Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They went to Charleston for the month of July right before Scarlett went into her confinement with their third child. Her aunts came to visit and Scarlett just smiled and didn't respond to their ugly comments. Scarlett made sure she got pampered by Rhett, his sister and his mother. She still liked being the center of attention.

The day before they got on the train to come home Rhett got a telegram from the Chief of Police. Someone had burned their house down. It was definitely arson. Fortunately, nobody was hurt because the fire started in the front part of the house and the servant's quarters were in the back. The stables were not touched so the horses were all fine.

When they got back to Atlanta Rhett spent an afternoon with the Police Chief. He shared what he knew but they really had no idea who did it.

They rented a Victorian style home. They would live there until the new house was built. They would not start building the new home until after the baby had been born.

The person who hated Scarlett Butler had been surprised how easy it had been to burn that monstrosity to the ground. She had broken one of the windows in the back of the house, entered the house, gone to Scarlett's bedroom, made a big pile of her dresses, doused the clothing with kerosene, and set it on fire. She had waited until the clothing was fully ablaze then exited the house. She had waited down the street to make sure the entire house was on fire before she left. When she saw that the second floor was on fire she was satisfied and went home. The person was glad none of the servants had been hurt. After all their lives were bad enough, they had to work for Scarlett Butler. It made this person so happy because her mansion had been Scarlett's pride and joy. It made this person laugh every time they thought about it.

Because of Scarlett's confinement they could not attend the fund raiser. Rhett gave the committee a check for one hundred and fifty dollars. He told Mrs. Merriweather that just because he and Scarlett could not attend was no reason for them to lose money. Ella's birthday party was held at the Picards with only Rhett and the children attending.

On November 10, 1874 Rhett and Scarlett had another daughter. She looked like Rhett except she had Scarlett's white skin. They named her Elizabeth Rosemary. They called her Lizabeth. Now Rhett's mother and sister came for Ella's birthday on October 31st and stayed until February 2nd for Bonnie's birthday. Elizabeth and Rosemary were so honored that Rhett and Scarlett had named their daughter after them. They were in Atlanta for everyone's birthday but Scarlett's which was in June. Scarlett was fine with that. Elizabeth and Rosemary always sent the most wonderful presents.

Rhett went to The Painted Lady on December 20th and joined Belle in her office. He gave Belle an envelope. When he gave it to her, he said, "Merry Christmas my friend." Belle opened the envelope and it was a legal document transferring his half of the saloon to Belle. Rhett looked at her astounded face and said, "I no longer want to be in the saloon business. Maybe you should sell it and move to Philadelphia. Isn't that where your son lives? You could be the widow woman at the end of the lane."

Belle said, "Yes that is where my Tom lives. He is a lawyer there with a wife and family. He is quite respectable. Respectable and so boring. I go see him twice a year for a week and I can hardly last the week. No, I will stay here until I have to sell out."

Rhett said, "Alright. Your choice."

They talked some more about what was going on around town. Rhett bragged about his newest daughter and how she looked like him. He spoke a little bit about the other children and Scarlett. Belle told him about her son Tom and some of the problems she had with the girls. Some problems she had with customers. After thirty minutes he looked at his watch and said, "I have to get home. Scarlett will wait up for me until I get home. She trusts me but she is a jealous woman." Rhett smiled really big when he said that.

Belle said, "Enjoy that you have someone who is jealous for you. Not all of us get that." She stood up and just waved at him. "I don't want to get my scent on you."

Rhett said, "Thanks. Good bye Belle."

While Scarlett was in her confinement Rhett had the lot on Peach Tree cleared. He and Scarlett spent hours discussing the plans for their new home. Sometimes these discussions got a little bit passionate. One night they were still angry when they went to bed. Instead of Scarlett laying on Rhett's chest as she had for the last two and a half years, she laid on her side of the bed. Rhett was still stubborn and he was not going to pull her into his arms. They were lying there not speaking as Rhett was smoking his cigar. Soon he felt Scarlett's behind pressed up against his hip and he smiled. He put out his cigar and pulled her into his arms. No words were spoken. None were needed.

