After much lolly-gagging, I finally finished this chapter. I hope it meets with your approval.

A special "Thank you" to my dream girl DreamGWTW, she helps me to make this happen.

Chapter 8

She had been nervous when she opened the telegram from Henry. All it said was

'Must speak with you. Come at your earliest convenience.' Henry Hamilton, esq.

When she had read his signature and took notice on how official it looked, she knew that it had something to do with Rhett. So with a heavy heart, Scarlett told the children that it was time for them to go home and resume their lives, the holiday was now over.

Therefore, within two days of receiving the telegram, Scarlett was on her way back to the harsh reality of gossip and grief.

The weather was gloomy and damp when Scarlett and the children arrived at the train station in Atlanta, and it brought back bitter memories of the day that she had lost everything…her love for Ashley, the loss of Melanie, but most of all the desertion by Rhett. Her driver Silas was waiting for her at the station and when the train pulled up, he immediately jumped from his seat on the carriage and went to fetch Scarlett and her family. While driving through town and looking out of the window of their carriage, Wade had noticed that many of the citizens of Atlanta had stopped to watch them pass by and as they stared at the carriage, they silently shook their heads as if already disapproving of the occupants inside. Wade just scowled at them "They don't know what my mother has gone through and how heartbroken she is." When the carriage finally turned up the long driveway to the front of the house, Silas halted the horses that were pulling the carriage and he quickly alighted from his seat and opened the door so that the occupants could all get out. Wade jumped out of the carriage first and stood near the doorway so that he could hand Scarlett out carefully. He was very worried about his mother- for she had been uncharacteristically quiet on the whole ride home from Savannah. When she did speak, she gave short quick answers and seemed to be in a world of her own. He was worried because all while they were in Savannah she had had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, she even giggled a few times, and that was something that Scarlett's children had rarely if ever heard. But once she had received the telegram, she abruptly stated that they were going home and the light that was in her eyes had died. He wondered if it had anything to do with Rhett. He knew that his mother and step-father were going through some great difficulties in their marriage, but he was unable to pinpoint exactly what was going on. All that he remembered was that his mother had told him and Ella that their Uncle Rhett was going to be living in Charleston and that it was more than likely that he would never come back to Atlanta.

Walking through the front door of their home was a sobering experience. After all of the light that graced their rooms in Savannah, they were greeted with gloom and darkness. There seemed to be not one single glint of sunlight. True the house had been all closed up while they were away, but Scarlett had sent a telegram to the servants telling them that they would be home in two days and had asked them to please air out all of the rooms. But even though the house smelled of newly waxed floors and fresh cut flowers, it was not enough to make the house a home.

Patience was not a strong suit in Scarlett, so once she had settled the children in their rooms upon their arrival from Savannah, she freshened herself up with a quick sponge bath and fresh clothing and summoned her driver to take her to Henry Hamilton's office.

Upon arriving at her Uncle Henry's office, she was greeted at the door by Samuel, Henry's driver. She was quite surprised to see him at the door and gave him a strange look as he greeted her,

"Hello Mrs. Butler, Mr. Hamilton will be with you shortly."

He guided her towards the closed door to Henry's office and opened it then allowed her in. She sat down on the well-worn leather chair that was placed directly in front of Henry's large and cluttered desk. She sat there quite prim and proper with her small gloved hands crossed delicately on her lap. While sitting there, she looked all around Henry's office, and aside from his cluttered desk, he had volumes of law books in bookshelves all over the office. The lamp that was near his desk looked rather old and rusty, there was a old wooden footstool near one of the bookshelves, but even though the room looked well lived in, there was not a speck of dust to be seen. While examining the room, she had noticed that even though the building survived the ravages of war the room was not left untouched. The back wall was newer than the rest of the room, this she noticed because the wood that was used was of a lighter color and not as worn. Being in the lumber business did have its good points, it taught her how to look at wood and know if it was quality or not, the wood used in Henry's office was of a cheap quality and would need to be replaced much sooner than if he had used higher quality. She knew that he struggled with keeping his business afloat after the war and had probably used what little he had left in funds to procure the supplies that he needed to restore his offices. Scarlett was secretly proud of her Uncle Henry and a small smile formed across her face as she thought of the grizzled old man that was now helping her through her toughest time. The door swung open and she was awakened from her temporary reverie when in walked the old man that was now her divorce lawyer.

