Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Two

Elizabeth was not in the family parlor. She was in the formal parlor. The formal decor calmed her. How had her acceptable world turn so unacceptable? It was all Rhett's fault. He had never cared about the décor before he got married, but his wife had made him care. Although he had often bent the rules of society, he had never broken them. Now he didn't care if his wife participated in a political discussion. He, in fact, said he was going to reward her for that action. Now he had done the worst thing possible, he had made her a grandmother.

At least, while Rhett had been using the whores, Elizabeth hadn't had to worry about becoming a grandmother. Yes, she had heard all about that, but she had always been steadfast in her denial that her son would do something like that. She would always claim that whoever had started that rumor had mistaken her son for someone who looked a lot like him. Which was silly because nobody could mistake Rhett for anyone else.

The worst part was that Elizabeth just knew that Rhett had told Robert all about relations. She also knew that Rhett had given Robert some money in order to buy a whore. Probably not very often, but often enough. She knew this because the brothers' relationship had changed. A change she couldn't put her finger on, but a change it had been. She also knew that Percy had taught Robert to play poker also, but it seemed that Robert was no better of a poker player than her father had been. Therefore, Robert had no way to earn money like Rhett did.

Elizabeth had another awful thought. Robert was still calling on that girl Daphne from England. She just knew that she was going to have two daughters-in-law who were not worthy of being in her family. Her family that had been in Charleston since it was called Charles Towne. This was her lot. A husband whose father was a pirate, two non-Charlestonian daughters-in-law, and two sons who were not above using whores. All because my father was a bad poker player. At least, Robert is smart enough to realize he is a bad poker player.

Finally, when Elizabeth heard everyone going up the stairs she chose to retire also, but she waited to make sure everyone else was already in their rooms. She had one final thought, 'Although Rhett and Scarlett did the right thing people are still talking about them over a year later. Not as much as they would have been talking about Rhett if he had refused to marry Scarlett. That shame would have been too much to bear.'

Percy was already in their bedroom when Elizabeth got there. Besides, looking at her, Percy hadn't done or said anything. He already had his nightshirt on. He lit his lamp and got into the bed. For once Elizabeth was mad enough to say something improper. She said, "Did you pay for the redecorating of Rhett's room?"

"Yes."

"I told you not to."

"I know. I didn't care what you wanted. I wanted my daughter-in-law to feel like the room was hers too. Now she does."

"You are choosing her feelings over my feelings."

"You have feelings? Where have you been hiding them for the last twenty-six years?"

"Of course, I have feelings."

"No, all you have is duty and honor. Elizabeth, have you ever had any fun? Have you ever laughed? Right now, is the most emotion I have seen in you in twenty-six years. We have three great children. I want them to enjoy living in this house and living with me. I want to have a relationship with my grandchildren. I will no longer allow you to stifle my children or my grandchildren with your outdated ideas and mores."

"They are not outdated ideas and mores. They are what is proper and honorable."

"I'm going to tell you something else. I will be happy to welcome Daphne into the Butler family. Did you hear me the Butler family? I am no longer going to pretend we are the Kennesaw family. Furthermore, next year for Christmas dinner you can serve anything you want, but goose, stuffing, mashed turnips, beets, and corn bread. I have eaten that meal for the last time. I still want to find yams, rolls and pecan pie on the table. Maybe Mrs. Moon will bring those roasted vegetables again next Christmas along with plum pudding and mincemeat pie."

All Elizabeth could think to say was, "Robert, may not still be calling on Daphne by Christmas."

"You're right. He and Daphne may already be married by then."

Proper Elizabeth then did something very improper. She screamed. She then left the room while slamming the door on her way out.

Everyone in the townhouse heard Elizabeth scream, but nobody came out of their room to question why. They all knew their questions would not be received well.

Rhett had told Scarlett that Robert was going to ask Daphne to marry him. Robert and Percy were going to the jewelry store the next day. Scarlett said, "Did your father go with you to the jewelry store."

"Yes, I didn't know anything about jewelry. I still don't. Next time we go to the bookstore, I will buy a book on gemstones. I will go with Father and Robert tomorrow and ask questions."

"I will have to find a midwife to help me deliver my baby. Who delivered you?"

"We had a midwife who lived on the plantation. When my mother went into her confinement, she simply moved to Middleton Acres because she couldn't stand to be trapped inside for all that time."

"That almost sounds improper."

"Almost, but not quite."

Rhett and Scarlett stopped talking when they heard Elizabeth scream. Scarlett whispered, "Was that your mother?"

"I think so. I have never heard her scream before."

