Authors Note: Sorry for the delay. A bit of lightness in this chapter

Chapter 7 – Stronger

The silence on the train heading back to Georgia left Scarlett feeling unsettled as she shifted restlessly in her seat next to Rhett. She wrung her hands in nervous agitation as she cast a wary glance at her husband before speaking

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" she asked quietly.

The look he gave her made her regret the question. Of course she had already asked it twice before but she couldn't quell the need to ask it again.

"How many times do we have to go over this Scarlett?" he asked irritably.

"I'm sorry, Rhett," she responded; her tone showing her own irritation with his less than sympathetic behavior. "I've never had to send one of my children away before so you'll just have to bear with me."

"Stop it, Scarlett," he demanded. "I wouldn't have done this if it hadn't been right. Do you think it's easy for me, because it isn't, but one of us has to have the nerve to discipline her."

"I hate how you keep making me out to be a coward," she shot back.

"Then quit acting like one. It's really quiet unbecoming on you, Scarlett, after all you've never been that type of woman before; you keep going at this pace and you might even have to start carrying smelling salts."

Outrage was written all over her features. "How dare you, Rhett Butler! I'll never be one of those ninnies who needs smelling salts and loving my daughter doesn't make me a coward!" she exclaimed her voice rising and catching the attention of the other passengers.

"Lower your voice, my pet; or everyone on this train will know our business," Rhett told her as he chuckled softly at her expression.

She was silent for a moment as she tried to get a grip on her temper. It wasn't an easy thing to do with Rhett laughing at her but she managed before bringing up the thought that had been plaguing her mind for days.

"You still think I'm a bad mother don't you?"

The laughter died away and his expression softened as he reached for her hand and clasped it gently running his thumb across her smooth skin

"Of course not, Scarlett; if I thought your skills as a mother were still lacking I wouldn't have had two more children with you."

"That doesn't prove anything," she muttered as she tried to pull her hand away from his but he griped it tighter keeping it in his grasp.

"You're a good mother, my dear; and I honestly mean that."

She nodded, "I believe you, Rhett."

"Good now lets not discuss it anymore."

"Do you think Joy will be this much trouble when she is sixteen?"

"Probably" he answered. "She is a Butler and as you've stated in the past people with the name Butler are trouble."

"I can hardly wait," she replied sarcastically.

He laughed, "Don't worry, I have a plan for when Joy turns sixteen."

"Oh what is it?"

"We pull her out of school, hire tutors and keep her locked in the house until she's about eighteen or nineteen."

Scarlett giggled, "Why didn't think of that sooner, it could've spared us all this trouble with Ella"

"I apologize for my lack of forethought on the situation my dear. I suppose I assumed Ella would continue on being sweet and even tempered. I neglected the power of your blood surging forward in her veins."

"Well at least we'll be prepared for Joy," she remarked.

Rhett nodded, "And then there's James."

"God's nightgown," she exclaimed. "What will we do with him? I know he's going to be trouble."

"What makes you so sure?"

She smirked, "I'm sure of it because you're his father and he's entirely too much like you not to be trouble."

He thought for a moment, "That is a valid point," he conceded. "I figure we can find a bunk at a military school with his name on it if the need arises."

"You better be nice to me, Rhett," she stated casually after a moment.

He gave her a puzzled look, "Why is that, my dear?"

"The children have us outnumbered, I'm all you have," she answered with a giggle.

He grinned at her, "You're right it's us against them, it's like the war all over again. We're the south and they're the north and they want us to surrender."

"I'm not one to surrender easily," she replied.

"Me neither," he agreed.

"I think I'll keep a white flag handy just in case though," she told him with a mischievous smile on her lips.

They laughed together as the familiar scenery of Georgia came into view.

They returned home shortly before dinner that evening. Scarlett took her time changing clothes and washing her face. Being home brought back her worries and doubts that she had forgotten about during the last half of the train ride. She descended the stairs slowly, not wanting to enter the dining room and see Ella's empty chair at the table.

Coming to a stop outside the dining room she shook away her troubled thoughts before stepping inside.

"There's mama!" James exclaimed pointing to her as she entered the room

"We were beginning to think you had climbed out one of the windows and ran away," Wade remarked with a grin.

She returned his smile grateful that he had slid into Ella's chair across from her, sparing her the reminder of Ella's absence.

"No, not today although there have been many times in the past when I've been tempted," she replied.

"What stopped you?" Rhett asked as he stood and pulled out her chair for her.

"Well I suppose the main thing was that there was never anyone waiting beneath my window with a ladder."

Rhett chuckled, "If I had put a ladder up to your window at Aunt Pitty's would you have climbed down it and ran away with me?"

