Chapter 10 – The Dinner Party

"You look beautiful, Miss", Ashley remarked as she paused when walking past Elizabeth in the upstairs hallway.

"Thank you, Ashley. I must say I am a little nervous", Elizabeth admitted as she looked down the staircase and saw the small group of elegantly dressed people in the foyer and in the large room to the right of it. She had never seen Jack, now wearing a tuxedo, waistcoat, and bow tie, so formally dressed.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. Here goes.

Just as Elizabeth started down the staircase, Ashley dropped some items she had been carrying, causing a small clatter. My goodness that girl is clumsy, Elizabeth thought.

Everyone in the foyer, their attention initially drawn by the sound of the noise, now watched as Elizabeth descended the stairs. The front half of her hair was twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head, while long tendrils cascaded down her back. She was wearing a dress made of elegant sheer fabric in a rich deep coral and embellished with beads that seemed to float over the silk solid under-dress. A strip of the fabric crossed over her shoulder and cascaded down her back to skim the floor. Jack stared at her for a moment without moving. Elizabeth smiled when she saw the look on his face. He looks like he's never seen me before!

Without taking his eyes off of Elizabeth, Jack excused himself from the other guests and crossed the foyer, meeting Elizabeth as she reached the bottom step.

"You take my breath away", he said quietly.

Elizabeth giggled. "Well, I wouldn't want to do that."

"You've also put me in a dilemma."

"How so?"

"I can't decide if we should sneak out of this dinner party and just spend the evening the two of us or if we should join the other guests", he said with a smile.

Elizabeth grinned. "Since this party is in your honor, I think it would only be polite if we attend."

Jack offered his arm to Elizabeth, and escorted her into the main room. He moved his hand to the small of her back as he proudly introduced her to his Uncle Alistair and several other people before he was called away by his mother to greet newly arriving guests.

For ten minutes, Elizabeth mingled with the guests as they talked about polo, sailing, cricket, and opera.

"That's Lady Suzanna Beachem", the young man standing next to Elizabeth informed her when he noticed she had stopped listening to his story about sailing. Elizabeth's eyes were looking at Jack as he greeted the beautiful woman who had just arrived. "She and Jack are old friends."

Elizabeth noticed that Lady Suzanna's face lit up when she saw Jack, and that Jack warmly embraced the woman as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

As Elizabeth tried to return her attention to the young man next to her, she said a silent thank you that the maid had scorched her dress and Tom had taken her to the boutique. The other women at the party were dressed in the most stylish exquisite dresses Elizabeth had ever seen.

When the butler announced that dinner was served, Elizabeth, who was ushered into the dining room with the other guests, was disappointed to see that she was not seated next to Jack. Taking her place between Uncle Alistair and the middle-aged Mr. Stevenson, she watched as Jack pulled out the chair next to him for Lady Suzanna.

"So, Jack, how is that town you're living in?" , Mr. Stevenson asked across the table as the waiters began to serve.

"It's nice. I'm enjoying being stationed there."

"It's quite a small town from what I've heard", another guest remarked.

"Jack doesn't even have a place to stay. He's staying in the saloon still", Tom announced.

"Actually, I've pretty much moved into the jail. The Mounties are paying for a room to be added to the back of it for me. And in the meantime, I sleep in one of the jail cells", Jack replied.

"You sleep in a jail cell?!" exclaimed Mrs. Middleton.

"It's not so bad. It's quiet."

"How tragic", another woman murmured.

" Actually, it's quite comfortable."

"Elizabeth, I hope you at least have suitable housing and aren't sleeping at your desk?", Mr. Middleton asked jokingly.

"Not usually", Jack chuckled before Elizabeth could respond.

"I live above the Café. It's very nice". Elizabeth quickly spoke up before Jack divulged to the entire dinner table that her students had found her asleep at a table with a note stuck to her forehead.

"Above the Café? Isn't there a teacherage", Mrs. Thornton asked in surprise.

