A sense of déjà vu swept over Lee Coulter as he sat helplessly at the bedside of his precious wife in the infirmary, just as she had done for him four years before. It had been six hours since he'd found her, and there had been no change. Rosemary was quiet, peaceful, and if it weren't for the gauze bandage on the right side of her head, one would think she was just sleeping. But she wasn't just sleeping.

Lee recalled Bill reaching Emily at Nathan's house that evening and how when she had seen his wife, she grew quite serious and sprang into action. Rushing Rosemary to the infirmary, Reardon immediately surmised her patient was in shock and put a wet dressing over a gash to the side of Rosemary's head so that she could address the more urgent needs of stabilizing her patient. She covered her with multiple heated blankets and hot water bottles and watched her closely for the next four hours. Only after Rosemary's body had responded to the shock treatment did she continue her examination. Trimming back a small amount of Rosemary's hair to cleanse and suture the gash, she did an x-ray of her skull.

Emily sat down to talk with Lee. "Lee, Rosemary has a skull fracture on the right side of her skull."

Lee frowned. "Is she going to be okay?"

Emily nodded once. "Well, her vital signs are all improving. Her pupils are reacting how I would like them to. Her blood pressure is a little high, but that's to be expected with what she's gone through. So, I'm hopeful."

"I wish I knew what happened. Rosemary never uses that door," he said.

"Perhaps she heard something that caused her to want to investigate, and then she fell?" Emily suggested.

"Could someone have struck her?" he asked.

Emily thought. "Nathan mentioned that you were concerned she could have been attacked, and I suppose it's possible. However, to fracture her skull the way it's fractured, it would have had to have been a large person – not someone like Wyman Walden."

Lee's mind immediately went to Walden's sidekick, Julius Spurlock. He didn't even hear Emily say, "But if I had to hazard a guess, it just as easily could have been a fall."

He snapped to as she continued talking.

"We can determine the how of what happened later on. What I'm most concerned with now is that she isn't responding to attempts to wake her up – and, quite frankly, I'm not sure our little clinic has the equipment and expertise to fully treat her. I mean, while in the war, I had to treat many men who had head injuries, so I was pretty sure what I was looking at when you first brought me to her. However, additional tests need to be done, and I can really do any more here. It is my recommendation that we transfer your wife to Union City Hospital where she can get the best care possible."

Lee felt emotionally drained. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets better," he sniffed. "She's got to get better."

Emily reached out and touched his shoulder. "We have every reason to hope she will. I will arrange the transport in the morning."

Early the next morning, Nathan and Bill sat in the Mountie's office, discussing what had happened, discussing Walden, discussing Judson. Rosemary had already gotten herself in trouble with the latter by sneaking not once but twice onto his property to try and see what he was hiding behind those walls. The business owner had filed a restraining order against her. And, while they knew she was only trying to get to the bottom of what was happening to the community's children, in truth, she'd jeopardized their case in doing so. But neither man was concerned about that at the moment. They were more concerned she might have jeopardized her life. They were discussing this when a knock came on the office door. It opened before Nathan or Bill could get to it.

"Good morning, Constable Grant. Judge," Ned Yost said as he walked into the jail with his stepson beside him. "Do you have a minute? I believe Paul has something he'd like to share."

Even though school was in session, Paul Blakely talked to the men until eleven o'clock, telling stories about the factory, about the dangerous conditions, about how the children had been overworked and bribed or threatened anytime someone got hurt. He explained how he was scared to come forward before, but knew he had to after hearing about Mrs. Coulter.

"I heard Mr. Judson tell Mrs. Judson, the receptionist, that she was supposed to call the authorities immediately if she ever saw Mrs. Coulter again," Paul said.

"Mrs. Judson?" Nathan asked. "Judson has a wife?"

"No," Paul said. "Mrs. Judson, his mother."

Nathan filed that interesting bit of information away. "Go on. What else did he say?"

"Well, he told her that if the Mounties wouldn't see to it that she kept her nose out of his business, he would. When I heard about Mrs. Coulter…."

"Heard about Rosemary?" Bill asked.

"Yeah. Rumor's already all over town about her being knocked out last night. I had to speak up."

"Well, Paul," Bill said. "We don't know for certain that someone knocked her out."

"I realize that, sir," Paul said. "But Mr. Judson is dangerous, and he needs to be stopped."

"Fair enough," Bill replied.

As the young man spoke, Nathan listened quietly and tried to connect his story with what he knew about the factory owner. Darius was crafty, but he was also careful. Would he have been so foolish as to go after Rosemary Coulter in some physical way that could be traced to him? He doubted it.

"Paul, you've been very helpful, and we thank you for coming forward, but I have one more question to ask you." Nathan said.

"Sure, Constable Grant. I'll help however I can."

"Does Darius Judson hang around any suspicious-looking characters? I mean, I usually see him alone or with his driver. Have you ever noticed him talking to someone and got a sense it didn't feel right?"

Paul Blakely pondered that thought for a moment, then nodded his head. "Once. A couple of weeks ago. I saw him talking to that guy with the white hair who comes into the Mercantile every now and then – you know, the one that hangs around that big bald-headed guy?"