She took a sip of tea and shot him a coy look, "I suppose if you had caught me on the right day I might have."

"Now you tell me after I won your heart the hard way."

"You always said you liked a challenge, it wouldn't have been any fun for you at all if I had given in that easily."

"I don't know about that," he said pretending to think over the matter with great consideration. "I probably would've found the task of arranging for your escape challenge enough."

"I can just imagine what old Mrs. Meriwether and Mrs. Meade would've said about fiasco if it hadn't taken place," Wade stated as their plates were placed in front of them.

"It would've been the scandal of the decade," Rhett replied. "It's a shame we didn't think of it."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "I'm surprised you didn't think of it, Rhett; in fact it's probably the only thing you didn't come up with."

"Where did you take Ella?" Joy asked as she maneuvered the peas on her plate under a lump of mashed potatoes.

"Joy, it isn't polite to disrupt other people's conversations," Scarlett admonished.

"Sorry, Mama," Joy replied; "But I still want to know where you took Ella."

"They took her to the school for bad girls," Wade answered before Scarlett or Rhett could say anything.

Joy's green eyes widened in surprise as she focused her attention on her older brother.

"You mean there really is a school for bad girls?"

Wade's eyes gleamed with mischief as he tore a piece of bread and dipped it into the gravy on his plate.

"There sure is and Ella's there right now wishing she hadn't been bad."

"What are they going to do to her?" she half whispered fascination in her tone.

"They're going to make her do awful things like chopping wood and carrying heavy buckets of water so she can scrub the floors and wash the laundry and I bet she'll even have to clean the fireplaces. Then she'll have to do all her school work and after that they'll make her go to church and kneel on hard stones while she prays for her soul. Then at night they'll lock her in the dungeon and she'll have to sleep on the cold floor and all she'll get to eat is a stale piece of bread."

By the time Wade had finished his tale Rhett was chocking on his laughter and Joy's eyes were as round as silver dollars.

"Wow," she whispered.

Wade nodded, "It doesn't sound like fun does it?"

"No," she agreed. "That doesn't sound like fun at all."

"If I was you, I'd make sure I was on my best behavior because you could be next," he told her.

Joy lowered her head and thought over what she had heard before unburying her peas and eating them.

"Are they going to put snakes in the dungeon with her?" James asked a tinge of hope in his voice.

Wade swallowed a bit of his meal and smiled at his little brother. "If she gets sassy they might."

"Do they have a school for bad boys?" he asked.

Wade swallowed a bite of his dinner and smiled at his little brother. "Yes there's a school for bad boys," he answered.

"What do they do to you there?"

"They make you sleep on a board and wash in cold water and then they shoot at you."

"Wade Hampton you stop filling their heads with nonsense!" Scarlett exclaimed.

He laughed and so did Rhett but before either could say a word James spoke up once more

"Can I go to the school for bad boys, Daddy?"

Affection glowed in Rhett's eyes, "Maybe when you're older son."

"God's nightgown," Scarlett cried tossing her napkin onto the table.

"Mother, I've always wondered how you knew God had a nightgown," Wade stated a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Scarlett shot him an unamused look as Rhett burst into a gale of laughter.

"Wade Hamilton, if you don't behave, I'm going to send you away," Scarlett told him.

"You can't send me away for asking a serious religious question," he remarked with a grin.

"You did not ask me a serious religious question, you're just making fun of me."

"Not at all, I was merely wondering about this nightgown you speak of so often. Is it silk, satin or good ole Georgia cotton? What color is it? Red? Purple? White? How did you come to know of it? Did you have a vision in which you saw it or did someone else tell you of it?" he asked trying hard to keep a straight face as his mother narrowed her green eyes at him while Rhett struggled to regain his breath from laughing so hard.

"Great balls of fire!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"Where?" Wade shouted a wicked smile on his face and his brown eyes gleaming.

Joy and James began to giggle and Scarlett couldn't help but laugh herself.

"Are you drunk?" she asked her son only half joking.

"Yes mother I am, drunk on life that it" he answered.

"Well now I've heard everything," Scarlett remarked as she took a sip of tea.

"You do seem to be abundantly happy, Wade," Rhett stated as he finally brought himself back under control.

"I'm a happy man," he responded as he lifted his own glass for a drink.

Scarlett eyed him suspiciously. "Who's the girl?" she asked.

"That dear mother is for me to know and you to find out."

Scarlett turned her head to look at Rhett. "We got rid of one lovesick child and another has come to take her place."

"It seems cupid has been busy in this family," he replied.

"Well I wish he'd take his arrows somewhere else, we get into enough trouble around here without his interference."

