Chapter Text
Indian summer lingered into November that year and the warm days were bright days for those at Tara. The worst was over. Scarlett's visit to the Fontaines had heartened her more than she realized. Just the knowledge that she had neighbors, that some of the family friends and old homes had survived, drove out the terrible loss and alone feeling which had oppressed her in her first weeks at Tara. Even Pork had understood that she was the head of Tara, and without questioning he accepted that she was Gerald’s boy. It was all that matters. Pork had been fiercely loyal to Gerald O'Hara and his memory, having served him until his death. Now, he will remain in Scarlett service.
She had intended to do any cotton picking, but not alone. She had intended that the negroes should do the field work, while the convalescent women attended to the house, but here she was confronted with a caste feeling even stronger than her own. Pork, Mammy and Prissy set up outcries at the idea of working in the fields. They reiterated that they were house niggers, not field hands.
Scarlett refused to listen to the protests and drove them all into the cotton rows. But Mammy and Pork worked so slowly and with so many lamentations that Scarlett sent Mammy back to the kitchen to cook and Pork to the woods and the river with snares for rabbits and possums and lines for fish. Cotton picking was beneath Pork's dignity but hunting and fishing were not.
Scarlett next had tried her sisters and Melanie in the fields, but that had worked no better. Melanie had picked neatly, quickly and willingly for an hour in the hot sun and then fainted quietly and had to stay in bed for a week. Scarlett didn’t allow her to pick up anything else after that. Instead, she put all her anger and irritation against one of her sisters. Suellen pretended to faint too, but came back to consciousness spitting like an angry cat when Scarlett poured a gourdful of water in her face. Finally she refused point-blank.
"I won't work in the fields like a darky! You can't make me. What if any of our friends ever heard of it? What if Mr. Kennedy ever knew? Oh, Mother has already told you that we are not going to work!"
"I don’t care what she says! I am the boss here and you are going to work as hard as I can or I'll slap you flat," cried Scarlett. "Father worked harder than any darky on this place and you know it! We can work as well as he did!"
"Papa did not in the fields. And you can't make me. I'll tell Mother on you and she won't make me work!"
"Don't you dare go bothering Mother with any of our troubles!" cried Scarlett, distracted between indignation at her sister and fear for Ellen.
Suellen quickly went inside the house and Scarlett followed her while scolding her. The noise of the discussion was heard all over the place and his younger sister, Carreen had to intervene in the fight.
"I’ll help you, Sister." she interposed docilely. "I'll work for Sue and me too. She isn't well yet and she shouldn't be out in the sun."
"Thank you, Sugarbaby." Scarlett calmed the tone of her voice to a softer one. "I really appreciate you wanting to help, but this cow should be more useful!"
Carreen, who had always been as delicately pink and white as the orchard blossoms that are scattered by the spring wind, was no longer pink but still conveyed in her sweet thoughtful face a blossomlike quality. She had been silent, a little dazed since she came back to consciousness, Scarlett a termagant, the world changed and unceasing labor the order of the new day. It was not in Carreen's delicate nature to adjust herself to change. She simply could not comprehend what had happened and she went about Tara like a sleepwalker, doing exactly what she was told. She looked, and was, frail but she was willing, obedient and obliging. When she was not doing Scarlett's bidding, her rosary beads were always in her hands and her lips moving in prayers for her father and for Brent Tarleton, the man she has loved. It did not occur to Scarlett that Carreen had taken Brent's death so seriously and that her grief was unhealed.
To Scarlet, Carreen was still baby sister, far too young to have had a really serious love affair.
"Let me help you, my health is good now." The older denied the offer. The last time, her sister had picked diligently and earnestly but, after she had labored for an hour it was obvious that she wasn’t well enough for such work yet. So Scarlett had sent Carreen back to the house too.
"Suellen! I swear… if you don't go and work, I'll take you outside, even if I have to push you."
"It's not fair! You’re going to Atlanta while you leave us here!"
"I'm not going on vacation, I'm going to buy clothes and…"
"Scarlett…" She got interrupted by Ellen’s voice and she froze in the middle of the discussion. The sparkle of her eyes made Scarlett look down, intimidated by her presence. "What is going on here?"
"Nothing, Mother."
Scarlett sighed and raised her head. Ellen looked at them with love and concern, approaching her youngest daughter first. There was an underlying tension in the place and Scarlett tried to ignore it. That was the moment Suellen chose to complain about her and the way she handled Tara and Scarlett remained silent as she felt Ellen's eyes, checking her soul and consciousness.
