Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Rhett and Scarlett are changing but they are doing it slowly.

I think we as people tend to think everyone in a group thinks the same way. Most of the time that is not correct. It is just the people who think differently are keeping their heads down to avoid being attacked themselves.

Chapter Six

The only time Scarlett missed Rhett not being able to speak was right before they went to sleep at night. She missed his stories. When he was telling her his stories there had been a camaraderie between them that had been missing the rest of the day. He still treated her kindly and he would often rub her back until she fell asleep. She didn't know how she knew but she knew that was the time he really missed smoking his cigar.

One night three months after Rhett lost his voice, she asked Rhett, "Why are the Scallawag wives laughing at me?" To Scarlett's embarrassment Rhett burst out laughing. When he laughed, he still made noises so it really irritated Scarlett.

Rhett reached for his note pad. He wrote - They think you are incredibly naïve and immature. They think you are a child. They think you are just spending time with them until you get bored and go back to your proper life -

Scarlett grumbled, "I am so tired of everyone thinking I am a child. I am not a child. I have three children. I am running two successful businesses."

Rhett wrote - That is true but not being a child is more than that. It is about not being selfish and self-centered. It is about thinking of others -

"I think of others. I support my aunts. I support everyone at Tara. I support Aunt PittyPat. I support Ashley and Melanie. I even support India Wilkes." The little voice said, 'That's right. You are even supporting Ashley.' Scarlett thought, 'Yes. Even Ashley Wilkes which is the worst because he was supposed to make my load lighter.' The little voice said, 'He is a pretty heavy load.'

Rhett wrote - When are you going to cut Mr. Wilkes loose? -

With reading that Scarlett lost all of her anger. She didn't want to fight with Rhett about Ashley any more. She was just going to go to bed. She said, "Good night." She turned and walked out of the room. Rhett stayed in the library. He felt she was on the brink of realizing what a dead weight Mr. Wilkes was but he was afraid to push. If he pushed, she could like a ground hog run back into her hole of denial but if he didn't push would his obtuse wife ever realize the truth of Mr. Wilkes.

When Scarlett got to their room, she called for Prissy to help her get undressed. After Prissy left and she was in her nightgown she wondered why she bothered putting it on for Rhett was just going to take it off. She smiled when she thought about him saying it was better when it was skin to skin. He was right it was. She thought about the children. She thought about what she was going to do the next day. She thought about her businesses. She finally thought about what she had been trying not to think about. She thought, 'Ashley Wilkes is a very bad businessman. No! No! No!' The hated little voice said, 'You can deny it all you want but it's the truth. He would rather be reading poetry or old books than making a success of the mill.' She wished Rhett would help her with her feelings about Ashley but he always got so hostile and angry when she tried to talk about Ashley that she wouldn't bring him up anymore. She wasn't going to think about Ashley any more tonight.

The little voice said, 'You need to give up the Scallawag wives. They are all just a bunch of whores and loose women. Your mother would be so ashamed of you.' She thought about her mother and what a lady she was. She was going to become a lady and get received into the finest homes in Atlanta even if it killed her. The little voice said, 'It is what your mother would have wanted.' She sighed. She knew it was true. Her mother would be so ashamed of everything she had done in the last four years but if she restored her reputation as a lady her mother would be so proud.

Scarlett was sitting there brushing her hair and thinking when Rhett walked into the room. Rhett took off his clothes while looking at Scarlett. He decided she wasn't thinking about Ashley which he didn't know if that was good or bad. Rhett walked over in his underwear and sat beside her on the bench and took the brush out of her hand. He started brushing her hair. Scarlett was feeling so contented with Rhett brushing her hair that she almost purred.

Rhett put the brush on the vanity table and stood up. He pulled her up and they went to the bed. Scarlett was willing and eager just as she had been since he had returned from Chicago. After Scarlett was asleep Rhett hoped she was finally seeing Ashley as he was.

In the next month Scarlett stopped attending any of the Scallawag or Yankee events. She even started almost snubbing them in the street. She would speak to them but she would never engage them in a conversation. Rhett had stopped doing business with them as well. He had made enough money on the Republican government. It was too embarrassing to him to try to communicate with the men through gestures and notes.

Scarlett had started going with Melly to several of the sewing bees. She told the ladies that she was ashamed that she had been spending time with the Yankees and even more mortified that she had the Republican governor in her home. The little voice had told her to blame it on Rhett and she did. The ladies seem to accept that as a valid reason. They were being polite which was better than them snubbing her. It would take a lot of time for her to be forgiven but they were all receiving her so she was happy for now.

