Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Nineteen

Scarlett wrote Careen and told her she had the money for her dowry. Careen needed to pack her clothes and come to Atlanta. Scarlett would give her a check for the church. Careen wrote back that she would be in Atlanta on the next Tuesday.

Later that week Rhett bought Scarlett a new buggy for her use when she was in Atlanta. It was the most ornate style the buggy maker had. It was red with black trim. He bought her a new horse also even after she pointed out that she had a fairly new horse already. Rhett had smiled and said, "Now, you have two new horses.

Scarlett was pleased. At least with being married to Rhett she would enjoy all the luxuries of life which was only right for she had to put up with him. He was such a jerk sometimes then he could be so sweet sometimes also.

He drove her around Atlanta and Scarlett waved at all the matrons. Most of them begrudgingly waved back. She didn't care. Between Rhett's reputation, her actions in regard to the sawmills, and Rhett and her keeping constant company this last year she would never be a matron darling.

Rhett took her to show her the lot where she was going to build their house. As they looked at it, Rhett said, "It is a double lot so you can make the house as big as you want.

"I want it to have a Swiss Chalet design." Which Scarlett had pronounced chalet as shal-let

"A what design?"

"A Swiss Chalet."

"Spell that last word."

"C-H-A-L-E-T"

"That is pronounced Chalet. No. You will pick something that fits in with the rest of Atlanta. I want to be able to sell the house when we move."

"What do you mean when we move?"

"We will not live here forever."

"We aren't going to live here forever?"

"I thought you knew. I am only staying in Atlanta so I can continue making money off Reconstruction. As soon as the state is back in the hands of Southerners there will be no way to make money in this part of the country and we will move."

"I don't want to move. I want to be close to Tara."

"No, I will not allow my children to be raised in this backwards society."

"I'm not living in the North."

"I was thinking about San Francisco, Paris, London or maybe even Sydney."

"Sydney?"

"It is in Australia."

"Australia?"

"Have you not heard of it?"

"Of course, I have heard of it. I was just questioning your statement. No, I am not going to live there. It is halfway around the world."

"Yes, you will. We will always live together. Who would take care of my needs if you weren't there? Who would take care of your needs if I wasn't there? It isn't like you can go to a bordello. You would be hell to live with if you were sexually frustrated."

"You… You…. You…"

"Bastard?"

"Yes, bastard. Take me back to the hotel. I am no longer excited about my new house."

"No, we will drive around and look at homes and decide on a style. You can have any style that is already in Atlanta. I also don't care what you do with the inside."

Scarlett stomped off to the buggy.

Rhett did drive them around Atlanta and point out different designs of homes. Despite her anger at her husband, she did enjoy looking at the different styles of homes. When he pointed to a house in the Georgian style. She just looked at him like he was crazy and said, "No."

There was one style that Rhett was not pointing out. Finally, she said, "What style is that house?"

"It is a Queen Anne style."

"I like that one."

"In San Francisco they are called Painted Ladies."

"Perfect."

"No."

"You said I could have any style that was already in Atlanta. I have seen that style at least three times."

"Yes, I did. Alright. You can have that style."

On the ride back to the hotel, Scarlett was feeling pleased with herself which is why Rhett had said no at first. He wanted her to feel like she won their little battle. No, the Queen Anne would not be his first choice or second choice or even his third choice, but he knew it would make Scarlett happy. She really did have garish taste. He was happy that she did for that made her different than the rest of proper society. He would tone down her choices for the most part and live with the rest. He was already so incredibly happy she had married him. She was so much fun. Every day he loved her more and more. Every day he believed she hated him less and less.

Careen did arrive in Atlanta the next Tuesday. Scarlett gave Careen the check. There was a train leaving for Charleston that night and Careen was on it. Their Aunt Eulalie was going to meet her at the train station in Charleston. Careen would stay with her until she was admitted into the order.

Rhett had escorted the ladies to the train station. The sisters had hugged and promised to write. After the train pulled out of the station Scarlett said, "I am losing another one of my loved ones. When she enters the order, she will become Sister Mary Joseph or something like that. She will no longer be Careen."

Rhett led her to their buggy, and he said, "Remember this is what she wants."

"I can't understand how anyone would want to be a nun."

"Is it the vow of chastity that has you befuddled?"

"Rhett!"

Rhett smiled unrepentantly as he was helping her in the buggy. As always a mad Scarlett was easier for him to deal with than a morose one."

That night as they laid in the bed, Rhett let Scarlett lay there gloomily without asking any questions. He didn't need to ask any questions. He knew what was troubling her. She had lost another loved one. He just held her. He didn't make any false promises.

