Chapter 47 – Decisions

There was a part of Jack that wanted to go in and check on Abigail, but he didn't want to alarm Elizabeth. Jack was thinking about what both Abigail and Elizabeth had said. Jack was also thinking about what he head learned from his friend who worked in Hamilton. The more that Jack thought about it, the more that he believed that Elizabeth's family was behind his new orders. She must have written something to her sister about him or something. It dawned on Jack and he felt his anger rising. Jack knew that Gowen wanted him gone, so he figured it was Gowen that reported to Elizabeth's family that they had started spending more time together. It just made Jack all that more determined to see Gowen behind bars. Jack still wasn't sure what he was going to do about Cape Fullerton, but he would deal with that later. He had to focus on his job at the moment and that was keeping the peace at the saloon that night and preparing for his supper with Elizabeth the next night. Jack wasn't sure how Elizabeth was going to react to his news, but he knew that she had to know..

When Patrick saw Jack's face when he walked back into the jail he knew something happened.

"Did you talk to her?" Patrick asked.

"Yes and no." Jack said. "I didn't tell her about Cape Fullerton. I think I will tell her tomorrow night. But she talked to me about Julie and the problem she caused in the classroom today. Elizabeth is worried that Julie is going to find and/or cause some kind of trouble. She has a bad feeling about things. I have come to believe her when she says she has a bad feeling."

"Well." Patrick said. "For now, we are both here. We can keep our eyes open and watch out for anything."

"Thank you." Jack said.

"Do you want me to watch the saloon by myself tonight?" Patrick asked.

"You said you were in Burlington." Jack said. "Let me ask, you must know about the Thatcher's then."

"Yes and no." Patrick said. "I only met Mr Thatcher right before I headed here with Julie, but you can't be in that area and not hear about them. They are a mainstay in the society pages."

"So nothing in a professional manner." Jack asked.

"What are you getting at?" Patrick asked.

"Something Elizabeth said." Jack said. "She basically said that Julie had been in trouble before and their father paid for it to go away."

"Wouldn't be surprised." Patrick said. "People like them with that amount of money, well it happens. Usually long before the law gets involved."

"You know Elizabeth is not like that." Jack said. "She came out here and she has fit in really well. She is willing to give it all up to stay here and teach."

"I believe you." Patrick said. "She seems different then the others. I have a feeling that you are looking for something specific from me, so just come out and ask."

"Do you know if Elizabeth was or has been connected to any young gentlemen back in Hamilton?" Jack asked.

"Let me think." Patrick said.

Patrick was quiet for a couple minutes.

"Nothing comes to mind." Patrick said. "The last thing I remember about her was when they wrote about her coming out her. There wasn't much about her even before that. I mean there were times she attended a ball or an opening and there were pictures, but I don't remember her ever being connected to any young gentlemen. From what I understood for some others, it was always a big prize to get a picture of Elizabeth because she didn't go out that much."

"Thank you." Jack said. "I didn't think so, but I had to ask."

"No it is okay." Patrick said. "I will tell you this, I am not sure how serious you are about Elizabeth, but you know that her family will never approve of you."

"Honestly, I don't care." Jack said. "All that matters is what Elizabeth wants. Like I have told her, she is an adult and her family can't make her do anything."

"That is a good thought." Patrick said. "But that is not how their world works. It seems that they make their own rules and use their money to influence others to get what they want. Good luck though, not many people are willing to defy William Thatcher."

"I will join you at the saloon for a bit." Jack said. "If there are no problems, I might come back here early. I want to write a letter to my mother. Also, I don't care what William Thatcher wants or thinks – all that matters what Elizabeth wants."

"Okay." Patrick said.

They both went about doing different things until they headed to the saloon. They had the chili and corn bread for supper. Jack would have much preferred to eat at Abigail's but he wasn't going to push the issue. After a bit, it didn't seem like there were that many at the saloon, so Jack headed back to the jail Jack's mind wasn't on his work that night and it was a good thing that he went back early. He was able to think about some things. He knew that he had to tell Elizabeth and sooner rather then later.

After Jack had left Elizabeth, she had a quiet night. She helped Abigail for a bit. By the time that she had seen Julie, she was acting like nothing happened, so Elizabeth didn't say anything. She didn't want to fight with Julie, but she was also going to be careful what she told her. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, Julie already knew too much and didn't always know when to keep her mouth shut. The only thing Elizabeth said to Julie was that she might be more comfortable wearing some of her dresses and not the fancy ones that she had brought. Julie let her know that she would think about it.

Saturday morning, Jack was up early. Patrick had wanted to ride rounds with Jack, so they left early so they could stop and talk about things as need. Jack also dropped off his suit with Cat Montgomery. She had promised to have it pressed and ready for him. They rode in silence for a time and then only talked when Patrick had a question. They were gone about two hours and Jack picked up his suit when they got back. He also talked to Cat to make sure that everything else was ready as well. She assured him that it was and he didn't need to worry. Patrick waited until they were back at the jail.

"Have you made a decision?" Patrick asked.

"Yes." Jack said. "I need to talk to Elizabeth and I don't want to think about that today."

"Fine." Patrick said. "We will deal with it tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Patrick said.

They had a pretty quiet day. Patrick wrote up the report from their rounds and was looking at some of the reports that Jack had filed while he was in Coal Valley. Patrick made notes where he wanted to talk to Jack more about things, but otherwise left him alone. Jack worked on a sketch for awhile before he had to start getting ready for supper.

Elizabeth on the other hand slept in on Saturday morning. Julie had gotten up when Abigail was making breakfast. Abigail had asked her not to wake Elizabeth, but to let her sleep.

