At some point by the early 1880s Lord Lonsdale, a benefactor, purchased a house in London for Gilchrist and the other girls of the Gaiety Theatre. Lonsdale died in 1882, leaving the London house and a sizeable legacy to Gilchrist, much to the chagrin of Lady Lonsdale. Another benefactor, the Duke of Beaumont, was said to have actually adopted Gilchrist and stood in for her father when she married Edmond FitzMaurice, 7th Earl of Orkney, on 19 July 1892 at All Souls Church, Langham Place.
Though a Scottish peer, he owned no property or other title there, but had inherited an estate in Buckinghamshire and some 11,000 acres in County Laois and County Kerry in Ireland that brought him an approximate £6,000 annual income in rents. After their marriage the couple quietly retired to Tythe House, Lord Orkney's estate in Stewkley, as they were largely excluded from British upper class circles at the time. This did not seem to bother Gilchrist, who settled into country life and became known for generous contributions to local charities. Over their early years Gilchrist and her husband operated a hunting lodge on the estate grounds that led to a friendship with the family of Baron Rothschild. A hunting accident in 1906 ended Gilchrist's participation in such forays.
Gilchrist died at Tythe House on 9 May 1946 after 53 years of marriage. The Earl of Orkney lived another five years, dying on 21 August 1951. Their only child, Lady Mary Constance Hamilton Gosling, survived.