Bill's Reaction – Chapter 11

Thanks again for the nice reviews.

Special thanks to MamaBethany for all her help with this story! It is truly appreciated!

Bill's Office

Once Elizabeth had left, Bill decided the best way to handle this delicate situation was to write up the report, himself. After all, Elizabeth did report the incident directly to him and he knew a thing or two about writing up a report for the Mounties, even if it had been some time since he last completed one.

As he wrote the report, he made sure each and every detail was added, including how Elizabeth described her escape from Lucas.

Once finalized, he set it aside to deliver to Nathan. As the Mountie assigned to Hope Valley, Nathan would have to read it and sign the report. Bill could only hope and pray that he could answer any questions Nathan may have. If he couldn't provide him with the necessary answers, it was still Nathan's prerogative to question Elizabeth directly. Bill fervently hoped Nathan would not want to put her through that experience again.

Bill decided he would deliver the report, later in the day.

Back in the Café

A much calmer and composed Elizabeth returned to The Café looking to purchase some blueberry muffins. By this time of day, most of the muffins were gone, so she wound up with ½ dozen mixed flavours. She would make certain Rosemary got to make her selection first.

Elizabeth had given some more thought to the day of her "apology" to Rosemary several weeks ago. She now realized that "apology" was merely a selfish attempt to gain validation and approval and she had not been thinking of Rosemary's needs at all on that day. Once Elizabeth and Lucas had entered into a formal courtship, her relationship with Rosemary had deteriorated again. She sensed Rosemary was not pleased with her decision, so to avoid any further disagreement, Elizabeth had been avoiding her. Until now.

Coulter Residence

For the first time in quite a while, Elizabeth knocked on the front door of her best friend and next-door neighbour. She hoped Rosemary was home and would agree to speak with her.

It wasn't long before the door opened. Rosemary appeared to be ambivalent about seeing her. She could see Rosemary intentionally regain her composure before greeting her coolly, "Hello, Elizabeth. How may I help you?"

Elizabeth, seeing Rosemary's expression, realized anew how much she had hurt her friend. She struggled to keep her emotions in check and replied, "Hello Rosemary. If you have some time, I would like to speak with you, please."

Rosemary appeared cautious, but agreed. Since she had not extended an invitation inside, Elizabeth tentatively asked her, "May I please come in?"

Standing aside, Rosemary directed Elizabeth to come into her home. Rosemary sensed that Elizabeth was uneasy about something, however, she hesitated to ask. They were just getting their friendship back on track and Rosemary was still hesitant to offer any unsolicited comments toward Elizabeth.

Mindful of her manners, Rosemary offered Elizabeth a seat in her living room and proceeded to ask, "What can I do for you, today?"

Elizabeth extended her basket of muffins and said, "Here, I brought these for you. I'm sorry they are not homemade, but I hope you will still enjoy them." It was painfully obvious they were still awkward with one another. Elizabeth prayed she could fix this.

She continued on with, "Rosemary, I came to apologize to you. I was rude and utterly unfair when you spoke up to me, like only a true friend would. Instead of thanking you for your honesty, I rebuked you."

Rosemary was uncharacteristically quiet and looking down at her lap, fingering a seam on her skirt.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and continued, "The worst part was me accusing you of encouraging Nathan and not listening to you when you tried to clarify your position. I was exceedingly unkind in asking you to leave my home. For all of this, I deeply apologize." She spoke the last sentence in such a way that Rosemary knew it came from her heart.

"I also realize my conduct toward you has made me a hypocrite in the eyes of my students." Elizabeth closed her eyes as she spoke now. She had been so wrong in so many ways.

"As their teacher, I am always reminding them to show kindness, always listen to another's point of view and always be respectful. I showed extremely poor judgment and I cannot apologize enough for our disagreement."

Rosemary had been softening during Elizabeth's confession, and with that last word, she melted and reached out to embrace her friend. "I accept your apology, Elizabeth. I must apologize to you as well. I knew you were struggling; however, I still interjected my comments about your personal life without being asked. Lee tells me this is a fault of mine." She smirked and dramatically rolled her eyes and said, "Well, one of my faults, if you listen to Lee!" As Rosemary laughed, she sounded like her usual self again. Elizabeth felt a rush of relief and gratitude.

