The company was lively and that was about all Eleanor was sure of.
It had been a week since Beau had asked her father for her hand and she wasn't all too sure she was any relieved. Suddenly, Rhett was weary of everything and anything where Beau was concerned, eyeing him as if he were some delinquent stranger seated at his table. Scarlett was sure that he was only being protective of his one true contribution to the world, but Eleanor was the one being hurt.
She'd relied on her father's love for as long as she could remember and now he wouldn't so much as look at her without peeling his gaze away with disappointment.
"I don't understand, Beau! I cannot live like this, being shunned by my own father. And for what?" Eleanor wept with irritation. She was angry at him and her frustration stained her cheeks with salt.
She was inconsolable and Beau was the only one to bring her to any reason. "For leaving him."
Eleanor blinked in confusion, turning with the resolve of a child and wearing an expression that made Beau's heart warm. After a half hour of pacing and yelling, she was silent. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes red and Beau stood to bring her into his arms.
She didn't fight him, but instead buried herself into his chest. "You have been everything for him, Eleanor. When you were born, every grand thing he'd ever done paled in comparison. You're his entire legacy, you do know that right? And you brought him back to Scarlett and he's only shutting you out because he's afraid."
"Why would he have any reason to be afraid?" Eleanor rolled her eyes, eliciting a small smile from Beau.
"Because you might never come back," Beau said plainly. "If he lets you go, it could be like Bonnie all over-"
"That's absurd, Beau, and you know it. Bonnie died and I'm only marrying you." Eleanor tilted her head up to meet his eyes.
He gave a wry chuckle. "Thanks for the enthusiasm, sweetheart."
A little grin fell onto her lips, "You know I didn't meant it that way." When her pretty green eyes clouded over again, Beau hugged her tighter. "When we have children, darling, promise me we'll be more understanding."
"Promise," he agreed gruffly. He'd never heard her be so bold about the future. Beau had always wanted children, and lots of them, but he'd never known Eleanor to agree.
He only held her for the rest of the time being, resting his chin atop her head and planting kisses there from time to time when she cried more.
Beau wasn't sure that Rhett would ever be talked out of his ways, but he was glad Eleanor held enough respect for him to listen. She was a commanding woman, stronger than any he'd ever known, but it comforted him to know that only he could console her, only he knew where her vulnerabilities lay and that he would protect her.
It gave him hope.
In the present, Eleanor was anxious for their first public outing since the announcement. She held onto Beau's hand with a grip that sent him glaring at her from time to time, knowing it was bothering him.
Ella Sophia sat beside them in the carriage and every now and again, Eleanor squeezed her hand, too, knowing that the man in question would be there tonight. Beau knew, James knew, and no one else. Luckily, they were the only four riding together on the way to the Patterson dinner party that evening. It was a way's away from Tara and so they found themselves in the more urban districts of Georgia, chatting about measly subjects before James broke the silence.
YOU ARE READING
The Stubborn Miss Butler
FanfictionSeventeen years after the end of Gone With The Wind, Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara have a sixteen year old daughter: Eleanor Melanie Butler.