"I'm sorry, but there's absolutely nothing I can do." Bill Avery said after Elizabeth, Faith and Nathan approached him over Lucas. "They are his parents and he is an adult who is…more or less, competent to make decisions about his own medical care."

"Bill. He was still heavily dosed with morphine. Lucas wouldn't be competent to tie his own shoes." Faith said.

"Be that as it may, unless you want me arresting every wife that has to drag her husband out of the saloon against his will because he's a bit tipsy…"

"There is no saloon any longer." Elizabeth replied.

Bill nodded. "That's correct. Nathan and I are in the middle of a real kidnapping case and trying to track down the people responsible for what happened with the saloon. Both of us have spent hours today scouring the hillside looking for them and unless you have something more…"

"Such as?" Faith asked.

"Such as, Luison is from the United States. We're in Alberta. You have to have a license to practice medicine in country."

"But how do we prove that with Lucas - taken who knows where?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know." Bill replied. "For now, until you give me something actionable, we have other priorities which is finding Robert. You, of all people, should be able to appreciate that, Elizabeth."

"Of course." She replied. "Robert's welfare is of utmost concern. And, Lucas is with a doctor that his parents trust – at least Helen does."

"Lucas's father doesn't?" Nathan asked.

"No. He told me he tolerates him. Helen is the one who invited him."

"Interesting." Nathan responded.

"I'm still going to try to get in and see him. My guess is they took him to Lucas's house." Faith added. "Can you show me where that is, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth lowered her eyes. "I believe I know the house, but he still hasn't taken me there – nor has he entered my house."

"You've got to be joking!" Nathan exclaimed. "Why on earth not?"

"It's the way he was raised." she said. "He told me that his parents taught him that he should never enter a single woman's home if there is nobody else home. I tried to tell him that little Jack was there, but he just smiled and told me we could talk outside."

"And not bringing you to his house?" Bill asked.

"Same reason, I think. Books from the Victorian era say women should not call on single gentlemen at their homes alone." She replied. "It was considered scandalous."

"Well, I've been in your house." Nathan replied.

All eyes turned to Nathan.

"Yes, you have." She said. "And I can tell you Lucas was none too thrilled about that fact either."

Nathan smirked.

"If you don't mind, could we step away from Lucas's Victorian morality…"Faith said, interrupting.

"He's not entirely Victorian in his morality." Elizabeth volunteered.

"We don't care." Nathan said, irritably. "You were saying, Faith?"

"I was saying, he was not ready to be moved and I'm very concerned." Faith said.

"I get it." Nathan replied. "And, if I'm able, I'd be happy to accompany you to wherever Bouchard lives to see if that's where they've taken him. But, for now I have a separate but related topic of concern that came to my attention late this afternoon. I was about to take it to Bill when you two showed up."

"What's that?" Bill asked.

Nathan pulled the ransom note from out of his pocket. "The Wolf family received a letter."

"Really? Can I see it?"

Nathan handed the note to him and Bill read.

"Uncle Henry? Who is he?" he asked.

"Only Henry the Wolfs know is Henry Gowen. I talked with Allie for a few minutes this afternoon when Opal's mother stopped by the Mercantile after school. She said she's not sure what gift he was talking about but we both agree he's speaking in code."

"Code, huh?" Bill replied. "Well, we'd better decode whatever message this is quickly. We have less than forty-eight hours per the letter."

"Might it have something to do with the Petroleum company?" Elizabeth asked. "Maybe Robert is somewhere near the drilling site."

"Robert's father suggested that." Nathan said. "I wanted to head up there before it gets dark.

"There's a shelter area out there. Do you want me to go with you?" Bill responded.

"Was counting on it. None of us needs to venture out alone." Nathan replied. "If we come up empty, later tonight I'll talk more about it to Allie. Maybe something will have jogged her memory."

Lucas Bouchard's two-story home was a far cry from the opulence that he grew up in, but it showed markings of a man who was ready to settle down. About a mile outside of town, it was surrounded by a well-tended yard that he paid the neighbor to take care of and it featured a picket fence and a storybook view of Hope Valley's mountainside. A rolling meadow lay behind it and a small stream within the tree line separated it from him and his nearest neighbor.

But as homey as the outside appeared, the interior told a different story. Adorned with richly varnished woodwork and Victorian wallpaper, only two of its four bedrooms contained any furniture at all. In fact, aside from Lucas's bedroom (filled with souvenirs from many of his world travels), a library room (which contained velvet-covered seating, a desk and half-filled bookshelves and other books in boxes yet to be unloaded), and a meagerly equipped kitchen with just enough within it to meet an on-the-move bachelor's basic needs, the house was barely lived in. In his mind, Lucas had justified three years of neglecting his home by telling himself he was just too busy with the saloon and the oil company to deal with it, but subconsciously he knew it needed a woman's touch and was patiently awaiting her arrival.

