Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Thirty-Two

In late July before the cotton harvest started, Rhett suggested that they go spend a week at Tara. Rhett said, "We need to go now. By the time, the harvest is over you will be in your confinement."

"I would like that, Rhett."

"Let's hold a barbecue unless you think it would be too much work for your sister in her condition."

"She is no longer with child. She lost the baby. It may be just the thing to cheer her up. I will talk to her about it when we get there. I think she would like it though. She could pretend to be the grand lady of the manor to the county folk."

"Won't they know the truth?"

"Yes, but she can pretend anyway."

They went down to Tara the next week. She would have invited Melly and Beau to go with them but there just wasn't any room in the house. Wade had been banished from the nursery because of lack of beds. He slept on the couch in the office. Ella and Vicky had to share one of those tiny beds. Scarlett -knew the truth was they slept together most of the time. When Vicky would get scared in the middle of the night she just got up and got in the bed with Ella. Vicky had tried several times to get in the bed with her parents, but Rhett always got up and put her back in her bed. When he put her back in her bed, he would lay with her until she went back to sleep.

When Rhett would get back in the bed after putting Vicky back to bed, he would grumble, "What is Mammy doing while I am doing her job for her?"

Scarlett would reply, "Sleeping I guess."

Rhett continued to make his comment and Scarlett would always respond the same way.

Mammy who slept in the room adjacent to the nursery heard Rhett when he was putting Vicky back to bed, but she never got up. For two reasons: One. To spite Captain Butler and Two. Because the man could always easily get his daughter to go back to sleep.

Rhett putting Vicky back in her bed always amazed Scarlett based on the way he had behaved in the last timeline. Rhett's relationship with their daughter was much more normal than it had been in the previous timeline. He loved her, of course, but he didn't let her get away with everything. He was an indulgent father but not a pushover as he had been in their first timeline. Scarlett decided that they had both moved to the middle in their parenting styles. She wasn't as strict, and he wasn't as lenient.

After they got down to Tara Scarlett took Suellen on a walk. She left Rhett and Mammy in charge of the children. On the walk Scarlett and Suellen actually talked like sisters about the loss of the baby.

Suellen said, "I didn't want it."

"Now you feel guilty."

"Yeah."

"You're not wanting the baby didn't have anything to do with you losing the baby. If we could wish a child away, I wouldn't have any."

Suellen smiled sadly and said, "I wouldn't either."

"I don't know what I would do without them now."

"Nor do I but I so don't want anymore."

"Nor do I but it is a woman's lot in life."

"I suppose."

"It makes Rhett so happy for me to be with child. I think he wants a houseful."

Suellen laughed bitterly, "So does Will."

"I just wish I wasn't so fertile."

"Me either. I wish there was a way to prevent getting with child."

"There are some methods, but they are not one hundred percent, and they are all controlled by the man."

"They should be controlled by the woman. The one that is going to have to bear the consequences of getting with child."

"That would be like a dream come true."

Suellen smiled and said, "It is hard to believe but I am actually feeling better now."

Scarlett smiled back and linked her arm with Suellen's arm, "I know I haven't always been the best sister, but I am trying to be a much better sister now. I cannot undo all the wrong I have done. I can just be a good big sister now."

"I don't know if I will ever forgive you completely especially for marrying Frank, but Will is a good husband."

Scarlett smiled and said, "Yes, he is. Now let's talk about our barbecue we are going to have."

The sisters invited everyone who had once been the gentry of the county to the barbecue.

Alex Fontaine had come with his wife Sally. They had three children now, Joe, Jr, Tony and a little girl, Emily who was Vicky's age. Scarlett asked Alex, "Have you ever heard anything from your brother, Tony?"

Alex said, "We got a post card from Galveston, Texas but there wasn't anything written on the card except my name and our address. I guess that was Tony's way of letting me know that he had gotten to Texas and he was safe."

"I guess we will never see him again."

Alex shook his head and said, "Not this side of heaven. Excuse me."

Scarlett was sorry she had made Alex sad, but she had wanted to know if Tony had made it to Texas. She saw Rhett in a discussion with Abel Wynder and wondered what they were talking about. She didn't see Cathy Calvert Hilton, but she was not surprised. She had heard Cathy had turned into white trash. She had also heard that she and her husband had moved up North. She didn't want to think about her once friend. Maybe she would get the Pinkerton Agency to find her. No, she would just pretend that once they got up North, Cathy became dignified and proper once again.

Scarlett invited Mr. Jones and his daughter. She liked the man, and he was a good employee. The man had lost almost everything in the war including both his sons. One of his sons had come home from the war but like Cade Calvert had succumbed to tuberculosis a year after he had returned. She engaged Mr. Jones in conversation. Mr. Jones said, "Mrs. Butler there is another mill that you might consider buying. It is own by a friend of mine and he would be glad to run it for you. It would take more parts to repair than my mill, but it would be worth the investment."

Because Scarlett knew Mr. Jones was a very honest man she said, "Rhett and I will meet with him. Can you arrange it?"

"Yes ma'am. Thank you. His name is Stanley Smith."

"I know Mr. Smith. He is almost as honest as you. Yes, arrange the meeting for tomorrow. The day after that we are returning to Atlanta."

Now she saw Rhett talking to Beatrice and Jim Tarleton and she joined their group. They discussed the horse farm and how things were progressing.

