Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rhett went out at night, but he was always home fairly early. He enjoyed spending time with Scarlett, but he still enjoyed playing poker and drinking whiskey. He still was making deals in the shadows which he guessed he would have to stop because he was a family man now. He would stop when they moved away from Atlanta. There was nothing he could do to redeem his reputation here in the South so he might as well take advantage of not having a reputation while they were living here.

Belle saw Rhett walk into The Painted Lady. He had a jauntiness to his walk that let Belle know he was happy. It wasn't just the perpetual smile on his face but by the fact he seemed to always be laughing. She was glad. Rhett deserved some happiness. She had known Rhett for a long time. Over fifteen years. She had met him when he had arrived in New Orleans. She smiled when she remembered that he had told everyone that he had made a lot of money on the gold mines outside San Francisco. He had later told her that although he had done some mining, he soon found that making money off of drunk miners was a lot easier. He had laughed and said, "Those miners were so green the most drinks I ever had to buy was three. They would bet too much on rotten hands. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. My only problem was not buying them too many drinks. Sometimes they would pass out on me before I got all their money."

"When they passed out did you help them to the door?"

"Of course, I'm a very helpful man."

"Did you help yourself to their gold stash while you were helping them to the door?"

"Belle what kind of man do you think I am?"

"I know what kind of man you are that is why I asked the question."

"If I didn't someone else would have. I did buy them the drinks, so I felt the gold dust was mine."

Belle looked at Rhett and laughed. Rhett laughed with her. Belle remembered there was a hardness and coldness to Rhett even then. The entire time she had known him there had always been something dangerous about him but not now. Rhett wouldn't like it but there was a softness to him now. She guessed he was finally happy.

Belle and Rhett had always been just friends. They had never fooled around in the sheets. Belle knew that she had already been too old for Rhett when they met. She was only a year older than him, but the years had not been as kind to her as they had to him. She had always known that when he fell in love it would be with a lady although Belle knew that Mrs. Butler had not always behaved as a lady should. Rhett had liked even that.

Rhett before falling for Mrs. Hamilton had always been great fun. He had always told exciting stories and some of the funniest jokes. During the second year of the war while Mrs. Hamilton had been in Atlanta, Rhett had gone on and on about the woman. Belle had been glad that he was only in Atlanta for three weeks at a time and then he would be gone for three or four months. In the summer of sixty-three Rhett was bemoaning the fact that all he was to Mrs. Hamilton was a business acquaintance. The way Rhett said 'business acquaintance' had been filled with scorn and mockery. Belle had taken it upon herself to try to break-up the relationship. She had felt Rhett would be much happier if he had no hope of winning Mrs. Hamilton's heart. She had given Mrs. Wilkes and Mrs. Hamilton money wrapped up in one of Rhett's handkerchiefs to let the ladies know he was a man that would use whores, but to no avail. She had hoped that Mrs. Hamilton would terminate their relationship, but she hadn't. As far as Belle could tell there hadn't even been a hiccup even Mrs. Wilkes had not censure Rhett.

She didn't know what Rhett had done but in the summer of sixty-four Mrs. Hamilton had finally shown him the door and told him to never return. Rhett had slept with her a lot in July and August. She knew he just needed the comfort of not being alone. So had she. Rhett had gone off and done that dang fool thing. He had joined the Confederate army. She was glad he had survived in one piece.

Rhett's mooning over Mrs. Kennedy had started when he had come back in the spring of sixty-six. Although Rhett would talk proudly about what she was doing with her sawmills. Belle had not believed that Rhett had called on Mrs. Kennedy with her husband sitting next to her. One day Belle had said, "Does Mr. Kennedy mind you calling on his wife?"

With a secret smile Rhett had said, "No, Mr. Kennedy is always excited to see me."

That statement made Belle wonder if the rumor she had heard about Mr. Kennedy was true. That he was more interested in men than women. Belle said, "Really?"

"Sometimes I think he enjoys my visits more than Mrs. Kennedy."

That was strange to Belle also. As much as Rhett desired Mrs. Kennedy he never referred to her as Scarlett. One day in June of sixty-six, Rhett had happily walked into the bar. Rhett said, "Congratulate me Belle. I am going to be married."

In a stunned voice Belle said, "To who?"

"Scarlett Kennedy"

"Did Mr. Kennedy die?"

"Not yet but he can't be too far from the grave."

"Rhett, you aren't going to help him into the grave, are you?"

"Belle! You act like I would kill a man just for looking at a woman wrong. Bye."

Belle had watched him walk away and join a poker game. A week later Rhett had her spread the rumor about him driving Mrs. Kennedy through Shanty Town every day. The rumor flew around town fast and furious. Anything regarding Rhett Butler was always a piece of gossip everyone wanted to hear.

The fact that the rumor involved Scarlett Kennedy, who everyone was jealous of, made that rumor fly faster. The men were jealous because she was making more money than them and the women were just jealous of Mrs. Kennedy because she was more attractive than them.

After Mrs. Kennedy had her baby and she went back to work, Rhett once again started driving her through Shanty Town. Once again Rhett wanted everyone to know. Once again, the rumor spread like wildfire.

