Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Forty - Two

When Rhett returned Wade was sitting on their bed getting crumbs all over Rhett's side of the bed. Wade was telling his mother about the latest book he was reading. Wade was that happy little eleven-year-old again. Scarlett was looking at her happy son and was once again grateful for this do over. He was a happy boy, not the scarred young man from the first timeline. Yes, he had been scarred by her, Rhett and the tragedies that he had witnessed.

When Wade took a breath Scarlett said, "You can tell me the rest tomorrow. I need to talk to your father."

Rhett saw that the new bassinet was already set beside Scarlett's side of the bed. He went over to place his daughter in it. Rhett was very happy that Scarlett wanted to breastfeed their child although he did feel left out of the process.

Scarlett knew it was the only way she would get baby holding time. She enjoyed the bonding time with her child also. As Rhett looked at their youngest daughter he said, "As soon as you have weened her, she is going into the nursery. We aren't going to be having one of our children sleep with us."

"Of course not, Sweetheart. Why do you keep telling me that?"

"I don't want there to be any misunderstandings later."

"Alright."

There was a knock on the door. It was Mammy with Scarlett's post-delivery meal. Rhett scowled at Scarlett and cleaned the crumbs off his side of the bed. Scarlett ignored the scowl and started enjoying her meal. Rhett told her all about the event from the night before. When he was finished, she said, "How far away from us is it?"

"About thirty minutes."

Scarlett looked at the window and said, "You better hurry before you lose the light. I want to know all about the house you won in a poker game. Take Wade with you."

"I can't leave you on the day one of our children was born."

"I appreciate your feelings. I am fine. Charlotte is fine. All we are going to be doing is lying in the bed and sleeping. I really want to know about our new house."

When Rhett started to protest again, Scarlett said, "It is the least you can do after scaring me so badly last night."

Rhett got off the bed where he had been lying next to his wife and said, "Yes, dear." He was smiling as he left the house. His wife never missed an opportunity to use an advantage. He did take Wade with him. Rhett soon discovered that Scarlett was right to send Wade with him. Wade had lots of questions about babies, where they came from, and how they were made which Rhett supposed was a natural outcome of his mother having just had a baby.

As Rhett and Wade walked up to the house, Rhett decided he had gotten an exceptionally good deal winning this house. The outside was plain which was common with Georgian style homes. The inside was equally plain, but it was furnished which meant they could move in right away. There was a small staff at the house. A housekeeper, a butler, a cook, a couple of maids and a couple of footmen. It seems the Earl of Bluestone had not like the house, and he had rarely stayed at the home. Rhett also found out that the Earl had been trying to sell the house for several years without much success. The Earl was a widower with one grown son. The house was too large for one person. Rhett also noticed that everything in the house was shabby. He already knew the Earl was a bad poker player and a drunk. Rhett decided that the Earl was quickly going broke. He hoped the son had another source for money.

Rhett introduced himself to the butler. He said, "My name is Rhett Butler. I won this house in a poker game last night."

The butler said, "Yes sir. The Earl stopped by earlier today and informed me. I informed the rest of the staff. My name is James Hawthorne. You may call me Mr. Hawthorne."

"This is my son, Wade."

"Yes, sir. In case the Earl didn't tell you, the house has a name. It is Bluemore Towers."

Rhett asked the butler, "Can I change the name?"

"Of course, sir."

"I am going to call it Butler's Manor. Has the Earl been able to keep up with your wages?"

"No sir, he is two months behind."

"I will give you one month's back wage. We will be moving in as soon as my wife gets back on her feet. Have the staff start cleaning."

Rhett and Wade did look at the dowager house. It was a cottage with four bedrooms. He would offer it to Samuel and Rosemary.

Within two weeks they were in the new house. All Scarlett had to do was walk out of one house and walk into another house. Elizabeth had volunteered to supervise the packing and moving of their items. Scarlett kept the staff that was already at the new house. They brought their staff from the rental house with them. Scarlett would cull out anyone who was not a good worker. They did have a duplication of some of the roles. She would keep the best cook, butler and housekeeper.

Elizabeth was fine with living in the main house. Samuel and Rosemary were fine with living in the dowager house. Samuel moved into the dowager house and Rosemary took a room in the main house. Wade had his own room. Ella was moved out of the nursery into a room. Vicky and Kenny were in the nursery. Mammy still slept in the room next to the nursery.

Mrs. Giles was a noticeably big help to Mammy. Mrs. Giles almost seemed to anticipate Mammy's needs and was always there to assist her. Mrs. Giles never made Mammy feel like Mammy couldn't do her job anymore.

In the mansion there were a lot more servants' rooms and Scarlett allowed Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Giles to each have their own room. After Scarlett told Mrs. Jones that she and her mother could have separate rooms, Scarlett thought the young woman was going to start crying. Scarlett had taken Rebecca to her heart. Scarlett didn't understand it herself, but she wanted to help this woman. She guessed it was part of her becoming a better person. She decided that she was repaying Melanie's kindness to her to Rebecca. Scarlett put her arm around the young woman which wasn't proper and said, "Why the tears?"

"After my father died, we couldn't pay the rent on our home, so we had to move in with my mother's brother. He was not a nice person. Even though there were lots of rooms, he made my mother, Tory and I share a room. He was always making unkind comments and calling my daughter names. I just can't believe how nice you are being."