"Wyman Walden?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, that's the guy," Paul replied. "He stopped by one morning about an hour before I was going to end my shift and head to school, and Mr. Judson looked around like he didn't want to be seen or something. The two of them went into Mr. Judson's office and shut the door."

"Did you see him leave?" Bill asked.

"Yeah. Same time as I did," Paul replied. "He had an envelope in his hands full of money. He was thumbing through it and didn't know I saw him."

Nathan looked at Bill, and the two frowned. "Thank you both for your help and for coming forward," the Mountie said. "I don't think it's enough yet to get a court order, but it certainly provides us with something to look for once we get access. I'll make a call to headquarters."

Bill, Ned, and Paul all left the jail, and Nathan called a superior at headquarters whom he trusted. Just as he thought, he would need more than hearsay from a kid to conduct a search. Judson was a powerful man and well connected. The last thing the Mounties wanted was allegations of illegal searches conducted by one of their own, but he was getting closer.

Leaving the jail, Nathan walked to the infirmary to check on Rosemary and see how Lee was doing. He also hoped to see Emily, who he knew had spent the previous evening in the little bedroom that Faith maintained upstairs in the building. Opening the door, he slipped inside to say hello to Lee, who sat quietly in the same spot he'd sat for hours.

Emily appeared from the other side of the room. "Hi," she said, coming to Nathan and greeting him with a quick kiss. "Did you come to check on Rosemary?"

"Yeah," the Mountie said, caressing her arm softly even as he looked back to the Coulters. "How is she?" he asked.

"Not a lot of change," she replied. "She opened her eyes once about an hour ago but didn't say anything. We just have to wait and say a prayer. The Union City transport should be here soon."

Nathan nodded and crossed the room, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Lee.

"You hanging in there?" he asked.

Lee's exhausted face looked straight ahead. "I'm here," he replied. "She looks beautiful, doesn't she? So peaceful."

Nathan looked at Rosemary and nodded. "Yes. She looks like she's resting."

"Got any more information on what happened?" Lee asked.

"I'm not sure," Nathan replied. "Paul Blakely and Ned stopped by the jail tonight and told us all about Judson and his operation. Everything we suspected is true."

Lee turned toward him. "He's running his business illegally?"

"Yes, dangerous conditions. Kids are getting hurt on the job. Overworked. Bribed. Threatened. Some of the women have complained their pay was shorted. Awful conditions."

"Then arrest him!" Lee said. "You want a warrant? I'll sign it."

Nathan paused, "I wish I could ask for one, but just like before when we asked for one, all we have is hearsay. Mountie headquarters says that we need to have an iron-clad case to convict because of Judson's connections. We need hard evidence."

"That's what Rosemary was trying to discover," Lee replied.

"Yeah, and rumors are going around town that say Judson went after her," Nathan responded. "But I just don't see that."

Lee furrowed his brow. "He had the motive."

"Yes, but Judson's too tight-lipped about things. Too careful not to get caught. I can't imagine him personally going after Rosemary to hurt her."

"Maybe he hired someone," Lee replied.

"Maybe," Nathan responded. "But Bill and I looked all over the place and saw no evidence of foul play. There was nothing out of order. No evidence of forced entry."

"Maybe he waited for her outside," Lee said. "Like Walden was hanging out in the back of the office."

"Paul mentioned Walden," Nathan replied. "Said he'd visited Judson. Stayed about an hour and left. He then said he watched him leave counting an envelope of money.'"

"So, arrest him!" Lee asked.

"Lee, I can't just arrest someone because I feel like it. It's not illegal to give someone money," Nathan replied. "We have no way to know what the money was even for. I'm telling you this in your capacity as mayor to keep you informed. And, I thought you should know."

Lee nodded, "Thank you."

Nathan stood, patting the mayor on the back. "Try and get some rest. Allie and I are praying for you." He looked at his fiancée. "Emily is too."

Lee didn't respond.

Lucas sat with his fingers intertwined with his wife's as they sat on the back patio at Wingrave, watching the children play and talking to Elizabeth's father.

"You're quite sure about this?" William asked. "Sir Lionel hasn't exactly got the reputation as being one who is good with money."

Lucas replied with confidence. "But he is good with people, and that's what we need as we branch out. He just needs the opportunity to stand on his own and earn respect, not have it given to him due to title and rank. I know his type. He's been caged by convention and expectation for so long that he struggles to find his way – but let him out of that cage and watch him soar."

"Well, you're the one running that business, and I trust your instincts," William said. "Do what you need to do. You have my backing."

"Thank you," Lucas replied, knowing in his gut he had done the right thing.

The transport arrived a little before ten o'clock to pick Rosemary up and take her to Union City Hospital. Lee stood outside and watched as it pulled away. He then walked toward her office, where his car was parked so he could follow. Already irritated by how long it took for the ambulance to arrive, the sleep-deprived mayor's frustration reached a fevered pitch when, as he walked, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Wyman Walden and Julius Spurlock getting out of their Model T and walking toward the Queen of the Valley. Coulter's thoughts immediately went to what Nathan had said. Of course! It had to be true! Darius Judson had paid Walden to deal with the problem of Rosemary. There could be no other explanation. Lee's eyes narrowed, and his fists curled up into balls as he diverted his course, bounding toward the businessman and his Pinkerton escort.

