Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Thirteen

Two days later in the early morning, the O'Haras' driver was taking Rhett and Scarlett into Jonesboro to board the train into Atlanta and then onto Charleston. The day before, over dinner Ellen had offered to let Scarlett take their new slave Prissy with her to Charleston, but Scarlett had turned her down by saying, "No, I already have a maid. Rhett got me one."

Rhett sat there and basked in the worshiping gaze Scarlett was giving him. In truth he had nothing to do with it. His mother had assigned Scarlett Simone as her maid. He did think that his mother had made an excellent choice in the assignment. Simone and Scarlett were just about the same age.

The cook had packed them the chicken from last night's supper. They also had some boiled eggs, raw vegetables, bread, and several pieces of fruit. After they got settled on the train, Rhett said, "We will wait to eat supper after we get home."

"No, let's get something before we go home. I get extremely cranky if I am hungry. I would not like to snap and say something unkind to your mother."

"Of course, Sweetheart."

Elizabeth and Scarlett's relationship had started off badly and had gone downhill from there. His mother wanted to do things the way she had always done them. Scarlett wanted to change things to suit herself.

The trip was good. Rhett had forced Scarlett to become a reader. He had introduced her to some of his favorite authors, but she still preferred her dime novels. He would buy her two regular novels and ten dime novels. He would not buy her any more dime novels until she read the two regular novels. He would often find her rereading the dime novels, but he had never seen her rereading one of the regular novels. The train had made good time and they had arrived thirty minutes early.

Rhett had informed his father that he and Scarlett were returning that day, but he had told him they would take a cab when they got to the station. He took her to Magnolia Restaurant again. In his opinion they made the best She-Crab Soup in Charleston. Scarlett had crab cakes. Once their entrees were served, Scarlett said, "I didn't know I would like seafood as much as I do."

"I'm glad you do since we live near the water."

"May we redecorate our room?"

"I like the décor of our room."

"Maybe we could change the drapes."

"I will talk to Mother and find out where she gets drapes made. We will go to the drapery maker together. If we can agree on a fabric, then we will get new drapes."

"Thank you, Rhett."

"Does that warrant a special thank you?"

Scarlett smiled and said, "Not until the drapes are hanging in our room."

Rhett smiled back with an amused smile. He thought, 'Just like me she never gives anything away for free.'

Rhett had not believed how difficult his mother had been about the couple getting new drapes for their room.

The day after Rhett and Scarlett had gotten back from Tara, he found Elizabeth in the parlor. He had said, "Scarlett and I are going to change the drapes in our room."

"No, you aren't."

"Yes, we are."

"No."

"It is our room."

"It is my house."

"Why ever not?"

"Then the drapes in that room will not match with the rest of the house. It will look tacky."

"We are going to do it."

"I will tell your father not to pay the bill."

"Go right ahead. I can afford to pay for a set of drapes."

"I hope your good taste will prevail."

"What are you saying?"

"Judging by her clothes, I don't think Scarlett has very good taste."

"I like Scarlett's dresses and I think she has exceptionally good taste. The only reason you think that is because of your Charleston snobbery. Everything is not better in Charleston."

"Rhett!"

"Have you ever left Charleston or are you just assuming Charleston is better than anywhere?"

"No, I have never left Charleston. I don't need to leave for I know Charleston is better than anywhere else in the world."

Rhett had slammed his mouth shut. It was his mother's superior attitude that had infuriated him so much. Finally, when he thought he had control of his temper, he said, "Who do I need to see to order the drapes from?"

"Martha Stewart on 5th street."

Rhett didn't say anything more. He turned and walked out of the parlor. He climbed the stairs and entered their room. Before his conversation with Elizabeth, he had only been planning to change the drapes to make Scarlett happy, but now they were going to redecorate the whole damn room even if he had to pay for it himself.

Scarlett was there reading a regular novel. It was one that he had bought her last time they went to the bookstore. She had taken it with them to Tara. He had teased her by saying, "Do you ever forget the plot and have to go back and reread the earlier chapters?"

"Yes, but I don't reread the previous chapters."

Rhett had laughed.

Scarlett had rarely seen Rhett with that look on his face. He looked furious. She said, "Why are you mad?"

"I had a distressing conversation with my mother. She doesn't want us to change the drapes in our room because it will mess up the entire décor of the home."

Scarlett stared at Rhett in shock. Finally, she said, "It is our room."

"That is what I said, and she said it was her house."

"What are you going to do?"

"Go with you tomorrow to look at fabric for our new drapes. It may be getting time for us to get our own place."

"No, Rhett. You are saving so much money by us living here. We won't move out until I am with child. It isn't that bad."

Rhett smiled at his wife and said, "The clear voice of reason and sanity. You are right, Honey, but we are going to redecorate the entire room even if I have to pay for it myself."

Scarlett giggled. She knew her husband was no longer mad at the situation. Maybe his mother, but not the situation. They would stick it out until she got with child. Hopefully, she would never because of the prevention method they were using.

After Rhett and Scarlett's first week of using the iron sulfate, she had made three more of the fabric and ribbon sets. They used two every day. She washed those two out and let them dry while the other two were soaking in the solution. She wanted to make sure the fabric was thoroughly wet with the solution. She made up a fresh batch of the solution once a week. She didn't know if the solution got weaker, but she wasn't taking any chances. Besides, it was usually almost all gone by then anyway. Rhett made inserting the fabric inside her part of their foreplay.

One night as Scarlett was drifting off to sleep, she thought, 'Rhett is so wonderful. He is doing all this because I don't want to have any children.'

