Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Nineteen

One month later, Scarlett had quickly gotten her shape back. With her other two she had barely gotten her shape back when she was six-weeks post-delivery. Here she was only four-weeks post-delivery and not only had she lost all her baby fat, but she was an inch smaller than she had been on her wedding day. Maybe it had something to do with the fact she was nursing her child. As she thought about it, she remembered that both of the wet nurses she had before were very skinny despite the fact they ate a lot of food.

Scarlett was secretly glad she was nursing the child. It was the only time Rhett couldn't take the child away from her. She was much fonder of Genie than she was her other two children. She decided it was because Genie was such an attractive baby but that didn't make sense Wade had been an attractive baby also. I probably wasn't fond of Wade because he reminded me too much of Charlie.

The first several times that Scarlett had been trying to nurse her child had not gone well. Neither she nor Genie knew what to do. She would get her nipple in Genie's mouth, but the baby wouldn't do anything. Scarlett didn't have anyone to ask, and she wasn't going to admit that she couldn't do something as simple as nurse her own child. In the early morning of the second day, Scarlett had managed to get her nipple into Genie's mouth. Something must have come out for all of the sudden Genie had figured out her part. With Genie finally successfully nursing, Scarlett figured out her part also. Basically, all Scarlett had to do was sit there and let Genie do all the work. After that day they had been doing just fine.

One day when Scarlett brought Genie back to the nursery, Rhett took the baby from her. She had said to him, "You are acting like a silly fool over that baby."

"Scarlett, look at her face. She is you in miniature."

"No, she has your nose and forehead."

"Even better. Scarlett, we created another human being. This is you and me. This is a miracle. I am surprised you aren't acting sillier. Or do you act silly when you have her alone in our bedroom."

"It is not a miracle. It is another person I am responsible for."

"It is a miracle. She is not just another person we are responsible for. She is someone that will bring joy and happiness into our lives. Enjoy our baby. We have enough money and enough time to enjoy our lives."

Scarlett smiled and said, "Is this some more of that enjoy the life I have now?"

"Yes, it is. We both know how quickly the good life can be ripped away from us," As a look of panic crossed over Scarlett's face, Rhett said, "Don't worry. Remember I told you I will fight with everything I have to keep a roof over our heads and food in our stomach. Up to and including murder."

"Thank you, Rhett. I know you will, and I know you will succeed."

"Especially with you by my side."

"Thank you, Rhett. I know you will."

As Scarlett left the nursery, she knew that Rhett would not let morals or honor stand in his way of succeeding. She was unaware that her subconscious had added unlike Ashley Wilkes.

The main thing that amazed Scarlett was how involved Rhett was with their baby. He had fired poor Leona for lying Genie down on her back instead of on her stomach. She didn't even know why he had fired the other nursemaid they had hired. Scarlett hadn't even learned her name because Rhett had fired her so quickly. The employment agency had sent another nursemaid over and Scarlett suspected she was about to get sent packing also judging by the scowls on Rhett's face. She hadn't bothered to learn her name. At times, Scarlett suspected he had wanted to fire Mammy when the old woman had argued with him about the care of his child.

Scarlett walked into the nursery where her baby was in her father's arms. She took the child out of his arms and said, "It is time for her to nurse."

Rhett had whispered, "Can I watch?"

He said that all the time and it never failed to embarrass her which she knew was why he kept saying it. Despite the blush on her cheeks, Scarlett said, "No, go find some pub to go to and brag on your daughter."

"Scarlett, it is ten o'clock in the morning. There are no pubs open but the bank is so I will go there."

Scarlett smiled as she left the room with her child. While she was nursing the child, she had a lot of time to think about her life. Because she was alone, she could think about anything or anyone she wanted to think about. The one thought she kept coming back to was 'Why didn't Ashley tell me he was going to marry Melanie?' The only answer she kept coming back to was 'Because he was a coward. He hoped I would never confront him about calling on me for two years then marrying someone else. And he was calling on her no matter how much he denied it. He thought I would be too much of a lady to ever call him out on his ungentlemanly behavior.' That last thought was what was really troubling her. Which brought up the question. 'What other ungentlemanly things has he done?' The thought that kept popping into her head was – 'Continuing to have a romantic relationship with a woman other than his wife.' She didn't want to think about that so every time that thought popped into her head, she banished it away. Nonetheless, it kept popping into her head.

Rhett would never know how well his taking Scarlett to London was working out for him. Without Melanie constantly telling Scarlett how wonderful Ashley was, Scarlett was beginning to see the cracks in her perfect image of the man. Rhett had done it to get Scarlett away from the Wilkeses, sure but he had also done it to be able to show her what else there was out in the world. It had certainly been a bonus to him that the doctor gave her chloroform to ease her labor pains. Rhett still had his doubts if chloroform gas was healthy for Scarlett, but he would never stop her from receiving it. She had already told him several times about how wonderful the gas was.

Rhett had certainly appreciated what his older self had told him about women who have just delivered a baby. He was still crazy over Bonnie, but he made sure to not neglect Scarlett. When she made rude comments, he would tease her into a better mood. He never stopped sleeping right beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He made no comments when he saw that her stomach was shrinking. He didn't know if she would be pleased, he had noticed her shrinking stomach or if she would be annoyed that he commented on her stomach at all. No, this time he had not abandoned his wife in favor of his daughter even though he still couldn't believe the miracle of Bonnie.

