Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.
It has always bothered me that in the canon all the matrons were appalled at Scarlett's behavior. Her dancing so soon after being out of her first year of mourning. Rhett offered one hundred and fifty dollars in gold. That is equivalent of him offering in today's dollars three thousand dollars. Three thousand dollars just for a set of dances! Knowing that nothing Scarlett did was the right thing, if she had turned the dances down, she would have been criticized for that also. Obviously, they already need the money, they are collecting jewelry and auctioning off the key position. That is why I have started having Mrs. Meade praise her for her actions instead of condemning her.
Chapter Three
Later in the evening when Mrs. Meade came over to her booth, Scarlett hoped the older woman wasn't going to lecture her on the impropriety of what she had done. Mrs. Meade said, "Dear, what is the name of your family plantation?"
"Tara."
"It is out of Jonesboro, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Your maiden name was O'Hara, right?"
With dread in her heart Scarlett said, "Yes ma'am."
"I am going to write your mother and tell her what a heroic thing you have done tonight. You were able to put your grief aside in order to raise money for the hospital. Scarlett, do you know what we can do with one hundred and fifty dollars in gold?"
"No, ma'am."
"Lots and lots of wonderful things."
"Thank you, Mrs. Meade."
"No, thank you."
Scarlett sighed a sigh of relief. Maybe she could get out of this with little damage to her reputation.
Scarlett turned to Melly and said, "Will you write my mother and tell her that you supported my decision to accept the dances?"
"Of course, Darling."
That night before they went to bed all three women wrote a letter to Ellen O'Hara. Hopefully, the letters praising her behavior would balance out the letters condemning her behavior. She hoped so. She certainly wanted to stay in Atlanta where Mr. Butler could visit her. She knew without a doubt he would not call on her at Tara.
The next day, Scarlett had taken special care with her appearance although there was only so much, she could do, because she was still wearing black. Her parents had not given her any money to buy new clothes. Admittedly she had Charlie's money, but she didn't want to spend that on clothes. Therefore, she was still wearing black. In two more years, she could go back to wearing color although she hoped that the war was over by then and Pa was back to making a lot of money.
Rhett showed up at the Hamilton House exactly at noon. Without any fuss he had been admitted to the house. He joined the ladies in the parlor. After they had exchanged pleasantries, he reached into his pocket and brought out the ladies' wedding rings. He said, "Some things are too great a cost."
Scarlett said, "Thank you Captain Butler."
Melly said, "How kind of you."
They were soon seated at the dining room table. The meal was not as bountiful as it would have been before the war started but there was an adequate amount on the table. Rhett did take smaller portions than he normally would because he did not know how much the war was hurting the ladies already.
Melanie asked, "Captain Butler, how long will you be in Atlanta?"
"Probably for another week. As of yet there is not that great a market for my goods, so they are hard to sell. The longer the war last, the better the market will be."
Scarlett nonchalantly asked, "Will you be returning to Atlanta any time soon?"
Rhett smiled a pleased smile and Scarlett's cheeks turned a little pink. He said, "Yes, I will be returning probably in about three months."
Scarlett smiled her pleased smile and didn't care if she was giving too much away. The rest of the dinner conversation was pleasant with extremely little talk about the war. After Rhett had left, Scarlett again asked herself what she wanted from her relationship with Mr. Butler. She wouldn't marry him because he was not received.
Two days later, Scarlett received a letter from her mother informing her that her father would be in Atlanta on that Friday to get the supplies and talk to her about her behavior. Scarlett groaned. She guessed Mrs. Meade's and Melanie's letters weren't enough to overcome all the other letters that her mother probably received. Old Busybodies!
Scarlett was so nervous when she picked her father up at the train station Friday morning. Gerald greeted her with a big smile which calmed Scarlett down a little bit. Maybe she could get out of this with just a lecture. Pa just couldn't take her back to Tara. She had to stay available to Mr. Butler even if he couldn't call on her. Maybe they would run into each other around town.
As Gerald and Scarlett got in Aunt PittyPat's coach, Gerald took his oldest daughter's hand. She was his favorite. She was the most like him but that was not necessarily a good thing. His daughter might have too much spirit too ever be a proper lady like her mother. In his youth Gerald would never have been able to live the life of a gentleman. In his twenties he had spent far too much time in gambling halls and sporting houses. When he was forty, he had won a plantation and a slave from a drunken fool. A drunken fool that he had helped get drunker.
Once Gerald had won the plantation, he had worked at becoming a gentleman. His greatest stroke of luck was getting Ellen Robillard to marry him. Certainly, no one of any substance would have married a middle-aged Irish man in Clayton County. He had heard the rumors about Ellen Robillard. He had seen an opportunity to move himself up in the world. After he had actually seen Ellen, he had fallen in love with her, and nothing would stop him from making her his bride. Gerald had with Irish luck asked Ellen to marry him on the perfect night. The night she had found out Phillipe was dead. Gerald had always known about Phillipe, but he had been happy with Ellen being his wife and managing his household. He was still happy. He knew that only tragedy in Ellen's life would have pushed her into his arms. Otherwise, she would never have given him the time of day.
As Gerald and Scarlett were on their way to Hamilton House, he said, "Mrs. O'Hara got a few letters telling her of your questionable behavior."
