William read the letter again. Without actually saying the words Julia was telling him she still loved him; she wanted him to let her know if he felt the same. Of course he felt the same! He had never stopped loving her. He was sure the letter was supposed to reach him before now; the wedding ceremony was about to begin. How could he let her know he still loved her? He would have to go to the church. He would have to stop the ceremony, but he had given Dr. Garland his word that the relationship was dead and gone … in the past. He sat staring at the letter and sighed, what should he do? He knew what he wanted to do but would he have the courage to actually do it? Would he have the courage to go to the church and face everyone? If he didn't he knew he would lose Julia forever. He wasn't sure he could live with himself if he didn't at least try and win her back. His decision was made.
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Rushing out of the station house William jumped on his bicycle and pedalled as fast as he could to the church. He entered the porch making as little sound as possible and stopped before the door to the nave. His heart was pounding, his head spinning. It was now or never, he just hoped he was in time. Removing his hat, William pulled on the handle and crept in, silently closing the door behind him. He stood fixed in place. Looking down the aisle he heard the minister "…forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live." He was too late! He wanted to shout out but his voice failed him, his feet would not carry him forward, he had lost her…. William's head sank, tears welled in his eyes; he took one last look at Julia before turning to leave. She was looking at him! She had glanced at the door before saying, "I do"!
Julia stood looking at him, then picked up her skirt and ran towards him. He heard a gasp from the congregation and his feet became unglued and he found himself moving towards her. Julia threw herself into William's arms "Oh William ..." they hugged quickly. His instinct told him to get out of the church as fast as he could before Dr. Garland came to his senses and confronted them. Taking Julia's hand he steered her through the door and out into the churchyard. What to do now? William quickly looked around and saw the carriage awaiting the newlywed couple. They jumped in and he instructed the driver to go, NOW! Looking back they saw Dr. Garland and his best man, closely followed by the minister, the Inspector, George and Ruby emerging from the door. Heaving a sigh of relief they looked at each other for the first time and laughed.
"What now William?" Julia enquired. William didn't answer right away, then "I hadn't thought that far ahead Julia," he admitted. "When I read your letter the only thing I could think about was getting to the church in time. I didn't have a plan … other than to stop the wedding." "Well we can't go to my house William, that will be the first place Darcy goes. I can't imagine him taking this lightly; he's been humiliated in front of friends and family." William nodded in agreement, "I don't think we'll be welcome at Mrs. Kitchen's either, she wouldn't be happy to have a scandal on her doorstep." The driver had now reined in the horses to avoid causing an accident and they heard George shouting to them. Looking back they saw him quickly catching up riding William's bicycle. Asking the driver to pull over they climbed out of the carriage and waited for him. "Sir," George said breathlessly, "Sir…." "What is it George?" William asked. "Sir, the Inspector said I was to catch you and tell you to go to his house, he'll meet you there. He thought you'd need to go somewhere Dr. Garland wouldn't know where to find you. He's not at all pleased, as you can imagine." George smiled as he said this. "He and Mrs. Brackenreid are on their way there now. He also said I should accompany you … to make sure you don't get into any more trouble!" Julia looked at both men in turn and laughed. William released the wedding carriage and hailed a cab and once ensconced they set off for the Inspector's home with George following behind on the bicycle.