That night Rhett and Scarlett were attending a supper party, when Rhett saw Scarlett all dressed to go out, he said, "You don't even look like you just had a baby a month ago. You have already gotten your figure back. Aren't you amazing."

"Yes, I have. In fact, my waist is smaller than it was when we got married."

"That is remarkable! Let me get your wrap."

"Alright. We have to be back before ten. That is when Genie is going to need to be fed again."

After they got in the cab, Scarlett asked, "Have you booked our passage back to Atlanta?"

"Yes, we leave in two weeks."

"I can't believe that Dr. Hickman would not let us leave England until Genie was six weeks old."

"He said the air would be too damp for her lungs."

"Horse feathers."

"Mammy agreed with him."

"And so did you."

Rhett smiled and said, "Yes, I did. I know it is awful of me to put the health of our daughter over the health of your businesses.

"Rhett! You know I think Genie is more important than my businesses."

"Not by much." Scarlett looked daggers at Rhett. Unperturbed Rhett said, "We will sail into Charleston, have a meal with my mother, then take the train to Atlanta. We will not even spend the night and if my mother can't meet us, we are not going to wait on her. I know you are very anxious to get back to Atlanta to check on your businesses."

"I hope they are doing wonderfully."

"You know as well as I do what has happened. Johnny made a nice profit but probably stole from you, Mr. Elsing will have made a small profit, and Mr. Wilkes will have barely covered expenses."

With a scowl Scarlett said, "Rhett, don't talk that way."

"My dear, as I told you in New Orleans Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Elsing are fine southern gentlemen, but they are not good businessmen. It really isn't their fault. They were raised with an entitlement mentality, and they are having a hard time of changing their thinking."

Scarlett opened her mouth to defend Ashley then she shut it. She hadn't been out of the house in over a month, and she wanted to have fun this evening. She didn't want Rhett speaking to her harshly all night long. Rhett smiled and said, "Go ahead. Defend Mr. Wilkes."

"Ashley wasn't made to work for a living. He was made to wear fine clothes, read good books, and drink fine wine."

"I will agree with you except with one word. He wasn't made, he was raised. Unfortunately for Mr. Wilkes, Mr. Elsing, and probably a hundred, no, a thousand other gentleman the world they were raised to live in no longer exist. Mr. Wilkes is doing the best he can in this world we live in now. Unfortunately, all the traits you admire about him are the traits that will prevent him from succeeding. This world we are living in doesn't need fine southern ladies or gentlemen. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes would have both gone under if you hadn't pulled them along."

"Ashley is doing the best he can."

"On that we agree. Now we are at the Guinnesses. Let's put this conversation on hold until a later date. I want to have fun tonight."

Scarlett smiled so big at Rhett. She didn't want to continue the conversation either.

The Butlers had a lovely time that evening. Everyone was nice and friendly to the couple. These people didn't see Scarlett as the vain, spoiled, man stealing belle she had been. They saw her as a vain, spoiled wife of a very wealthy man. These people didn't see Rhett as the unreceived, anti-confederacy, arrogant man. They saw him as the outspoken, arrogant, very wealthy man. The last trait being the most important.

Rhett and Scarlett laughed, talked, ate good food, and basically had a wonderful time. When they left at nine-thirty the party was still going strong.

When Scarlett would feed Genie her last feeding of the night, she did it in the nursery where she could be alone. It was quiet in there because Wade and Ella were fast asleep. Mammy and the other nursemaid slept in another room.

Scarlett naturally thought about her conversation with Rhett earlier that night. She certainly agreed with him that she had carried Melly. She had been carrying her since Melly went on complete bed rest with Beau. Definitely while they were at Tara. She technically wasn't carrying Melly now Ashley was. She sighed. No, she wouldn't lie to herself and say Ashley was a good businessman. He wasn't. Neither was Mr. Elsing. But she couldn't fire them and hold on to what was left of her reputation. She wondered what kind of job Ashley would be good at. There weren't any jobs for men to drink fine wine, wear broad cloth, and read old books. Scarlett giggled with that thought. She thought about Rhett and marveled at how rich he was. She wondered - what were all the things he had to do to amass that much money? Scarlett giggled again when she thought, 'Being honorable wasn't one of them.' She had done some dishonorable things when she was building up her sawmills. Maybe that was the crux of the matter one could either be honorable and poor or rich and dishonorable. One thing for sure, she was never going to be poor again.

Scarlett realized that Genie was asleep. She got up and carried the child down the hall to her bedroom. She placed the child in the bassinet which was next to Scarlett's side of the bed. During the day Genie was in the nursery where her crib was but at night she slept in Rhett and Scarlett's room.

After Scarlett got into the bed, Rhett rolled over and said, "I need your assistance."

"Of course, my dear."

Scarlett was of two opinions about helping Rhett with his needs. It was something she would rather not do but she did like having her strong, dominating husband completely under her control. She would continue doing it because she didn't want a grumpy Rhett. Although, she could never get him over the edge, and he had to always finish himself. He had said, "It is alright. You just don't know how much pressure I need. Too much is painful, not enough doesn't get the job done."

Nonetheless, Scarlett had a happy Rhett once again until his need got too great.