Chapter 4 – Bad Romance Part 2

By the time Scarlett and Ella reached the bottom of the stairs, Rhett was throwing open the door with gun in hand and motioning Johnny inside ahead of him.

"Johnny!" Ella cried as she moved to run to his side.

Scarlett's hand on her arm stopped her which only served to anger her. With Johnny in her sights her pleas were dropped and defiance returned.

"Let go of me!" she demanded as she was steered towards the parlor.

"Don't worry El, we'll get this settled it will all be over soon," Johnny answered; his usual lopsided grin on his face.

"You're right, Mr. Reid; this will be over soon but not with the ending you have in mind."

"Her name is Ella, not El," Scarlett spat angrily; the nickname only increasing her agitation.

"I'll call her what I want," Johnny replied.

"In my home you will do what we say," Rhett answered; the light of the lamp flashing across the barrel of his gun.

"I'm not afraid of you old man," the boy answered; arrogance written in his features.

Rhett grinned menacingly, "I may be old according to you, Mr. Reid; but I assure you; you will be afraid when the time comes. The way I see it, I'm well within my right to shoot you, you've trespassed on my property after you were expressly told never to come here again and to make matters worse you tried to kidnap my daughter."

"He didn't try to kidnap me! Ella exclaimed. "I was going with him willingly."

"And besides she's not your daughter," Johnny threw in with a laugh.

"You are mistaken, Mr. Reid; you see when I married Scarlett everything of mine became partly hers and everything of hers became mine and that includes Ella. I have raised her, kept a roof over her head, fed and clothed her and treated with the same regard as the children who bear my name so you see she is my daughter, in my opinion and in the eyes of the law and as such I can tell you with certainty that she will not being seeing you again after tonight."

"We're getting married!" Ella cried.

"The hell you are!" Scarlett exclaimed her temper getting the best of her. "You're not marrying anybody at sixteen least of all him!"

"You can't stop us, Mrs. Butler. You can't keep her locked in this house forever. Ella will be my wife whether you like it or not!" Johnny stated smugly.

"He's right; I'll get away from here. I'm marrying Johnny! I don't need your permission!"

Rhett laughed bitterly and Scarlett's eyes flashed with fury.

"You hear that, Scarlett; they think they're getting married whether we like it or not. What do you think of that, my dear?"

"I think you should shoot him," she answered her tone deadly serious.

"I think you're right, Scarlett," Rhett replied; aiming the gun at Johnny.

"I'm afraid I can't allow Ella to be your wife Mr. Reid," he stated pulling back the hammer; "But my 'old age' has made me somewhat amiable and I will allow her to be a mourner at your funeral before she leaves for the convent."

Johnny's eyes widened and fear flashed across his face.

"Afraid now, Mr. Reid?" Rhett asked.

The boy said nothing only stared at the weapon pointed in his direction.

"You can't shoot him I love him!" Ella screamed.

"I'm glad you brought up the topic of love, Ella" Rhett responded; "Because I don't believe love is playing a role in this match on his part."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I've never heard you say that he told you that he loves you, Ella," Scarlett remarked.

"I don't have to tell you what he says to me!"

"No, I guess you don't but the question is has he said that he loves you."

"He asked me to marry him," she argued.

"But has he said that he loves you?" Scarlett asked; her voice rising.

Ella clamped her lips shut and refused to answer.

"That's what I thought."

"Do you love her, Mr. Reid?" Rhett asked as he silently applauded Scarlett for forcing the subject with Ella.

"I don't have to tell you anything," he answered.

Rhett waved the gun in his direction once more, "Do you love her?"

"I don't have to say those kinds of things," Johnny retorted.

"Why is that?" Rhett asked.

"Because I'm a man and men don't have to use those sappy sentiments. I asked her to marry me and that's all I need to say."

"And why do you want to marry our daughter?" Scarlett asked. "She's much too good for you."

Johnny glared at Scarlett. "I don't have to explain myself to you, and when Ella and I are married, don't plan on her coming around to see you because I won't allow it, we'll see how you like it."

"Shoot him, Rhett," she demanded; her voice low and oddly even.

