Chapter 14

"Don't be deceived by appearances-

men and things are not what they seem.

All who are not on the rock

are in the sea."

~William Booth

The next day, Jack rode up to the place in the woods where church services were held. He was relieved to see that Reverend Anderson and Cat Montgomery had not yet started the service. He dismounted his horse, tied it to a tree, and removed his hat before scanning the church crowd. He smiled when he spotted Elizabeth and was then was pleased to see that Elizabeth's Aunt Olivia was seated between Elizabeth and Abigail. Bill was seated next to Abigail. Jack strode up next to Elizabeth, leaned down, and whispered, "Good morning."

Elizabeth looked up and smiled. "Good morning, Jack." She motioned for Abigail and her aunt to slide down. Abigail immediately nudged a Bill and they both moved. However, Olivia hesitated. Elizabeth was surprised her aunt hadn't moved. "Aunt Olivia, are you alright?" she asked, concerned. Olivia looked from Elizabeth to Jack and then back to Elizabeth. "I'm fine," Olivia stated plainly and finally scooted down next to Abigail.

Jack slid into the empty spot they'd made for him and perched his hat on his knee. He leaned toward Elizabeth and told her, "I'm glad to see that your aunt felt up to coming to church today." Elizabeth glanced at her aunt before turning to give Jack a warm smile. "So am I," she whispered back, just as Reverend Allen walked to the front and began the service.

After the service ended, everyone stood and Jack was surprised when many of the women rushed over to Elizabeth and were admiring her necklace and earrings. Jack hadn't noticed until that moment that Elizabeth was wearing a very beautiful, sparkly necklace and matching earrings. They were obviously very expensive. He was sure he'd never seen Elizabeth wear this jewelry before. He suddenly felt very uneasy and a frown filled his face. The feeling was a sharp reminder of his early days in Coal Valley when he first became aware of just how rich Elizabeth's family was. No one noticed Jack's frown as all eyes were on Elizabeth's new jewelry.

"Thank you, so much!" Elizabeth exclaimed to the women. "You are so sweet! Yes, my aunt brought them to me as an early birthday gift. It was so kind of her!"

Jack heard Elizabeth's explanation but it did not relieve his uneasiness. He didn't like this feeling at all and tried to drive it away.

"Jack!" He was drawn from his thoughts by Elizabeth calling his name. He looked at her, willing his frown away.

"Jack, will you join us for dinner?" she asked brightly. Jack's mouth went into a straight line as he responded, "Well, I have rounds I need to make..." Elizabeth's smile faded. "Oh! Well... ummm... I don't think we'll be eating for a couple of hours, right Abigail?"

Jack stared at Elizabeth's jewelry and the uneasy feeling became worse.

Abigail turned toward Elizabeth and Jack. "Yes, it'll be a while. Bill had to head back to work on the case but said he'd join us for dinner later. Please join us, Jack!" Elizabeth's eyes pleaded with him. Jack forced the uneasy feeling away and managed a small smile. "Alright, I'll be back in a couple hours." Elizabeth smiled widely and squeezed Jack's arm. "Good! We'll see you then!" She released Jack's arm and headed after Abigail.

Meanwhile, Aunt Olivia remained seated on the log, smiling up at Elizabeth as she fielded all the compliments. She studied Jack as Elizabeth asked him to dinner. She still wasn't quite sure about Jack's intentions toward her niece.

"Mrs. Thatcher!" Startled, Olivia turned quickly toward the loud, bright voice. "I'm so happy to meet you! I am Rosemary Leveaux!" Rosemary dramatically bowed as she reached for Olivia's hand and shook it lightly. Olivia quickly recovered and coolly eyed Rosemary, recognizing her as the blond woman in Jack's arms the day before.

Noting Olivia's coolness, Rosemary stood and rushed to fill the silence. "I heard that you've been quite ill. I am so glad to see you up and around!" "Well, thank you, Miss..."Olivia replied, fumbling with Rosemary's name. "Leveaux," Rosemary supplied happily. Olivia nodded. "Miss Leveaux." She studied Rosemary for a few moments, causing Rosemary to squirm a bit under the intense scrutiny, before continuing. "How did you know I've been ill? Are you friends with my niece?" Olivia's eyes narrowed slightly with the last question.

