"Ruin and Redemption"

Scarlett's Return to Pinehurst

“Scarlett! Welcome back!” Patsy lifted her heavy skirts and ran from the porch, and throwing her arms around the woman who was like a daughter to her.

“Oh, Patsy! It’s good to be back!” Tears ran down Scarlett’s face as she buried her face in Patsy’s shoulder. It felt so good to hug Patsy! But she’d already caught a glimpse of Lizzie on the porch, and Lizzie did not look pleased. Her eagle eyes had narrowed when she saw Scarlett get out of the carriage, and make her way towards the porch. Scarlett could see Lizzie resented every touch, as Derrick half guided, half leaned onto Scarlett, balancing on the one damaged leg he still had.

Derrick was so confused. On the way home, he had resolved that Scarlett was his lover, whether or not she should be, and he was going to treat her as such, regardless of the looks he might garner. But now, back in Horry and under the watchful gaze of his wife, he wondered at the public intimacy. Who might be riding by any minute now and see him guiding Scarlett out of the carriage, as if she were a lady---as if she weren’t black? As if she weren’t his slave. But he was tired of thinking of her that way; She was a beautiful woman and he loved her. But what to do about his wife, whom he had promised to be faithful to? How could he put Scarlett above her publicly? Would she even accept equal footing? From the look in her eyes, which Derrick and Scarlett both hid from, he could tell the public affection rankled his wife, and her temper was brewing beneath her stiff form and stony countenance.

Before he could contemplate further, Lizzie turned and left the porch, pushing the door open violently, as she swiftly left the scene.

Eventually, Scarlett came out of Patsy’s embrace. Lizzie was gone now, and Scarlett did not need Patsy to block her view, or to shelter her. She turned and looked around her dazed. Things were familiar, but somehow different. She wondered if her cottage was still the same? Derrick gave her a weak smile, and reached out for her hand. His eyes were worried. What was she to do now?

The pain in Derrick’s leg was excrutiating. He had been sitting cramped in the carriage for some time. He needed to lie down, but he hated to leave Scarlett alone right after she returned home. And then again, he needed to face Lizzie, as much as he hated the thought. He needed to tell her what he had decided regarding Scarlett. And he needed to get her input.

Scarlett looked around her, feeling bewildered and out of place. Would her children even recognize her? She felt that she was somehow not the same person that had left them. Her lifelong dream of being embraced by her father as his daughter had been shattered. She had a father, but he owned her, and she could never really be his daughter in the way she had hoped and longed for for so long.

Patsy saw the pain in Derrick’s eyes, “Derrick, you go in, and make yourself comfortable and take the weight off that leg, while I show Scarlett around. And Derrick, you’ve got some explaining to do to your wife... Now, you go handle that leg and Lizzie, and don’ worry. I’ll take good care of Scarlett for the next few hours and catch her up on everything she missed.”

Derrick looked to Scarlett, begging her permission to leave her now, while she was feeling so vulnerable.

God damn man, she actually felt sorry for him! Resentfully, she nodded. Why did Lizzie always have to spoil their time together? Seems like she could have found something to do to occupy her time besides waiting for the two of them to come home. She could have used some time with Derrick herself!