Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Five

Later that evening while in the parlor, Rhett said to his mother, "Let me help get your home fixed up."

"No, this is Langston's home. He chose everything about it. I didn't even get a say in the choice of decorating. I want a townhouse on the Battery."

"Just a wild guess, Mother, but is that the most prominent place to live in Charleston?"

"Rhett, you are so insight full."

Rhett looked at Scarlett and smiled. He then said, "It must be that Irish blood that I have coursing through my veins. Do you want to remain in this house for the next year or go ahead and go house shopping?"

"Go house shopping. Rosemary and I will be able to go tomorrow. I do not want to live in this house one moment more than I have to."

The next evening, Robert, Daphne and their four children came for supper. Jeremy, Juliet, Jonathon, and Julie were excited to meet their Uncle Rhett. Their father had told them such wonderful tales about him. Jeremy's first question was, "Is it true you were a blockade runner?"

"Yes, I was."

"That is so exciting."

"Yes, it was but extremely dangerous. I was single at the time so I could take the chance with my life. As soon as I knew I wanted to marry Scarlett I gave blockade running up. I had to live so I could take care of her."

Scarlett smiled at her husband. What a bunch of blarney but that was Rhett. He could tell the most outlandish tales, and everyone always believed him.

The rest of the supper conversation was the children asking Rhett questions and him answering them. Elizabeth and Scarlett were amazed at how often Rhett turned the conversation to Robert. Rhett never stopped praising his brother. The action was so very unlike Rhett for he so liked to be the center of attention and he so liked to brag on himself.

When there was a momentary lull in the conversation, Scarlett said to Daphne, "Did you name all your children with names beginning with J or was it just a coincidence?"

"I did it on purpose. Mother, I never asked you did you do it on purpose or was it just a coincidence?"

"Do what?"

"Give all your children names starting with R?"

Elizabeth burst out laughing and said, "No, it was not on purpose."

Rhett and Scarlett remained in Charleston for a month. During that time, the majority of Rhett's relatives had called on him at the family home. Most of them wanted a handout but Rhett was not opposed to buying his way back into people's good graces. Fortunately, he would only have to deal with his relatives while he and Scarlett were in Charleston. He had even loaned a couple of his male relatives money to start a business including Uncle Alfred, but he had taken them to Mr. Mobbs and had a legal contract drawn up, so his relatives understood it was, indeed, a loan.

Rhett had bought his mother a townhouse on the battery. It had four bedrooms. He had purchased some furniture and he had bought them a carriage and horses to pull it. He had arranged with Mr. Mobbs to write her a support check every month. Rhett told her, "Normally, I will only put fifty dollars in your account monthly, but I am putting a hundred dollars this month because both you and Rosemary need brand-new wardrobes. Actually, I am going to put two hundred in there. Robert, Daphne, and their children need new clothes also. There are probably a lot of other things you will need to buy also."

"How am I going to get him to accept the clothing?"

"I am the head of the Butler family and I have decreed it should be."

Elizabeth laughed. She said, "If you had not gotten received in Atlanta and had not managed to get a Robillard to marry you none of this would have happened."

"So, I owe this happy moment to Scarlett."

"No, you owe it to your love for Scarlett."

"Thanks, Mother."

After a month, Elizabeth and Rosemary were in their new home. Rhett liked the décor. He was pleased it was not stodgy Charlestonian décor. When Elizabeth had told Rhett and Scarlett to decorate their room in the townhouse, Scarlett had demurred. She said, "My choices will be a lot flashier than you are comfortable with. We will save our fighting over decorating for when we move into a home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Although as Rhett was decorating their room in the townhouse when Scarlett did make a suggestion, he honestly considered it. He wanted her to think of the room as hers also. Most of her suggestions he accepted but a few he had just laughed and shook his head. Rhett would have been amused to know that Scarlett was making outlandish suggestions just so he could turn her down. She wanted him to speak his mind about the decorating of their abodes.

In the process of the move, Elizabeth had given Rhett his stamp collection, his rock collection, and his model ships collection.

In amazement, Rhett had said, "How?"

"On the day you left Langston had gone out in the afternoon. He had already ordered that all of your belongings be burned. Julius and Sampson had been assigned the task. Instead of taking them out to the back to burn, they had brought them to me. I had already moved into another room, so I stored them in my room. I told the men to burn all your clothing and some other items that I knew were of no importance to you so there would be something for Langston to find. Langston was never allowed in my room. I even locked the door when I was not in the room so he could never enter my room without my permission. I, of course, never gave him permission.

Over the next several months, most of the good citizens of Charleston would call on both Butler households.

If either Eulalie or Pauline was with a group of proper people and the subject of Rhett Butler came up the two ladies were his most committed supporters. They knew that most people were agreeable to letting Rhett back into proper society, but the ladies wanted to be sure there was no backlash in public opinion in the next several months. There was a small group of people who were opposed to receiving Rhett Butler back into proper society. The sisters desperately needed Rhett Butler's money and they were not any less convinced that their niece would cut them off if for some reason her husband failed to continue being received in Charleston.

