Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Note: As always, all reviews and inputs are appreciated.

If I had to title this chapter it would be Reader's Review Part I. Everyone has made such wonderful suggestions. Almost everything in this chapter and the next chapter is reader review generated. All I can say is thank you.

Chapter Eleven

As soon as the weather was mild enough Rhett was out riding with Gerry in front of him and Bonnie on her own little pony. The pony had been a gift from her Daddy to make up for giving her a little brother instead of a little sister. Scarlett and Rhett continued to make a big production over what a big girl Bonnie was. When she got her pony, she was told she had to ride sidesaddle because that was the way big girls did it.

The most surprising thing Bonnie did was accept Gerry into her special world with her Daddy. Before his birth it had been a world that was just the two of them now according to Bonnie it was a world with the three of them. By the time Gerry was three months old Bonnie had forgotten all about wanting a baby sister. The nicest part to Scarlett was that Bonnie and later Gerry would often ask her to join them in their little world. She wasn't a full-fledged member of their little world but she was never not allowed entrance. She never joined them unless one of the children asked her to join them. She was alright with them having their own special world with their Daddy. She had her own special world with their Daddy also.

Rhett's mother and sister came for a visit after Gerry was four months old. Mrs. Butler was so thrilled to meet her grandchildren and Scarlett felt a pang of guilt about that. Before she had discouraged Rhett from inviting his relatives to come to their home because she would have to behave like a loving wife. Of course, Rhett may have been fine with not inviting them for he would have had to behave like a loving husband. Rhett's mother was a tall, slim woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Rhett didn't look anything like his mother so Rhett must look like his father. Scarlett figured she was in her sixties but she looked like she was in her fifties. Rosemary was a woman in her early thirties with a lively personality. She looked like a feminine version of Rhett including his coloring.

Scarlett took them to her dress shop. It had been opened on the first day of April and was doing a good bit of business. Scarlett never told anyone she was a part owner of the modiste shop. If the gentry knew she was an owner they would boycott the shop just out of general principal. She didn't tell Elizabeth or Rosemary either. She just told them that it was her new favorite dress shop. They made a couple of purchases then went to the hat shop. Scarlett decided while at the millinery that if Rhett got her pregnant again, she would make him buy her a millinery. Although the parure Rhett bought her when Bonnie was born was a nice gift also.

Scarlett noticed that Rosemary loved to play with the children almost as much as Rhett did. Every morning Rosemary was in the nursery playing with them. Scarlett wondered again why some women were maternal and some weren't. One afternoon while the children were napping Scarlett asked Rosemary, "Did you lose your sweetheart in the war?"

Rosemary said, "I have never found anyone I wanted to marry. Thanks to Rhett I didn't have to marry to have a roof over my head or food in my stomach."

"Do you wish you had married?"

"Sometimes but I am very smart and very well-read. I would hate to have to pretend to be stupid just to keep a man happy. You are lucky that Rhett allows you to speak freely and show how smart you are."

"I'm not smart."

"You are not well-read but you are very smart."

"Thank you."

Scarlett thought about what Rosemary said and finally decided she was right. She was smart. The only reason she didn't understand everything Rhett was always talking about was that she hadn't read all the books he had read.

The visit was a good one and they made promises to return before very long. Scarlett and Rhett both told them they were welcome at any time. Rhett and Scarlett promised to visit them in Charleston soon.

Rhett took the children to the park often and on the few occasions when Gerry couldn't go for one reason or another Bonnie didn't want to go without him. Then Ella didn't want to go without Bonnie. Wade was fine with going without anyone else. Once he had found out that his mother was healthy, he had not even cared whether the baby was a boy or a girl. At ten he already had his fill of little sisters and babies.

Rhett made a point of taking Scarlett out for supper at least once a week. Sometimes they went dancing afterwards and sometimes they just went home. When they would just go home Rhett would often guide them into the front parlor where his favorite piece of furniture was located. He didn't know why having relations on that ugly divan was such an aphrodisiac to him but it was.

One day Rhett walked into the parlor and the divan was gone. He went in search of Scarlett when he found her, he angrily said, "What have you done with our divan?"

Scarlett blushed and said, "I sent it out to be reupholstered."

"Why?"

Scarlett blushed even more and said, "It had stains on it that made the staff look at me strangely."

Rhett started laughing. He finally got control of himself and said, "I hope you ordered a slip cover also."

Still as red as her name she said, "Of course. I asked Mr. Ferguson to make sure it was still sturdy and if not to make it so. Nothing can happen to our divine divan."

Rhett sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her and said, "Our canoodling divan."

They both laughed heartily.

Scarlett would every now and then ask Rhett to write her another sonnet or love poem. In about a week he would give her another one. She would be so happy and receptive to his advances after Rhett gave her another poem or sonnet. The next time Scarlett saw Melly she would ask her sister in law, "Who actually wrote this?"

Melly would laugh and read the poem. She would then tell her who the actual author was. They both had a good laugh at Rhett's expense. Scarlett would never tell Rhett that she knew he wasn't writing the poems. She thought it was so sweet of him to pretend to be writing her poetry.