"Walden!" Lee shouted, anger flashing his eyes. "I want to talk to you!"

Walden and Spurlock stopped and turned toward Coulter, who likewise stopped walking and pointed a finger at them.

"What did you do to her?" he yelled, angry tears pooling in his eyes.

A confused Walden looked at Spurlock and then at Lee. "What did we do to who?"

"My wife, my – Rosemary!" he said as he stood in the middle of the street between the soda shop and the Queen.

"Oh yes," Walden said. "I heard about Mrs. Coulter's unfortunate, um…accident. Hopefully, she'll be okay. Come on, Julius. We're going to be late."

Walden and Spurlock began to leave, and Lee began to charge, but two strong arms reached seemingly out of nowhere and held him back. He swung his arms fiercely to try to get free.
"What the….? Don't you leave, Walden! You either, Spurlock! I'm not done talking with you!"

Spurlock and Walden turned back toward Lee.

"That's okay, you two. Go on about your business. I'll talk with Lee," Joseph Canfield said as he held the mayor back.

Walden again looked at Spurlock, who motioned with his head toward the Queen of the Valley's door. The two went inside.

Lee jerked himself away from Joseph, who began to try to smooth down the wrinkles in Coulter's jacket, but Lee would have none of it.

"Why did you do that?" Lee asked, shrugging Canfield away.

"I was keepin' you from making a big mistake," Joseph replied. "Wind yourself up in jail."

"A mistake?"

"Yeah," the preacher replied. "Those two didn't do it. They didn't hurt Miss Rosemary."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Because they have an alibi."

"An alibi? Who?"

"Me. Mr. Walden and Spurlock were coming back from Ridgefield late yesterday afternoon when their car broke down about a mile and a half out of town. They stopped by my house around six-thirty, and I went out with them to where they'd broken down and helped get them going again. We didn't get home until nine."

Lee stood still for a moment to let that sink in. "You're sure of the time?"

"Positive," Joseph replied. "Minnie wasn't happy with me missin' dinner, but that's how long it took."

Lee shook his head, not knowing what to say. He absentmindedly raised his car keys in his hand, motioning with them toward the Queen. "But, Nathan said…."

"You can tell me all about what Nathan said once we're in the car," Joseph said as he took the keys from his hand. "I'll drive."

"I can drive!"

"No. You're too tired and understandably upset to think straight, much less make your way to Union City safely. All Rosemary needs is for you to be in the hospital too. I'll go with you."

Lee shook his head and went along.

In England, after watching the children play, the family went inside and got ready for the final dinner they would be having together for a while as the Bouchards were leaving first thing in the morning. They stayed together until nine, then retired to their rooms to get ready for bed. The next day would be so full of activity Lucas and Elizabeth knew they needed a good night's sleep just to have the energy to make it through. But sleep wouldn't come. Finally, after two hours of feeling his wife toss and turn in the bed, Lucas turned over. She was wide awake.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out his hand and caressing her cheek.

"I'm fine. Just having a hard time going to sleep," she replied.

"Excited to go home?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. You have given me the most glorious honeymoon that I could ever imagine, and I've loved every moment of it. But I'm ready to go home. Ready to move into our new house. Ready to start preparing the nursery. I can't wait to tell Rosemary and Lee our news."

Lucas opened his arms to her, and she snuggled against his side. He kissed her head. "It will be pretty wonderful to settle into our new home as a family as well as see our friends. What I don't understand is why you didn't want to wire Rosemary to let them know we were coming home early."

"I want it to be a surprise," Elizabeth replied. "Plus, I really want news of a baby to be told to them in person. Given how hard they tried to have a child before adopting, I'm not sure how they will react to me…well, so quickly…again!"

"I'm sure they'll be happy for us," he replied. "They are our true friends. I can imagine Rosemary picking out patterns for baby clothes right now."

Elizabeth smiled. "Which in itself is amazing."

"How's that?"

"Last time, I was all alone, and Abigail and Rosemary and the women in town came to my rescue and pulled together a nursery for Jack when he was a baby. This time, I'm not alone. I get to share every moment of happiness with you and our son and those same friends who've been with me through it all. What a wonderful blessing."

"You deserve nothing less," he replied.

"Nor do you. But still, I want to surprise them – both with our appearance and with our news."

"Then that's what we shall do," he said, gently kissing her on the cheek. "But for now, let's try to get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow, and we want to start fresh."

She looked up and kissed his lips, and the two fell into a peaceful rest.

Union City was far larger and more sophisticated than anything seen in Hope Valley, and it immediately reminded Lee of all of the things his small town lacked. In Union City, there was a constant stream of traffic from people coming far and wide to purchase goods, visit theaters, dine in restaurants and attend events. It even had five traffic lights! But most important at the moment was the fact it had the best medical care facility in the area with a fully-staffed two-story hospital - something Lee knew Hope Valley needed but couldn't get without allowing significant change. He wondered whether he was doing right by trying to keep Hope Valley the same.

