The entire room was suddenly filled with a tension as all eyes turned toward Elizabeth's fiancé. Lucas stood for a moment in uncomfortable silence as the import of what was happening flooded his mind.

"What's the matter, Lukie? Cat got your tongue?" Daphne said with a self-satisfied smile.

"Daphne." Lucas finally choked out, his eyes shifting back and forth between the beautiful brunette and the floor as they could not bear to look at Elizabeth. "It's, um…it's been a long time."

"Yes. It has. What is it, sixteen years?" she asked.

Lucas cleared his throat sounding a little stronger. "Seventeen in November." He said flatly.

"Ah…" Daphne said, taking her own husband's arm. "I'd like you to meet my husband – Geoffrey Beaumont."

"Is this…?" Geoffrey asked. Daphne raised her nose up in the hair and pursed her lips.

"Yes, darling. This is Lucas."

Lucas finally took a glance at Elizabeth who appeared stricken. He lowered his eyes.

Daphne's father, Hugh de Lacy, stepped forward, looking Lucas up and down. He turned toward William Thatcher. "Do I understand rightly that the man your daughter is engaged to is Lucas Bouchard?"

The very way that de Lacy said Lucas's name reeked of disdain. Thatcher looked very uncomfortable, being completely blindsided by the revelation and sensing that his daughter was too. "That is what we've just learned. Yes."

De Lacy pursed his lips. "Then, I'm afraid that my family will not be dining with you tonight. We have a particular history with this young man that is not altogether pleasant. In short, we don't eat with scoundrels." He turned to leave.

"Mr. de Lacy." Lucas spoke up quickly. "Please do not cancel your dinner plans on account of me. I understand your objections to my presence and will return to my room."

"Why are you here, Lucas?" Daphne's mother said. "Do you not realize that after what you've done that you're no longer welcome in polite society?"

The Thatchers all watched with widened eyes, Elizabeth's mother somewhat aghast.

Lucas glanced toward Daphne who looked at him glaringly. "I have many regrets about that particular period of my life, but I would like to think I've learned from my mistakes."

"Are you calling my daughter a mistake?" Hugh de Lacy asked.

"No." he said. "I will never speak of your daughter in any way other than kindness. That was the deal, was it not?" he said.

De Lacy's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward.

"Perhaps it's best I should leave." Lucas said, looking over at Elizabeth whose eyes finally met his own. In them he saw a mixture of emotions, none of them good. His heart sank. "I will even return home in the morning on the first train if that's what you think is best. I do not wish to cause anyone trouble."

Elizabeth turned away.

Having her answer, Lucas bowed his head. "Alright, then. If you'll excuse me." He quietly left the room.

A few awkward seconds passed and Elizabeth's eyes drifted toward this man whom she had trusted with her whole heart – a trust that now was, perhaps, irrevocably shaken. And yet, there was something in his eyes as he walked away – a pain that had heretofore remained hidden, she couldn't quite bring herself to be angry with him. Was there an explanation? That woman had said he had been married to her and he didn't deny it. Was their love a fraud?

"Shall we continue?" Elizabeth's father's voice broke the silence as he invited his guests into the dining room. Elizabeth continued to stand still until her mother took her by the arm and led her into the room.

"We will deal with Mr. Bouchard later. For now, we have guests." she said.

Julie and Agatha looked at the mother and daughter and then back at one another and simply shook their heads.

Back in Hope Valley, Nathan Grant sat at his kitchen table eating dinner with his daughter though his thoughts were far from what was on his plate.

"Too much salt?" she asked after a while of watching him poke at his food.

He looked up. "Huh? Oh. No, it's fine. Just not very hungry."

"Missing Emily?"

He looked at the teenager who at times seemed to fifteen going on fifty. She was growing up far too quickly. "Yeah. A bit."

"Why don't you call her? That should cheer you up."

"I spoke with her this afternoon on the phone. She's busy and I really don't want to be a nuisance." He replied.

"You wouldn't be."

Nathan looked away.

