Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

TLWtlw – No the bills Scarlett gave the concierge were not counterfeit, but the twenties were bills she got when she exchanged the counterfeit bills.

Chapter Eighteen

Rhett's third meeting with Philip was not a pleasant one for either man. The private investigator had gone to the train station and showed the pictures to anyone who worked there. The employees there remembered seeing a set of twins, but that was it. They didn't know which train they had gotten on, but here Philip had some luck. He knew what time they had left the hotel. He made a leap of logic that Mrs. Butler got on the first train leaving Boston. The problem was that Philip didn't know how quickly the family had gotten to the train station. Rhett had told him that the family had gone to the Franklin Park Menagerie, but he hadn't known how long they had stayed or if they had gone straight from Franklin Park to the train station. They may have gone to several different locations first.

Philip thought that Mrs. Butler had not wasted a lot of time getting out of Boston. After some money changed hands, the private investigator was given the passenger list for all the trains that left from nine that morning until six that evening. He couldn't take the list out of the ticket seller's office. There were probably a hundred names on every list. After reading the list looking for the name Scarlett Butler or O'Hara or Hamilton or Kennedy, Philip was unsuccessful at finding Mr. Butler's wife. He had found a Kennedy and a Hamilton, but they had a man's name in front of the surname.

Philip handed the sheets back to the ticket master. Because Mrs. Butler was not the only mother to have twins, he had gone to merchants that rented carriages. When he had no luck there, he had gone to carriage sellers. No luck there either. He sent Rhett a note asking for a meeting. When Philip got to his office there was a reply from Rhett telling him to come on over.

After Rhett and Philip were seated in the parlor of the townhouse, Philip said, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that a lot of people remember a set of twins at the train station, but when I showed them your son's picture, nobody remembered him. They don't remember exactly when the twins were there either. I checked to see if Mrs. Butler rented or bought a carriage. She did not. I was able to peruse the passenger list for all the trains that left the station that day. There wasn't a Scarlett on the page with any surname at all. Could she have been using another first name?"

To himself Rhett said, "I'm going to have to revise my opinion of Scarlett's intelligence. No, I have always known how clever she was. She seems to be a lot smarter now. After all she managed to frame Belle. No easy task. With my money, no less. In all honesty that was brilliant." To Phillip he said, "I am sure she is using another first name, but I'll be damned if I know what it is."

"If you think of one, I will be happy to look the list over again."

"Who has the list?"

"The ticket master."

"How much did you give him?"

"A dollar."

"I'm going to go down tomorrow and look at the list myself. I might recognize a name if I see it."

"Very well. Did you want me to continue investigating?"

"No. Send me a bill."

"Very well. Let me give you back your pictures."

"Thank you."

Rhett's staff were confused by his actions. He had been cheerful and happy since the police officer's second visit. Happier than they had ever seen him. They had talked while eating their meals. They had decided that Kenny hadn't been kidnapped, but they had no idea who had him. They decided whoever had Kenny was someone their employer trusted. They had quizzed Jonathan if he had overheard anything the morning Mr. Butler had been talking with the policeman. Jonathan said, "All I heard was Mr. Butler laughing."

That night as Rhett was dreaming about Scarlett, he was dreaming about her in that red wrapper that she had been wearing when he had brought Mr. O'Hara home. He remembered what the older man had called his daughter. Rhett had been trying to remember a middle name, but Scarlett was her middle name. He sat up in the bed. In the dark he said, "My Katie Scarlett. How could I have forgotten what Mr. O'Hara had kept calling Scarlett the night we played poker together."

The next morning, Rhett had an appointment with a prospective buyer of his townhouse. By ten-thirty Rhett had sold his townhouse and the furnishings. He had even been able to sell the man his library. The buyer had agreed to give him two weeks to vacate the premises. As soon as the papers were signed Rhett would let his staff go. He could live in a hotel until all his business deals were done, which should be within the next two weeks. He had dinner, then left the townhouse.

Rhett bribed the ticket master to get to look at the passenger manifest. He broke out in a big smile when he saw about halfway down on the second page – Katie Lincoln. Katie Lincoln was going to San Francisco with her children. He was fine with living in San Francisco. He had spent time there in his youth. Of course, he would not be visiting the dens of iniquity that he had frequented back then. He had a wife and children now. He had to stay out of prison.

Rhett met the buyer the next day at Denny Crane's office. Rhett told the buyer that he would leave the keys with Mr. Crane, and the buyer could pick them up in two weeks. He stopped by Kelly Services and told William how wonderful his staff had been, but he didn't need them anymore, so he was letting them go.

When Rhett got to his townhouse, he called all his employees together. He said, "Today is your last day. I will be leaving Cambridge. I am going to give each of you an additional two weeks' pay to tide you over until you find another job."

As Rhett was passing out the money, Jonathon said, "Mr. Butler, what about Kenny?"