"I need to talk to you." Abigail said when Julie sat down to breakfast in the kitchen.

"Yes." Julie said.

"I don't appreciate the way you were behaving yesterday." Abigail said.

"Whatever do you mean?" Julie asked innocently.

"Don't play that game with me." Abigail said sternly. "I heard from Elizabeth and at least three different mothers about how you disrespected Elizabeth in her classroom. That behavior will not be tolerated. Elizabeth signed a contract to work for me and the other mothers who started the school for our children. If you cause problems for her, you will have problems with me. She has worked very hard to be a part of this community and show people that she can be trusted. I will not allow you to ruin that. Am I clear?"

"Yes." Julie said. "I didn't mean anything by it. I was just teasing Bethie."

"I don't care." Abigail said. "If you are going to be with her in her classroom then you will be expected to follow the rules that she has laid out for everyone. You will also not refer to her as Bethie near me or the children. It is disrespectful. Her name is Elizabeth and that is what she has asked people to call her. The children call her Miss Thatcher. If you can't follow that, then I will not allow you to be over there."

"Fine." Julie huffed. "Why are you in charge of the school? You don't have any children."

Abigail took a deep breath. She didn't want to yell at Julie, but she need to be put in her place.

"I may not have any children in school anymore." Abigail said. "But the other mothers looked to me for my experience. My late-husband was the superintendent of the mine, that meant he was one of the men in charge. As a result, I was sort of in charge of the wives and families. Just because my husband was killed, that didn't change the way others looked to me as a leader. If you have a problem, I can very quickly arrange for you to head home."

Julie didn't say anything, but she also realized that that Abigail was someone not to mess with. Julie wasn't happy. She wasn't use to being spoken to like that, but she also didn't want to tell Elizabeth, because Julie figured she was just side with Abigail and then she would be sent home. Abigail didn't say anything else, but went about her morning and serving breakfast to people. Julie sulked in the kitchen for a bit before heading upstairs. She didn't dare wake Elizabeth, but it wasn't long before Elizabeth was stirring on her own.

"What time is?" Elizabeth asked sitting up.

"Abigail told me to let you sleep." Julie said. "By it is about 9am."

"Fine." Elizabeth said. "I don't get to sleep in often, so it was nice. Are you having a good morning?"

"I guess." Julie said.

"What happened?" Elizabeth said as she got out bed.

"Abigail got mad at me." Julie said.

"Well in my experience." Elizabeth said. "If Abigail is upset, she usually has a good reason. She was not happy when you came back yesterday and even more so after I got back after school. If she was upset, then I am glad that she said something."

"You know I didn't mean anything by it." Julie said.

"Doesn't matter." Elizabeth said. "You disrespected me in my classroom and I will not allow that. I don't allow anyone to disrespect me, especially in my classroom. Whatever game you are playing, I am done. You can tell Father I am not coming back. I like it here. I like teaching and I am going to stay. So if you are here to convince to come back, you are wasting your time. I am sure that you are acting as Father's spy. As long as you tell him the truth – I don't care. Besides I am an adult, I can do what I want."

"You have changed." Julie said

"It is called growing up." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth was dressed and ready to head down.

"What are you up today?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know." Julie said. "I already ate. I thought we could do something."

"I have papers to grade." Elizabeth said. "I also need to get ready for my supper tonight. If you would have told me that you were coming, I would have told you not to. I don't have a lot of free time, especially with school in session."

Elizabeth didn't give Julie a chance to respond, but she headed down to have some breakfast. When she got downstairs, the cafe was really busy, so she jumped in and helped Abigail for a bit before eating herself. When it finally slowed down, Abigail sat down with Elizabeth in the kitchen.

"I hear you talked to Julie." Elizabeth said.

"Sorry." Abigail said. "I might have over stepped my bounds. But when I heard from a couple of the mothers about the way that Julie had behaved, I felt that I needed to. Especially since I am technically the head of the school."

"It is okay." Elizabeth said. "Actually, I am glad that you said something. She doesn't seem to listen to me."

"I insist that you relax some today." Abigail said. "Do you want me to heat water for a bath?"

"I don't know." Elizabeth said. "I want to at least wash my hair. I don't mind just washing up."

"Just let me know." Abigail said. "If I have time I can help you."

"I was going to have Julie help." Elizabeth said. "I also have papers to grade."

"Why don't you work on those and then let me know when you want the hot water." Abigail said.

"Sounds like a plan." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth finished her coffee and then headed back upstairs. She grabbed her papers that needed grading. She then looked at Julie who was reading.

"Why don't you spend some time outside." Elizabeth said.

"And do what?" Julie asked.

"Go for a walk." Elizabeth said. "You could read down by the pond."

"Fine." Julie said. "What are you going to do?"

"I am going to sit outside and grade papers until lunch." Elizabeth said.

"I guess I will join you then." Julie said.

"Don't be like that." Elizabeth said. "This is not like one of your books. Not a lot happens around here. I like it that way. If you are board, I can always arrange for you to go back home. I am sure that you can find something to do there."

Elizabeth headed downstairs and outside to sit on the wide boardwalk so she could enjoy the sunshine while she graded papers. It didn't take long for Julie to join her. Julie wanted to talk, but after Elizabeth glared at her, she went back to her book. It didn't take Elizabeth long to get through the papers needed and to also get her lessons ready for the new week. Elizabeth was hoping to see Jack, but figured he was busy with his own things. She knew would see him later for supper. The rest of the day was quiet. Elizabeth went in after lunch and had a bite to eat. She had Julie help her wash her hair. She then washed up before Julie helped her curl her hair. When she was done with that, Elizabeth kicked Julie out of their room so she could have get ready alone and have some time to gather her thoughts.