The reverend dropped to his knees. "Forgive me, Lord, for I am but a weak man. A man of mere flesh. You presented me with this test as you tested Abraham and Moses and your own holy son by bringing this girl, this source of my greatest shame back to me. I have failed you."
Prudence lay sobbing on the ground, curling herself up to face away from Wendell and Reverend Crane. The reverend got to his feet, mumbling to himself, "There's only one thing to do. There's only one way to make amends."
Wendell tried to call out a warning, but no words would come out of his mouth. He watched helplessly as the reverend grabbed Prudence, pinning her against the wall to look into her eyes. "Yes, there is only one thing to do. I must bring you to Him as Christ brought the whore Mary Magdeline to Him. You will devote your life to Him and by redeeming you I will redeem myself. That is the only way to save both our souls."
He set Prudence on the ground and laid a hand on her cheek. "Fear not, my child. Our salvation begins this moment. For now you must remain here. I will return for you in time."
Reverend Crane picked up the torch and then bolted from the chamber. After the door closed, Prudence crawled over to Wendell. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"I can't…move," he said, the words forming as if he were learning to speak for the first time.
She stretched him out on the floor, running a hand along his dress. "Why are you wearing this?" she asked.
"This is…how I was," he said. In halting words he went on to explain about his mother raising him as a girl named Wendelle until the night she found him masturbating to Isabelle's image. Fresh tears came to her eyes as he went on to describe Pryde raping him in Glasgow, Fiona's death in the hayloft, and his years on the streets until he stowed away on the Primrose.
When he finished, she kissed him. Her lips breathed life into his crippled limbs; he folded his arms around her and pressed her close. "I'm sorry," he said. "I failed you."
"We still have each other. That's all that matters right now," she said. "No matter what happens over the next three hundred years, I'll still love you. Even if I can't remember in my mind, I'll remember in my heart."
They kissed again and then fell asleep in each other's arms. They awoke some time later to the sound of the door opening. This time Wendell heard human footsteps followed by the clicking of animal claws. Pryde appeared in the chamber a few moments later with the beast at his side.