Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: The Sisters Arrive!

Nathan was in his uniform as he had visiting dignitaries who were arriving this morning for his Bachelor Festivities, that were occurring later this weekend! He had been planning to review some old abandoned cases with them, but now, he needed them to help him complete a very thorough background check on Julie's new Fiance! And it needed to be done in record time.

"You look so handsome, Nathan."

"Darling, we're here to welcome an official Lord from Merry Old England. I hardly think my Uniform is going to be impressive!"

It was all Elizabeth could do to not outright laugh, but finally, she could hold it in no longer.

"What?" asked Nathan.

"Darling, that said Lord from Merry Old England is about 5 foot 10 inches tall with a rather paunchy tummy and receding hairline!"

"You don't say?"

Nathan did his best to stifle a laugh, but he couldn't hide the gleam in his eye.

"One look at you and my Sisters will be green with envy!"

"Hmm! I guess I'll have to be charming then!"

"Love, whether you know it or not, you're always charming, as far as women are concerned!"

"Well, now, that's very good to know," he teased.

"Don't let it go to your head! Your humility is one of the things I happen to love most about you, Chief Inspector! Don't you ever lose it!"

"What was that word Bill used last night? Drats?"

She gave him an ominous look, "You are not saying that in front of the Children. That will be the new word at school I have to hear a million times a day! And I'm not about to hear it at home, too!"

"Wouldn't think of it. But, are you going to call Bill out?"

"Even I can't control Bill, although I bet Adeline's already gotten onto him for it!"

"You're probably right about that," laughed Nathan.

Finally, they could see the Train…

Lord and Lady Anthony Townsend deboarded first followed by their Daughter, Arabella, and her Governess.

As Nathan had expected, the Couple was very formal.

My, even the Child was formal, to say nothing of the Governess, who was ramrod straight, with her brown hair tied back sleekly into a bun, with no straying hairs. She was even carrying an umbrella. Had she carried it all the way from England?

Viola was in a Dress and Suit Jacket that would have been formal enough to meet the Queen, herself. It was a rich ruby red color dripping with hand embroidery of a darker thread, all the way down and around her voluminous Skirt. Her matching Jacket was literally covered in the same patterned hand embroidery but in a metallic gold thread. Even her voluminous Hat was embroidered all over in the same darker thread of ruby red, but banded with a golden cord that was twisted below the crown of her hat. And then, of course, there was a rather large ruby red Feather protruding from the golden cord, rising high above Viola's head, as well as the head of her Husband!

What Nathan's eyes automatically went to had nothing to do with her outfit, though, or even her face at first, but instead the very expensive jewels she had chosen to wear for her travel through the Wild West. To say that had not been prudent was putting it mildly.

In fact, Nathan was wondering if they had a plainclothes Pinkerton traveling with them.

She wore a necklace of Ruby beads around her neck and huge drop earrings also of Rubies.

Lord Townsend was looking immaculate, and very nattily dressed in formal Morning attire, and Nathan was quite sure he had explicitly been dressed by his Personal Butler.

As Nathan glanced behind the Couple, their Daughter, and Nanny, there stood the two men in question. Both the assumed Pinkerton and Personal Butler! Which meant they should have reserved a third room! And then surprise of surprises, Viola's Lady's Maid appeared carrying what Nathan assumed to be her Madame's Jewelry in two leather cases with handles, that also held their Family Crest.

"Viola, wonderful to see you!" Elizabeth embraced her Sister and kissed her in the European fashion that Viola had become accustomed to.

"Viola, Sir Anthony, welcome to Hope Valley! We're so glad you are here for our Wedding. This is my Fiance, Chief Inspector Nathan Alexander Grant, Nathan this is my dear Sister, Lady Viola, and her Husband, Lord Anthony Townsend."

Nathan lifted Viola's hand and bent to kiss it, which instantly bought him points with Viola, who had indeed noticed the Uniform and the handsome Man in it.

He then put his hand out to Lord Townsend, who shook it vigorously, and responded, "It's Anthony, Old Chap! Welcome to the Family!"

"Very nice to meet you, Sir Anthony!"

If Lord and Lady Townsend and their entourage had descended formally as Royalty, next came the tornado, or hurricane, or tsunami, figuratively speaking.

It had to be Julie, as she was elegantly dressed and looked like Elizabeth, but with red hair, closer to Viola's color.

Why the woman utterly fell from the Platform in a crescendo, barreling down the steps, into her Sister's arms!

But, so far, Nathan noticed there was no Tom to be seen.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Julie and flooded her with kisses.

"How long has it been? So good to see you, Julie! We're so happy you made it for our Wedding. Welcome to Hope Valley!"

"Oh, my and this is the Groom, no doubt. You're just beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!"

Nathan blushed to a shade of Red not much lighter than his Serge.

