33
Matthew Bulow had been a powerful man, and his funeral reflected his social status. Mourners were plentiful and flower arrangements were abundant. But there was little sorrow expressed by those in attendance and none by his widow, Sarah.
Casual observers may have thought Sarah was in shock or unusually stoic to appear so calm after losing both a husband and a baby in a single week. Some whispered that Sarah must be horribly cursed; their sympathy was mixed with a certain fear.
Sarah was in shock… to learn that her baby boy was a grown man from another century and then to watch him dissolve into water in front of her was certainly unsettling. But she didn’t consider herself cursed. Her cruel husband’s death was proof of that! And she was relieved to know that, as bizarre as her son’s circumstances were, she had a mother’s comfort of knowing he was alright. She missed them… both baby Daniel and grown William… and prayed that one of them would return to her. And maybe someday she and Thomas would have another child, one they could show off to the world and share with each other, a baby that would share his father’s name as well as his birthmark.
Thomas was among those surprised at how well Sarah was holding up. Maybe it was because he, himself, was still reeling from the triple blow of learning that he was a father, that his first-born son had disappeared to a different time and that the woman he loved was free to marry him.
Thomas’s normal self-confidence was more than a little shaken. He could accept that William was his son – indeed he’d never met a man so like himself in character – but what if it were to happen again! Was a person’s place in this world so uncertain that he could just vanish in an instant? Thomas feared losing Sarah in the same way. Already she’d talked about taking up a vigil by the Natural Bridge in the hope of precipitating Daniel-William’s return. But what if she disappeared the same way? He’d like to forbid Sarah to go anywhere near the bridge, yet he would lose her love if he tried to control her in that way. The last thing she needed was another domineering man in her life! He’d have to find some reasonable way to dissuade her, which would be difficult. There was no reasoning behind a mother’s love for her child. And what of a father’s? He was tempted to set up guard beneath the bridge. Maybe if they disappeared to another time, they’d disappear together… Thomas’s practical nature was being put to a profound test. And so was his self-image. He thought he’d be too busy supporting Sarah to give sway to his own emotions. Now she seemed to be the stronger one; he might have to seek comfort from her.
Clarence and Rachel were feeling guilty-but not too guilty-that the recent string of events had been cause for personal celebration. The issue that had separated them seemed trivial now. For too long, they had stifled their passions for reasons of pride-Rachel hanging onto her parents’ notions of class distinction and Clarence giving in to his own male ego-but they had returned to each other’s arms-and beds-since the strange occurrences of the past week. They loved each other, had loved each other for years, but had repeatedly disavowed their affections because they were from different worlds. Then William showed up, both proving the real definition of “different worlds” and illustrating the fragility of anyone’s existence. Clarence and Rachel had wasted time being apart because they believed that they had unlimited time to reunite. From William-and from Bulow in his own way-the pair had learned to live in the moment. They couldn’t help but share surreptitious smiles throughout the funeral proceedings.
When the final words were spoken over Matthew Bulow’s body and his casket lowered into the ground, Rachel and Thomas and Sarah and Clarence walked as siblings back toward the horse carriage that had brought them to the cemetery. But when they returned to the Byronville estate, they separated as pairs of lovers. Sarah and Thomas retired to one wing and Rachel and Clarence to another.