Epilogue #2
With regards to Mr. Dunhill’s recent activities, the evidence for kidnapping is irrefutable, and the charges of extortion and fraud related to Miss Prescott’s contract should also stand.
The matter of Lady Balfour’s death remains more difficult to prove, given the passage of time and lack of physical evidence, but even without that charge, Mr. Dunhill will spend many years in prison.
I look forward to seeing justice served in this matter.
Respectfully,
Judge Marcus Harrison
Relief flooded through James so powerfully his hands trembled. He looked up at his brother, who was watching him carefully.
“Rose doesn’t know yet.” Enoch spoke quietly. “We thought you should be the one to tell her.”
James nodded, refolding the letter and tucking it into his pocket. “Thanks.” He’d find the right time. Then they would savor the knowledge that Vincent’s hold on Rose was truly, legally broken.
He eyed his brother. “Are you looking forward to going to England next summer? After Mandie and Catherine are stronger?” None of them had ever been back, not since they first came here.
Enoch had been six at the time. James four, almost five.
No matter how hard he’d tried through the years, he couldn’t remember anything from what most people called their homeland.
These mountains felt like home. All his memories lived here. His future too, Lord willing.
Something flicked across Enoch’s face—not quite reluctance, but close.
He stared into his mug, then sighed. “I’m resigned to it.
It’s my responsibility, as the eldest now.
” He looked up, meeting James’s gaze. “But it’s still going to be hard to leave these mountains.
This is home in a way England never will be. ”
James understood that feeling in his bones. These mountains, this ranch—they’d shaped all of them into who they were. Leaving, even temporarily, would be like cutting away a piece of themselves.
And they all knew that Enoch’s move likely wouldn’t be temporary. The responsibilities of the Duke of Clarence required daily work, especially when Parliament was in session.
They sat in silence for a moment, thick with a host of memories and plans.
Then Enoch pushed to his feet and set his empty cup on the counter. “Come on. Your bride is probably wondering where you’ve disappeared to.”
He was right. When they returned to the great room, Rose’s eyes immediately found James’s, and the smile that lit her face made his chest tighten all over again.
The celebration continued into the evening, but eventually his family all drifted to their own rooms.
Mrs. Wang was the last to go, pressing a kiss to Rose’s cheek and whispering something in her ear that made Rose’s eyes shine with fresh tears. Then Mrs. Wang disappeared into her own quarters, leaving them alone at last.
The house settled into quiet around them—just the crackle of the dying fire and the soft sounds of the ranch at rest. Rose moved to stand beside him where he leaned against the mantel, and he pulled her close against his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling in.
“It was a beautiful day,” she said softly.
“The most beautiful.”
She clung a little tighter. “Do you know what amazes me most?”
“What?” Emotion clogged his throat.
“How God can take something so broken—like my years with Vincent, like your broken leg—and use it to create something beautiful. He’s redeeming the years Vincent stole and giving us a future I never dreamed possible.”
This woman. How could she be so wise, so strong, and yet still so gentle?
He pressed a kiss into her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of her.
“I think sometimes God’s best gifts come wrapped in our deepest pain.
My broken leg forced me to hand over control to God.
Your time with Vincent, horrible as it was, taught you strength I never could have given you.
And now—” He smiled. “Now we get to spend the rest of our lives discovering what God does with people who’ve learned to trust Him. ”
“The rest of our lives.” Contentment laced her voice as her shoulders rose and fell in a long breath.
Then she pulled back enough to look up at him.
He took the opportunity to brush his mouth over hers. Not the light touch of public vows, not a gesture for others to witness, but something deeper—a quiet exchange, just for them. A promise, unvoiced but certain, that their new life started now. Here, in this moment.
When they finally pulled apart, Rose’s cheeks were flushed and her breathing unsteady. “We should probably...” She glanced toward the stairs, toward his room that now belonged to them both.
“Probably.” But he didn’t move yet. Just stood there holding her, memorizing this moment. The way the firelight caught in her hair. The love shining in her eyes. The peace settling over them both.
He couldn’t stop every storm or heal his own broken bone. But he could lay the ones he loved into God’s hands and keep his arms open. Maybe that was what strength truly was—not the ability to control or fix everything, but the wisdom to trust the Father instead of trying to handle it all alone.
“Ready?” Rose’s soft question pulled him back to the present.
He grinned. “I’ve been ready for eleven years.”
She laughed—that beautiful sound he’d been afraid he’d never hear again—and helped him navigate the stairs to their room.
* * *
I pray you loved James and Rose’s story!