Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

In this story Rhett, Scarlett, Melly, and Ashley are all going to be OOC but Rhett especially. He is not going to be a bitter, cold, mocking man because his father never disowned him, and Charleston never turned their back on him. Although he will still be a mocking, teasing man. That is just his basic personality.

Chapter One

It was Rhett's wedding day. He should be so happy, but he felt like he had a pistol pointed at his head. It was not his bride's fault that he didn't want to marry her. He didn't really know her, but he knew she was a silly twit without a brain. She was the perfect southern debutante. She was pretty enough if one liked blue-eyed blondes, but he didn't he preferred dark haired women. She was a stupid little fool who couldn't open her mouth except to say "Yes" or "No" and raise a passel of mealy-mouthed brats just like her. He wanted a woman of passion. A woman who would speak her mind. But instead, he was stuck with this silly twit instead because he had succumbed to all the pressure on him.

As Rhett was standing at the altar waiting on Caroline to make her entrance, not for the first time he had thought, 'Why didn't I listen to that voice in my head telling me not to take her on a buggy ride?' He had only done it as a favor to his father. He should have just said no. Not for the first time Rhett thought, 'I wonder if my father arranged the buggy wheel breaking.' He would never know the answer to either one of those thoughts, but he guessed he would always wonder.

Rhett could stand up to his father, no problem, but when his mother beseeched him to marry the girl and not ruin himself and by extension her and his sister he had caved. He might have been able to continue saying no but when she said with tears in her eyes, "I would die of sorrow knowing I would never see you again. Beside Rhett, there will be nothing Caroline can do to stop you from living your life the way you want to live your life." He had stared at his mother and took in her words. He knew he had to marry Caroline. It was for the greater good. He said, "I will marry her." In that moment he knew he had been about to make the biggest mistake of his life. Once he had agreed the ball started rolling and could not be stopped.

Therefore, Rhett Butler was getting ready to make Caroline Clark his wife. She was pretty enough but he would not bed her. He wanted to be able to annul the marriage if he ever met someone he really wanted to marry. More importantly he did not want this life. He wanted adventure. He was probably too much like his grandfather, Alexander Butler. He could become respectable later in life. After a year or so he would go out to California or Cuba or New Orleans. He was going to have fun.

Rhett hadn't gone to West Point. He had just known that was the wrong place for him. He instead convinced his father to let him go to the University of South Carolina. Rhett had not been the well-behaved son that his father wanted but he wasn't so bad that Marshall Butler ever felt he needed to take action. Marshall just hoped his son would one day grow out of his wild ways but if not, he had another son who was extremely well-behaved.

In May of eighteen fifty Rhett Butler and Caroline Clark were married in Charleston, South Carolina. The groom's father was incredibly happy to be aligned with the Clarks of Charleston. They were one of the oldest families in Charleston. Finally, Marshall Butler felt like he was respectable.

Marshall Butler bought the happy couple a townhouse on Wentworth, one of the most respected places to live. Rhett stayed in Charleston for the next several months. Not as a courtesy to his bride but because he had yet to decide where he was going to travel to.

A month after Rhett and Caroline's wedding day she asked him, "Why do you never visit my bed?"

"I prefer whores. They know what they are doing."

Caroline was stunned and devastated. She had hoped Rhett would at least try to make their marriage work.

Rhett went on and told her, "I don't know how you arranged the buggy accident or if it was my father or your father that arranged it but all you got was me marrying you. I will never love you."

Caroline ran out of the room crying. Rhett wished he felt bad for her because she probably was a pawn in their fathers' games, but he didn't feel anything for her. He had lost his freedom.

In January of fifty-one, Rhett heard again about people finding gold in California. He decided that he would go out West and find some of that gold. He wanted to be rich independently of his father so he could be his own man. After the St. Cecilia Society ball, Rhett had been planning on leaving Charleston, but Caroline had gotten extremely sick with scarlet fever. One week later she was dead.

After the funeral Rhett moved back into his parents' townhouse. While looking sorrowful over supper, Rhett had told his family, "I can't live in the home I once shared with Caroline. I miss her so much."

Marshall thought, 'His grief certainly hasn't affected his appetite.'

Rhett had immediately put the townhouse on the market. Rhett started making plans to leave Charleston. With the profits from the sale of the townhouse, he would have enough money to start having adventures.

Rhett had gotten several offers on the townhouse, but they were below his asking price, so he held out for more money. That money was going to be his stake in the future. He had planned to get a thousand dollars from his father, but this was much better. This was going to be all on his own, and he would not have to be in debt to anyone.

Finally, six weeks after Caroline's death the townhouse sold. Rhett told his family over supper, "I can't stay here. My grief is too great. Everything reminds me of Caroline."