Rosemary's fake smile widened. She looked over at Jack, who was now walking to his horse, for several seconds before turning back to Olivia. Olivia followed her gaze and frowned. "Oh... I heard it around town," Rosemary cooed. She ignored the question about Elizabeth.

Several seconds of thick, silent tension passed between the two women before it was finally shattered by Dottie Ramsey. "Mrs. Thatcher! You look better and better every time I see you!" Dottie exclaimed. "Thank you," Olivia responded, though still staring at Rosemary. She finally turned to Dottie. "It's every nice to be able to attend this lovely church service. And, Dottie, what a darling hat!" Dottie beamed as she petted her bright yellow hat. "Why, thank you! It's the latest fashion from Calgary!" She then turned her attention to Rosemary. "Rosemary, will you be dining with the mayor and I today? I have some ideas to discuss with you about the costumes." She nodded her head and smiled at Olivia. "It was so kind of you to help our production, Mrs. Thatcher! I cannot tell you how grateful we are to be able to have such nice costumes now!" Olivia nodded. "You are very welcome. I'm glad I was able to help," she said cordially.

Dottie turned to Rosemary. "Will you be joining us? We need to make plans for those costumes!" Rosemary quickly expelled a frustrated sigh before the fake smile returned to her face. "I would love to dine with you and the mayor," she answered a little too enthusiastically. "But there is something I need to do first. I'll meet you later?" Dottie smiled and nodded. "Of course." She then turned back to Olivia. "I hope you have a very blessed Sunday and continue to feel better." "Thank you," Olivia acknowledged as Dottie walked away.

Rosemary bowed slightly to Olivia as she told her, "It was very nice to meet you!" She then walked away quickly.

Olivia watched Rosemary as she made her exit. She briefly glanced back at Elizabeth and Abigail and saw that they were now admiring Carla Noonan's twins. When she turned back to watch Rosemary, she was unpleasantly surprised to see her talking with Jack, who was standing next to his horse. She very much wanted to hear their conversation, but they were just out of earshot. So, she watched them closely.

"No, Rosemary. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to make my rounds," Jack told Rosemary as he turned to get on his horse.

"Ohhhh, please, Jack! We'll take extra special care of it, I promise!" Rosemary cajoled. She reached for him and ran her hand from Jack's shoulder down his arm, before he pulled his arm away. He shook his head firmly. "Rosemary, no. It is against regulations."

"Regulations, smegulations!" Rosemary exclaimed as she gave him a pleading look. She cautiously looked back and noted that Olivia was watching them. Her eyes flashed as this is exactly what she wanted.

"No," Jack answered emphatically. Rosemary scoffed. "But it would really help us with the Follies. Gabriel wants to recite the Charge of the Light Brigade and I thought it would be ever so dramatic if he was dressed as a handsome, young Mountie. Naturally, I thought of you."

"The Charge of the Light Brigade was about the British army, not Canadian Mounties," Jack corrected. "But yours is the only uniform around here," she smiled wider. "Please?"

He shook his head again. "No, Rosemary, but you'll have to come up with a different costume. As I said, only a Mountie can wear the jacket and hat. Excuse me, I really have to go."

He turned and mounted his horse. Rosemary reached up, her hands on his knee. "I'm sorry, Jack. Of course you are right!" She smiled up at him. He was quite uncomfortable with this so he quickly spurred the horse on. "Be careful and I'll see you later," she called after him, loud enough for Olivia to hear.

Olivia frowned, clearly not liking the exchange she'd just witnessed.

"Aunt Olivia?" Elizabeth called her name. "Uh.. yes dear?" she called back. "Are you ready to go?" her niece queried.

Olivia glanced back and saw Rosemary walking away.

"Aunt Olivia, are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, concerned. She held her hand out to her aunt. Olivia nodded and answered, "Yes, I'm fine, dear." She accepted Elizabeth's hand and moved to stand up.

As Elizabeth helped her aunt get up, she told Olivia, "Let's head back to the Cafe. We need to get dinner going. Jack and Bill are going to join us later!" Elizabeth smiled at her aunt.

Olivia was very concerned but tried not to show it. She couldn't bear for her niece to be hurt. She took Elizabeth's offered arm as they walked back to town.