"Julie, behave yourself! This is my Fiance, Chief Inspector Nathan Alexander Grant, and Nathan this is my Baby Sister, Julie! But Julie, where's your Fiance?"

"Well, about that. Let's just say we'll discuss it later, shall we?"

Viola shot her a disparaging look.

"When all three of us Sisters are together," announced Julie defiantly.

"So, you are traveling alone?"

"It's just me, Lizzie!"

"Julie, you know that's not my name! And so, we begin. I'm sorry, Nathan, some things never change!"

"You're driving an automobile?" asked a shocked Viola.

Nathan smiled, "Yes, we thought it would be more comfortable for you than the wagon! I'll come back and pick up your Staff after we get you settled."

"You know, I have a fleet of vehicles, but I've never once learned to drive. May I ask you, is it difficult to learn?" asked Lord Townsend, in a very proper, very upper-crust British accent!"

"No, Sir Anthony, it just takes a bit of concentration. I could teach you if you like," offered Nathan.

"I'd love a few pointers. You're a good Chap!"

"We thought you'd be more comfortable sleeping at the Queen of Hearts, so you could have some private time away from Mother and Father, since you'll be seeing them so much anyway for all the Wedding Activities," explained Elizabeth. "It is part of a Saloon, but a very refined one. So just think of it as our Western version of a nice Hotel!"

Viola looked absolutely horrified, and Julie looked jubilant.

'At least one Sister is happy,' thought Elizabeth, 'and nothing in a million years would ever please the other one!'

"Elizabeth, I am not taking little Arabella into a Saloon. And that is final."

"No, Viola you will not be taking her into a Saloon. There's a side entrance to the Hotel, that her Nanny can use!"

"And that is that…as there is no other choice," Elizabeth added with a strained smile.

After two trips, Nathan had finally gotten both the Townsends, their Entourage, and Julie checked in to the Queen of Hearts, but Julie wished to accompany them as he took Elizabeth back to her rather empty rowhouse to check the door jam where she had marked Little Jack's height.

"Elizabeth, are you sure you don't want me to take you to the new Home after you finish?" asked Nathan.

"Thank you, Nathan, but I think Julie and I need to get in some Sisterly talk first, Darling!"

"Of course. You two enjoy, and I'll see you later, perhaps at the Office?"

"Yes, you will. Wouldn't miss it!"

He smiled at Julie, who fluttered her eyelashes back at him, seductively.

So, to show her where his total attention lay, he kissed Elizabeth very passionately, just like Julie wasn't even there!

"I love you, Nathan, have a good morning with the Superintendents!"

"I love you, too, Darling! Julie, see you tomorrow at the game, if not before. Welcome to Hope Valley. You two enjoy your talk together."

What Nathan didn't say, he had already gotten this new Tom's full name and he and the Superintendents would be doing a very thorough background check before the Wedding Festivities even started.

"Goodbye, Handsome soon to be Brother-in-Law. I think I like you quite a lot!"

He tipped his hat, "Nice to have a new Sister, Julie!" and took his leave.

"Julie! He's going to be my Husband. Do you have to flirt with every man alive?"

"One that good looking, I do. Wow! Elizabeth, he's the total package. Where in the world did you find him? And that fancy Uniform is to die for. No wonder Father and Mother approve!"

"Julie, come sit in one of the two chairs that are left. And yes, everything's been moved to the new house. I want to hear about your new Fiance, and I also want to know why he isn't with you?"

"You know my Fiance isn't Jack's Tom, don't you?"

"Julie, that doesn't surprise me at all. You and Jack's Tom were never in love. You both were just in love with the idea of love. I knew that was never going to last for either of you."

"Well, say exactly what you think, Sis!"

"You know I do. Now, who is this Man you're engaged to? I want to know everything about him."

"Well, good luck with that Lizzie, because I don't even know everything about him. If you want the truth, I know very little about him," said Julie defiantly. "We haven't even known each other that long."

"Then why ever did you accept his proposal? Can you just answer that, please?"

"Why does anyone get engaged?"

"I would hope for love," answered Elizabeth very matter of factly.

"Elizabeth, you're such a romantic! Only you could find true love twice! While most of us can't even find it once! And by the way, this one's quite the upgrade!"

"You take that back this minute, and don't you ever say anything comparing Jack and Nathan again, do you understand me? That is crude and beneath you. And it is rude to both my Husband's memory and my soon-to-be Husband, and I won't have it!"

"I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. That was uncalled for. And you're right, neither one of them deserves the comparison."

"No, they do not. Apology accepted. Now, I want to know about your Fiance," and Elizabeth's voice, although calm and low, was explicitly demanding an answer this time.

Nathan had an eerie feeling as soon as he heard Tom's last name. He had heard it or seen it somewhere before: Thomas Christian Jourdain.