It had been four hours since the medical staff whisked Rosemary into the building and immediately took her to testing. There, they did a series of neurological exams, throughout which she had been mostly unconscious, but toward the end, she awakened and was very irritable. When she was wheeled back to the room, she was confused and complaining of pain.

"Lee! Oh, Lee! You have to help me," she cried, flailing about.

"What wrong, sweetheart? What is it?"

"They're hurting me," she said, wide-eyed and grabbing him by his shirt. "They want to harm me!"

As Lee moved toward her to console her, a nurse moved in as well to check Rosemary's blood pressure.

"No! No! Don't hurt me!" Rosemary screamed. "Back! Get away!" She kicked and screamed and pushed Lee away, and before he knew it, two male medical assistants entered the room and began to subdue her.

"We need you to step outside, Mr. Coulter," the nurse said, pushing Lee and Joseph toward the door.

"No!" Lee replied. "What are they doing?"

"It's okay," she said, moving to close the door. "We'll let you know when it's okay for you to come back in."

The door shut, and Lee tried to open it. His frustration was apparent.

"It's alright, Lee. She'll be okay," Joseph said, taking his friend by the arm.

Lee was nearly inconsolable. "But, she needs me, Joseph! I need to be in there! What are they doing to her?"

"Tryin' to get her calmed down, so she doesn't hurt herself," he replied. "They're tryin' to help her. Just wait a few minutes, and they'll let us back in. I promise."

Sometime later, the men left Rosemary's room, and the nurse told Lee and Joseph they could enter. A doctor had entered the room, and he and the nurse remained at Rosemary's bedside. Once again, she was asleep.

"Come in, gentlemen," the man said. "Mr. Coulter?"

"Yes," Lee replied.

"My name is Dr. Klein, and I'm the head of neurology here at Union City," he said, sticking out his hand. "Your wife is quite the fighter."

Lee politely half-smiled, but his concern for her was evident. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Well, there's been some improvement since she arrived, but she's not quite out of the woods. I am hopeful, however. What I can tell you is that Mrs. Coulter has a wide linear fracture on the right side of her skull. We withdrew a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid, which returned clear."

"And, that's good?" Joseph asked.

"Yes. It helps us look for a rise in intracranial pressure – which can be deadly. Mrs. Coulter's is normal. Also, the pupils of her eyes are reactive to light and the same size. Her reflexes are a little sluggish, particularly on her left side, but that may improve as inflammation goes down. And, while she's a bit confused upon waking – that's not all that unusual. So, I'm not too worried at this stage. I've dosed her with a little Chloral Hydrate to relax her – not enough to fully sedate her, because we do want her to wake up so we can more thoroughly evaluate her, but enough to keep her calm. Although, as you can see, she is asleep. But, again, I see no cause to worry. I'm going to keep her here at least overnight, probably several days, to make sure no further complications arise and, barring none, will be working on her post-hospital regimen for she's able to go home."

"So, you're saying you think she will be able to come home soon?" Lee asked the doctor.

"I can't put a time frame on it, but her vital signs are good, so I'm hopeful she will make a speedy recovery."

"Just what we like to hear," Joseph said.

The doctor shook his head. "Now, unless you have further questions, I'm going to leave you gentlemen here with Mrs. Coulter. Feel free to stay as long as you like, up until seven o'clock. Visiting hours are over at that time."

"Thank you, doc," Lee replied, then turning to Joseph sighed in relief. "She's going to be okay." Joseph patted him on the back.

Back at Hope Valley, Nathan was busy shutting up shop so that he could get home and have dinner with Emily and Allie, as had become their habit. He'd just put the last of his paperwork away when the door opened. It was Bill.

"Leaving early?" he asked the Mountie.

Nathan looked over at him as he shut his desk drawer. "On time. Having dinner with Emily and Allie tonight."

"Ah, I see," Bill replied. "Well, I won't keep you except to say I ran into Walden earlier today."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. He seemed a little nervous."

"Over Rosemary?" Nathan asked.

"No. I don't think so. I mentioned her to see how he'd react, and he seemed genuinely concerned about her welfare," Avery replied.

Nathan scrunched up his face. "Walden concerned about someone's welfare? That's weird."

"Yeah. Well, call it a weak moment. It felt like something else was on his mind that he was uncomfortable over, and he was in a hurry to get away."

"Well, Walden has never been one to hang around law enforcement unless he's trying to enrich himself," Nathan said, walking over to the coat stand where he had hung his hat and a short dark green jacket adorned with silver buttons that he'd received earlier that day from the mercantile. He turned toward the door.

"What's that?" Bill asked.

"Huh?"

"On the hanger. What is that?"

Nathan looked down at the jacket and paused. "It's a jacket."

"Yeah, I can see that," Bill responded. "Not really your style."

Nathan twisted his mouth slightly, then shrugged. "It's for the wedding," he said, walking to the door. "It goes with my kilt."

Bill raised his eyebrows. "Your kilt?! You're wearing a kilt to your wedding?"

Nathan turned to Bill. "It's to honor our heritage. It's the kilt Emily's father wore to her parent's wedding, and I have Scottish ancestry, so it's kind of a way of joining all that into our marriage."

"With a skirt?" Bill replied.

