Scarlett had returned from the bank in a gloriously languid mood at least until Ella had asked her if she'd been able to convince Rhett to change his mind. That was when she realized her sneak of a husband had somehow been able to distract her from the reason she went down to see him.

Although the distraction itself had been rather enjoyable.

Still, Scarlett wasn't ready to give up on her mission to see Beau and Ella together. She would just need to try and find a different way to convince Rhett. Although what exactly that meant she wasn't sure.

As a young woman it had always been easy to convince men to do whatever she wanted. She just smiled slightly and fluttered her eyelashes and men would do her bidding. Charles Hamilton had been so flustered by these tricks that she had been able to send him off to war having shared only one terrible night together as man and wife. Her wedding night had been a nightmare. She had been told that it would be unpleasant but she hadn't been prepared for how awkward and painful it would be. That one night had resulted in Wade. And while she had grown to love her son, at the time discovering that night had resulted in a pregnancy just made it worse.

With Frank she had just bullied him to doing whatever she wished. He was such a spineless creature that she couldn't help but walk all over him, even when she was trying to be nice. She had been able to talk Frank into delaying the consummation of their wedding until a week after the ceremony by making excuses about headaches and fatigue. It wasn't just that he wasn't attracted to him, Scarlett had never expected to feel anything like desire for her husband, but that she wanted to hold on to some last little bit of control. As far as Scarlett was concerned the wedding march might as well been a funeral dirge. Once a woman became a wife she had to give up everything; her name, her belongings, and ever her body became the property of her husband.

But Rhett was different from her previous husbands. Different from every other man she'd ever know. The tricks that had served her so well in the past were useless on him, and would usually be met with derision. She couldn't manipulate him, a fact she discovered on their wedding night.

Rhett hadn't spoken a word to Scarlett since he'd said "I Do". At first his distance had annoyed her, after all she was the Bride and should have been the center of attention. Eventually she came to appreciate his silence, especially after the tense weeks before their wedding. His moods were always a mystery to her but he had become even more mercurial as the wedding date approached.

One moment he could be charming as he helped her shop for new dresses or listen to her thoughts about some design aspect for the house. Then, suddenly, he'd become cold and distant. "My Pet," he said during one of these times, "Have you ever heard the expression that those who marry for money earn every penny of it?" And then just as quickly he'd be making her laugh with unseemly jokes or sarcastically reciting love poems.

He had actually been quite charming at the wedding reception. He spent time talking to Wade and little Ella to find out what they wanted from New Orleans. Then he'd complimented Melanie and Pitty on their old dresses, acting as if they were the height of fashion. Henry Hamilton, Mammy, and even Ashley Wilkes talked to Rhett. Everyone but his new wife.

The train for New Orleans wouldn't leave until the morning, and so they were booked in the Honeymoon Suite at the National Hotel. Their bags had been brought up while they were at the reception, so the couple was completely alone as Rhett pulled the key from his pocket and opened the door. When Scarlett didn't make a move to enter he said is first words to her as a husband.

"Changed your mind?"

She ignored his comment. "You know, it is tradition for the groom to carry the bride across the threshold."

Rhett shrugged. "It's also tradition for the bride to actually believe her own wedding vows when she says them. But I think we all know your positions on loving, honoring and obeying."

She pushed past him and tried to slam the door behind her but he caught it gracefully and strode into the room nonchalantly. Scarlett had her hands on her hips ready to lay into him but he just laughed at her childishness. "All I'm saying is that we aren't a traditional couple. Is that so bad?"

Instead of fighting with him Scarlett began to look around the room. It was the largest suite at the hotel and featured only the best fabrics and furniture. More than that, there were dozens of tiny details that had come together to make it almost homey. There was a box of Scarlett's favorite candies on an end table next to a large arrangement of fragrant lavender stems and magnolias. A bottle of chilling champagne and two glasses was on another table along with a basket of pastries.

"Do you like it?" he asked, almost expectantly. But that didn't make sense. Rhett Butler was aloof and distant and diffident. Not expectant.

Except this wasn't like any of her previous encounters with Rhett. Suddenly the small touches that had made her feel at home made her feel nauseous. He had gone through the trouble of stocking the room with her favorite things in some attempt to seduce her. As if she could be so easily swayed.

Scarlett put her hand to her head in an exaggerated manner and began walking towards the bedroom. "It's been such a stressful day. I think I'm just going to go to bed. Goodnight Rhett."

She could feel him watching her as she walked to the bedroom but she didn't dare look back at him. Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt when she made the mistake of looking back, but that would have been a blessing compared to the fight she expected from Rhett when she announced that she'd be skipping their wedding night. With each step she expected him to start calling her out on her action, she could almost hear him mocking her for not being able to lay in the bed she made by agreeing to marry him. But he was silent.

A part of her was disappointed. For years Rhett had been talking about how much he wanted her. Now that she was his, in the eyes of God and the law, it was as if he didn't care. Even Frank Kennedy had complained a little when she'd told him the same story on their wedding night. It just didn't make sense.

She didn't notice Rhett follow her to the room so when she sat down at the vanity to begin the ritual of unpinning her hair she was startled to see his reflection.

"I admit I wasn't really paying attention during the ceremony," he explained, "but I believe there was something about staying with you in sickness and health. Do you have a headache?"

"No… I mean… yes. A small one. Really, it would be best for me to be alone."

Rhett stood behind her looking at her through the mirror's reflection with great deliberation, like a chess played contemplating his next move. One hand came to rest on the back of her neck and slowly he began to message the muscles there with his fingers.

"Women and your complicated hairstyles. It's like wearing a ten pound rock on your head. Of course you have a headache." His other hand started to pull the pins and combs out of her hair her think mane fell down her back in a cascade.

To anyone watching the scene they might have appeared to be a loving couple completely at peace with each other, but in truth there was a battle raging in both of them. Scarlett had closed her eyes, but her face was scrunched with tension as she tried to maintain control of her body's responses. There was nothing overtly sexual about what Rhett was doing to her, but in some ways it felt too intimate to be proper.

Rhett was having a similar problem as he ran his hand through her thick black locks. It was a small blessing that Scarlett had closed her eyes because he couldn't keep the boyish grin from his face at being so close to the woman he had wanted for so long. Tempered with the excitement was a good deal of annoyance. Not at Scarlett. He had been well prepared for her to pull some stunt like this. What was not expected was his own juvenile response to her. The man of the world- the calculating businessman, notorious blackguard, and unapologetic womanizer- was positively giddy at being able to brush out a woman's hair. He was no better than those idiots who had been fawning all over her at the Wilkes' Barbecue on the day they met.

"We should get you out of that dress," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sure that you have that corset much too tight, it's probably cutting off all your circulation."

For a moment she tried to think of some excuse, but her mind had been lulled to sleep by his earlier touches. Wordlessly he began unbuttoning her dress and then removing her clothes until she was only in her chemise. Rhett's breathing was heavy behind her and she could feel him press against her as he leaned against her ear.

"How do you feel?"

"Wonderful," she said in a daze, before realizing her mistake. Before she had a chance to say anything else he had turned her around and began kissing her until she forgot why she had been fighting against this in the first place.

Throughout their marriage he had always been able to turn the tables on her. It did make like exciting, but it was also infuriating. Still, there had to be some way to make him change his mind. Maybe using those same tricks that he'd always used on her.