Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights go to the actors, writers and creators of the show "When Calls The Heart".
Two chapters today (Ch52 and Ch53) …
(5/8/2018)
CHAPTER 53
Elizabeth and Jack walked to the school house early on Monday morning. Thankfully the extent of the snow was mainly limited to the storm and the snow was already patchy but the air was still cold. Jack helped by bringing wood into the schoolhouse and lighting the furnace before he went on his way. Elizabeth began to get her classroom back in order. Truthfully there was not too much to do.
She sat down at her desk and opened the drawers to see Miss Peters things still sitting there neatly. As if on cue, Elizabeth heard someone clear their voice in front of her.
"What are you doing at my desk?"
Elizabeth looked at the woman in front of her. All she could see was a look of disdain from Miss Peters.
"I'm Mrs Thornton. I'm resuming classes today. Mayor Stanton should have let you know weeks ago."
"Oh she did but I'm not leaving."
"What do you mean, you're not leaving? This is my teaching position. You were just filling in."
"No. I signed a contract that said I would be in this position until Miss Thatcher returns. You are not Miss Thatcher."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you are Mrs Thornton."
"It's the same person."
"I am just telling you what the terms of my contract are. Anything other than Miss Thatcher returning is a breach of my contract and I will sue accordingly."
"I'm sorry, but you need to leave. You know that your contract would not hold in a court of law if it speaks of the same person. Maybe we should go get the Constable to sort this out."
"Fine" she said shrugging.
Elizabeth went to the door to see Gabe, Miles and Emily approaching.
"Gabe?"
"Yes, Mrs Thornton?"
"Could you run and grab Mountie Jack and bring him here immediately? Tell him it's urgent."
"Yes, Mrs Thornton" he said as he turned and ran toward the jail.
Elizabeth welcomed Emily and Miles inside and took their jackets and hung them on their pegs. She helped Emily put her lunch pail away all the while answering Emily's questions about their day as best as she could.
Elizabeth looked up to see Miss Peters watching her from Elizabeth's seat behind the desk. Elizabeth was fuming. This woman is unbelievable!
Moments later, Jack and Gabe came flying up the school steps.
"Izzy, is everything ok?" Jack said, breathless as he came toward her. Before he reached her, Elizabeth cut him off, holding up her hands.
"Miss Peters has declared that her contract has not expired because Miss Thatcher has not returned, but rather Mrs Thornton."
Elizabeth said as she waved her hands towards Miss Peters who was sitting in her seat.
Jack glanced between his beautiful wife and the plain woman sitting behind the teacher's desk.
"I don't understand" Jack said.
Miss Peters stood up. "The terms of my contract were until Miss Thatcher returns. She is not Miss Thatcher."
"She was."
"Yes, but now she is Mrs Thornton. Miss Thatcher will never be returning so the position is mine. If you force me to go, I will sue the mayor for breach of contract."
Jack's eyes widened in surprise.
"I need to see the contract" Jack said.
"You can't be serious?" Elizabeth said.
"I'm sorry, but I need to check how it was worded."
"Good." Miss Peters said, looking smug behind the desk.
"Shall we, Miss Peters?" Jack said motioning toward the door.
"I'm sorry?" she said in surprise, her smug expression disappearing in an instant.
"Let's go see this contract."
"I'm about to begin classes."
"No, you're not. Mrs Thornton is about to start class. You need to come with me."
Elizabeth smiled to herself as Miss Peters reluctantly left the classroom.
Abigail was still in the midst of a busy morning of customers when Jack and Isobel Peters stepped into the café.
"Abigail. Where would we be able to find Miss Peters contract?"
"Its in the mayors office in the filing cabinet. Why?"
"We are dealing with a contract dispute and I need to see the original document."
Molly Sullivan was in the café when she overheard the conversation.
"You go, Abigail. I can mind the café for ten minutes."
"Oh thankyou, Molly. I will just grab my coat, Jack."
The trio made their way to the mayor's office down the end of the street. Abigail led them in and went straight to the filing cabinet where she pulled out the contract.