"There was. But unfortunately there was a fire", Elizabeth replied.

"Ah, yes. The fire that burned down the school." Mr. Thornton joined in the conversation.

"Um, no. Another fire", Elizabeth noted.

"Another fire?!'

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"There certainly are a lot of fires in that town." Mr. Thornton said in surprise.

"Well it is a coal town, " Tom remarked.

"So the life of a Mountie must be quite dangerous, especially on the frontier? ", Mrs. Stevenson remarked.

"It has its good days and its bad days. More good than bad", Jack replied nonchalantly.

"Your mother was worried sick about you. She had all sorts of visions of you showing up with broken bones or a black eye", Mr. Thornton remarked.

"No black eyes for me. Although, Elizabeth had one once", Jack offered good-naturedly.

"Elizabeth had a black eye?", Lady Suzanna questioned as several guests turned to look at Elizabeth.

"It was nothing. I got between two coal boys in a fight", Elizabeth said pleasantly.

"Two coal miners were fighting over you?" , Lord Beachem questioned.

If Elizabeth hadn't been the center of attention before, she was now.

"No, they weren't fighting over me. I just got between them. It was all rather silly. We were in the saloon and –".

"You were in the saloon with two coal miners?", Mrs. Thornton questioned, a look of surprise on her face.

"No, they were my students not coal miners, and you see –"

"You take your students to the saloon?" The disapproval was evident in Mrs. Thornton's voice.

"No. My classroom, and –".

"I thought you said it was in the saloon," Mr. Thornton interjected.

"Well, yes, that's my classroom." Elizabeth was beginning to get flustered. Everyone was staring at her as if waiting to hear some scandalous details.

"Was it the saloon or the classroom?", Mrs. Middleton asked adamantly.

"Her classroom is in the saloon. As we said, there was a fire in the town. So the saloon is the temporary school. Elizabeth was breaking up a fight between two students." Jack patiently explained.

"I would think that a teacher should have better control over her classroom and students than to allow a fight to happen." Mrs. Thornton remarked with displeasure.

"She has very good control of her students, mother."

When Mrs. Thornton merely raised her eyebrows, Jack continued, "Her students love her."

"One of her students even gave a beautiful gold and gemstone necklace. He told her that he wanted to give it to her because it was so pretty like her." Jack said with a smile.

"Where did the boy get an expensive piece of jewelry?", one of the guests asked.

Jack suddenly realized maybe he shouldn't have spoken.

"Well, unfortunately it was owned by a criminal in town and well, the boy found it and, . . . he didn't return it", Elizabeth admitted haltingly.

"Do you know a lot of criminals?", Mrs. Stevenson looked shocked.

"No, . . . just the one. And Jack handled him", Elizabeth answered, suddenly feeling flustered again.

"But the boy knew who it belonged to, this criminal?"

"Well, yes. But – well, he was so sweet, he wanted to give it to me."

"Your students steal for you ?", Mrs. Thornton questioned critically.

"No!", Elizabeth exclaimed in shock.

"The necklace is not the point. The point is that her students think very highly of her", Jack said in frustration.

"Did you keep the stolen necklace?", Mrs. Stevenson asked.

"No, of course not! I returned it to the man to whom it belonged."

"The criminal you know?", Lord Beachem inquired.

"Enough with the criminal!", Jack exclaimed in frustration.

After taking a calming breath, Jack tied to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Elizabeth is an excellent teacher. She motivates her students. She knows how to keep their attention. One time, while standing on a table, she lifted up her skirt and took off her shoe, and then she took out her hair comb. And –"

Jack realized he had everyone's rapt attention, but he stopped talking when he noticed Elizabeth furiously shaking her head at him.

Everyone's eyes moved from Elizabeth to Jack and back again.

"Ah well, it's not really that interesting a story", Jack said. He realized that Elizabeth may not think it was the best image of her as a proper school teacher.

