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Chapter 19.
After Christmas, as soon as January started, time moved at a rapid pace for the Butler family. Getting used to each other, to the children and the worries, that came with them, took up all their free time. All the questions, connected with Wade and Ella, Rhett took as a challenge and solved masterfully. Scarlett let him do it, thinking that they would all get used to each other quicker that way, and besides, she was so tired of being responsible for everything herself after John's death. Especially the children, when the fear of another child's cold could throw her off balance. So she was glad that her new (often obnoxious) husband was so enthusiastic and affectionate towards them. Sometimes she even allowed herself to joke about him, when she saw how proudly Rhett walking along the waterfront with Wade or holding Ella in his arms to protect her from a gust of wind, not caring about his suit or hat.
Household matters were also dealt with. They hired two maids, but the cook, the governess and the stable boy were coming on the schedule and Mary became the main of the servants.
They continued to argue about the bedroom walls, Rhett still hoping to keep the "emerald" colour that Scarlett had called "marshy". He suggested that she could change the curtains, the bedspreads and choose the light-coloured carpet, and finally she agreed to try it before changing everything drastically. "But don't get your hopes up in vain," she said, smiling. She looked through fabric catalogues to order the best from New York, "We're wasting time and you're wasting money, Rhett Butler! I'm going to repaint everything anyway!"
He just smiled back at her, suspecting that she was more interested in teasing him than actually starting to redecorate their bedroom.
Living on the same street as his mother, brother and sister also impacted their lives. Mrs Butler came often for afternoon tea or took Scarlett and the children for a walk in the nearby park. When Rhett smiled and said, "You seem to have forgotten about your eldest son, Mrs Butler," she just waved it off, joking that she had grandchildren now.
It was just a joke, of course, and Mrs Butler was happy that her eldest son was no longer wandering the world, but had finally settled down and had a family.
Ross was also a frequent visitor to the house,coming for a ride with Wade, or to communicate with Scarlett and show her another papers on the division of property or inheritance, and they sat together in the study trying to make sense of the figures.
Rosemary kept to herself, hardly ever visiting their place and Rhett wondered why his sister was so aloof. He hadn't broached the subject since he'd promised Scarlett, but he'd asked her once over dinner at their house.
"Why are you so cold to Scarlett, Rosemary?"
She looked at her brother, who had asked her so bluntly, adjusted the sleeves of her simple beige dress and replied only, "I treat her calmly, Rhett. I'm respectful to her, to her children..."
"Our children. They are as much mine as they are her's," he interrupted, giving her a stern look.
"Okay, Rhett," she said, "I'll admit the children are really good. Wade, though active, is a very intelligent boy. Ella is quite nice."
He looked expectantly at his little sister, the one he'd loved to play with when she was little, the one he'd missed when he'd left his father's house, and who'd managed to write him short, childish, naive letters, always asking when he was going to come back. Rhett wondered how she did it, and assumed their mother was helping her. They had always tender relationships, but now it hurt him that she was behaving like this.
Rosemary was silent and Rhett asked again, lowering his voice as Wade walked past with his drawings in hand to show them to Ross.
"Why don't you really accept her?"
"And you?" he suddenly heard his sister answer and stared at her in surprise.
"What do you mean, Rosemary? I love Scarlett and I think everyone can see that," he replied, trying to make a joke.
Rosemary grinned, "And I'm not saying you don't love her, Rhett. But there are some things that are obvious to a few people, like me... Maybe to our mother too..."
He looked at her sternly and Rosemary tried to put more confidence in her voice, for she felt she was right, "You love Scarlett and the children. And she seems to feel the same. But there's something about you, Rhett... It's like you're afraid to let her in your heart for real. Like there's something between you and her..."
"What nonsense..." he replied, putting his hands in his pockets and turning to the window.
"No nonsense," Rosemary continued quietly, "you don't trust her and I don't understand why... I can see that she trusts you, and that does her credit, I confess. But you..."
"Rosemary, stop it. You're talking nonsense and probably discussing your delusions with someone else..."
"I will not allow myself to discuss my brother's family, Rhett," Rosemary replied, turning away from him, offended.
She could see the glances her brother was giving his wife. Sometimes they were so pensive... And she couldn't understand where it came from, but that was why she kept to herself and watched how the Butlers' new daughter-in-law brought joy and excitement to their home. Yes, she could admit that Scarlett was like the missing piece of the family picture, but something stopped her.
