The Life and Times Of Ralf Wylde! Part Chapter 11


On Monday morning Rachael said goodbye to her daughters. Alyson pleaded with her to stay a little longer, but she had promised Vincent she would return today.


Beatrix on the other hand gave her a hug goodbye. She would soon be an adult and understood how important it was for her mother the keep her job.


Rachael saw Ralf in the yard exercising and waved goodbye to him. She hoped he would soon be able to put Sarah's death behind him. Life was too short to spend it mourning for the departed.


Ralf was an extremely goodlooking man. There were plenty of single females in the village like Abra Ousby who would jump at the chance to be the next Mrs. Wylde.


Abra asked Ralf to give her lessons. Not that she didn't get enough exercise from just doing chores . . .


But this gave her an opportunity to have him all to herself.


Later that same day Ralf's son Raulin and the Fenton's daughter Olivia grew up into adults.


There was no reason to put off their wedding any longer.
"I'll go talk to Father Sullivan tomorrow and make arrangements", said Raulin.


After an exhausting walk Rachael finally arrived at Dargan Castle. She was getting too old to be having another baby she guessed.


As soon as Vincent saw her coming he came came out to greet her.
"I've missed you more than you will ever know", he said, "Are you feeling alright? You look more tired than usual."
"I'm alright, just getting old I guess", she said.
"You're only thirty-three, that's not old", he said, "Come sit down and get off your feet."


"How is Ralf doing?", he asked.
"He still has moments he breaks down and cries, but that's to be expected. He and Sarah were married to each other almost half their lives", she said.
"Did it take you a long time to get past your husband's death?", he asked.
"Yes and no. My daughters were still young and I had to be strong for them. That helped me get over him sooner than I would have thought possible", she said.


"Rachael, I hate thinking of you being unhappy. Are you happy living here with me?", he asked.
"Yes, I'm happy", she said, "Now I'm going to fix us something to eat. I bet you haven't eaten a thing today, have you?"
"No, I don't like eating alone", he said.


Rachael got up to go to the kitchen and the ghost of Tess jumped in front of her.
"Oh!", she screamed.


The ghost gave Vincent a discussed look and then disappeared.


"Vincent who is that . . . well I mean who was that?", she asked.
"Let's eat and I'll tell you all about her while we're having our meal", he said.


Rachael prepared the food, served Vincent a portion and joined him at the table.


"Alright, tell me who's ghost was that", she said.


"The ghost is my wife Tess. She died ten years ago. We had been married less than a year and she was expecting a baby. We were both happy and excited about the prospect of becoming parents."


"But then something went wrong. Tess started into labor early and she and the baby were taken from me forever."


"Vincent I'm sorry. I had no idea", she said.
"You don't have anything to appologize for Rachael. It's been ten long years", he said.


All of a sudden Rachael felt her just eaten meal rise into her throat. She grabbed her belly and moaned.
"What's wrong?", he asked.


"Vincent I'm going to have a baby", she said.
"Are you sure?", he asked.
"I've had two babies in the past", she said, "I'm sure."


"That's wonderful Rachael!", he said.

To be continued . . .