Dear readers, Hello!

As always, my characters live their own lives, so I expected this chapter to be a bit different, but it turned out that way.

At least the next chapter will be up this weekend :)

Thank you all for your reviews, kind words, thoughts and ideas.

And below I'll try to explain mine.

So :) lots of thoughts and I'll tell you mine first :)

I understand that Charleston and Atlanta are close enough for people to correspond and gossip. But first of all, it's post-war, everyone's busy surviving. The same Wilkes/Hamiltons doesn't have Scarlett to carry the burden, provide money and jobs for relatives. Second, her aunts left town long ago, right after the war ended, broke, grieving for their sister and thinking their niece was dead too. Thirdly, Rhett might have been an object of gossip in another situation, but he'd been away for a long time, and here he was, spending money on committees and getting married. And to whom? A southern widow from the North with two! children. Yes, she's pretty, young, but there's nothing savoury about it. They're a handsome couple in the eyes of society, nothing more. There's nothing to gossip about. Word reaches Atlanta that the famous Rhett Butler has settled down, married a widow with two children... What's her name? Mrs? It doesn't matter, why gossip about it?

Boring:) He didn't get himself a mistress, didn't rent her a separate house... The way I see it. Oh, and there's a lot to talk about in Atlanta, the new rich Yankees for example...

So I think the new Butler couple can live in peace (for a while).

Oh, and travelling by train from Atlanta to Charleston costs money again, and the Old Guard don't have it in abundance at the moment. And yes, that same Suellen, I don't think, gives a damn about her sister's disappearance. And Carreen... That's more interesting, maybe she's living with her sister and her husband, or maybe she is going for a convent...

I know it doesn't sound ideal in everything, but please allow me some of that "non-ideality" ;) I'm trying very hard to make the story believable.

P.S. As usual, for your inspiration

https/polinka22malinka/774055159316824064/my-inspiration-for-the-chapter-17-of-the-story?source=share

Enjoy reading!:)

Chapter 17

They were married in December, a week before Christmas, on a sunny but chilly day. The wind had picked up the day before, so the townspeople took out their woolen coats and spent more time at home or with guests, warming themselves with tea, the warmth of the fireplace and hearty conversation.

But Rhett didn't mind the cold or the wind, it seemed to him that he was living the happiest days of his life, and he hoped she was too. On the eve of the wedding, he moved his things into the house he was going to buy, not just rent, and while the servants were busy, he and Scarlett sat in the library, which served as a study, drinking coffee and discussing the upcoming celebration.

In the middle of their conversation, she glanced at the picture of her and John on the mantelpiece that she had brought back from Saratoga and sighed.

The cup of coffee he was about to drink froze in Rhett's hand and he frowned. It seemed to him, he didn't know what it was, but her look at the photo of her and her late husband together and that sigh...

Scarlett suddenly turned her head and met his frowning eyes, looked at him in surprise and simply said, "Are you okay, Rhett?"

"And you?" she heard his deliberately calm reply, but she didn't take it and just said, "Everything in my life is happening so fast, especially everything about weddings," she added, grinning.

He looked at her carefully, hesitant to ask anything, and she continued, setting the china cup down on the coffee table in front of her, "It's just that all the weddings, I mean the ones I remember... It all happened so quickly with John and you..."

He noticed the slight blush in her cheeks and she continued, "I don't know, maybe my first husband courted me for a long time..."

At this sentence Rhett almost smiled, remembering how she had married in a hurry the first time to spite the Honourable Mr. Wilkes, but suddenly he asked seriously, "Don't you want to marry me, Scarlett?"

She looked at him again, smiling slightly at his nervous expression. Until now she had not been able to understand or realize that this tall, handsome, self-confident man had strong feelings for her. It was exciting, unusual, but pleasant. And of course she was flattered that he had told her so openly.

"No, Rhett, maybe I want to," she began to answer, and he caught the playful note in her voice.

"Maybe?" he interrupted her, raising an eyebrow and setting the cup down in front of him.

She smiled and enjoyed teasing him since she was so rarely good at it.

"You see," she went on, "with John, we married quickly, and because of the war, he just wanted to be close to me... And you, Rhett? Wasn't it enough for you just to be near me? To live in the same street... Hmm... To courting me for a while?" she asked with interest.

He looked at her seriously. No, it wasn't enough for him. After almost losing her twice, first searching all over the South, then seeing her with another man, knowing she was carrying his baby, imagining her in another man's arms. No, that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to go to sleep and wake up feeling her, smelling her. He wanted to come home to her. He wanted to see her all the time, not through etiquette. No, it wasn't enough for him.

The pause seemed to drag on, but finally he grinned and simply said, "What was I doing all last year at Saratoga, Darling? I thought I was courting you..."

She snorted and said, "Have you been pestering me with your jokes or is this your way of courting, Rhett Butler?"

