Eep! ...well…it's not Thursday anymore, but…7am and I remembered I was going to put up this chapter yesterday…and I'm doing it today instead…
His Wife
Scarlett was the first to wake up that day with his arms wrapped around her. She blushed horribly that she had mistaken him for India. India found she could not sleep with her husband's snoring, but she could not sleep alone either. Scarlett was the solution to India's problem. She quickly rose, not caring if Rhett did wake up, and set her water pitcher out in the hall.
Rhett did wake when she rose.
She didn't bother to be careful to not awaken him. He looked a little triumphant when she placed her pitcher in the hall, expecting it to be filled for her morning toilet. Though, instead of coming back to bed, she collected Bonnie's pitcher, and brought a set into the room for him, and collected their three pitchers.
He followed her outside and watched her fill them from a pump. He wanted to grab her and shake her, demanding for her to drop the act, but he would not be able to stand the beam in her eyes if he let her win. He went back to bed, but his daughter glared back at him when he sat.
"You didn't catch Mommy," she said angrily, and stomped back to her room. Scarlett worriedly stared at the door slammed by her daughter, and almost went to her, but stepped back and placed his filled pitcher inside the basin.
"Here are some clean towels and a new block of soap," she said quietly, and prepared to leave.
"I want you to bathe me," Rhett said. He watched the bright blush staining her cheeks. Oh, this wretched delicate little thing that had replaced his wife! She shied away before building her courage to do as he demanded, but he grabbed the bathing equipment and stormed into another room.
By the time he came out, Scarlett had breakfast cooking and she was mending up a dress. When had she learned to sew? Bonnie watched her mother with a familiar gleam of hunger in her eyes. Hunger that he knew was being quenched by watching her Mama's every move.
"All done," Scarlett smiled at her daughter and helped her into the dress.
"Isn't it a bit plain?" Bonnie pouted at the lack of ribbons and laces.
"All things in moderation," Scarlett repeated a well learned lesson to her daughter. Rhett nearly stormed at her, but the look of furry and disappointment on his daughter's face that morning stopped him.
He would show her moderation.
He could see the slight wear in her faded black dress and an idea formed in his head. Scarlett would go unchecked at the milliners. The dressmaker he was at the day before would be the perfect place to bring out his Scarlett.
The people in the streets greeted Scarlett warmly, ignored the man, and cooed over Bonnie when Scarlett introduced them. Rhett did his best to be charming, but these people snubbed him. How did his suave charms not work on them? Scarlett did not even have to bat an eyelash, and they were all over her! Even the women!
"Hello again Betty," Scarlett greeted the dressmaker when they arrived. She introduced her family and Rhett finally thought this was a woman he could charm. Money could charm anyone. He picked out expensive fabrics he knew would suit his wife, ribbons, and laces, but the more expensive the fabric, the grimmer the woman became. Scarlett and she exchanged quiet words while Rhett looked around. Mrs. Tilden looked at Bonnie and Scarlett meaningfully, but Scarlett only shook her head and tried not to cry.
"It is not Christian-like to be greedy," she whispered, repeating the woman's phrase. "I wish I could have all my children, but that would only enrage the beast." Mrs. Tilden's lips thinned.
"Oh Scarlett," she said a bit too loud. "I worked all night on the dresses you ordered yesterday." Rhett paused while the woman left to bring them out.
"You really should not have done so!" Scarlett protested. "I would have been happy to wait the proper amount of time like everyone else." Rhett wanted to shake her yet again and demand to have the woman he married back.
"Here we go," Mrs. Tilden said. "Just the way you wanted them." Scarlett thanked her while feeling the fabric of the plain black dresses.
"She will not be taking those," Rhett said authority.
"Betty worked all night on these," Scarlett said with a bit of frost edging her voice. "I will not suffer her to lose some business over her fine work." Scarlett paid the woman with a bit of her own pocket money while Rhett fumed. The whole point of this excursion was to get Scarlett out of her widow's weeds, not to get her more!
