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‘What’s going on?’ Wren asked suspiciously.
‘Darling, I’m sorry for the deception,’ Phoenix said, ‘but honestly, the jeweller’s in Gerrenporth—well, it could hardly be called a jeweller’s at all. Wulfram and I had seen it for ourselves yesterday when we made a brief scouting mission while you were here reading, and I knew it wouldn’t have any decent wedding rings.’
‘So I took him to London this morning,’ I explained, ‘and I left him outside a high-class jeweller’s.’
‘Where,’ Phoenix said softly, ‘I found this.’
He rummaged in his coat pocket and told her to close her eyes, then he took her hand and gently placed something in her palm.
She stared down in disbelief. ‘My fede ring!’
‘We realised that the fede ring hadn’t made it back to 1663 with us because, how could it? Meri had given it to you, but she herself had inherited it from her ancestor, Wren Tremayne, who received it on her wedding day. Since you hadn’t had your wedding day yet, the ring wasn’t yours to give. Now,’ he added, smiling, ‘it is. And look, I had it engraved with our new family motto.’
She peered at the inside of the ring and smiled. ‘I know what that means. From love and truth comes peace.’
‘It seems very apt,’ he said. ‘Now that I have the love of a good woman, and I’ve finally been honest with everyone—including myself—about who and what I really am, and the terrible things I’ve done in my life, I feel a real sense of peace, and there’s a lot to be said for that. I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.’
‘Me neither,’ she said, and they hugged tightly.
‘Oh,’ he said, pulling away from her. ‘There’s something else! Look what I found in the shop. I had to get it, of course. It was meant for me.’
He showed us a silver pocket watch which I recognised all too well.
‘The watch you wore to your wedding,’ I said. ‘The watch that was left to Celeste in Meri’s will.’
‘And I had it engraved,’ he said. ‘I expect you can guess what it says.’
‘Hmm,’ I said, pretending to puzzle over it. ‘Somehow I don’t think it’s “Merry Christmas”. And now, you two, since you have everything you need for this wedding, let’s get ourselves to the chapel. Time you two were finally married.’
***
We celebrated the marriage of Phoenix and Wren Tremayne with a buffet of all the finest twenty-first century treats we could think of, just to show Emrick what lay in store for him.
We drank champagne and toasted the happy couple, but eventually we all fell quiet as realisation dawned.
‘You’re going home, aren’t you?’ Wren asked quietly.
I took her hand. ‘I can’t stay with you forever,’ I said. ‘I have work to do in my own time. You know that. But look, you have Phoenix to look after you, and I know he’ll do a wonderful job, because history tells us so. And the two of you are going to be amazing. And Emrick’s here, too.’
We both looked at Emrick who put down his glass of champagne and paused for a moment.
‘I can’t stay here either,’ he admitted. ‘I’m sorry,’ he added as Wren began to protest. ‘It wouldn’t do me any good, would it? You’ve already told me that I arrived on this island when Meri was alive. I wasn’t already here. So obviously I was somewhere else. I can’t spend the next three hundred and fifty years hiding out here.’
‘But where will you go?’ Phoenix asked.
Emrick shrugged. ‘The world has changed. I’ve been asleep for over a thousand years. I need to see what’s out there. Meet people. Travel. I’ve a lot of time to kill, after all.’
I felt a wave of grief for him. To be alone for hundreds of years, waiting for Meri. I couldn’t bear it.
‘Please stay with Wren and Phoenix,’ I begged. ‘They love you. You’ll be safe here.’
‘Wulfram,’ he said kindly, ‘you know as well as I do that’s not my destiny. My job isn’t to be safe. My job is to make sure others are safe. I need to absorb information, learn new cultures, prepare myself to guide you when we meet again.’
I blinked away tears, knowing he was right.
‘You’ll always be welcome here, you know that don’t you?’ Wren asked, squeezing his hand.
‘I know. And I’m grateful. Believe me, I’ll take you up on that offer from time to time. It will be good to know I have a home to go to now and then, when the outside world gets a little much. And it will be wonderful to see you two in years to come, what you’ll achieve. I’m already proud of you. Of all of you.’