"Rosemary, YOU have nothing to be sorry about. I have had a great deal of time to reflect upon everything I have been told and to my shame, I have finally realized that I was entirely wrong and everyone who tried to help me, was right."

"Oh, Elizabeth! Thankfully, that's all in the past, now. I will make us some tea or coffee to go with these muffins. Then, we can enjoy our catch-up visit."

Elizabeth brought Rosemary up-to-date on the status of her now broken relationship with Lucas and her intention to go home to Hamilton with her father, for a few weeks. Rosemary thought that was an excellent idea.

For her part, Rosemary brought Elizabeth up to speed with her newly found life's passion - "The Valley Voice". Elizabeth shared how happy she was for her friend and wished her the very best.

The afternoon just flew by as the two women moved past their recent difficulties and looked towards a stronger friendship in the future, based upon trust, honesty and mutual respect.

Elizabeth left with a solemn promise to bring Little Jack by to visit with Uncle Lee and Auntie Rosie, long before leaving for Hamilton.

As she made the short walk home, she felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders; she had her best friend back.

Meanwhile, at the Jail

Late Monday afternoon, Bill arrived at the jail, report in hand.

Nathan told Bill he was pleasantly surprised to see him, this late in the day.

Bill replied, "You had better wait until you find out why I am here, before being too pleased."

Nathan immediately went into "Mountie mode", stood up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Bill looked him in the eyes and said, "I took a complaint this morning. I even completed the paperwork for you, but as the official Mountie of Hope Valley, you should sign it and send it on to HQ."

Nathan's expression became even more sober and he demanded to know what was going on.

Bill handed over the paperwork to Nathan and suggested, "It might be wise for you to sit down before reading this. It is far from boring, but it is not enjoyable reading, either."

Nathan disregarded his friend's suggestion to sit down and began reading. All he saw were the two names at the top of the document.

Complainant: Elizabeth Thornton

Suspect: Lucas Bouchard

Nathan dropped into his chair and through gritted teeth, commented, "Bill, I have two questions before I finish reading this report."

Bill looked at him and nodded for him to continue.

Nathan asked, tersely, "Is she alright?" quickly followed by, "Is he still in town?"

Bill gestured reassuringly. "Calm down, My Friend. Elizabeth is fine. We talked at length about a few different issues and I told her I would notify you of the incident. As for Lucas, as far as I know, he is at the saloon. When you read the actual incident report, you will see that, other than a few uncomfortable moments, no laws were broken."

Bill continued matter-of-factly, "I intentionally held the report in my office until now because I was pretty sure what your reaction would be. I confirmed with her he did not lay a hand on her. If he had touched her, I would have dealt with him, myself."

Nathan released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and reluctantly continued to read the report.

Upon completion, Nathan was silent in thought for a few moments. He looked at Bill wearily, "You know, I should rightfully speak with Elizabeth directly about this. I should not just take your word for it. This report is not even signed by Elizabeth."

Bill walked around the desk and put his hand on Nathan's shoulder and said, "Yes, technically what you said is true, but I don't think you want to put her through telling that story, again. You're better than that, Nathan!"

Almost as an afterthought, Bill added, "I don't think you want HQ asking questions as to why you didn't sign the report, either?"

Nathan considered all Bill's comments and confirmed, "No, I don't have the heart to ask her to relive those moments, again and I do not want HQ asking questions, either. I understand why she didn't come here this morning. It hurts, but I do get it. Nevertheless, Elizabeth has to sign this before I can sign it."

"She needs to sign it, you will sign as a witness and then, I will sign as the authorized Mountie. There will be no questions asked. Deal?"

Bill looked at Nathan with appreciation in his eyes. "Nathan, that is the kindest and fairest thing to do. I'll get this paperwork finalized and will leave it on your desk first thing tomorrow morning."

Bill walked over to Nathan and shook his hand. "I will also make sure she knows this is not the way complaints are usually handled and it is only out of the kindness of your heart that she is not facing a barrage of questions, directly from you."

Without waiting for a reply, Bill released Nathan's hand and left to get Elizabeth's signature on the report.