Mother forces her out of bed the next day to deliver a set of new blankets to Miss Brigham for her niece from Ireland. On the road, Prudence again hears hoof beats approaching. A horse pulls up next to her and Rodney's voice says, "Fancy meeting you here on the same road. I'm terribly sorry we didn't get a chance to say goodbye properly the other day. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes," she says. "I feel much better now."
"I'm glad to hear it," he says. He tells her about his business in Sussex. He's sold his business for a decent profit. "I don't think I'll buy a piece of land straight off. I thought I would rent a place in town at first so I can learn all I can about farming before setting to it. Mr. Davenport said he has a room to let. Do you know him?"
"I see he and his wife at church every Sunday."
"Well, then I imagine we'll be seeing each other quite a bit then since they invited me to go to church with them."
"I imagine we will," Prudence says.
"I'll see you on Sunday." He tips his hat to her and then is gone. She stands in the center of the road in disbelief. He came back for her despite everything. She vows never to lose him again.
The tent flaps opened and Rodney said, "No one's seen the girl around. I imagine she'll turn up." He pulled off his boots and then settled onto the cushions next to her. He put a hand on her back. "Are you awake?"
She rolled over to face him and asked, "Why did you come back for me after we first met?"
"Because I loved you. I knew it the moment I saw you." He kissed her on the cheek. "I still love you. Nothing will ever change that."
She kissed him on the lips, savoring their taste. He had come back for her once; maybe he would come back for her again. If not, she intended to make tonight last as long as possible.
***
With the gunpowder, flint, and string Wendell now had the final ingredients to make sure Reverend Crane's twisted designs never came to fruition. The holes carved last night would allow him to plant the gunpowder to make his rudimentary shaped charges. If his calculations were correct, the resulting explosion would bring down enough of the cavern to bury the Fountain of Youth forever.
As soon as this happened, Wendell would lose Prudence in the future. The love they'd shared would never exist. With no fountain, Prudence would remain the overweight bride of Rodney Gooddell while Wendell remained a stowaway, an outcast grubbing for food in the wilderness.