And it had been more than once.

He shuffled through a stack of files he had to put aside while he worked on cataloging the Top Local Cases, and it suddenly came to him.

The name had to do with Gambling, big-time Gambling, and the ring appeared to be based out of Quebec, which was where Tom happened to live, at least most of the time.

The Superintendent from the Quebec area had given Nathan an exhaustive list of suspects but had been unable to narrow it down in any way, including not having a clue as to who headed the operation, and yes Tom's name was on the list, near the top.

But everyone on the list had been caught more than once, Gambling of all places, in an old abandoned theater!

Nathan had noticed when he reviewed all his cases together that involved Gambling, nothing seemed as simple as the Superintendent and his men had thought.

For one thing, the locations for all the cases included abandoned churches, schools, theaters, and even a few warehouses.

But for some strange reason, the stings had occurred in more abandoned theaters than anything else, and that was especially the case in Quebec.

Surprisingly, this was also true across the board, as there were cases, huge cases, from every major city in Canada, from Quebec to Toronto, to Vancouver.

Nathan had never thought these were isolated Gambling rings; from his first perusal of the files, he felt this was a nation-wide operation, which seemed to be manned out of Quebec.

The cases from each Province were entirely too similar, in all the ways that mattered.

Even down to the time the stings had occurred.

And when Nathan reviewed the surveillance notes, the men were always dressed to the nines, and appeared, no matter the province, promptly at 7 PM.

Which Nathan now realized, due to something Grace had said, was the time that most Theater Plays started. Yet another loop back to where he had started.

He began the arduous process to initiate the background check out of Quebec on Monsieur Thomas Christian Jourdain.

And as soon as his Superintendent Friends arrived, he put them to work running background checks out of both Toronto and Vancouver, as well as a Nation wide one.

The three Senior Officers definitely had their work cut out for them for the entire day, but all three knew how to get things done expediently.

Why just announcing their names alone carried a lot of weight and made their requests immediate priorities!

"Did they tell you his name is Tom? Thomas Christian Jourdain. I can't seem to get away from Toms. He's from a very well-to-do family in Quebec, and he's French, obviously. He's also a playwright. Not a very famous one, but a decent one. He has two small plays that are currently running. That's why he couldn't come with me."

"Look at me, Julie. You're lying to me, aren't you?"

"No, all true. Except maybe the reason he didn't come with me."

"And what is the real reason he didn't come with you?"

"I threw him out!"

"You threw your Fiance out? Julie, did you ever love him?"

"Yes, Elizabeth, I did. Or at least I thought I did…at first. But then I found out he was only interested in money."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with having ambition and drive."

"There is if it's your money and your Father's money he's after!"

"What are you saying, Julie?"

"He wanted to marry me for my Father's money. I didn't even know he knew Father was rich. And believe me, I was so mad when I found out! I threw him out! But don't tell Mother and Father, I don't want them to think I failed yet again!"

"Julie, are you happy with your decision? About throwing him out, I mean."

"He gambled all the time, Elizabeth. He used my money to gamble with!"

"Why ever would you allow that, Julie!"

"It's just money, Elizabeth, I thought he was the one. Besides he won sometimes!"

"So, you gave him your money? Did you even know he was a gambler?"

"Yes, that's how I met him."

"Wait, you were gambling?"

Julie looked away.

"Julie, are you in trouble?"

"I was, but not any longer. At least not with debtors."

"Julie, you didn't!"

"I had to Elizabeth. Yes, I used my Trust Fund, and when Tom finally realized it was gone, well I didn't even have to throw him out. This hurts, but let's just say he was going to throw himself out! So, I tried to salvage it, and I took him to Father's and Mother's, which was another big mistake, and that's when he told me he was going after their money if it was the last thing he did. That was the beginning of the very end!"

"How much of your Trust Fund is gone?"

"All of it, except for the few thousand I kept back to live on. Although I really didn't think I spent that much at all. Honestly, I didn't. There should have been tons left. Even my Accountant said so!"

Elizabeth just put her head down in her arms.

"Julie, no."

"Yes, Elizabeth, I had money problems, and Tom gambled a little for me to try and stave them off. It didn't work. And by that time, I was pretty much supporting him anyway. I think he had depleted his own Trust Fund to fund the plays he was directing. I'll never do it again, Elizabeth. Never."

"You can't because you now have no money! Julie, this is terrible! I do still love you. But, why do you always get involved with the wrong person?"

"I suppose, some of us aren't blessed with your charm, Lizzie!"

"What can I do to help you?"

"Let me tell you something. But you have to promise you won't tell Father or Mother, till I've had a chance to explain it to them. Do you promise?"

"I promise."

"Pinky swear promise."

"Yes, Julie, we're Adults! What is it?"

"I did meet Tom while gambling."