Scarlett and Betty smirked at each other when he stormed out of the store. "I think Bonnie would love these fabrics," Scarlett said. "I am just fine with what I have." Bonnie lit up at her mother's words.
"It is not Christian-like to be greedy," Mrs. Tilden agreed, and measured Bonnie quickly. The girl frowned at the dressmaker's words and her mother's verbal agreement.
They met Rhett outside after a short amount of time and Scarlett lingered over the apple baskets before buying some for the pie little Rhett wanted. She was saddened by the fact he would not have gotten it by now. She longed to hold her other children in her arms, to see their faces, so she doted on her estranged daughter in their place, but was determined not to treat her any different then she treated Wade, Ella, or Rhett. Bonnie basked in her mother's attentions and Rhett grew bitter toward his wife for changing, for not being his Scarlett.
"May I speak with Mrs. Bruet?" Rhett had answered the older man's call, but Scarlett was resting off her headache before starting on preparations for their midday meal.
"She is indisposed at the moment," Rhett answered stiffly. The man's eyes hardened a little.
"I see," he said. "My knocking was just a formality. Mrs. Bruet sold me her establishment yesterday, you see, and I need to discuss particulars with her at the moment."
"Mr. Young," Scarlett greeted politely. "I thought I heard you at the door. We can discuss particulars in my Uncle's- err- your study," she corrected herself and showed him the way, closely followed by Rhett.
"I rushed here this morning to offer you the full value of your business and home," Mr. Young said.
"Please," Scarlett said. "You gave what you could at the time and we agreed upon it. I cannot, in good faith, take more," she protested. Rhett listened to her protests in disbelief. She was actually refusing more money! The greed in her eyes for the cotton paper was completely absent.
He did not hear anymore after that, so stunned was he in his place that they continued their meeting without his presence.
"Mrs. Bruet," Mr. Young said as soon as the door was firmly shut. He showed her to a seat and took one across from her. "The community is fully at your service." Scarlett was confused. "The man has shown himself to be incompetent of properly seeing to the health and care of his wife.
"I am prepared, we all are, to aid you, to reunite you with your family," he said. Scarlett was speechless.
"How?" She asked. "He is always at my side or close, except when I have to rest my head," she winced at the reminder and longed for her pillow again. "I cannot accept your offer," she continued. "If you only knew the whole of it."
"Let me tell you something," Mr. Young said, standing to face the window with his hands clasped behind his back. "There was an outsider in our community. A widow. She was a cold, vain little thing, she cast aside her children, she shamed men in their businesses.
"Her sister was constantly on her feet, doing her best to curtail her sister's attitude. Their arguments were fierce!" He laughed. "But the widow slowly grew with her Aunt's guiding hand and her sister's methodical prodding.
"A dandelion is a scourge to healthy flowers. It chokes them, over takes their roots and drains them of their life. The widow grew from a dandelion into a rare, beautiful lily that could easily outshine others with her intellect and beauty. You truly are a lily, Mrs. Bruet.
"You were willing and able to learn from your mistakes, you grew from the spoiled southern belle, into a self-sufficient mother who knows and revels in the joys of watching her children grow," he said. "Do not let that man convince you that you have not changed, because you have. You know it, I know it, your friends know, and we love you all the more for it." Scarlett tried to dry her tears, but they keep coming.
"Your daughter is a beautiful child," he said off-handedly.
"She is," Scarlett agreed. "It hurts to think how much I have missed her grow from infancy. I wish I could bring her but Rhett would only search harder. I would lose my son and myself if I attempted to be so greedy."
"T'is a hard decision for a mother to make," the man said sadly, "but I understand when you explain it. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Bruet," he said. "When the opportunity comes, you will know."
"Thank you, Sir," Scarlett said. They exited to the younger Mr. Young and Rhett glaring at each other from across the room.
"You're really pretty," Michaels said to Bonnie.
"Thank you, I know," she said, slightly preening at his words.
"You don't have to sound so boastful about it," Michael said. "Everyone knows boasting is wrong." Rhett moved to correct the little boy, but Scarlett moved in faster.
