Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Nine

Rhett came back to Atlanta on June thirtieth. He knew that was the anniversary of the death of Scarlett's husband so now he could be more open in his courting of her. He would use all his charm and persuasion on her. He smiled. He already knew she was smitten with him which was a good thing for he knew she interacted with a lot of other men because of her working at the hospital. He felt a flash of jealousy. He felt like he couldn't let jealousy take root in him. He knew he was the favorite therefore he needed to behave as such. He would let her see a little bit of his jealousy because it would be so thrilling to her.

On the train, Rhett realized he was traveling almost three hundred miles each way just to call on a girl. Yet in Charleston he wouldn't even walk across the street to call on one of those ninnies. Once again, it flashed through his head him wondering if his father had arranged the buggy wheel breaking. Rhett guessed that the reason he persisted in thinking his father had arranged the broken wheel was that with Rhett's marriage to Caroline the Butlers were cemented into Charleston's proper society. The family had then become the Butlers of Charleston. The family had become socially important.

The fact that Rhett's father had been preaching to him about settling down for the last six months before the incident also made him suspicious. He would never know, so he pushed it from his head. He instead thought of the fair Scarlett.

Rhett sent a note to Scarlett telling her he was back in Atlanta and could he call on her that night. She sent a note back asking him to supper which had been what he had wanted her to do. Later that afternoon, a box of groceries was delivered to Hamilton House with a note. The note said, "I accept your invitation, but I cannot eat up all your food knowing there are shortages everywhere. Therefore, before I come to supper, I will replenish your food stocks."

Scarlett smiled at the note. She picked up the box and carried it into the kitchen. She said to Cookie, "This is what is for supper tonight."

"What is in there?"

"I don't know. Let's see. Pinto beans, potatoes, fresh green beans, squash, collard greens, flour, some lard, and a big ham."

"We's going to eat well this week. Thanks to whoever gave you all this."

Scarlett preened and said, "My gentleman caller, Rhett Butler."

Scarlett had sent a note to Uncle Henry inviting him to supper. He might as well enjoy this bountiful meal as well.

Rhett arrived at Hamilton House once again loaded down with packages and a box of books. There were chocolates for PittyPat, stationery for Melly, and fabric and lace for Scarlett. When Scarlett opened the package there was so much fabric and lace that she said, "How many petticoats do you expect me to make?"

"I thought that you might give some of the fabric to Miss PittyPat and Miss Melly. That is if they give you some of their chocolates and stationery."

Both the other women said, "Gladly."

"Of course, I will."

Soon Henry arrived and the group moved into the dining room. As they were sitting down, Henry said, "Where did you get all the food?"

Scarlett said, "I don't know. It just showed up on our doorstep."

Scarlett looked at Rhett and winked. He knew why she had said what she had said. It wouldn't be proper for her to accept that much food from a man she wasn't married to. That was one of the things Rhett liked about Scarlett. She was willing to bend the rules. He knew now that Miss Melly wasn't as proper as she pretended to be. Just as Rhett suspected what Miss Melly would do, she did. She substantiated Scarlett's statement when she said, "You must have a secret admirer, Darling."

Rhett said, "Or Miss PittyPat does."

Which caused the older woman to get in a flutter and declaring she was going to faint thus derailing that line of questioning. Rhett winked back at Scarlett. Before Rhett left for the evening, he gave Scarlett another hundred dollars. She briefly wondered if she really was making this much profit or if Rhett was just giving her money. She decided she didn't care. She felt even stronger about the need to have a lot of money. Neither Scarlett nor Melly spent any money they didn't have to spend.

For the next couple of days life was calm in Atlanta. Everyone was blissfully unaware of the events about to befall the Confederacy. On July second the newspaper found out there was a battle being waged in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Anytime there was a battle being wage that meant that one's son, brother, father, or husband could be killed. Therefore, people began to loiter around the telegraph office. Melly and Scarlett were not ones who were down there. In their opinion, they could wait to learn the news. It wouldn't affect the loved one that was dead, but it would give them a few more days of happiness.

When Rhett learned that the battle was over on the sixth, he checked to see if Ashley Wilkes' name was on the list. There were no Wilkeses on the list.

Rhett went to Hamilton House and told Melly that her husband's name wasn't on the list. She said, "Thank you, Mr. Butler. That was a kind thing for you to do for me. Scarlett, shall we go down there and find out whose name is on the list."

"I suppose we should. Rhett, will you escort us down there. We have to walk. Our horse died."

"I will escort you down there, but I will get us a cab."

"Thank you. Let me get my handkerchief."

"Me too."

"I will get my new shawl that I found, also. It is so beautiful."

