, maybe it was the feeling of that familiar goosebump on her back, but when she met his black eyes, she gasped in surprise and then, with angry stubbornness, quickly turned and tried to get away, quickening her pace a little.

"Scarlett, don't run away from me! Wait!" said Rhett quickly, walked closer to her and grabbed her elbow gently.

"Let me go, you, rascal! You know, that I don't want to see or listen to you! That I myself..."

"Yes, yes, yes... How long must I wait? A month? Two months? Six months? And what if one day I find out that you've packed up the children and left the town?"

She was silent, realizing that such thoughts had crossed her mind as well.

"Why are you silent? It's been over two weeks and I have a right to talk, don't you hear? I wanted to explain! Everything I did was out of love! Out of love for you and out of fear for you, fear of hurting you... Of losing you... Scarlett... Wade, Ella, they're..."

As bad luck would have it, it was hot and stuffy, and Scarlett thought with a little excitement of her future baby, then of losing consciousness in such heat, and then she remembered of her memory loss... But Rhett, he stood there and wouldn't let her pass, he demanded to talk, as if he had the right to do so now! He said something about love, family, children, fear, but she couldn't hear him anymore... Her ears were ringing, her hands were shaking and her legs felt like cotton. Sweat poured down her forehead, she turned pale, and the last thing she remembered was instinctively putting her hand to her belly, her husband's hoarse, frightened voice, strong arms and the darkness.

She woke up in their bedroom, someone talking softly, two male voices, one was a favourite, so familiar and she could feel the anxiety of the speaker. The other was calm, measured... There was a very familiar smell in the air and Scarlett suddenly opened her eyes sharply, recognizing the smell of the hospital.

"Mrs Butler, how are you feeling?" asked Dr Brown's gentle voice.

Scarlett licked her parched lips, trying to listen to how she felt. Nothing hurt, her belly didn't hurt, there was just a severe weakness.

"I think I fainted," she said quietly, looking around the room and trying not to look in the direction of the black eyes.

"Yes, it happens in your condition, especially in the heat of the day .I had already said, you, Dear Mrs Butler, that you should take care of yourself," the doctor said sternly, but a smile played on his lips.

"He knows," a thought flashed through her mind, but she just nodded at the doctor.

"Tonight, Mrs Butler, you have to stay in bed and no restlessness. Good food, if your health permits, and no shocks. Your husband has assured me that he will see to that," the doctor said, placing his bottles in a leather bag.

"I certainly will," she heard Rhett's serious voice and nodded to the doctor without looking at him.

The doctor shook Rhett's hand again and Scarlett heard her husband politely ask Mary to show him out.

She closed her eyes again and heard the door close softly as he walked quickly to the bed, pulled a chair closer and sat down. Then she felt his large, warm palm covering her hand on her belly.

"How long have you known, Scarlett?" she heard his quiet voice.

She sighed, opened her eyes, realizing there was no avoiding the conversation, "The day I remembered everything... I was at the doctor's in the morning, I suspected I was pregnant and I went to see Dr Brown."

Here she stopped talking, swallowed her tears so he wouldn't think she was weak, and added, "I was very happy. I think that's what John told me once. The shock, the unexpected happy news..."

Rhett was silent and Scarlett closed her eyes again. What happiness could there be to talk about now that everything had happened...

Suddenly she felt him lean in and his warm lips first on her hand and then next to it, on her belly, through the thin fabric of her light dress. She suddenly realized that she was without a corset. Apparently Mary had loosened it while they waited for the doctor.

Her heart sank at this gentle gesture, but all she could think was, "Why is this so good and so bad at the same time?"

"Rhett, please, I want to be alone..." she began, trying to be serious.

"No."

"What?"

"No. I'm not leaving my wife, my future baby and my children now. My son and my daughter miss me, Scarlett. These last two weeks have been terrible, I'm not leaving again," Rhett was serious, speaking firmly and looking her in the eyes as he kept his hand on her belly.

Scarlett looked at him angrily at first, then suddenly sighed heavily and covered her face with her hands.

She didn't want to cry, but she was torn between being angry with him and loving him. She's been so exhausted over the weeks, to fall asleep alone was painful, not to hear his whispers, to wake up alone was worse, not to feel his lips on hers and his strong arms around her so gently. And how she wanted to tell him about the baby, he wanted it so much, she knew it... Why, why had he done this to her? Why did he play his stupid games?

Suddenly Rhett rose quickly from the chair, walked around the bed, kicked off his shoes and in a moment she was in his arms. She was drowning in his scent again, in his strong arms, her heart pounding furiously, her hands, which she hadn't removed from her face, trembling slightly. She tried to pull away, in weak protest, but the last bastion fell at his words, "I love you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Scarlett"

She could no longer control the tears of the bitterness, of resentment, of relief, and Rhett held her tighter, repeating helplessly, "Please don't cry. Please don't cry..."

They sat together for a long time... Scarlett allowed herself to sink into his arms, to cry, to feel his love and awe that he had not often shown in their married life. But she knew she had not forgiven him... Not yet. And she knew he would have to go. For a while.

Rhett sat beside her, savouring the scent of her hair that he remembered every night when he went to bed alone at the estate, savouring the closeness of her, the chance to hold her again, and even now it was somehow real because she remembered everything.

He enjoyed the touch of his hand on her flat belly and the thought of her giving them a child made his heart beat faster.

A clock somewhere in the hall struck five and Rhett heard her soft but determined voice, "You have to go, Rhett. You must get to the estate before dark."

She felt his arms become tense around her.

"I think I've said it clearly, Scarlett, that I wasn't going anywhere and..."

"And I didn't agree to that!"

She quickly pulled out of his embrace and pulled away, looking at him seriously.

Rhett looked her in the eyes, too.

"Scarlett, your games are not appropriate..." she heard his serious voice.

Suddenly she grinned back and, angry that he wasn't listening to her, she spoke sharply, crossing her arms over her chest, "There's only one of us in this room who plays games all the time! Only one of us is a professional gambler! And it isn't me, Rhett Butler!"

There was an oppressive silence in the room, both staring at each other, not wanting to give in, just wanting to bend the other to their will.