"It's something else." she noted. "What is it? What are you worried about?"

Nathan took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "I'm struggling with a decision – well, maybe not struggling. I know already what I need to do but it doesn't make it easier."

"Want to try me out on it?"

Nathan looked at her then shook his head. "That's alright. Not your issue."

"Does it have to do with me?" she asked, astutely. The shift in his expression gave her the answer.

"Uncle Nathan…dad…I don't want you staying away from something that may make you happy because you're worried about how it will affect me. In the next couple of years, I am going to be out of school and who knows, I may be engaged or married."

"Seventeen is too young for you to marry." Nathan said. "I don't care how much you like Robert."

Allie scrunched up her face a bit. "Robert and I aren't seeing each other anymore."

"Since when?" he asked with surprise.

"Since yesterday." She replied. "He was getting some cans of peas down from the top shelf for me at the Mercantile and the whole stack fell down on his head."

Nathan looked concerned. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah. Made a knot, but he is okay." she replied.

Nathan tilted his head. "That's good. So, tell me again…what does this have to do with you not seeing him anymore?"

She shrugged. "Well, when the cans fell, he made a statement that being around me was dangerous."

Nathan smirked, as he considered Robert's statement and recalled that in the past year, he'd gotten kidnapped, twisted an ankle and now received a small head injury due to his daughter. "And, that upset you?"

"Yes!" Allie exclaimed. "Any man who wants to be with me needs to be able to accept me for who I am and not want to change who I am. I like adventure and romance and fish and frogs and making art and whoever gets my hand needs to accept that and the risks that come with it!"

Nathan smiled at her teenaged thinking, though he couldn't quarrel with it. "Yes, he does, or I'm not going to accept him." He replied. "Keep that thought. You're worth it."

"So are you." She said, reaching across the table and putting her hand on his. "And, if you want us to move to go be with Emily, I'm okay with that."

"You are?" he asked.

"Yeah. You've spent a lot of years taking care of me. I want to see you happy."

The formal dinner at the Thatchers was complete, though Elizabeth couldn't recall a thing that was said nor did she enjoy a bite of her food. Her thoughts were on Lucas and all that had happened and upon the woman in red at the end of the table. Daphne Beaumont was beautiful, no doubt about that, and together, she and Lucas would have made a striking pair. Yet, as she watched Beaumont and her interactions with others, Elizabeth couldn't picture her as someone that Lucas would have been remotely attracted to. In Daphne, Elizabeth saw someone who was as different from herself as night was from day. She was loud and flirtatious, even toward Elizabeth's father which made Elizabeth cringe, and she showed none of the refinement that her Lucas had shown himself to have. They couldn't have come from the same type of people. But, then again, what did she really know about him and his past? She had met his parents and knew that they were well-spoken and that his father was a businessman. She knew they had travelled a lot when he was younger. And, she knew the man he was today. She knew his character. Or, at least she thought she did.

Lucas sat alone on the edge of his bed - or, not really alone. He had Annabelle. The scruffily little brown and white dog who had come upon him during one of his loneliest days in Baltimore, giving him unconditional love, now sat at his side - licking his hand as he petted her and looking up at him with eyes full of trust. The love of a dog was so selfless and forgiving – a kind of love from which human beings could learn. And yet, as he sat in a beautiful guest room in Elizabeth's familial home, he felt acutely aware that this was a love he did not deserve.

He hadn't meant to withhold the information from Elizabeth as he had always promised to be completely honest with her – and yet, the proper occasion for discussion never quite presented itself. In truth, he didn't think it really mattered that much – seeing it was so long ago – until today. The fact that it had come out today and the way that it came out had shown him the monumental error he made in not making his life an open book for Elizabeth to read. Could she ever forgive him?

A tap came softly upon his door and Lucas looked up half expecting a servant to appear with instructions to usher him out. But he swallowed when he saw it was Elizabeth.

"Do you mind if I come in?" she asked, softly.

