Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Forty-One

They only spent two nights at Tara. There were too many people for that small house. Between Suellen's three children and Scarlett's four children there weren't enough beds. That was the reason Scarlett gave for their quick departure anyway. The truth was the longer she stayed at Tara the more morose she was getting. Scarlett could not complain about Suellen's stewardship of Tara. Not at all. Tara was looking really good. That was the problem. It was looking so much like it had before the war, it reminded Scarlett too strongly of her former life. The life she would never have.

Scarlett, Rhett and their children got in the wagon and drove around Tara. Scarlett pointed out spots where she had done things as a child. Where she had climbed trees, where she had gone swimming, where they had gone fishing and all the things she had done as a child.

Mammy and Scarlett had visited Ellen and Gerald's graves. As they were standing there, Mammy said, "He's not the same man he was when you got married."

"I know. I can hardly believe the transformation."

"He is a good father."

"And a good husband."

"A good provider."

"Very good."

"I am going to stay with you to make sure he keeps treating you right."

"Thank you, Mammy. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You will never know for I am not leaving you."

"And for that I am grateful."

The night before they left Scarlett gave Suellen copies of all the pictures that had been taken a few weeks before. Suellen gave Scarlett a picture of their family. It was of Pa and Mother, her sisters and her. She remembered when it was taken. Right before she had gone to the finishing school. Scarlett said, "Are you giving this to me?"

"Yes, there are a couple more for me to keep."

"Thank you."

"Do you want the painting of Grandmother Robillard?"

"Yes, you don't want it."

"No, I always feel like she is sneering at me."

Scarlett laughed. She said, "Thank you, Sue."

At breakfast, the sisters hugged and said goodbye. They both knew they would never see the other person again, but they would not speak of it.

Will took them into Jonesboro as Rhett got out of the wagon, Will said, "I'm going to miss you, Butler."

"I'm going to miss you too, Benteen."

Rhett got a porter to help with the luggage. By the time the train had arrived, and they were settled on the train, Will was halfway to Tara.

They went to New Orleans for Rhett to conclude or sell all his business holdings there. They spent about two weeks in the city. While they were there Rhett didn't look up any of his acquaintances. One day while Rhett and his family were walking around the French Quarter, he once again saw the woman that had been part business associate and part lover, but he knew he couldn't run away this time. The woman saw him, and she smiled at him. She then looked at Scarlett and she didn't speak. After the woman had walked away, Scarlett said with a smile on her face, "Old friend of yours? And I do mean old."

Rhett laughed. He said, "Yes, an old friend from another lifetime."

From New Orleans they went to Galveston. Rhett was surprised by what a metropolitan city it was. One night at the hotel, Rhett said, "If we don't like Sydney we can move here."

Scarlett laughed and said, "No, it is too close to Atlanta and Charleston.

One night after everyone else was asleep, Scarlett said, "I'm worried about Wade. He is far too sad for a boy of twelve."

"He is grieving the loss of his aunt and cousin."

"He surprised me when he was happy about moving to Sydney."

"He is my son so he may have some wanderlust in him."

"I think it is more than that. I think he had to get away from Atlanta."

"Maybe like you Atlanta will never be a place he wants to be for it will always remind him too strongly of Miss Melly and Beau."

"What should we do?"

"Let him talk when he wants to talk and leave him alone when he wants to be left alone."

"We should do something more."

"We are people of action. It is extremely hard for us to sit back and do nothing. I honestly think he just needs to work through his grief just as you do."

"Rhett, I don't want to talk about it."

"I know. Neither does he."

"Leaving Atlanta behind is helping because I don't have reminders everywhere I look. I couldn't go anywhere without something reminding me of Melly or Beau," Rhett ignored the sob in Scarlett's voice and waited for her to go on. Finally, she said, "Not even our home."

"Especially not our home."

"They laid their quietly until Rhett said, "He is our son. He will get through this, but we must let him do it at his own pace. We will keep an eye on him though."

They went to see the Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Hawaii. They strongly considered staying in Hawaii but decided not to stay. It was too close to the life they had left behind.

After two months they left Hawaii and set sail for Tokyo. They docked in Tokyo. They spent a month there and then they were on to Sydney.

While they were on the ship going from Tokyo to Sydney over supper Ella said to Scarlett, "How did you and Daddy meet?"

"We met at a barbecue the day the war started. We fell in love and ran away to get married. Then your Daddy went to do his part for the war. He would come to Atlanta every chance he got to be with me. I was staying with Melly to make it easier for him to join me. When Sherman attacked Atlanta, I went home to Tara, and he joined the Confederate army. He returned to Atlanta, and I joined him as soon as he let me know he was there."

"Were we related to Aunt Melly?"

"No, she was my best friend, so I had you call her aunt because of our closeness. We were closer than sisters."

"I miss her and Beau."

"I do too."

Rhett and Wade stared at her. Scarlett ignored their stares. That was the story she was going to tell everyone in Sydney. If Rhett was going to claim the children as his own, she was going to claim they had been married since the war began. In all truth, now that they were so far away from the South Wade was the only person who could say it was a lie. Well Wade, Rhett, and Mammy. None of those three people would ever say anything.

Rhett said, "I knew I loved your mother the first time I saw her, so I spent the rest of the afternoon pursuing her. I convinced her to marry me so quickly because of the war and I might not survive. I would always be grateful she married me."

Wade was so stunned by his mother's words that he couldn't speak. He at thirteen years old thought his mother and father were telling some really big lies. Yet he decided that if his parents wanted to pretend that they had only been married to each other, he could live with that. He loved Dad and he was happy thinking of him as his real father.