"No, please go on, Jack. I'm sure we'd all love to hear how your friend was standing on a table entertaining a crowded saloon with her hair down. I'm sure it's a very interesting story", Mrs. Thornton said stiffly.

Elizabeth began to blush. When she puts it that way it sounds down right disgraceful!

"Gravity. It was gravity", Elizabeth said meekly as Jack shook his head in bewilderment and wondered how this conversation had gone so terribly wrong.

The table was quiet as everyone stared at one another and then glanced at Elizabeth.

"The law of inertia", Elizabeth mumbled quietly.

"Well, I'm not sure that's how Sir Isaac Newton would have explained gravity, but then maybe he didn't have hair combs and a saloon." Uncle Alistair remarked.

"I'm sure Jack prefers kissing Elizabeth over stuffy old Sir Isaac Newton", Tom remarked in an ill attempt to add humor.

If the table had been smaller, Jack would have kicked Tom in the leg. As it was, he glowered at him.

"What?! What did I say wrong? You have kissed her. And I know you enjoyed it", Tom said defensively as he looked at Jack.

Elizabeth was mortified. Her cheeks turned even pinker as she stared down at her napkin in her lap. She may not have been to a high society dinner party before, but she was pretty sure that her kissing was not an appropriate topic of conversation.

The room remained silent except for a few quick whispers. Elizabeth could feel the guests staring at her. She imagined they were thinking the worst of her. Gold digger. Flirt. Simple school teacher living above a Café and trying to land a rich man. She decided that, even if it took hours, she was not going to look up from her lap until she heard the last of the dinner guests leave the table and go home for the night.

It was so quiet that when Jack finally broke the silence, everyone in the room, his family, the guests, even the butler, heard his words. And the honesty in his voice.

"Her kisses are the best kisses I have ever had", he said in a clear deliberate unembarrassed voice as he looked across the table at her.

The warmth and genuineness of his feelings wasn't overlooked by anyone in the room, not even Elizabeth, who was still looking at the napkin in her lap.

Elizabeth, who had been on the verge of tears, jerked her head up. Jack was looking directly at her. When he gave her a reassuring smile and a wink, she couldn't help but smile back.

"And now, I think that Elizabeth has been the center of conversation for too long. Mr. Middleton, how is the cattle business going?", Jack said pleasantly as he turned and addressed the gentleman diagonal from him.

Elizabeth watched as Jack and Lady Suzanna sat side by side on the piano bench after the meal had concluded and everyone had gone into the front room.

"They're having such a good time together, aren't they?" , Mrs. Thornton said as she came to stand next to Elizabeth.

"I've heard they've been friends for a very long time."

"Jack and Suzanna have a lot in common. They took lessons from the same teachers, shared the same friends.", Mrs. Thornton remarked.

"Sometimes, what people have in common are the things they feel inside. A shared spirit", Elizabeth said as she watched the couple at the piano laughing.

"Jack has always been the moral compass of the boys. The hero. The one to fix the wrongs and help the less fortunate. But this business of being a Mountie, I'm not sure it's really who he's meant to be. Jack has a tendency to follow his heart instead of his business sense. He will most likely wake up one day, and I would hate to see him have entered into a situation that he cannot undo. This, here, is the life he was born to live. When he runs the family company one day, he'll need a strong woman by his side. Someone who can help him in society, host functions, handle the household staff. I don't want to see him regret any rash decisions he may make while he's temporary away as a Mountie."

"I don't think you need to worry about that. Like you said, if Jack follows his heart, he'll do just fine", Elizabeth said. She tried to make her voice sound confident even as doubts crept into her thoughts.

Elizabeth heard the tires moving on the gravel driveway under her bedroom window. When she heard the car doors slam and the sounds of talking and laughter, she crept out of bed and looked out the window. Jack and Tom laughed and slapped each other on the backs as they said good night to the people in the cars, and stumbled into the house.

Elizabeth had been exhausted after the dinner party, but Tom, so happy to have his older brother home, had enticed Jack to go to the club and meet up with some old buddies for a late night. From the looks of them, Elizabeth guessed that quite a bit of drinking had been involved.

