Chapter Four:
"What's his name?" It took two days for Rhett to truly acknowledge the child. He'd referenced the boy, and gave instructions to the older children and staff about the baby when Scarlett was resting, but that was where it had stopped. At first, he'd told himself that he was waiting for Scarlett to explain everything, but he knew himself better than that. If the truth were to be told, he'd avoided the subject with her. He had no idea what would come out of her mouth, and that terrified him.
Scarlett looked up from the chair she was sitting in. She'd had the servants bring up one of her favorite chairs from the parlor. She couldn't stand being in bed, but at least the chair made her feel slightly more normal. "Well actually, he doesn't have one."
Rhett sat across from her, glancing between her and the baby who played quietly, but happily, at her feet. "What do you mean that he doesn't have a name?"
"Just what I said. When he joined our family I couldn't think of anything to call him. I tried and tried for weeks and nothing fit. We started calling him Baby Boy, and then I heard the people in the town we were staying by called him Baby Butler, so we just went back and forth until one day Ella started calling him B."
The name stirred something inside of him. The knowledge that another child carried his name both warmed his heart, and cooled his attitude toward Scarlett. She hadn't wanted Bonnie, and the baby they'd lost… well, he still didn't truly know her thoughts about that. Mammy had told him that Scarlett was devastated by the loss, but by the time he saw her after everything was over, she'd returned to the cool and unfeeling woman he'd left the morning he took Bonnie to London. "And where, pray tell, did the townspeople think Mr. Butler had gone? Didn't they think it was strange that you'd taken in a child and he-I- was nowhere to be seen?"
So he had heard that she'd adopted B. She'd certainly told enough people, she shouldn't be surprised. Yet she'd wondered what he was thinking about the child, and until that moment had shown no interest in learning more. "Dead, of course. I told them I was a widow."
"A widow?" One of Rhett's eyebrows moved up and he looked down at her. "I know I'm older than you Scarlett, but you haven't buried me yet. So far that honor belongs only to your first two husbands."
"Well would you rather I have said that you ran off and abandoned us?"
He scowled. He didn't like that view either, and he didn't agree with it. He hadn't abandoned them. He'd still provided for them. Hell, he'd funded her time abroad without even knowing where she was. "I care very little about what people in a village in Ireland think about me."
"Well, as it turns out, I did care what they thought about me. They were good people. I met probably the only friend I've truly had in my life there, aside from Mellie…"
Was it a man? Rhett noticed how she smiled when she spoke of whoever it was. He hadn't seen that smile before. It wasn't like when she used to speak of Mr. Wilkes, but it wasn't how she'd ever looked at him, either. "So, you played the widow, with three children."
It was Scarlett's turn to look crossly at him. "I expect that my story, as well as my actions, did this family more credit then whatever you were doing this whole time." She didn't say it, but he knew she was referring to Belle. What she didn't know was that he'd only seen Belle twice in the entire time they'd been separated. Instead he'd spent his time between New Orleans and Charleston, acquiring a few new business ventures as he traveled.
Rhett didn't confirm or deny her suspicions, instead, he just continued on as if she hadn't spoken. "Well, Mrs. Butler, for the next few months at least you'll be pleased to know I've made a miraculous resurrection, like Christ himself."
"Rhett!" She scolded. "Don't say such things." Rhett 'd always held her Catholic beliefs, even if she didn't act on them as much as others. Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through her hair, and cringed. She hadn't washed it since before she'd hurt her foot, and she'd only bathed by way of a piece of wet cloth that one of the servants had brought her. If Mammy hadn't returned to Tara while they were away, she would have asked her to help, but she had. There was no way she was going to ask one of the staff she'd only just employed to help her Bathe, thought she would probably need her maid to wash her hair that day. She frowned.
"Is something troubling you, my pet?" Rhett looked across to her.
"No. Well, yes."
"Well, which is it?"
"Rhett, will you...well…" Scarlett rolled her eyes. "I need to wash. Will you please see that the tub is filled and ask one of the new maids if she'll help me with my hair after?"
Rhett moved from his place. "Your wish is my command, my dear."
A small room to the side of her bedroom held a large bathtub, and once it was full of hot water, the staff left and Rhett watched as Scarlett tried to pull herself up from her chair. "Allow me." he said, offering her his arm. He walked slowly at her side until they reached the edge of the tub. He released her and stepped away, noticing that she still wobbled on her one good leg.
"Do you need assistance?" Rhett swallowed, hoping she would be proud to accept his offer.
Scarlett glanced down at her foot and then at her dress. She sighed. "Yes, will you help me?"
Post Note: I hope you enjoyed. Nothing to exciting, but I wanted to hurry and post before I headed into work. My rapid Covid test was negative, so apparently I just have a chest/head cold from hell. Bah. Thank you all for every single one of your reviews, questions, and comments. Keep them coming.. -Phantom