Scarlett spent the next day with her children. She had a smile on her face, but it was a forced smile. She read Wade stories and worked with him on his sounds and reading simple stories. The boy was definitely smart. Scarlett just played with Ella, but Scarlett already knew the girl was definitely smart also. Looking at Ella was like looking in a mirror except for the hair.

Scarlett started spending the mornings with her children. The afternoons she spent with managing the store two days a week. She was making sure that Hugh was doing a decent job and making a profit.

She went calling with Melly one or two days a week. She went mainly to visit with Melly but also to keep her foot in the door of polite society in Atlanta. The ladies received her because she was with Melly. Occasionally Scarlett would say, "I shouldn't have married Rhett. I should have known better but he turned my head with his good looks and charming ways. He makes me attend all those awful parties with him."

She knew the ladies were thinking she got just what she deserved but she had to do what she could to make sure she stayed received even if some of her actions appeared very questionable. She was alright with them thinking that she had been cheating on Frank with Rhett. That made sense after Rhett's behavior after Frank's death. She knew that everyone thought she had married Rhett for his money which she was alright with. It was all very scandalous, but it was all on her and Rhett. Nobody could ever suspect that Wade and Ella were Rhett's biological children. That would be something that would ruin them forever.

For the next three months Scarlett was fairly happy. Rhett kept her on a terribly busy social schedule. They went to social events held by the Scallawag and Republicans. Scarlett enjoyed these events because everyone was happy, lighthearted and carefree. Nobody talked about the war. Nobody talked about the way it was before the war. Scarlett thought Rhett enjoyed the parties also because it gave him an opportunity to aggravate and annoy his fellow Scallawags.

At one of the parties Rhett did something that pleased Scarlett very much. She had been looking for Rhett because she was ready to leave. She found him in one of the smaller rooms. The door had been ajar, and she heard his voice. Right before she was going to push the door open, she heard a man say, "Butler did your wife wear every piece of jewelry she owns tonight."

"Don't be ridiculous, Bernard. What my wife has on tonight isn't even a tenth of what she owns. Besides, I think her jewelry is appropriate for the occasion."

Scarlett backed away from the door. She would wait for Rhett to come out of the room. She was smiling on her way back to the main room. She was smiling because Rhett had defended her after having told her earlier that night that she had too much jewelry on.

Scarlett had been very romantic that night. They had relations often and Scarlett always had an incredibly good time when they did. Yet sometimes it was especially pleasurable.

She was building her house and was very much involved in that. Every day she talked to Rhett about the interior design, and he would make mocking comments, but he kept paying the bills, so she didn't care.

She had heard from Melly that Ashley was still working at the sawmill, so she guessed he was a good enough businessman. She didn't care. Ashley was not her problem anymore.

At the end of May, Scarlett had started having morning sickness. Her first thought was I am glad Rhett wants to wait two years after this one before we try again. Her next thought was, 'I am proud of being Irish, but I wish they weren't so fertile. Of course, Mother got pregnant year after year at the beginning of her marriage. I wonder what mother did to prevent getting pregnant for I know that she and Pa continued to sleep together. Maybe that was all they did sleep.' She paused in her thinking for a minute then she thought, 'No, Rhett would never go for that.' As she laid there she continued thinking and she thought, 'I know it isn't very ladylike, but I wouldn't want to just sleep together either.'

After the first week of morning sickness, Mammy arranged with the hotel staff to bring up a pot of tea and some crackers around nine o'clock. Rhett had usually left their suite by then. Scarlett told Mammy, "You are so good to me. You always think of the exact thing I need."

Mammy had smiled and said, "I tries."

At the end of July, Scarlett had gone to see Dr. Harrison for Mamie Bart had told her that the doctor used chloroform to lessen the pain of labor. When she got back from the doctor's office she sat in her room and thought about what else Mamie had told her. About how to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. If she had known there was a way to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy, she certainly wouldn't have had Wade or Ella. Although she loved them both so very much. She wondered if it was safe to her. She had heard tales of girls who had drunk some tonic and it had rid them of the child, but it had also killed them. No, she wouldn't do anything like that.

She gave a small smile. She wondered if Rhett would stop having relations with her now that she was pregnant. She hoped not although it would be a lot more difficult when she got really big. As she thought about it, she knew he wouldn't. She knew it didn't matter if she got as fat as the Cuban women Rhett would never divorce her. He would never let her go. She was the mother of his children.

She was morose the rest of the day. She had been having so much fun since she and Rhett married and now, she would have to stop having fun.