Elizabeth Butler knew her son was lying through his teeth. She knew he had cared no more for his wife than he had his favorite pair of pants. But she smiled and replied, "Then leave until you get your grief under control."

Rhett had left Charleston within the week. Rhett Butler had gone to California and found a lot of gold. He had found it on the poker table. He found he had a real talent for playing poker. After panning for gold for two weeks which was a lot of work, one night while playing poker, he grasped that he didn't need to pan for gold himself. He could just take the gold off foolish, young miners who had no head for whiskey or any talent at playing poker. Therefore, that is what he did every night.

Rhett had a wonderful time in San Francisco. He was drinking, bedding whores, and making money at the poker tables. He was doing everything that a proper Charlestonian young man would never do. The only mistake he had made was bedding that woman who said she was a widow. He had been foolish because he had just known that she was married but he had wanted her too bad to resist. He had a knife wound as a permanent reminder of his foolishness. When the man had walked into the saloon, Rhett was at the poker table. When he saw the man, he had just known who the man was and what he was about to do. Fortunately, he had gone along with that feeling. Instead of the knife landing in his gut like the cockled husband had intended, it slashed his leg instead. Nonetheless, he was lucky to be alive.

In the spring of fifty-three, Rhett returned to Charleston with several thousand dollars in his pocket. He had considered going to New Orleans, but he felt like that was the wrong place for him. In fact, he felt like Charleston was calling to him.

While Rhett was in Charleston, he accompanied his mother to her friend's home, Eulalie. Rosemary who was ten years old was going with them to play with the children there. Rhett who had always enjoyed being with children went outside to play with the girls. There were three little girls in the courtyard and a large woman who was obviously the children's mammy. He knew the girls were sisters, but they didn't look like each other. The oldest girl had dark hair with green piercing eyes who appeared to be either seven or eight. He looked at the other two little girls. One had red hair and the other was a burnette. Unfortunately for them, the other sisters paled in comparison to their older sister.

Rhett could get lost in the young girl's eyes if only she was ten years older. He enjoyed talking to the little girl and found out her name was Scarlett. He told her, "Such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." The girl had turned to him and smiled with dimples and said, "How you do go on." Rhett burst out laughing and the little girl got mad. Rhett realized she had been flirting with him and he had insulted her with his laughter. She ignored him the rest of the visit. Rhett thought to himself, 'If she was only ten years older.' He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get back in her good graces. He had not succeeded, yet he had so much fun with her.

Rhett saw all his friends while he was there, but they were boring. They had become proper Charlestonians. They were all married and working in their father's businesses. They all had children. He would like to have a child someday. If he ever found the right woman. That little girl, Scarlett, flashed into his mind. He felt like a pervert but nonetheless there was something special about the little girl that had hooked him.

Rhett went to Cuba and did some gun running. He made a lot of money doing that. He had almost a quarter of a million in gold in his bank account in London. While he was in England, he met a beautiful duchess. He met her at a party a business associate was giving. Her name was Lucille, and she was a pretty blue-eyed brunette widow. She asked him to call on her the next day. She lived in a lovely townhouse near Regency Park. He didn't leave the townhouse for the next three months except to get his trunk and check out of the hotel. He learned everything about satisfying a woman in those three months. Lucille like to tutor young men in the art of love. She felt it was her duty to womankind. He traveled around Europe for some months learning more and more about the art of making love.

Rhett returned to Charleston in 1855 to attend his brother, Robert's wedding. Robert had made a good match. Robert and his bride, Daphne Goodwin, went to Savannah for their honeymoon then returned to live at Middleton Acres. The Goodwins were a prominent family in Charleston. It looked like the Butlers and their money were firmly part of Charleston's proper people.

Marshall was training Robert on how to manage the plantation. When Rhett had returned from California, his father had said, "It is time for you to settle down and start learning how to manage the plantation."

"I am not going to live on a plantation much less manage one. Give the plantation to Robert and train him."

"Rhett you are my heir. You will do this."

"I don't want to be your heir and I absolutely refuse to live on a plantation."

"If you don't accept this responsibility, I will cut off your funds."

"Go ahead."

Marshall would have liked to threaten to disown Rhett, but a scandal would ensue if Marshall disowned his eldest son. Therefore, he said, "I will have your name removed from our bank account."

"You wouldn't want to do that, Father. People would be gossiping about you for days wondering why you removed me from the bank account. If you look at your bank account, you will see that I haven't taken any money out of the account since I went to California and I'm not going to start now."

Marshall had never removed Rhett's name from their bank account because Rhett had been right. If anyone ever found out the good people of Charleston would be gossiping about him and his family for months. They had just gotten over all the gossip over the buggy incident.