Author's Notes: This story idea came from L. Rowanberry. These were my prompts.
1. Rhett can't talk. 2. Rhett is coming back from a business trip. 3. It occurs at the beginning of their marriage.
This story is going to be set right after Bonnie's birth but Rhett is going to be on a business trip when Scarlett's confinement ends. Rhett will have been gone for two weeks in total. This story will have a supernatural aspect to it.
Scarlett is not sick nor is she crazy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Scarlett woke up screaming. When she reached for Rhett, she discovered he wasn't there. No, he was gone. Gone to Chicago. He was traveling for business. He would not be back for two weeks. Well actually it was twelve days now. He would crow so if he knew she always counted the days down when he was gone. She missed him so much while he was gone but she could never tell him. That would give him too much power if he ever knew how much she needed him. She needed him to keep the nightmares away. She needed him to hold her and tell her stories. When they were lying in the bed before they went to sleep, he was always so loving and kind. He told her funny stories about his life and the people they knew. He was never rude or mocking. It was her favorite time of the day. She would never ever tell him but she missed their relations too. He always made her feel so cherished and wanted. She never felt humiliated like she had with Charlie and Frank. She missed talking to him about her businesses even if he had begun to get rather rude and mocking whenever she mentioned Ashley's mill.
She was surprised he had gone on his business trip without taking Bonnie with him. Scarlett knew the baby was only five weeks old but the man had hardly put her down since she had been born. She smiled when she thought about what she had overheard him say last week. He had said, "Bonnie is so beautiful because she looks just like her mother." That thrilled her to no end that Rhett thought she was beautiful. She smiled to herself as she thought about Rhett thinking she was beautiful then it made her sad. She wished he thought of her as more than a body. With that thought she would get herself a brandy.
Scarlett was happy her confinement was over. She was not happy she was an inch bigger. She had to let the seams out in this dress. Prissy had taken the dress away from her because she had been savagely attacking the seams. She just wouldn't have any more children. But how? She was not asking Rhett to sleep elsewhere. No, these ten nights had been bad enough. She had a nightmare every night since he had been gone. The only thing keeping her sane was the knowledge his comforting presence would soon be back in her bed. She would think about it later.
Now that she could get out, she would not be missing Rhett so much. She was just missing him that much because he was the only person she could talk to besides the servants and Melly. She was mad at Melly. Melly had paid more attention to Bonnie than her just like Rhett had been doing lately. She didn't know what she was feeling but she didn't like feeling it. It wasn't right that Bonnie was getting more attention from Rhett and Melly than her. She should always be the center of attention. That thought made her feel like she was being selfish and immature. A little voice in her head said, 'You are jealous of Bonnie.' No. She could not be jealous of Bonnie. She was a six-week old baby. What kind of mother is jealous of her own daughter?
She would think about it tomorrow. She was out of the house. It was a beautiful spring day. She was going to check on her businesses. She was going to see Ashley. She wasn't going to think about what she was feeling.
She went to the store and spent about an hour there going over the books and the inventory. Mr. Elsing had done well. Mr. Elsing was not the smartest person but he was honest. She couldn't say that about Johnny. After she had looked at his books, she was somewhat happier. His mill had made a profit but how much had Johnny stolen from her. Now she was on her way to Ashley's mills. She was going to see Ashley after almost six months but why was she sad. She shouldn't be sad she was going to see Ashley. The little voice in her head said, 'Because you know he will not have done well without your constant pushing him.' She agreed with the little voice but she didn't want to think about what a bad business man Ashley was. That made her feel disloyal to him. The little voice said, 'It's true nonetheless.' She sighed because whether she liked it or not, it was true. Ashley was a lousy business man.
As she arrived at Ashley's mill there was production which made her happy. As Ashley came out of the office her heart wasn't fluttering. Why was that? It was her Ashley. He helped her down from the carriage but she didn't feel anything when he touched her. That was strange. As he helped her down, he said, "You look beautiful today, Scarlett. You look as beautiful as you did that day of our barbeque."
That made her feel so much better. She had been feeling fat but if Ashley thought she looked the same as she did before she had three children then she must not look fat. She smiled and showed him a dimple. She said, "Thank you."
They chit-chatted as they walked into the office. Again, Ashley told her how beautiful she was. She thanked him again. She saw the books and wanted to scream. Ashley had barely broken even in the last six months. That was why he had been so complimentary. Did he think she was so shallow that a bunch of empty compliments would sway her? That damn voice said, 'Yes.'
She had said, "Ashley you need to work the convicts harder. Johnny says that if one of them tells you he is sick you give him the day off. A lick of the whip will cure just about anything but a broken leg." The look that had passed over his face had been that of a person appalled by her statement. She didn't like him looking at her that way.
Ashley said, "The convicts are men and I can't treat men that way. Some of them are sick and hurt. I can't treat the convicts the way Johnny Gallagher can." Then he started prattling on about her being coarse, hard and brutal but it was Rhett's fault. He knew she was the same sweet girl from the barbeque.
She would like to be that girl but she knew she wasn't that girl. She couldn't be that girl from the barbeque she had people to support. She lived in the real world not the dream world Ashley lived in.
She said, "How would you have gotten the slaves to work if you didn't whip them?"
Ashley said, "I would have freed them if the war hadn't come."
For the first time ever she thought, 'He's so impractical. If he had freed the slaves there would have been no way to work the land. He is a useless dreamer.' Then he had prattled on about being ashamed of the fact that Rhett had saved his life. He then said something about when he thinks about Rhett touching her…. Ashley had leaned forward and for a minute she had thought he was going to kiss her.
The little voice in her head shouted, 'NO!' She jumped up off the stool and said, "I have to go. You need to do better or we will have to sell this mill." She had not realized she was going to say that until the words were out of her mouth but she decided that was right. It wasn't worth the time and effort she was putting into the mills to just break even. The little voice said, 'This mill will always be a dog with Ashley at its helm.'
Ashley had looked shocked. He said, "You would sell your mills?"
"Just this one. It is not worth my time and trouble if we aren't making a large profit."
"Scarlett what would I do if you sold the mill?"
She smiled sadly and said, "I don't know. Think about it. Bye."
She walked out of the office. She had to think. She really had to think. Not tomorrow but today. She had avoided Ashley kissing her. Why? The little voice said, 'Because you didn't want to be physically unfaithful to Rhett.' But she knew it was more. She got in the carriage and wish there was someone she could talk to. She decided to stop by and see Mamie Bart. She wanted to talk to Mamie about pregnancy prevention methods. If Mamie had run a brothel like Rhett said she did then she would know of some methods that worked. Mamie had known about getting rid of an unwanted pregnancy. Scarlett would talk to her but in a roundabout way about why she had avoided Ashley's kiss.