Their conversation ended there, because Scarlett had called them all in for coffee, and there was only the bitter aftertaste of misunderstanding between brother and sister.
Rhett tried to forget the conversation with Rosemary, just hoping she wouldn't gossip and tell their mother or Ross her silly thoughts.
He was happy every day that began with a soft kiss, or a tickle and her ringing laughter, or a passionate embrace at dawn when he took her half asleep and savoured her suppleness.
They loved to play: Rhett could torment her with his jokes and she with her teasing. But there were special moments between them when the tenderness took his breath away. Like when she comforted Wade after he'd had a nightmare but he had been late from a poker game that day. Or once, while she was in their bedroom with Ella, looking at a children's book, he read to Wade, and then found mother and daughter sleeping peacefully in their bed.
The way she could fix a strand of his hair, looking playfully into his eyes, or the way she cuddled up to him at nights, listening to his stories.
He loved her and she knew it.
At the end of January, Rhett was at the meeting with his lawyer. He was afraid to find another letter from Mrs Wilkes, although he knew she was too polite to write so often. However, news of a different kind was waiting for him.
"Captain Butler," said the lawyer, adjusting his pince-nez and looking at the papers, "I received a telegram from Atlanta the other day from your... Hmmm... Business partner... Miss Watling informs me that a client has come forward to buy your share. You told me six months ago to find a client, and now we have one. We can complete the sale before the end of the month, because there are no financial issues. Miss Watling has clearly been paying half the profits every month, that's a business attitude to learn," the lawyer said, and Rhett thought he grinned a little.
He adjusted his cufflinks, looked at the papers in his hands and asked, "So, what should I do?"
"Your personal presence is required, Captain Butler. The buyer insists," the lawyer said gravely, and Rhett looked back sternly.
"I am aware that you are now married and a family man, Captain Butler," the lawyer continued, reaching for the inkwell with his pen, "but it is in your own interest. I think you yourself must realize that the ownership of such a business..."
"I understand," Rhett cut him briefly, adding, "Send a telegram, I'll be in Atlanta tomorrow night, a meeting can be held the day after tomorrow in the morning, and I'll leave on the evening train back."
The lawyer nodded, wrote everything down and shook his client's hand firmly at the end of the meeting. He always liked his businesslike approach to things.
That evening, on his way home after buying his train ticket, Rhett wondered what he was going to say to his wife. He realized that mentioning the brothel in conversation would be a stupid idea, after all Scarlett didn't know about his business and partnership and these questions would clearly be unnecessary. "I'm only going for two days," he thought, "no need for details."
But at dinner he was met with a questioning look from his wife when he said he was going to Atlanta for two days on business.
"Could we go together, Rhett?" she asked him as she helped Ella with dinner, breaking a scone into small pieces for her.
"Honey, it's a quick business trip, I'm finishing up my business in this town," Rhett simply replied, smiling slightly and shifting his eyes to his plate.
Scarlett looked at him intently and asked, "What business?"
He picked up his wine glass, took a long sip, put it down and simply said, "Selling my share of the sawmill. Nothing interesting, Scarlett."
She shrugged slightly and turned her attention to Wade, who was once again brooding rather than eating his dinner.
Yes, it was just a business trip, but after the wedding Rhett had been so keen to take her somewhere, he had suggested New Orleans, but Christmas and then another deeds had made adjustments and they had decided to put off the journey until late spring or early summer.
Still, her husband was strangely silent, which she dared to ask after dinner, when they were all together in the living room: "Rhett, is everything all right? You're so quiet tonight..."
"I'm fine, Scarlett," he replied, lifting his eyes from his book and returning to his reading.
The evening passed and as the clock struck nine, Scarlett looked at Mary, she nodded and called the children upstairs to get ready for bed.
"Rhett," Scarlett called to him as she stood up and he looked up at her.
"It's time for the children to go to bed," she began and he gave her a gentle smile and replied, "I'll come to say good night them in about fifteen minutes, Darling."
Scarlett nodded and he went back to reading.
Mary and the children were on their way out of the living room when Scarlett watched him once again, sitting on the sofa, reading intently, exhaling smoke from time to time. Somehow she couldn't imagine Rhett without his favourite pipe or cigar in the evening. He often smoked in bed, sitting at the headboard in the dark. He'd tell her another story in his deep, husky voice, and she'd lean her head against his shoulder, watching the red, smoldering tip of the cigar like a fascinating girl, listening to him, and it filled her with such peace... She was afraid to admit that she had fallen so deeply in love with this man, so enchanted by him, that it seemed she would not forget his touch, his look, his voice, even if she lost her memory again.