"Tell me, Mrs Carter, how would you like me to court you? I could borrow a guitar from Ross and sing serenades under your window, that would certainly attract attention..." he said, smiling.

"Ah, shut up, Rhett!" she said, turning away.

He realized he had overreacted, because she really didn't understand why he wanted to be with her so much. After all, he hadn't said anything to her.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett," he said quietly, moving closer to her.

"Move away," she muttered, looking away at the open library door.

"It's just us here," he said quietly, reaching out and trying to stroke her cheek.

"So what?"

She sat facing away from him and Rhett realized that the only thing that could help was to just talk.

"You know, Scarlett," he began, "I've had all kinds of women in my life, but none that I wanted to fall asleep next to every night and wake up to every morning. And with you, I want to..."

He saw her shoulders tremble slightly, saw her posture soften, and finally allowed himself to put his arms around her shoulders and turn her gently.

"Why me?" she asked softly, not looking at him.

He grinned and simply replied, "And why me?"

She raised her eyes to him in confusion, he smiled and then explained, "You know why, Scarlett... I said it to you... And you expect me to say it again... But before I do, I want to hear from you, why me?"

Scarlett knew and didn't know why the same time. She knew that his touch and the sound of his voice, the smell of his cigars, made everything inside her freeze. She knew it had been like that since the first time they met, and each time she felt it more vividly. She knew she could share her thoughts with him, that he wouldn't hurt her. The only thing she didn't know was whether it was possible to fall in love so quickly.

Scarlett looked into his eyes and saw that he was waiting eagerly for her words, so she said softly, looking away, "I think I..." she took a deep breath, but the knowledge that he had already told her that gave her strength and she continued, "I think I love you, Rhett..."

She felt his hand squeeze her shoulder a little tighter and she felt him hold his breath for a moment.

"Really?" he asked quietly, realizing that the question sounded silly.

She smiled more boldly, ran her palm over the lapels of his grey jacket and said playfully, "I have agreed to marry you, Captain Butler. I wouldn't have done it without feeling..."

"Without feeling what, Scarlett?" he interrupted her impatiently. He remembered how eloquently and emotionally she had declared her love for Ashley Wilkes in the library on that April day, but somehow her confession was more moving to him now. It had been so quiet, so intimate, between them... And he wanted to hear it again.

"Without feeling the same way you do, Rhett," she said slyly.

Rhett smirked then pulled her closer, and before she could protest, he kissed the corner of her lips, then her cheek, then her cheekbone and whispered, "All right, Mrs Carter, you've convinced me, but I assure you, I'm going to hear what I want to hear more than once."

Her breath caught, but she pulled herself together and whispered back, "You're overconfident, Captain Butler! Too much..."

They had both slept badly the night before wedding.

Scarlett realized that they would be sharing a bed the next night and she was both anxious and curious. She was afraid to compare Rhett to John and didn't want to, but had a feeling it would be different. Very different.

Rhett couldn't sleep either, he thought he was dreaming and couldn't believe that soon they would be together, for real, as he had dreamed for the last few years... He had waited for her for so long that these last twenty-four hours seemed to drag on for him.

And so the next day, before dinner, the newlyweds accepted congratulations in the parlour of the Butler mansion.

Mrs Butler gave a small reception, discussing it with her son and future daughter-in-law.

Rhett wanted all the high society in town to know the news, but quietly, without gossip, so a few of his mother's friends, including Mrs Hampton, of course with her daughter, were among the guests. A few of Ross's colleagues from the law firm and some younger ladies who were in touch with his sister and wanted to see the new young Mrs Butler in their book and sewing circles.

Scarlett, who looked very beautiful, a little flushed from all the events and congratulations, slipped quietly from the living room into the hall, to catch her breath, and looked at herself in a gold-framed mirror. Wearing ivory dress which matched her perfectly, she added the lace cape, the pearl necklace, which Mrs Butler had given her the day before, the pearl earrings, and the diamond ring, which Rhett had carefully put on her finger a few hours before.

With her hair pulled back into an elegant hairstyle, Scarlett hardly recognized herself.

Her wedding to John hadn't been about outfits and hairstyles, it had been simple and quick, because of the war time.

Her first wedding she couldn't remember.

But this wedding, and herself, she liked very much. Looking again in the mirror, Scarlett fixed her hair a little and thought, smiling to herself, "I'm certainly pretty. Very pretty. And I look a lot better than those young girls and that Anne." Her eyes twinkled mischievously and she hurried back into the living room to have a few jokes with Ross or to hear some spicy jokes about another old matron that Rhett whispered constantly in her ear, making her cheeks blush and she whispered back, "Rhett, you're an incorrigible varmint!"

Towards the end of the evening, after dinner, Scarlett found herself in Ross's company, while Rhett was talking with the same gentleman from Savannah she had danced with, whose name she had forgotten.