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They pulled up at the Brackenreid residence just as the Inspector was unlocking the door. He quickly ushered them in then paid the cabbie and dismissed him. Margaret was making William and Julia comfortable in the parlour when Thomas entered, "Well, it seems you've got yourself in a spot of bother me ol' mucker," he said to William with a grin from ear to ear. "It's about time you came to your senses." Then he turned to Julia, "I have to admit Doctor, I didn't think he had it in him!" Julia smiled at Thomas then William, "I have to admit, I wouldn't have expected it either Inspector; however, I'm glad he did." William looked somewhat peeved at her admission. Julia added, "Well it was a rather rash act William." William admitted it was and that he saw no other alternative given he hadn't received her letter until George was leaving for the church. "I didn't have much time to work out a plan. Now what do we do?" Margaret had left to make tea and now returned with a tray, "When in doubt the first thing you do is have a cup of tea. It gives you time to think." She poured everyone a cup. "Dr. Ogden, I think one of the first things you need to do is get out of that dress. Why don't I call your house and ask your maid to bring a change of clothes?" "I don't think that's wise Margaret." Thomas commented, "Dr. Garland would probably expect something like that and have someone watching the house ready to follow anyone leaving. I don't think he's the type to take this lying down." William sighed, "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't mean to cause all this trouble." "Nonsense!" the Inspector replied, "We'll get this sorted out somehow. I think you need to spend the night at a hotel, and keep out of sight for a couple of days at least. Take a few days off Murdoch, it will give you time to figure out what to do next." "Thank you Sir," William replied, "but what will Julia do? She can't go home and she can't go to her father's home, Dr. Garland would expect that." Thomas shook his head, "Murdoch, don't be obtuse. Dr. Ogden should go to the hotel with you." "But Sir…." Thomas raised his eyebrows, sighed and shook his head again. "You've gone to all this trouble, now you don't want to spend time with her?" Margaret gave Thomas a disapproving look, "Thomas!"
It was decided that Henry would go to Julia's house, scout out the rear and, if everything was clear, have the maid depart via the back door with a change of clothes for Julia; then he would depart from the front door and head to Station House 4 with another set of clothes. If anyone was watching they would likely follow Henry. The maid duly arrived at the Brackenreid residence and Margaret escorted her along with Julia to a spare bedroom where she could help Julia out of the wedding dress and into her street clothes. Meanwhile Thomas made a reservation at the Empire Hotel for Mr. and Mrs. Jones who would be arriving this evening from out of town. When Julia returned to the parlour she sat on the sofa beside William and finally had chance to relax. It was then Julia thought about Ruby, she had expected her to be with the Brackenreids. "Inspector, where is Ruby? I thought she may have come with you." Thomas replied, "She wanted to but I thought it better she go home with your father. Dr. Garland would probably have thought it strange if she came with us. I also told her it would be better not to look for you, that you would contact her. We don't want Dr. Garland finding out where you are through her. You'll more than likely have to face him eventually but I think in a few days is plenty soon enough. Murdoch, I'll let Mrs. Kitchen know you won't be home for a couple of days. I'll tell her you're away on a case." William grimaced, he didn't like the idea of lying to Mrs. Kitchen but realized it was probably for the best. He would explain things later. Margaret looked at Thomas and with her eyes indicated they should leave the room. To his credit Thomas understood and followed her out saying, "I expect you two to dine with us this evening before you go to your hotel. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a nap while Margaret prepares dinner."
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They were alone at last. William turned to face Julia and took her hand in his. "I love you Julia. I couldn't stand by and let you marry someone else after learning you still loved me. I'm sorry I couldn't stop the wedding sooner and avoid all this scandal. I only got your letter as George was leaving for the church." Julia caressed his cheek, "Oh William, I never stopped loving you; I was so worried you no longer loved me. When I saw you at the door I could barely believe you had come to me." She laid her head on his shoulder. "What are we going to do now?" William sighed, "Get married…?" "Be serious William!" "I am being serious!" William retorted. Julia continued, " We're going to have to face Darcy at some point and I don't think it's going to be pleasant." "Julia, he's just going to have to face the fact that he's better off without you." Julia punched William in the chest. "I mean that he's lucky you found out you didn't want marry him before you were tied for life. That didn't sound right either, did it?" "No, it did not," Julia smiled at him, "however I know what you're trying to say, and you're right but I doubt Darcy will see it that way." William took a deep breath, "Also, a few weeks ago he came to see me. Somehow he found out we had a relationship in the past. He wanted to know if it was over between us. I gave him my word it was." "Well you weren't actually lying, it was over, even if we still loved each other, we just didn't know we did. We will get through this William." Julia reassured him.