"It's a kilt, and yes," Nathan said, irritated. "It's what we agreed to."

"You and Emily?"

"Yes."

"And you're okay with that?" Bill asked.

Nathan hesitated only slightly. "It makes her happy."

"Yes, but does it make you happy? It doesn't really fit you," Bill replied.

"It fits fine," Grant said. "We had it measured out at the tailor's in Benson Hills."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Bill said. "You're a quiet guy, and you're going to be wearing this – kilt in front of the whole town. Are you going to be comfortable with that?"

Nathan frowned a moment. "Look, Emily's got her heart set on it, and I want to make the wedding special for her. She's looked forward to getting married a long time."

"So have you," Bill said.

"But, it's different with men."

"Is it?"

Nathan didn't respond. "Listen, I gotta go. I said we'd have dinner by six-thirty, and I need to get cleaned up a bit before she gets there. Thanks for letting me know about Walden. That's pretty interesting. Let me know if you find anything else out."

"I will," Bill said as Grant opened the door. "And Nathan, marriages thrive on good communication, and they can crumble when that isn't present. You're going to be nervous enough when you stand up there saying your vows. Why make it worse by wearing something that's not you?"

Nathan stepped outside. "The only thing I care about is making her smile. If that means wearing a skirt, then that's what I'll do."

"She smiles just being around you," Bill replied as he stepped outside as well. "Emily would want you to be happy too. Think. Is this really something you want to do? If not, talk with her."

"I can't do that," Nathan replied. "It'll hurt her feelings."

Bill smirked. "Well, if you can't talk about something like this, how are you going to talk about more important things later on? It won't get easier if you're not honest now. Trust me, I know."

"Thanks for the advice, Bill," Grant replied. "I gotta go." And he walked away.

Early Friday morning, the Bouchards said goodbye to Wingrave and Elizabeth's family. It had been an amazing trip, but since pregnancy had sapped a lot of Elizabeth's energy, Lucas was more than willing to postpone the rest of their European adventure to sometime after the baby was born and things were calmer in Europe. He still had visions of showing them the sights in Rome, Athens, St. Petersburg, and Constantinople, but they had a lifetime to do these things. For now, he was ecstatic just being with his wife and son, living a life that he'd only ever dreamed of and one he rejoiced in every day.

Boarding The Corsican, the Bouchards were led to a spacious suite with two rooms and a balcony with the most spectacular view of the ocean. But, after the three-hour train trip from London to Liverpool, Elizabeth and Jack were too tired to enjoy it, so the entire family settled in for a nap. They didn't awaken until just before dinner and had to rush to make their way down to the main dining room, where they were seated next to a middle-aged couple and their teenage son.

"Moze Wilder," the older man said, with an accent that Lucas placed as somewhere in New England. "And this is my wife Patsy and our boy, Sam."

"I'm not a boy," the young man, around fifteen years old, said.

"Sammy, hush!" his mother replied.

"Please to meet you," Lucas responded as he and Elizabeth sat after situating Jack in a seat in between them. "Lucas Bouchard, my wife Elizabeth, and our son, Jack."

"Nice meeting you, as well," Patsy replied, shaking Elizabeth's hand.

"Bouchard…that's French, right?" Wilder asked.

"Yes. But I'm originally from Canada, which is where we live now." Lucas replied.

"Quebec?" Mrs. Wilder asked.

"No, closer to Calgary," Lucas responded. "Hope Valley, Alberta."

"Ah, the wilderness. Exciting!" Patsy said. "And what is it you do in Hope Valley, Mr. Bouchard?"

Lucas looked over at Elizabeth and smiled. "Well, my lovely wife is the town's school teacher…."

"Oh?" Wilder's wife said, "Interesting. You work too!"

"Yes, I do," Elizabeth responded.

"And, I am a businessman. I own several businesses," Lucas said.

"What sort of business?" Moze asked.

Lucas felt as if he was being interrogated but politely responded. "I'm part owner of a petroleum company, am just starting a trucking company, and I own the town's main restaurant and hotel, the Queen of the Valley."

"You own the hotel?" Patsy said excitedly. "Did you hear that, Moze? He owns the hotel!"

"Yes, dear. I heard," Moze replied. Sam sat back and rolled his eyes as Lucas quickly assessed the family dynamic. He saw in the young man a bit of himself at the boy's age, sitting by himself in an adult world with no companion of his own. Yet there was a darkness there.

"And what is it you do, Mr. Wilder?" Lucas asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Moze said.

"Here it goes," Sam muttered under his breath.

"I sell cotton. Not just any cotton, but Turkish cotton – the finest cotton in the world. And not just in raw form, in the form of luxurious towels, sheets, bathrobes – precisely the kind of thing that I'd think the owner of a fine hotel would want to have to supply his establishment. And, let me tell you why.

Mr. Bouchard, let's talk about towels, shall we?"

Forty-five minutes later, Elizabeth was dozing, and a glassy-eyed Lucas was looking for any possible way of escape. It came in the form of a little boy.

As the schpeel continued, Jack suddenly found something rather funny and began to laugh.

Lucas turned his head and grinned, and Elizabeth was also aroused.

