Oh my god your reviews are amazing! Lol. I want you to feel bad for both of them guys, not just Scarlett. My heart aches for poor Rhett, it's like a bully in school there are all of these feelings driving to behave in such a way. And so many incorrect thoughts...Soo many.
I don't know if Rhett was enjoying himself in New Orleans or just hiding. Like superficial fun. We'll get into that later, I send him to Belle's in a bit because someone brought up not wanting him to disclose his troubles to her and I decided I HAD to send him to Belle's with that. :-P Lol so whichever Guest brought her up, good job, I actually like having Belle's (the establishment, too lazy to look up the full name) in it for Rhett and Scarlett.
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Part Four
August 1871
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She took his breath away standing in the grass at Tara. She was in a pale green day dress, the straw bonnet she wore had a large brim, its purpose to keep the sun off her porcelain skin, unlike the bonnets she wore in Atlanta, which were to show off her wealth.
She was watching Wade on a pony, she seemed proud and happy watching her son. Her hand was on her stomach where the baby was growing.
For a moment Rhett let himself believe that the baby was his and she was happy to be carrying his child and that the family before him was truly his.
And then it happened, she smiled at him, it was only for a second, but for a moment she looked happy to see him. It disappeared nearly immediately. Concern passed her face, worry.
"I thought we had until tomorrow?" She spoke instead of a greeting as he approached.
"Not to worry my pet, I won't rip you away from your beloved Tara a day early. I thought I would join my family for a day in the country and hello to you too my dear," he placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. "Your sister is watching, I'd imagine you'd want to look happy to see me."
"Since when do you do anything that benefits other's opinions of me?"
"Now I did go see your aunts in Charleston on multiple occasions."
"Likely only because they're your mother's friends," she retorted.
He smirked.
"Uncle Rhett," Wade smiled approaching on the pony.
"You're looking mighty fine on that steed my boy."
"I know he's only a pony," Wade gave a chagrined look.
"And you're still a boy. It's only a matter of years before you're on a stallion."
Wade looked over at his mother.
"I suspect your stepfather is right," she said suddenly seeing before her a boy that would soon be a man.
"We should get a pony for the house. The yard is large enough," Rhett suggested.
"I have Ramsey at home," Wade was quick to point out.
"Your dog is certainly nearly the size of a pony, they are quite different though," he informed his stepson.
"I don't need a pony."
"The offer is there if you want one. Why don't you let your mother and I see you ride some more."
Wade smiled, "Okay," and turned his pony around to head back out.
"How is he your child?" Rhett asked his wife.
"He's half Hamilton," Scarlett responded.
They shared an easy smile between them.
"Did he grow up remarkably fast?" Rhett recalled that small baby he had once held. Remembered Wade in his long gowns sitting on his lap as he took tea with Scarlett and Melly. Remembered the thrill after meeting him a few times that Wade had then started to recognize him. Remembered the smile that would alight the boy's face when he would see him, the chubby arms desperate to be picked up. He would pull on every article of clothing Rhett would be wearing while holding him and occasionally lips and ears. It had always amazed him just how strong a grip such a small body could have. Wade had always preferred him to all of Scarlett's other callers. The boy had felt like his. The boy still felt like his. It tore his heart apart to be kept away from him and Ella. They had been his. They might not have shared his blood, but they had been his.
"He did," she confirmed. "Do you recall that time he was sick on you?" The memory of that young baby suddenly fresh in her mind.
"I do," he answered wryly. Recalling Wade nearing a year standing on his lap having a grand old time and then suddenly projecting his milk all over Rhett's coat and vest. "Ella is the only one of your children who has not thrown up on me."
"She threw up on me plenty, I should have left town for a year as well. I barely avoided her wretching on me last month, so don't worry there's still time to rectify that."
He gave a small laugh. "I hadn't realized Ella had been ill while I was gone," he should have known his stepdaughter had been sick. He pushed that thought aside. They were Scarlett's children not his.
"She wasn't. I am quite sure I was the only one fazed by the event."
He gave another laugh. "Have the children had a good visit?"
"Wade's been enjoying the country and the girls seem to like their cousins. Getting them down for naps has been challenging."
"The youngest is how old?" Rhett tried to recall.
"Nearly two."
"Four between four and two, I do imagine that would make naps challenging."
"Suellen is expecting as well, I imagine this summer will be calm compared to next," Scarlett remarked.
"Six under six."
"Suellen is certainly doing her best at having a baby every year."
"Mr. Benteen is a lucky man," Rhett replied. Envious of the poor farmer.
"We are lucky they brought Mr. Benteen to us. He's been a blessing to our family and certainly to Tara."
He smiled recalling conversations long in the past about her admiration of Will Benteen. He suddenly realized he was enjoying himself, "Why don't you go back to the house, I'll stay out here with Wade."
There was a small flash of pain that crossed her eyes that he missed because he was looking at Wade, she was being dismissed. "I'll see you inside."
o-o-o
Scarlett gave a look towards the sound of the door opening as she sat at her vanity brushing her hair before bed.
Her husband strode into the room without a care in a world, "I find it interesting that you never mentioned to your sister that we sleep in different bedrooms." When he'd arrived at the house in the late morning and handed off his valise to Pork, he'd been intrigued to hear Suellen direct the man to take it to Scarlett's room. Rhett had to give the man a subtle look to go along with her words.