Belle remembered the one time that Frank Kennedy was in the saloon with several other men. One of the men made a comment about Captain Butler and Mrs. Kennedy. Frank said, "My wife has a business relationship with Captain Butler. If the man is kind enough to safeguard my wife's safety while I am too busy at the store, I owe him a debt of gratitude. I would not want anything to happen to my wife. I know my wife is in safer hands with Captain Butler than with her last bodyguard, that murderer Archie. What we should do is clean that place out then my wife would not need an escort to remain safe.

Belle had admired Mr. Kennedy for his loyalty. Maybe there was something about Scarlett O'Hara that inspired loyalty for Belle knew that Rhett had not used any of the whores since he had married Scarlett. No that wasn't right. He hadn't used any of the whores since Mr. Kennedy's death. That had surprised her the most for she knew that Rhett liked variety. Maybe not anymore.

Belle smiled. As she watched Rhett dealing the cards it reminded her of Rhett's actions last week. There had been a young man playing poker and even Belle could tell from across the room that the young man was not particularly good at controlling his features. At the end of one of the hands, Rhett had said, "Why don't you just go ahead and give me your money? You are a lousy poker player for you cannot control your features. I can look at your face and I know if you have a good hand or a bad hand. Go home and practice schooling your expressions."

The young man had turned beet red, and everyone laughed. He had gathered up his money and left the saloon. Belle had thought, 'Maybe not the kindest way to teach the boy a lesson but certainly the most effective. Rhett has definitely lost his killer instinct.'

Yes, Rhett had laughed with everyone else, but Belle knew he had done the boy a kindness that the boy would never appreciate. Belle knew Rhett was no longer that cold, hard, amoral man she had met all those years ago in New Orleans. She also knew he would never admit it to her.

Belle looked over at her bartender Moses. He was a nice-looking man with a fine body. Yes, Belle knew just how fine that body was. He was ten years younger than her, but they seemed to be compatible. Maybe they could have a future together but for now it was enough just to have someone in her bed. Someone who wanted to do more than sleep.

In October when the house was ready to move into Scarlett took Rhett on a tour. When they walked in there was a very impressive staircase leading out of the foyer. He said, "You will have to rip that out and have a more staggered staircase installed."

"Rhett! It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is very impressive but one of my children could slip and fall down that staircase. That is an exceptionally long way to fall. There are so many things that can befall our children in this world that we have to be diligent in regard to the things we can prevent. Rip it out!"

"Alright!"

"This wallpaper is too dark."

"No, I'm not ripping it out."

"Then the drapes will have to be shearer to let in the light."

"I love the drapes."

"You will have to choose one or the other."

"Rhett, I thought you said I could decorate it any way I wanted."

"After looking at the results, I am going to have to renege on that statement. I see I should have taken a much more active role in the decorating."

"I told you everything I was doing every night."

"I know, but in my mind, I didn't see it as this ugly."

Scarlett frowned at him, and said, "It's not ugly. I saw this décor in Harper's Bazaar."

Rhett ignored her statement and said, "There are too many mirrors. Remove at least half of them."

"I have already spent so much money."

"Yes, you have but that can't be help now. You will need to remove this green wallpaper. I read that green wallpaper is made with arsenic."

"Why is that bad?"

Rhett smiled his amused smile and kindly said, "Because air filled with arsenic can kill us."

"Oh!"

"Yes, if you are going to kill me, you are going to have to do it the way every other wife does. Poison my food. Come along. Let's look at the rest of the house."

Scarlett scowled at Rhett. She didn't like him joking about her killing him. As tempted as she was, she would never do that. She knew she wasn't smart enough to get away with it. As Scarlett walked behind Rhett, she said, "If we have them rip out the staircase it will delay us moving in and I have to go into my confinement in a month."

"No, we can go up and down the servants' staircase. You did have a staircase installed for the servants, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…."

"Good. Problem solved. Come along we shall look at the rest of the house."

As they were walking up the staircase Rhett put his arm around Scarlett's waist. It did make her feel safer. She had to agree with Rhett the staircase was awfully steep. Someone could get seriously hurt if they fell down it.

Rhett was acceptable of the rest of the house although he thought it was all a little gaudy. When they got to what would be the master bedroom, Rhett burst out laughing. He said, "Scarlett this is going to be my room also. Why would you think I would want my room to be pink and glitzy?"

"No! I am not changing anything. I am putting my foot down."

"Alright. I will let you keep this decor for a while until I can't stand it anymore."

"Thank you."

"Come give me a kiss on my …."

She hissed, "No! Not here."

"My lips. My lady what did you think I was going to say. Maybe later tonight I will kiss you on your lips"

"Rhett, hush."

"But you like it so much."

Scarlett's face was as red as her name. She hissed out, "Just shut up before somebody hears you."

"Surely nobody can hear us outside our bedroom because if they can you will need to do something about that. You know that you get….."

"Rhett Butler if you finish that sentence, you will not see the inside of this room again for a very long time."

"All right, my lady, I will stop speaking about our …"

"Rhett!"

Scarlett walked out of the room. Rhett was smiling and feeling incredibly pleased with himself. He wasn't worried about her banning him from this room. She enjoyed their activities far too much for that to ever happen. He was glad that he had given her great pleasure before anyone else ruined relations for her. Although he was also ashamed and regretful of having taken advantage of her.