At one of these sewing bees the little voice said, 'You need to tell Fanny you are sorry for your part in Tommy's death.'

She thought, 'It's not my fault he died. I didn't make anyone go out there to avenge my honor.'

The little voice said, 'No you didn't but if you ever want to be completely received again you have to acknowledge your small part in the disaster. Even if you don't mean it.'

'I am a victim here too. I lost my husband.'

'You didn't love your husband.'

'Why does everyone keep saying that to me? That is the same thing Will said about Charlie.'

'Because you are trying to put yourself on the same level as these women emotionally and you aren't. How would you feel if something happened to Rhett?'

'Nothing is going to happen to Rhett. He is too smart to go on a fool hardy raid.'

'Is he too smart to get sick and die. The man has not lived the healthiest life. He smoked, he drank, stayed out all night, used whores, probably has not eaten the healthiest diet. No, you have to accept something could happen to Rhett. If it did wouldn't you want all these women to truly be sympathetic for you.'

Like a small child Scarlett thought again, 'Nothing is going to happen to Rhett. I won't allow him to die on me. I will go talk to Fanny though.'

Scarlett sat down next to Fanny on one of the divans. Scarlett said, "I should have said this when Tommy died but I was too distraught about Frank to be thinking straight. I'm sorry for my part in his death."

Fanny said, "Thank you Scarlett. I still miss him."

"I miss Frank also."

"No, you don't. Everyone knows you married Frank for three hundred dollars to save your plantation. Times were hard and you had to do what you had to do."

Scarlett stared at Fanny. Fanny wasn't saying what Scarlett had done was right but Fanny could understand. Fanny smiled at Scarlett's shock face and said, "I didn't think that three years ago when you married Frank or even two years ago but I see things differently now. I have a gentleman caller who is very nice and has a good job. He is not very attractive but that is not important any more. I don't love him but I am fond of him. Financial security is what is important."

"Financial security is why I have always worked so hard to make my mills profitable."

"Tommy admired you."

"Really?"

Fanny whispered, "Yes, really. He saw how hard you worked to make those mills a success. He didn't condemn you for driving through Shantytown like a lot of the people did. He said, 'How else is she going to keep those mills going if she isn't making Hugh and Mr. Wilkes work hard."

"That makes me happy that Tommy admired me." Scarlett wasn't even offended on Ashley's behalf.

"Tommy would tell me after the clan meetings that pretty soon they were going to do something. They were just waiting for the right opportunity. All the men were eager to go. They thought they were going to be great heroes." Fanny said and smiled sadly.

"Just like the war. All those young men were so excited about going to war. They knew they were all going to come back home in six months as heroes."

"Exactly. Tommy always had a reckless streak in him. The fine ladies treated you pretty badly in the days after the raid. They acted like everything was your fault. I guess it was easier to blame you than blame their husbands. Their dang fool husbands."

"Thank you for saying that."

"You marrying Rhett Butler was a daring move though. I don't know if they will ever accept you back in completely. The war has been over for almost five years and I am tired of being poor. The dowagers including my mother still act like having honor is better than having full stomachs and decent clothes to wear. Not for me. Not when I have to look in my son's face night after night when I have to send him to bed on an almost empty stomach. Today if Rhett Butler asked me to marry him I would, even with his reputation. That kind of financial security is worth it. And he is pretty easy on the eyes. I take visitors on Thursday afternoons from one to three. Come see me."

With that Fanny walked off. Her conversation with Fanny had shocked Scarlett. She would never had thought Fanny would be inviting her over for a visit. Fanny had said she would do what Scarlett did if she had the chance. Fortunately, she was already married to Rhett and she didn't need to worry about any of these ladies stealing him away from her. Scarlett smiled as she thought about Fanny's comment about Rhett being easy on the eyes. She thought, 'Yes he is.'

The little voice said, "They are no longer the competition."

She thought, 'What?'

'When you were sixteen you would not be friends with any of the other girls because they were the competition. Now you are married so you can be friends with them.'

'They don't like me.'

'Maybe if you were nice to these ladies, they would be nice to you.'

'I don't think so.'

'If you stop flirting with every man around, they would like you. If you didn't have to be the center of attention, they would like you. If….'

'I get it. Hush.'

Scarlett had never told the voice to hush before and it did stop speaking but probably because it wanted to stop speaking.

Two things she knew after her conversation with Fanny Welburn. Not everyone agreed with the dowagers and a lot of people's opinions about honor and the old ways had changed.