Deception is finely stitched into the fabric of the Whitaker family’s lives in Forever the Rose, the third novel in Gilder’s Rose Series, set in 1898 in the nation’s capital, Washington, District of Columbia, and the verdant countryside of Leesburg and Middleburg, Virginia. A woman’s recovery leads to a discovery, as the past collides with the present, and questions of propriety are laid bare.

A rich cast of characters, some familiar, some new, find themselves confronted with a secret truth camouflaged for years, as a mystery surrounding people in Alexandra Whitaker’s life begins to surface. Layer by layer, truths are revealed thanks to the investigative work of Morgan Pennybacker and her assistant, Agnes Fielding, accompanied by their fine feathered friend, Peepers.

There is much about Alexandra’s family’s past yet to be learned, as hidden truths begin to unravel, revealing the multiplying impact one’s decisions can have on others. Do our choices change us forever? Can the best intentions result in dire consequences? Is redemption and moving on possible once one has the courage to tell the truth? Will the ghosts of the Whitaker’s past be dead and buried, or will they continue to haunt their legacy? Answers abound as secrets unfold in this story of intersecting lives, lushly laced with vivid prose, romance, historical details, and a handsome, unlikely suitor, who charms his way into one woman’s heart.

Discover the paths that lead them to one another as secrets, betrayals, transgressions, friendship, faith, love, redemption, and the everlasting bonds of family meld with frisky history, which is not to be denied. .