Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Thirteen

Rhett and Scarlett laid in the bed and talked. After a while, Rhett said, "When do you want to leave Atlanta?"

"Not for a while. Tara is still on shaky footing. Before I can leave the South, I must be sure it is going to be profitable to support my extended family."

"Why? You don't even like most of them?"

"Like you said at the Fire House, it is the Irish in me. We take care of our own. But you are right. I don't even like them especially not my aunts. If I get one more letter from them criticizing my behavior, I am going to scream."

"You know you are going to get another letter condemning your choice of husbands and how quickly you married him."

Scarlett sighed and said, "You are right. Maybe I just won't read that letter."

Rhett laughed and he said, "You could kick your aunts out after all they aren't part of your Irish family."

"As soon as you stop sending your mother and sister money."

Rhett burst out laughing. He leaned forward and kissed her. He said, "Touché"

"What does that mean?" Scarlett knew what it meant but she wanted him to say the words.

"It literally means to touch."

"Touché me."

With a smile on his face, Rhett said, "Gladly."

Much later they had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Everyone who saw them noticed two things. They were not behaving like business associates and Scarlett was flaunting a huge diamond. Scarlett said, "Where are we going to live?"

"Here for now."

"Mmm. I don't know how I feel about that. I have never lived in a hotel. The truth is I have only stayed in a hotel once when we went to Saratoga."

"If you hate it, we can buy a house but by living in a hotel we don't have to employ a staff."

"I am already paying to support Pork, Dilcey, and Mammy. I might as well get some labor for my money."

"Just try hotel living for a month."

"Alright. If I don't have to run a household, that is more time I can spend on my businesses."

"Scarlett, let me make one thing clear. I don't care how much time you spend on your businesses, but you will always be available to me if I desire your company."

"Of course, Rhett."

"You can spend my money on anything you want but your businesses."

"Why?"

"If they are not a thriving enterprise then I am not going to throw my good money after your bad money."

"Alright. Are you finished with your meal?"

"Yes."

"Let's go tell Melly then Aunt PittyPat our good news. That way by ten o'clock tonight everyone will have heard the news."

"I am fine with telling Melly but after marrying me, not even Melly can save you from the Old Guard shunning you."

"I know but I want to maintain the friendship."

The couple did go see Melly to share their good news.

Melly was excited for Rhett and Scarlett. She said, "Congratulations, Darlings. I always knew you were meant to be together."

Rhett and Scarlett agreed. Rhett said, "I fought my feelings for Scarlett every step of the way because I didn't want to get married. After her marriage to Mr. Kennedy, I realized what a fool I had been. I should have married her during the war. I was not going to give her another chance to escape me."

"Oh, Rhett, that is so sweet

Scarlett just smiled. She said, "We won't be living at the Hamilton House. You and Ashley are probably going to have to move back in. You know Aunt PittyPat can't live alone."

Melly smiled. Yes, they would have to move back into the Hamilton House for they could not live alone on Ashley's salary. The best he was going to achieve was Head Teller. She said, "Yes, we will have to do that for the poor dear. Scarlett, you know that now that you are married to Rhett a lot of people will not receive you especially with how quickly you got married."

"Will you still receive me?"

"Of course. Always."

"You are the only one that matters,"

Melanie blushed but she was certainly pleased with Scarlett's statement. The trio chatted happily for an hour.

Finally, Scarlett said, "We must go and tell Aunt PittyPat. That way it will be all over town by this evening."

"The old dear does like to gossip."

Rhett said, "The good people of Atlanta certainly do like to gossip about me and Scarlett."

"That is because you are such colorful characters, and they can live an exciting life through you two."

Scarlett decided that Ashley and Melanie weren't the only people who wanted to live a shadow puppet life.

They left Melly and went to the Hamilton House. Scarlett had Prissy pack up her clothes as they shared their good news with PittyPat. Much to the couples' delight, Dolly Merriwether was visiting when they entered the parlor.

Scarlett said, "Congratulate us. We just got married."

The news so distressed PittyPat that for once she didn't have vapors, she out and out fainted.

Dolly Merriwether stood up. She brought herself up to her full height and try to make herself as imposing as possible. She did this to intimidate people. She said, "Scarlett Kennedy you have …"

Neither Rhett nor Scarlett was intimidated by Dolly's body posturing. Scarlett said, "Butler. Scarlett Butler."

"What?"

"My name is Scarlett Butler."

Scarlett's interruption had so flustered Dolly's train of thought that it took her a few seconds to remember what she was going to say. In the meantime, Scarlett and Rhett had sat down on the settee. Nobody paid the least little bit of attention to PittyPat.

Finally, Dolly composed her thoughts, she said, "Scarlett Butler," Dolly stressed the last name. She continued, "you have gone and ruin yourself completely."

"How so?"

Dolly was not used to people interrupting her when she spoke. She was used to people being a little bit afraid of her. Every time Scarlett interjected a comment, it flustered the older woman."

"He is Rhett Butler."

Scarlett giggled and said, "I know who he is. I married him."

"He is not received."

"That was probably an incident that got blown out of proportion. I think the young lady and probably her father were trying to trap him into marriage."

"What?!"

"At the time Rhett was quite the catch, so, of course, young ladies would try to compromise him."