Helen Bouchard turned on the lights while Dr. Luison and Peter carried an unconscious Lucas in through the doors. They had taken his keys and borrowed his car in order to transport him after the incident in the hospital, but half-way home, he passed out from pain. Luison told Helen not to worry. He would ensure Lucas was made comfortable again as soon as they got settled.

Moving him into his room, they laid him down in his ornate four-poster bed and his father and the doctor helped change him into a pair of striped pajamas that he had purchased in Seattle. Lucas stirred awake and immediately registered pain, so Dr. Luison retrieved his doctor's bag from which he removed a small bottle of medicine. Filling a hypodermic syringe with .03 grams of morphine, he injected Lucas with the drug and went about arranging his bed in such a way so as to avoid another fall.

Peter carried his and his wife's luggage to the bedroom adjacent Lucas's and afterward the couple retired for the evening, though they would get little sleep – both listening for any sign of distress from their son.

Luison left Lucas's room in order to bed down on the settee in the library. After changing into his night clothes, the doctor took his medical bag into the kitchen and set it on the table. Pulling out a small brown bottle marked Laudanum, he removed the lid, closed his eyes in relief and took a swig. He paused a minute as the bitter mixture rolled down his throat. He then wiped his mouth and replaced the lid then put the bottle back into his bag. His hand brushed a letter that had been stuffed inside. Stopping, he pulled out the letter and read it again, as he had done dozens of times since receiving it.

Dear Bernard,

It is with great regret that we must inform you that effective 15 August 1919, your position on the board of the American Medical Association is being terminated. The organization takes its reputation and practices very seriously and with the recent disclosure of your arrest for public intoxication and abuse of Laudanum, we, unfortunately must remove you from the board and hereby revoke any privileges that your relationship with the AMA has provided. I am truly sorry it has come to this as your contributions to the field of medicine have been quite valuable through the years. For your privacy's sake, we will simply announce that you retired. I hope that you are able to get the help you need. After all, your welfare is what concerns us most."

Sincerely, Douglas Banks, Chairman of the Board, American Medical Association.

"Yes, Douglas. I'm sure it is." Luison mumbled sarcastically.

Folding the letter, he placed it back in the bag then pulled out a small leather box in which were several small vials. Walking to Lucas's cabinets he looked for and found a box of loose-leaf tea that Bouchard had imported from England. He carried it to the kitchen table and placed several spoonsful of tea leaves into an empty bottle. He then added a white powder from one of the vials to the tea and topped it with vodka and a copious amount of sugar. Next, he added the entire contents of another vial to the mixture, put the lid back on and he shook it. Removing the lid, he tasted a little on the end of his finger.

"That should do it." He said, before putting the bottle in his medicine bag and the loose tea back in the cabinet before retiring to bed.

It was nine-thirty in the evening when Nathan finally changed out of his Mountie uniform and into some flannel pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved undershirt in preparation for sleep. It had been a long day and not nearly as fruitful as he would have liked. Bill Avery and he rode up to the oil well but there were no signs that anyone had been there other than the workers. They then spent about a half hour surveying the adjacent woods before night fell and they had to retreat.

Picking up Allie from the Weise's, Nathan and Allie walked along the road and discussed the days events. He tried to reassure her once again that what had happened was not her fault but he wasn't sure he was breaking through. When they walked past the woods in which Robert was taken, he was saddened when she pressed against him and cowered from fear. He assured her that nobody was going to harm her and that they would get Robert back. She didn't talk much after that and he worried about the strain the whole saga was placing on her, making a note to talk with Faith or Elizabeth the next day to ask for their advice on how to handle it. Che

Nathan checked on Allie before going to bed, but didn't sleep much as he wondered what the day would bring. He considered the kidnappers demands. He'd drop Allie back off with the Weise's and find Bill first thing in the morning – perhaps even enlist Jesse and Lee and some of the other men. Time was running out.

As the rays of sunlight made their way through his thick velvet drapery, Lucas Bouchard opened his eyes and groggily tried to remember just how he'd made his way back to his bedroom. The pain in his leg was a sharp reminder as to what all had happened though truthfully, he was still so dazed he wasn't sure it wasn't just some bad dream. He struggled to sit up in bed then looked down at his legs, then he spent the longest time just studying them before getting up the nerve to remove his blanket. He couldn't help but gasp when he saw them.

Swallowing, he reached forth a shaky hand to try to touch his stump but then the door opened and Luison entered.

"Good morning, Lucas." The doctor said, turning to retrieve a tray from an oblong mahogany console table that sat just outside his door. On the tray was a plate filled with crumpets and jam along with a ceramic tea kettle filled with Luison's 'special brew.'

Lucas looked up at the doctor with bewilderment. "Dr. Luison? What are you doing here? What has happened?"