"I can't believe I'm being this nice either. Most people who know me would swear I have never done an unselfish thing in my entire life. That I am not a nice person."

"I can't believe that Mrs. Butler."

"I will have to ponder why I am being so nice to you. Enjoy your room. Let me know if you need anything."

Rebecca wondered about what her employer had said about her not being a nice person. Rebecca knew that just wasn't true. Mrs. Butler had been nicer to her than any other person in the world.

When Scarlett saw the outside of the house, she was not happy. Rhett had said the outside was plain but that was and understatement. She didn't know the right word, but the outside of this house was less than plain. Scarlett would live with it for Rhett had said she could do anything she wanted with the inside. Scarlett knew that wasn't true, but she knew Rhett would let her be more dazzling on the inside because of how plain it was on the outside. As soon as they moved in Scarlett began redecorating and remodeling the mansion. Rhett had all the latest conveniences installed such as indoor plumbing and a water heater. Scarlett did include Rhett in the decisions of decorating their home, but it was still more gaudy than Rhett would have wanted. Rhett made comments but they weren't hurtful or cruel. It was just Rhett being Rhett.

Rhett was still trying to be a better person. He still carried small coins on his person and handed them out to people. Rhett was involved in several business deals and he tried his best not to take advantage of his fellow businessmen but far too often his baser instincts would rise to the surface. He just promised himself to do better the next time.

The last day of October, Samuel took the day off from work. He and Rosemary went to the register office and had a civil service preformed. They invited Elizabeth, Rhett and Scarlett to witness the service. After as the group was returning to their home, Elizabeth asked them why they didn't wait until June.

Rosemary said, "Neither one of us is young so we didn't want to waste a year of our lives."

Samuel said, "Everyone we would want at our wedding is in this carriage, so why wait."

Scarlett said, "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you."

She really was. Scarlett had told Rhett a couple of weeks earlier, "Mrs. Jones is a better teacher than Samuel. I am lucky that Samuel quit for I would never have gotten this better teacher for our children if he hadn't quit."

When Scarlett had told Rhett, this he had asked her, "Sour grapes much?"

Scarlett had looked at him with a confused look. Rhett said, "Never mind. It is a reference from one of those old books I am always reading. I am glad Mrs. Jones is a better teacher than Samuel."

Scarlett had smiled and said, "Me too. Vicky and Tory get along well. It is just a wonderful situation."

Rhett was not so sure about Vicky and Tory getting along well. He had witnessed several little battles between the girls. He knew the little battles were the first of many because he knew his and Scarlett's children would all be strong willed.

In November, Scarlett got a letter from Melanie with an item of gossip that she could not believe. After reading the letter Scarlett ran to find Rhett. When she found him, she said, "Listen to this. 'You are not going to believe this but Fanny Welburn married a Yankee, Tom Bradley. She was all set to marry Jim Hicks. The wedding was less than a month away when Fanny up and married Mr. Bradley. It seems Fanny had been seeing him secretly. They would meet in out of the way places.' Tom Bradley is who I sold the mills to.

Rhett said, "Like a secret romance."

"I continue. 'They were having a secret romance. Nobody knows how far the romance went but the gossip is that they met often secretly alone. Mrs. Elsing is beside herself with shame. She has been telling everyone how it is not as bad as it seems. Mrs. Mead and Mrs. Merriwether are talking badly about Fanny."

"Are they going to continue receiving Mrs. Welburn or is it Mrs. Bradley?"

"I continue. 'The ladies are divided on whether to receive Fanny or not. Fanny has been quoted as saying – This isn't the worst thing I have done. I love Tom so of course I would want to be his wife. –"

"Isn't that what you said right after we returned from London?"

"Yes. Rhett this is so wonderful. Finally, someone stood up to the matrons."

"Someone else, my dear." Scarlett smiled her acknowledgement of his statement.

In December, Scarlett got another letter from Melanie. Melanie shared more of the fall out of Fanny's improper behavior. Scarlett read to Rhett, 'There has been a great division of the matrons of Atlanta society. Mrs. Elsing, who has always been the laxest of the matrons, came down firmly on the side of her daughter. Mrs. Elsing said, 'Fanny made the right choice. She loves her husband and so what if he is a Yankee. The war has been over for almost ten years. If we don't embrace the Yankees, we will all be poor for a long time. Pride and honor are wonderful things, but one cannot eat them."

"Such logic."

"Melanie goes on to say that several proper young ladies have already married Yankee men because there are no eligible single men still alive in the South."

"That is wonderful."

"She also says that men are starting to do business with the Yankees even Ashley."

"No! Not the most proper gentleman in the South."

Scarlett laughed. She said, "This is just wonderful."

The Butlers had a lovely Christmas. They had an English Christmas with a tree and all the most popular decorations of the season. There were moments that Elizabeth would think about Robert and his family, but she managed to keep those moments to a minimum. Rhett bought too many presents for everyone. Everyone but Mammy that is. He knew she would not accept his presents, so he didn't bother. Scarlett did buy Mammy several items including material for two new dresses and a new pair of shoes. When Scarlett handed them to Mammy, she said, "I paid for them out of the profits from Tara."

Mammy smiled and accepted the gifts.

Author's Notes: The comment Rhett makes about 'Sour grapes' is from Aesop's Fable. I want to give credit to misscyn for explaining the 'dog in the manger' comment Rhett makes when he and Scarlett have their conversation about no more children in her fanfic The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower.