Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty

Dolly Merriwether had indeed checked with a general she knew about Captain Butler's service, and it turned out he had served in the Confederate army. Dolly Merriwether was beginning to change her mind about Captain Butler. He was certainly charming at their weekly meetings. At first Dolly had resented Captain Butler's demand that they have a weekly meeting. Rhett would say things to help her business become more stable. At one meeting he said, "Mrs. Merriwether you need to make only the pies that make you the most money."

"How do I figure the profit per pie?"

Rhett explained how she could do that and finished by saying, "We will look at your figures next week."

The next week when Mrs. Merriwether showed Rhett the figures he said, "You don't make enough money on the pecan pies to carry it every day. You can make pecan pies only by special request and charge ten cents more a pie."

"My pecan pies are my most popular pie. My customers will be so unhappy."

"If they are that popular then you should be able to get ten cents more for them. We have to get this business in the black."

"Of course."

"Mrs. Merriwether, your pies are delicious. This business will be successful, but you have to run it like a business. Too many people are depending on this business succeeding to be soft hearted."

She always felt better after their meetings and her business was beginning to make a nice profit even after paying on her three loans. Captain Butler was always paying her compliments. He was always talking in such glowing terms about his wife and children. He mainly talked about Scarlett and Bonnie, but Dolly could tell that Captain Butler was very fond of his stepchildren.

At one of these meetings Captain Butler had sighed and said, "Now that I am a father, I so regret my past. Mrs. Merriwether, you have no idea how blessed I feel that Scarlett married me in spite of me being unreceived. She is the best thing that has ever happen to this old reprobate."

Mrs. Merriwether replied, "She certainly idolizes and adores you too."

Rhett gave a sheepish grin and said, "She never has had the best discernment. Thank you, Mrs. Merriwether. I must go. I promised to take my daughters to the park."

As Captain Butler left her house, Mrs. Merriwether smiled. Everyone loved a good love story.

Scarlett went out to the mills and the store. The store was doing good. It seemed Mr. Elsing was finally getting the hang of running the store. The truth was that Scarlett was so much more relaxed that Hugh had finally begun to relax and do a good job. Joe's mill was making a nice profit and the prisoners were being treated humanely. She laughed with joy when she started driving out to Ashley's mills. A year ago, her joy would have been because she was getting to see Ashley. Today her joy was because she was getting to punish Ashley for his treatment of her.

It was the first of February, and she would find things to berate Ashley about. When she walked in Ashley put on a smile and said, "All I can say is that I covered expenses."

"Oh Ashley. This is awful."

"I am really trying."

"Did you try selling like Mr. Freely suggested?"

"Yes. Yes. I tried selling to everyone and anyone."

"Ashley how much time do you spend reading?"

"I rarely read anything out here. When I eat my dinner, I might read a chapter but that is all."

"I am so happy to hear that. I would hate to think you are deliberately wasting time."

"I would not do that. I have more honor than to cheat you that way."

"Of course, you do. Ashley what are we going to do?"

"I don't know my dear."

"If Rhett makes me sell this mill, I will never see you again."

Ashley was thinking, 'If Captain Butler makes her sell this mill the new owners will fire me in a minute and no one else will hire me because I'm not qualified for anything.'

Ashley said, "Why has Captain Butler taken such a strong interest in your businesses? In fact, he has never shown any interest in your businesses before."

"Rhett has always shown an interest in my businesses but for some reason he has gotten a lot more demanding of my time lately. Please try to sell more lumber."

"I will just keep trying."

"I have an idea. Why don't you go with Joe on his sales calls and see what he does? He has been able to sell a lot of lumber."

Ashley was thinking, "How much more humiliating can it get than for me to have to learn from that hayseed."

Ashley said, "If you think that is a good idea, I will."

"Dear, I know Mr. Jackson is a little bit rough around the edges but maybe that is what you need. To not be such a perfect gentleman."

Ashley gritted his teeth and said, "I will try anything. We have to keep the mill running."

"Yes, we do. How are the wedding plans coming?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. I told her that I wasn't spending any money on her wedding. She could go down to the courthouse and get married. She got mad. She went and pouted in her room all night. She is acting like she is a young belle instead of a dried-up, bitter, old maid that by some miracle found a man who would marry her."

A year ago, Scarlett would have agreed with Ashley one hundred percent, but India wasn't acting like a young belle. She was acting like a woman in love. A woman in love who wanted to have a beautiful wedding. When Scarlett had seen India at Christmas, she had been happy for India to get this second chance at love. She was seeing so clearly what a spiteful, bitter, petty man Ashley really was.

"Soon she won't be your problem and if something happens to Mr. Townsend you can sent India to Macon to live with Honey."

"That is the first piece of good news I have heard all day."

"I will arrange it with Mr. Jackson for him to come get you next time he goes on a sales call."

"Thanks. Do you have to go so soon?"

"I'm sorry but yes. You know Rhett keeps a close eye on my comings and goings."

