Rose and Alexander had invited Lawrence and Estelle to be part of their new venture, and Lawrence had subsequently sold his estate in Scotland and the family lived in a purpose-built house in the grounds of Highfield. The couple helped them manage the home, which boasted a resident doctor, physiotherapist, psychiatrist and several nurses, male and female, as well as the kitchen staff and housemaids and so on, all of whom were housed in new recently built quarters adjoining the back of the main house. The original floor plan of Highfield had more than doubled and the expense had been considerable, but the result was a beautiful residence that had lost none of its old charm but now served its new purpose well.

Lawrence had been a different man since he and Estelle had made the move; as he had said to Alexander on many an occasion, he felt he had a reason for getting up in the morning again. He had also joked that together he and Alexander made one good body between them, but Alexander knew that underneath the banter his own disability had helped Lawrence come to terms with his.

He looked down at Rose at his side and her gaze met his, and as he bent his head and took her lips they swayed together for a moment in the clear cold air. Old Stubbs had a bonfire somewhere in the grounds and there was the faint tang of woodsmoke drifting on the icy breeze, but apart from the twins’ squealing as they tumbled like puppies in the snow, all was quiet.

‘I love you,’ he whispered, drawing her even closer, thankful beyond words that she was his.

‘I love you too.’ She dimpled up at him. So much had happened since she had met him, good and bad, but they had come through it all and they were together. And although she had never voiced it, something had been lifted off her the day that Nathaniel had died. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she had been set free, free of the past and all its heartache. And the future was theirs, a future rich with promise and fulfilment. Reaching up she took his face between her hands, her eyes tender, and now it was she who kissed him. They held each other tight, standing still and watching Betsy busily brushing the boys down before the three of them began to build a snowman.

The sun was beginning to set in a pearly sky, a bright red ball that sent rivers of scarlet and gold flowing into the silver expanse and tinged the snow pink.

Now was the moment, Rose thought. Turning Alexander’s face to hers again with the tip of her finger, she murmured, ‘I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, my darling, and you have already given me the best gift I could have asked for.’

‘I have?’ His brow wrinkled.