She handed it to Jack before reading over his shoulder.
Contract Duration
The contract is valid until the previous teacher, Miss Thatcher, is available to return to her teaching post. If after six months, Miss Thatcher is yet to return, Miss Peters may sign a permanent contract at the discretion of Mayor Stanton.
Jack perused the contract. Technically Isobel Peters had a point but right now he was trying to find a loophole to allow Elizabeth to continue teaching. Finally on the second page, he found it. Written clearly was the following term:
Mayor Stanton reserves the right to manage the classroom if the student numbers are excessive and additional teaching support is required as she sees fit.
Jack reread it again.
"Miss Peters will you wait outside while I discuss this with Mayor Stanton for a moment?"
She gave him a death stare before she stepped out of the Mayor's office.
Jack showed Abigail what he had found.
"On a technicality she has a point, but she still has about three months left over. It's probably best if we let her run out the six month period to avoid getting sued."
"But what about Izzy? She will be devastated."
"It says here that you can create another class. I would propose that you split the children into two classes and make Mrs Thornton the principle teacher. If Miss Peters can last for the remainder of her contract I would be surprised."
"I love Izzy but the town can't afford to pay two teaching salaries."
"I'm sure Elizabeth won't mind not getting paid for three months."
"Jack, I don't know."
"We don't have a choice."
Abigail nodded.
When Jack told Miss Peters of the agreement, she barely smiled and she definitely frowned when Abigail said she would split the class in two and Elizabeth would be the principle teacher. Miss Peters tried to object, but it was futile. Jack and Abigail had made up their minds.
Abigail walked back to the café, as Jack walked Miss Peters back to the classroom. Jack could hear the children singing as he came towards the schoolhouse. Miss Peters appeared to scowl at the same time.
As Jack knocked on the door, the classroom went quiet as Jack opened the door. He could see Elizabeth watching him with concern.
"Mrs Thornton. May we have a word please?"
Elizabeth walked toward the back of the classroom and stood opposite him.
"Well?"
"Mayor Stanton and Miss Peters have come to an … understanding. You will both remain as teachers and the class will be split in two. Mrs Thornton you will remain as the principle teacher."
Elizabeth was not happy with that outcome, but she knew both Jack and Abigail would have done everything possible to get Elizabeth back into the classroom. Sharing was going to be difficult though. It was a small classroom to begin with.
"Fine. Thankyou Constable." Jack nodded his head and left the school.
Elizabeth turned to Miss Peters. "Miss Peters. What is your first name?"
"Isobel."
"Okay. I'm Elizabeth. How would you like to split the children? Would you prefer the older or younger ones?"
"Perhaps we should split them by gender" Isobel suggested.
"That seems to be a waste of resources. If there are two teachers, it would be much more beneficial to split the children based on age or ability."
"The boys are the disruptive ones. They need more attention."
Elizabeth sighed. "We are never going to agree, clearly."
Elizabeth turned back to the class, putting on her happy and enthusiastic face.
"Well children. We have a special treat for you. Since we have two teachers in town we are going to split everyone up into two groups."
Elizabeth began moving the younger children and the ones that were new to the school to the left side of the room and the older ones to the right.
"Which group would you like?" Elizabeth asked Isobel.
It took her less than a second to select the older group. Elizabeth really didn't mind either way. She could teach both ages well. The younger children needed more nurturing though and from what she had seen so far, Isobel was not the nurturing type.
"Ok, I will teach this group and Miss Peters will teach the older group."
Immediately there were a bunch of groans from the older group, Gabe and Robert's being the loudest.
"Enough. You will do what Miss Peters asks you to."
After the first day, Elizabeth realised just how hard this was going to be. Every time Elizabeth began to use the blackboard, Isobel wanted to use it. Each time Elizabeth went to speak to her group, Isobel would talk over the top of her to her group. Each time she'd get her group to do art or singing, she had frowns of disgust cast her way. When Opal scraped her knee and Elizabeth picked her up and carried her back into the schoolhouse, Isobel practically burnt holes into Elizabeth with her eyes. The woman was insufferable. But all Elizabeth saw was a challenge and she already had a plan falling into place. Immediately after school, she was up at the mill giving instructions to James.
