One more to go! Please read the important note at the bottom!

Ms. Maksimov took her last breath three days later.

Mom had hit the roof when I called a family meeting the morning after Isabella declared she wanted to take the shot. She couldn't understand why Isabella would want that blood on her hands, but after Granddad stepped in, everyone was in agreement. Isabella needed this closure. Above our wants and needs to protect her, Isabella needed this.

The following three days were a little surreal for me. For so many months I'd tried to protect Isabella and keep her from the truth of my world, yet here I was, teaching her how to fire a gun. She was skittish, and being a small girl, the recoil was harsh, but she got it in the end.

Emmett and Charles wanted to step in to help, mom wanted to whisk her away from the shooting range, but Granddad stopped them all. We were here to help her, not shield her anymore.

That weekend, the whole family was taking the trip to where we were keeping the vile excuse for a woman. I'd been expecting her snide, sneering form to greet me, but that was far from what we walked in on. In front of me was a snivelling, pleading woman. Maksimov was in nearly the same state Isabella had been when I'd first seen her, but I looked down on her body with nothing. There was no emotion to give her. She was pathetic, and I hated her. I wanted to rip her body into bits and burn the evidence, but that wasn't my place, so I hid all I felt.

Isabella held her head high as she walked up to the woman who had tortured her, who had kept her locked up, and who had taken away years of her life. It was impossible to explain the look on her face. Impassive would have been my best guess.

Clinically, calmly, and serenely, Isabella lifted the gun up in front of the woman's face, and then, without uttering a single word, she pulled the trigger.

Isabella let out a breath as the woman's body slumped under the binds which held her body, then turned on the spot and looked at us all. Putting the safety catch on the gun as I'd taught her, she held it out for Jasper to take before walking over to me.

Three spots of blood were on her face. One by her cheek, her forehead, and her left temple. I was quick to wipe her free of those marks, and then she let go. Falling into my arms, she cried.

It was finally over.

Everything.

It was all in the past. We had everything in front of us now.

…

I had asked Isabella to marry me at Christmas. By that point, she'd been with us for five months. Charles refused to go home, so paperwork was arranged for him to stay in Ireland. His wife Sue, and Isabella's younger brother Seth, found their way here soon after; they'd settled in quite well.

Isabella had never been so happy as she was that Christmas morning when I asked for her hand. The day was then finished off perfectly when Rose let us all know she was expecting a baby as we celebrated mine and Isabella's engagement. The squeals from Alice and Isabella about being aunties were fantastic.

We decided we didn't want to rush into getting married. Isabella admitted she wanted to see a therapist first, to get her fears in order. She also shared her fear I would leave her because we hadn't had sex yet. I tried not to laugh about that. She didn't realize the depth of my love for her. Sex wasn't everything. It was nice, but Isabella being happy and safe was far better than sex. Just seeing her smiling face was enough to brighten any bad day I was having.

…

Here I stood in the garden, under the heat of the sun, waiting for her. We had planned the wedding together, down to the last tiny detail. This is what we both wanted, so much. I'd never understood how men didn't care about the details of their own wedding. I'd wanted to know everything and remember every little moment.

Isabella was a vision as she walked toward me, her dress hugging her body. Long gone was the girl I'd 'bought' all those months ago. Before me was a healthy and smiling woman.

I knew she wasn't healed completely, it would take years to overcome what she'd been through, but she was getting there. Isabella had a strength inside her that I would never be able to measure.

I couldn't stop the tears falling while my emotions washed over me. Her smile was beyond radiant when she finally got to the end of the aisle and took my hands in hers.

Our vows of love and commitment were said softly in front of our family, and I didn't know how to express my love for her. I hoped she could understand what I couldn't put into words. I hoped she knew that my heartbeat for her, and only her.

We danced, we ate, we drank, and we laughed. There were tears, too.

We planted a white rose bush in memory of her mom, but the day was perfect.

Isabella was perfect.

She didn't want to go anywhere for our honeymoon, but we compromised. We were staying at the family holiday home in the Lake District. It was a beautiful, calming place. We would only be there a week, but it was a week we would have to ourselves.

We both loved our families, but when they were around constantly, we never seemed to get a break.

…

Now that we were unpacked I felt like a teenager about to experience his first-time having sex. Then I remembered that she was a virgin, which meant I needed to be a grownup with this. At least I had prepared for this moment, as much as one could prepare.

Although Dad said the tampons might've broken her hymen, I still put black sheets on the bed. If there was any blood, I didn't want her to worry about it. Though her therapy was going well, there were still issues we needed to work through, together.

I laughed when she opened the bathroom door and just stood there in all her naked glory with her hands on her hips.

"Alice and Rose packed me scraps of clothes if you can call them that. I'd prefer being naked than wearing those irritating lacy things." She huffed beautifully as she walked toward me.

She really was a sight to behold. Being with her was always so intense. Kissing. Touching. But nothing could have prepared me for the moment when we were joined together. It went beyond definable sensations when I entered her.

It was love… pure, raw, unconditional love. We were so gentle. Our movements soft and loving. No words were spoken; Nothing needed to be said. We both lost ourselves in the moment. Over and over until we were both spent.

Just a short epilogue to go now. I really hope you've loved this story as much as I have.

Important Note:

Cobblestone to Corsets will be posting as of tonight, starting with the prologue. I'll be posting a chapter a day, just like I have with this story. I really hope you give it a go, as it was SO loved the first time around. I have tweaked and tidied this one up, too.

Summary:

In 1843, Queen Victoria reined alongside etiquette and protocol. Everything was judged from who you were to what you owned and how much status you had. Can a small farm girl from Lord Cullen's estate bring life and happiness back to his son? Will Master Edward see her for what she is as a person, or who she is by birth? And what does Lady Cullen have up her sleeve?