"There will be plenty of time for shooting later, Scarlett; but for now I believe Ella needs to learn the truth about Mr. Reid's intentions."

"I know the truth!" she exclaimed. "We love each other."

"He doesn't love you, Ella" Rhett stated harshly. "He only wants to marry you for what he thinks he can get out of you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Johnny replied nonchalantly.

"I think you know very well about what I'm speaking of. I've heard all about your interest in my daughter's bank account."

Johnny shook his head feigning innocence, "What bank account?"

Rhett laughed harshly, "Come now, Johnny; don't act stupid. It's common knowledge that Ella is a wealthy young woman and that marriage to her would be a windfall for some lucky man or at least that's what some people would think."

Johnny remained silent but his expression gave away his interest in the topic.

"I'll have you know that Ella's wealth is not up for grabs, in fact it is in trust until the age of twenty-one, regardless of her marital status and when it is released, it is hers and hers alone with strict instructions that it is to be kept separate from her husband's assets and that he may not make any withdrawals from the account. That money is for her, Mr. Reid; not for you and your poker games or your bets or your shady dealings. You see my wife and I made these provisions to protect our daughter from the likes of people like you who were bound to come along and take advantage of her kind heart and naïveté. I won't have her married to a scoundrel who takes her money and leaves her and any resulting children destitute."

A flicker of guilt flashed in the boy's eyes but it quickly vanished. "I don't want her for her money," he stated although his tone was far from convincing.

Rhett laughed, "Oh I am aware that there is more than one reason for this marriage. Ella is a beautiful girl and I'm sure that you know the only way to get both things you want from her is with a wedding band. I've already taken money out of the equation, Mr. Reid; so that leaves only one thing and I'm afraid you'll have to find yourself a whore to take care of that problem for you."

Ella gasped in shock her face flushing.

"Rhett!" Scarlett admonished shooting a glance at Ella.

He shrugged, "She chose to learn the hard way, Scarlett; so she might as well hear it all," he told her before trailing off for a moment. "Unless of course the reason for this elopement is that they've already taken care of that problem and were going to be grandparents, and if that's the case then there definitely will be a shooting here tonight!" he thundered.

"Gods nightgown!" Scarlett cried as she tightened her grip on Ella's arm and spun the girl in front of her so that they were eye to eye.

"Ella Lorena Kennedy, you better tell me the truth right now or I swear to god I'll take that gun and shoot him myself," she told her.

Tears streamed down Ella's face her cheeks stained red with embarrassment. "No!" she cried. "I never did that! I swear I didn't!"

"But he wanted you to didn't he?" Rhett yelled.

She lowered her head and didn't answer. Scarlett and Rhett swung their gaze to Johnny.

"I never touched her I swear!" he answered.

"This relationship ends tonight, right now," Rhett said his tone dark and serious.

"You can't do that," Ella protested.

"I just did Ella; I'm tired of playing this game with you. Your Mother and I had hoped that you would come to your senses and end this on your own but you haven't so I'm doing it for you."

"No you can't do this, Mother; tell him he can't chose who I fall in love with!"

Scarlett sighed, "Oh Ella haven't you been listening to a word that's been said here? You don't have any idea what you are talking about or what you're setting yourself up for by getting involved with the likes of him."

"You don't know that things would be bad for us. You don't know how I feel! You're just being a hypocrite! You were married at sixteen!" she raged.

Scarlett's eyes flashed with fury, "You're right, Ella; I was married at sixteen and do you know why? She asked her tone laced with anger and annoyance.

Ella didn't answer as she stared her mother down.

"I'll tell you why, Ella; I was married at sixteen because I was being as stupid and foolish as you're being right now. I wasn't prepared to be a wife anymore than you are. My mother asked me to wait but I wouldn't and she didn't go out of her way to stop me. I ended up widowed, with a baby to raise on my own. Is that how you want to end up?"

Ella glared at her, "I'm not you, Mother."

Scarlett shook her head, "No, you're not me and I want to keep it that way. I won't have you making my mistakes. You and Johnny are over with, so say your goodbyes, Ella."

"You can't keep me from seeing him."

