Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.
Chapter Nine
Scarlett and Rhett sat in the chairs by the pot belly stove and Rhett took off the top hat which Scarlett was incredibly grateful for. Rhett smiled and said, "Why do you need to borrow money and how much?"
"I want to buy a sawmill. I need three hundred for the mill."
"You like that number," At her puzzled expression, Rhett added, "Three hundred."
"And another two hundred for supplies and operating cost until I make a profit."
"No."
"No?"
"It sounds like a risky deal to me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Rhett. A sawmill is a gold mine right now with all the construction going on in Atlanta. You yourself said the best times to make money on a civilization was during the destruction of one or the rebuilding of one. Well, we are in the middle of rebuilding one."
"Alright but one condition. You never hire Mr. Wilkes."
"Why not?"
"Because Mr. Wilkes is a coward and a dreamer."
"Oh. Alright."
"Have your feelings changed toward Mr. Wilkes?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"When he came back from the war, and I realized he was a coward and a dreamer," Scarlett flashed him a quick smile and he smiled back at her joke. She continued, "He is a man who doesn't want to live in the real world," She paused and looked at the fire. Rhett waited. He really wanted to know what else she was going to say. Finally, she said, "He told me he wanted to live in a world removed from everyone else. Have you ever heard of anything so sad?"
Rhett looked at Scarlett with a sad expression on his face. He said, "As much as I admire Miss Melly, I think she does too."
"I think so too. What kind of interest do you want? What is good interest?"
"One hundred percent is good interest."
Scarlett swatted his arm. She said, "No, Honey, I was thinking of three or four percent."
Rhett stood up and took his wallet out of his pocket. He took out the five hundred dollars and offered it to her. Scarlett stood up and accepted the money. After she took it, he kissed her thoroughly. When he finished, he said, "I will waive the interest, but I won't waive taking. what was the word you used? I remember now…. taking liberties. Sweet dreams, with your husband sleeping beside you."
As Rhett walked to the door, Scarlett said, "Good afternoon, my skunk."
Rhett didn't turn around and he didn't respond. He just left the store.
Rhett went to Belle's. He played poker all afternoon and evening. Belle had served him a meal of sorts. It was sandwiches but it was fine. He hadn't been that hungry. He met other men who were in Atlanta to make money off reconstruction. For the first time since Rhett had danced with Scarlett at the Hospital Bazaar, he took himself upstairs to have an enjoyable time with a green-eyed, black-haired substitute.
Belle was happy. She had heard of Scarlett Hamilton's marriage to Frank Kennedy. She had been hopeful that Rhett would finally give up on his pursuit of the woman. Maybe he had. He was using whores again in Atlanta. Maybe he would return to her bed. A girl could hope.
Scarlett had been smiling when Rhett left the store. She would have sweet dreams because her husband wasn't sleeping beside her. After their first night as husband and wife, Scarlett made Frank move to another bedroom. She could not sleep next to him. He stank and he snored.
Frank had protested. He had said, "If I move to another bedroom then Miss Hamilton will know we aren't having relations."
"Probably but maybe not. She is a dingbat. Besides, she won't say anything. You are going to pay all the expenses of the house."
Frank had whined, "Sugar…"
"Don't call me Sugar. Now hurry up and get your stuff out of my room."
As soon as the clerk returned, Scarlett went out to Decatur Road and bought the sawmill. Mr. Johnston said. "Your training can start tomorrow morning at eight."
When Scarlett got home, Frank had been sitting up in the parlor. He said, "I feel much better. I will be able to go to work in the morning."
As she put her cape on a peg in the hallway, Scarlett said, "You should stop giving out credit."
"I can't turn good people down who just need a little bit of food to get by."
"You will never get that money back."
"Probably but Southerners help each other during these troubled times."
"What malarky! I bought Mr. Johnston's sawmill. He is going to start training me tomorrow."
"The mill that I was going to buy. Blast it, Scarlett. I was going to buy that mill. I would have if I hadn't given you the money to save Tara. Damn it, Scarlett. You are such a …."
She proudly said, "Yes, I am."
"Where did you get the money?"
"Rhett lent it to me."
"You are associating with the black-hearted traitor."
"He is not a traitor."
"He stole the Confederate gold."
"No, he didn't. There wasn't any Confederate gold."
"He drove the price up on his goods by creating extra shortages."
"No, he didn't. There just were a lot of shortages."
"What about his food speculating."
"There is no proof he did any of that," Scarlett knew Rhett had done the price gouging and the food speculating but as she said - there was no proof. She continued, "I'm going to lay down before supper. Prissy!
