Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and all the feedback.

Chapter Fifty-Six

Within the first two weeks Rhett had set-up accounts around town at a grocer, a general store, a modiste, a milliner, a tailor, a haberdashery, and, of course, a jewelry store. He wasn't silly enough to think he would never hurt Scarlett's feelings again.

After Bonnie had been at the school for about two weeks, they were having supper in their suite. Bonnie pointed and grunted at the peas. Nobody moved except Scarlett who looked at Bonnie and did the sign for more and said, "More?". Bonnie pointed and grunted at the peas again but never acknowledged Scarlett's actions. Still, nobody moved except Scarlett who laid her hand on her daughters arm then did the sign for more and said, "More?". Bonnie ignored her mother and pointed and grunted at the vegetable. Scarlett had just lectured them at that very meal how everyone had to make Bonnie use her signs. The rest of them needed to speak and sign to communicate with her. Scarlett knew that was the only way everyone was going to learn to sign. Rhett got up and served Bonnie some more peas. A hush fell over the room.

Scarlett said in a very icy tone, "Mr. Butler may I see you in our room."

Rhett replied, "No. I don't want to go to our room."

"I repeat Mr. Butler may I see you in our room."

"No."

"Fine! Melly would you, please, take the children to their room."

Melly said, "Of course, dear." Beau had grabbed Alex's hand and the three boys were already out of the room. Bonnie jumped down and ran after the boys. Even though Bonnie had not heard the conversation she saw her mother's face and she didn't want to be around her Mama right then. Melly walked very rapidly from the room.

Rhett had his mask on and his mouth was squeezed tight. He threw his napkin on the table. He said, "You have ruined a perfectly good supper with all these hysterics. We could have talked about this after we finished eating."

"I move a thousand miles away from my home and uprooted my children so Bonnie could get the best education possible. God's nightgown! I am living in Yankee land. I will not allow you to circumvent everything we have done and given up because you won't make her use her signs."

Rhett said mockingly, "I know! You had to give up everything you loved to move to the North."

Scarlett quietly said, "Not everything. Rhett, we have to make her use her signs or she will never learn them. All she knows now is point, grunt and Papa gives it to me."

Rhett replied sarcastically, "Are you saying I'm coddling her, Scarlett? Wasn't that the word you used last time?"

Still in a quiet voice because she wasn't going to let him turn this into a yelling and sarcasm fight. She now knew that Rhett was his most mocking and rude when he knew he was in the wrong. He did that to make her lose her temper and lose control of her thoughts. Scarlett said, "Rhett, honey, you aren't doing her any favors by coddling her. This isn't like before when she was having nightmares that she would eventually grow out of. I agree that letting her scream it out was wrong. This is something she has to learn and do. Her life is going to be hard but she can handle it. As hard as it is, we have to let her struggle through it. There isn't any obstacle she can't overcome. She is our child. She is not a quitter."

Rhett sighed. Put his head in his hands and said, "I want to make her life easier. It hurts me to see her struggling."

Scarlett smiled and said, "She had to struggle when she learned to sit up, to crawl, to run, and to talk. This is just another first. Yes, she is struggling but she is also manipulating you. Rather well I might add. She knows you feel sorry for her and she is playing off of it."

Rhett was quiet.

Scarlett continued, "You are making her life easier. She is going to the best school in the country. Everything that can be bought for her you will. Unfortunately, honey, this is her new life and therefore our new life."

"She is four years old. How can you think she is intentionally manipulating me?"

"I don't think she is intentionally manipulating you. I think she just is. Did someone teach you how to manipulate people? Nobody taught me but i sure know how to do it especially men. She knows you will do anything for her if she asks. But Rhett, at least, make her ask. Do you really want your daughter to be grunting and pointing at sixteen?"

Rhett gave her a wry smile and said, "No. I will do better."

"Thank you. We didn't move all this way for her to learn to grunt and point. She already knew how to do that."

"She already knew how to manipulate me also. Just like her mother."

"Yes, she did."

They smiled at each other. Rhett said, "Shall we call them back in?"

"I guess. Although it is kind of nice it being just the two of us."

Rhett stood up and said as he walked to the door, "Let's go to supper tomorrow night."

Rhett didn't even wait for a reply. Scarlett said to the empty room, "Pretty sure of yourself there aren't you, Mr. Butler."

They did go out to supper the next night and they had a lovely time. They had gotten better about actually fighting not just throwing out barbs and calling each other ugly names. Of course, because she was much older, she had learned to control her temper for the most part. She still lost it every now and then but it was usually when Rhett was teasing her and he had gone too far. She felt Rhett knew he was going too far but wanted to make sure he could still make her that mad.

Rhett picked Bonnie and everyone up from school. About a month after they had moved to Hartford when Rhett was at Watkinson to pick up Wade and Beau a boy of seventeen walked up to the carriage and handed Rhett a note. He got out of the carriage. He wanted Bonnie to stay in the carriage while he talked to the principal. He thought, 'If I could just talk to her then I could explain why she had to stay with Esau. If I just leave her in the carriage, she will get scared and who knows what she will do. Scarlett is right. Bonnie has to learn signs and so do I." Up until then he had just been going through the motions when Scarlett was around. From now forward he resolved to put forth a supreme effort. He knew why he hadn't been trying. He still hated Scarlett to see him as less than perfect at anything he did. He smiled as he helped Bonnie out of the carriage.