This wasn't the Jack she was used to seeing. All evening he had been at ease with the guests, the fine food and drinks, and the conversations.

Elizabeth realized why she hadn't been able to sleep. Not only was Jack at ease in these surroundings, but he enjoyed them. That worried her more than she wanted to admit.

Elizabeth slept in late the next morning and then packed her small suitcase. She was going to make one last attempt at talking to Julie before the train left this afternoon to take her and Jack back to Coal Valley.

As she walked down the hallway, she wondered if Jack was up yet, or still sleeping off his late night partying.

"He and Lady Suzanna are in the garden". Mrs. Thornton's voice rang out behind Elizabeth, causing her to stop and turn around.

"Jack. If you're looking for him. He's with Suzanna. She arrived earlier this morning for a visit. They had breakfast already and are enjoying each other's company in the garden."

"Thank you. I don't want to interrupt them, but Jack and I are planning on going to visit my sister, Julie."

"Yes, Jack mentioned that. Jack said your sister's in the wire business. Perhaps, you would like to go visit her by yourself. Jack and Suzanna may be awhile. I'll have the driver bring the car around front for you."

Elizabeth noticed that Mrs. Thornton didn't give her a chance to object.

"Nonsense, mother. Jack will want to go with Elizabeth. And so do I. I am most interested in meeting this sister of hers", Tom said as he approached them.

"Why in the world do you want to meet her sister?", Mrs. Thornton asked.

"I'm interested in the wire business", Tom said with an innocent smile.

An hour later, Elizabeth, Jack, Tom, and Julie sat at a table for lunch at a small Café in the center of the city. Elizabeth realized almost immediately that it was a mistake to have Tom there. Any thoughts Julie may have had of going back home disappeared the moment Tom greeted her.

Kissing Julie's hand when they were introduced was nothing compared to Tom's comment that he was thrilled and intrigued to meet the beautiful black sheep of the family who elegantly walked on wires.

When Julie confessed that she was afraid of the high wire and had fallen into the net several times, Tom's flirtatious reply of "I wish I were the net" sealed Julie's decision to stay in Hamilton.

As the women got into the car after lunch, Tom paused and put his hand on Jack before the men got into the vehicle.

"It's incredible!", he said with a look of wonder.

"What is?", Jack asked.

"They're perfect for us!", Tom replied with a grin.

A few hours later, Jack and Elizabeth hurried through the train station with little time to spare. As they had said their goodbyes in the foyer of the Thornton home, Elizabeth thought Jack's mother would never release her hold on him. She had made her son promise to write, dress warm, and stay safe. My goodness, I'm surprised she didn't remind him to wash behind his ears, Elizabeth had thought, as she had rolled her eyes and fidgeted in a hurry to get back to the normalcy of Coal Valley.

Now that they were almost on the train, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with Julie. I hope your mother will be okay with Julie staying in Hamilton while the circus takes a break between cities", Jack said as they moved down the platform.

"I'll write to her. It's your family I'm more worried about."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you see the way Tom and Julie were looking at each other. I don't think it's a good idea for Tom to be charming her and getting her into trouble. ", Elizabeth said honestly.

"I agree they should probably keep away from each other. But I wouldn't say that Tom would necessarily be a bad influence on her. I think it would be the other way around."

"You would see it that way.", Elizabeth said irritably.

"What is that supposed to mean?", Jack said as he stopped and looked at Elizabeth.

"My sister and I, . . . we don't exactly fit the image your parents have of the 'right kind of people' for their sons."

"That's not true."

"I think it is. That's why your mother asked me if I would be willing to relocate to another teaching position."

"She did? Elizabeth, that's wonderful. That proves that she really likes you."

"How in the world do you see that?!"

"She's thinking that I won't be in Coal Valley forever. She just wants to know if you'll be willingly to change locations if . . . well, if you'll be willing to go with me one day."