She hadn't been that understanding when she had first found out he had done it. After their romantic night out after Gerry's birth Scarlett had proudly showed the sonnet to Melly. After looking at the sonnet Melly's cheeks had turned pink. Scarlett knew her devious, deceptive husband had stolen someone else's work. She had known that he thought she was so stupid she would never figure it out.

Scarlett said, "Who actually wrote it?"

"One of the greatest writers of all time, William Shakespeare. If he had to steal a sonnet from anyone, he picked the best to steal it from."

Scarlett sat there a little embarrassed and a lot mad. She said, "Why would he do this to me? Why did he just not write one himself?"

"Darling, Captain Butler probably thought you would never know. He probably wanted to give you a romantic sonnet and may have not been able to write one himself."

The idea that Rhett may not have been able to write a sonnet or poem had never occurred to Scarlett. She thought Rhett could do anything. They sat there in silence. Until Melly said, "Ashley did the same thing to me before we got married. In a letter he added a sonnet that he claimed he had written himself from Emily Barrett Browning. It is titled, How do I love thee, let me count the ways."

"Ashley can't write poetry?" Scarlett was shocked.

"He is horrible. I knew Ashley hadn't written it because it was too well-written."

Scarlett burst out laughing and Melly joined her. Finally, the women sobered and Melly said, "His poems are so bad that it was embarrassing to have to read them. They are so bad that I couldn't find anything nice to say about them. And you know if I couldn't find anything nice to say they had to be very bad."

Scarlett and Melly smiled. Scarlett said, "I will have some fun with him. I will every now and then ask him to write me another sonnet or poem then I will go on and on about how wonderfully written the poems are starting with this one."

The ladies smiled at each other.

The ladies would laugh and laugh every time Rhett gave her another sonnet or poem he had written. Scarlett would never tell him she knew because she enjoyed getting the love missives and because she like knowing that there was something that Rhett was bad at. And she enjoyed laughing at Rhett behind his back for once.

Scarlett was right that day in the nursery. Rhett was happy to nurture and care for his children and he did nag, tease and harass her about spending time with them but he never called her a bad mother again. When he nagged, teased or harassed her, she made a point to spend more time with them for a while until she gradually went back to focusing on her businesses. She loved her children. She just wasn't a maternal woman. Her children loved her and they knew she loved them. They just knew she would rather be running her businesses than spending time with them.

After Gerry was born Scarlett decided that she just didn't like babies and toddlers but she did enjoy her children when she could actually talk to them. She put her theory to the test and took Ella who was six to the store with her one day. They had a nice conversation while they were together and surprisingly Ella had stayed on topic the entire time. Scarlett had even found out that Ella had wanted to learn how to play the piano. Scarlett gave her a lesson that very afternoon. Ella was an avid student and stayed focused the entire thirty minutes Scarlett was teaching her about the piano. Scarlett arranged for Ella to start getting lessons twice a week with a real piano teacher. It wasn't long before Ella was playing some simple songs. Yes, Scarlett enjoyed being with her children once they became old enough for her to have a conversation with them.

Scarlett was at the dress shop which was called Krause's Modiste. She and Mrs. Krause were discussing the fabric and the fabric books. Scarlett said, "Everything you have is old and boring. You need to get some better fabric and get some pattern books with the latest fashion."

"Mrs. Butler these ladies are not going to buy fancy fabrics and they like the durable fabrics."

"You need to have the latest fashion magazines at least. You need to bring in the Yankee customers."

"Mrs. Butler I know what will sell and what won't."

"I didn't invest in this business for us to carry the same drab clothing."

"If you think the latest fashion and fabrics will sell here go to Paris and bring it back and we will see."

"I will."

Two weeks later the Butlers were on the train to Charleston. They would spend a week at Rhett's mother's house then they were going to go to Paris. Scarlett was going to make Rhett take her to every fashion house in Paris. She would bring the fabrics and patterns back and make Mrs. Krause sell them in the shop. Rhett was happy to be able to take Scarlett to Paris. He needed to get away from the Atlanta matrons. He was tired of kowtowing to them.

After they got to Charleston Scarlett convinced Elizabeth and Rosemary to go with them. Both ladies were very excited.

The family had a wonderful time in Paris. Rhett, Scarlett, Rosemary and Elizabeth did visit the fashion houses in Paris but Elizabeth talked Scarlett out of buying a lot of fabrics. Elizabeth explained, "Nobody will buy it. The Atlanta gentry would never dare be different than anyone else and the Yankee trash would never be able to wear it with the style it needed to make it look right." Scarlett did buy some patterns and some material for her own use but she knew her mother in law was right. Rhett showed everyone the sights and after a month they returned to Charleston and Atlanta respectively.

On the ship back Scarlett told Rhett, "I'm disappointed that I'm not returning with lots and lots of wonderful fabric but your mother was right. Those peahens would never buy it."

Rhett replied, "At least you can wear the latest fashion and all those exquisite undergarments."

"That's true."

"Have you ever had relations on a ship?"

"You know I have." Scarlett said and giggled.

"Want to do it again?"

"As long as it is with you."

Afterwards Rhett laid in the bed with Scarlett sleeping next to him and marveled at how wonderful his life was.