Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and the feedback.
Chapter Fifty
A month after they had returned from New York Rhett asked Scarlett to go for a walk with him. She knew he enjoyed walking with her and the other things they did on their walks but she knew they weren't going to do any of those things. She knew he thought they were going to have a fight. That what he was going to tell her was something he thought would make her mad. She could tell by the expression on his face. Not that anyone else would be able to tell. It was his mouth. He was holding it tight like he was holding all the words in. She had thought his expression was a blank mask when they had been married in the first timeline but it really had been his go to battle expression.
If they were going to have a fight, he wanted to have it away from the children. They definitely fought in this time line but they never fought in front of the children. They had mutually decided that the children didn't need to see or hear all that. They were not going to repeat that mistake. They still had spats in front of the children but they never let it escalate into the blood baths they engaged in all the time in their first timeline.
When they were far enough away from the house Scarlett said, "Just tell me."
"Dr. Zerlin wrote me a letter telling me about a school in Hartford, Connecticut. He wrote that it was the best school for teaching deaf children in the nation. It is the Asylum of the Deaf and Dumb School. It is the leading school for teaching the deaf to speak and use sign language. It is called manualism They will also teach her to read and write, and do math. They will teach her geography, history and the bible. They will teach her everything she needs to learn for her new life."
"Are you suggesting we send our four-year-old daughter away to school? Alone? In the North?" Scarlett was horrified.
"No, no," He rubbed her crossed arms. "I'm suggesting we move to Hartford so she can go to school there."
"No!"
"Let me explain."
"Why can't we hire someone here to teach her?"
"First she will get a better education at this school. The teachers there are trained to teach the deaf.
Scarlett interrupted to say, "You could get one of those teachers to come down here."
Rhett continued, "In that setting she will have an advantage because she will be able to hear a little bit. There are a lot of children and they are all deaf. She will be around other children just like her. She will not be excluded in Hartford," Rhett saw Scarlett tear up at the thought of Bonnie being excluded. Now that Scarlett was more mature, she would never tolerate one of her children being excluded
"You can make sure she isn't excluded."
Rhett smiled a sad smile and said, "Thank you for your confidence in me but no I couldn't."
"But she isn't completely deaf. Surely she will be treated like everyone else."
"No. She will be treated badly and made fun of because she can't hear very well. Mostly behind her back but sometimes in front of her. It is better to have her be with other people who can't hear very well also."
Scarlett didn't want to accept Rhett's words as the truth. She said, "No. Surely there is another solution."
Rhett said, "Not that I can think of. We have to do this for all our children. If Bonnie is made fun of Wade will feel he has to defend her. He will get in fights with other children all the time. That is just the man he is. That is the Charles Hamilton in him. He will be embarrassed by her also."
"I know. That is the Scarlett O'Hara in him. At his age I would have been embarrassed if either of my sisters had a deformity." She smiled
"I suspect that Beau would get into fights to defend her also and we have no idea how Alex will react to people making fun of her."
Rhett let that sink in then he said gently, "They will break her spirit."
That made Scarlett want to cry so she turned away from Rhett. She stood there for a long time looking out at the fields of cotton. She randomly thought, 'It looks like it is going to be a good harvest this fall.' Then she thought about what Rhett had said.
Rhett came up behind her and put his arms around her. He didn't speak. He rested his head on top of her head and waited. He knew it was a lot for her to digest. He was still trying to accept it himself. It would be easier for him than for Scarlett. Most of his ties to the South were broken when he was disowned over a broken buggy wheel. He lived in the South because Scarlett lived in the South. Now was not the time to tell her how much better living in the North would be than living in the South. She was not ready to hear of the advantages of living above the Mason-Dixon line.
Scarlett said, "Can we move back once Bonnie is educated?"
"If you want to."
Scarlett was quiet. So, Rhett added "She will probably adapt better if she is not the only one. We need to do the best we can to prepare her for the future she now has."
Scarlett turned and just stared at him so Rhett added, "My money will open a lot of doors for her but she will always be at a disadvantage because of not being able to hear."
"Rhett, are you saying our daughter will not be able to make a decent match?"
"Our daughter will make an excellent match."
Scarlett smiled at the pride in Rhett's voice when he said that. She said, "You are right. Our Bonnie will make an excellent match."
"I thought we had established that I am always right."
His statement made Scarlett smile and she said, "I thought we had established that you weren't always right. Do I need to give you some examples?"
"No, thank you."
"How long will we send Bonnie to school?"
"At least until she is fourteen. There are some colleges in the North that admit women."
Scarlett stared at him in horror that he actually thought their daughter would do something so utterly unfeminine as go to a college. What she said was, "How far away is Hartford?"
"Hartford is about a thousand miles away. It will take us at least two days to travel there by train."
"So, what you are suggesting is that we move a thousand miles away from everything we know and love and go to a cold, forbidding, Yankee city so Bonnie can be educated in the latest and greatest educational techniques for teaching the deaf. That we will live there at least for the next ten years."
"Yes."