But at the same time, Scarlett firmly believed that he must not know how strong her affection was. She didn't know why she was afraid to confide in him completely, as if waiting for some moment, so she preferred to play with him and he seemed to enjoy it, although he managed to steal a few whispered confessions from her in the darkness of their bedroom.
Deciding to play with him, Scarlett quickly came up behind him, leaned down so that a couple of her curls touched his neck, gently removed his pipe from his mouth with her small fingers, kissed his cheek and the corner of his lips,put the pipe back and whispered, "Good night, Rhett," she straightened up and, without waiting for his reply, hurried for the children, smiling playfully to herself.
It happened so quickly, and the gesture seemed so seductive and intimate, but he only had time to lift his head from the book to take in her retreating figure. His eyes glided over her, her curves, her gait, and all he could whisper was, "Damn it... My little vixen..."
Early the next morning, a sleepy Scarlett sat in bed and watched him dress quickly and quietly, smiling at her in the mirror.
Oh, how he admired that sleepy face and her curls, a little tangled from sleep and the stormy morning, and the nightgown that fell from one shoulder made her so seductive that he wanted to send the train and Atlanta to hell, get undressed and crawl back under the covers with his wife!
"Darling," he said as he approached her and gently ran the palm of his hand over her cheek, "go to sleep, it's very early."
He leaned over and kissed her on the lips and suddenly she wrapped her arms around his neck, not letting the kiss end quickly.
Finally he pulled away from her lips and said, adjusting the lapels of his jacket and smiling, "What a naughty girl you are, Mrs Butler!"
"Look, Rhett Butler, if you're not back in two days, then..." she started, but he just laughed quietly and she continued with a sly look, "If you're late, you won't recognize our bedroom, Darling."
He grinned, then gave her another quick kiss on the nose, picked up his black leather valise and felt hat, went quickly for the exit.
Scarlett closed her eyes and smiled through her sleep as she listened to the sound of carriage wheels on the deserted street.
And the next morning, just after breakfast, when Scarlett had sent Mary to play with Ella in the nursery, and Wade was busy with the governess, there was a knock at the door of their house.
"Oh, Mrs Butler, what a pleasant surprise!" said Scarlett in a cheerful tone, and noticing Rosemary and Anne Hampton behind her, smiled politely at them too.
"Darling, we were going for a walk along the waterfront and wanted to invite you to join us," Mrs Butler said as she made her way into the hall.
"Wade is studying at the moment, Mrs Butler, but we can join you in half an hour. Please come in."
She escorted all three ladies into the parlour, not really enjoying the company of two of them, but asked for the maid to make coffee.
"Darling, I'll go up and see my granddaughter," Mrs Butler said as Rosemary and Anne were staying in the room.
After a brief polite talk, Scarlett left the living room on the pretext of checking on Wade. In fact, being with her husband's sister and this quiet young lady was so boring that she decided to go to the kitchen before waiting for Mrs Butler downstairs.
Having checked the kitchen, Scarlett quietly returned and stood by the mirror, pretending to fix her hair, when suddenly the conversation in the living room caught her attention and she moved closer to the ajar door so she could hear better.
"I heard my mother say that your brother had a mistress in Atlanta," Anne said thoughtfully, "when the war was on, they say he visited her and some widow there..."
"Anne, don't believe gossip," Rosemary replied calmly.
"It may be gossip, but they say he ran a brothel there. And that's for sure, Rosemary! Oh, what a humiliation for your sister-in-law... My mother told a neighbour that's probably why he left so quickly, either to cut up with it..."
Scarlett bit her lip nervously, a feeling of shame and despair so familiar to her seeping into her soul that she didn't notice a few tears welling up in her eyes.
Angry and resentful, she clenched her hands into fists and almost burst into tears. "How dare they talk about me, about my husband! And in our home! This colourless moth has allowed herself to discuss us in this way... And he... He... I hate him!"
"I would ask you, Anne, not to spread false rumours and gossip. Your behaviour is unbecoming of a lady," Rosemary stopped her sternly, adding, "and don't forget, we are in Rhett and his wife's house," Scarlett heard her say the word "wife" without even bothering to call her by her first name and felt even more hurt at being defended by his hypocritical sister.
Without waiting for the conversation to end, Scarlett walked quickly up to her bedroom and closed the door behind her, with her back pressed convulsively against it.
