It had been a year, and Scarlett had not heard or seen Rhett. The anniversary of their daughter's death had brought her back to Atlanta for a few days, in which she kept her eyes open for his tall, dark figure, and then, had returned to Tara. It was early October, the first chilly morning, when she had a knocking on her bedroom door, and Susie stood in the hallway with a cream envelope.

"Mama said it's from your Aunt."

Scarlett took the note and quickly opened it, hoping it was word about Rhett. The note was short and attached was another note in a strange handwriting. It was from Rhett's mother, asking Scarlett if Rhett was with her, or if she knew of his whereabouts. Scarlett's heart felt cold, and her knees buckled as she sat on her vanity chair and reread the letters twice. She heard footsteps enter the room, Wade, Susie and Ella stood in the doorway. Scarlett caught their gapping mouths and bugged out eyes, and asked, "What do you want?"

Wade and Ella shuffled out, but Susie spouted,"You screamed, is anything wrong?"

Scarlett blushed, not even realizing, and then Wade turned around encouraged by his younger cousin's gumption, "Is it Uncle Rhett?"

"It's a letter, and it's business. Run along all of you!" Scarlett quipped irritated.

She scanned the letter again, so Rhett had not been in touch with his mother since January, something was not right, at all. His mother had written to some acquaintances in New Orleans, and New York, but there was no news.

Scarlett hurried down to the office and prepared to write a letter to Mrs. Butler, and the one to Henry Hamilton. She hadn't been back to Atlanta since June, and she didn't visit anybody, except the banker, where she deposited money in Beau's trust fund.

Suellen noticed Scarlett's face was stressed as she dotted the pen in the inkwell, "Scarlett, who are you writing? Is Aunt Pauline ill?"

Scarlett looked up, and glared, "No, I have to write my lawyer in Atlanta, it's business related."

"WHat does Aunt Pauline know about business? Unless, it's Rhett?"

Scarlett stopped mid sentence, "I'll tell you about it later."

Scarlett had confided in Will about Rhett;s departure, but Suellen knew only what the children knew, and that was Rhett was starting up a business in New York and London, and it required him to be absent for several months, and they would return to Atlanta when he did.

Scarlett had enrolled Ella and Wade in the county school with Susie, and had made her peace with Suellen enough to stay at Tara for the past year, with only an occasional argument.

Scarlett wrote a short note to telegraph Uncle Henry, asking him to send any correspondence he had from Rhett to Mrs. Butler, because she hadn't heard from him in nearly ten months.

Scarlett then wrote a letter to Mrs. Butler explaining that Rhett wanted to get involved in a new business opportunity and his grief was driving him to be alone for a few months in Europe.

Scarlett sealed the letters, and thought back to the last time, she had seen Rhett, after he had initially left her. She was coming out of the church after Melanie's funeral boarding her carriage with the children to go to the cemetary, and he was standing across the street from the church under a black umbrella and he stared passed her to the small coffin they carried out to the funeral carriage. She had caught his eyes and smirked, he turned his head, and then turned it back staring, penetrating her soul so that she shivered. Rhett's eyes were blank, and he slowly

shook his head, no, bidding her not to acknowledge him, before he turned and walked down the street towards the train station, carrying his leather bag.

Scarlett had sat in the carriage and cried bitterly, and Ella had held her hand and joined her, followed by Wade, for Aunt Melly.

Scarlett had rushed to Jonesboro with her letters in hand, and she prayed, "Please, let Rhett be alive."When she returned that afternoon, Scarlett held up in her room until Prissy came and called her for supper. The children had been fed, and they were upstairs in the nursery, so supper was only Suellen, Will and Scarlett. As they began to eat, Suellen watched Scarlett's furrowed brow, and she asked, "Scarlett, what's the business problem, you promised to tell me about?"

"Nothing to say yet, I telegraphed and wrote letters, I will need to hear back from the recipients before there is anything to tell."

"Is Rhett coming home?"

"Just about time, I believe. It seems he needed some contracts from our Atlanta lawyers. AUnt Pauline wrote on behave of his Mother."

"Maybe, you could visit him, if he's in CHarleston?" Suellen offered.

"Suellen, that's Scarlett's business," Warned WIll.

Scarlett kept eating and ignored her remark, then she asked, "Am I being an inconvenience to you, here at Tara?"