"It's going to be hard for you to see him when you're in a different state, my dear," Rhett told her.

"I'm not going anywhere! Mother won't let you send me away," Ella replied shooting a glance at Scarlett. "Will you Mother?"

"It may be for the best, Ella."

"I can't believe this," she sobbed. "Johnny do something."

He shrugged, "What do you want me to do?"

"You can't let them send me away."

"How am I supposed to stop them?" he asked throwing his hands up in the air.

"Think of something!" she demanded. "You said you were going to marry me."

"I can't marry you if you're gone, Ella," he spat angrily as he was growing tired of the situation.

Rhett chuckled, "That's true, Mr. Reid; I'm glad to see one of you is wising up. Ella will most definitely be residing elsewhere within the next few days."

"Help me, Johnny," she pleaded not exactly sure what he could do but wanting him to fight for her all the same.

"Look, Ella; there isn't anything I can do. Marrying you isn't worth the hassle so just forget it."

Scarlett flinched slightly, seeing the hurt in Ella's eyes.

"Then go!" she screamed. "Get out and don't come back if I'm such a bother to you! I won't forgive you for this! I won't forgive any of you!"

"You may go now, Mr. Reid; and please remember that my gun is always loaded should you think of contacting my daughter again."

"Don't worry I won't," Johnny stated bitterly as he shuffled toward the door.

"Don't forget to take your ladder with you," Scarlett called wryly.

The door slammed and Ella turned her blazing green eyes on Rhett. "You had no right to do that."

"I have every right," he responded

"No you don't, you're not my father! I hate you!"

He nodded his face devoid of emotion. "Hate me all you want, Ella; but at least you won't be tied to a man bound to leave you. You may go upstairs now but you'll be staying with your Mother tonight so don't bother going to your room and slamming the door as you usually do. I don't trust you not to run."

"You're the only one good at running away around here," she spat.

"Ella!" Scarlett yelled as she clenched her hands in ager willing herself not to strike her child.

"It's the truth," she replied. "That's all I remember him doing when I was little."

"You stop this right now," Scarlett demanded. "I won't allow you to disrespect him like that, now apologize."

"I don't require apologies, Scarlett; she's only trying to hurt me with the truth and apparently she's been holding that one back for a long time. The only problem is the truth lost its power to wound me long ago so I'm afraid her efforts were in vain. Like I told you, Ella; you are free to hate me but I will always love you."

"No you don't."

Rhett sighed deeply, "I'm not arguing with you anymore tonight, go upstairs and go to bed you have several busy days ahead of you."

She stormed from the room and raced up the stairs at a record pace. Scarlett turned to study Rhett's face. Despite his words earlier that afternoon telling her that Ella would behave in such a way and that she wouldn't mean the cruel words she spoke she could tell that he was hurt.

"I'm sorry, Rhett," she said softly; suddenly feeling like crying herself.

He moved to her side and pulled her into his arms. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Scarlett; she's young and hurt and lashing out," he replied and then smiled slightly. "She also has the fault of acting like her mother on occasion."

She sighed, "You told me years ago that she'd be trouble one day."

"And as usual I was correct," he remarked.

"She doesn't really hate you," she whispered knowing it wasn't necessary to speak the words but felt compelled to do so anyway.

"I know, and I suppose in a way it's only fair that I be Ella's whipping post."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well you've been Wade's all these years so it's only fair that Ella gets me. I can't wait to see how the next two divide it up," he said with a short laugh.

"Don't remind me," Scarlett answered.

He chuckled lightly and kissed her softly before releasing her from his embrace.

"You better go on up now and make sure she doesn't find a way to escape."

"Are we really going to Charleston?" she asked before she turned to leave the room.

"Absolutely," he replied. "She wants to do things the hard way so now she will receive the punishment she deserves."

Scarlett nodded, "Where are you going to sleep if Ella is with me?"

"I probably won't, I have things to do."

"Goodnight, Rhett," she told him as she left the room.

"Goodnight," he replied.

As she climbed the stairs she couldn't help but think that the night had been anything but good and that the next few days would feel like a never ending nightmare.