Elizabeth came home to find Jack cutting up dinner. He had a pot of water bubbling over the stove with a chicken already cooking inside.
"What's this?" Elizabeth said coming closer to look into the pot.
"Chicken soup. I figured you would have had a rough day so I thought I would cook you dinner tonight."
"Thanks, Jack."
"You're a bit later than I thought."
"Yes, I've been up to the mill."
Jack just nodded.
"So how was it?" he asked as he slid some veggies off the chopping board into the pot.
"Hard. Isobel is … difficult."
"No surprise there. I realised that during my first conversation with her."
"I'm not sure what her problem is. She truly dislikes children. Why would you become a teacher if you don't like children?"
"I don't know. Not too smart if you ask me."
"Poor Opal skinned her knee badly and you should have seen the look I got as I carried her inside. She is five, but she's such a tiny little girl and so sweet. You should have heard her talking to Brownie the bear about how mean Mrs Peters was when I was away."
"I know. I heard it all from Joey and Robert."
"I'm just glad Joey isn't here. He would have ended up in Isobel's class."
"So you have the younger children?"
"Yes. Isobel wanted to split them up based on gender because apparently the boys are more trouble. The thing is they aren't more trouble, there are just some very bright boys in that group and if she doesn't challenge them, they will act up."
Jack turned around and put his arms around her waist.
"You are a very good teacher, Izzy. You really do care for those kids. This might actually end up good for you though – being able to concentrate on the little ones."
"Yes, if I could concentrate. I'm sure Isobel was trying to boycott my efforts today."
"Really? She would stoop that low?"
"Oh yes. But that's okay. I already have a plan in place."
"Oh you intrigue me. Please tell" he said kissing her gently.
Elizabeth smiled and filled him in.
Two mornings later, when Miss Peters and the other children were arriving to start the day, there was already a pile of timber unloaded on the high side of the church. By the end of the day, the foundations were setting.
On Thursday, Elizabeth glanced out the window to see Jack helping to put up the frame for the classroom. The forecast was supposed to be clear of more snow for a few more days. The mill workers and volunteers worked through the daylight hours and by the following Monday, there was already a roof and wall sheets going on. The children were so excited about the new building and Elizabeth even caught Isobel glancing outside on frequent occasions.
At the end of the following week, the weather held up and the classroom was nearly finished. The furnace was ordered and the tables and chairs were being nailed together. The blackboard had been done and they even had some bookshelves ready and waiting.
Elizabeth stood there and looked around the room. It smelt of timber and wet paint but the men had done a wonderful job putting it together. It still needed some work on the outside but that could be done in the warmer weather. At least they had something that they could move into now. Isobel could teach her classes in the church and Elizabeth could bring the smaller children into this room. It was perfect.
Elizabeth walked home that afternoon with a spring in her step. She entered the house to find Jack sitting on the couch, reading a letter in his hand.
As she took her jacket off to hang it up, he stood up and walked awkwardly towards her. His expression indicated that he had bad news.
"What is it?" she froze in front of him.
"I have new orders."
Elizabeth's breath caught as she waited for him to continue. His expression told her it was not good.
"I have been assigned to a remote community in the north. They've been having some problems up there."
"You're leaving me?"
"No, I'm not leaving you. I am just taking the assignment away from you."
"I don't want you to go" she said quietly.
"Izzy, this is my calling. I have to go."
She thought for a moment.
"Fine. I will go with you" she said forcing a smile.
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"You're needed here. The school, the mill, the town. They need you."
"And you don't?" she said, her frustration building.
"Of course, I do but it's going to be dangerous up there. I can't do my job properly if you are there with me."
"How long will you be gone?"
This time Jack paused.
"It's an indefinite posting" he said it firmly but Elizabeth could see the sadness in his eyes.
"Jack, no!" Elizabeth felt the tears immediately spring into her eyes. Jack put his arms around her.