His chocolate eyes reflected worry and love and a bit of fear as he nodded for her to enter. Taking a chair, she pulled it up to his bedside, studying his face for any hint that he was someone other than the man she knew him to be. She saw none.

Finally, she spoke. "Dinner is over. I thought that we should talk." She said.

"Alright." He said, looking at her earnestly. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, first, were you and Daphne married to one another?"

Lucas paused for a moment, his eyes shifting toward the floor. He took a deep breath. "I'm…I'm not exactly sure how to answer that question."

Elizabeth's eyes flashed with anger. "A simple yes or no would suffice."

His eyes returned to hers. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple."

"Lucas!" she said, standing up from her chair. "How could you?! How could you have led me to believe all of what you said about love and waiting and being patient and soulmates – and yet, you had another wife?"

"Elizabeth, I never lied to you."

"Oh? How do you figure that? We discussed our wedding plans and I wanted to know what you wanted since this would be your first wedding and my second…"

"Marriage." He corrected.

"What?!"

"You said it was your second marriage and my first. I had a wedding. I did not have a marriage."

"Oh, so now we're parsing words?" she replied, tersely. "You knew what I meant and had the opportunity to speak up right then and tell me that I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong." he replied quickly. "At least not as far as I was concerned. Aside from that – I'm at a loss for words for what to say."

Elizabeth clinched her jaw as hot tears brimmed in her eyes. "Well, until you figure it out…" she took off her engagement ring and tossed it at him. "You can keep this!"

Lucas caught the ring in mid-air. "Elizabeth!" he cried. But she was gone.

The morning sun rose over North America and at two different ends of the continent decisions were being made which would forever affect the future of those in question. In Hope Valley, Nathan took Allie to school and made his way to the office with the intended purpose of calling Headquarters and requesting a transfer to Montreal.

Meanwhile, in Baltimore, a different kind of discussion was being had. Emily Reardon and Carson Shepherd had spent the past several days planning out the scope of their transfer to Quebec and developing a timeline for when everything should happen. Shepherd still had some patients and responsibilities in Maryland that needed attending to and, although Emily's responsibilities were less, she had a personal desire to bring one particular case over the finish line – that of Cyrus McDougal.

McDougal had made it through his first round of therapy and was once again on a path for receiving a new prosthesis, this time more extensive. And now, due to financing and his progress, the hospital was looking to release him to a step-down center where he could have additional rehabilitation. Cy, on the other hand, had other ideas.

"I want to move West, to Hope Valley." he stated with a smile. "The way Lucas talked about the place, it really seems like a great place to have a fresh start and to raise our family."

Neither Carson nor Emily could argue with that logic with the exposure they had to the town and so the morning meeting was to request another leave of absence for Emily to return to Hope Valley – a leave which the administrator freely granted. With this news in hand, Emily quickly rushed to her office in order to inform Nathan of the decision.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear you're leaving." Bill Avery said to Nathan as he stood in the middle of his office at the North West Mounted Police. "But I understand the reasoning."

"Yeah. It boils down to where I feel like I belong. For a long time that was wherever the Mounties wanted me to be and then it became where Allie needed me to be. I could have walked away shortly after I came to Hope Valley because down deep, I knew one of my key reasons for being here, that being Elizabeth Thornton, was never going to be – but now, I see even that had a purpose. Had I not stayed, I wouldn't have been here for what happened with Lucas and the Saloon and I never would have been on the train where I met Emily. I never would have known I could feel this way – or that someone could feel this way for me."

"True love is hard to find." Bill replied. "Well, let me know if you need help packing up and tell headquarters I'm here to help settle in whomever they send in your place."

"Thanks, Bill." Nathan replied as Avery left the building. Smiling, he reached for the phone to tell Emily the news. Placing his hand on the receiver, he rang through to Florence to ask her to place the call.

"Oh! I was just patching one through for you." She replied. "Call from Baltimore from Emily Reardon?"

"Oh, put her right through!" he said, excitedly. "Emily?"

"Nathan! I have some wonderful news!" she exclaimed.