"Scarlett, she didn't mean it that way, I'm sure." Will offered, looking at SUellen.

"No, I was just saying, you havent seen him in almost a year."

"Well, he was always taking business trips when we were first courting, it was after we had Bonnie that he stayed home more, and now that she's gone-" Scarlett stopped realizing tears were running down her cheeks, "Excuse me." Scarlett gathered her skirts and went into Ellen's office, and let out her stiffled sniffles. There was an offered handkerchief, and looking up, t was soft brown eyes, "Wade Hampton, what are you doing downstairs?' Scarlett sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"When are we going home? WHen's Uncle Rhett coming home?'

"Soon enough,"

"Was Uncle Rhett at the cemetery or at Bonnie's mass?"

Scarlett shook her head.

Wade touched her shoulder, "Mother, do you want me to have your dinner sent to your room?"

"I can't eat, just have Mammy bring me up some tea and a biscuit later, I'm going to lay down."

Wade nodded and ran off to the kitchen to tell Mammy, as Scarlett started up the back stairs to her room.

Wade heard Uncle Will's hushed voice, "Sue, you better mind your tongue. Your sister owns more of Tara then you, with all the money she lays out on this place, we wouldn't be living here, if she wasn't so generous."

"Will, I know you know that Rhett left. Who could blame him? His beautiful daughter dead, and Scarlett is so hateful. There is nothing to keep him with her, and then that business with her and Ashley-"

"None of that was true. Mr. Wilkes loved his wife and son, he wouldn't-"

"No, but Scarlett would!" Suellen roared, and slammed her napkin on the table, "I've lost my appetite. I'm going to sit out on the porch."

Will sat there and finished his last bit, and he noticed the shadow of feet under the door, "COme in here. WHo's there?"

Wade stuck his head in, "I know I'm not supposed to listen."

"Hell, boy, she's so loud, I'm sure the whole house heard."

Wade's face was crimson, and then he bit his lip, "She's wrong. Uncle Rhett didn't leave us. He might not love my mother, but he loves us, Ella and me. He'll be back."

"Son, I sure hope so. These O'Hara women are a lot of their own, nothing but trouble."

Wade shook his head, yes.

Mammy came in to clear the dishes and saw the two full plates on the table, "Lawd, they fight again?"

Wade started, "Mother said she wants tea and a biscuit, later."

"No, she gonna eat this meal, every bite, and Miss Suellen, too!"

Mammy covered the dishes with napkins, and hurried them back to the kitchen, calling for Wade.

Wade stood as the tray for his mother was prepared, and she added a hot cup of tea, "Now, bring this to your Ma. I know she aint gonna turn down sweet potatoes, no telling what Miss Suellen fussed with her about."

Wade asked Mammy, "What's the trouble with Mother and Uncle Ashley? Is that why Uncle Rhett is gone?"

Mammy's mouth made a '"O", "Who tell you that boy?"

"I heard AUnt Sue-"

"Why you listenin' to adults talk?"

"I'm asking you, what is the business?"

"Nothing, just your Aunt Sue being hateful, now don't be worrying about that. Your Uncle Rhett, he'll be back, he's just sad and acting like a chile now, but he's coming back."

Wade nodded and took his Mother's tray up the staircase, he hated the turns, it wasn't like the grand one in Atlanta, where he could run straight up and down.

His mother door was open, and he nudged it with his foot. His Mother sat at her vanity, with her hat box on her lap, and the sweet, septic smell of liquor in the air. He knew that smell all too often, his mother was drinking.

She covered her mouth with her hand and coughed, "Oh, Wade, I believe, I'm getting a chill."

"Mammy said you need to eat your whole meal."

Scarlett looked at the dish passively, "I guess I could use it, put it on my table."

Wade stood in the doorway, about to leave, and he said, "Aunt Suellen is upset, too. She said she couldn't eat."

Scarlett looked at him, and raised her eyebrow, "Is that so? Well, what am I supposed to do about it?"

Wade shrugged, "I don't know. Uncle Will said you too are both trouble."

"Wade, go to your room. I'm getting a headache, and stop listening to your Uncle Will."

Scarlett lounged in her bed, and started to work on the sweet potatoe and the last slice of ham, just as her wandered and she repeated the words in the letter, "January, left, no news, New York."

Scarlett's heart clenched again as she whipsered, "Where in the hell are you, Rhett?"