“We can be a real family?” Emmaline’s voice trembled as she met Silas’s gaze. “Truly?”
“Truly,” he agreed. “If she’ll have me.”
They both turned to look at Grace, and he suddenly realized that in his eagerness, he might have moved too fast. He shouldn’t have done this in front of Emmaline. He shouldn’t have put Grace on the spot like this. She’d said she’d consider it, and he should have given her the time to do so.
He opened his mouth to tell her just that, but before he could speak, she reached across the table and covered his hand with her own. “I see now that your father deceived us both. I suppose I even understand why. He was protecting you the way I would protect Emmy.”
“He was protecting the title,” Silas said, less willing to forgive his father than she was. But then he remembered that his father had come to him last night. That he had told him that love was truly the most important thing. It had taken death for him to learn that lesson, so how could Silas remain angry with the old earl?
Grace gave him a heart-melting smile. “Be that as it may, I never stopped loving you, Silas. Being your wife is all I ever wanted.”
“I don’t deserve you,” he said, his eyes stinging as he watched her slide the ring on her finger. “But I’m going to do my best to become the kind of man who does.”
She smiled tremulously and stood, crossing the short distance between them. She placed her hand on his shoulder, leaned down, and pressed her lips to his, sealing the bargain in the sweetest way possible.
Out of his periphery, he saw Emmaline clap her hands in delight, then hug the mouse tightly and whisper, “I knew you’d find him!”
How could he not believe in Christmas miracles when presented with Emmaline’s deep, abiding faith that better days lay ahead? That a mere mouse could help her find her father?
For the first time, he considered the possibility that perhaps the ghosts had come to him not for his sake, but for Emmaline’s. She’d needed a miracle to ward off the future that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come had shown him, and Silas had the power and wealth to provide it for her.
He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his forehead against Grace’s, hugging her tightly.
He’d seen what his future held if he continued down the path he’d been walking. Now the future shimmered before them, full of promise. The ghosts had taught him that you could always learn from your mistakes and make different choices. You just had to be brave enough to take that first step.
Thank you for working through me, Spirits. I will not let you down. From now on, I will keep Christmas in my heart all year long.