Jack Thornton tugged at his mother's nightgown as she slept soundly upon her bed at the Thatcher mansion. Her eyes were red and puffy from a night of tossing in turning in which she had finally cried herself to sleep but she turned over to see the one spot of happiness that she could imagine at that time staring up at her with innocent eyes.

"Well, good morning, precious!" she said, leaning down to pick up her son and bring him into bed with her. She was surprised when she did so, he handed her an envelope.

"What's this you have?" she asked, taking the envelope from him.

"From Wookus." He replied, scampering down from the bed to go to his toys since he had accomplished what he wished to accomplish.

Elizabeth looked at the front of the envelope, written so carefully in the precise script that she knew belonged to him, and she carefully opened it. Immediately, out of the envelope fell his grandmother's ring. She picked it up in her hand and tears filled her eyes. Gently, she set it to the side and began to read.

My Dearest Elizabeth,

I hardly know where to begin in order to tell you how profoundly sorry I am for any pain or embarrassment which I have caused you or your family. It is my sincerest hope that in time you'll be able to look past that which I have done, quite unintentionally, and in order to give you the space to do that, I am leaving on a train this morning and going back to Hope Valley. Please know, I am not running from you or from my past - because my love for you and my history with Daphne de Lacy are two things I cannot change. I will wait for you as I have always done but I want you to know now that the choice to stay with me is forever in your hands and I will bear no resentment or ill will toward you should you decide that you can't. My not telling you about her prior to now was an unforgiveable breach of your trust and I know how bad it must look to you at this point in time. Therefore, I owe you an explanation which I shall henceforth provide. It is a lengthy tale and somewhat sad, but it is the truth.

Daphne and I met when I was four years old when her father opened up an office on the north end of the Ile de Soeurs near Montreal. My father and Mr. de Lacy engaged in some business together and the de Lacys were invited to our house to meet our family. My mother was surprised when they arrived, however, by the fact that she was already well acquainted with Mrs. de Lacy, though it had been years since they had seen one another. According to mother, they were high school chums and remained so until Sylvia, Daphne's mother, moved with her family to London in the late 1870s. From there, they lost touch until that fateful day when the de Lacys visited our house. Then, they reconnected.

The de Lacys, particularly the mother, and occasionally the daughter when she wasn't at boarding school, were a veritable fixture around our home from the time I was four until when I was ten years old and we began to travel, as a family, around the world – but in the years we were home, our mothers conceived of a plan in which when I was of age (Daphne is six months my senior) the two families would unite. Yes, it was an arranged marriage – rather archaic at this point in time, but it's what my mother wanted and what she groomed me for.

From the time I was ten until my eighteenth birthday I was raised to be the gentleman suitor and spouse of one of London's most prominent daughters, which included courting her whenever we were in town, starting at age fourteen! This may sound like a lot of preparation but given the amount of time we spent in various countries during my teenage years, it amounted to one or two 'dates' a year. In truth, by the time she turned eighteen we barely knew one another.

There were signs, I suppose, early on, that this was not a match made in heaven. You might not know it to look at her but there is a certain callousness to Daphne's behavior, a devil-may-care sort of attitude that manifests itself quite frequently in her dealings with others. A friend of mine once told me that she was' trouble' but I didn't believe him, because I couldn't. She was the woman I was slated to marry and I had to stick up for her, no matter what – right?

Well, I soon found out that the friend was right and in the year prior to our 'marriage' I would frequently find her cavorting with older men from Oxford or at home in Montreal, wherever we happened to find ourselves. It was a very frustrating situation, to say the least, and I informed mother about it six months before we were to wed. She told me that I had to stick it out, that it was normal for a woman to want to express some freedom before settling down and that it was my duty to stay true to her – no matter what. The family's name was at stake.

I'm sure that this has never happened to you, but when you travel in our circles, the pressure that a family can place upon one to marry just the 'right kind' of person can be daunting – particularly a family friend.