Soon Prissy was following Scarlett up the stairs. She helped Scarlett get out of her dress and left the room. Scarlett laid down completely naked. She let herself think about Rhett as her hands roamed over her body. She pretended her hands were his hands. She recalled how his kisses had stirred familiar feelings in her. Soon she was feeling that sweet tension that heralded that wonderful feeling. Her hand which she was pretending was Rhett's hand was stroking her nether regions in the most delightful way. She felt that climax repeatedly. Ever since she had started imagining it being Rhett that was bringing her pleasure, the pleasure had been so much greater.
As she laid there on her bed resting, she remembered the first time she had discovered she could bring herself pleasure. It was when she was thirteen. She had heard all the talk amongst the slave men about Mr. Gerald borrowing one of Mrs. Tarleton's stallions to breed with all the mares on the plantation. They, of course, had not known she was listening. One man said, "I sure would like to be that stallion. What a day."'
"They aren't going to do it all in one day. They are going to do it over several days."
"Then what a week."
Scarlett had run into the house and looked up the word 'breed.' It meant to mate then produce offspring. She knew what mate meant. It meant to put two things together. She had giggled when she realized what two things were going to be put together. She had figured out that the stallion and the mares were going to have relations.
Scarlett had always been a curious girl and she like all young girls had a lot of curiosity about relations. Of course, nobody talked about it because girls weren't supposed to be curious about that. She had decided that she was going to watch and see what relations were all about. She had known where the breeding was going to take place. In the barn. Early that day, she had climbed up into the hay loft. She had to wait a long time but finally the mare was brought in the barn. The mare looked like she was excited when she saw the stallion. Scarlett knew the stallion was definitely excited because his member was so large. He jumped up on the mare's back and the mare stood there. She accommodated the stallion. It didn't go on very long maybe two or three minutes at most. When it was all over, one of the slaves led the stallion out of the barn and another slave put the mare in a stall.
Scarlett had rolled over on her back. She closed her eyes and imagined the entire act. She had wondered what the mare had felt. She had realized that she was feeling strange, especially in her nether regions. She had wondered if she would feel better if she rubbed her nether regions. She had definitely felt better.
Every day that week she had hid in the hayloft and watched the stallion mount mare after mare. Sometimes when she had been waiting for them to bring the horses into the barn, she would pleasure herself because she was already excited enough to bring that wonderful feeling on.
For the next year she made herself feel that feeling every day. Sometimes twice a day. Every time a mare had been impregnated Scarlett had hidden in the hayloft. She had occasionally imagined it was one of her beaus touching her or doing to her what the stallion was doing to the mare, but it was always better when she imagined the stallion and the mare. At least it had been until she started imagining it was Rhett that was with her. Now she always imagined it was her and Rhett.
She had been extremely disappointed when she had finally had relations. Charlie had done some kissing and some fumbling around down there but not nearly enough. When he had first tried to enter her, she had stopped him because she knew she wasn't ready. She let herself imagine the stallion and the mare and finally she thought she was ready, but she still hadn't been. It had really hurt. Maybe it had hurt because it was her first time, but she hadn't been willing to try again. Especially with the possibility of Charlie getting her with child looming over her head.
Scarlett had decided that for a man it must be a lot better with an actual woman. Why else would men pay money to have relations with a woman when they could bring themselves their satisfaction. She didn't know how they did it, but she knew they could do it. She also knew that most men wanted her that way. She had known that was why she was the belle of five counties. It had nothing to do with her being sweet and kind. In fact, she could be a real shrew and the men would come back for more.
That sexual attraction was how she was going to bring Rhett to heel. As soon as Frank was dead Rhett would ask her to marry him. He wouldn't take the chance of losing her again. His one chance to have her willingly accept the role of his mistress at been at the Fire House. Unluckily for him the fates had been against him at that time.
Scarlett thought about Frank and gagged. She knew that she would never be ready for Frank. He was old and he stank. She certainly didn't want to get with Frank's child. That would be one ugly child. Not that she wanted a child, but she knew that if she had Rhett's child it would bind him to her that much more. At least their child would be beautiful. She wrapped her blanket around her, and she let herself drift off into sleep.
Scarlett had started working to build up her sawmill the very next day. She learned everything she needed to learn from Mr. Johnston then sent him on his way. In three weeks, she had enough of the man. He was constantly telling her that the way she was doing things was wrong. Finally, she said, "Mr. Johnston, you had to sell the sawmill because you could not make a profit. I am going to run it my way and I am going to make a big profit. Leave the premises. I no longer need your help."
Both Frank and Aunt PittyPat made such a stink about her driving herself by Shantytown that she had allowed Uncle Peter to drive her around. She hadn't like that because Uncle Peter didn't think she was behaving properly. Yet she had put up with it because she had needed the protection of a man and because it made her feel like a fine lady once again.