Luison set the tray down on Lucas's night stand and went to open the drapes. Lucas winced as the sun's rays broke the room's darkness. "Do you remember nothing of what has transpired the past few days? The saloon? The fire?" the doctor asked.

Lucas closed his eyes as moments from the event again began flood back. He raised a hand to his head. "A man was after Allie. I shot him. But the saloon was on fire. Nathan and Bill…they saved me."

"By my understanding, that is correct. You were injured terribly."

"My leg?" Lucas asked.

"Dr. Carter was unable to save it. I have read her notes and I wasn't sure at first; but now I'm convinced. The crush injury made the structure wholly unsound and indeed could have caused worse issues even to the point of you losing your life had she not taken the step she did."

Lucas swallowed and looked down in a daze. It was too much to taken in at once. Luison quickly walked up beside him and poured a cup of tea.

"Here. This will help you with the pain and to clear your head." He replied. "It's my own special recipe."

Lucas continued to stare until Luison physically picked up Lucas's hand and handed him the cup.

"Drink." The doctor ordered.

Raising the cup to his lips, Lucas took a sip then grimaced.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Just something to help you with any discomfort you might be having and to help calm your nerves. Help you to become more cognitively alert. You've been through quite the ordeal. It will take some time to recover. But I'm dropping all of my engagements so I can help you through it. Your mother has hired me full-time to be your doctor and help with physio-therapy. Losing a limb is quite the blow, but I believe with dedication and hard work you can be back to normal more quickly than you think."

"Back to normal?" Lucas asked, incredulous. "How can anything ever be back to normal?"

"Leave that to me. Just do as I say and everything will be fine. You'll see."

Just then, the doorbell rang and Lucas looked toward his bedroom door with a hint of panic. "I can't see visitors right now. Don't let anybody see me."

Luison nodded his head. "I will take care of whoever it is. Just finish what is in the cup and lay back down. You need rest to heal."

Going down the steps, the doctor noted that Helen Bouchard was standing at the door talking to whomever was calling. A second later, he briefly saw Faith Carter's blonde hair and stepped to the side.

"I'm afraid Lucas is sleeping." Helen said. "He really mustn't be disturbed."

"Mrs. Bouchard, Lucas is my patient. He…"

"Was, dear. He was your patient." She replied. "He is being attended to at home now and you needn't worry yourself over him anymore."

"Can I at least see him?" another female voice asked. Luison leaned to the side and confirmed that it was Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, when my son is awake and able to be visited, if he wishes to have company, you will be the first person I speak with. But for now, please, he needs his sleep. Thank you for stopping by." She said as she shut the door behind her.

Turning around she saw Luison on the stairs.

"I think they are going to be a problem." she said. "How soon do you think Lucas will be ready to travel and return home?"

"Probably not for a few weeks, I'm afraid. While the wound is still fresh, I wouldn't want to move him. But, we'll work for as hasty of a departure as his healing will allow." Bernard replied.

"I hope it is soon." she said. "Lucas needs to be home with his family and not so far away."

The morning class at the Jack Thornton school was attended by Minnie Canfield with Rosemary Coulter being featured as a special guest speaker.

"Now students, we have a treat for you today. Mrs. Coulter is here to tell us about her time in the theater. I want you to pay special attention." Minnie said.

Rosemary stood up before the class with an enthusiastic smile and asked "How many of you like to play act when you're with each other."

Several hands shot up.

"I like to play like Tinker Bell from Peter Pan." said Opal. "And Anna plays Wendy."

A few of the girls giggled and Rosemary smiled. "Well, I was just like you from the time I was little and at one point I actually became an actress. My first play that I did was at Christmas Time. I was a little younger than Allie. I played Ebenezer Scrooge's sister, Fan and it was such a lovely time, I guess you can say I got 'bit by the acting bug.'"

"Did it sting?" Opal asked.

Rosemary smiled. "Not at all. And it was a lot of fun. And that's why this year I've volunteered to help direct you children in Hope Valley's own version of A Christmas Carol. Do you think that sounds fun?"

The children responded with an enthusiastic "yeah!"

"I want to be Tiny Tim!" Cooper Canfield proclaimed.

"I think Timmy should be Ebenezer Scrooge." Emily suggested.

"Why do you say that?" Timmy asked.

"Because you're so ornery that you don't care what Santa brings you for Christmas." She replied.

Rosemary smiled and told the children that the roles would be decided by audition and that everyone ultimately would have a speaking part, but Allie heard none of it. Her mind had been transported to a time two years before when she had made a similar comment to Robert.

Suddenly, she stood.

"Allie? Is something wrong?" Minnie asked.

She stopped only briefly as she made her way to the schoolhouse door. "I'm sorry. I need to go! I need to find uncle Nathan! I think I know exactly where Robert is!"