Elizabeth looked away from the letter as her mind travelled to Charles Kensington, her long-time friend-turned suitor whom her parents had hoped that she would marry. She had never mentioned him to Lucas either, not until she saw Lucas in Baltimore – though Charles had actually proposed. With that understanding, she returned to the letter.

More often than not in our circles, men and women marry in some form of social or political arrangement rather than for love – and while I knew that I was not in love with Daphne then and that my choice for a spouse was really my mother's choice for me and not my own, I had hoped that love would bloom – just as I'd seen so many times in the romantic novels that graced our shelves in our flat along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées when we lived in Paris. It was never to be.

On the eve of our Wedding - which was held at All Saints in Notting Hill on November 8th, 1903 – my eighteenth birthday – I went to call upon Daphne at her apartment in order to take her to our wedding rehearsal. When she didn't answer, I tried the door and it being open, I walked inside. I called for her from the foyer and then I heard some sort of ruckus going on in back of her apartment and so I followed the sound and, there, found Daphne with Louis Wentworth, one of my groomsmen who was a son of my father's business partner. They were in a compromised state of dress. Whether or not I caught them in the very act I'll never know, but she denied what my own eyes had seen.

I stormed out of the apartment and went straight home informing mother that I couldn't get married in the morning, telling her what I had run into. Mother ascribed it all to 'nerves'. I hadn't seen what I saw and Daphne was a good match for me and things would be fine. Besides, the invitations had already gone out and 'all of London' was coming. I couldn't back out now.

Father wouldn't be back from travel until the morning and I had no one else to talk to. Daphne sent me a letter via courier expressing her 'love' for me and how she couldn't wait until we were wed and how things weren't as they had appeared – that Louis was just visiting that evening to look at some coins that she had collected on a trip to Barcelona and that nothing inappropriate had taken place between them. By the morning, I half-convinced myself she was telling the truth. Of course, she wasn't.

We went down the aisle and said our vows to God and men and at the time, I meant them. I would honor my commitment to be true to her and to provide for her for as long as we lived and she promised to be true to me and to forsake all others as well. The deed was done and we went to our reception.

We danced. It was awkward. And she excused herself to go to the powder room while I mingled with our guests. A half an hour had passed and I became concerned, so I walked over to the ladies' facilities and stood outside, asking a mutual friend of ours to check on her to see if she was okay. That friend came out a few seconds later and said nobody was in there, and so I went looking for her. I found her and Louis outside in his 1903 Model A Ford that he had shipped over from America. It had an open top and they were parked in a dark place, kissing and engaging in other activity that is not appropriate for me to say, even in writing. There was no question about it. Our vows were two hours old and were already broken. I was devastated and did the only thing that I knew to do, I left.

When I disappeared from the reception, a search went out for me and Daphne herself knew where I'd be (funny, I never knew where she was at any given moment of the day). There was a park that I'd like to go to in order to play with the dogs and watch the people or just read. It was my little private spot and I took her there once. She told me it was boring and asked to leave. I was surprised when she turned up there.

She confronted me about leaving our reception and I told her what I had seen. She tried to deny it again but I told her precisely what I had seen, in graphic detail. Her response was to inform me that I had made my vows and I had to stick with them. She'd see to it that I was ruined if I left her now.

It was at that point that a miracle happened. My father also knew of the place that I went and he walked up just as this conversation was taking place. When she made her threat, that's when he made his presence known. He asked her to leave and told her that he would be in contact with her father in the morning. He then took me home.

Throughout the night, I heard my parents arguing over the propriety of what 'I' had done and how Helen wasn't going to be able to face Sylvia or her friends again. That evening was the only time I'd ever heard my father raise his voice to my mother, telling her with an expletive that he didn't' care what Sylvia, Hugh or Daphne de Lacy thought about a thing – I was their son and he would stand by me. She was upset, but I believe he broke through to her because she never seemed to judge my choices after that moment.

That was the evening that father came to my room and we had the discussion about the importance of being patient while waiting for my soulmate. He encouraged me to go look for you and he promised me that I would find you. The next morning, I became a tumbleweed going here and there in search of you. I never gave up.

