Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Thirty-Five

Soon the trio were on their way back to the town house. Rhett said, "I am going out this afternoon to check on my businesses."

Scarlett said, "What do you do at the bank?"

"I look at the books to be sure Mr. Hoover isn't embezzling from the bank."

"What?"

"Stealing from the bank."

"You can't let him do that."

"No, I can't. I am the only other owner of the bank."

"He owns everything else?"

"Yes."

"Why doesn't he buy you out?"

"After he owned fifty-one percent of the bank, he started offering paltry amounts of money to the other owners. I guess they were accepting that amount. I think he thought I would accept his miserable amount, but I didn't. He refused to offer me what my share was worth when he took over the bank. In fact, he told me to take his offer or leave it he didn't care, but I would have no say in the running of the bank. I left it. After I left the bank, I realized that everything he did to make a profit for himself would make a profit for me also. I am making a lot more profit now than I was a year ago."

"You are so smart not to accept his offer. It is wonderful you are making so much money."

"Yes, it is. He has since offered me what my share of the bank is worth, but I refuse to sell because of the money I am making without doing anything. "

Rhett didn't tell his wife or his mother that while all Mr. Hoover's actions were legal, they weren't very gentlemanly. The man had foreclosed on anyone who was three months behind on their payments. Then Mr. Hoover took the repossessed object and resold it thus making the bank even more money.

When Scarlett got the new dresses back from the seamstress, she did feel pretty. Although she would never tell Rhett that.

Rhett's favorite way to annoy Scarlett those days was to tell her that her shoes didn't match. He stopped doing it after he had made her cry several times. He was fine with her yelling at him, but he was never alright with her crying on him. He would often leave the room when she started crying. He didn't know how to handle a crying Scarlett. He guessed he could offer her comfort, but what if that made her cry more? No, the best for him to do was walk away from the situation.

May fifteenth was the day of Robert's graduation from the University of Charleston, but to Scarlett and Rhett it was the day they first felt their baby move. She felt it and grabbed his hand and put it on her abdomen. He only got to feel it once, therefore he was lucky he had not resisted her pulling his hand. The couple laid in the bed watching her abdomen waiting for the baby to move again. The baby did not. They finally got up and started getting dressed.

It was a long day with the ceremony starting at one o'clock in an over filled chapel. Rhett had managed to get Scarlett a seat, then stood over her like a protective bear. For her part she just sat there holding his hand. Finally, the spot next to her came open. Scarlett wanted Rhett to sit next to her, but he did something he probably wouldn't have done six months earlier. He gave the seat to his mother. She thanked him with a smile. Scarlett and Beth made room for Rosemary although she was sitting more on her mother than on the pew, Beth never said a word. She simply hugged her daughter. She fleetingly wondered how many times she would have cherished a hug from her mother.

When Mabel saw the throng of people, she chose to remain in the carriage despite how hot it was in the carriage. Mabel had been doing that more and more since her conversation with Beth in the carriage on their way to Claiborne's. It was easier to be alone than to endure Beth ignoring her. In truth, Mabel was alone whether she was with a crowd of people or by herself. As she watched her daughter flirt with her husband and her husband call her daughter his love, she was happy Beth had thrown off the trappings of proper society for her daughter was happy. Truly happy. Mabel herself had never truly been happy. No, not since she had realized that John was throwing away the family money. She at first was appalled that John could do something so dishonorable then incredibly sad that she would never have any of the finer things in life because of her husband's actions. Maybe that was why she and John had been so hard on Elizabeth and Junior. She and John were dishonorable, but their children had to be above reproach. Mabel acknowledged to herself that was pretty hypocritical. Yet even today she couldn't act or think any differently than she had all her life. Unlike Beth she could never throw off those trappings. She was in her sixties, long past her heydays. She briefly wondered if she had ever had heydays.

Mabel thought of her husband. She had thought she was so lucky that John Kennesaw had wanted to marry her. Her family had not been rich, but they had some social position. Yet, the one asset she had was she was beautiful.

When Mabel and John had first been married, her life had been quite comfortable. After he had been promoted to vice-president, her life had been almost plush. She remembered that awful day that John had decided to go have a drink with a couple of other gentlemen. They had taught him to play poker. That first night he had a run of good luck and had won almost thirty dollars. That was when the gambling had begun. It became a vicious cycle. John would win often enough to keep him hooked. He would try to quit, but something kept calling him back to the poker table. After the first time, she had to sell her jewelry to pay off his debt, John had not gambled again for an entire year. Unfortunately, when he went back to the poker tables, he had a run of good luck after that he was completely hooked. He would quit, but he would always go back. After Percy and Elizabeth had gotten married, John didn't play poker for almost two years. Yet once again he had returned to the poker tables. Fortunately, Percy kept paying off John's debts. Percy really was a good man which was good, for Beth deserved a good man and a life of happiness.

