The Course of True Love – II is the 28th main story mission in Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2). This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of The Course of True Love – II Main Quest including all Gold Medals for 100% completion.
The Course of True Love – II is unlocked after completing The New South.
Quest Giver: Beau Gray
Chapter: 3
Region: Lemoyne
Gold Medal Requirements:
- Reach Penelope without getting spotted
- Complete within 3 minutes
Starting Location:
Caliga Hall, Lemoyne
Getting on the Caliga Hall Grounds
Even getting to the quest giver on this mission can be dicey, so be sure that you’ve got your weapons holstered and talk to the guards outside the gate. After a couple of exchanges, and mentioning Sheriff Gray, they’ll lower their shotguns and let you onto the property.
Talk to one of the workers on site to get a better idea of where you should be going.
Speak to Beau
You’ll find Beau beside the wood shed, writing a letter.
It seems that Beau finds himself in that classic situation where he is in love with a woman who’s family is his family’s mortal enemy. Haven’t we all been there at one time or another?
Beau wants Arthur to take Penelope Braithwaite a letter and a bracelet, letting him know that she loves to sit in the gazebo on the edge of the Braithwaite property.
- GOLD MEDAL: Reach Penelope without getting spotted
- GOLD MEDAL: Complete within 3 minutes
WARNING: Getting this gold medal is significantly harder if you are replaying the level, as you will have a low level horse, no upgrades, no horse tonics, and no bond with your horse. It is worthwhile to make a manual save during the campaign before doing this mission, and reloading it until you get gold. It can potentially save you hours of work.
Even if you skip the cinematic, the timer is already started. You have only three minutes to reach Penelope without being spotted, and the timeline is incredibly tight. You begin the mission away from your horse, with it behind you on the left. You waste 10 seconds just getting to your horse, mounting up and getting going. If you’re trying to do this via replay, you’ve already wasted enough time to make it almost impossible to get a gold in this mission.
It is still possible to get a gold with your horrible starting nag, but it isn’t easy. The first thing you have to do is cheat the system a little bit:
- Skip the cinematic
- Press left on the d-pad to bring up the Log
- Press
/ 
to select the mission The Course of True Love – II - In the next screen, press
/ 
to Abandon Mission - On the following screen, choose Restart Checkpoint.
This will accomplish:
- Opening cinematic will skip automatically
- Arthur will begin the mission on his horse
- Timer will reset to 0
You have to reach Penelope without being spotted so you’d think you’re supposed to be stealthy, but with 3 minutes you’re basically galloping right in like a madman. In order to maintain speed while still avoiding being seen on horseback, you will have to swing wide to the south around the house and outbuildings, following roughly this path:
Starting on your horse means that you can begin spurring it forward even as the game is fading in from the loading screen. Every second counts. Cut to the left of the building in front of you. Your horse can pass through hedges, but not through low hanging tree branches, so give them a wide berth.
Go out the main gate, and up the dirt road directly ahead. It will always be faster to go through an open gate than it will to jump a fence. Not only will you lose speed, but jumping a fence also costs stamina which you will need to make it all the way to Penelope. Cut left across the Civil War battlefield and through the forest ahead.
If you come out in the right spot, you should be near a gate that leads into the Braithwaite’s fields.
Remember, gates are your friends. Even though they may look closed, your horse will push them open allowing you to get through a fence without losing speed or stamina.
Follow the road on the other side of the gate for a while, then cut left across the field to where the fence ahead ends.
Take note of this outbuilding. You’re going to want to swing left away from it to avoid the guard on the other side.
There’s a road right next to it that will lead you right to where you want to go.
Well, more or less. There’s a bit of an inlet between you and the gazebo, but don’t let that stop you.
Get as much speed as you can, and make the horse jump at the last minute if you can so that it lands as far out in the water as possible.
That should cut down about half the swimming time. Keep galloping as soon as you hit shore. Your momentum should take you almost all the way to the stairs of the gazebo.
The reason you do this is because the game treats this area like it does your camp. You will be slowed to a leisurely walk as soon as you hit the ground. Sometimes if you hammer the sprint button as you get off the horse, you might get lucky and get a couple extra steps at speed before the speed limit kicks in. That’s a gift at this point, because this area is slooooow.
Walk up the stairs and you’ll meet Penelope. Immediately skip this cinematic.
Now you have to escape the area, and the fastest way is quite near you. As soon as you have control again, sprint down the stairs towards the boathouse ahead of you.
Instead of jumping in the water and swimming for the boat, go around the docks the long way.
It might cost you a couple extra seconds…
…but the amount of Stamina that you will consume by swimming is ridiculous for your base stats. And you’ll need that Stamina right away to row out of here.
The zone you’re trying to escape is a little off center from you, so you’re going to want to row due West as fast as you can.
If you’ve avoided swimming, you should have just enough Stamina to reach the edge of the zone and finish the mission, just as your core starts to flash. If you’ve managed to cut enough corners, you might just win a gold medal, but don’t be surprised if you’ve got to do this replay several times to get your time under three minutes. Once again, it is much easier to do this the first time on the campaign. Good luck!
This finishes The Course of True Love – II main mission in Red Dead Redemption 2. Now the next quest An Honest Mistake starts.
Next Up: An Honest Mistake
For more Walkthroughs with all gold medals, check out the complete Red Dead Redemption 2 Story Walkthrough.
Thanks so much for this. Them darn time limits are the worst.
They really are, and I did this mission at least 50 times with the generic horse you get in the mission replay to convince myself that there was even a workable strategy before I posted this.
Thanks for this guide.
I replayed the mission and it was a bitch but after about 20 times, i got the gold.
Used pointers from this guide. Thx
Awesome guide man, got really lucky and manage to cinch the gold on first try!
Thanks mate! did it on the first attempt!
Why is this telling you to get on a boat? After delivering the letter, the guard at the boathouse is gone and all you gotta do is ride your horse south like 5 seconds and you’re out of the red. Mission over. I don’t know why people think this is hard.
The fastest way out after delivering the letter is actually to go back on your horse, jump into the water, and ride south for about 5 seconds until you get out. Easier then rowing a boat.
Thanks! I was starting to take my time then I said “wait, do I have to eat across the Braithwaite mansion in 3 minutes, or so the whole thing in 3 minutes???”
This my 2nd playthrough so I knew what to expect. So knocked the gold out and immediately replaying the mission to see the story. Had to cut Penelope off the first time haaa.
I managed this in 2 minutes 25 seconds.
I used a good horse that I’ve had for a while. Whistled for the horse at the start I’m on the horse in eight seconds then full on galop towards the house, staying on the road but cutting a few corners.
As you approach the house stay on the horse go wide right of the house (right of the grapes) and take your horse almost to the water then swing a right. There’s one guard near Penelope so be careful there. Jump of the horse when you’re near Peolope, skip the cinematic then jump back on your horse, cut accross the first bit of water then turn right and gallop as fast as you can in a straight line.