Ghost of Hope, Ch. 4
The roiling waves of steel grey clouds that had covered the sky for the past few weeks had finally parted, leaving the porch bathed in sunlight. Warmth seeped from the red clay bricks through Scarlett's slippers to warm her feet as she joined Rhett on a chaise just out of the sun.
"I would think you'd prefer the sunlight, after so much time in the dark, Mr. Butler."
He started out of the reverie he'd been in, tearing his gaze from the hedge- shrouded lawns. While overall he looked much healthier than he had when she'd walked into his room a week ago, Scarlett detected a lingering sadness about him.
"It is good to be outside that monstrosity of a house, Scarlett." The taunting laugh failed to reach his eyes as she sat down next to him.
"Maybe that's what we both need. Time outside together, in the warmth and sunlight." She nearly suggested going for a ride, something she hadn't taken the time to enjoy since before the war, when the image of Bonnie's prone form flashed in her mind. The idea was quickly dismissed, and she remained still, letting the sun's warmth reach the tips of her toes, as her slippers peeked out under the hem of her skirts.
Rhett's eyes roved over her form, still discontent, but basking in the sun like a cat. "We could get outside this all together." For a long moment he was silent, summoning the resolve to continue. "Bonnie loved London. Perhaps you would too." He couldn't meet her eyes as he spoke, and she knew what that statement had cost him.
"Oh, Rhett, I'd love to see London! But…" she stilled for a moment, wondering whether it was wise to venture a bit of jest. "I thought Bonnie said London was horribly dreary and rainy. Couldn't we go somewhere lovely and warm?"
"Lovely and warm, darling?" Now his smile reached his eyes, catching a bit of her passion. "I'm sure the fashions of the French capital would be to your liking."
Scarlett furrowed her brow. "You mean Paris?"
A soft chuckle rumbled through Rhett's chest. "Yes, Scarlett, Paris. I see more education is necessary before we make the trip."
"Oh." Scarlett shut down, refusing to respond to his taunt, but hurt just the same. It was only his firm grasp on her arm that prompted her to look at him.
"I'm sorry, Scarlett. If we're going to start being civil again, I need to learn to stop mocking you as I do."
An apologetic Rhett was something she was unprepared for. "Well, it's not all the mocking. Sometimes it makes me laugh, when I know you mean it to be funny. But sometimes it seems like you do it just to goad me for my faults. I'm aware enough of those on my own."
"Would Paris serve as a suitable apology?"
Scarlett managed to look angry for a few seconds before breaking into a smile. "Oh, yes Rhett, I'd like nothing better. Is it anything like New Orleans was?"
A smile curled across Rhett's lips at her eagerness. "Bigger, and more elegant. Anything you want, you can have there."
For a moment, visions of elegant dinners and evening walks drifted through her mind, then that deep awareness of her shortcomings rose again. "But I don't know a word of French! How on earth am I supposed to ask for anything?"
"You're a fast learner, and I speak it passably well. You think you can learn a bit in the two weeks it will take to sail there?"
"Oh, I'm sure of it. Only, what about Wade and Ella? I feel terrible going off and leaving them, it would be wonderful for them to go too." She hesitated, unsure of how selfish she was willing to admit to being. "I want some time with you to myself. We have a lot to fix."
Nodding slowly, Rhett wrapped his arm around her. "It's up to you. We can take them along if you'd like, but we can always go back again and take them if you enjoy it this time. Perhaps in a few more years, when they're old enough to appreciate everything they'll see."
"I think I like that idea very much. How soon can we leave?"
"Always the eager one, aren't you? Would a week be soon enough for you?"
"Whenever you want to go, I'll go with you."
Rhett used the leverage of his arm to pull her back onto the chaise with him. They rested in the silence of the afternoon, the bench slowly being bathed in warmth as the sun traveled across the afternoon sky.
As happy as she was with the prospect of spending several months alone with Rhett, and traveling to Paris, a part of her remained concerned. She liked the new, easy peace they'd forged as without discussion he'd returned to her room, and they passed most evenings together. Yet worry nagged at her that by leaving, they were simply running away from their problems.
The thoughts spun around in her brain, drawing her out of the afternoon and into her own head. If their problem was them, wouldn't it be just as easy to fix in Paris, or perhaps even easier there, without the distraction of their Atlanta roles? Or would it leave them with a false foundation for their future. Quickly, the thought of rebuilding their lives somewhere other than Atlanta or Tara crossed her mind. She rapidly dismissed the idea, knowing no other way of life than the one to which she was currently accustomed.
When they rose to return to the house, Scarlett voiced her fears. "Rhett, will leaving really help? Of course I want to see Paris, but will going away from where all our problems are really fix anything at all?"
Rhett froze, astonished at the mix of insight and trepidation. "Frankly my dear, I think getting out of Atlanta is exactly what we need. I wouldn't mind leaving for good, if we can find somewhere better to settle."
"I don't know where I'd want to live. I've never lived anywhere but here or Tara." The naïveté shown through, leaving her feeling very much a child.
"You're an adaptable, smart woman, Scarlett. You could live anywhere you decided you liked. That's one of the things I love about you. Anything you put your mind to, you accomplish. I may tease you about your lack of formal education, but you more than make up for it with wit and resourcefulness. That's something that can't be taught."
Pride drew her up further into Rhett's embrace. "That's the kindest thing you've ever said to me. Thank you." She rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, willingly opening her mouth to his as he twisted to meet her lips.
Reluctantly they broke apart, moving into the shade of the house. The idea of moving out of Atlanta and into a larger world overwhelmed her, but Rhett's confidence in her left her eager instead of fearful.