Everyone ate their fill. When it came time to leave, everyone got their pots and pans out of their wagons and carriages and filled them up. There was barely enough food left for the residents of Tara to make a meal on. That was alright the residents of Tara were doing better than anyone else thanks to Scarlett's money.

The next day Rhett and Scarlett did meet with Stanley Smith and Scarlett did buy the mill. She made the same arrangements with Mr. Smith as she did with Mr. Jones. A monthly salary and a small part of the profits. Even though Scarlett had purchased the mill as far as Mr. Smith was concerned it was his mill just like Mr. Jones. Scarlett was happy with that. It meant Mr. Smith would do a better job. Mr. Smith had never had any children, but he was lucky to still have his wife.

In passing Scarlett wondered how they had never had any children. Mrs. Smith was probably barren. As Scarlett felt her baby bump and looked at Rhett, she decided that she wouldn't like that. Maybe in the last timeline but not this one.

The following day as they were getting into the wagon to go into Jonesboro to catch the train Scarlett saw the sad expression on Wade's face and wished there was something she could do about it.

Will saw the expression also and pulled Scarlett aside. Will said, "Let the boy stay."

"I don't know. Won't he be in your way?"

"Not while we are getting started. I have to go into town and buy supplies in two weeks. I will bring him back then."

"If he wants to stay."

Will asked Wade, "Would you like to stay another two weeks?"

Wade looked at his mother with an excited, happy expression and said, "Can I, please?"

"Only two weeks."

Wade started jumping up and down. He hugged his mother and said, "Thank you. Thank you."

Scarlett hugged him back and got in the wagon. She hoped he hadn't seen her tears. Yes, Wade was definitely her son. Once they were on the train, Rhett sat too close, and she was grateful.

When they got to Atlanta, Scarlett told Mr. Jackson he had the next two weeks off with pay. Samuel telegraphed a young lady in Charleston. His telegraph said: Have next two weeks off. STOP Can I visit you in Charleston. STOP

Rosemary Butler happily telegraphed back. Her telegraph said: Yes STOP You can stay with brother Robert STOP

Samuel telegraphed back. His telegraphed said: Wonderful STOP On the next train STOP

Rosemary did arrange for Samuel to stay with her brother Robert. She and Samuel had a wonderful time together. Samuel asked Robert, "Can I court your sister?"

Robert said, "Yes. How much does my brother pay you?"

"Not enough to support a family."

"You cannot marry until you get a better job."

"That will be hard. There are so few good jobs in the South."

"That is true. I wouldn't be doing my duty by my sister if I did not ensure she had a good future ahead of her."

"Thank you for your permission anyway."

"Can my brother not get you a better job? I believe he has a lot of wealth and influence now."

"He has a lot of wealth, but he has no influence amidst anyone I would like to work for."

"That is too bad."

Samuel smiled and said, "I also believe Mrs. Butler is very happy with my services as her tutor and I don't think she would be happy with Mr. Butler if he found me another job."

Robert smiled and said, "I understand from my mother that she has quite the temper."

Samuel said, "I have never actually seen her temper, but I have heard it when she is yelling at your brother," Samuel smiled and continued, "The truth is that your brother is the only person she loses her temper with."

Robert smiled and said, "That is because my brother can be an aggravating donkey's ass and that's putting it nicely."

Samuel and Robert laughed. Robert said, "Go walk around the harbor with Rosemary and get her to explain all the local landmarks. Good luck on your job search."

"Thank you and thank you for your permission."

After Samuel left Robert's family parlor, Robert did hope that Samuel found a better paying job but he like Samuel was not overly optimistic about the prospects. For there were not very many good paying jobs in the South anymore. Robert was lucky to have landed a job in a bank that paid enough to support his little family.

Samuel and Wade returned to Atlanta and the mansion on the same day. On the train ride to Atlanta, Wade said, "Thank you for letting me stay, Uncle Will. I wish I could stay longer."

"I wish you could stay longer also. Boy, listen to this advice I am going to give you," Will paused to be sure he had Wade's full attention. Will continued, "When you get home you tell your mother how much you missed her. You can tell her you had a good time but that you are so happy to be home. Yes, it is a little white lie, but it will hurt your mother if she thinks you didn't miss her at all."

Wade looked at his Uncle Will for a long moment and said, "I understand. It will not be a lie though. I have missed her and everyone else even my two annoying sisters."

Will nodded his head and didn't say anything more. Wade did follow Uncle Will's advice and Wade did see how happy his words made his mother. That night as Wade laid in his bed getting ready to go to sleep, he thought, 'Maybe mother will let me spend the entire summer next year. No, that would be too long. Maybe a month.'

When Mrs. Butler saw Samuel, she asked him, "Did you enjoy your time off?"

"Very muchly Ma'am."

"What did you do?"

"I did some traveling."

"I'm glad you had a good time. I want you to talk with Ella and see if she is ready to receive formal schooling. She will be five this October."

"Maybe for an hour every day. Just to get her started on her sounds."

"Let Mammy know when she needs to bring Ella to the schoolroom."

With that Samuel knew Mrs. Butler had dismissed him and his time off from her mind. Samuel liked Mrs. Butler. She was a good employer. She paid him a fair salary for his labors. She treated him with respect. He also knew that Mrs. Butler would not be happy about losing his services, so he was going to keep his relationship with Rosemary a secret for now.