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 II. Everyone has made such wonderful suggestions. Almost everything in this chapter, the last chapter and the next chapter is reader review generated. All I can say is thank you.
Chapter Twelve
When Eugenia Krause had asked Mrs. Butler for a loan to start her own dress shop, she had already known Mrs. Butler could be a very difficult woman. Gena, as she was known to her friends, had made dresses for Mrs. Butler for years. She had made dresses for her even when she was Mrs. Kennedy. Whenever, Gena had made her a dress there was always something that had to be redone. Either the dress wasn't done right or Mrs. Butler had changed her mind about a feature of the dress.
The only reason she had asked Mrs. Butler for the loan was that no one else would have given her one and Gena knew her dress shop would be a success. When Mrs. Butler had refused to give her a loan but was willing to be a partner in a dress shop with her Gena would have turned her down if it wasn't for the fact that Gena had fifty-one percent of the business. She could therefore do what she wanted to do without Mrs. Butler's permission. None the less she knew that Mrs. Butler would always have her say. In the six months the business had been open there had already been several times when she had wanted to tell Mrs. Butler to go to Halifax. In fact, telling Mrs. Butler to go to Paris had been Gena's nice way of telling her to go to hell.
Gena had been stunned when she heard the Butlers had gone to Paris and she dreaded the day they returned. Gena knew Mrs. Butler was going to return with bolts and bolts of inappropriate fabric and the latest outlandish patterns. When Gena had told her to go to Paris, she had never dreamed that Mrs. Butler would go. She had forgotten that because Mr. Butler was so rich them going to Paris was no more of an inconvenience to them than her going to Macon to see her relatives.
Although Mrs. Butler was a pain to have as a partner three things about her Gena appreciated. She didn't want anyone to know she was a part owner in the shop, she could wear anything and look terrific in it, and she insisted that she pay full price for all the clothing they bought in the shop. Mrs. Butler's purchases for her and her daughters was enough for Gena to keep the doors open but Mrs. Butler was always buying gifts of clothing for Mrs. Wilkes and Mrs. Wilkes's new daughter. She also often bought clothing for her Mammy and her other servants.
Never the less Gena groaned and sighed when she saw Mrs. Butler walk in the shop with her arms full of patterns. She groaned again as Mr. Butler and their son walked in behind her each carrying several bolts of fabric. Gena was so relieved when she found out the fabric and patterns were for Mrs. Butler's own clothing that she almost said, "Thank goodness" but she stopped herself just in time. Although Gena sensed that Mr. Butler had known what she had almost said and was laughing at her. Whenever Gena interacted with Mr. Butler, she always felt like he knew what a pain in the ass his wife was and enjoyed watching her have to deal with his wife.
Gena would do her best to appease Mrs. Butler because Mrs. Butler had made her dream of owning her own shop come true. Gena knew that she had to fight Mrs. Butler every step of the way or Mrs. Butler would not respect her. Gena also knew that nobody else would have given her the money. The shop was making a nice profit already and she knew it would be a grand success partly because of Mrs. Butler. Mrs. Butler was a walking advertisement for the shop and a pretty good one. Truth be told Gena did want to see the latest Paris fashions and she did want to sew something different than the same thing the gentry was always ordering.
Gena's husband Robert had been killed at Gettysburg. He had left her four children to raise and no money to do it on. She had been lucky she was skilled with a needle or she and the children would have starved. She was lucky that Abby Page had given her a job but Abby was a bigger shrew than Mrs. Butler. No. All and all she was doing alright. She had her dress shop and the children were finally getting enough to eat. That is what she needed to remember whenever she had to deal with Mrs. Butler. Gena knew that Mrs. Butler was always going to be a pain in the ass. Maybe Gena could convince Mrs. Butler to go to Paris every spring to bring back the latest styles and patterns.
Gena smiled as she watched the Butlers leave her shop and thought, 'Mrs. Butler must have her moments when she was a wonderful person because Mr. Butler always looked at her with so much love on his face and it was obvious that her son idolized her.'
When the family had gotten back from France Rhett sold his half of The Painted Lady. Rhett had never gone back to Belle's except those first few months after Ashley's party. At first, he didn't go back because he didn't want to spoil the fragile peace between him and Scarlett. Then he didn't go back because he was happy spending his time with Scarlett and the children. A year after Gerry's birth he knew he wasn't ever going back to Belle's. He used the money to invest in a horse breeding farm with his wife. That is what she had chosen to use the profits from the sale of the mills on. The horse breeding farm belonged to the Tarletons. Rhett and Scarlett owned forty-nine percent of the farm. Scarlett wanted to help the people she had known all her life.