"What's so funny, Jack?" she asked as Lucas took that moment to refresh himself with some tea.

"That man sure does tawk a lot!" Jack said, loud enough for a couple of tables over to snicker. Lucas choked on his tea.

"Jack!" Elizabeth said, trying hard not to laugh. "That was rude. You need to apologize to Mr. Wilder."

"But, mommy! He never shut up!" Jack said, motioning with his little hands like puppets that were talking.

"Jack!" Elizabeth repeated.

Wilder raised his eyebrow. "That's alright, Mrs. Bouchard. I understand that matters of business aren't necessarily interesting to young children."

Or adults. Elizabeth thought.

"I imagine it's quite boring for a child Johnny's age to sit up so late and listen to adults talk," he continued.

"That's why Sammy stayed away until he was twelve years old," Patsy added. "Children are better seen and not heard."

Lucas noted Elizabeth's back stiffen and quickly grabbed her hand.

"Not to mention we're all on vacation. It's probably not the best place to discuss business anyway." Lucas said, not wanting a repeat of the fountain incident on their way over.

"But…" Moze began to say.

"Send me some samples. I'll get you my address, then let you know if we're interested," Bouchard interjected. "Until then, let's talk about something else. Sam, let's talk about you. When I was a young man your age, my parents and I used to travel with my father's business all the time. Do you like to travel?" Lucas asked.

Sam stopped and looked Lucas in the eye. "Every one of us is going to die," he said flatly.

Nathan stood in front of the mirror over his bedroom dresser, having just changed out of his work clothes and shaved a day's worth of stubble from his chin. He was surprised at what he saw. Never being one to actually study his reflection in the mirror, he took a good look at the man he had become. He was aging, but not in a bad way. He favored his mother's side of the family – specifically his grandfather, Nathaniel Mayes, whose photo sat on his bedroom dresser. He had the same eyes, cheekbones, same dimple in the chin, and same outward look of confidence. He silently wondered if the man he saw in the photos was as insecure about women as the man looking at him through the mirror.

He walked over to his dresser and picked up the photograph. "Somehow, you did it. You kept grandma happy while remaining true to yourself. How did you do that? Wish you were here to tell me."

A knock came on the door. "Dad?"

Nathan set the photograph down and walked toward the door, finishing buttoning up his shirt. He opened it.

"Hey, there," he said, walking back to pick up his vest.

Allie peeked around the room. "Who were you talking to?"

"What?"

"When I walked up to your door, I heard you talking to someone," she replied.

Nathan paused briefly, then decided it would be too difficult to explain. "Not important. Did you need something?"

"Huh?"

"You came to my door. Did you need something?" he asked.

"Oh," Allie responded. "Yeah. Emily's here."

Nathan grinned slightly. "Already? Okay. I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, he walked into the kitchen area where Emily was arranging saucers around four cakes. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, you…" he said sweetly.

"Hey! I'm so glad you're here! You need to help me!" she replied.

"I need to...?"

Emily took Nathan by the hand and sat him down at the table, explaining that she had four cakes made, two by Gustave and two by Minnie, that they would use for the reception after their wedding. "I'm not going to tell you who made what, but I need you to tell me which one you like," she replied.

"I'm fine with whatever you choose," he responded.

"No," she said. "I want you to pick. There's one I really, really like a lot. But, I want to see if you like it as well, and the only way I know is if you taste it. So, here," she said, giving him a fork and a saucer with a piece of chocolate cake on it.

Nathan looked at the cake and then at Emily, finally sticking his fork into the confection and taking a bite. It was rich but creamy and good, a lot like the ones Colleen would make back home. "Mmm…" he said, shaking his head. The look on Emily's face was somewhat forced.

"That's the one you like?" she asked, her voice barely hiding its disappointment. "Simple chocolate?"

Nathan set the saucer down. "It's very good, but I can't say it's the one I want. What else do we have?"

Emily's face brightened, and Nathan knew he'd handled the situation well as he took a second dish in hand. Tasting this cake, he noted the hint of amaretto that he knew Gustave liked to include in some of his desserts. It wasn't as rich, but the flavor was very good, and the cake was moist.

"I like it," he said. "It's elegant."

"Yes, it is," Emily replied, grabbing the cake from his hand and setting it down so she could hand him a piece of cake that had white icing on the outside decorated with shaved chocolate and pink cake inside with pieces of cherries in it. Cherries also adorned the top in a decorative manner.

Behind them, Allie crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows as she watched Nathan take a bite of that piece of cake. Emily looked toward him apprehensively, nervously biting her lower lip and clasping her hands in front of her. "What do you think?"

Nathan swallowed the cake and nodded, "I think…I think this is the one!"

Allie's jaw dropped open.

"Really, Nathan?" Emily said, excitedly. "You mean it?"

Nathan shrugged. "Yeah. No need to try the fourth piece. This is the cake for our wedding," he said before reaching for a cup of coffee to wash it all down with.

Emily threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheeks, then lips. "I have to call Minnie. She's going to be so thrilled!" she said, rushing into the next room to dial the phone.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Allie cleared the dinner table of the cake dishes and began to set it for dinner.