"That rascal! I'll show him! An urgent trip... God, the whole town knows more about him than I do! I hate him! Liar!"
She walked quickly to her bed and sat on the edge, trying to figure out what to do. Everything inside her burned with resentment, and there was only one phrase that came out of nowhere in her memory, "Eavesdroppers often hear highly entertaining and instructive things..."
Mrs Butler came down to the living room ten minutes later and, without waiting for her daughter-in-law, decided to see if she was all right. She didn't find her in the kitchen or in Wade's room, so she went to the bedroom door.
Miss Eleanor knocked and, hearing a "come in," entered and immediately noticed Scarlett sitting on the edge of the bed.
Watching her nervous posture, her slightly dishevelled hair, the slight flush in her cheeks, and above all the gleam in her eyes, so wild and unruly (so like the gleam in her eldest son's eyes when he quarrelled with his father), she at once asked, "Scarlett, Darling, what's the matter?"
Scarlett muttered quietly "Nothing," and Mrs Butler, noticing the wet spots on her cheeks, asked in an anxious but determined tone, "It's connected with Rhett, isn't it, daughter? What has he done?"
She suddenly smiled nervously and replied emotionally, "He lied to me!"
Miss Eleanor sat down on the bed and simply said, "Talk to me, Dear..."
She looked into her mother-in-law's eyes and, realizing that anger and jealousy were burning within her, she recounted the entire conversation she had eavesdropped in the living room.
Mrs Butler grew increasingly anxious as she told the story. Yes, she knew her eldest son was no saint, whatever rumours she had heard in her time, but running a brothel! Yes, she was not living in a fairy tale and understood that men could visit such places, especially bachelors, but to be the owner! That's unacceptable! He should have cut all ties before the wedding, but he was in such a hurry, her eldest son!
"He lied to me, you see! He looked me in the eye that evening, then in the morning, joked with me... And so simply... How anyone can do that, I don't understand," Scarlett continued emotionally, adding abruptly, "I want to go to Atlanta right now and..."
"Darling," Miss Eleanor interrupted her sharply, looking at her sternly, "I won't let you go to a strange city alone, travelling is out of the question, Scarlett!"
Scarlett looked sullenly at her mother-in-law, but she ran her hand gently over her cheek, "Calm down, My Dear, you've had your say and now you'll feel a little better..."
"I'll feel a little better when I scratch your son's face," she said quickly, without thinking, and then she bit her lower lip and murmured, "Sorry..."
But Miss Eleanor just smiled and continued, "Oh, how young you are, My Dear. But I understand your feelings. And I also can say that you need to calm down a bit and try to use a calm tone with your husband who is coming tomorrow morning. That's also why your trip to Atlanta is inappropriate, he'll be there soon..."
Scarlett listened in silence as Miss Eleanor continued, "There are different situations in life, Scarlett, but you must try to save your face."
Scarlett remembered all her petty and not so petty quarrels with Rhett, how she had once thrown a bonnet at him, even a deck of cards on the train, and realized that she had clearly lost her face in front of him along time ago. "So I'll throw something heavier at him, like his favourite crystal ashtray," she thought suddenly, grinning angrily.
Mrs Butler noticed the smile on her daughter-in-law's lips, albeit an unfriendly one, but decided to continue, "You see, Darling, you're already smiling. The strength of a true lady lies in perseverance, patience and the ability to face different situations, even difficult ones, with her head held high..."
Scarlett wasn't listening, "I'll throw something heavier at him, I've got the strength for that! I wish I had time to call the painters, I'd paint our bedroom red, which he used to see in his brothel! What a cad!"
Mrs Butler noticed the change in her daughter-in-law's face, saw her smile again and calm down a little, realizing that she had now averted the storm from their home, but that this storm would await her eldest son on his return, perhaps a little calmer. "Well, Rhett deserved it! I hope he will settle this matter and cut off all ties with that establishment. And I will have a serious talk with him..." Miss Eleanor thought, addressing her daughter-in-law kindly, "You see, Scarlett, it has become a little easier now... And don't you dare cry about it, Dear..."
"Cry?" Scarlett suddenly interrupted her mother-in-law, smirking and saying confidently, "I wasn't going to cry! Never! Let others cry!"
Then she rose quickly, went to the mirror, straightened her house dress, and deciding that she would think of her revenge later, said to Mrs Butler, "We must go down to the parlour, Rosemary and Anne have lost us..." Mrs Butler nodded, looked at her daughter-in-law's proudly straight back and smiled in agreement.