Her mother represented the Southern lady, she was gentle, virtuous, and reserved. Scarlett was fiery, independent, and often defied the traditional role expected of women. Ellen was somewhat distant and didn’t fully understand her, she often wished her daughter would be more like her. Ellen had tried to guide her, but she struggled to connect with her daughter’s more unorthodox behavior. A part of her wanted to blame Melanie Wilkes, but it would not be fair for her to vent her frustration against her. However, the devotion and attachment between the two young women was truly worrying and dangerous.
Her oldest daughter was not a man. It would never be and the faster Scarlett assimilated it, the faster she could understand the reality of being a woman. Ellen’s life was not happy or easy, but she didn’t expect life to be easy because it was a man's world, and she accepted it as such. The man owned the property, and the woman managed it. The man took credit for the management, and the woman praised his cleverness. The man roared like a bull when a splinter was in his finger, and the woman muffled the moans of childbirth, lest she disturb him. Men were rough of speech and often drunk. Women ignored the lapses of speech and put the drunkards to bed without bitter words. Men were rude and outspoken, women were always kind, gracious and forgiving.
"It is unthinkable what you are doing. You and your sisters shouldn’t do that kind of thing, especially you. You have been married and you must behave as such."
"Times change." She muttered. "The more hands work in the field, the better we will do. Dilcey, Prissy and Cookie would take twice as long if they do it alone." Scarlett saw the disappointment in Ellen’s face. She clearly did not approve her decision, nor did she understand her pragmatism in the face of the war.
"Why are you comparing yourself with them?"
"Mother, I really respect your opinion. I know how you are feeling about this situation. However I am the only one who makes the choice now. Pa is not here anymore and it’s my duty to keep you safe." Scarlett was determined. "It is the right way, can you trust me?"
Ellen’s feelings were mixed with both admiration for Scarlett’s strength and disapproval of her unconventional behaviour. The reality was that the young woman was more concerned with surviving and protecting her family, often at the cost of tradition.
"Treat your sister well, Scarlett."
Everyone was surprised by the answer. It was the first time Ellen had given in to Scarlett's desires without so much complaining. Even Suellen remained silent and went to the fields without protesting. Carreen leaned on her mother and Scarlett also went out silently towards the stable.
While saddling the two horses, Scarlett took some time to reflect. The circumstances of life had changed her. She no longer wore her beautiful and expensive dresses, she didn't take naps in the afternoon and she didn't sit on the porch to chat with her friends, unconcerned about the world around her. She didn’t feel like Scarlett O’Hara. She missed herself. She missed her father. She missed the old days.
"Are you alright?" A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and Scarlett felt a body press against her back.
"Now I am." Melanie’s cheek rested on her shoulder. They stared at the distance, but their mind far away.
Melanie, ever the gentle spirit, whispered comforting words to her ear. Scarlett didn’t resist it and turned around to her. They looked at each other eyes. Melanie leaned her forehead against hers while they fought against the irresistible desire, she touched with her fingers every step of her arms until she reached her neck. Scarlett hugged her, resting her grip on Melanie’s hips, and left a soft kiss very close to her pulse. The other woman let out a sigh, and against her own will, she pushed Scarlett from that dangerous area.
"I love you, so so much…" Melanie saw her bright green eyes and then she kissed her lips. There was something vulnerable about the confession and Scarlett began to worry. "It’s an agony."
"Why?"
"Because we remain in darkness." Her eyes watered and Scarlett raised a hand to her cheek as gently as a caress of the wind. "It’s an agony."
Scarlett’s voice quiet but firm. "It’s the price we must pay. However I promise you that we’re going to be together. I'm not willing to let you go. Never." A chill ran through Melanie's column when she saw the fire and determination in the green eyes. A dangerous look that assured her completed devotion. It was crazy to find security in Scarlett's wild force, capable of destroying everything in its path.
"Did I scare you?" Scarlett asked as she felt the goosebumps and the slight tremor. Melanie denied it, but she was still feeling scared of herself. "I don’t..."
Melanie kissed Scarlett’s cheek gently, interrupting her. Scarlett’s breath shaky, trying to process the kindness gesture as the weight of everything seems to settle in. "You are all I’ve ever wanted in my life, Scarlett. That fact is the only thing you should think about."
"I love you."
"I love you too, always."