"But you don't even like cherries," Allie whispered.

"I'll like them for one night," Nathan replied. "Go get us some glasses for the table, alright?"

Allie sighed. "If you say so."

"Samuel James! Don't you bother these nice people with all of your gloom and doom tales."

"It's not gloom and doom, mom. It happened. The Corsican is a cursed ship. We're all going to die."
The Bouchards looked on in silence, not really knowing how to respond.
Finally, Lucas spoke. "Well, let's hope not," he said, with an uncomfortable chuckle, reaching for his glass of water. Sam reached out and caught Lucas's hand.

"It began on a foggy August afternoon," the young man began in an animated fashion. "Too late for bergs, you say? Oh, no! Not too late for the Corsican. She was leaving from Montreal on the same route we're on today when from out of the mist, two crewmembers spotted her dead ahead. An iceberg! Immediately, they went into action and called out for the ship to reverse course – but it was too late. The screeching sound of an island of ice scraped along the bottom of the ship, and the violent jolt that threw passengers out of their beds told everyone they were in trouble."

"Oh!" Elizabeth said.

"Hundreds of tons of ice collapsed onto the deck, and the passengers began to panic. Lifeboats were unloosed, and people climbed on top of one another to get on them. "Women and children first, they cried" – leaving their men behind. They would rather chance death at sea rather than let their families stay aboard the death ship for one moment longer. Down below, it began to take on water. One foot, two feet, five, ten….nineteen feet of water – rising from the gloomy deep below. It had been just four months since the Titanic sank, and now history was repeating itself. The Corsican was going down."

Immediately, Jack let out a high-pitched scream and took off running out of the restaurant, nearly crashing into a waiter as he exited the room.

"Oh my," Lucas said as he watched him run. He jumped up from his seat and began to follow. "I'll go get him!"

"I'm going too," Elizabeth said, setting her napkin down on the table and standing up.

Lucas stopped only briefly. "Are you feeling up to it?"

"Yes, keep going," she replied. "Which way did he go?"

"I didn't see," Lucas replied. Stopping at the entrance, he told Elizabeth to take the right-hand side, and he'd take the left. They'd meet in the middle.

Lee sat next to his wife's bedside, waiting for her to wake up. Ever since he'd seen the doctor, she had been quiet, not opening her eyes and not seeming in pain. How he hoped she'd be okay.

The light from the hallway filled the room as the door opened, Joseph returning with a cup of coffee for Lee and a Danish.

"This is the best I found," Joseph said, taking a seat next to him.

"Were you able to check on Jonathan?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Joseph said. "The Campbells said he's doing okay and not to worry. They'll take care of him until you get home."

Lee nodded. "Thanks."

"It was no trouble. I also called Florence and asked them to send a telegram to London to let Elizabeth know what's happened. She said that she would."

"Okay, good. Hey, there's no sense you hanging around. You've got to be tired. Why don't you head over to the hotel," Lee asked.

"I'm okay," Joseph replied. "It's you I'm worried about. When's the last time you've slept?"

Lee shrugged. "I'm okay."

"No, you're not," the pastor replied. "You need to keep your strength up for when Rosemary comes home."

"But I have to be here. She may need me," Lee replied.

A whisper split through the air. "No, Joseph's right," she said. "You should get rest. I'll be alright."

Lee nearly burst into tears when he heard her voice. "Sweetheart?"

Rosemary weakly opened her eyes, looking toward her husband and squeezing his hand. "What happened?"

"We're not entirely sure," he replied. "I found you unconscious outside the office. You hit your head."

Rosemary closed her eyes and tried to remember but gave up that attempt almost immediately. "Thirsty."

Lee nodded vigorously and turned toward Joseph, who was already standing.

"I'll go get a nurse," he said. "Have her bring her some water or some ice."

Lee mouthed a thank you. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Rosemary responded. She opened her eyes. "Jonathan?"

"Is being taken care of at the Campbells. He's okay."

"That's good," she replied. Then she dozed off again.

"Jack."

"Jack. Where are you?"

Lucas and Elizabeth could hear each other's voices as they approached a meeting point somewhere in the middle of the ship. They had both searched everywhere, and Elizabeth was now beyond frantic. Seeing Lucas, she rushed into his arms.

"What if he fell overboard?" she said, beginning to cry. "What if he's locked in somewhere or somebody took him?"

"Shhhh….it's okay," Lucas said. "We'll find him. I'm sure he's fine."

"But, Lucas! He's just a little boy all alone! You and he are all I have!"

"And I won't let anything happen to him," he replied. "Look, you're exhausted. Why don't you go back to our suite, in case someone finds him and brings him back? I'll keep looking."

"Do you think they'd do that?"

"I've talked to several shipsmen along the way and the captain. They know he's missing."

Elizabeth considered it and shook her head. "Okay," she said. "You'll bring him back as soon as you find him."

"Of course," Lucas said, kissing her forehead. "He's going to be fine. It's a big ship, but only so many places a little boy could hide. I will find him."

Elizabeth hugged her husband and then returned to their room as Lucas continued the search.

