“Of course.”
“And the rosebush near the path should stay.”
“Even after tonight?”
“Especially after tonight.”
Thomas looked at her.
She touched the pearl bracelet. “I do not want the ugly thing to be the only thing I remember.”
He slipped his hand into hers.
Daniel stood in the doorway behind them.
“Dad?”
Thomas turned.
“The solicitor said the property is safe,” Daniel said. “The transfer was never recorded. The accounts are frozen, but the money can be recovered.”
Thomas nodded.
“And Vanessa’s brother came for her,” Daniel continued. “She is staying with her aunt.”
Margaret’s expression softened, though she did not look toward the road.
“Good.”
Daniel stepped onto the terrace. “I canceled the honeymoon.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Where were you going?”
“Some island I had never heard of.”
“Do you want to go somewhere else?”
Daniel looked at the wet garden.
“I want to stay here for a while. Help clean everything up.”
Margaret held out her hand.
He came to her.
They stood together beneath the covered terrace, listening to water drip from the leaves.
Three weeks later, the estate was quieter than it had been in years.
The bank restored most of the stolen funds. Richard Caldwell was charged with fraud, forgery, and theft. His company collapsed when the evidence reached the board, and the assistant who had preserved the invoices testified without having to hide her face.
The property remained in Margaret and Thomas’s names.
Daniel moved into the small guest cottage at the edge of the grounds while he searched for a new apartment. He helped his mother rebuild the rose path and learned how to repair the old stone wall that had been leaning toward the garden.
Vanessa did not return.
She sent one letter, then stopped.
