Edmund himself appeared from the shadows of the lodge, unsurprised and almost amused. "I wondered how long it would take you."
"Let her go," the Duke said.
Edmund only smiled wider. "Give up this little investigation of yours. Walk away. Tell the world the Duchess's death was an accident and Miss Winthrop lives. Continue digging, and I promise you, cousin, she won't be so lucky next time."
The Duke looked at Rose, at the fear and defiance both burning in her eyes, and understood there was no bargain here he could trust. Edmund had already proven what he was capable of.
So the Duke did something no one expected. He did not fight, and he did not bargain quietly.
Days later, he stood before the House of Lords, the very body that could strip him of everything, and spoke the truth aloud for all of society to hear. He confessed that his late wife's death was no accident. He named his cousin. He declared before men who could ruin him with a single word that he was prepared to surrender his title, his inheritance, and everything his family had held for generations if it meant saving his son and the woman who had saved his son first.
The room erupted in disbelief. Scandal rippled through London within hours. But the confession did something Edmund had never anticipated. It forced the truth into the light, where it could no longer be buried beside a frozen lake or hidden inside a hunting lodge.
Old Pharaoh, the stable master, finally came forward publicly with what he had hidden for a year: proof that the carriage wheel had been tampered with and a name he had been too frightened to speak until now. A servant of Edmund's, paid for silence, finally broke under questioning and confirmed everything. Edmund's carefully built conspiracy collapsed within days.
He was arrested on Ashkam land before he could flee to the continent. The same lodge where he had held Rose captive became the final piece of evidence against him.
Rose was brought back to Blackthorne Manor, weak but alive, wrapped in blankets before a roaring fire. Charles refused to leave her side, holding her hand as though he might lose her again if he let go. Before exhaustion finally pulled her under, Rose looked up at the Duke, tears slipping free, and whispered the only thing that mattered to her.
"I kept my promise to Eleanor."