"Your brother is in a fine mood this morning," Morgan commented, as the two men walked across the crowded yard space to the office.

"Now Morgan, when is my brother not in a fine mood?" Rhett asked sarcastically. "Incidentally, I've found someone to go over the books and transfer them to one main ledger, would you be so good as to gather up all the books from the first quarter of the year, bundle them with a blank ledger book, and have them sent to my mother's house."

"Right away Captain Butler, but I should tell you, your brother won't like it, he usually maintains the books."

"My brother does an adequate job with the books, but I want someone with a neat and clear script to put them in one complete book."

Morgan went off to do as Rhett asked. Rhett himself stopped to talk with several crew chiefs that had come to the office to discuss everything from equipment requests to the need for more men on a particular crew. He was still involved in this when his brother stormed out of the office.

"What the hell do you mean having the books removed? Are you accusing me of something," yelled Ross.

"Are you confessing to something," replied Rhett, in a low voice.

Rhett's causal but danger-tinged voice pulled Ross back from the path he had nearly embarked on. "What? No, of course not. I'm just curious is all, why would you have the books removed? Are you implying I'm not doing a good job keeping them?"

"I'm implying your handwriting is atrocious, I've found someone to transfer all the records into one main ledger. It isn't anything especially personal, I just like to be able to read whatever it is I'm looking at without having to stop to decipher it first."

"Why are you having the books sent to mother's, why not have them delivered to wherever it is they're going? Or don't you want me to know who will be going over them?"

"They are being delivered to where they are going."

"Who could you have in mothers house to look at the books?" His eyebrows drew together as his brow wrinkled with anger, "Scarlett? It's her isn't it? You're going to let a woman look at the books for our business?" He began to laugh, loudly. "Will she be embroidering slipcovers for the books when she's done checking my math skills?"

"I'll ask her," replied Rhett blandly, "Although let me draw your attention to two very important points. One, this isn't our business, it's mine. Number two, Scarlett owned not one, not two, not three, but four successful businesses in Atlanta during her mid twenties, that's four more businesses than you little brother."

Ross's lips twisted in a lewd grin "Well I don't have the same drive as Scarlett, I could never really see myself as a mada..," Ross was interrupted by four large men who all doffed their watch caps as they approached the Butler brothers.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Butler, Captain Butler."

"Yes," Rhett searched his mind for the man's name, "Mr. Callahan."

The broad shouldered Irish man smiled at being called by name by the owner of the mines. "Right you are Captain Butler, my brother Josh's Megan is expecting today. Meself, John, and Frank, would be willing to work two hours apiece extra today if you'd be willing to let Josh have the day. It's his first, this baby is."

The youngest of the men was looking at the ground twisting his cap. It was obvious to Rhett that the young man hadn't wanted his friends to ask for this favor. He looked like he was just waiting for Rhett to fire the lot of them for their impudence. "Josh, what do you hope to have a son or daughter?" asked Rhett attempting to draw the anxious younger man into conversation.

The boy flushed to the roots of his ginger hair. He lifted his head and spoke quickly, praying this moment would soon be over. "Doesn't matter sir, so long as it has ten fingers and ten toes."

Rhett smiled politely and Josh returned the smile shyly. In a burst of daring the boy added "And my wife's ears." Josh's ears were rather jar handle like and Rhett and the other men, except for Ross, laughed at this sally.

"These men, they want to work for you, are they all your family?" asked Rhett, moved by the fact that each of these men were willing to work overtime so that one of them could be present for the birth of his child. His own brother wouldn't throw water on him if he were on fire.

"Adam's my brother and John's my cousin. Frank's a friend o' the family, we're all from County Cork in Ireland."

"Family is where you find it among the Irish isn't it?" Ross remarked snidely.

"Aye tis," replied John warily. Captain Butler was all right enough to work for. He didn't mind getting his hands dirty in a pinch and he always had a nod or a greeting for his employees. It was Mister Butler that gave most often a case of the creeping willies," thought John.

Rhett laughed quickly hoping to alleviate the note of tension that had entered the air at his brother's words. He spoke as one of them, and even his Charleston drawl became less noticeable. Rhett had always had the gift of being able to fit him in anywhere and he did so now. "Don't I know it, my wife was an O'Hara before we were married. Half the time I suspect she's kin and cousin to half of Savannah."

