Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Fifty-One

Rhett and Rosemary went to the harbor to look at the ships. They were hoping to find a couple to buy. Rhett was surprised by how much his sister already knew about ships. He said to her, "You will have to find men to ship with us. You will have to find men to captain our two ships."

"What about the crews?"

"The captain will pick their own crew. By the way, just so you know, a woman on board a ship is supposed to be bad luck."

"It will be a day out of hell if any of those captains try to keep me off their ship."

Rhett smiled at the look of determination on Rosemary's face. He said, "I believe it would be."

When Ashley got his first paycheck, he and Melly went out to rent a house. They found a small, three-bedroom house that they could afford on his salary. The only staff Melly was going to hire was a cook. Scarlett had told Melly that Melly could bring her laundry over to Scarlett's house and the washer woman would continue to clean it until they had gotten some money saved up.

The Wilkeses moved out of the Butlers home on June nineteenth. It was a historic day for them and all the enslaved people on the island. That was the day the slaves officially found out from General Gordon Granger that slavery was no longer legal in the United States.

Once Rhett and Scarlett got their wedding rings, they and Wade went to a photographer and had their picture taken. When the pictures came back the family looked a lot healthier than they had a year ago.

After a month, the O'Haras had moved out of the house Rhett was renting. Gerald had only had money to buy beds, but he and Ellen were determined to not take any more charity than they had to. The couple was happy they had been rescued from Georgia, but it was time for them to make their own way. Careen and Suellen had found out that they would be working as clerks in the store. Ellen would be in charge of doing the books and ordering stock.

Gerald had changed the name of the store to The Luck of the Irish. He had never been ashamed of being Irish and he wanted everyone to know it.

With the O'Haras departure from the house, Scarlett said, "Let's go find a better house to rent. I can't stand to live in this house for the next six months."

"Maybe we can find a house to buy."

"Let's go look."

Rhett was driving around the town and he was surprised at how many houses Scarlett said she liked. He could tell she liked the Queen Anne style but didn't object when he pointed out a home in the Victorian style or the Greek revival style. She did flat out say no to the Georgian style. She said, "Let's go get a listing from a lawyer."

"I would have thought you would want to build your own home."

"We don't have time to build our home. The baby is going to be here in four months. I will have to go into my confinement in a month. I can remodel while I am stuck in the house."

"True."

The next day the couple drove around the town. There were four houses on the list. The first one was a Georgian style, the next one was in a Victorian style, the third one was in the Greek revival style, and the fourth one was once again in the Victorian style. They looked at the interior of all of them but the Georgian style. Scarlett was leaning towards the first Victorian styled home until the couple got to the master bedroom in the Greek revival styled home. It was huge and it had a sitting room attached. It also had a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. Scarlett said, "Let's buy this one. I love this view. I don't like the exterior of this home as well as the other two, but I can do something about that."

"Alright, but you have to tell me what you are doing before you do it."

"Agreed."

Rhett went and made an offer on the house which was accepted. Scarlett went to her father's general store and ordered furniture for the house. She just ordered the bare minimal because she wanted to look at the catalogs her mother and mother-in-law had told her about. The furniture had arrived within a month and the family moved into the house.

Scarlett had been pleased that she had her mother and mother-in-law to inform her of everything she would need to set-up house. Scarlett was fortunate that all of her staff had wanted to move with her even the members of the skeleton staff that had come with the house. They only got paid when the house was rented out. In these trying times a steady job was nothing to turn ones nose up at.

The house had six bedrooms with one of them being the nursery. Since there was an extra room, Bobby, Robert's oldest child was moved into a room of his own. The boy was nine and this was the first time he had ever slept alone.

Scarlett and Wade had gone to The Luck of the Irish and had gotten some home interior magazines. She had also written several companies asking for them to send her catalogs. She had not started any of the remodeling because she wanted to be sure the new interior was exactly what she wanted.

Scarlett had given Rhett the task of finding a reliable contractor for the changes she wanted to make. She had gone out and interviewed drapery makers. One woman, Marjorie Adams, was so excited to show Scarlett all the latest designs for windows. There were all types of blinds. There was a new invention called screens that one put over their windows which kept the bugs out of the house but let the breezes in.

The two women looked through both Godey's Lady's Book and Harper's Bazaar. Mrs. Adams had several other magazines with drawings of the interior of homes. There was a drawing of a rolling shade with a scene from nature painted on it. It was of flowers and birds. Scarlett like that. Scarlett liked Mrs. Adams enthusiasm. Scarlett definitely was going to use Mrs. Adams to decorate her windows.