"Michael," Scarlett scolded softly. "Boasting is wrong," Bonnie looked crestfallen at her mother's words, "and Bonnie may not have meant to do so," she comforted Bonnie, and Rhett stopped scowling at her. "It is wrong, though, to correct your elders. They may look foolish, I should know because I have made a fool of myself too many times, but they have to be willing to accept correction before it is offered," she finished and both children were satisfied with their lesson.
Rhett glared at his surroundings.
"Auntie L, may I stay to play with Bonnie?" Michael asked when he noticed his father and Grandfather were prepared to leave.
"If your father says you may," Scarlett answered.
"I think it would be best if little Michael comes along with us," the older Mr. Young said. "You must take proper time to heal, young lady," he scolded Scarlett. "Your bruise looks darker today than it did yesterday. The women are currently on their way to see to the house and your matters for you," he informed her. "We all want you to get better, and it is best this way." He excused his family and himself and left.
"What is going on with you?" Rhett hissed in her ear as he shook her. Scarlett struggled to release herself.
"Daddy!" Bonnie screamed in fright. He abruptly released her and she fell to her knees, struggling to overcome the dizziness. "You're hurting Mommy!" She started crying.
"No, no Bonnie!" Scarlett denied right away. When she left again, Bonnie had to look up to Rhett as she always did. She couldn't allow her daughter to see him in this light. He had not always showed his anger so readily. "He wanted to spin me," she made up. "He is so happy that," she paused, and Rhett was mildly relieved that she was covering up his anger, but also weary that she would make him pay for it later. "That I am going to have help around the house," Scarlett said quickly. "There are going to be a few more children for you to play with, and if you want me, I will be just there," she pointed to her bedroom. "You will not even have to ask to come in to see me," she reassured her daughter.
"Auntie L!" A young woman called, entering the home without knocking. "You're up," she frowned. Three more women and two children came in and greeted Scarlett before ushering her into her bedroom with a few words of scolding. Two men came in after and made themselves comfortable in the drawing room.
Rhett was relieved that Dr. Meade and Masako came in with their trunks not an hour later. They were familiar faces to talk with, and it seemed Dr. Meade was not on everyone's black list. The locals were distant with the doctor, but grew a tad friendlier the longer they spent in each other's company.
Rhett himself decided to spend most of his time in Scarlett's room watching her sew small squares of fabric together to make a quilt. It was turning out to be a pretty thing.
"It is my first," Scarlett explained quietly. "Mrs. Tilden and I always talk about stitches for it."
"Why did you want to start something this boring?" he asked, knowing it took great patience that his wife would not normally have, or did not have before she left. She looked thoughtfully at the wall.
"I suppose it is because I wanted to create something beautiful again," she answered. Rhett was quick to catch the spark of vanity he saw.
"Beautiful?" He asked, wanting to light the fire.
"We do create beautiful children," she smiled softly. Rhett's face softened before it hardened. "Little Rhett takes after you," she said, "but he has my eyes." She was looking into her mind again. "He is nothing like us though." She kept that soft smile on her face. "He is a tad shy when he first meets someone, but then he has your charm and it catches them like flies to honey. He even flutters his eyelashes at the women and he suddenly has their heart," she laughed lightly with Rhett's booming laughter.
"I was so scared when he was born," she confided, and Rhett shivered to know that something terrible could have befallen her or his son. "He was so quiet and thoughtful. He still is. He never cried for anything then or now. That is what scared me most," she said, looking at her husband. "His cry for the first time chilled me to the bones!" She shivered. "He was hungry and I was so scared that something else was wrong, but he was just hungry," she repeated, as if to reassure herself of that incident in the past.
"What was the nursemaid doing?" Rhett asked stiltedly.
"Nursemaid?" Scarlett asked, then looked away quickly. Rhett quickly turned her head back and she could see that anger that was always there now, brimming at the surface. "I-He-I fed him," she stuttered with a light blush. "I did not want to share him like I had to share Bonnie with you. I did not want to take the chance of losing another baby," she said quickly.
'She had-she had fed his son from her breast,' he thought slowly.