Scarlett and Rhett went to Tara to check on their investment every quarter. Rhett went with her because he no longer wanted to be separated from his wife for even a day. Scarlett didn't mind offering her opinion on everything and anything. Scarlett suggested which mares should be made pregnant by which stallions. Scarlett suggested which colts they should keep and which ones they should sell. Rhett had to walk away when Mrs. Tarleton said, "Scarlett do you not remember that my grown sons were afraid of me and my switch. I can get a switch and turn you over my knee right now. I suggest you take yourself and your suggestions back to Atlanta. And take your handsome husband with you." Scarlett had walked off in a huff and they had returned to Atlanta. On the train back to Atlanta Scarlett said, "Stop smirking just because she called you handsome." Which made Rhett smirk even more. They were back the next quarter although Scarlett was a little bit more subdued during that visit.
Once Scarlett's children got old enough to have an actual conversation with her, she spent more time with them. She enjoyed those conversations with her children. She was learning so many things from them and about them. She would take one of them with her each time she and Rhett would go check on the horse farm and on Tara. It was a special time for the child and for her and Rhett.
Scarlett loved her husband and always made time for him. Rhett never had to nag her to spend time with him. After all he was her best friend and soul mate. She didn't want to have any more children but when she found herself pregnant in the spring of eighteen seventy-three, she wasn't distressed or upset. It made Rhett so very happy to have another child and he was so sweet and pampering when she was pregnant. He would give her anything she wanted when she was with child.
When Gerry was almost two years old Rhett was at the park with his children and he realized he had been right about the Old Guard never accepting Scarlett back into the fold. Fortunately, these same people treated Gerry like he was wonderful. Rhett never sensed that anyone ever thought Gerry was anyone else's child. Of course, the fact that Gerry had his eyes, his smile, his skin tone and was charismatic already may have helped.
The Old Guard just weren't going to fully accept Scarlett which always amazed Rhett. He was much more of a blackguard than Scarlett had ever thought about being but because he was a charming man who loved his children and was a strong contributor to the Democratic Party he was forgiven of all sins. His lovely wife would never be forgiven for not conforming to the role of a southern lady. They never looked at the extenuating circumstances. She broke their rules and that was all that mattered. Fortunately, she didn't care. She would rather be running her businesses than attending their sewing bees and committee meetings. She didn't care that they didn't like her and she was only going to conform as much as she needed to in order for her children to be received. Once Rhett thought about it, he decided that was the real reason they disliked her was because she was an individualist. The very thing that made him love her.
He laughed when he remembered the exchange between his mother and Mrs. Merriwether. His mother and sister had been visiting last Christmas. Rhett had taken them to the book store and they had run into the old battle axe. Rhett had introduced his relatives to Mrs. Merriwether. Mrs. Merriwether had asked, "Where is Scarlett?"
His mother had said, "She is at the store. Mr. Elsing had some sort of emergency."
"It is a shame she can't at least put you before her businesses."
"Her businesses that kept me and my family fed during those hard years after the war. She supported her aunts and even gave them more money so they could help me and my family. I will not allow you to speak badly of her."
"But she unsexed herself running those businesses."
"If she unsexed herself how did she manage to get my son to the altar?"
At this point Rhett had stepped in and spoke calming words and defused the situation. When Mrs. Merriwether left, she was happy. His mother had looked at him and shaken her head. Then she had said, "You grovel too much to the matrons Rhett. You need to tell those old shrews to mind their own business."
Rhett did not point out to his mother that she had kowtowed to Charlestonian society all her life. All Rhett had said was, "Yes, Mother" which seemed to make his mother happy. Rosemary had walked away to the other side of the book store but Rhett had still heard her laughing. That had made him smile and think of Bonnie and Wade.
As Rhett stood there watching his children play he also thought about Mr. Wilkes and the changes in him. The man had turned his life around. He was the man that Rhett had met at that barbeque all those years ago. Rhett knew that Mr. Wilkes had been a good father but since their adoption of their daughter he had become a great father to Beau and Katie. The matrons had never even considered ostracizing Mr. Wilkes while his wife had been a hair's breadth from being tarred and feathered. That always made Rhett mad at the hypocrisy of polite society. Rhett often did wonder at what had changed Mr. Wilkes. Rhett speculated that it was the loss of Scarlett's admiration that had jolted Mr. Wilkes out of his malaise.
If Rhett was honest, he now had a begrudging admiration for Mr. Wilkes although Rhett still did not trust the man alone with his wife. Rhett and Mr. Wilkes had worked together to get rid of the clan in Georgia although Rhett knew it would come back. Mr. Wilkes had definitely improved the lives of the convicts that worked at the mills. He knew that Mr. Wilkes had set-up a pet reward system for the men. If they behaved and worked hard, they got to keep a small pet. Rhett thought that it was a good idea. The pet's love was the only love some of those men had ever known. The men would do almost anything to keep their pets. Rhett also knew that a lot of people criticized Mr. Wilkes for being too soft-hearted in regard to the convicts. One of them was his wife. Rhett also knew that Mr. Wilkes had better workers than most of the people around Atlanta and didn't have any of the problems that people who used freed slaves had.