Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Rhett woke up the next morning, he smiled as he felt Scarlett's hand on his abdomen. She always went to sleep with her hand over his scar. Like she thought she could protect him with her hand.

Rhett would smile when Scarlett would run her hand over his scar. She would always say, "You were so lucky there was a doctor right there to sew you up."

"I was so lucky that my wife could forget her properness long enough to enter a saloon in order to bring me back to the Inn. Nobody could have taken better care of me than you."

"Thank you, Rhett."

"Especially after we got back to the townhouse."

"Did you tell your father that you had been knifed?"

"No, I haven't told anyone, and I never will."

"Why not?"

"Do you really think I am going to admit that I was so stupid I made a mocking comment to an already mad man. That I made the man so mad he took out his knife and used it on me?

Scarlett giggled and said, "I guess not."

"Besides, I don't want to worry my father. He currently thinks I can take care of myself."

While Rhett and Scarlett were in Boston Percy asked Beth out to supper. They went to Fleetwood Landing. They shared an appetizer of deviled eggs. He had stuffed trout, and she had the She-crab soup. Beth liked the soup, but Percy wasn't overly fond of it therefore she rarely served it for supper. She just ordered it when they went out to supper. As Beth thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she and Percy had gone out to supper together. As she thought about it why would he want to spend any more time with that boring, pretentious snob than he had to. They had Chablis as their wine.

Percy said, "It doesn't really go well with either of our meals, but I like Chablis, so I ordered it."

"Whatever you choose will be good. You are quite the wine connoisseur."

"Thank you."

"When was the last time we went out to supper?"

"Except for the fund raisers, we haven't been out to eat together since our first anniversary."

"How sad."

"But we are making up for it now."

Beth wanted to know. She said, "How many more times did you bail my father out?"

"I bailed him out seven times all together. Once that made him allow me to marry you, five times when he came to me, and the last time when a man approached me after he was dead."

"It was kind of you to do that for him."

"He was too weak to stop, and it was too thrilling."

"I don't understand. I mean I understand the weak, but not the thrilling part."

"When a man wins a large amount of money, it is incredibly thrilling."

"Oh."

"Don't think about him. In the long run what he did worked out for the good. We are happily married and in love."

"Yes, we are."

After Percy and Beth had finished their desserts – hers was pecan pie and his was peach cobbler, he took a ring box out of his pocket. He could not believe how nervous he was. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"I didn't get to do this the first time, and I want to do it now. I love you and you love me."

Beth smiled and said, "True."

Percy opened the ring box and said, "Will you marry me?'

"We are already married."

"True, but I didn't get to ask you. Your father just told you what was going to happen. He told me everything had been arranged. We skipped this part and I want to go back and do it."

"Of course, I will marry you, but we aren't going to have another ceremony."

"Of course not. We are far too busy for that."

"I have never seen a stone that orange or that big."

"It is a sardonyx. It was the biggest one Mr. Webb had in stock."

Beth took her wedding and engagement rings off and said, "Slip it on my finger."

It fit perfectly, Beth put her wedding ring back on and the diamond on her other hand. She stared at the ring. The metal was gold, and the stone was cut in an oval cut. It was almost too large for her hand, but she was never taking it off. She said, "Thank you, Percy. For the ring and the wonderful memory. If someone ever asked how you proposed I will tell them about this right now."

"Let me pay the bill, so we can go home."

"Yes, let's have fun in our bed."

When Percy and Beth got home it was a good thing nobody was in the foyer. The couple hurried up the stairs in an extremely improper way. Neither person cared.

Rhett and Scarlett's trip from Boston was smooth. There was no trouble on the rails. At one stop Rhett said, "I am glad that you figured out a way to bring food with us. I like just sitting on the train waiting for the train to take off again."

"I like you sitting on the train also. Besides, the food is so much better than that depot food."

"And far cheaper also."

"Yes, it is." Scarlett giggled and said, "In Charleston the only thing I pay for are the sandwiches. The eggs, vegetables, and fruits I take from the kitchen at the townhouse."

Rhett laughed.

After arriving in Charleston, Rhett and Scarlett got a porter to help with their trunks. It was the same porter that had helped them so much when they had returned from New Orleans. The man said, "Do you want to go to the cab stand?"

Rhett said, "Yes." He turned to Scarlett and said, "Charleston Crab House?"

"No, Magnolia."

"I do like their She-crab soup."

"I know."

"Especially with the French bread."

"I know." Scarlett smiled at Rhett and said, "Let's get a cab."

"Of course."

"Rhett, give him a big tip. I wasn't able to give him very much the last time because you didn't have very much money left. He deserved much more than I was able to give him. His help was priceless."