"It was so amazing," she whispered with a slight hitch in her voice. "There is a connection mother and child gain through the experience. I have always lacked it with Wade, Ella, and Bonnie, but it grew as he did. If there is one wish I would want granted, it would be that I would have experienced this feeding with all my babies." He turned and she was crying. "I hate myself for allowing popularity and society to rob me of that one thing!"
"Mommy?" Bonnie asked, entering the room. "Did Daddy make you cry?" She asked, glaring at the man.
"No!" Scarlett quickly denied. "My head hurts so, and I supposed I should put out the candle because it is hardly helping any."
"So it's not Daddy's fault this time?" She asked while crawling into her mother's bed. Scarlett pulled her in the rest of the way and held her.
"No, it was not," Scarlett answered. "What do you mean this time?" She asked.
"Daddy didn't catch you when you fell," Bonnie said. "I saw it." Scarlett's breath hitched and she stared wide eyed at her pale husband.
"You saw the whole thing?" Scarlett asked breathlessly.
"Yes," Bonnie nodded. "In my dream," she said.
"Tell me your dream," Scarlett said softly.
"I've only ever told Aunt Mellie," Bonnie said. Rhett expected to see jealously in Scarlett's eyes, but only saw thankfulness, relief, and joy. "Daddy had you really hard by the shoulders and he let go and you fell down the stairs."
"Ah," Scarlett said. "I may not remember much before I hit my head," she said, "but I am fairly sure there were no stairs involved. So, it was not your father's fault that he could not catch me in time," Scarlett smiled.
"Really?" Bonnie asked with her bright blue eyes and turned them on her father.
"Really," Scarlett reassured her. Bonnie quickly hugged her Daddy and pulled him on the bed so she was sandwiched between them. She hugged her mama and reached to pull her daddy's arm around them and smiled when he complied.
"I want to stay like this forever!" Bonnie said happily. Scarlett struggled not to shake with the tears she hid in her daughter's hair, but when she looked up she was sure Rhett understood. His arms tightened around them as if to make sure she would never be able to get away again.
"You're hurting me, Daddy!" Bonnie complained. Rhett apologized and loosened his arms, but kept staring at his wife's light curls. He grabbed her hair, and placed it over his neck as his little women were lulled to sleep by his presence.
"It's here!" Scarlett had awoken to the children yelling and hid her face. She heard Rhett laugh above her. There was a hurried knock on her door before it opened.
"Come look at the new additions to Grandfather's farm!" The young woman said excitedly. "I think the sun has gone down enough for you to be outside for a few minutes," she chattered. "I'm sorry we didn't wake you for lunch. We did knock, but you all stayed asleep."
"That is fine, Diana," Scarlett laughed at the excited girl. "I am just going to freshen up before meeting you all outside." The girl frowned when Rhett chose to stay with his wife, but accompanied an excited Bonnie outside. "You should go see to Bonnie," she said. "I strongly suspect the new additions are the ponies that had been born a few months ago. They must be big enough for the children to enjoy," she mused.
He hesitated to leave her alone, but left to make sure Bonnie's overexuberance would not upset the horses. Scarlett had just finished drying her face when she heard a light knock on her window. She pulled aside the dark fabric to see Bishop Bourn and opened the window.
"Terribly sorry for this," he said. "But we should go now," he held out his hand. Scarlett only hesitated for a second before she quickly took it and climbed down the ladder after him. They were nearly to his horse when Scarlett saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
It was slithering toward the ponies and she noticed a familiar head of dark curls laughing as the horse trotted with her on its back. Scarlett cried out when she realized what would happen and ran as fast as her feet could carry her to her daughter.
She got to her just when the horse reared onto its hind legs in fright, and grabbed the collar of Bonnie's dress and pulled her off before the horse reared up and kicked with his hind legs. Scarlett felt her body explode with pain as she flew back, holding tightly to her baby. She could vaguely hear Rhett's own cry of distress.
"Bonnie?" Scarlett could barely see past the black dots clouding her vision, she knew she kept repeating her daughter's name.