The family saw the Moons, but the chapel was too small and filled with too many people for the two families to make contact with each other. It was alright. The Moons would come to the reception at the townhouse. The reception that Beth's housekeeper, Evangelina, was currently making the final touches on.

Beth in her mind acknowledged that she had an excellent staff. She would have to reward them in some way. She would ask Percy about it.

Whenever Beth thought Percy's name a smile came to her lips. She thought about their activities last night. Probably not often enough, she occasionally gave him oral pleasure. At first, she had been appalled, but she had pushed through it by reminding herself that was the old way of thinking. She was enjoying life now. If anyone deserved special treatment it was Percy Butler. The man who had lived with that shriveled up prude for twenty-six years and had continued to love her without any hope in his heart. Yet Beth knew he had never given up hope. She knew she didn't deserve Percy, but she would never give him up.

As soon as Robert had crossed the stage, Rhett had hustled Scarlett out of the chapel. His father, mother, and sister had gone with him. After all, why not? Rhett was clearing a path for them.

In truth, all the Butler men were basically the same size and height, but somehow Rhett always seemed to be the biggest of them. Nonetheless, people always seemed to step aside for Rhett. Percy decided that it was that killer instinct his father had possessed. Percy knew that he had never possessed the ultimate killer instinct. He had never crossed that line, yet he knew Rhett would do whatever he had to do in the moment to obtain his goal. Whether his goal was to get Scarlett safely to the carriage or his goal was to become a millionaire in his own right.

At the reception, Percy asked, "Did everyone attend that you sent an invitation to?"

"Yes."

"Maybe you are invincible."

"Huh?"

"Maybe it doesn't matter what you do now, you will always be received."

"Percy, let's go outside. There are too many people in this townhouse."

As soon as they were behind the townhouse, Beth said, "I want you now. I can't wait until this evening."

"Oh my God, woman."

"Take me now. Here in the backyard."

"Of course, but the back yard will never be the same."

"Who cares?"

Percy and Beth were soon being intimate. Beth was so aroused she was immediately reaching her satisfaction. Percy was incredibly aroused also therefore the coupling was over in minutes. After they were finished, and she was sliding her legs down, she said, "It was so thrilling knowing we could be discovered at any moment."

Percy was quickly getting himself back together. He had not shared his wife's excitement of the thrill of possibly being discovered having relations, yet he responded, "Yes, it was."

As the couple walked back into the townhouse, Percy vaguely wondered if he had created a monster. He smiled and thought, 'But what a monster to have.'

The next day after Robert's graduation, Beth started making the arrangements for the wedding and reception. Felicia had made it clear to Beth that Warren was paying for the wedding and reception. Afterwards, when Beth told Percy about it, she finished by saying "I will let her pay for some of it, but we will pay for most of it."

"No, we will not. We will not insult Mr. and Mrs. Moon by paying for their only child's wedding. It is not about the money. I have plenty of money. It is about their pride and honor."

"You are right, Dear."

"When you go to purchase things ask Mrs. Moon to go with you. That way she can decide how much she wants to spend."

"I guess I will, but we have so many more people who will expect an invitation to our son's wedding."

"Find out from Mrs. Moon how many people can you invite to the wedding. Certainly, none of those women who look down on Daphne and Mrs. Moon."

Beth smiled and said, "That is certainly going to narrow the list. There would be only about ten couples. Great idea."

"Is there anyone you would like to invite?"

Beth smiled again and said, "The same people Felicia is inviting."

"We certainly don't want to invite anyone who will be scandalized that Scarlett is showing herself when she should be hiding herself away like her being with child is a horrid secret instead of the blessed event that it is."

"You are right, Percy. It will be a small wedding and reception. The Moons can easily afford to pay for it."

"Thank you, my love."

"Percy, thank you for giving me the wedding of my dreams."

"It was the wedding of my dreams too. You were my bride."

"Aah."

On the first of June, the wedding invitations went out. There were a lot of people who were expecting an invitation who were disappointed when they realized they weren't getting one. If anyone said anything to Beth about it, she would say, "It is going to be a very small ceremony."

Two people who were extremely hurt about not getting an invitation were Eulalie Hicks and Pauline Chalamet. They thought of all the people to get an invitation they certainly would get one. Not only were they Elizabeth's no Beth's close friends, but their niece was part of the Butler family.

Yet as the two sisters talked about it in the days to follow, they decided that Scarlett had still not forgiven Eulalie for her part in getting Scarlett married to Rhett Butler. Didn't their niece know that she could never have made that awesome of a match without having trapped the boy into marrying her? Didn't she know she was half Irish and that her father had no family?

The sisters recalled that Elizabeth had been distant and aloof ever since she had become Beth. The woman had dropped out of half the committee's she was a part of and the ones she remained a member of she left early more times than not. The woman had stopped receiving guests in her home on a regular basis. The woman had stopped calling on other women. The sisters decided it was just as well they hadn't been invited because probably something improper was going to happen at either the wedding or the reception. Or maybe both.