Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Fourteen

Rhett did indeed start keeping a closer eye on Scarlett. He was practically by her side all the time. In Atlanta Rhett had paid a man to watch her activities during the day when he himself couldn't be with her and another man to watch her home at night to make sure she didn't try to sneak off in the middle of the night.

Rhett had picked her up in the morning and had squired her around town all morning. He had brought her back to the Hamilton House and had dinner with them almost every day. He had bought them groceries supposedly because he was eating up all their food. He had played with the children when they got up from their naps. The truth was that Rhett had practically moved into the Hamilton House.

He had stayed for supper every night. After Scarlett had turned the children over to Mammy to put to bed for the night, they had sat on the porch in full view of everyone. Every night at nine he had kissed Scarlett's hand and he had bid her good night. He had then gone to Belle's and done business with other questionable men. He hadn't gone upstairs at Belle's even once. He had told himself that it was because he hadn't wanted Scarlett or any of the other ladies to hear about him visiting a whore.

Scarlett hadn't been completely docile that entire time. She had tried to lose the man that Rhett had hired but he could run amazingly fast. The man hadn't even pretended to not be watching her.

Every day she had ranted at Rhett for his high handedness. One day she had asked, "Is this the way it is going to be after we are married?"

"No, after we are married you will not be able to marry anyone else. After we are married you will not be able to escape me by running away from me. Trust me. If you tried to run away with my children, I will track you down to the ends of the earth. I will have the legal right to make you return."

"Great! Just great!"

"Why are you having that man following me and not just have him watch the house? You know I am not going to leave without Wade and Ella."

"I want him to follow you so that you know that I am always watching."

Scarlett didn't respond. She just glared at Rhett.

Scarlett at night would rack her brain trying to think of a way to escape. Sometimes at night she would decide to accept her fate. She would decide that being married to Rhett wouldn't be any worse than being married to Frank or Charlie. At least Rhett was handsome, smart, rich and usually very entertaining then she would remember that she wouldn't have been married to either of those men if she hadn't had to give her baby at name. That anger would give her renewed determination to avoid marrying Rhett.

Scarlett wondered if there was anyone who would help her. No there wasn't. Melanie would help her but if Rhett told Melly that Wade wasn't Charlie's son, it would destroy hers and Melly's friendship. Melly would never forgive her for having deceived her brother and her. She was pretty sure Mrs. Butler would not help her. If she was as proper as her aunts even if she knew the children were Rhett's children, she would never acknowledge it because they would be bastards and a proper woman would never acknowledge that sort of thing. Her grandfather Robillard was dead. She one night wondered if Belle would help her after all Belle had tried to get her to stop receiving Rhett. She decided that was too risky. She would never be able to trust Belle to honestly help her. Sometimes after a couple of sips of brandy she would think, 'He won't tell anyone. He loves them too much' but she wasn't one hundred percent sure. She just couldn't take the chance. She had no doubt that he would kill any man that she got to the altar. The truth was that he had compromised her so badly that she had two choices and neither one was a great choice. Either run away or marry Jackass. Night after night when she came to that conclusion, she would console herself with thinking of all the things she would buy herself after they were married. She would tell herself, 'It won't be a bad life. Like Jackass said, 'Even the garden of Eden had a serpent in it.'

Rhett was not leaving Atlanta, so Scarlett decided to go down to Tara. Scarlett had not told him she was going to Tara. She just packed her trunk, and she, the children and Mammy had gotten on the train heading South. She noticed the man got on the train with them. He always kept her in sight. She had briefly thought about bribing him to let her go but she knew Rhett was a greater threat to his well-being than she was.

Scarlett had not been the least bit surprised when she saw Rhett riding up the path to the house two hours after she had arrived. She had wanted to know how quickly he would be on her trail. Pretty damn quick.

When he got off his horse, Scarlett said, "Rhett, If I had thought you would have wanted to go with us, I would have invited you. I didn't because you always say the country is boring."

"No place that you are at could be boring."

When Rhett got closer, he whispered, "I told you I would track you down to the ends of the earth and I meant it."

Suellen came out on the front porch, Scarlett said sourly, "Suellen, this is my friend, Rhett Butler. Rhett, this is my sister, Suellen."

Rhett said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, but I am not her friend but her fiancé."

Suellen said, "I know who you are. You are that man from the barbecue that said all those inflammatory remarks about the South."

"Yes, that would be me."

"You then turned around and made a fortune off of the Confederacy during the war."

"That would be true."

"Now you are making money off of the Republican government."

"Yes."

