Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the many reviews and the feedback. Thank you to everyone reading my story. Thank you to everyone who is following my story and who has favorited my story.
Chapter Ten
Scarlett went to the funeral in a black dress too small. PittyPat had known that Mrs. Meade had a black dress Scarlett could borrow. Scarlett thanked Mrs. Meade profusely.
When Will picked Scarlett up from the train station he informed her how Suellen inadvertently caused her father's death.
After the funeral while the mourners were still there Scarlett got Suellen and Careen alone. Scarlett said, "I have a copy of Pa's will. He left Tara to me and a thousand dollars to you two. There isn't two thousand dollars in the estate. I will talk to Uncle Henry about what we need to do."
Careen said, "If you pay my dowry to the convent, I will be happy. It is three hundred dollars."
Suellen said, "I want half of Tara."
Scarlett sighed and said, "Thank you Careen. As soon as I can afford to give you the money I will. Sue, I will talk to Uncle Henry."
Later in the afternoon as the last mourner was leaving Will found Scarlett. He said, "The Wilkes are moving to New York."
"Why are the Wilkes moving to New York?"
"Mr. Wilkes has gotten a job there. A friend of his owns a bank."
Scarlett thought, 'If Ashley had a friend that owned a bank why didn't Ashley see if the man would loan me the money. No, he let me go into Atlanta and sell myself to that varmint. What a spineless creature.'
Scarlett said, "Go on."
"I cannot live here with two young women. People will talk. It wouldn't be safe for two young women to live alone in the country. Miss Careen still wants to become a nun. I think Miss Suellen will marry me. Do I have your permission?"
"If Sue wants to marry you, I am alright with it."
"I will go talk to her now."
Thirty minutes later, Will found Scarlett in her mother's office going over the books. He said, "When I take you into Jonesboro to get the train back to Atlanta, Suellen will go with us, and we will be married at that time."
"I hope you will be happy."
Will just nodded his head and left the office.
Soon Melanie found Scarlett in her mother's office. She said, "Scarlett, you have to give Ashley a job."
"Why?"
"So, we don't have to move to New York. I would die if I had to live among all those Yankees."
"I guess so. I will need someone to run the old mill while I am in my confinement. Let's go find him and I will ask him now."
Scarlett wondered if it wouldn't be better for Ashley to go to New York so he could be his own man, but she couldn't tell Melanie no. She was Scarlett's best friend. No that wasn't right. She was Scarlett's only friend. Melanie had always been on her side. She had defended Scarlett when the matrons had talked badly about her. She was going to need Melanie to defend her after Frank died, and she was forced to marry Jackass.
They found Ashley in the parlor. Scarlett said, "Ashley, I heard the most awful news. I heard that you are moving North. No, no, no. You will come work for me in Atlanta. I need a manager for my old mill for at least the next six months. If you like the job, you can just stay on."
"No, Scarlett. I am going North. It is my chance to stand on my own two feet."
"Ashley you can go to New York after I return to work."
"No, I am ….."
"Ashley how can you turn Scarlett down in her time of need. Why neither Beau nor I would be alive if it wasn't for Scarlett. She has let us stay here for the last two years. Now that Scarlett needs us, you must help her."
Ashley stood up and said, "I can't fight you both. I will go work for you in Atlanta, Scarlett."
"Will and Suellen are going to the courthouse today to be married. So, you all can come up in the next two or three days."
"If Will and Suellen are married today we will be in Atlanta either tomorrow or the day after."
"Wonderful. Just in time."
Scarlett left the Wilkes in the parlor. She found Careen in her room and said, "Will and Suellen are going to be married today," Scarlett looked for even a flicker of disappointment or hurt on Careen's face. When she saw none, she continued, "Do you want to come live with me in Atlanta or stay here?"
"Thank you, Scarlett, but I would rather stay here."
"Give me a hug. I am going back to Atlanta today."
Scarlett rode into Jonesboro with Suellen and Will. Scarlett had noticed at the funeral that the people of the county were angry and hostile towards Suellen. Scarlett knew how hard it was to go on when everyone was judging one for doing what one thought was right. On the way into Jonesboro, she made up her mind about her plan, Scarlett said to Suellen, "I don't want us to be at war. We need to be fighting the outside world not each other. Therefore, as a peace offering, I will give you forty-nine percent of Tara. We need to forgive and forget and move on. I will need you and Will to manage Tara. You all will do a better job if you are part owners. I cannot run my sawmills and Tara. I will forgive you for getting Pa killed, if you will forgive me for marrying Frank."
"Alright. We will have a truce."
"You had a good plan. Unfortunately, Pa had a moment of sanity which ruined the plan."
"It would have been over ten thousand dollars."
"Wow. That is a lot of money for just signing a piece of paper."
Whatever opinion Will held as far as the fact that the ladies would so easily forgo their loyalty to the Confederacy for money, he kept to himself.
Scarlett told them goodbye and walked to the train station. Before the train arrived, Will and Suellen were back from the courthouse. Scarlett smiled sadly as men and women were snubbing Suellen. At least people still spoke to her in Atlanta, although Scarlett doubted, they thought any more highly of her than the county folk thought of Suellen. Scarlett didn't care. She and her family were going to survive. Suellen was lucky that Will was willing to marry her. Tara was lucky to have Will as its master.
As Scarlett rode back to Atlanta on the train she wondered if she hadn't made a big mistake hiring Ashley, for no matter how bad a manager he was she could never fire him. She was happy with her truce with Suellen. She didn't have the time to run Tara. She had to run her mills and somehow keep Frank alive.
