Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Five

The family walked into the foyer. Scarlett turned to Mammy and said, "Take yours and the children's carpetbag to the nursery. Take the girls with you. Wade can stay with me. I know you can't wait to see Suellen's new baby, Solange."

"Or see Susie again also."

"Go on now."

A woman walked into the foyer and said, "You must be Scarlett's husband, Rhett. Welcome to Tara. I am Suellen Benteen, Scarlett's sister."

Rhett stepped forward and said, "Yes, I remember you from the barbecue."

Rhett really didn't but he knew how to flatter women when he had a mind to. Briefly, he wondered why he had never bothered to flatter Scarlett. Because unless he was a royal pain in her behind she would never notice him. Maybe he could say one or two nice things to her every now and then.

Rhett studied the young woman. She had red hair and brown eyes. She might have been attractive once, but no one would have noticed her if her older sister was around. Scarlett sucked up all the attention in the room. Suellen looked to be at least twenty pounds overweight. And although he knew Scarlett was the older sister, Suellen looked at least five years older than her sister.

Suellen said, "I made up the guest room like you told me to."

"Thank you. We can take our bags upstairs ourselves. We will wash up then be down. I will look the books over after dinner. I want to show Rhett Tara."

Rhett said, "Is there a buggy we can ride around in?"

"No."

"Then no. That is too much walking for you."

Scarlett sighed. She said, "Wade can show you some of the highlights. We will save the rest for your next visit."

Suellen said, "It is just as well, it is raining outside."

"True."

As the group was walking off, Rhett said, "It was nice to meet you."

"Yes, it was nice to meet you before your funeral."

"What?"

Scarlett snapped, "Never mind. Let's go upstairs. Are you coming with us, Wade?"

"I would like to go to the barn."

"Go on but be careful. You can't get hurt right now. Only one of us can be hurt at a time."

Suellen said, "What is wrong with you?"

As Scarlett started slowly walking up the stairs with Rhett beside her, she said, "I fell down our stairs. I was near death."

"Not near enough."

Scarlett ignored her sister and just went right on walking up the stairs.

As the couple got to the head of the stairs, Rhett said, "Why aren't we staying in your room?"

"It is too small."

"What do you mean?"

Scarlett slowly said, "What part of it is too small do you not understand? The word small. It means the opposite of large."

Rhett said, "Oh you mean like your brain."

"Like your empathy for your fellow man."

Rhett was shocked then he burst out laughing.

Scarlett tried not to giggle but she failed. When they reached the top of the stairs, she said, "This way."

The couple walked down the hallway. They passed one room and Scarlett said, "That is the largest bedroom. My room is across the hall."

"That makes sense. The smallest room should be across from the largest room."

"It is Will and Suellen's now."

Scarlett reached out and opened the door to her room. It was indeed small. The bed looked like it was barely able to hold two people. She said, "I knew it was too small because Charlie and I slept in the bed the two weeks before he went to Columbia. We barely fit. Charlie was smaller than you so I knew we wouldn't fit."

As Scarlett walked off, she said, "I wish he hadn't died."

Rhett was startled by her words. It was the first time he had known her to express any regret about her first husband's death. He said, "If he was still alive, you would not be married to this amazing man."

Scarlett smiled. She said, "I wish I hadn't married him. I wish the war hadn't come. I wish I was still living that perfect life."

"It wasn't so perfect for everyone."

"No, it wasn't. Now you see why we aren't staying in my old room. Come along. I will lead you to the guest bedroom."

"Sure."

Rhett quickly looked around the room. There was a chair, a dresser, and a bed and that was it. The bed wasn't even made so he could see that there was nothing under it. Maybe under the mattress?

Scarlett turned back toward Rhett and said, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, literally. There is nothing in your old bedroom."

As Scarlett walked away, she said, "Most everything was repurposed after Sherman march through, and we were barely getting by. You know that time when you decided to abandon me at Rough and Ready."

"Some of that time I was in Europe."

Rhett never apologized for his actions at Rough and Ready. One, he never apologized for anything. Two, he had no idea why he had gone to fight in that stupid war. It worked out well in regard to Mrs. Merriwether, but that was after the fact and certainly had nothing to do with his decision to join the Confederate Army.

Scarlett didn't answer. She just continued walking down the hallway.

When Scarlett and Rhett got to the guest bedroom, he said, "This is not furnished any better than your bedroom."

"Again, we used most everything to survive after Sherman marched through."

"That was six years ago. Why have you not replaced everything?"

"Tara is barely staying afloat. We can't afford to waste money on unnecessary things. I give everyone fabric at the first of the year for new clothes and new undergarments. I buy everyone a new pair of shoes also."

"Scarlett, you don't have to scrimp by like this. You can use some of my money to fix this place up."

"No, thank you."

"I don't mind. I told you that in New Orleans. You can use my money for anything but running your businesses."

"Anything?"

"Yes, anything."

"Like what?"

"Like buying curtains, linens, and blankets."

"A new plow?"

"What? Yes, a new plow."

"Let me go tell Will right now. He can go get one in Jonesboro this afternoon."

"You can tell him at dinner."

"Can I use your money to support your good friends?"

"Who?"

"My aunts. They wrote me about your visit."