Oh, there were points over the last seventeen years that I was not really looking very hard. I became involved in making money and friendships and gambling – and there were a few other women that were put forward for my consideration- mostly friends of friends who, while admirable women, were just not you. I moved along and I waited to find you. I have also waited for more than just your hand - if after these revelations there is any question in your mind about that sort of thing.

Regardless of what happens between us, I want you to know, Elizabeth, it's only and always been you and you alone. You are my true love and my first and I believe my last, genuine love – the woman I've longed for all my life and I thank God for you.

And so, this ends the sad story of my relationship with the vivacious Miss de Lacy. My father paid her father good money to see that the marriage was annulled – which they say means that no marriage ever happened – in the sight of man and in the sight of God. Through the years, that is something I have held to be true. Of course, 'something' happened, I wouldn't deny that – but I wasn't parsing words when I told you that I had a wedding ceremony. I did not have a marriage. And I'm sorry that I never let you know.

I have enclosed grandmother's ring. It is yours, as am I, if you will reconsider.

Yours for eternity,

Lucas

Lucas sat on a wooden bench at the Hamilton rail station with dog carrier at his side and a newspaper in his hand but truth be told he wasn't really reading. He was coming to terms with the fact that his life was at a crossroads and depending upon which way Elizabeth decided, it could go on to be very good or it could be terrible. Regardless, he felt a weight had lifted in that he'd fully opened up his heart to her and had given her a glimpse into perhaps the most decisive moment in his young life. He had been honest with her, as he promised he would always be, and now chose to rest on his faith and trust in God and in their love for each other, that everything would turn out okay.

The porter gave the call letting Lucas know it was time for him to leave and so he stood with Annabelle, looking one more time around the station – just to remember a place where his Elizabeth had been. Walking up to the train, he stepped onboard and walked to his seat, placing the carrier underneath the seat. A few minutes passed and Lucas checked his pocket watch to see if they were being delayed. He then heard a commotion.

Sticking his head out into the hallway, he saw some men arguing toward the front of his car and the porter took a piece of paper, said something to the men and pushed them out the door. He then walked down the hallway straight to Lucas's car.

"Lucas Bouchard?" the porter asked. Lucas nodded his head.

"I need for you to step off of the train" he replied.

"Step off the train?" Lucas asked, standing and picking up the dog carrier from the floor. The porter looked in the carrier and gave Lucas a stern look.

"Follow me." He replied.

"What is this about?" Lucas asked as he followed.

"You are wanted for questioning in a theft." The porter replied.

Lucas stopped. "Theft? I didn't steal anything. There must be some mistake."

"This is your dog?" the man asked.

"Yes." Lucas replied.

"That's not what these papers say." The man replied stepping out the door. Lucas followed and the two men took him by the arms, walking him toward a room off to the side. "This dog belongs to someone else."

"That makes no sense. She's not even from here. I found her in Baltimore." He said as he was pushed toward the door.

"No, the papers say he belongs to a little boy." The man said. "A Mr. Jack Thornton."

Lucas stopped in his tracks and a smile appeared on his face. As the men cleared the way, he walked through the door and there saw Elizabeth with little Jack at her side. His chin quivered with emotion.

Elizabeth reached out her arms to welcome him and even from there he could see the sparkle of his grandmother's ring which was back on her hand.

"I'll take it from here." She told the men whom she tipped and sent on their way. The two lovers then made their way to each other's embrace and kissed with great fervor.

Lucas was smiling from ear to ear when they pulled apart. "You scared me to death! Having me accused of dognapping! You know a simple page would have been better."

Elizabeth laughed. "But not as much of a surprise. Besides, wasn't it you who said every boy needs a dog?"

"And, every dog needs a boy." He smiled, recalling his statement.

"Well, little Jack needs Annabelle – and I need you." she said. "Come home with me."

"You'll still have me?" he asked.

"Of course." she said, biting her lip. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

He pulled her into another passionate kiss and they returned to her parent's house.