"You think this is best for Bonnie?"
"Yes."
"Alright. I will trust your judgement but if those Northerners turn my little girl into a bluestocking there is going to be hell to pay and you are going to pay it, Rhett Butler."
"Melly is a very educated woman and she is everything feminine and refined. No one would call her a bluestocking."
"She is though. She was just lucky that Ashley loved her or else she would never have made a good match. It may be good for Melly to get away from the South too. She can then remember Ashley the way he was before the war not what he became," She looked at Rhett and continued, "You were planning on Melly coming with us weren't you?"
It never failed to amaze Rhett how Scarlett could discount all Melly's good points with a flick of her wrist. He knew she loved Melly just as she was though. He knew that she knew she would be lost without Melly in her life. He also knew that his wife appreciated that her best friend was a brown sparrow while she was a beautiful peacock. "I would never dream of leaving Melly and Beau behind. They are part of our family."
"Good. When do we leave?"
"We will pack up what we want to take with us. It would be cheaper to sell the furniture and buy new furniture when we buy our new home. That way we will be sure the décor matches the style of the house. We will let Mr. Taylor sell the house for us.
"Alright. I'm not welcoming any of those Yankees in my home though."
"You welcomed them into your home last timeline."
"That was different. I was bored and they were the only fun in my life."
"I'm sorry about that baby."
"They were just about the only people who would talk to me. No. Who would speak kindly to me. I don't think they liked me. They just enjoyed the lavish parties I gave."
"I'm sure they liked you."
"No, I wasn't a likeable person."
It was Rhett's turn to be quiet. He wasn't going to agree with her but no she had not been a likeable person. He took her back into his arms and held her. She rested her head on his chest. Finally, he said, "You are a likeable person now. There are a lot of people who like you. I am rather fond of you."
That made Scarlett smile as Rhett had hoped. He had shared with her how much he now hated that word.
She said, "When do we leave?"
"Thank you for agreeing. I didn't want to force you to move to the North. Although the last time I forced you to do something…."
Scarlett swatted Rhett on the chest and smiled. Rhett smiled too. A smile or a frown, either one was alright. Rhett could deal with either one of those emotions so much easier than a morose Scarlett.
"You have spent the last month researching to find an answer to Bonnie's problem. If this is your best solution then I know it is the best solution. You would never settle for second best especially not for your daughter. I'm not happy about it but I will not settle for second best for my daughter either."
"Thank you for your faith in me."
"I love living in the south because I am a southerner but if the best school for my daughter is in the North we will live in the North. Besides it won't be forever."
"Which servants do you want to take with us?"
"Anyone who wants to go but I imagine Pork and Dilcey will stay here, I know they both like living at Tara. Their son Flynn likes it too. Prissy and Esau will move with us, they are young and would probably like some adventure in their lives. The same is true with Evie especially considering she lost her husband right before her child was born. Then her son died right before Alex was born. I think she thinks of Alex as her little boy."
"I agree Evie is rather fond of Alex and Bonnie. Almost the same way Mammy feels about you and your sisters."
"I don't know about Mammy. It would be best for her to stay at Tara. She is nearing the end of her days. It probably will not be that hard to convince her to stay her and take care of Careen and Careen's children."
"I can leave Pork in charge of closing up the house on 5th street. Let's go back to the house and tell everyone the news."
"Let me tell Melly first."
"Alright."
As they walked back to the main house Scarlett said, "It seems I am having to give up everything I love. Mammy, Atlanta, Tara, The South."
Rhett put his arm around Scarlett's shoulders in a very improper way and said, "Not everything. You aren't having to give me, Melly or your children up."
Scarlett sadly said, "Melly hasn't agreed to come yet. She has to agree. I would never be able to live in the North if I was all alone."
"I repeat myself. I will be there and your children."
"Yes, dear, but I need Melly."
"You don't need me?"
"You know I do. Do try to be less sensitive Rhett. It's not very becoming in a man."
Rhett smiled and thought, 'Ten minutes ago, she dismissed all Melanie's assets with a flick of her wrist and now Melanie practically walks on water as far as this same woman is concerned. And with a flick of her wrist, she dismissed my feelings. Although her total illogic and insensitivity are some of the reasons, I love her.
Author's Notes: Asylum in the 19th century meant haven, a place of retreat and security. Dumb in the 19th century meant someone who could not speak. As in dumbstruck – so shocked or surprised as to be unable to speak. A lot of people in the late 19th century and early 20th century believe that a person with a physical handicap was also stupid. I can't explain the logic. It just was the way they thought.
The Asylum of the Deaf and Dumb School was a real school. It was the first permanent school for teaching deaf Americans. It opened on April 15, 1817. It was founded by Mason Cogswell and Sylvester Gilbert both fathers of deaf children. It is still in operation today and is a leader in educating the deaf. It is now called The American School for the Deaf.
A bluestocking was an educated, intellectual woman. It was a derogatory term for a woman who pursued higher education. It meant you were unfeminine and not good marriage material.