Rhett grinned and said, "I had to do my duty and let them meet their great niece."

"Of course you did."

"They wanted to know all about you and your life."

"And you made sure to give them all the sordid details."

Rhett burst out laughing and said, "Of course I did."

"Leave. I am going to rest."

"Alright. I will get Wade to show me around."

"Why not get Suellen? Then you could give her all the sordid details of my life."

"Good idea."

"Leave. I am not up to fighting with you."

"I will leave right now, but I will be back."

"Thanks for the warning."

Rhett laughed. That was getting to be her go to sentence.

Rhett continued smiling. On his way downstairs, he stopped by her room. It was empty. Scarlett must bring everything with her when she visits. He looked in the dresser and under the bed. There was nothing there. He even looked under the mattress and under the chair cushion. Nothing! Where could she have hidden her journals?

As Rhett walked to the stairs, one thing he knew for sure. Scarlett had not destroyed her journals or thrown them away. No, he just knew she would keep them forever. And by everything that was holy he would find them.

As Rhett walked to the barn, he thought, 'Could Scarlett be hiding them somewhere in the mansion?' There would certainly be lots of places to hide them there, but he really didn't think so. He hoped they weren't there. It might take him forever to find them. Maybe they were in the barn.

Rhett walked to the barn. As he looked around the barn, it was the same situation as in the house. It was bare. There wasn't anything in the hay lofts, not even hay. He saw Wade and walked over to him. He said to the boy, "Will you show me around Tara?"

"I'm not allowed to leave the clearing unless Mama is with me."

"I will protect you. Come on."

As Scarlett had heard Rhett walk down the stairs, she wondered where he had gone before going downstairs. After she heard the front door close, she opened her door and walked around the upstairs. She noticed that her door was slightly open. She knew that he had gone to look at her childhood bedroom. As she walked back to her room, she was perplexed. She wondered, 'What is he up to?'

After getting back to her bedroom, she got the book she was reading out of her carpet bag. She laid on the bed and read a chapter. She then got up and put the book back. That was enough resting for now. She was at Tara. She needed to go outside.

The family's time at Tara was good. Rhett noticed that Scarlett seemed to look better and act like she had more energy while they were there.

An event occurred that would have surprised Rhett if he had context, but because he had never witnessed any interaction between Scarlett and Suellen before he didn't know the significance of the event. Suellen had made a snide comment about Scarlett's stealing of Frank Kennedy. Instead of responding in kind, Scarlett had smiled and said, "I did what I thought I had to do."

No matter what Suellen said the rest of the visit, Scarlett didn't reply in a spite full way, nor did she try to defend herself. When Scarlett had wondered why she wasn't verbally besting Suellen, she decided she was just too tired for all that nonsense.

Besides, Scarlett decided that she had already won in the game of life. She had Rhett who was rich and successful, and all Suellen had was Will, a cracker that had married Suellen just to be able to stay at Tara.

Furthermore, Rhett had married Scarlett over all the other women in the world. That thought made her smug. It pleased her very much. It made her think of the fact that Ashley had married another woman over her. She let a thought creep into her mind that she had never allowed in before. The thought was: Ashley loved honor more than her.

After a few minutes Scarlett thought, 'He loves honor more than Melly too. If he didn't, he would have just told the Atlanta gentry the truth. That he had been comforting his good friend because she had been crying. Nothing more.'

All of Scarlett's children loved Tara also. When Mammy told the children to get in the back of the wagon, Bonnie had thrown a fit. At first, Rhett thought she was throwing the fit because she wanted to sit on the buckboard with him, but he soon found out that she didn't want to leave. Soon he had her in the back of the wagon.

When Rhett got on the buckboard, he said, "She gets more and more like you every day."

Scarlett teased and said, "You may just be returning to Tara considering how much Bonnie loves it here. All my children love being here."

Will said, "Most beautiful place on earth."

As the family was driving back to Jonesboro, Scarlett was pointing out all the landmarks. When they got to the train station, Rhett said, "Scarlett said you need a new plow. Go buy one from Mr. Price. Tell him to send me the bill."

Will said, "Can I get one from Scarlett's store instead? She has a better one on the floor."

"Of course." Rhett turned to Scarlett and said, "Send me a bill."

With a grin, Scarlett said, "Of course, Dear. Also, Will, take Suellen with you so she can buy fabric for sheets, blankets, new clothes for everyone." Scarlett turned to Rhett and said, "Is that all right, Dear?"

"Yes, it is alright." Turning to Will, Rhett said, "And buy yourself a bottle of Whiskey."

"Sue doesn't like me to drink spirits."

Rhett smiled and said, "So?" He turned back to Scarlett and said, "Let's get on the train."

The Butlers left a happy Will at the train station. No, his wife didn't like him to drink spirits, but he did none the less. It made all her carping easier to handle. He would get Sue a box of candy too. Rhett could pay for that also.

As Will road back to Tara, he was thinking about Suellen. True, she was always complaining about something. True, she hated living in the country. But she loved him, and she loved their daughters. She had even been talking about them trying one more time for a son. The only thing that really annoyed him about her was that she was always trying to best her sister instead of just being happy with what she had. She should be happy with what she had because she had so much more than most people.