Rhett and Scarlett heard the slamming of the door and they just stared at each other until Rhett said, "I don't know what is going on either. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

After five minutes, when there were no more sounds, Rhett and Scarlett got into the bed. She said, "Do you really want a girl?"

"Yes, but my son will never know he was not the preferred gender."

"I think I want a boy."

"One of us is going to be happy and one of us is going to be unhappy."

"True."

"Will you find out all there is to know about giving birth to a baby?"

Rhett smiled and said, "How am I going to find out that information?"

"I don't know. The same way you found out about preventatives."

"Sure."

As Rhett was kissing Scarlett he thought, 'I will just interview midwives.'

Elizabeth walked to the stairs in a fury. She didn't think she had ever been this mad. She didn't know where she was going. She couldn't leave the house this late, it wouldn't be safe. A thought flashed through her brain that was so outrageous she couldn't believe she thought it. Why not? The world she had four hours ago was gone. Percy was right on one point. Most of the time she didn't know why she was doing the things she was doing. She was just doing them because someone else had told her to do them or not do them. She realized that she had never had any fun in her entire life. She was going to start having fun.

When Elizabeth was at the foot of the stairs, she remembered something Percy had said when she was carrying Rhett. And she knew it was true. Her father had sold her to Percy for money to cover his gambling debts. Yes, her marrying Percy had been what was right for the family, but only because her father had put the family in danger with his reckless actions. His irresponsible actions. That didn't sound very good, proper, or honorable. How does a man lose a thousand dollars while playing poker? And not once think, 'This is not a smart idea.'

Elizabeth sat on the stairs. Something she would never have done four hours earlier. Percy's comment about where had she been hiding her feelings for the last twenty-six years had stung. No, the true question was where had she been hiding her feelings for the last thirty-seven years. Ever since she was five years old and was aware of her parents' expectations for her and her behavior. She had been hiding them even from herself.

Elizabeth thought about her childhood. She had not always been an only child. She had an older brother, John, Jr., who had been five years older than her. He had died from cholera when he had been fifteen. She remembered he was always not quite behaving properly. He had not broken any of the social rules exactly, but he had not been a stuffed shirt like her parents and herself. Her parents had always been telling Junior that he had to behave better. Junior would say with a smile, 'I am doing the best I can.'

If her brother had been here right now, he would tell her what he had always been telling her, 'Beth, you act like an old woman instead of a young girl. Have fun while you can. Life is too short to always be proper.' Junior was the only person who had ever called her Beth. When he did, she would always tightly reply, 'My name is Elizabeth.' Sadly, for him it had certainly been true. His life had been too short.

As Elizabeth looked back upon her childhood, she remembered something that she had thought was strange at the time. She remembered how many times her mother had sold her jewelry. When Elizabeth would ask about a piece, her mother would say, 'I was tired of it.' She also remembered how poorly her mother and her father had been dressed before she married Percy. She also remembered her mother and her planning her wedding. Almost everything she had wanted her mother had said they couldn't afford it. She knew that her father had been gambling away his money for a long time. He had been behaving irresponsibly for a long time. She wondered if he really had given up playing poker or if Percy had continued to cover her father's gambling debts. She decided that Percy would not have continued to cover her father's gambling debts because Percy would have known that would have been the same as throwing the money away. The only thing that would make her father stop gambling would have been the shame of everyone finding out he was hundreds of dollars in debt. She bet Percy had made it clear to her father that he was not going to bail him out again.

Elizabeth also remembered telling Percy that the wedding would be exceedingly small and very few people would be invited. When Percy had asked why. She had felt a little shame when she had admitted her father couldn't afford to throw a big lavish wedding which she realized was ridiculous. Her father had been the vice president of a bank. It wasn't a week later that her mother had told her that her father had found the money to pay for her wedding. They could now do everything she wanted to do, which included inviting everyone in the gentry. She knew right then that Percy had given her father the money for her wedding despite the fact that Percy knew that she and everyone else at the wedding were looking down their noses at him simply because of who his father was. They were such snobs.

Elizabeth thought about her friends and decided that they were all a bunch of stuck-up snobs. She thought, 'How snotty can a group of women be to look down on other women just because they hadn't been born in Charleston. Something they had no control over. And Eulalie and Pauline were the worst of the bunch and they had been born in Savannah. Talk about being a hypocrite.'

Elizabeth decided, 'I'm going to start living. I'm going to start having fun before it is too late.' She stood and walked back up the stairs to her bedroom. She was forty-two years old. She hadn't had a flow in over a year therefore she had gone through the change of life. During the first year of their marriage Percy had tried to convince her to have fun in her marital bed. It could be enjoyable for both of them. Not just duty on her part. She was going to make him prove that statement.