"Melanie was alright with me accepting the dances."
"Yes, so she wrote and told Mrs. O'Hara. Mrs. Meade also wrote your mother and praised you for your sacrifice. Mrs. Meade also wrote about how much they already needed supplies to treat the wounded. She wrote about how much one hundred and fifty dollars could buy in medical supplies. Because of Mrs. Meade's letter your mother and I have decided to let you stay in Atlanta. As long as we don't hear about any more of this foolish behavior."
"Thank you, Pa. I know it was wrong but when I heard the amount, I couldn't say no. It was so much money. It was only a set of dances. I knew Charlie would have understood."
"Whether he would or not doesn't matter, if we hear any more of this foolish behavior, you will be returning to Tara to live out your life."
"Yes, Sir."
"Of all of my children you are the most like me. You have too much spirit for your own good, just as I did. I wouldn't have had to leave Ireland if I had more sense. Child of mine, you must fight against the urges that pop into your head. Now where can I find this Rhett Butler. I will need to be sure he knows that he can't call on you."
"I don't know, Pa. I suppose you could try a hotel."
"I will do that this afternoon. I need to find an attorney. I need to have a will drawn up."
"I'm sure Charlie's uncle would be happy to help you."
"I am going to leave everything to you, Katie Scarlett, but you must promise to take care of your mother and sisters."
"Of course, Pa."
As father and child were walking back from Henry Hamilton's office, Scarlett saw Rhett. She called to him, which was improper, but Pa would not reprimand her. He would not know for sure it was improper therefore he would not say anything.
When Rhett saw her a big smile broke across his face. A smile that made her happy. A smile that made her think she was important to him. Rhett knew that Scarlett calling out to him was improper, therefore it pleased him that she had for two reasons. One - she broke the rules for him and two – she broke the rules.
Rhett quickly crossed the street to join them. Scarlett quickly introduced the men.
Gerald said, "I need to talk to you, young man."
Rhett had smiled. It had been so many years since anyone had dared to call him young man. He already felt a kinship with Scarlett's father. He felt they had been cut from the same cloth. That made him happy. That meant Scarlett would be comfortable with him and thus become his mistress.
Rhett said, "I will be playing cards tonight at The Painted Lady. You will be able to find me there. It is at Five Points."
With that Rhett had walked away. He knew what Mr. O'Hara wanted to say to him. O'Hara wanted to warn him off before he became involved with his daughter. Rhett wasn't upset. If the roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing. Almost without control he turned to look back at the young woman. When he found her looking back at him, he was pleased. He was not pleased by the triumphant look on her face, but she had earned that feeling so he let it go. Rhett would have been surprised that Scarlett wasn't pleased with the triumphant look that was on his face either.
Gerald went to The Painted Lady that night. Rhett was in his customary position. He was sitting in a chair with his back to the wall and where he could see both entrances. He saw Mr. O'Hara enter the saloon. This was a unique experience for Rhett. The women he usually dealt with didn't have a father wanting to protect their virtue. They didn't have any virtue to protect.
Rhett flashed back to that horrible buggy incident. He had been such a fool. He had thrown everything of value away. He really had been such a naïve, innocent boy who truly didn't know what he was giving up. Now at almost thirty-five years of age he knew he should have married Sarah. He now knew that he could have lived the life he wanted to live, and Sarah couldn't do a damn thing about it. The worst part to Rhett was the bitch had died one year later from a fever.
Rhett smiled at Gerald and said, "Sit down. Let's play some cards."
"Alright."
Gerald sat down and ordered a whiskey. Rhett said to the serving girl, "Put it on my tab."
Rhett never paid for anything in The Painted Lady. Absolutely nothing. Neither the whiskeys nor the whores after all he was the owner.
Rhett planned to get Mr. O'Hara drunk and take all his money from him to get him to let Scarlett remain in Atlanta.
After thirty minutes of playing cards, Rhett found that Mr. O'Hara was a rather good card player. Mr. O'Hara still had the same amount of money on him as when he sat down. The men had both had three whiskeys already. They had talked about the war and Rhett's blockade running. When Rhett said to the serving girl, "Two more whiskeys."
Gerald had said, "Not for me. I am about to leave."
"Have one for the road?"
Gerald O'Hara lowered his voice and leaned toward Rhett. He said, "Young man, I know what you are doing. I did the exact same thing twenty years ago and won a plantation in Clayton County. I also won a slave. I was living in Savannah at the time. My brother lent me the money to buy a couple of field hands. I made enough of a profit to pay my brother back and buy more field hands. I am just going to tell you straight out that if you bring shame to Katie Scarlett. I will kill you. It will not be in a fair fight. Only a sucker gives the other man a chance. I have killed before so I know I can do it."
With those words, Gerald stood up and said, "Besides, you don't need to get me drunk. I have already given Katie Scarlett permission to stay in Atlanta. If she misbehaves again, I will not ask any questions. I will just take her home. What's more she can't receive gentlemen callers until her husband has been dead for at least three years. That is two more years. If you get the good women of Atlanta to receive you because you are a war hero then Katie Scarlett can receive you." With those words he walked out of the saloon.