Scarlett and Rhett had gotten several more mourning outfits made while in Charleston for now they would have to mourn Langston Butler the required amount of time.

A few days after Elizabeth and Rosemary's move into their townhouse, Rhett and Scarlett were on the train to return to Atlanta. On the train, that night Rhett could not believe his good fortune. He guessed it was some more of that Irish luck.

Rhett had decided that he was going to bring a couple of his model ships back with him to Atlanta. He could not make up his mind which ones to take with him. In the end, Scarlett said, "Let's not take any of them back. Let's start our own collection when we are back in Atlanta."

"We need to start thinking about buying a house."

"No, we can just get a bigger suite until I get with child. I don't want to have to deal with the staff until I have to."

"Alright, my love."

Scarlett didn't want to buy a house because she no longer wanted to live in Atlanta. She just couldn't ask Rhett to move after everything he had done to get received in Atlanta for her because she had wanted to live in the city. Just because she wanted to live close to Tara.

Scarlett would have been pleased to know that in Rhett's opinion he hadn't done all that to get to live in Atlanta but to get her to marry him, to get her father to approve of their marriage. He would be perfectly happy to live someplace else. Any place but Charleston. He had already figured out that being the head of the Butler family was going to be a lot of work. So, he wanted to stay far away from his relatives.

Rhett wanted to live in New York. It was so sophisticated and new. It was filled with forward thinking people. Most of the people in the city wore innovative fashionable clothing. People who weren't living by rules that had been antiquated before the war and were downright pre-historic now.

Rhett and Scarlett were back in Atlanta the second week in July. They returned to their suite at the hotel. Rhett maintained their suite always, so they didn't have to take all their stuff with them. Once they were settled Scarlett telegraphed her father to tell him they were home.

Gerald telegraphed back – Clean your clothes STOP Get on the next train STOP Careen and Will wedding July 20 STOP Bring Food. Stop Get at Kennedys Stop.

To be proper Rhett and Scarlett shouldn't even be attending a wedding at this point in their mourning, but Scarlett wasn't going to miss Careen's wedding. Rhett went anywhere Scarlett went. He was no longer going to sleep alone. Scarlett refused to wear black to her sister's wedding, so she and Rhett were going to wear color the entire time they were at Tara. Therefore, they took their mourning clothes out of their trunks and put colorful clothing back in.

In a matter of hours, they were ready to go. They didn't go to Kennedy's instead they got on the train to Jonesboro. Scarlett telegraphed her father but told him they would get Mr. Price at the feed store to take them out to Tara.

Rhett and Scarlett got to Tara at the same time as the telegram. When Gerald walked out of the house he said, "You were supposed to go to Kennedy's first."

Scarlett said, "You, Rhett, and Will can go into Atlanta and buy all the supplies and all the food for the party tomorrow morning. You can take the wagon."

Careen said, "Bring Suellen back with you if she wants to come."

Scarlett said, "She can ride in the back with the supplies once again."

Everyone laughed except Careen. She said, "Scarlett, don't be that way. She doesn't mean to be such a sour puss."

"Does she mean to be a whiner, or a tattle tell? Careen, do you know how many times Suellen got me in trouble with Mother with her tattling."

Gerald said, "And me too."

"No."

Gerald and Scarlett said at the same time, "Too damn often." They then turned to each other and laughed.

Will said, "Baby, she may not be trying to be a troublesome person, but she is, nonetheless. You know it is true. You are as happy as everyone else she lives in Atlanta with Frank Kennedy. The miracle here is that she and Frank are happy together."

Careen reluctantly smiled and said, "No, I don't want her living at Tara, but I always feel sorry for her when everyone is talking badly about her."

Rhett said, "Spend an afternoon with her and you won't be feeling sorry for her after that."

Everyone laughed even Careen.

Gerald said, "Not to worry, Peanut. Suellen will not want to come back with us. She is too busy at the store. She is either preventing Frank from extending credit or pestering people to pay on their bills. I can tell you she isn't winning any friends by doing that."

Rhett said, "I agree with not giving out any more credit, but she should not badger people to pay on their accounts."

Everyone agreed with Rhett's statement. Scarlett said, "Let's talk about something happy. Careen, tell us about your wedding plans."

The rest of the afternoon, Careen and Scarlett talked about Careen's plans for her wedding. Will, Rhett, and Gerald walked around the grounds while Gerald told Rhett his plans for the plantation. They ended up behind the barn where Gerald hid his hooch. He no longer needed to hide it for there was no one to tell him not to drink alcohol but Gerald could not break the habit of hiding his moonshine. Probably because he didn't want to break the habit. He knew his wife was dead, but these little habits kept her alive, at least in Gerald's mind.