"You were gambling?"

"Just once and it was a disaster. He was there in the makeshift Casino and quickly took my spot. Even Tom, with his Avante-Garde attitude, said it was beneath my status to do such a thing! In fact, I think even with his rather low standards or I should say lack of standards, he was appalled that they would allow a Lady at the table. Plus, I was losing like crazy, so you might say he sort of saved me. At least he made enough, that we were able to live off my Trust Fund for another month or so. Not together, of course! But, he needed money too, so basically, I was paying my bills and his! Anyway, that's actually how I met him. Honest truth!"

"Oh, Julie, how could you?"

"I'm not proud of it, Elizabeth, but I did it. Yes, I gambled one time. And it was wrong. I shouldn't have done it. It was a mistake. But not as big a mistake as getting mixed up with this new Tom!"

"Julie, did he not treat you well?"

"No, he did not!" she answered vehemently. "He'd pick me up for Dinner, then on the way Home, he'd curse me."

"He did what? Did he touch you?"

"If you mean, did he hit me, yes he did. And I'm not proud to tell you, it was more than once. I learned very quickly to not be alone with him. It took a strained wrist, but I learned."

"Julie, you can never ever let anyone, most certainly not a man, treat you like that. Do you understand me?"

"Sorry, Sis, I don't have your perfect judgment in Men!" snarled Julie sarcastically.

"Julie, that isn't fair and you know it!"

"Elizabeth, do you know what it's like to always be compared to both you and Viola and never measuring up. Well, I'll tell you, it's certainly not fun! One might even say it's dreadful! I know I sure would!"

"You have to tell Mother and Father. They are frantic with worry over you. Julie, they want you to be in love when you get engaged, to a Man who treasures you, not something sordid like this. They know something's wrong. They just don't know what. They don't know how to help you."

"But this is going to kill them Elizabeth."

"Julie, I'm a Mother, what would kill me is for my Son or Daughter to shut me out of their lives if they were having problems. That's what would kill me!"

"Daughter? What Daughter?"

"Allie, Nathan's Daughter, our Daughter. Well, not his biological Daughter. She was his niece before he adopted her. He's raised her since she was four years old, after his Sister died, Julie."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Julie, Nathan lost his only Sister, Colleen in Childbirth under very tragic circumstances, and now you and Viola are the only Sisters he'll ever have. This is important to me, Julie, can you at least try your best to be a good Sister to him? I promise, if you do, he'll never let you down. You'll have an ally for life, a true Brother."

"Oh, no…and I've already treated him horribly! I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I'll apologize to him. I really will."

"I'd appreciate that, but you have another bigger apology you need to make. To our Parents. And Julie, you need to do it now! Besides Mother and Father will know something's up because they are expecting 'your Fiance' to accompany you here! I don't want this cloud hanging over my Wedding. I want my Family really with me. I need that Julie, for the first time in my life, I really need that. I need you!"

"Father and Mother are going to be furious with me, Elizabeth. It's a toss-up as to who will be the maddest, and which of the fiascos they'll be the maddest about!"

"Disappointed, and maybe even furious, but I also know they love you, very much Julie. If you could just for once get that through your thick head! I just know you could turn your life around!"

"Easier said than done, dear Sister!"

"Julie, I want you to find yourself! And if you wish to marry, I want you to meet a good man and fall in love. I want you to marry, have Children, and live a happy life, not a pretend life, where everything is all about playing and pretending it's perfect when it's anything but. A real life where you love him and he loves you. A life of your choice. A life you have to work for, aside from the Thatcher money. Not my choice, not Mother's or Father's, but your choice, Julie! What do you want to do with your life?"

"How am I supposed to know that? Is that all you have to say to me?"

"No. I have one more thing. And you listen closely! Grow up, Julie! Stop playing, and start living. No one else can do that for you!" and Elizabeth said this as sternly as she could muster. "Just, grow up! Get a job. That's how you learn what you want to do with your life!"

But then Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her Sister, the Sister she had always been closest to, and although her heart was breaking for what Julie had been through, she believed with everything in her that her Sister could really do this.

Something simply had to break this chain of untoward events that continually surfaced where Julie was concerned.

"Julie, you're beautiful, you're smart," exclaimed Elizabeth as Julie raised her eyebrows. "Yes, you are smart when you want to be. I know you can turn things around, Julie. I know it! Just choose something you love to do, and I promise I'll help you."

Julie looked solemnly down, then raised her head as it came to her.

"It's my art, Lizzie. I love my art! That's what I love! In fact, that's the only thing I love!"

"That's your start, Julie. Make it happen. You can do this!" encouraged Elizabeth.

Perhaps after this double debacle, Julie could finally grow up and build herself a life.

But what was even more important, perhaps Julie was beginning to believe she could do it, too!