CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Scarlett and Rhett were married several days later. Frank Kennedy had not even been dead for one month! Everyone in Atlanta was amazed and shocked. Aunt Pittypat's friends went to her house, and gave her angry lectures. "Pittypat, how could you let that girl do all these things?" they said sternly. Pittypat cried and worried, and said, "But my dears, it's Scarlett! She's so stubborn, what could I do to stop her?"

From the moment she had first arrived in Atlanta in 1862, Scarlett had done some crazy things. She had danced and gone to parties when she was supposed to be in mourning for Charles Hamilton, her first husband. That was bad enough. But then, after the war was over, she had come back to Atlanta and opened a factory! Women weren't supposed to do things like that! Scarlett was a good business woman, and her factory had many customers. Women were not supposed to be good at business. She had married her sister's man, Frank Kennedy. No one in Atlanta really understood the reason why Scarlett had done this, but they all thought it was terrible. Poor Suellen!

But the worst things that people whispered about Scarlett had to do with Ashley Wilkes. There were some people who knew about her feelings for him, and they wondered what she might do next. Ashley's sister India Wilkes had hated Scarlett since they were teenagers, and she knew about Scarlett's feelings for Ashley. "If she tries to hurt Melanie, I'll kill her! I'll make sure she never steps into Atlanta again!" India would think to herself, angrily.

But now, the ladies of Atlanta really did not know what to think. Rhett Butler was the most talked about man in Atlanta, and Scarlett was the most talked about woman. And now they were married! Mrs Merriwether and Mrs Elsing, two of the most respected women in society, talked about nothing else. Who knew what Rhett and Scarlett were going to do next?

Rhett and Scarlett spent one month in New Orleans. Scarlett had never been outside of Georgia, and she was excited and amazed by the elegant old city in Louisiana. It was so different from Atlanta! The buildings were much older and more beautiful. The people were different, as well. Everyone enjoyed themselves more, eating and drinking until late into the night. It was nice to be around people who wanted to have fun, dance, and go to parties! Everyone in Atlanta was so boring and serious. Scarlett could not stop eating the delicious seafood, and drinking the wonderful champagne. "Rhett, I'm going to get as fat as a pig eating all this food!" said Scarlett, while eating a dish of seafood one evening. "And I almost don't care!"

Rhett laughed at her excitement. "Go ahead and eat, Mrs Butler! If you become too large, I suppose I can trade you in for another wife. But what would the fine people of Atlanta say?"

"Don't be silly, Rhett. Pass the champagne!" said Scarlett.

They did have a wonderful time together that month. Rhett knew so much about so many things, and he listened to Scarlett and seemed to respect her opinions—when he wasn't arguing with her, that is. But sometimes Scarlett would notice Rhett staring at her with a strange, soft look of desire in his eyes. But then, his face would change, and he never told her what he was thinking. Scarlett tried to ignore it, telling herself that Rhett was just a strange person. "I'll never understand him," she thought to herself.

During that month in New Orleans, Scarlett found that she did not think about Ashley at all. Ashley was still in Atlanta, of course, working in her lumber factory's office. It was clear that he was not a good business man. He wasn't nearly as good at making deals with customers and figuring out numbers as she was! But Scarlett was very patient, and she allowed Ashley to make a lot of mistakes. She was sure that he just needed practice. Melanie was extremely grateful for Ashley's job, and she was always telling Scarlett so. Of course, what Melanie didn't know was that it was Scarlett's love for Ashley, more than anything else, which was the reason for her actions.

All through the time she had been married to Frank Scarlett had still thought of Ashley. She told herself that she had never stopped loving him. She felt that she would do anything to see a smile on Ashley's face, because he always seemed so unhappy. Deep down inside herself, Scarlett knew that the reason Ashley was unhappy was because Scarlett had persuaded him to remain in the South, when he had really wanted to go up North. But she always pushed those thoughts away, telling herself that it was better for Ashley to stay in Atlanta. Melanie was happier here, anyway.

Now that she was married to Rhett, Scarlett found that she didn't think of Ashley because she and Rhett were always doing such exciting things. Rhett certainly knew how to treat a lady, when he wasn't saying such nasty things and laughing at her! Every day in New Orleans they went shopping or dancing. Scarlett was excited to discuss where they would live in Atlanta, and the kind of house they would have.

"Rhett, I want our house to be the largest and prettiest in Atlanta. All the women who have talked about me will just die with jealousy! I don't want any old, boring house. I want it to be in the most modern style, with the newest furniture. We'll entertain people on the weekends, and I can finally be a great lady, just like my mother was," said Scarlett.

Rhett smiled. "My dear, this house sounds like it will be a disaster, because all the newest styles are terribly ugly. But if that is what you would like, then go ahead and decorate! As for us giving parties, you may find that no one in Atlanta will come to them. We'll see!"

"Oh, don't be mean, Rhett! Of course they'll come to my parties! I'm going to have the best parties and be accepted in society before you know it."

"Scarlett, why do you care? I'm afraid it's too late for you to be accepted into society. You have done too many "terrible" things for people to like you now. But if you would like to try, my dear, I will support you," he said.

"Good!" said Scarlett.

When Scarlett and Rhett returned to Atlanta, Scarlett used Rhett's money to build a large house. Everyone in Atlanta agreed that it was a very modern house. "It's the ugliest thing I have ever seen, my dear. You have terrible taste, I am afraid," said Rhett.