"Scarlett that is not the way it works. It is the man that compromises the woman."

"No, Mrs. Merriwether, girls have been tricking men into marriage since the beginning of time."

"Never mind that. He was expelled from West Point."

"The correct term is court marshalled but that was probably just some youthful hijinks. Do you know my friends Brent and Stuart had been kicked out of four universities?"

"What about his stealing the Confederate gold?"

"You and I both know there was no Confederate gold."

"What about his running up the price of the goods he was bringing in through the blockade?'

"You mean the goods that he was risking his life to bring to the good people of the South. There is no proof he did that. Just a bunch of speculation by people who were angry at how much everything cost."

"What about his food speculating?"

"Probably lies told by his enemies but again there is no proof."

"What about his comments about how stupid the cause was while the war was going on?"

"It was stupid. We should never have gone to war. We should have tested the theory of succession through the courts. Yet he joined the Confederate army in the eleventh hour."

"He did not."

"Dear, who did you serve under?"

"When they found out I was a West Pointer, although I didn't graduate, they put me in the artillery. The regular artillery not the militia artillery. Colonel Carrollton was the commander."

"Thank you."

"I will certainly check this out so I can show you he is lying."

"My husband is not a liar."

"What about him killing a man just for looking at a woman wrong?"

"If he had done that, the Yankees would have hung him to make him an example so nobody else would do that. The Yankees don't like us very much right now. They would be happy to kill anyone of us just for looking at them wrong. Mrs. Merriwether, I think that you should leave. I am tired of listening to your lies about my husband. You know your way out. I need to revive Aunt PittyPat I suppose. Dear, will you help me get her in the chair."

"Of course, my love."

Rhett had sat there and enjoyed the argument. He never felt the need to defend himself to anyone. It did please him that Scarlett had defended him sort of. She seemed to be unfazed by everything Mrs. Merriwether had said about him. He knew that was because she was as amoral as he was.

After the older woman had left the house, Scarlett said, "I guess we don't need to worry about getting an invitation to Christmas dinner from any of the members of the Old Guard."

Rhett burst out laughing. At last, he said, "No, we don't."

"Dear, let's revive my aunt then we can leave."

"I suppose we can't leave her passed out in her chair."

"Let's revive her but if she faints again, we will just leave her. With her doing that we could be here all afternoon."

Rhett laughed.

The couple did revive PittyPat. They assured her it was true. They also assured her that they would not be living with her. They told her goodbye.

By six that evening, the news that Scarlett Kennedy and Rhett Butler had gotten married reached Belle's ears. It made her want to throw up. She knew this day was coming. Her only hope of getting Rhett back was for him to get tired of waiting for Scarlett O'Hara. Once she had heard about Mr. Kennedy's demise, she had known her hopes were futile. When Rhett got back in January as soon as he found out about Mr. Kennedy's demise Belle knew he had called on Mrs. Kennedy. She must have given him the answer he wanted because he was walking on air for the next month.

While everyone was talking about them, the newlyweds were having dinner at Rhett's favorite restaurant in town. They were having an enjoyable time. Scarlett said, "We need to get you a wedding ring."

"I don't need a wedding ring."

"But I want you to wear a wedding ring."

"What will you do for me in order to get me to wear a wedding ring?"

"Continue to sleep next to you."

"I guess I will wear a wedding ring."

Rhett had just been playing with Scarlett, but he did like the hard, cold, glint that was in her eyes when she said, 'But I want you to wear a wedding ring.' Yes, his wife did like to have her own way.

Scarlett managed the sawmills, and she ran the store. All three were making nice profits. The Wilkes did indeed move into Hamilton House. With their move into a larger place, India asked to come live with them. Ashley could not refuse. With India's arrival they were no better financially than they had been when they were living in their own home. Nonetheless, Ashley could not have said no. The honorable thing to do was to take in one's spinster sister.

Scarlett heard that India had moved to Atlanta. After India moved in with them, Scarlett made Melanie come have tea with her in the Dixie Tea Shop. Supposedly because Scarlett couldn't stand to be around India, but it was more to be sure Melanie had a decent meal once a week. Scarlett enjoyed the food there very much. She always ordered more than she could eat and then coaxed Melanie into finishing her sandwiches for her. Scarlett also would slip money into Melanie's purse. Scarlett didn't understand why she felt the need to take care of Melanie. She decided it was because she considered Melanie family. That had to be the reason. It couldn't be because she loved the woman.

The Wilkes were barely making ends meet. They were all living off Ashley's salary. Ashley had been promoted to Head Teller but that was it and everyone knew it would never be any more.

Rhett did business with the Republican government. The republicans had lots of parties which were lots of fun. Scarlett started attending events the ladies had in the afternoon. She learned how to play Whist and enjoyed playing it a lot.

Scarlett sat at one of the tables playing whist one afternoon. She was annoyed at Emily Church. She had to be the stupidest woman Scarlett had ever met. Emily was her partner, and they were losing because Emily couldn't remember what had been played before. Scarlett never thought she would be mad at a woman for being stupid, but she was. Scarlett didn't like to lose at anything.

After living in the hotel for a month, Scarlett said, "Living here is good. You are right. It is nice not to have to deal with the staff. Just Prissy."

"She is enough to handle."

"True."