Grace St. James, originally Grace Grant, was a spunky little girl growing up. She had a younger sister Julia and the two were inseparable. The two did just about everything together, but the older they got, the more they grew apart. Grace’s father, Bradley, owned a plantation in Georgia and her mother helped on the plantation. Ever since Grace was little she always dreamed about her Prince Charming. She wanted him to be handsome, charismatic, and someone who loved her for just being her. She thought that she would never find someone, but that all changed on Grace’s 21st birthday. Her Prince Charming walked into the room. Fred St. James was a bank manager at St. James Bank and knew the Grant family through Grace’s father. When Fred walked in his eyes met Grace’s and he knew he wanted to marry her.

Fred started dating Grace not long after her birthday and the two fell madly in love with one another. On one spring day out by the apple tree Fred asked Grace to marry him with a dozen roses in his hand. Of course, Grace accepted. Fred also owned a plantation several miles away from where Grace grew up. Grace knew that Fred would take care of her. So on a glorious day exactly 6 months from the day that Fred asked her to marry him; the two tied the knot under the apple tree.

After they married, Grace moved in with Fred on his massive plantation. While things between the couple seemed to be going well, Grace was harboring a secret. It was a secret that she couldn’t bring herself to tell Fred. Grace hated to be alone. She feared that one day her worst nightmare would come true, that Fred would leave her and she would be all alone. Grace would stay outside all day waiting for Fred to come home. She would talk with the plantation workers just so she would have someone to be around.

Fred was gone most of that day, which never pleased Grace. She would ask him numerous times to come home early or take days off, but Fred couldn’t. He needed to continue to run the bank and provide for Grace. Grace continued to keep this secret inside and not tell Fred.

On a rainy day, however, Fred started feeling ill. He was more tired than usual and couldn’t seem to get rid a cold that he had for months. Fred just kept going to work. He would tell Grace that he was fine, but she knew that there was something that wasn’t right. She let it go though and over the next 6 months, Fred started to take a rapid turn for the worst. Grace’s fear that Fred would leave her was happening in a way that Grace did not expect.

On a cold wintery day Fred could not get up and go to work. That is when Grace knew that her fear was coming true. Grace wanted Fred home more often, but not this way. She wanted him to get better so badly, but she knew that it may never happen. By Christmas Fred was barely hanging on, but his love for Grace remained stronger than ever. He would gaze into Grace’s eyes and the two were just as in love as they were the day they met. Fred even had four dozen roses put in Grace’s room to show that his love for her had grown from the day they got engaged when he first gave her roses.

Sadly, on a cold January day Fred died. His last words to Grace were “I’ll be there with you in the roses. I love you my dear.” Grace was devastated. She told everyone on the plantation to leave and not to come back. Grace could not come to terms with the loss of her beloved Fred. She filled the entire house with roses. Every room was filled them. Then one day she found a picture that she and Fred had taken on their first wedding anniversary. This photo was the last picture she had of Fred. She held on to the photo like her life depended on it.

On the year anniversary of Fred’s death in a room filled with roses Grace died. She died of a broken heart because her worst nightmare had come true. Fred, the love of her life, her Prince Charming, had left her. Grace was never the same. She missed Fred and longed for his loving gaze. A worker from the plantation came to check on Grace and found Grace had died. The roses in the house had wilted, but the love that Fred and Grace had shared would never die.