"That's not what she was thinking! She doesn't think I'm good enough for you!", Elizabeth cried out, upset by Jack's naivety.

"Did my mother say that?"

"She didn't have to", Elizabeth said stonily.

"Well, why would you think that?"

"She asked if me if I would be willing to take a teaching job in the United States."

"Don't be silly. They don't have Mounties posted in the United States.", Jack said dismissively.

"My point exactly!", Elizabeth practically screamed. "She wants me gone."

"Elizabeth, I'm sure you misunderstood."

"And, I'm sure I didn't", Elizabeth said coldly. How can he be so naïve about his mother?, she thought in disgust.

Elizabeth turned and walked along the platform towards the back of the train.

"Where are you going?" , Jack asked running after her.

"My seat's in coach."

"I have a first-class compartment. You are riding with me", he said sternly.

"Thanks. But I got some thinking to do on the ride home", Elizabeth replied as she climbed up the steps into the train.

Elizabeth placed her small suitcase on the overhead metal rack and took her seat by the window, squeezing past the legs of the man who had taken the last available aisle seat. Opening her handbag, she pulled out a book and tried to read. Anything to take her mind off this disastrous visit.

She looked up briefly to give her ticket to the conductor when he came by, but other than that she remained sitting, staring at her book as the train pulled out of the station, leaving Hamilton behind. She tried to read but her mind reeled with the events of the last few days.

When the conductor came back and spoke quietly to the man next to her, Elizabeth didn't bother to try and listen to their discreet conversation. It barely registered with her when the man took his suitcase and left the seat, or when she felt the presence of someone taking the seat a few minutes later.

"You haven't turned the page in five minutes. It generally helps with reading a book if you turn the page." His voice was light-hearted.

Elizabeth jerked up her head.

"That seat is taken, Jack.", she said coldly when she saw him sitting next to her.

"I know. By me. I traded for it."

"You traded a first class compartment to sit here?", she said stunned.

"I was lonely", Jack replied with a shrug.

"It's only been fifteen minutes", she said scornfully .

"Fifteen minutes and ten seconds. I missed you," he unashamedly admitted.

"I'm still mad. You can sit here but I'm not talking to you", Elizabeth responded stiffly.

"That's fine" he replied. Jack picked up his newspaper, folded it in half and held it with one hand, his other hand resting on the armrest separating their two seats.

"If you wanted to hold my hand that'd be fine too. It's a little cold and lonely", he remarked.

"Your hand is a little cold and lonely?" she asked scornfully.

"Feel for yourself if you don't believe me", Jack said simply.

I am not holding his hand. If he thinks he can just charm me, he is mistaken, Elizabeth thought with a huff. Elizabeth was determined to ignore Jack for at least an hour so that he fully realized how mad she was about his mother.

But I do love holding his hand, she thought wistfully after only ten seconds.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jack reading the paper. How is he so darn charming?

Unable to resist she stared at his hand. He had nice hands. Strong hands when they lifted her onto a horse. Gentle hands when they tucked her stray curls behind her ear. She really liked his hands.

She reached over and placed her hand gently on his. "Well, maybe it's a little cold and lonely", she said begrudgingly.

Jack didn't say anything but kept reading the paper. Thirty seconds later, he lifted her hand and gently pressed it to his lips.

Elizabeth's heart melted.

Her plan to ignore him and remain mad for an hour had lasted less than forty seconds.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I over-reacted. You've been wonderful this whole trip", she admitted as she turned to look at him.

"No more being mad at me?" he asked.

"No more being mad at you", she said with a weak smile.

"Good. Because I can't get my compartment back", he said with a straight face.

When she noticed the twinkle in his eye, she snuggled closer to him.

"Jack, I missed you too. I know I said I wanted to sit apart from you, but I didn't mean it." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Don't go back to your first class compartment even if you can."

"I'm not going anywhere. This is where I belong", he said as he kissed the top of her head. I never want to go anywhere away from you, he thought to himself.

Up next: The Cowboy