Ashley and Melanie were in Atlanta one day later. They had moved into the Hamilton House, but they were looking for their own place which Scarlett was happy about. Beau was sleeping in the same room with Wade which seemed to help Wade. While the Wilkes were in the house Wade stopped getting up in the middle of the night. He always came and got in bed with her. She knew he got scared because of everything they had gone through. She got scared too. She liked sleeping with Frank for he made her feel safe especially since he didn't want to do anything but sleep. For a brief moment she wondered if she was going to like sleeping with Jackass. When she blushed, she quickly shut those thoughts down.
Scarlett spent a week training Ashley although most of the time she didn't feel like he was listening. He had not asked a single question the entire time she was training him.
Fortunately, the Wilkes were able to get a loan from the bank and buy their own home. It was just through the hedges from Hamilton House. Scarlett was glad it was so close.
Rhett came to call one more time before Scarlett went into her confinement. That evening Frank said, "You can continue to call on us even while Scarlett is in her confinement. I'm sure Scarlett would enjoy the company. Wouldn't you, sugar?"
"No, Frank I don't want anyone seeing me in this hideous shape."
"Sorry, Captain Butler."
"It is alright, Mr. Kennedy. I have some business to take care of in Europe."
"How long will you be gone?"
While looking at Scarlett, Rhett said, "I will be back in Atlanta by the first of October."
As Rhett left the Hamilton House that night, he hoped he was back before the baby was born. He had certainly enjoyed watching her grow larger and larger with his child. Yes, he was pleased with the woman that would be the mother of his children. They were going to be strong, proud, charming, beautiful people.
As he was riding his horse to Belle's he wondered if he had any other bastards out there. He had only kept a mistress twice and both those women would have quickly told him they were with child in order for them to get money out of him. After Jocelyn, his last mistress, he had decided not to do that again although he would have made an exception for Scarlett. It had quickly gotten tedious keeping a woman. He had never wanted to have to be accountable to another human being. He guessed he was now whether he wanted to be or not. His children and his wife would have everything they wanted. They would lack for nothing. As soon as he got Scarlett to the altar that is.
After Scarlett went into her confinement, she was glad that Melanie was in Atlanta. Melanie came to visit every day. Melanie always brightened her mood. Melanie, Wade and Beau were the only bright spots in her life at that moment. Melanie's happiness over the baby helped make Scarlett happy about the baby too. Scarlett already loved the baby. It wasn't the baby's fault that its father took advantage of her.
Scarlett awoke in the early morning when she had felt the first labor pain. She continued lying there waiting to see if the contractions continued. Since the middle of September, she had been having a lot of false labor pains with this child. She guessed the baby was going to be an aggravator just like its father.
Scarlett laid there and thought about her dream. It was the same dream she had several times already. In fact, she dreamed that dream almost every night. It was a lovely dream. She dreamed that Frank lived for another twenty years. In the dream Jackass continued to call on her and Frank year after year. In the dream she had Wade and a little girl named Ella. In the dream Wade started calling Frank 'Daddy' and she allowed it just to spite Jackass. She loved hearing her children call Frank 'Daddy' in front of Rhett. Of course, in her dream his face was always filled with agony when the children did it. Her children were fine upstanding members of society. Frank was always getting praised for what a good father he was which also caused Jackass pain. The best part of the dream was when Frank got to walk Ella down the aisle. Yes, it was a very lovely dream. She so hoped it came true. As she had felt several more contractions, she guessed the baby was actually coming today.
Several nights later Rhett heard that Scarlett had her baby, and it was a girl. Rhett felt such pain at that moment. He had to find out about the birth of his daughter second-hand. Yet he supposed he deserved the pain for he had certainly done Scarlett and his children wrong.
Over the next several weeks, Rhett would stop by Kennedy's to talk to Frank about politics and other issues. Rhett would say, "I miss our discussions. When will you be receiving guest again?"
"Not until December first."
"How is Mrs. Kennedy doing?"
"Fine. She is raring to leave the house."
"And the baby? What's her name?"
"Ella Lorena Kennedy."
It was a little painful listening to Frank Kennedy brag about his daughter, but Rhett couldn't stop himself from asking. Rhett knew the child was his child and he couldn't say a word. He was the one that should be bragging about Ella.
Every time Rhett left Kennedy's he was consumed with sorrow and guilt. He was miserable and it was by his own actions. Both times he had relations with Scarlett he had never once thought about the consequences of those actions. He had only thought about what he wanted in that moment. He had known that Scarlett had a good time also which had also chased away any guilty thoughts. If his children's mother had not been a clever woman who had the courage and fortitude to do what she had to do, then both of his children would have been bastards. Every time he left the store, he promised his children and his future wife he would be more responsible in the future. He would start caring about another person besides himself. He would think about the consequences of his actions. Not just to himself but to others also.
Author's Notes: In the canon we are led to believe that the only reason Scarlett offers Ashley a job is to keep him in Atlanta. While that is partially true, her offering Ashley a job is not a bad idea. She is going into her confinement, and she needs someone she can trust. She can't get men to work for her because she is a woman. She has no reason to believe that Ashley is going to be a bad businessman. Once she is out of her confinement and she realizes he is a bad businessman she cannot fire him. If the matrons came down on her for demoting Hugh Elsing, they would really come down on her for firing Melanie's husband. Besides whether Scarlett truly realizes it or not she knows Melanie is her only friend.
The dream scene is for Irise Zhu and Aethelfraed. I also thought it would be hilarious for Rhett to sit around waiting for Frank to die.