Rhett called up to Esau and said, "I will be a few minutes Esau. It seems our young gentlemen are in trouble for fighting."

Rhett was carrying Bonnie as he followed the young man to the principal's office. When he got to the outer room of the principal's office where the principal's secretary was sitting, Rhett saw Wade and Beau. Yes, they had definitely been in a fight. Both of them. Rhett saw that their knuckles were bruised. Beau's nose had been hit and it appeared it had been bleeding. Wade looked like he was going to have a black eye for his eye was already changing colors. There clothes were dirty and torn. Rhett smiled. He was proud of the boys. He looked across the small room and there were three boys who looked like they had gotten the worst end of the fight and Rhett was prouder.

The principal came out and said, "I'm James Stewart, the principal at Watkinson Academy."

"I'm Rhett Butler. I'm the father of Wade and Beau."

Mr. Stewart said, "But neither one of their last names are Butler."

"Long story. What happened?"

Mr. Stewart sighed and said, "Please step into my office. What all five boys agree on was that they were talking about the War and the tempers got hot and Mr. Hurt said something that set Mr. Hamilton's temper off and he threw a punch. It was melee after that."

"What did he say?"

"I don't know. None of the boys will tell me. Mr. Hurt said it is best not repeated while eying your son leerily and Mr. Hamilton impertinently told me it wasn't any of my business."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want you to take your sons home and teach them the proper respect and decorum required to be part of polite society."

"I will be glad to do that."

"Mr. Butler we cannot tolerate this behavior. This is a school not a back alley behind some saloon."

"Yes, of course." It was all Rhett could do not to grin from ear to ear. He was so proud of these two boys. They had more fire and spirit in them than he would have ever thought.

The two men walked back out to the outer room and they saw a hysterical woman rushing in. Before anyone else could stop him, Rhett said in his sternest voice, "Let's go boys. Now!" The woman looked at Rhett. He was a strange sight. A man holding a four-year-old little girl with a stern almost harsh expression on his face. It was such a contrast that it made her pause in her search for her son.

They were quickly out the door. When they got in the carriage Rhett said, "What did he say that set you off?"

Wade just stared out the window while Beau stared out his window. Rhett said, "I can defend you and protect you from your mothers or I can abandon you to them. Women don't understand that sometimes we men have to use our fist to settle matters. That words are insufficient to get the point across."

Both boys had been aloof with Rhett since their arrival in Hartford. They had decided that he was to blame for them being in the North. They looked at each other and realized they needed his help. They knew their mothers would never understand. Wade said, "He said, 'Wade Hampton was a lily-livered coward.' I had to defend my namesake.

Rhett said, "You can't go around throwing punches when someone says something unkind about the South."

Beau said, "He didn't. Jonathon said lots of nasty things about the South and how our mothers were just empty-headed Southern belles. We were able to restrain ourselves but then he said nasty comments about General Lee and what happened at Gettysburg. Wade just smiled. Jonathon then said, 'General Hampton was a drunk and miscreant. If he had been named after such a man, he would be so ashamed he would change his name.' That was just too much for both of us."

"A word of advice, boys, don't tell your mothers you didn't defend them when they were insulted."

"But they are empty-headed."

"No, they aren't. Beauregard Wilkes your mother is very intelligent and well-read. Wade Hamilton your mother is the cleverest woman I have ever met. And don't y'all forget it. I would advise you that when you tell your mothers what happened that when Mr. Hurt insulted them is when you threw the first punch."

"That would be lying."

"Yes, it would be. It would be a small lie that will save you a lot of headache. Trust me."

The boys looked at each other and they both nodded.

When they walked into the hotel room there was another melee. First their mothers were aghast that their sons had been fighting. The women were chastising them when Rhett said, "They got into a fight defending y'all. One of the other boys called y'all empty-headed southern belles. They did what any gentleman would do. They defended your honor."

There was a one hundred and eighty degree turn around in the ladies' behavior. Even though the ladies were still telling them that they shouldn't have gotten in a fight and not to do it again there was no conviction in their words now. And the boys knew it. Their mothers fussed over the boys all night long.

The next afternoon when Rhett picked them up at school, both boys thanked him for his advice. Beau said, "How did you get so wise, sir?"

"By making a lot of mistakes."

All three of them smiled. Bonnie smiled too even though she didn't know why everyone was smiling. In that moment the boys finally saw Rhett as their ally. They looked at each other and knew he would teach them all they needed to know about being a man. All the things their mothers wouldn't want them to know about.

When the first of October had arrived, Rhett and Scarlett relaxed about Melanie dying. They were puzzled although because so far in their redo every time there had been a pivotal point in their old life that pivotal point was repeated in their new life. There had never been a more pivotal point in their old life than when Melanie had died, Scarlett had seen the truth about Ashley, and Rhett had left her.

If someone else was reliving that pivot point in their lives they were not aware of it. Nobody wrote and told them of someone dying from a miscarriage or someone's husband leaving them. Maybe someday they would learn of someone having a crisis in September of eighteen seventy-three. For now, they were going to believe that pivot point had not been replayed by someone else.