"Kenny is in California. San Francisco to be exact."

"Was he kidnapped?"

"I wouldn't say kidnapped. His mother stole him away, which is only fair because I stole him away from her."

Hazel said, "I thought your wife was dead."

"No, she is very much alive and causing me grief once again."

All the employees were stunned by Rhett's words and the cheerful way he was saying them. The servants looked at each other, but nobody spoke. They just wordlessly took their money.

Rhett looked around the room at the servants. He said, "Did I pay everyone?"

Julia said, "Mr. Butler, what do you want me to do with the food we have in the kitchen?"

"Take it with you. What you don't want throw away? I have to get packing."

With that Rhett walked out of the parlor.

At supper time Rhett walked to Katz's Delicatessen. He had a corned beef on rye because that was what he was in the mood for. He also had coleslaw. He washed it all down with a glass of tea. It was great to eat exactly what he was in the mood for.

For the next two weeks, Rhett tied up the loose strings of his life in Cambridge. At last, he was on the train to Denver then San Francisco. He had gotten a private car. He had packed Kenny's quilt and some of the boy's clothes although Rhett was sure that Scarlett had bought the boy new clothes. These were some of Kenny's favorites. He had also packed Kenny's favorite toys. Rhett packed all his jewelry and all his pictures. This time he had taken everything out of his desk to be sure he was not forgetting anything.

Scarlett had decided to not tell Gerry and Kenny anything until they asked. A week after boarding the ship, as everyone, even Wade, was sewing on either the boys' quilts or their new clothes. Gerry said, "Is Kenny's daddy my daddy?'

Scarlett looked at her son and said, "Yes, he is."

"Why did you tell me that he was dead?"

Kenny said, "When is he joining us?"

Scarlett sidestepped Gerry's question by answering Kenny's question. She said, "His business is taking longer than he expected so he will be joining us in Sydney. Don't worry before you know it, he will be with us."

"I'm not worried. He can stay in Cambridge for all I care."

"Kenny, why would you say that?"

"He lied to me. He said you were dead. When I said I wanted a brother, he didn't tell me I already had a brother."

Gerry repeated his question. He said, "Mama, why did you tell me he was dead? Why did you lie to me?"

Scarlett sighed, "Sons, let me explain what happened. Kenny, you can be mad at your father if you want, but if you are mad at him, you have to be mad at me too. Gerry, yes, I lied to you. Let me explain. I hope you both will forgive your father and me."

Scarlett sat there staring at her sons' innocent faces. She didn't want to say what she was going to say because she was afraid she was going to hurt them deeply. When the silence dragged on to the uncomfortable level, Ella said, "When you two were born was a hard time for Mama and your father. They had just lost their daughter. Because of their misery they were always fighting. Bonnie had been dead for six months and things weren't getting any better. I don't know who suggested it, but they decided to split up with Mama keeping one twin and Uncle Rhett keeping the other one. They never planned to see each other again, so that is why Uncle Rhett and Mama told you your other parent was dead."

Scarlett started speaking as soon as Ella was quiet. She said, "It sounds unkind now, but at the time it seemed the easiest thing to do. Once I saw you Kenny all my love burst forth and I knew I couldn't live without you ever again. I telegraphed Rhett once we got to San Francisco. I explained that I wanted to live with both of my sons for the rest of my life. I asked him to join us. I asked him to give our marriage one more chance. I explained that I had missed him terribly since our separation. After five years I knew I wanted to live with my husband again also. Rhett telegraph back that he said he wanted to live with both his boys and his wife again. I suggested we move to Sydney and Rhett agreed."

Wade said, "Because Uncle Rhett is such an important and successful businessman, he couldn't leave Cambridge immediately. He has to complete all his deals. It might be a couple of months before he joins us in Sydney. He also has to sell all of your belongings in Cambridge."

Kenny said, "He is selling our home?"

Gerry said, "Just like we had to do before we moved to Cambridge so Wade could go to Harvard."

"Yes, but Wade has kindly agreed to go to school in Sydney."

"After I take a year off to help get us all settled."

Scarlett said, "So, don't be mad at Daddy or me. We both love you both so much. Just be glad that we finally decided we wanted to live together again so we can be one big happy family."

With the acceptance that only a five-year-old could give, Kenny said, "Alright. I won't be mad at Daddy or at you. I want to live with all of you."

"Even your daddy?"

Kenny gave his mother a sweet smile and said, "And Daddy."

Gerry said, "I'm not mad at you, Mama, but I have another question. Are Wade and Ella's fathers really dead?"

Scarlett stopped herself from laughing when she said, "Yes, Dear, they are really dead."

"I forgive you for lying to me."

"Thank you."

Then Rhett and Scarlett's opportunistic son said, "Can me and Kenny have a piece of candy?"

"Kenny and I, Gerry. Yes. Let me see what we have."