"It's hardly Suellen's business," Scarlett rolled her eyes.
"Did you get a new coverlet?" He questioned seeing the spread on her bed.
"I'm surprised you noticed."
"We did once share some good times in that bed," he gave her a smile.
"We will not be sharing any more good times in that bed," Scarlett ordered her cheeks not to flush. To not recall their last visit, she had been carrying Bonnie. She had gotten it in her head that she wanted to visit Tara, so Rhett had swept her away that very same day for a visit. He had been so caring and kind with her last pregnancy…
He simply gave her another smile.
"I mean it Rhett."
"I am trying to change for bed my dear, unless you wanted me to share a room with Bonnie and Prissy."
"Of course not, I don't want you sharing a room with Bonnie in Atlanta, certainly not here."
Her husband undressed, seemingly without a thought about her, Scarlett watched with disdain and lust, all while trying not to watch. She could see him though, out of the corner of her eye. Her husband was a beautiful specimen. She almost wished he'd kept drinking too much so he would be fat and bloated. No Rhett remained strong and firm despite the fact that they lived in the city. She wasn't quite sure what he did to remain that way and she'd certainly never ask.
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He awoke in the middle of the night to a throbbing ache. Scarlett had herself pressed firmly against his body, her head on his chest, her arm stretched out across him, her leg up high in between his own. He acknowledged his own treacherous body must have drawn her in at some point because his arm was around her, holding her there.
She felt so good pressed alongside him.
The slight weight of her body on him.
The softness of her skin.
The smell of her hair.
He was a sadist. He decided he would lay there with her. Lay with his quiet and contented wife who was likely dreaming of Ashley Wilkes, likely carrying a baby as a result of that affair.
Was it the smell of her that got to him?
The weight of her body on him?
The knowledge of what part of her was pressed firmly against his hip.
His fingers acted of their own accord moving along the softness of her thigh. After awhile they slipped up to the curve of her buttocks. It was practically a sin that fashion hid such an appealing part of the anatomy. Eventually his hand became more forceful, cupping, squeezing, pressing her closer to his body. Her body reacted in kind and her pelvis did a roll against his hip.
He bit back a curse and fought against flipping their bodies around and being inside of her before she was even awake.
Still though, after a pause his hand continued about its actions and he kept his eyes trained downwards to her sleeping face. Likely being the last time he would ever see it. He hadn't thought to savor it last time.
"Rhett," her voice a soft whisper after a few more minutes, her eyes still closed.
He thanked god she spoke his name. Perhaps he'd been wrong, perhaps the only part she hadn't been unfaithful with was still her body. God, he hoped he was wrong. "Yes, my pet?" He pressed her body in closer to his.
"Mmm," her hand ran along his chest and then side. Her arm grazed along the part of him that had awoken him.
His eyes closed tightly for a moment.
"Rhett," she spoke his name again and that was all it took, his hand quickly moved over the voluminous nightgown and he caught a breast. She awoke with a gasp; they were sensitive from the baby she carried.
He didn't speak. Not a caring word, not a harsh word. No, he merely rolled his wife under him. Capturing her mouth in a kiss, so neither of them could say a word. Their bodies continued to respond to each other and it wasn't long before her legs were hooking around him urging him on.
It was only after they both found completion did he remove his night shirt and her nightgown. She had let out a giggle that he had found so endearing he had captured her for another kiss, tender and sweet. He thoroughly explored her body. Explored the changes that had occurred with this baby.
The way her hand ran through his hair and along his back, the way she pressed kisses and occasionally bites into his flesh. It felt as if it were only him. Only them.
He barely spoke for fear he would once again confess his love; confess how much he wanted the baby to be his.
Eventually he fell asleep again, sated, with Scarlett tucked alongside him.
o-o-o
He intimately woke his wife the next morning. He had maneuvered them so their bodies weren't so tightly pressed together. His hand found its favorite part of her body. Even when her eyes had fluttered upon, she hadn't quite been pulled out of her dreamlike state. Not even when he rolled her onto her back for better access. Only her husband's hand over her mouth as she neared completion accomplished that final step of wakefulness. Her breath had barely slowed when her breath was stolen by Rhett joining their bodies. He had captured most of that noise with his mouth.
He forced his emotions off as he climbed from bed, his wife still laying without covers on the bed, her hair adorably mussed, her hand spread over the baby. He began to dress, "Country air certainly agrees with you my dear, perhaps I was remiss to forgo it all these years. I must admit, I'd forgotten how receptive you are while expecting. "
"Why you-" she sat up pulling a sheet towards her.
"I suggest you start getting up if you wish to eat before the train," Rhett continued to dress at a leisurely speed.
Thanks for reading!
AN: Please note that Rhett did not have his panic until after he was done with his wife in bed. He did not set out with his actions to be a cruel asshole. I mean it's Rhett, he likely woke up and thought of ways to escape his wife without her realizing the night before meant something, but then there was Scarlett next to him and well…Priorities. Also hand over mouth was just so the household wouldn't hear. Scarlett did enjoy the act, was responsive to the act. Very enjoyable way to wake up and then Rhett obviously squashed that. Lol. GWtW in the 21st century is sometimes hard.