The next day Scarlett told Mammy what she was going to tell people about her marriage when they got to Australia. Mammy said, "That is a good idea. Just leave all that nasty business behind you."

Scarlett smiled and hugged Mammy.

From the moment the family had boarded the train to Charleston, they had left their past behind. There was no longer anyone to correct any misunderstanding about the children. Rhett had never referred to Wade as his stepson or Ella as his stepdaughter but with their departure from Atlanta the bond had grown even tighter. Rhett had not had to be as circumspect in his words.

Finally in March they arrived in Sydney. Their second day Rhett bought a yacht and called it The Katie which pleased his wife very much. On the third day he bought his wife a new horse and buggy. On the fourth day Scarlett knew she was pregnant again. On their fifth day they started house hunting much to Rhett's chagrin there were several houses in the Queen Anne style in Sydney. Scarlett, of course, chose that style simply because she knew it would aggravate her husband. She had long ago decided - what was good for the goose was good for the gander. On the sixth day Rhett started looking for a church. He finally settled on St. Mary's Cathedral. On the seventh day Rhett started looking for a school for Wade and Ella. While they had been traveling Rhett had been tutoring the children.

Rhett and Scarlett had built a house on a hill with a view of the ocean. They had argued over every aspect of the house. They loved to argue with each other. Rhett arguing with Scarlett had nothing to do with getting his own way. In the end Rhett always gave Scarlett what she wanted. As immature as it was, he still loved to get her upset. Rhett knew he would never be able to stop himself from aggravating her.

When they were finished it was a beautiful home. It was a show piece in Sydney. It was very modern yet had very classic lines, yet it was warm and comfortable also. They were both proud of their home. There were six rooms and a nursery. Wade had his own room, Ella and Genie shared a room and Paddy was in the nursery with their new nursemaid, Edith. Scarlett was going to make Mammy the housekeeper so she wouldn't have to work so hard.

Scarlett hung the painting of her grandmother in the family parlor. Rhett said, "You are going to have to find some other place to hang that picture. I feel like she is sneering at me also."

"Where do you suggest?"

"The privy might be a good choice."

"Rhett! Don't be ridiculous," Scarlett paused and looked at her husband with his cocky grin on his face. She continued, "You know we don't have a privy. We have indoor plumbing."

Rhett roared with laughter. When he sobered, he said, "Put it in your changing room for now until we decide on another place."

"Alright, my dear."

Rhett had found a solicitor in Sydney. He interviewed a lot of men before he settled on Andrew Mason. Mr. Mason was able to get them a few invitations to social events being held in Sydney. Sydney was definitely a young city. It had not been founded until seventeen eighty-eight. The inhabitants were people looking for excitement. Scarlett and Rhett learned very quickly not to ask about someone's family pedigree. Far too many of the good people of Sydney could trace their ancestors to the original forty-three hundred convicts that had founded Sydney.

Scarlett and Rhett were happy to let someone else keep their secrets. The couple soon found that the good people of Sydney were very much like the Scallawags they had been friends with after the war. The people of Sydney were not crooks and former madams themselves but their mother or father or grandfathers may have been.

One night while they were returning from a soiree Rhett said, "I think we are going to be quite happy here. We are just like the rest of the population. My grandfather was a pirate, and your father was a peasant."

"Me too."

Scarlett and Rhett were more proper than most of the other people which always amused the couple very much.

The couple was well liked, and they liked most of the people they had met at their social events.

As soon as they were moved into the house and they had a stable, the children started badgering Rhett about when he was going to buy them a new pony.

Rhett had taken Wade with him to buy the horses. He had tutored Wade on how to buy a horse. Wade was ecstatic when he found out he was going to be given a horse instead of a pony. When Wade and Rhett had gotten home with the two ponies and two horses, Ella had said, "Why did I not get a horse also?"

Before Rhett could say anything, Genie had said, "Face it, Ella, you are just too small to ride a horse. Maybe when you get bigger."

Which had made Ella mad even if she had said something similar to Genie two years ago. It made Wade laugh which made Ella even madder. Rhett had sighed once again. Parenting his children was no easy task. Into this melee, Scarlett had walked holding Paddy in her arms.

Paddy had instantly started crying. Scarlett said to the child, "What? What do you want?"

Paddy started patting his chest and saying, "Me, me, me."

Scarlett had smiled and said, "For your birthday. You must be three to ride a horse by yourself. You can continue riding with Daddy for now."

"No! No! No!"

"If you can't behave, we can go back in the house."

To this Paddy laid his head on his mother's chest.

Rhett finally answered Ella's question. He said, "Your mother and I decided that when you turn thirteen, we will buy you a horse."

Ella had not answered him. She had just scowled at him. The scowl did not bother Rhett. He had seen that scowl many times from five of the five people out on the lawn with him that day. Rhett said to Ella, "If you don't want your pony, I can always take it back."

"No, Daddy. I want it."

"Then come along. I will introduce you and we can go for a short ride. They already have names. The entire group walked to the stables. Rhett got a couple of the groomsmen to saddle the ponies and his horse while Rhett showed Wade how to saddle his horse.

Within thirty minutes the entire group was riding off for a short ride. Paddy had happily gone up into his Daddy's arms. Scarlett watched them ride off. As she walked into the house, Scarlett looked at the back lawn. She hoped it wasn't big enough to set-up a jump especially after she had a gazebo build dead center in the yard. She still had not forgotten that was how her father had died.