The castle was full of people. I could hardly find a quiet spot without someone wanting to talk to me. I managed it in the end, heading outside to the boating shed, needing to think.

After all that had happened, the place was open to the public again. Angela would consider it a victory. It was her only one.

I had read about what happened to her in the paper. She’d taken the money she’d stolen and pumped it all into a castle over near Aberdeen. Unfortunately she’d picked a castle that was on the verge of falling down and she hadn’t bothered to take out insurance on the place. When the west wall collapsed, it had taken out half the marquee of her first concert. From the amount of court cases in progress against her from the traumatised ticket holders, the money would soon all be gone.

I struggled to find sympathy for her after what she’d done but when she appeared on the island with the other guests, I was shocked.

She took me aside, talking in a quiet voice that spoke of shame. “I see you’re having a wedding here,” she said. “Need the money?”

“Why are you here, Angela?”

“I wanted to say sorry for everything.” The words were quiet, mere whispers, her shoulders sagging as she talked.

I took a deep breath. “I see.”

“I want to come home.”

I looked at her but she didn’t look bitter, she looked very tired and very old.

“I think they could maybe use some help in the kitchen.”

She managed a smile, a tear running down her cheek.

I watched her go. I could have sent her packing but what would have been the point? Tilly had taught me a lot about the power of forgiveness since we’d started running the place together. It wasn’t giving power to the other person to forgive them, it was giving yourself the power to let go of their hold over you.

Keeping angry about what she’d done would not have changed it. And if she hadn’t taken the money, I wouldn’t have put the place on the market, I wouldn’t have accepted Tilly’s offer. I wouldn’t be where I was. The universe has a funny way of working sometimes. Who was I to try and understand it?

Tilly had forgiven Eli Caffrey. If she could do that, I could forgive Angela. She looked like a broken old woman as she walked away. The court cases weighed heavily on her shoulders. What would be the point of adding to that pain she had brought on herself? I'd just make sure to keep the financial stuff locked away from her. Just in case.

Eli had his own court cases to worry about. Tilly might have forgiven him but her story leaking out gave courage to a number of other women to tell their tales, of being trapped with him in his office, in his elevator, in his car. Gold Standard Productions had gone into liquidation due to all the settlements but Tilly was in great demand. Not just as a scout but to tell her story. She refused all the offers. “I have a castle to run and a wedding to plan,” she said to anyone who called.

She had taken on the running of the place as if she had always been here. The guestrooms were booked up for the summer and she had a number of people working under her to keep organized. I worked under her too in a way. I was still her gardener. She loved the walled garden as much as me and we spent a lot of time together in there.

It had been like a dream since she’d come back. The debts were cleared, the rest of the money invested into the place. The roof had been repaired, no more leaks, no more drafts. That made it easier to attract guests. The money they brought meant we could hire staff and that meant we could concentrate on the grounds, returning them to their Victorian splendor. We had the photos in the books to go on, working together and living together, just being together.

Today we were apart though. She had spent a long time making sure the first wedding here would be absolutely perfect. I decided to check in, see how things were going.

The venue looked beautiful. It was taking place in the old ballroom, huge windows letting in the light, flowers festooning the curtain tops, the string quartet playing quietly in the corner.

The registrar was standing over at the far end. As I walked in, he nodded in my direction. I walked up the aisle and returned his greeting. “Good to see you again, Harold. How’s it going?”

“Just waiting for the bride,” he replied.

I turned and looked at the roomful of guests. There was Seabert in the middle, Hedley beside him, the two of them deep in conversation. Dr Montgomery was at the end of the aisle on the right near the entire population of Doon village, all twenty-five of them.

The door at the back opened and there she was. Tilly. Dressed in my great grandmother’s silk and lace wedding dress, it fitted her perfectly, the second American to wear it, the second American to marry a King.

She beamed at me from under her veil as she walked towards me. “You look stunning,” I said when she reached me.

“You’re not so bad,” she replied. “In the right light.”

“Thanks.”

We turned to the front. The music died down and the ceremony began.

I had prepared my own version of the vows as had Tilly. When it came time for them, I almost lost it, drifting off in the depths of her eyes before remembering what I wanted to say. “When you first came here, I knew I didn’t want you to go. You agreed to stay for one night and I’m glad you decided you’d like to be here a little bit longer. My great grandmother came over here from America. She couldn't bring herself to leave. I'm glad the same thing happened to you.”

She smiled at me. “Robert, you offered me one night with you. I chose a lifetime. I've never felt more at home than right here with you.” Her hands slipped into mine as I kissed her, the guests clapping loudly behind us.

During the dance after the ceremony, I took her hand, weaving our way through the guests over to the hidden door, nodding towards them as we passed by. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“I’ve got something to show you,” I replied. “Won’t take long.”

She giggled as we slipped away. I took her outside, down the steps to the door we’d last used to hide from Eli. “The dungeon?” she asked. “What for?”

“You’ll see.” I pushed open the door and showed her what I’d done.

There was a long roll of carpet along the tunnel and at the end she gasped as she saw the chamber filled with candles and flowers.

I had blankets draped across the floor, wine ready for us both on a small table.

“Do you remember what we did last time we were down here?” I asked.

She turned to face me, sliding the wedding dress up her legs. “Of course.”

I raised my eyebrows as the dress reached her hips, revealing her lack of underwear.

“You mean you haven’t worn panties all day?” I asked.

“There's a lot you don’t know about my kinky side,” she replied with a wink. “But you’ll soon learn.”

I grabbed her, spinning her round to spank her ass. “You naughty girl.”

“I think you need to get used to calling me your naughty wife.”

I spanked her again, drawing a gasp from her. “What if the guests hear us?” she asked as my hand ran between her legs, seeking out her wetness.

“Then we better be quiet,” I replied, turning my head to blow out the candles.

I kissed her in the darkness, pushing my tongue into her mouth as she wrapped her hands around me.

I could hear the music faintly playing upstairs but the only music I cared about was happening between the two of us in the pitch black, the music that only plays when a husband and wife are truly, madly, deeply and completely in love.