Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Three

The next morning, Rhett and Pork had dug the grave for Ellen O'Hara before it had gotten too hot. There was no coffin. The men had lowered her body into the grave. Mammy had said a few words. Then the men had filled in the dirt. They had to do it quickly or in the heat the body would begin to smell.

After dinner Rhett and Scarlett had walked to The Fontaine's plantation. On the way over to Mimosa, Scarlett said, "Don't say anything to make them mad."

"I'll try not to."

After Scarlett had introduced Rhett to everyone as her husband, Grandma Fontaine had said to Scarlett, "He is a much better choice than that Wilkes boy you were mooning over before the war."

Rhett smiled and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Fontaine."

Scarlett was afraid of the old woman, so she just smiled and didn't snap at her. The residents of Mimosa gave them a little bit of food. On the walk back to Tara, Rhett said, "Mrs. Fontaine certainly is a good judge of character."

"Be quiet."

For once Rhett had done what he had been told to do although he didn't stop smiling the entire time they were walking back to Tara.

The next several months had been so hard. Everyone had picked cotton except Miss Melly and Mammy. Even Scarlett's sisters who had just gotten over typhoid fever. Rhett remembered Scarlett slapping her sister Suellen when she had refused to pick cotton. Then when Suellen had sassed her some more Scarlett had slapped her again. Suellen had gotten down to work then. Scarlett had told him later that she was sorry Suellen hadn't sassed her some more for she had enjoyed slapping her sister.

The Yankees had come through Clayton County again. Thankfully that young girl had warned them. They were able to get everything down to the swamp. Scarlett had wanted to stay to protect the house, but Rhett had made her go down to the swamp with the sword and hide like everyone else. Rhett had said to her, "This house is not worth you getting raped."

Rhett knew Scarlett didn't like it when he actually used the word instead of a euphemism, but he did it because of the harshness of the word. Eventually the Yankees had left. When he and Scarlett smelled the smoke, they rushed back to the house to put out the fire. The cotton bin was burning too badly to save but luckily, they were able to put out the fire in the kitchen. As they were putting out the fire, Miss Melly had come to join them. All of the sudden Rhett saw Miss Melly rush across the room and beat the flames on Scarlett's back out with her hands. Miss Melly hit Scarlett hard enough to knock her down. When Rhett looked at Scarlett passed out on the floor the back of her bodice was all gone. He heard Miss Melly say, "She was on fire."

"Thank you for putting out the fire. Go get everyone and I will put her in our bed."

Mammy came in the bedroom muttering about people doing foolish things. She said to Scarlett, "You has to sleep on your stomach until your back heals," Mammy had turned to Rhett and said, "No foolishness."

Rhett had smiled and said, "Yes ma'am."

That night over supper with Scarlett wearing her wrapper, she looked over at Melanie. Melanie's hands were all bandaged up. She saw Melly struggling to pick up her spoon. Scarlett said, "Let me feed you. I can't have you damaging your hands any more on my account."

"Thank you, Scarlett."

Later in the meal, Rhett said, "Miss Melly, I think your actions were a bit extreme to get out of picking cotton."

Which made everyone laugh because Melly was too weak to pick cotton, so she just brought everyone else water.

Scarlett had fed Melly for the next several days until Melly could take her bandages off.

The day after the Yankees had been at Tara, Scarlett had been filled with despair when she saw that the cotton bin had been burned to the ground. While she and Rhett had been staring at what was left of the structure, she said, "You were so smart to not let me store our cotton in the bin. I thought you were crazy to want to store it in the slave cabins, but you were right. The slave cabins are still standing."

"Hopefully, there won't be any more Yankees marching through here."

"I don't know how we are going to get it to market though."

"We will worry about that when there is someone to buy your cotton."

"That is true. We don't need to take it anywhere until there is a market."

For the next two weeks, Rhett rubbed the salve on Scarlett's back. After a week he noticed that he was rubbing the salve on places other than her burned back but she wasn't complaining. Rhett said, "Would you like to be intimate?"

She had blushed and said, "Yes but I can't lie on my back."

"Let me show you another way to be intimate without you having to be on your back."

"How?"

"Lie on top of me."

When Rhett thought Scarlett was ready, he said, "Lie on your side, facing away from me."

Rhett entered her from behind while stroking her sensitive little button. When Scarlett immediately went over the edge, Rhett decided that his wife liked that position. He would eventually coax her onto getting on top, but she wasn't ready for that position yet. She would feel too exposed in that position right now

Afterwards Scarlett had said, "That was wonderful. We will have to do that again."

"Yes, we will indeed."

They did for the next month. When Rhett thought Scarlett's back was completely healed, they resumed using the missionary position.

Christmas came and nobody had anything to give to anyone. When Frank and his group came by looking for food, Rhett saw all Scarlett's good breeding take hold. Rhett knew she wanted to scream at Frank to leave them alone. Rhett knew Scarlett wanted to tell Frank they didn't have enough to feed themselves much less anyone else. Rhett stood back and let Scarlett make the decision. He would back her either way. Scarlett pulled herself up and said, "We barely have enough to feed ourselves, but we will share what we can with you and your men. You may sleep in the parlor. Let me tell Dilcey there will be five more for supper."