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Dinner was over and it was time William and Julia departed for their hotel. On arriving William signed the register as Henry and Mrs. Jones. The receptionist gave them a strange look, a couple arriving from 'out of town' with no baggage, not even hand luggage, very suspicious. He handed William the key and directed them to their room. William unlocked the door and allowed Julia to enter. As William turned the key to secure the lock Julia removed her hat then stood directly in front of William as he turned and bumped into her. She removed his hat and tossed it on the bed, grabbing his tie she pulled him into a long passionate kiss. Breaking off Julia whispered in his ear, "That was very gallant of you this afternoon." "Really?" William was pleased however he wasn't sure he'd call it gallant…. "You were my knight in shining armour today. You saved me from myself." Julia slipped off his jacket and started unbuttoning his vest. William didn't stop her, it was all he could do to hold himself back from undoing her blouse. "Julia, I don't think we should do this. I don't want to do something we'll regret." Julia seductively rubbed herself up against William and felt his hardness. "Regret? William, there's nothing we could do that I would ever regret. Take me to bed; you know you want to."
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For the next two days William and Julia didn't leave the hotel room, taking all their meals in the room. When not dining they lay on the bed and talked, or made love, and came up with a plan … of sorts. It was obvious they would both have to resume their lives at some point so they decided the sooner the better. They also would plan their wedding, which would take place as soon as possible. Julia would stay at her father's house so she would never have to be alone if Darcy called. William would go back to Mrs. Kitchen's but spend as much time as possible at the station house so as not to cause Mrs. Kitchen trouble if Darcy decided to call on him. He had only been at work a day when Dr. Garland walked into his office. It was evening and the station house was quiet, most of the constables being out on their beats. "You lied to me Murdoch!" William looked up from the file he was reading. "You said your relationship was in the past, dead and gone!" "Please, sit down Dr. Garland." William gestured towards the chair on the opposite side of his desk , "Let us discuss this like gentlemen." Dr. Garland wasn't in the mood to 'discuss' anything but he wasn't about to give Murdoch the moral advantage so he sat, leaned his elbows on the chair arms and linked hands over his chest. "Well, Murdoch, I'm waiting for an explanation." "Dr. Garland, I told you the truth, our relationship was in the past, it ended when Julia left for Buffalo. I admit I wasn't happy about it and I'd hoped to renew our relationship when she asked me to come to Buffalo. Then I found out she was engaged and that was the end of it. She had made her choice, she chose you." Dr. Garland considered this then replied, "So why did you come to stop the wedding?" William wasn't sure how to answer, if he told Dr. Garland that Julia had asked him to intervene he may not be able to handle it. He decided a half truth may not be so bad in this situation. "If you remember, I was given an invitation to the wedding, in fact when you came here the last time you specifically said you hoped to see me there. I was delayed and the wedding was almost over when I arrived. I had just walked into the church as you were both saying your 'I dos'. Julia looked at me and dashed towards me. I had no idea she still loved me and wanted to be with me, I was just glad to apparently have her back." Dr. Garland considered this. "So you still love her, you said you didn't." "Actually Dr. Garland, I said nothing of the kind. I said our relationship was in the past. I've never stopped loving Julia and never will. It seems she still felt the same towards me despite being engaged to you. I can't be blamed for that; though I'll admit I'm not displeased about the situation." Dr. Garland was somewhat taken aback about this revelation. He said, almost to himself, "Then why would she agree to be my wife if she loved someone else?" He was beginning to feel as if he'd been used. "Was it my position and social standing she was looking for? She's from the same class as I, you are … clearly not." William was offended by the remark and replied, "If that's what you think then you obviously don't know Julia! She has never considered social class, occupation or finances in any of her dealings with anyone she's come across other than when it involves her work. If you're going to insult me, and Julia, then I think it's time for you to leave. Goodnight DOCTOR Garland!" William turned his attention to the file in front of him. Dr. Garland continued sitting but when it became obvious that William was ignoring him he got up and left without another word. William gave him time to leave the station house then called Julia at her father's house. Ruby answered, it was the first opportunity she'd had to speak to William since the 'incident at the church' as she put it. She was thrilled that the detective had come to his senses and acted on his feelings and she was sorry but Julia had gone to bed early but she'd be sure to let her know about Darcy….
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A week had gone by since the 'incident at the church' and Dr. Garland hadn't visited William again nor had he bothered to visit Julia. They considered that he was either too embarrassed to confront her or decided it wasn't worth the bother, either way they were glad. Things hadn't turned out as ugly as they expected; there had been a small piece in the Gazette about a scandal at a church involving the daughter of a respected doctor and a police detective but no names were mentioned. Life was getting back to normal … other than the fact that a small wedding had been planned for next month….