Rhett had chosen to use Ashley's boss as his attorney. Afterall, Rhett wanted the man to stay in business so he would continue to employ Ashley. At least, until Ashley felt confident enough to open his own office. Through Mr. Stone, Rhett had been introduced to some of the local gentry. He had received a few invitations. One to supper, another to a musical soiree, and once to play whist. While the couple had been at these events, they had been on their best behavior.

While Rhett and Scarlett had been in the other people's homes, she had studied the décor. When she liked some of the features, she would point them out to Rhett. Rhett was more open to these décor choices because the people's homes they were in were wealthy people. They were the cream of society in Galveston.

There was one window treatment that Scarlett liked a lot. It was placing a full-length mirror between the two front windows in the parlor. The windows each had a valence, and the curtains had a lot of fabric. When Scarlett pointed the windows out to Rhett, he said, "I don't really like the mirror and there is far too much material for that small space. I think less would look better."

"But I'm supposed to decorate with elaborate style to show off your wealth."

"Show off my wealth by wearing a lot of jewelry or wearing the most fashionable clothing."

Scarlett looked down at her engagement and wedding rings on her hand then she looked at her emerald ring on her other hand. She decided that was probably a better way to show off Rhett's wealth. She knew he had very stodgy taste. She could tell that by the clothes he picked out to wear.

On July twentieth, Rhett and Scarlett went out for supper. Wade had gotten to spend the night with his grandparents. Mammy had gone with the little boy to take care of him, but Scarlett thought it had more to do with Mammy wanting to spend time with her Miss Ellen.

Rhett took Scarlett to Shearm's Seafood and Steak House. They had been to the restaurant before and had both enjoyed it. The first time they had gone to the restaurant, Scarlett had shrimp and Rhett had a steak. This time she was going to have a steak and he was going to have grilled snapper. He had gotten them each a glass of champagne. After he had ordered the champagne, he said, "Too much alcohol isn't good for the baby."

"How do you know?"

"I have been a reader most of my life. Therefore, I have read a variety of magazines, books, and periodicals. I also spent a lot of time on trains and boats before I married you. It can be pretty boring on a ship at sea."

"It can be pretty boring on a plantation in the middle of summer. Nobody leaves their homes. Nobody has any parties or barbecues because it is just too hot."

"I remember that from when I was a child in Charleston."

At that time, the waiter brought their champagne. Rhett and Scarlett ordered their entrees. After the waiter had left Scarlett picked up her champagne glass and said, "Happy anniversary, Baby."

Rhett picked his glass up and clinked their glasses. He said, "Happy anniversary."

After Rhett and Scarlett had each taken a sip of their drinks, she said, "I was beginning to give up hope that you would ever ask me to marry you."

"I was just too scared of you saying no."

"I am so glad you got over that fear."

"Me too. I am glad I didn't let my pride stop me."

"I'm glad your heart was stronger than your pride."

"Me too. Since this is a special occasion, would you like to do something special for me."

"I am doing something special for you. I am having your baby."

"It isn't like you have any choice in the matter. Once you were with child, there was no other choice but to have it."

"Don't I know it. Have we settled on names?"

"Yes, Kennesaw Rhett for a boy or Ellen Katie for a girl."

"Alright. Great! Here comes our food."

Rhett and Scarlett had a lovely time at dinner. They then went home and had a lovely time in their bed.

After Rhett and Scarlett's first anniversary was over, she started the decorating and the ordering of furniture. One afternoon, Scarlett said, "I want to add a ballroom and two more bedrooms. I want to install a water closet, built in bathtub and a heater to heat the water. Two, actually. One in the hallway and one off our bedroom. I also want to add a turret in the Queen Anne style."

Rhett loved to take baths with his wife therefore he was immediately acceptable to a built-in bathtub. "Let me go look at the outside of the house. I am fine with the ballroom and two more bedrooms. I am also fine with water closets and built in bathtubs.

Scarlett followed Rhett outside and waited while he stared at the house. Finally, he said, "Yes, I think that would look nice. Put the turret on the right side of the house. Otherwise, it would be too close to the carriage house."

"Thank you, Rhett. I will send the contractor a note right now."

Scarlett hurried into the house. It was the fastest he had seen her move in a long time, if ever.