Midway down the deck, he passed a series of life rafts held up by hooks on the walls. They had seen them when they first boarded the ship, and he remembered Jack asking about them. He stopped to examine them. Walking slowly down the entire wall, Lucas gently lifted the edge of the rafts to look inside. It was on the third raft from the end that he found him. Huddled up in a ball and sucking his thumb, his tear-stained face showed he'd cried himself to sleep. Lucas exhaled, finally feeling he could breathe again.

Quietly, he got down onto the ground, taking care of his placement that he'd be able to get back up. He reached out his hand and ran it through Jack's blonde locks.

"Jack. Time to wake up," he said softly. "It's time to go inside."

Jack opened his eyes and, at first, appeared to be confused. But then he saw Lucas and began to cry. Reaching out his arms, he fell into his papa's embrace, and Lucas sat there on the ground for several minutes allowing the scared little boy to release his anxiety while Lucas rocked him in his arms.

"It's okay, Jack. Papa's got you," he said, kissing his head. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Jack pushed away slightly, looked at Lucas, and then cried even harder, throwing his arms around Lucas's neck and squeezing so hard that Bouchard had to adjust to avoid being choked.

"Jack, it's okay," Lucas repeated. "You and your mommy are going to be fine. I will never let anything happen to either of you."

"But what about you?" the little boy hiccuped.

Lucas furrowed his brow. "Me?"

"H-h-him say'd that they was going to put all the mommies and…and..and…chil-ren on the boats, and the men would drown. I don't want you to drown, papa! I want my papa on boat too!" he said, burying his head in Lucas's chest and weeping.

Lucas raised a closed hand over his mouth and began to tear up, hugging Jack, rocking him, and kissing him on the head because of his concern for losing his papa. "You precious boy, your papa isn't going anywhere. And we're not going to sink," he said. "We stick together, and wherever you go, I'm going too. Okay? Nobody's going to drown. We're not going to sink, and your mother, you and I, we're going to be fine."

Jack pushed back again and looked at Lucas, his blue eyes filled with tears and his chin quivering. "You promise?" he asked.

Lucas smiled and kissed Jack's forehead. "Promise. Sam was just being a bit dramatic. We're going to have a safe trip, and then we're going to go see Grandfather and Grandmother Bouchard. Does that sound fun?"

Jack thought for a second, "Mmmhmmm. Is Grandfather going to play wif the trains wif me?"

Lucas nodded. "Yes, he has my old train set, and I'm sure he'd love to play with you."

Jack sat up straight and wiped his wet face with his sleeve. "We going to be there soon?"

Lucas nodded. "Just a few days."

Jack seemed to be thinking of something, and the concerned look appeared again, so Lucas hugged him gently.

"You want to go inside now? Your mother's awfully worried and will be happy to see you," he said. "I'll even let you sleep with us tonight."

Jack looked over at him earnestly and grasped Lucas's cheeks. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lucas said. "Well, let papa get up, and we'll go see mommy."

Jack crawled out from near the life raft and stood while Lucas pulled himself up. He took Lucas's hand. "I love you, papa."

Lucas let go of his hand and reached down and picked him up, kissing his cheek. "I love you too, my son – more than I thought possible."

That night and for the rest of the week, Jack stayed with Lucas and Elizabeth in their bed, helping to ease his anxiety greatly as well as that of Lucas and Elizabeth. By the time they disembarked, he seemed back to normal and was happy and smiling when they pulled to shore to discover Lucas's parents waiting for them. The family soon stepped off the ship and received a beautiful welcome.

"Married life has been good to you as it's been to me," Peter Bouchard said to his son, patting him on the back as the family walked toward a waiting car. "A baby, so soon. I guess I'm surprised."

"I'm not," Helen replied. "Lucas always did know what he wanted and then didn't stop until he obtained it."

Lucas's stopped and looked at his mother with a look of disbelief. "Mother!"

Helen rolled her eyes, took him by the arm, and continued walking with him. "I just mean that you knew you would find your true love, and you never stopped hoping until you found her. And then, you knew you wanted to start a family, and now you have one. You're doing quite well, son of mine."

"He's my son too," Peter winked.

Elizabeth laughed, "Well, while you two consider whose son he is, let me remind you that he belongs to me now," she teased. "But, I will share him from time to time."

"Please!" Lucas said. "Can we just change the subject?"

Jack looked up at them and then burst out laughing.

"What is it?" Lucas asked him.

"You funny!" the little boy replied.

Lucas nodded, then picked Jack up in his arms. "I am, am I?"

Jack shook his head, and Lucas turned him upside down and swung him around.

Elizabeth walked with her in-laws while the two played. "How have you been?" she asked.

"We are well," Helen replied. "Very well." She took Peter by the hand but then stopped. "Oh, I meant to tell you we received a telegram from England a couple of days ago."

"From England?" Elizabeth said, stopping. Lucas stopped as well, fearing it was bad news from the Thatcher family.

"Yes, it seems that Lee Coulter had tried to reach you by sending you a telegram. His wife, Rosemary, was in an accident and is in the hospital. He said he'd wire you again once they got home. I suppose you can call now, though, since you're back in Canada."

Elizabeth nodded in a daze. "Rosemary's injured? Oh, yes. I need to call them as soon as we get back to your house."