They had decided on a Georgian style home with only two stories. They didn't want a ballroom anymore. The home had eight bedrooms upstairs. Rhett and Scarlett agreed what rooms they needed in their home. What they argued about was the decorating style. Scarlett still wanted it flashier than Rhett did and Scarlett found Rhett's preferred style bland. After much arguing they compromised on the style of decoration. The library and their office were done in Rhett's preferred style. The parlor and foyer were done in Scarlett's style. Everything else was a compromise.

In April the family went to Tara again for a week. Wade again was excused from his classes for that week. Will had left the books on the kitchen table and a note saying he would be back in three days. Scarlett laughed at Suellen's antics but she stayed at Tara too. She stayed mainly because she was having fun with her family. When Will came back the three of them talked about the plans for the future. Will said, "Right now it is a lot cheaper to hire ex-slaves than to buy machinery." Scarlett and Rhett just nodded their heads. It probably was with all the ex-slaves available. They had brought Pansy, Prissy and Elijah, Prissy's husband with them for the week. Rhett had instructed Pork to add a couple of rooms to the servants' quarters so there was plenty of room for all the servants and his expanding family. Prissy was with child. Everyone had a good time even Rhett who didn't like country living.

They moved into their new home in May and Rhett decided that he like the overall effect of the decorating. He decided that his wife was a flashy person so her house should reflect that about her. The family parlor was very soothing and relaxing. He was happy. Scarlett was happy too. Their house was a little flashy for her Charlestonian bred husband but it was her house and she wanted it to reflect her personality. She had let him calm down her choices for the family rooms because she did want them to be soothing.

The police still had no idea who burned their house down. Fortunately, it was insured. All her jewelry had been locked in the safe at the bank and Rhett's important papers were in a metal box so they really hadn't lost anything. Scarlett didn't know what possessed her to take her pictures with her jewelry to the bank but she was glad she had. They had been saved also.

They decided to forget their troubles and go to Europe. So as soon as school was out for the summer in 75 Rhett had the entire family on the train to Charleston then onto Europe. Rhett's mother and sister came with them. While Scarlett and Rhett never told his relatives of Scarlett's complete memory loss, they knew that Scarlett had some gaps in her memory. Scarlett had known nothing about her in laws until they came to visit when Nick was born so she didn't have to pretend to remember anything. Mammy didn't want to travel with the family and chose to stay at Tara while they were gone. While they were in Europe Will telegraphed her of Mammy's death. They had buried her next to Ellen O'Hara. Mammy's death broke Scarlett's heart. It made her very sad to know that dear, sweet woman was gone but she reassured herself with the thought that finally Mammy was in heaven. Scarlett knew there would always be a big hole in her heart.

After Lizabeth's birth Rhett decided they weren't having any more children and told Scarlett he would fix the problem. He explained it all to Scarlett and she was very happy. Rhett had some kind of surgery when they were in London in 1875. They then went to Paris, Florence, Venice, Rome and Athens. They all had a very good time. On that trip Rhett realized that Ella was calling him 'Daddy' and Wade was calling him 'Dad.' Rhett wondered when that had happened. He was very happy. Afterall he was the only father they had ever known and he had loved them all of their lives.

As they got on the ship to return to the United States Rhett received a telegram informing him that Mr. Butler had died. The police chief believed that Mr. Butler had been fed poison and that is why he had died. Rhett felt so bad. Why would someone kill his children's pet pony? Rhett had told the children that Mr. Butler had died of old age. Rhett and Scarlett were very sad and they didn't want their children to know that someone had deliberately killed their pet pony. Bonnie no longer rode Mr. Butler but she still loved him. Both Bonnie and Nick were very sad about the death of their pony.

The person who hated Scarlett Butler was sad also. She wished that she had not killed the pony. She was very sad. It hurt this person to have to kill the pony just to bring pain to Scarlett Butler. She had thought about kidnapping one of the Butler children to get a lot of money but she couldn't do it.