"I know. I don't want to leave you here on your own. We still don't know where Charles is. I've done some digging but no one has seen him. He could be anywhere. The last thing I want to do is leave you here unprotected."
She pulled back from him.
"I'm not worried about that. Jack, you just told me you could be gone weeks, months or even years. Years, Jack!" she cried.
"No, not years. If it comes to longer than a few months than I will resign. I will come back to you."
"When do you leave?"
He didn't answer immediately. "Tomorrow" he choked out.
"Jack" was all she said, the tears rolling down her cheeks. He pulled her in tight.
"You are my life now. You are everything to me. I will come back to you as soon as I can" he said as he kissed her tears away before capturing her lips.
Jack had been dreading telling Elizabeth his news and it had gone about as well as he had expected. There were raised voices and tears but finally a form of acceptance. Jack convinced her to walk in to town to get some dinner from Abigail's before it got too dark.
He held her hand as they walked, both in silence. Tomorrow was going to be one of the hardest days of his life. Saying goodbye to his wife of barely two months. Just the thought of it made his chest go tight.
Abigail's was quiet and as they sat down, seeing Elizabeth's face across from him made him feel horrible. She was holding it together, just. Jack tried to think of something to say but everything came back to his impending departure. So instead he just held her hand on top of the table.
Abigail came out and took their order but could clearly sense something was wrong. She didn't hover but Jack could see her checking on them.
"Izzy, why don't you go talk to Abigail? She looks worried about you."
Elizabeth turned toward the kitchen and immediately stood up and made her way out there. Neither of them returned for at least ten minutes, to the point that Jack thought Elizabeth might not be coming back.
He gingerly got up and as he came around the corner he saw Elizabeth standing in the kitchen sobbing with Abigail hugging her. Abigail glanced up and, pulling herself away from Elizabeth, she walked past Jack giving him a gentle squeeze as she went.
Jack walked up behind Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her waist. She immediately leant into him, her head resting on his chest.
Abigail came back in and packed their order to go. Jack picked up the bag and took Elizabeth home.
Elizabeth couldn't eat.
She knew there would be a time that Jack would have to leave on an assignment. In his line of work it was inevitable, but she never thought it would have been an indefinite posting. She had expected a week here or two weeks there but not the length of the assignment that Jack mentioned. Not only that, but the danger that would be associated with him serving in the Northern Territories scared her.
"Izzy you have to eat."
"I'm fine, Jack."
"You've barely had two mouthfuls."
The food had tasted bland in her mouth. She knew Abigail's soup and biscuits were anything but bland but her taste buds weren't working.
"I'm just not hungry right now. I will eat later" Elizabeth said as she rose from the table and walked out of the kitchen.
She went into the bedroom and looked around aimlessly before she sat down at her dressing table and started pulling the pins out of her hair. Her hair fell down her back in long tresses. She picked up her brush and began to run it through her hair slowly.
She heard Jack approach her before his hand covered her own.
"Here. Let me."
Elizabeth let go of the brush and he stood behind her silently moving the brush slowly across her scalp and down through her hair. She could feel herself slowly relaxing.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine, Jack."
"Maybe you should think about moving in with Abigail or seeing if someone can move here with you."
"Okay. I will think about it." Elizabeth didn't want to argue tonight.
He put the brush back down in front of her.
"I have to go pack."
"Okay."
Jack moved around the room collecting things before leaving her alone.
Jack packed his small bag with everything he might need for his assignment. He had to travel a long way to get there so he wanted to travel reasonably light. Jack laid out his uniform and put a photo of Elizabeth into his serge pocket. He went out onto the porch to polish his boots so they were ready for the morning.
Elizabeth sat at her dresser as she wrote a letter to Jack. She tried to express everything she was feeling and how much she would miss him. The tears continued to roll down her cheeks. She folded the letter and slid it into an envelope before putting it into his bag while he was outside. She hoped that he would find it when he was far away from Hope Valley. She went back into the bedroom and changed into her nightgown before slipping under the bedcovers. The stress of the afternoon overwhelmed her and she drifted off to sleep.