"Ah, Scarlett, I see you have made it back to Atlanta in one piece." He commented as he walked over to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. As he brought his face away from hers he gave her a quick and friendly wink.

"Yes Uncle Henry. The children and I had a wonderful time in Savannah. I'll have to tell you all about it when we have time, but I am here because you sent me a telegram. I am assuming that you have heard from Rhett. Am I correct?"

"Yes my dear you are." He soberly answered her. "I received an envelope from his lawyer and it contained two letters. I have already read mine, and I'm sure the one that is for you will contain the same information and I don't think that you are going to like it."

She looked at him with confusion written all over her face. "What do you mean Henry?"

He handed her the letter and quietly answered, "Here, read this and you'll see what I mean."

Scarlett hesitantly reached out her hand and took the letter that Henry was offering to her. She looked down at it for a moment and noticed that in Rhett's sweeping script it said only "Scarlett". With a trembling hand she slowly opened it, pulled out the letter unfolded it and began to read.

Scarlett,

After thinking about your demands over the last few months, I have decided that I will give you what you want, but there will be a price. Looking over the property and assets that we have, I think I can easily let you have that dust bin of yours; Kennedy's General Store and also that white elephant in Clayton County that you seem to love so much. You may also have that monstrosity of a house on Peachtree Street, I do not want it, so do with it what you will, I will pay for the up-keep and servants for one year after the divorce, but after that it will be your sole responsibility. In case you do not understand what I am saying, I will clarify it for you. I will give you back the things that you came into the marriage with, but in return, I want you to give me something back. What I want from you is for you to give me back the Butler name. It has been dragged through the mud enough by my past escapades, and I don't want you to go and sully it any further, since you seem to have a knack for causing a scandal and becoming the subject of town gossip.

So after all of the papers have been signed you will no longer use the Butler name, use O'Hara or Kennedy, hell use Wilkes for all I care, but not Butler. This will sever all ties between us and you will be free to do as you please.

Goodbye Scarlett, be well.

Rhett

As Henry watched Scarlett, he could see a myriad of emotions flit across her face. First there had been relief, then hurt floated across her face which then turned to anger and then finally sadness. Henry realized that the thought that Scarlett was a heartless woman was all wrong. This was a woman with a cornucopia of emotions, but like a savvy gambler kept all semblance of emotion close to her chest. He kept his old grey eyes locked on Scarlett's face until she finally lifted them to look up at him. He could see the sadness in her eyes, but with the determination of keeping herself emotionless she swallowed hard and set her jaw tight and lifted her chin, then curtly nodded acceptance of the terms. All the while her face was as pale as a ghost's. Henry greatly admired Scarlett at this very moment, because he knew how hard she was trying to keep her emotions in tact and that her heart was breaking. Looking straight into her eyes he said quietly, "I'm sorry Scarlett."

Scarlett sat there in stunned silence-she couldn't believe how callous Rhett's letter was. She knew that he was angry with her and had said that he no longer loved her, but she had never ever entertained the thought that he would want to cut her out of his life in the cruelest manner possible. Her usually proud head was bowed low and her shoulders slumped forward, it was a sign of defeat-a sign that Scarlett had never affected in her life until that moment. With a deep sigh, she slowly lifted her head and pushed out her chin then looked at Uncle Henry straight in his eyes, and with a slight quiver in her voice she spoke.

"Why Henry? I made my bed, now I must lie in it." Then clearing her throat she continued in her business like manner, "Just do what needs to be done, and when all is said and done, I will sign anything that you wish."

Leaving Henry's office with a heavy heart, Scarlett suddenly found herself at home. She didn't remember getting into her carriage and being driven there, but here she was sitting at her vanity table looking like a lost soul. She shook her head to erase the cobwebs that were binding her mind and reached for the decanter of brandy and glass that she kept on a tray. She no longer hid the fact that she drank, all of the servants knew that she imbibed alcohol every so often, so she felt that as long as they kept quiet about it she wouldn't hide it. But on this night she had decided that she was going to get very drunk and let out all of her pent up emotions, knowing that she was soon going to leave her life as Scarlett Butler behind and re-emerge as Scarlett O'Hara once again.

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