OK, I'm really sorry that I'm such a dork, but it turns out that I had the prompt for this chapter wrong! It was actually 'Days,' not 'Minutes.' Thank you for everyone's great ideas and I was definately considering using a few of them until I figured out what the prompt actually was. This is what Rhett did during those days after the night of the Wilkes party. It may seem a little disjointed, but I like it that way because Rhett's drunk so he's not really thinking clearly.
Days
Rhett stared into the bottom of brandy glass. The brown liquid distorted his view slightly, so he tipped back his head and let it pour into his mouth. Setting the cup back on the counter he peered down again. Much better.
"Aww, Rhett, come on. You made me have this party, and now you won't even go out and say hello to the guests!" Belle stood behind him, arms around his neck and fingers stroking his cheeks.
"Stop it," he snapped, shrugging her arms away. A little puzzled and concerned, she sat down next to him, hand reaching for his in a gesture of comfort.
"What's wrong, Rhett? You came in yesterday in the foulest mood I've ever seen and you haven't moved from that spot since this morning." He said nothing, ignored her hand, and continued to stare into the depths of his glass. "Is it Scarlett?" she asked carefully.
"Yes, of course it's Scarlett!" he barked, with such anger in his eyes that she shrank back in fear. At this his expression softened slightly. "Sorry."
She still sat there, and he tried to ignore her, but it wouldn't work. "For God's sake, Belle! Let me be." The whole reason he'd suggested this party was because he wanted her to have something to do besides worry about him. Well, he also wanted to have something to do besides worry about him, but that wasn't working too well.
Belle drew herself up and rose from the chair. He could tell she was upset as she walked away, but at that moment he didn't care. He knew he would feel guilty later for lowering her spirits, but for now all he could think about was that he paid her too much for her to be angry with him. Shouldn't the money be enough? Rhett could always buy whatever he wanted, except for one thing…
But didn't he pay her enough, too? By God, he'd given her everything, and still she wouldn't hand over the one thing he truly desired! If he could only get Scarlett's heart and mind, Rhett Butler knew he'd be the happiest man in the world. Oh, but he loved and adored and worshipped and gave everything already! He loved her enough for both of them, or so he thought when he married her. But when she'd shown absolutely no progress towards his goal of making her love him, he had gone half mad with jealousy. That stupid Ashley Wilkes! He took her from him, and he could have wrung that 'honorable gentleman's' neck…
Rhett stopped clenching at his glass and tried to calm himself down. He was just drunk enough to try something stupid like going out to the Wilkes household and murdering that bastard.
But it would be no use. Ashley would be immortalized in Scarlett's eyes and he, Rhett, would never gain her favor. If she would just give him something in return for his years of love, it wouldn't be necessary to kill Ashley Wilkes! But it was obvious now that she wouldn't, and Rhett would have seriously entertained the idea of murder, just to spite her, if it hadn't been for the grief that Mrs. Wilkes would surely suffer at her husband's death.
Oh, and he'd tried so hard! He'd given Scarlett warmth, comfort, and security. He'd tried being tender and loving, but when it hadn't acoomplished anything he'd had to resort to insults and conveying indifference in order to preserve his sanity. But even that hadn't worked.The night before last was proof enough of that.
He'd been mad, absurdly mad with jealousy. Every moment he looked at her and knew she was thinking about Ashley drove him to the edge of lunacy, causing him to drink to numb his anger, which in turn pushed him over. When he'd forced himself on her he had been so insanely drunk that he wasn't quite aware of what he was doing, only that Ashley was in her head and that he wanted to be there instead. In this he knew he had succeeded, but what the price had been for his one night of victory he wasn't yet certain. Had he changed her mind about her 'one true love?' Doubtful. Or had he further alienated her from him, and caused her to hate him forever? Much more likely.
He was crazy! He was a madman, trapped in a spinning world of lies, manipulation, and unrequited love. He wanted to escape her hold, but it was as impossible now as it had been during the war. She didn't love him and he loved her so, so much and he couldn't handle it any longer and he just wanted to forget.
He stood and walked into the main hall, where Belle was laughing with two gentlemen. Moving behind her, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her body close to his, whispering in her ear. "Make me forget." She turned her head slightly, nodded, and took his hand to lead him away from the party.