Scarlett glanced at them, noticing once again how damn handsome her husband was in his black suit and what a beautiful couple they made, and heard Ross's voice next to her, "Well, Scarlett, you are now officially my sister-in-law, but I prefer to think of you as my sister."

Scarlett turned and smiled at him, "Oh, Ross, thank you..." She paused, thought for a moment and then continued, "I don't know if I ever had brothers, but I'm glad you came into my life. And it's doubly nice to joke with you about my now-husband," she finished with a smile.

Ross smiled and slightly put his arm around her shoulder. "By the way," Scarlett added quietly, "what do you think I'm going to do with all these circle invitations? I don't really like reading, let alone embroidery, and these ladies' meetings..."

Ross grinned and replied, "You don't have to go all the time, Scarlett. Just turn up a couple of times and then you can send notes of apology. Then turn up again... That's pretty much how I work," he finished, and she laughed.

"Okay, okay, My Dear, that's not how I work," Ross replied, adding, "By the way, Scarlett, Rhett said you were good at chess and good with numbers."

Scarlett nodded.

"You know, I mostly deal with property disputes, inheritance cases and so on. And sometimes I need a fresh look at documents, especially where there are calculations involved. Perhaps you would be interested in helping me from time to time by going through the papers? What do you think? Only if it wouldn't bother you too much..." Scarlett looked at him gratefully and just said with a smile, "Of course I will help you, Ross, otherwise I will go crazy at home with the boredom of only dealing with children."

"Well, look, Darling, you made a promise, now I definitely won't leave you alone," Ross joked, adding, "I'll bring the first papers in a few days, okay?"

"You're not wasting any time, brother," Scarlett joked in reply.

Rhett was talking to an elderly gentleman from Savannah who wanted to invest in a profitable business in the North and was consulting with him.

"You've found a real treasure in the North, Captain Butler," he added jokingly at the end of their conversation, pointing at Scarlett who was talking to his brother.

Rhett smiled and nodded, and the gentleman continued, "You know, your wife reminds me so much of an old friend of mine. The wife of my friend Pierre! Oh, you should have seen that Frenchwoman, they call such women "femme fatale"! Pierre was her third husband and he was crazy about her... What can I say, Captain Butler, I was crazy about Solange, everyone was... Ah, those past days..."

Rhett listened attentively and smiled back, but his mind was working fast, trying to remember the names of Scarlett's relatives in Savannah, but the gentleman continued rhetorically, "Oh, how fleeting life is... Solange is long gone, and Pierre died at the end of the war... Oh... Captain Butler, once again, my congratulations to you and your precious wife!"

Rhett nodded, shook his hand, excused himself and walked over to Scarlett.

"Mrs Butler," he addressed her with a soft voice, taking her hand affectionately.

"Ross was just looking for Miss Eleanor," she told him, adding quietly, "It seems the guests are starting to leave..." Rhett just squeezed her hand tighter, thinking of something...

The bedroom in their house was silent, only the crackling of the logs in the fireplace and the ticking of the clock were between them. The candles were burning and he was staring at the neckline of her back, at the light fabric of the dress he would soon be helping her to remove.

Rhett stepped closer and felt her flinch, then she said uncertainly, "Maybe call..."

"No one can touch you tonight but me..." he quietly interrupted her and gently touching the curls that fell down her back, then laid them on her shoulder, revealing the white skin of her neck, shoulders. Barely breathing, he ran his finger along the constellation of moles on her back, near her spine, and suddenly leaned in and kissed them, making her shiver.

He kissed her, working his way higher and higher, from her back to her shoulder, then her long, snow-white neck, and now he was kissing her cheekbone.

He couldn't see the expression in her eyes, but he knew from her body, from the light sighs that came in and out, that he was doing the right thing, that she liked his touches...

"Scarlett," she heard him whisper and felt his hands on her waist. She placed her cool, slightly trembling palms on his and whispered, "Rhett..."

That night she fell asleep in his arms. He held her tightly, but gently, around her waist and it was hard for him to breathe from the feelings that overwhelmed him. She was his dream come true, she had become his wife. He loved her so much that it felt like it hurt in his chest. He loved her children and he wanted to have more children with her...

He wanted to surround her with care and spoil her every day, he wanted to give her joy, he wanted to see her smile. Sometimes he wanted to annoy her a little, to see that fire in her eyes, to hear her sneer, then tease her a little more, and when she puffed up like a child, suddenly take her in his arms and kiss, kiss, kiss her, ignoring her protests, which quickly disappeared.

And she loved him too! It was unbelievable, but she did! Her looks, her gestures, and that quite confession to him in the silence of the library...

It was all beautiful and real.

Rhett stroked her waist, her belly, then kissed her curls lightly and sighed.

There was a little 'but' to all this that plagued him. He was lying. Lying to the woman he loved about the most important thing, and he didn't know how to tell the truth. And is this truth necessary at all, now or later?

"Now there is us and our family," he thought, falling asleep next to her, "that is the most important thing."