Adam smiled broadly, Ross's earlier rude quip now all but forgotten. After southerners, no one more enjoyed unraveling the complicated tangles of cousins, nieces, uncles, and second aunts twice removed that made up their families than the Irish, "Sure she is, and you don't mean to tell me she's one of Tommy or Jamie's girls?"

"No, Scarlett's father's name was Gerald."

John laughed even harder his face lightening with pleasure. "Not the runt of the litter, Josh's Megan's mother is an O'Hara by marriage. Your father in law was the one who had the brass to name his spread Tara after the seat o' the high kings."

Rhett smiled. His whole attitude was balm to the men after the boorish behavior of Ross. To look at Rhett a causal observer would think he was pleased that he had some marital ties to his Irish mine workers, "See what I mean, more cousins."

"I don't mean to interrupt your family reunion but these men need to get to work," barked Ross.

"Josh take the week with pay, I wish your child health, wealth, happiness…and ears like his or her mother's."

The four men were dumbfounded for a moment before they all started to speak at once thanking Rhett for his generosity.

"No, please I'm happy to do it after all if Josh's Megan is an O'Hara a few times removed how could I not insure her the comfort of having her husband by her side?"

"Or in the kitchen with his hands over his ears," teased Frank.

"Josh, off you go. My brother does have a vaguely valid point, we all have work to do this morning."

The four men departed discussing Rhett's generosity in excited tones, each proud to work for such a generous man.

"You fool, now all of them will come begging when their wives drop another brat," groused Ross.

The joking good humor that Rhett had displayed to the four men disappeared as his eyes narrowed at his brother's lack of foresight. "You really can't see the ground I've just gained. Those men are now convinced they work for one of the most generous man in Charleston. Nearly two months ago when the mine workers were plotting a walk out, there wasn't a single one of them who thought enough of either of us to come and tell us what was about to transpire. Now these men need to protect their interests, and if I have the support of the Irish in the mines, they'll keep an ear to the ground on my behalf just for the future hope that I may do right by them again. Nearly sixty percent of our employees are Irish. Half of them are family to one another somehow or other. I need the support of these men to turn a profit."

Ross exhaled noisily through his nose. "I don't share your faith in your new found friends

"I don't honestly care." Rhett walked over to where his horse was secured to a hitching post. He pulled himself up into the saddle. "I'll see you tonight, try to be pleasant at dinner."

Ross didn't bother to answer; he turned and walked into the mine office.

Rhett shrugged. Though he wanted to be angry with his brother, he couldn't find it in himself. His brother had changed a great deal over the years. The war had hardened him into a crass drunk. Before the war, Ross had been uptight certainly and occasionally he'd make an off color comment, but that was generally the breadth of his hostilities. Now every word was a direct insult aimed at him. Rhett could only take his brother in small doses these days. If it hadn't been for his mother asking, Rhett would have never considered Ross for a position at his mines. Harsh, but true.

As he rode down Market Street, he wondered what his little minx was up to while stranded in bed. Rhett flinched slightly; he had been doing that increasingly in the last few months. Calling Scarlett pet names as well as thinking about her more fondly than a man who planned on divorce had any right to do.

Turning his mind to a more enjoyable subject, he was glad that his brother had simply decided to allow Emily to go and get the children. He had assumed his brother would make a huge fuss before forbidding Emily to go. Rhett was pleased that he would be able to tell Scarlett that her children would arrive within the next few days. Ella and Wade would do everyone in his mother's household a great deal of good. His mother needed children to spoil and Rosemary would find many things in common with Wade he was sure.

Now he wanted to buy Scarlett something tangible, a get well present. Flowers seemed too passé and jewelry would defiantly give her the wrong impression. Something to read? No, she would only roll her eyes and shove the offending volume under her pillow. Finally, he stopped at the tobacconist and bought her several fashion magazines including Godey's and Harper's Magazine. It would give her something to page through to pass the time.

Slipping the brown paper parcel of magazines into his saddlebag, Rhett thought of a gift for Scarlett that was bound to please her. He laughed aloud, not caring who heard or what they thought. He felt like a young man preparing to go courting instead of a man of forty-six purchasing presents for his own wife. With a smile on his face Rhett made one last stop at Rutledge's Confectionary on Broad Street where he bought a small bow bedecked box that was almost guaranteed to bring a smile to Scarlett's lips.