Dearest

Once In a Vineyard in Italy

AN: 

DETAILS:

The Setting: mid to late 1940s.... but accepting 40s like socially open minded like the 2010s but 1940s

This is also loosely based on a book.

AN PS: This story's pace will be a bit different. It is slow in the beginning then it might seem a bit rushed, but you will understand why when the story begins. 

ALSO: this first chapter is like an 'origin story' and it doesn't include the main characters and the reason I included it was bc of parallels later on and this was the original plot of this story and I liked the idea so I'll use it.

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At eighteen years old Vincent Phantomhive had gone on a trip with his friends to Europe. His friends had all gotten on a cab to get to the airport that afternoon but Vincent was running behind. Because of his tardiness, he had been put in charge to return their rental car. He didn't quite understand the instructions his friends had given him to get to the rental place, and he wound up extremely lost. He was driving through hill country on a dirt road, not seeing any homes or people.

After forty minutes of driving around the middle of nowhere he saw a large stone house on a hill. Smiling in relief he headed towards it, hoping that it wasn't abandoned and that the inhabitants were kind folk who would be very pleased to help him find his way. He drove as fast as he could to his destination. he wheeled his vehicle up the mildly steep and long dirt driveway into the brick-laid driveway area before the house where a three tiered fountain sat in the middle. 

He stepped out of the car, looking around to check his surroundings. He saw vineyards in the distance, most likely belonging to the homeowners. A a small wood and stone cottage with a jetty was in the distance along with horse stables. He stepped towards the tall wooden door with a curved top which was decorated with complex carved designs and used the heavy brass knocker twice against the metal. Soon, a man emerged, sweat on his brow and tanned features showing his old age. Vincent explained to the man what his situation was, and while the man said he never ventured into town, his daughter knew how to get there. The man told Vincent to go out to the vineyards and find her.

Vincent went out the back doors to the open lands where the vineyards grew. He walked through the rows, trying to find this daughter he had been told of. He found no one. He kept on searching until his eyes met with a pair of crystal blue ones on the other side, a giggle came from girl and she ran off. Vincent kept on following her. This went on for a couple minutes until he finally caught up to the girl in the centre of the vineyards. 

She was young, she looked around Vincent's age and had light brown hair, blue eyes an she wore a coral colored sundress and had a round wicker basket at her hip and no shoes. Vincent asked her if she spoke English (his mother would have been appalled by him preferring English) and the girl shrugged. 

"What's your name?" he asked. 

"Rachel," the girl responded, smiling, setting the basket on the ground and smoothening her dress. 

He nearly forgot about how he was lost and ended up talking about everything but. She spoke very little English and the bit that she did speak was very broken, so they settled on not conversing in English. They spoke about themselves, Rachel, who was sixteen, explaining that she had never been to any other country and that she had only been to the city once in her life. Vincent told her that he had been to many countries and about how he lived in a large house in New York. 

And before they knew it, the sun had begun to set and there was no dance Vincent would make it to the city now, so the family said he was welcome to spend the night there. The next morning he found out that Rachel was not the sister that new about how to get to the city, and that the sister that did know was currently in the city and would be for the next week. 

And the family said Vincent was welcome to stay until then. 

He did.

He found himself very fond of Rachel, he liked her naivety and innocence. Living her bucolic life on her father's vineyard with just her sister being her only friend growing up, she knew nothing of sex or the dangers of the world; she knew of love and romance, but only the cutesy and fairy-tale like version of it. 

The two would go on walks and talk for hours and hours as they ambled through the vineyard or down the dirt road. Vincent ended up staying for nearly a month with the family, and in the second week the other sister came back. 

Her name was Angelina and Vincent expected her to be as beautiful and amusingly naive as her sister, but she was not. Angelina had her father's hair color and was nothing like Rachel; Angelina was cynical and serious—much like Vincent. 

But Vincent didn't fancy her. 

Angelina fancied Vincent. 

And so did Rachel.

By about a month and a half into Vincent's stay, he and Rachel were walking through the vineyards and she was asking him about how life was in New York in his big house and wealthy family. And then Vincent stopped, pulling her tight to him. She interpreted it as a hug, so she wrapped her arms around his neck, but soon realized that was not it when Vincent used his other hand to lift her chin up. She shook her head. 

"My mother said not to get close to a man unless I'm married," she explained. 

"She means something else."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked; she believed everything Vincent told her since Vincent had no reason to lie to her. Vincent nodded and so she didn't refuse the kiss. After, they continued walking and she spoke up. 

"What does my other mean then?" she curiously inquired, quirking an eyebrow. Vincent chuckled, he couldn't believe how clueless she was. 

"Well, " Vincent started, he felt like telling her he would show her then if she wanted to know so bad, because God, she was gorgeous and her certainly wanted to show her exactly what that meant, but he refrained himself. "I'll show you if you marry me,"

Rachel's eyes lit up and she smiled from ear to ear, asking if he really meant it before running into the house hollering at her mother and father in frantic Italian and French about how she was to be wed. 

Her parents approved, for all they knew was that Vincent came from a wealthy family. They didn't know why they were wealthy, and if they knew, Vincent wasn't so sure they would have allowed it. 

And so a week later, they were married at the house, getting a priest to come from another city. And Rachel finally found out what her mother meant. 

Two days after that, they found a route to the city and hopped onto a plane to New York. Vincent's parents liked Rachel and Vincent worried if Rachel wouldn't want to be with him if she found out what his family did, but Rachel trusted Vincent way too much and said she believed him to a good person. 

And just a little bit over nine months after their wedding, their one and only child was born. 

And this is the story of everything that happened after that.