"I heard you were one of the richest men in the South."

"I don't know for sure, but I believe that to be true."

"How do you live with yourself? You must be a very amoral man. You are not welcome in the house. If Scarlett wants to visit with you, she can sit on the porch."

Suellen turned and walked into the house.

Rhett looked at Scarlett ominously and said, "Scarlett."

"I'm sorry, Rhett, but she is the mistress of Tara. You might as well go on back to Atlanta."

"I am not going back to Atlanta. Scarlett, if you don't do something about this I might just start babbling."

"Go ahead. There isn't going to be anyone out here to hear you."

"I can talk very loudly. I know there is no love lost between the two of you. You did steal her fiancé after all."

"That is all water under the bridge. We resolved our differences."

"I don't believe you."

Scarlett shrugged her shoulders and said, "Give it your best shot."

After Rhett stared at Scarlett for a few minutes he said, "I guess I will go into Jonesboro and talk to the old men at the feed store."

"They won't speak to you. You're the varmint that stole the Confederate gold."

"I will just sit here on the porch then."

"Go ahead. If you are here when Will gets home, he will be happy to throw you off the plantation."

Rhett left and went into Jonesboro. He told his hired man to wait for the night man to get down her then return to Atlanta. The man needed to come down every day until Scarlett and her children returned to Atlanta. When he got to Atlanta, he told the night man to go down to Jonesboro and watch the train station every night until Rhett told him otherwise.

Scarlett stayed at Tara for a week and everyday Rhett rode down from Atlanta to confirm that she was still there.

Scarlett allowed the children to play with Rhett, but she didn't sit on the porch with him or talk to him any more than needed. Will was in the fields most days which Scarlett was glad of for Will could always see too much.

Even though Rhett marred her stay at Tara with his presence, her time with Suellen was pleasant enough. Suellen and Scarlett were taking there truce quite seriously. Scarlett was happy with the changes in her sister.

Will had heard all the rumors about Scarlett and Captain Butler every time he went into Atlanta to get the supplies. He had shared those rumors with Suellen. Suellen had decided that Scarlett had gotten caught doing something wrong and she was finally going to get her comeuppance. Suellen had also been glad that everyone thought Scarlett was cheating on Frank for Suellen felt he deserved the shame.

Suellen had figured out that Frank had just been stringing her along all those years. She didn't know how Scarlett had gotten him to the altar but after Frank had married her sister, she knew that if Frank had loved her than Scarlett wouldn't have been able to steal him away. He hadn't asked to marry her until after the war was over. He had kept postponing their wedding date by saying he didn't have enough money for them to get married. He had at least three hundred dollars which was more than enough money for them to marry. Once she had found out how much money he had she had known he would never have actually married her. In addition to all that she had found Frank physically repulsive. She had only agreed to marry him so she would have someone to support her. She had pretended to be in love with him so he would marry her.

She knew that Will had married her in order to stay at Tara, but he had married her when she had needed a husband. He had stood by her when all the county people had been angry and hostile toward her. He never let anyone talk badly about her.

They both had known they didn't love the other, but they had formed a partnership and they were fond of each other. Will had known how to do things in their marital bed that Suellen was fairly sure Frank would never have done even if he had known about them. With Will not being a gentleman Suellen didn't think she had to act like a lady in her marital bed. In addition, Will was young and had a great body. He had a pleasant face. He brushed his teeth regularly, the same could not be said about Frank.

Suellen thought she had finally gotten the better man than Scarlett. Will was definitely better than Frank and Sue thought he was definitely better than Rhett Butler who it was rumored that Scarlett was going to marry as soon as she was out of deep mourning. Rhett Butler who wasn't received. That thought always made Suellen smile.

Truth be told she was happy with her lot in life. It was certainly better than India Wilkes's life or Cathy Calvert or most of the Tarleton girls.

Suellen knew that she had gotten more than she had thought she would get when Scarlett had told her about Pa's will. The sisters really had come to a truce in their relationship. Suellen and Scarlett discussed what they were going to do with Tara in the next six months. When Scarlett had asked Suellen if she wanted to include Will in these discussions, Suellen had said, "No, Tara is mine and yours not Will's."

"Alright."

"If something were to happen to Will, I would have to run Tara by myself, so I want to know everything that is going on."

"That is true. There aren't a lot of men around anymore."

Suellen had smiled and said, "If my older sister could run two sawmills and a store, I can run a plantation. Besides we both know Mother ran Tara not Pa."

Scarlett smiled at Suellen and said, "You are right on both counts."