"She is okay," Mrs. Young put her mind at ease. "Not a scratch on her."
Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief and let the blackness carry her away.
Rhett paced the drawing room while trying to ignore the uproar the house was in and the men watching him pace. Bonnie was in the nursery downstairs, leaving her father to worry and snap at anyone who could not tell him anything new about Scarlett's condition. It took forever for Dr. Meade to finally leave Scarlett's bedroom.
"She has a broken hip and rib," he announced. "I suspect that the rib has pierced her lung," he said lowly. "She is developing a fever, but if she catches an infection," he paused to take a breath, "she might not survive."
His whole world seemed to come crumbling.
His Scarlett.
He could lose her again.
This time he would not be able to chase after her. He needed her like he needed air to breathe. He could not lose her.
He could not lose her!
He smashed his fist through the door and it broke through the wood like it was paper, and he used his other hand to do the same, but the pain did nothing to lessen the vice squeezing his heart. The other men that came with the women earlier reared back in fear.
He had punched through three inches of solid wood! Twice!
"Calm down man!" Dr. Meade yelled and tried to attends to his hands but Rhett pushed him aside and headed for the sparse woods near the store. He grabbed the nearest tree he could, wrapped his arms around the trunk, and slowly pulled and pulled and pulled. Some people were gasping behind him but he paid them no mind. The tree finally uprooted and he pushed it over. He did the same to three more trees before he finally fell on his knees in exhaustion.
"I was going to clear this spot anyway," he heard the older Mr. Young say. "I thank you for saving me the trouble of hitching up a team of horses to uproot the trees. Would you like to borrow an axe for wood? I suspect that we are going to have a harsh winter this year."
"Scarlett-" Rhett started, unaware of the large crowd that was dispersing now that he had finished.
"Is going to be fine. I am sure even though your friend is still in doubt," the older man said. "I wish I had as much strength at your age," he commented
"How can you be so sure?" Rhett ignored the man's comment.
"I have faith in your wife, Mr. Butler," Mr. Young said seriously. "She still has much to accomplish in her life, I have no doubt of it," he oddly put Rhett's mind at ease. "Now, your wife has been calling for you, but she still hasn't awoken. I just thought you should know." Rhett suddenly sobbed.
"She is not my Scarlett," he said. "I do not know that woman. I just want the woman I married!" He felt his shoulder being patted.
"We all grow and change," the man said softly. "It is something we have to accept one way or another. Your spoiled young wife has become one of the great ladies the South still takes pride in. It is time for you to accept that or move on."
There it was.
His thoughts and feelings summed up in one simple sentence.
'Accept it or move on.'
He knew now, surely, that he could never move on from his Scarlett. He had once offered her a divorce to see her reaction. He even thought he would be able to put her away and move on. They had ended up proving to each other that they could not move on. She had his child, the children of his heart, and his heart.
And he had her daughter.
It was an uneven exchange for their relationship. He thought he could live with it before, but she was too much the spoiled darling who hung onto survival and used him for it. Then he had to live without her, and she had gone and proved that she could, and did, grow up…and had survived without his help.
"Rhett!" He heard her call to him as soon as he entered the house. He rushed toward her side readily soothing her nightmares. He recalled doing this every night of their honeymoon.
Then she had proven she could never love him.
Her sobbing eased with his touch and presence.
"Rhett...I love you," he heard her whisper.
"Say it again!" He demanded. She was sleeping and he felt foolish for demanding it of her as if she were awake.
"I love you Rhett," she said again after a few moments.
His heart soared with her unconscious confession.
He had her love!
Sigh…I love Rhett…if only I could be Scarlett. I promise I'll be his perfect Scarlett!
Anyway…enough with my swooning. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter *nervously bites nails*. I haven't edited it so I'm sorry for any grammatical errors!
Also, I don't think I've said this yet, Thank You all for your reviews (^.^). I love reading them so thank you for posting, and a thank you too for those who choose to like/follow this story (^.^).
Two chapter left for this story! …I'm a little worried about how you all will like my epilogue…