"You are practically a prisoner."

She sighed and said, "Practically."

"Let me tell you this strange thing that happened to me before you leave. I got a letter from the University of Texas thanking me for sending them my curriculum vitae but they didn't have any openings right now. They would let me know if something came open."

"Why is that strange?"

"I didn't send them my resume."

"That is strange."

"I will let you go. I don't want you to get punished on my account again."

"Thank you, my darling. I am being true to you in my heart." She smiled like the idea of getting punished wasn't all that bad. She walked out the door.

As she walked out the door Ashley thought, 'I don't want you to be true to me with your heart. I want you to keep your body away from Captain Butler. Damn. I hate that man.'

That night as Ashley was listening to Melanie and India talk about her wedding plans he wanted to scream. It seemed that Captain Butler wanted to give them the gift of the wedding reception as his wedding present. Ashley couldn't believe it when he heard that Scarlett had suggested that India have the ceremony on the back lawn then the reception on the back porch. Butler must have made her suggest that. Ashley knew that Scarlett hated India as much as he did. By the end of the evening Ashley was about to scream. When Melanie suggested that they invite Mr. Townsend and the Butlers to dinner to thank the Butlers for being so nice. Ashley had wanted to tell Melly, 'Hell no. We will not entertain that man. We can't afford it.' Instead, he had smiled and said, "Of course, my dear, that sounds lovely."

While Ashley wanted to pull his hair out with frustration at the situation, Rhett and Scarlett were having relations on his desk at the sawmill office. That had not been their intention but once they got out there their libidos took over. Of course, Rhett sprayed his seed on Ashley's desk, and they had left it there again.

After all the 'I love yous' were said they adjusted their clothing and proceeded to find all of Ashley Wilkes's reading material. There were quite a few books but what was really interesting was the picture they found. They found a pornographic picture of a man tied up. Scarlett couldn't stop looking at the picture. When Rhett attempted to take the picture away from Scarlett to put it with the books she had said, "No, I want to look at it."

Rhett had joked, "A lady wouldn't look at that picture."

Scarlett had mischievously smiled at Rhett and said, "You have told me often enough that I am not a lady so I guess I can look all I want."

On the way back to their home Rhett kept waiting for Scarlett to ask him about the picture which she had finally handed over to him. She seemed to be lost in thought.

When she was brushing out her hair, Scarlett said, "Are there people who like to be tied up?"

"Yes."

"How can that be exciting?"

"I guess they find being completely helpless exciting."

"Is that all that happens?"

When Rhett said, "No. That is just the beginning," Scarlett blushed. Rhett smiled and continued, "There are people who find it exciting to be 'punished.' There are people who like to have pain inflicted on them also."

"Like when you supposedly punished me for Ashley interrupting our supper."

"Yes. Sometimes the punishment is actual physical pain."

"Is that why the woman has a riding crop in her hand?"

"Yes. She is going to beat the man with the riding crop."

"Oh. I don't think I would like that. I get enough pain when I am delivering babies. No," She shook her head then continued, "I definitely wouldn't like that."

"I don't wish pain inflicted on me either. We would rather inflict pain upon someone else."

"Are there people who find that exciting?"

"Yes, you and I find it exciting to inflict pain upon Mr. Wilkes."

"Rhett, are we bad people?"

Rhett sat down on the bed next to Scarlett's vanity table and said, "We are not good people. We are selfish, self-centered, unscrupulous, arrogant, proud people. We are going to reach our goal by any means possible. I would like to believe that we wouldn't hurt the innocent unless we felt we had no other choice."

Scarlett turned to look at Rhett. She quietly said, "I did some awful things while building my mills."

"You had no other choice. You had thirteen people to feed."

"Yes, I did. I still do."

Rhett quietly said, "Do you want to stop torturing Mr. Wilkes?"

"No."

"Then we won't, and we won't feel ashamed about it either. There are so many sins I can lay at Mr. Wilkes feet not the least being the man came between me and my wife in a very intimate way and whatever it was that he did that made you hate him."

"Rhett, please …"

Rhett reached up and put his finger on her lips. He said, "No, I don't want to know. You can keep that secret."

With relief Scarlett whispered, "Thank you, Rhett."

"Come on, you can show me how much you appreciate me."

"I'm not doing that."

"Aw come on."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

But she did. It wasn't very often that Rhett said please.

After Scarlett was asleep Rhett thought about the picture. It confirmed what he had believed about Wilkes. That Wilkes liked to get hurt in a sexual way. Rhett also knew that Wilkes would be deeply ashamed of those feelings because of Wilkes's upbringing. Rhett knew what he was going to do with the picture to torture Wilkes. He would wait a couple of months before he did it.

Rhett was never going to push Scarlett for her secret about Wilkes. He knew it was something humiliating to Scarlett therefore he knew she would never tell him. Whatever it was Rhett was just glad Wilkes had done it. He smiled and pulled Scarlett closer. He was soon asleep.