The roiling waves of steel grey clouds that had covered the sky for the past few weeks had finally parted, leaving the porch bathed in sunlight. Warmth seeped from the red clay bricks through Scarlett's slippers to warm her feet as she joined Rhett on a chaise just out of the sun.
"I would think you'd prefer the sunlight, after so much time in the dark, Mr. Butler."
He started out of the reverie he'd been in, tearing his gaze from the hedge- shrouded lawns. While overall he looked much healthier than he had when she'd walked into his room a week ago, Scarlett detected a lingering sadness about him.
"It is good to be outside that monstrosity of a house, Scarlett." The taunting laugh failed to reach his eyes as she sat down next to him.
"Maybe that's what we both need. Time outside together, in the warmth and sunlight." She nearly suggested going for a ride, something she hadn't taken the time to enjoy since before the war, when the image of Bonnie's prone form flashed in her mind. The idea was quickly dismissed, and she remained still, letting the sun's warmth reach the tips of her toes, as her slippers peeked out under the hem of her skirts.
Rhett's eyes roved over her form, still discontent, but basking in the sun like a cat. "We could get outside this all together." For a long moment he was silent, summoning the resolve to continue. "Bonnie loved London. Perhaps you would too." He couldn't meet her eyes as he spoke, and she knew what that statement had cost him.
"Oh, Rhett, I'd love to see London! But…" she stilled for a moment, wondering whether it was wise to venture a bit of jest. "I thought Bonnie said London was horribly dreary and rainy. Couldn't we go somewhere lovely and warm?"
"Lovely and warm, darling?" Now his smile reached his eyes, catching a bit of her passion. "I'm sure the fashions of the French capital would be to your liking."
Scarlett furrowed her brow. "You mean Paris?"
A soft chuckle rumbled through Rhett's chest. "Yes, Scarlett, Paris. I see more education is necessary before we make the trip."
"Oh." Scarlett shut down, refusing to respond to his taunt, but hurt just the same. It was only his firm grasp on her arm that prompted her to look at him.
"I'm sorry, Scarlett. If we're going to start being civil again, I need to learn to stop mocking you as I do."
An apologetic Rhett was something she was unprepared for. "Well, it's not all the mocking. Sometimes it makes me laugh, when I know you mean it to be funny. But sometimes it seems like you do it just to goad me for my faults. I'm aware enough of those on my own."
"Would Paris serve as a suitable apology?"
Scarlett managed to look angry for a few seconds before breaking into a smile. "Oh, yes Rhett, I'd like nothing better. Is it anything like New Orleans was?"
A smile curled across Rhett's lips at her eagerness. "Bigger, and more elegant. Anything you want, you can have there."
For a moment, visions of elegant dinners and evening walks drifted through her mind, then that deep awareness of her shortcomings rose again. "But I don't know a word of French! How on earth am I supposed to ask for anything?"
"You're a fast learner, and I speak it passably well. You think you can learn a bit in the two weeks it will take to sail there?"
"Oh, I'm sure of it. Only, what about Wade and Ella? I feel terrible going off and leaving them, it would be wonderful for them to go too." She hesitated, unsure of how selfish she was willing to admit to being. "I want some time with you to myself. We have a lot to fix."
Nodding slowly, Rhett wrapped his arm around her. "It's up to you. We can take them along if you'd like, but we can always go back again and take them if you enjoy it this time. Perhaps in a few more years, when they're old enough to appreciate everything they'll see."
"I think I like that idea very much. How soon can we leave?"
"Always the eager one, aren't you? Would a week be soon enough for you?"
"Whenever you want to go, I'll go with you."
Rhett used the leverage of his arm to pull her back onto the chaise with him. They rested in the silence of the afternoon, the bench slowly being bathed in warmth as the sun traveled across the afternoon sky.
As happy as she was with the prospect of spending several months alone with Rhett, and traveling to Paris, a part of her remained concerned. She liked the new, easy peace they'd forged as without discussion he'd returned to her room, and they passed most evenings together. Yet worry nagged at her that by leaving, they were simply running away from their problems.
The thoughts spun around in her brain, drawing her out of the afternoon and into her own head. If their problem was them, wouldn't it be just as easy to fix in Paris, or perhaps even easier there, without the distraction of their Atlanta roles? Or would it leave them with a false foundation for their future. Quickly, the thought of rebuilding their lives somewhere other than Atlanta or Tara crossed her mind. She rapidly dismissed the idea, knowing no other way of life than the one to which she was currently accustomed.
When they rose to return to the house, Scarlett voiced her fears. "Rhett, will leaving really help? Of course I want to see Paris, but will going away from where all our problems are really fix anything at all?"
Rhett froze, astonished at the mix of insight and trepidation. "Frankly my dear, I think getting out of Atlanta is exactly what we need. I wouldn't mind leaving for good, if we can find somewhere better to settle."
"I don't know where I'd want to live. I've never lived anywhere but here or Tara." The naïveté shown through, leaving her feeling very much a child.
"You're an adaptable, smart woman, Scarlett. You could live anywhere you decided you liked. That's one of the things I love about you. Anything you put your mind to, you accomplish. I may tease you about your lack of formal education, but you more than make up for it with wit and resourcefulness. That's something that can't be taught."
Pride drew her up further into Rhett's embrace. "That's the kindest thing you've ever said to me. Thank you." She rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, willingly opening her mouth to his as he twisted to meet her lips.
Reluctantly they broke apart, moving into the shade of the house. The idea of moving out of Atlanta and into a larger world overwhelmed her, but Rhett's confidence in her left her eager instead of fearful.