A month later there were new drapes hanging in Rhett and Scarlett's room. There was a new bed spread, new paint on the walls, and new rugs. There had been a lot of squabbling between the couple, but in the end, they were both happy with their room. That was what it was after the redecorating. It was their room. Their oasis in a hostile environment.

Happily, in the end, Percy had paid for the redecorating of Rhett and Scarlett's room. Percy was fond of Elizabeth. She had, by marrying him, brought him a greater level of respectability, but he thought her a fuddy-duddy and a stuffed shirt. So was her mother. Her father had been a dreadful bore. Yet, that was why she had such high social standing. If Rhett had refused to marry Scarlett, Elizabeth would have weathered the storm, but he didn't know if he would have or not.

Percy knew, even if Elizabeth didn't, that by Rhett and Scarlett redecorating the room, they were making it their own. They had blended their personal taste to make sure the other person was happy also. Percy thought Rhett had done more giving than Scarlett but wasn't that normal between a man and a woman. Especially, if the man was only twenty-three years old and had an extremely strong sex drive.

Percy would have been amused at how many times in that month Rhett had received his special thank you for giving Scarlett what she wanted. If Percy had known he would have thought, 'Rhett, my son, she will always be able to lead you around by your cock.'

Percy was glad Rhett had married Scarlett. Percy was so extremely glad that Rhett's stubborn pride had not prevented him from marrying Scarlett. Rhett had probably done it because there was something extremely sexually appealing about the girl. She may be his daughter-in-law, but he was still a man, a lusty man at that.

Rhett and Scarlett seemed happy together. Percy smiled. The only fly in the ointment of their lives was Elizabeth. The sad thing for Percy was that his wife had never given their daughter-in-law a chance. Elizabeth had looked down her nose at Scarlett from the beginning just because she hadn't been born in Charleston.

Elizabeth never saw how happy Scarlett made their son. Since their marriage Rhett had lost that cynical attitude that he had been developing. He had also lost the need to wander. He was still as aggravating as he always had been, but now because he was happy there wasn't any bite in his mocking comments. Well, hardly any.

June first, Rhett said to Scarlett, "Let's go sailing."

"What?"

"Let's go out on our sailboat."

"You own a sailboat?"

"My father does. He likes to go sailing around the bay."

"By himself?"

"He usually takes someone with him. He takes one of his friends or one of his children."

"What about your mother?"

"No, she won't go. She would get too much sun."

Leerily Scarlett said, "Alright."

"What is the matter, Baby?"

"I have never been on a sailboat. Actually, I've never been on the water."

"Now is as good a time as any to find out if you are a good sailor."

"Alright. Let's ask Daphne and Robert to go with us."

"Grand idea. We shall ask Rosemary and Father also."

"What about your mother?"

"To be polite, but you don't have to worry. She won't go."

"I will have to wear my big floppy hat."

"And your bathing suit."

Scarlett had smiled. She said, "Just in case I fall in the water."

"Yes, if you fell in the water with all those garments you wear every day you would sink to the bottom in no time."

A few days later the group was sailing around in Charleston Harbor. As expected, everyone came, but Elizabeth. Robert had even invited Daphne's parents. The Moons had brought a picnic dinner for everyone. Robert, Rhett, and Percy had spent the morning telling the others about the harbor. There was the Ashley River and the Cooper River. There was Ft. Sumter. There was Morris Island and Sullivan's Island. There was Folly Island and Folly Beach.

Percy said, "Our plantation is ten miles past Stono River to the west."

Warren said, "How many acres?"

"One thousand."

"How many slaves do you own?"

"Between five to six hundred depending on who has died and who has given birth to a baby."

Scarlett said, "Do you just grow rice?"

"Yes. When it was my grandfather Mulberry's, he grew rice and indigo. After my father took over, he started growing just rice. As my father said one of the reasons the Mulberrys weren't making a profit was, they were trying to do too much with limited resources. My grandfather only had about three hundred slaves on a good year. As soon as my parents were married, my father took over the managing of the plantation. He bought my grandparents a home in Charleston and gave them an allowance every month."

Rhett said, "Just like you did for mother's parents."

"No, I paid off your grandfather's gambling debts. There are men who should never sit down at the poker table. Your grandfather was one such man. After I paid off his debts, he was able to live on what he made as a vice-president of First Charleston Bank. Of course, when he died, they had no savings. I was able to sell their home and provide your grandmother with a little pocket money which she has probably spent by now."

Robert said, "Probably. It has been ten years."

Percy turned to Rhett and said, "We will be going to Middleton Acres next week. They are going to start flooding the fields and I will need to be there. You and Scarlett should go. We are staying for two weeks, but you and Scarlett don't have to stay that long."

Rhett turned to Scarlett and said, "Do you want to go?"

"Yes, I would like to see your family plantation."

"It has been in the Mulberry family for almost one hundred and fifty years. My ancestors were some of the first settlers in South Carolina."

Percy said, "I think that is the only reason my mother agreed to marry my father. She did it to save the family plantation. I think my mother was happy with her life. My father was a very charming man when he set his mind to being."

Scarlett said, "Was he an aggravator too?"

Percy, Robert, and even Rhett burst out laughing. When Percy sobered, he said, "Yes, my dear, he was. All the Butler men are charming, but fortunately all of them are not aggravators also."

"That is a good thing. The world couldn't handle that much aggravation."

Rhett smiled and said, "No, it couldn't. Father, lets sail over to Kiawah Island, set anchor, and enjoy the fine dinner the Moons have graciously provided for us."

Felicia burst out laughing and said, "You certainly are the charmer."

Rhett smiled and bowed at Mrs. Moon. There was no mockery in the bow.