Rhett gave the porter a five-dollar bill and said, "Thank you for your help then and now. Everything you did was greatly appreciated. I was one step away from dying. "

The porter took the bill and smiled, he said, "Thank you, sir. Indeed, you looked pretty bad off."

The porter was quite happy with his tip. He had been disappointed last time after everything he had done for the couple, but he had seen that the woman had given him all the money in the man's wallet.

When Rhett and Scarlett arrived at the townhouse, there was a wedding invitation to Melanie Hamilton's wedding with a letter tucked inside it. Later that night, Rhett said, "What did Miss Hamilton say in her letter?"

"She hoped I would attend her wedding. She was extremely happy with Matty. She believed she was happier than she ever would have been with Ashley. She said it was funny that although Matty owned a bookstore, he wasn't a bookworm. He liked to talk and interact with people. He would much rather be socializing than reading a book. He wanted to live life. Just as she now did. Her wedding is going to be April fifth at one thirty in the afternoon."

"Do you want to attend?"

"Strangely I do."

"Do you want to spend the night either before or afterwards in Atlanta?"

"I don't think so. Having to return to Tara is a perfect excuse to leave the reception if it is a bore."

"Alright. Will I get your special thank you for taking you to Tara?"

"You know you will."

"I just wanted to make sure."

Scarlett smiled. Rhett would take her to Tara just to make her happy with or without her special thank you. She wondered if Rhett loved her. He certainly treated her like he loved her, but if he loved her why didn't he tell her so? She was extremely fond of him. He was her favorite person, besides herself that is.

Before Rhett and Scarlett left to go to Tara, Percy suggested the family go out on the yacht. Everyone in the family agreed to go, but for once the Moons did not accept their invitation. Warren was having to deal with some issues at the textile factory and Felicia and Daphne had wedding arrangements to make. Mainly they were going to pick the style and fabric for Daphne's dress. Probably the lace also.

When Scarlett put on her bathing suit, she saw that her baby bump showed. She started to take the bathing suit off and put something on that would hide her protruding abdomen. Rhett who had his bathing suit on said, "Leave it on. It is only going to be family on the boat."

"Alright."

Percy and Beth had their bathing suits on although she had a lightweight cloak on. When she saw Scarlett's baby bump, she started to tell Scarlett to cover herself up, but she resisted the urge. That was the old way of thinking. There was nothing wrong with Scarlett showing her baby bump. After all, everyone was excited about the new life coming into their world.

Robert upon seeing everyone else in a bathing suit said, "I am going to have to get me one of those."

Rosemary said, "Me too."

Beth laughed and said, "Yes, you are."

In the carriage, Beth said to Scarlett, "Dear, you don't know this, but you will need to get some maternity clothes made quickly. Once you begin to show, the baby seems to grow quickly."

Scarlett turned to Rhett and said, "Can you go with me to the dress shop tomorrow?"

"Not tomorrow. Maybe in a couple of days. There are a couple of business deals I am in the midst of."

Beth said, "Rosemary and I will be glad to go with you tomorrow."

"Thank you."

The family had a fun time sailing around Charleston Harbor. In the midst of it, Rhett said to Percy, "I, unfortunately, never knew your father. I don't even know what to call him because he was dead before I was even born."

"Yes, he and my mother died far too soon."

"Do you think he missed the sea?"

"No, for reasons you don't need to know going to sea and being a pirate were just things he did to free himself from poverty. I don't know all the details. In truth, I have never wanted to know all the details. I do know he was an orphan child on the streets of Liverpool who did what he had to do to survive. Enough said."

"Yes, Father."

"He was a hard man. When my mother was still living, he kept that hardness covered up. All she ever saw was the proper gentleman she thought he had become. After her death, he dropped any pretense of being a gentleman behind closed doors. He told me of some of his adventures, but he rarely spoke about his life before he arrived in Charleston. His real name was Thomas Rhett. I named you for him."

"I'm sure he would have been honored."

"He left me a small fortune and I have been fortunate to double that amount of money thanks to some risky investments. These days I only make safe investments. Rhett, the goal of every father is to leave his children better than he was left."

Rhett smiled and said, "That is going to be hard, Father. You have set an exceedingly high bar."

Percy laughed. He said, "I have no doubts you will surpass me."

Percy watched as Rhett puffed up with pride. What pleased Percy more was the way Scarlett looked at Rhett as if she had no doubt, he would surpass his father.

Percy thought, 'Yes, how Rhett and Scarlett came together was not ideal, but maybe it was for the best. Under other circumstances Rhett would never have offered marriage.'

After a few minutes of silence Percy said, "My father's name was Alexander Thomas and my mother's name was Grace Temperance Mulberry. I would like for you to consider those names. The decision is yours, of course."

"Scarlett and I will talk about it."

"That is all I can ask."

The rest of the day on the water was pleasant for everyone on board the yacht.