Rhett just smiled as the ladies walked away. It was sort of proper for Rhett to give the ladies fabric as long as he didn't just give it to Scarlett, but it certainly wasn't proper for him to give Scarlett a piece of clothing. The silly rules of the South. Only someone who had grown up in the South could remember all the rules. The worst part to Rhett was not everyone had the same rules. Charleston's rules were much stricter than Atlanta's rules and Atlanta's rules were probably stricter than Galveston's rules.

Under all the fabric for the petticoats had been a yellow shawl with a beautiful parrot on the back of it. She had a feeling that she should treasure that shawl and never give it away. Scarlett didn't need to have gotten a feeling this time for she loved that shawl, and she would never give it away. Ever.

Both ladies needed their handkerchiefs. They recognized far too many names on the list. When Scarlett saw all three of the remaining Tarleton boys' names on the list, she cried. She said, "Mrs. Tarleton has lost all four of her sons to this damn, stupid war. I will write her. If I don't write her, she may never know. That is if I can have several pieces of your stationery, Melly."

"Of course. I will write India and tell her about Stuart. Darcy Meade's name is on the list. I wonder if the Meades already know. I will not tell them. I will let them have some more peaceful days before their world is shattered."

The ladies looked at the list for another fifteen minutes. Finally, Melly said, "Are you ready to go Scarlett?"

"Yes."

"Ladies, let me get us another cab."

When the trio got to Hamilton House, Rhett said, "Do you want me to stay, or do you want me to go?"

Scarlett said, "Why would I want you to go?"

"Because of your grief."

"I will mourn the loss of all the boys from the county for a long time so, there is no reason for you to leave."

Rhett smiled and followed them into the house. Although both ladies were sad, neither was morose. They had already known that far too many of their friends would be killed in the war.

The next day Rhett came to call. Once he was seated in the parlor he said, "I have bad news for the Confederacy."

"Yes."

"Vicksburg has fallen after a forty-seven-day siege."

"Why is that important?"

"It was the only thing keeping the Yankees from having complete control of the Mississippi River."

"Oh."

"The Confederacy has basically been divided."

"Do you think the generals will surrender soon?"

"No. They will fight until they can't fight any more. Until every last man is killed," Melly gasped. Rhett said, "I apologize for that remark, Miss Melly. I should have chosen my words more carefully."

"You are forgiven, Mr. Butler. Although, I am afraid it is too close to the truth for me."

The people in the parlor spoke some more. At the end of it, Rhett said, "I am going back to Charleston. I won't be back until early December. Now is the time for me to make the most money. It is getting difficult to keep getting through the blockade. The Union warships have tightened up the blockade both leaving and going. It might start to get nearly impossible to either leave the Confederacy or get back in."

As Rhett saw the worried look on Scarlett's face, he said, "I will get back in," Scarlett gave him a reluctant smile. Rhett stood up and said to Scarlett, "Walk me to the door."

"Of course."

Rhett said, "I am fond of you."

"I am fond of you, too. Please be so extremely careful."

"I will be as careful as I can be."

Rhett and Scarlett kissed for a while until he broke away and said, "Let me go before I do something very ungentlemanly."

Scarlett smiled. She said, "Can you start telegraphing me when you get to France and then when you get back to Charleston?"

"Of course, I can. Now, goodbye."

Scarlett watched Rhett walk all the way down the street until she couldn't see him anymore.

The rest of the summer and all of the fall, Rhett took cotton out and brought luxury goods in. He had so much cotton he had to buy another warehouse. He wasn't worried about the cost. He would sell both warehouses once he sold the cotton. He considered buying a warehouse in Charleston to store his goods in until the prices got higher but decided against it. The war could end at any minute, and he would be stuck with all those items with no one to sell them to. Besides that, he decided that would just be wrong. The people of the South were already suffering enough, and his profits were good enough. He wasn't going to get greedy.

Rhett did start sending Scarlett a telegram when he got to France. All it said was: France. He sent her one once he had arrived in Charleston. All it said was: Home. She never sent one back which was fine. She was safe for now.

Rhett visited with his mother every time he was in Charleston. He always gave her money and after a token protest she accepted it. If for no other reason than to buy food for the residents of Middleton Acres.

Elizabeth never asked Rhett about Scarlett Hamilton. She knew he wouldn't tell her anything about his feelings for the girl. He didn't need to tell her. She already knew that he had strong feelings for the girl. She hoped the girl had strong feelings for him. Besides, she was learning all about his romance with Mrs. Hamilton from Eulalie. Several women in Atlanta had taken it upon themselves to write Eulalie about the romance. The matrons had declared that Rhett had started calling on Mrs. Hamilton as soon as it was proper, the day after her husband had been dead for a year. Which Elizabeth knew wasn't true for she had known where Rhett had been the summer of sixty-two. She knew he had not started calling on Scarlett until November of sixty-two. Elizabeth was quite surprised by Rhett courting any proper young lady. He had always called proper young ladies - ninnies.