Joy was eager to rejoin the conversation so she called out merrily, "I know her name."

"No you don't," Wade countered.

"Yes I do, her name is Molly," she answered pride in her knowledge shining on her face.

Wade sat in stunned silence for a moment eyeing his little sister with suspicion.

"How do you know that dear?" Scarlett asked a smile tugging on her lips at the sight of Wade's discomfort.

"I read it in his letters that's on his desk and in the one he was writing back to her that he didn't put away," she answered smugly.

"You little sneak!" Wade exclaimed. "I ought to hang you up by your toenails until the blood rushes to your head and makes your brain leak out of your ears."

Joy turned to her mother, "Can that really happen, Mama?"

"No, your brother is just filling your head with silliness and he needs to stop it," she answered.

"What's the point in having little sisters if you can't have fun with them?" Wade replied. "Besides she shouldn't be snooping in my room."

"Don't let your correspondence lying out in the open where it can be easily viewed if you're so set on being secretive," Scarlett told him.

"Your mother's right, Wade; if you want to keep a secret in this house you better keep it under lock and key. That's how Ella met her downfall," Rhett stated.

Wade turned his gaze back to Joy, "Is that how it happened, you read Ella's letters and told on her?"

"No I read her diary. She always forgets to lock it," Joy stated cheerfully.

"Does Ella know that's how you found out?"

Rhett shook his head, "No we figured that in the interest of Joy's health and safety we'd keep her in the dark on that one."

"It's a sad day when you can be taken down by a seven year old spy," Wade remarked.

"Speaking of which she was just about to expose you and the latest love of your life," Scarlett stated. "Tell us what else you found out, Joy."

"Her name is Molly and Wade misses her so much that he can't think of anything else," Joy answered.

Wade's face flushed red, "You know, Joy; I think there's room for you in that dungeon with Ella."

"Don't pay him any attention darling, go on," Scarlett encouraged as she enjoyed watching Wade squirm.

Joy grinned, "He wrote to her that the sky reminds him of her eyes and that the sunshine is the color of her hair."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow and shot him an amused glance, "This sounds serious, Wade."

"I knew I should've stayed in Boston," he muttered as he took a sip of wine.

"I never knew you were such a poet, Wade," Rhett teased.

Scarlett laughed, "You never wrote me any love letters like that, Rhett."

His dark eyes sparkled with humor, "I suppose I've been remiss in that area of being your suitor, allow me, my dear, to correct that now."

"I can't wait to hear this," she replied her tone light and her worries momentarily forgotten.

Rhett thought for a moment composing the words in his mind.

"My dearest Scarlett," he began.

"Oh god," Wade exclaimed.

"Hush Wade," Scarlett admonished. "Don't ruin my first love letter from Rhett."

Rhett cleared his throat dramatically, "As I was saying, my dearest Scarlett, even though you are sitting near by you are still much too far from these arms of mine…"

Scarlett couldn't hold back the burst of laughter that welled up inside her.

"It's very rude, my pet, to laugh in the middle of such a touching declaration of love," Rhett told her with mock offense.

"I'm sorry, Rhett; please go on," she said amid her laughter.

"Where was I? Oh yes I was about to comment on your beauty. The finest emeralds can not compare to your sparkling eyes of green, your locks of black remind me of the midnight sky and your lovely skin is prettier than the most perfect magnolia."

"I'm going to be sick," Wade interrupted.

"Don't be sick yet I haven't finished," Rhett replied. "My darling, your humor amuses me and I find myself unable to keep my mind from thinking of you every second of every day so please please tell me you'll be mine forever," he finished; a wicked grin playing across his lips.

"How could I say no after a declaration like that," Scarlett answered with a flutter of her eyelashes.

Wade pushed away from the table and stood. "Well now that I've lost my self respect and the two of you have obviously lost your minds I think I'll go out and lose some money at the card tables."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Rhett told him.

"What wouldn't you do?" Wade asked.

Rhett laughed, "I'll think of something."

"Be careful, Wade," Scarlett called after him.

He gave her an indulgent smile as he replied, "Yes Mother," and left the house.

Later that night after Joy and James had been put to bed, Scarlett sat at her vanity absentmindedly brushing her hair. Her mind was full and she was finding it hard to clear her thoughts enough to go to bed. Rhett was seated in his usual chair observing her for awhile until finally he went to stand behind her and took the brush from her hands. Her eyes sought his in the mirror and he smiled at her.

"I thought I better do this for you or you'd be sitting here all night," he explained.

She smiled, "I guess I was woolgathering."

He laughed lightly, "You seemed as though you were miles away."

She closed her eyes enjoying the feel of his hands in her hair, "I have things on my mind."