Scarlett had smiled and left the room. Rhett considered offering the men a shot of moonshine, but he decided that was the only thing keeping his wife from going over the edge. Her shot of moonshine every night. It was all that was keeping Scarlett's father from going over the edge also. Rhett did not want to run out.

Over their meager supper, Frank said, "What are you doing here, Mr. Butler?"

"I married Scarlett back in August. Although I could have gotten Scarlett, Wade, and myself out of the country she wouldn't abandon her family. I couldn't abandon her in her time of need."

"I've never seen you so poorly dressed."

"Nor I you, Mr. Kennedy. Hopefully, the war will be over soon, and the good times will return."

All the men talked about the war. Rhett took Scarlett's hand under the table. He felt the callouses on her hand, but he would never tease her about it. He had already had to comfort her through several crying jags when she had looked at how horrible her hands had looked.

Scarlett would say, "Mother always said you could tell a lady by her hands."

"Maybe but you can tell a Great Lady by what she says and does. You are a Great Lady keeping everyone on this plantation alive by your sheer determination."

"You are such a great help. Thank you for not leaving me."

Scarlett had said that often. Not so often that it was commonplace but often enough to make him feel that she truly did want and need him.

Everyone at Tara had worked so hard. They worked harder than the O'Hara sisters had ever known people worked. Everyone had done things they never dreamed they would do.

Nobody knew how to butcher the calf. Rhett and Scarlett were afraid they would ruin the meat if they did it wrong.

In March, Scarlett finally decided that if anyone knew how to butcher a calf it would be Mrs. Tarleton. Rhett and Scarlett had taken the wagon to Fair Hill.

The Tarletons were living in the overseer's cabin. Scarlett was pleased to see that the Tarletons' clothes looked like they were in as bad shape as the residents of Tara's clothes were. Scarlett introduced Rhett to everyone as her husband. Scarlett was pleased to see that the Tarleton girls were looking at Rhett appreciatively. In fact, even Mrs. Tarleton was looking at Rhett with awe.

Mrs. Tarleton did not know how to butcher a calf, but Mr. Tarleton did. Scarlett said, "If you come over and help us butcher the calf, we will give you half the meat."

"Alright, let me get my hat. Betsy, get your bonnet. I'm going to need your help."

Before the war, Mr. Tarleton would never have allowed one of his daughters to see a calf being butchered but things were different now. He needed help and his daughters were all he had to help him.

It had not been a pretty sight and it had not been easy but eventually they had meat to eat. Scarlett and Betsy had both lost their breakfast, but they had both returned to help with the process. Several times in the process, Rhett had wanted to regurgitate but he had not. He had not because he didn't want Scarlett seeing him in that way.

After it was over, Rhett took Mr. Tarleton, Betsy, and their half of the calf back to Fair Hill.

Rhett remembered when that young girl, Cathy Calvert, had come by to tell Scarlett and Miss Melly that she was going to be marrying her family overseer. That night Scarlett had ranted. She said, "Melly offered for us to take Cathy in. Like we can afford to feed one more person. I straighten Melly out about her place in the household. That she was a charity case, and she had no right to offer out hospitality to anyone."

"My dear, you were thinking straight and true, but Miss Melly was doing the right thing."

"Rhett."

"No, not the right thing while we are in survival mode but the right thing in a proper society."

"What?"

"Come sit beside me and I will explain," After Scarlett was seated next to Rhett. He said, "In proper society, hospitality is so especially important. It is why you fed Mr. Kennedy and his troops because no matter what, you are supposed to be a good host or hostess. If you see a lady or a gentleman in need one is supposed to help them. This young lady is in need so to speak. She is having to marry someone she doesn't love and probably doesn't even like in order to put food on her table and a roof over her head. And he is a Yankee to boot," That got a smile out of Scarlett. Rhett continued, "You don't understand because you would rather plow the fields and plant the cotton yourself than marry a man you didn't like. Sit on my lap," Once Scarlett was settled in his lap. Rhett placed his arms around her. He rested his head on top of her head. He said, "Miss Melly and probably Mr. Wilkes are going to have to learn an entirely different way of living in our new South."

"I understand."

"You should probably apologize to Miss Melly."

"No!"

"Alright. Let's go to bed."

Rhett was not going to argue with Scarlett on that point. Her relationship with Miss Melly was a mystery to him. He knew Scarlett loved the woman and hated the woman at the same time. In these eighteen months he found out so much more about Scarlett and Miss Melly's relationship. Although Scarlett never said a kind word to him about Miss Melly, she was always doing things to make Miss Melly's life better. Like making sure Miss Melly had the best mattress in the house.

Rhett was pleased when the next morning over breakfast he saw the two women talking and then hugging at the end of it. He knew better than to ever ask Scarlett about it.