"Rhett Butler! How can you say such things about this house? It's beautiful! Just look at all the different colors!" said Scarlett angrily.

Now that Scarlett was married to Rhett, she was going to the factory less and less often. Truthfully, Scarlett had to admit that although she was often angry with Rhett for something he had said, life with him was fun, and Scarlett had not had much fun for many years. Life had been too difficult after the war, and Scarlett was always thinking of money for Tara, and how to get more of it. Tara, and Ashley, had always been in Scarlett's thoughts.

Almost every day, Melanie would come to visit Scarlett and bring her little son Beau over to play with Wade and Ella. Scarlett had to admit to herself that Melanie was a much better mother than she was. All the children loved her, because she was kind and gentle and told wonderful stories. She listened to Wade's talk about his friends and his school, and told him all about his brave father Charles. Melanie made little Ella dresses and gave her dolls. Scarlett was not at all like Melanie—she was angry with her children when they were loud, and she did not know how to tell stories and play with them the way Melanie did. Scarlett hadn't wanted any of her pregnancies, and so she did not really know her children, especially Wade. Wade loved his mother, but he was rather afraid of her. He preferred to spend time with Mammy, Melanie, and especially Rhett.

Wade was very happy when Rhett married his mother. He loved Rhett because Rhett was very kind to him. Scarlett was surprised to learn that Rhett actually liked children! Rhett understood that Wade had never had a father, and his mother did not pay much attention to him. Rhett became like a father to Wade, and Wade loved him.

"My children love you and Melanie more than me!" Scarlett said one afternoon, watching Melanie play with Wade, Beau and Ella outside their house. She was a little jealous.

"My dear, you aren't a mother to them. Poor Wade is lonely, and Ella barely knows who you are! They spend more time with Mammy than they do with you. How can you be surprised?" said Rhett calmly.

"Well ... oh, never mind! They wouldn't have food to eat, if I hadn't worked so hard!" said Scarlett angrily. She didn't want to admit that Rhett was right.

Melanie heard Scarlett and Rhett's conversation. "Oh, darling, please don't be upset with me. We know you love Wade and Ella, and they love you! And you've worked so hard for them, hasn't she, Rhett?" Melanie looked anxious, because she never liked to see Scarlett upset. "And it is so wonderful for me to play with Ella—I wish I could have a daughter, Scarlett, you're so lucky!" Melanie said softly.

Years ago, Melanie's doctor had told her that she could never have any more children because she was so small and thin. Having Beau had nearly killed her. If she tried to have another child, she would almost certainly die. But Melanie wanted another child deeply.

"Well, Melanie, she certainly is a loud, silly child—you can have her!" said Scarlett, but she tried to smile.

Because Melanie loved children so much, she was extremely happy to learn a few weeks later that Scarlett was pregnant again! "Scarlett, darling, I'm so happy for you. Would you like a boy or a girl, this time?" she said.

"I don't care!" said Scarlett angrily. "Oh, dear, I don't want to be pregnant again! I hate it! I have too much work to do at the factory with Ashley!" In the past few weeks, Scarlett's lumber factory was receiving more customers than it ever had before, and Scarlett had to go and help Ashley with all the accounts.

When Scarlett brought up the subject with Rhett, however, he was firm. "My dear, you're not going to work at that silly factory while you're pregnant, and that's final. I won't have my future child's ridiculous mother put him or her in danger from all the dust and dirt of the factory."

"But Rhett, business is doing so well, and I have to help Ashley with all the customers. He still hasn't learned some important skills!" said Scarlett.

"Scarlett, you can argue with me all you want, but you are not going to that factory," Rhett said. "I don't care what the honorable Mr Wilkes does all day. I am sure that you are both dying for each other's company," he said, "but my child is not going to be around a dirty, disgusting factory with those hopeless people you employ!"

Scarlett was furious. "Oh, you don't understand Ashley at all. After all these years, you still don't. He's good and honorable! You're jealous, that's it! Do you think that when I'm going over to the factory, that Ashley and I are ... "

"No, Scarlett. I know that you haven't done anything like that. The problem is Ashley is too much of a coward. He won't just say to himself, 'I want Scarlett!' and take you away, like any other man would. That would be respectable, but Ashley feels too loyal to Melanie for that. But, he isn't really loyal to her, because he is always thinking about you."

"Oh ... you don't know what you're talking about! I won't go to the factory if you're going to be so difficult. You're jealous, that's all!" Scarlett said angrily, and ran out of the room. In her bedroom, she stared at herself angrily in the mirror. There was something about Rhett's comments that bothered her, but she could not understand it. Truthfully, Scarlett and Ashley rarely had the chance to speak together alone these days, because Scarlett was always so busy making sure that Archie was keeping the workers busy, or finding new customers. Scarlett did not question that she still loved Ashley, but she did not think about it as often as she used to.

Why had she ever married a man like Rhett Butler? What had she been thinking? He was so stubborn and rude. And now, she was going to have his baby! Scarlett's cheeks turned extremely red at the memory of that one night; a month ago ... it had been exciting, and strange. Charlie and Frank had never treated her like that! Scarlett sighed and wondered what she and Rhett's child would be like. "If I have to have another baby, I hope it's a good looking child with some character and spirit—not like Wade and Ella!" she thought.

(end of section)