"Is this about Ella again?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "I know she's fine."

"Then what is it Scarlett?" he asked as he sat the brush down and pulled his chair closer to the vanity.

She shrugged, "I don't know how to explain it."

"Try," he prodded.

"It's Wade," she sighed.

"What about him?"

"He never tells me anything."

"Meaning what?" Rhett inquired.

"Meaning he rarely ever tells me anything about his life beyond the fact that he's healthy, making good grades and when he'll be home," she complained.

Rhett laughed lightly, "My dear, I don't believe any young man wants to share all the details of his life with his mother."

"I'm not asking to know everything," she replied.

"Then what pray tell would you like him to tell you, my pet?"

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. " I guess about his friends and what he does in Boston and this girl he's so smitten with that he's writing her love letters."

"Ah so that's it," Rhett answered his eyes sparkling with humor.

"That's what?" she asked slightly perturbed that he had obviously figured her out.

"You want to know about this girl Molly."

She gave him an unconvincing look of boredom, trying to act as though the matter wasn't at the forefront of her mind.

Rhett laughed, "You may as well admit it, Scarlett; it's written all over your face."

She shot him an annoyed gaze and got up from her seat at the vanity. "Well shouldn't I want to know about this girl? He is my son after all," she stated as she took off her robe and dropped it at the foot of the bed.

His laughter filled the air once more as she pulled back the covers on the bed and sat down. "Is it really that important that you know all about her?"

"Of course it matters!" she exclaimed.

"Why?"

"Because it does!"

"Scarlett, I don't think you're going to view any woman as being good enough for your son and that's probably why Wade hasn't told you anything about her."

"That's not true," she cried. "I know there is someone out there for Wade; I just hope the person he chooses appreciates him."

"He's a grown man, Scarlett."

"I don't care," she replied. "He's still my son."

"I'm sure he's capable of weeding out the bad ones, my dear," he told her as he came to the bed and slid in on his side.

"I'd still like to know about this Molly," she said as she laid down.

"Well from what Joy tells us we can gather that she has blonde hair and blue eyes."

She gave him an exasperated look, "That doesn't tell us what kind of person she is!"

He laughed again, "What are you afraid of?"

"She might be after his money."

Rhett thought for a moment, "That's possible, I know the woman I married was after my money."

"Rhett!" she exclaimed smacking his chest lightly.

He chuckled, "It's the truth, Scarlett; you never denied it."

"That was different and besides I was fond of you," she remarked.

His laughter made her smile, "I guess fondness makes it alright."

"That's right," she replied.

"I don't think you need to worry about Wade, he isn't as easily taken in as Ella."

"I hope not," she answered

"He'll be fine," he reassured as he stretched out beside her.

Silence fell between them for a moment. "Do you suppose she's a Yankee?" Scarlett asked causing him to laugh once more.

"I figure there's a good chance of it," he answered.

"That's what I was afraid of," she muttered.

"What if she is?" Rhett asked. "Would that be so bad? You do business with Yankees after all."

"That's different," she replied.

"It's always different with you isn't it?" he quipped.

"I just always figured Wade would marry a nice southern girl," she replied ignoring his comment.

"You mean you want him to marry one of those lash fluttering, pass me my smelling salts I'm as helpless as newborn kitten types?" he asked with a smirk

"Of course not someone like that, that wouldn't suit Wade at all."

He grinned at her, "You want him to marry a girl like his father married?"

She glared at him, "Honestly Rhett, I just can't discuss anything with you," she told him as she rolled on her side and faced away from him.

He moved closer to her. "I don't recall him mentioning wedding belles so I don't really think you need to be worrying about this besides if Molly is the woman he wants to marry that will be his decision not yours. As for being a Yankee, I'm sure she's probably a nice one."

She inched away from him, "You can just stay on your own side of the bed tonight."

"Why?"

"For making fun of me," she answered.

He laughed and pulled her over to his side of the bed with him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm trying to make it up to you, my dear," he answered as he kissed her.

"Forget it," she replied. "I have a feeling if I let you near me tonight I'll end up with another child that will grow up to be sixteen and drive me insane."

He smiled at her and moved away from her slightly, "You're right it does feel like one of those nights that could tempt fate."

"Goodnight, Rhett."

"Besides it probably won't be long before Wade brings you home a few Yankee grandchildren," he continued on.

"Good God!" she exclaimed.

"Goodnight, Scarlett," he said with amusement.

She doubted it would be a goodnight with that thought in her head she mused. A wayward daughter and a son in love with a possible Yankee…could it get any worse?

Authors Note: Ella returns in the next chapter with plenty of drama coming.