Reaching Brookfield, Lillian stopped by the infirmary first knowing that if Gabriel had not been around Maggie was probably the person Billy would have gone to. Maggie confirmed for her that Billy had been there but that Gabriel had taken him home. Thanking Maggie, and exchanging a brief greeting with Dr. Carter, Lillian left the infirmary and headed for the Mounted Police Office.
The door to the office was unlocked but it was empty. A fire in the stove kept the room warm. Walking toward the back door, Lillian knocked on it. It was not long before Gabriel opened the door.
"Lillian," Gabriel said, seeing her. "I guess Christian told you what happened at school."
Lillian nodded, taking a step back as Gabriel stepped from his living quarters into the office.
"I am sorry that Christian got drug into this issue with Billy."
Lillian shook her head. "You do not need to apologize. It is a good thing that the boys are getting to be friends. How is Billy? Maggie said she had treated him and sent him home with you. Did he get hurt?"
"He hurt his wrist when he was tripped," Gabriel said. "The same wrist that had the lingering injury from before. Both Dr. Carter and Maggie feel it is just a mild sprain. Maggie showed me how to apply some birch sap to help with any inflamation and how to wrap it. She said after giving it a few days to heal, she will continue the massage therapy to make sure there is no setback from the old injury. Between that and the emotional drain this has been, Billy wanted to lie down. He is blaming himself for all of this and I am not sure how successful I have been in convincing him otherwise."
"The poor child," Lillian said, her heart going out to the boy. She knew it was not unusual for victims of abuse to blame themselves but she hated to think of Billy doing that.
"Billy is afraid that Christian is mad at him for getting him in trouble, and that you will be mad at both him and me because Christian got involved. Perhaps you might be able to convince him you are not upset with him," Gabriel told her.
"I will certainly try," Lillian said without hesitation.
As Gabriel headed back into the apartment, Lillian followed. She paused to remove her coat, hat and gloves. Gabriel took the items from her and nodded toward the bedroom. Nodding, Lillian headed that way. She knocked gently on the door even as she opened it. Having been in the room to light a fire in the stove in preparation for Gabriel and Billy's return from Hope Valley, Lillian looked directly to the mattress Billy used.
Spotting her, Billy sat up in bed. "Miss Walsh, I am so sorry. I did not mean to get Christian in trouble."
"You did not get him in trouble, Billy. Christian is responsible for his own actions," Lillian assured him as she crossed over to the mattress. She sat down on the foot of the mattress, wanting to give the boy space while not hovering over him.
"But he would not have been fighting if he was not trying to protect me."
Lillian nodded. "I am proud of him for standing up for you, Billy. However, I am disappointed that Christian resorted to fighting and Miss Bennett and I intend to speak with Christian about other ways he could have handled the situation."
"Are you mad?"
Lillian shook her head. "No, I am not mad. Just disappointed but I intend to make sure to use this as a teaching moment just like all mistakes people make should be."
"Is Christian in trouble?"
Lillian knew she could not lie to the boy. "A little. Fighting in school was wrong even though I think Christian had a good reason for it this time. I would not have wanted you to get hurt worse. He is at home doing a few extra chores while the others are still in school but that will be the extent of his punishment."
"Gabe said he thought you would be reasonable. Is Christian mad at me?"
"Of course not," Lillian told him. "None of this was your fault, Billy."
"Yes it is. Randy was giving me a hard time. I should have gone down another aisle. I wasn't thinking."
"Randy should not have tripped you," Lillian amended. "Nor should he be threatening you or giving you a hard time about anything. You are not to blame because he is."
"Everyone would be better off if I was still out on my own. I could not hurt anyone then."
"You are too young to be on your own and we all want you here, Billy. Gabriel wants you here. I want you here. Christian and Vincent really like you and the others at the orphanage do too. You belong with us now, Billy."
"Really?"
The one word question was no more than a whisper. Lillian did not miss the disbelief in the young boy's voice either.
"Yes," Lillian told him. "So, why don't you get a little rest and I will go talk to Gabriel about the two of you coming for dinner with us tonight. Christian can tell you himself that he is not mad at you then. Would you want to do that, Billy?"
"Yes, Miss Walsh," Billy replied.
"All right, then," Lillian told him. "Go ahead and lay down and I will pull the blanket up again."
Billy did so. Lillian pulled the blanket up and had to remind herself not to kiss his forehead, not knowing how Billy would react to that. Getting to her feet, she pretended to blow him a kiss instead.
"I really am sorry for all this trouble, Miss Walsh."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Billy," Lillian told him again, struggling to keep her voice from breaking as she slipped from the room.
Lillian found Gabriel waiting for her only steps from the bedroom door. She had a feeling he had heard a lot of the exchange. As Gabriel held his arms open for her, Lillian gratefully accepted the comfort he offered to her. The tears came as she rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Gabriel's arms wrapped securely around her as his chin came to rest on the top of her head.
"That poor child," Lillian whispered softly. "He is the victim in all of this and he is apologizing like he did something wrong."
"This is not the first time he has reacted this way. All I know to do is to just keep reassuring him that he has people who care about him now and that things are not all his fault," Gabriel told her. "I am glad you came this afternoon. I think he really needed that assurance from you."
"You will bring him out for dinner, right?"
"I would be happy too," Gabriel assured her. "Thank-you for making the offer to him. I hope you are not going to be too hard on Christian. Billy needs people like him and Vincent in his corner right now."
"We are not," Lillian assured him. "Other than helping Eleanor out some this afternoon, Grace and I have decided we are simply going to sit down and have a talk with him. Let him know that fighting is not acceptable behavior and help him come up with other ways he could have handled the situation. Grace and I also discussed your idea about self-defense," Lillian said, slowly lifting her head so she could look up at Gabriel. "Would you consider teaching Christian and Vincent along with Billy? Perhaps if they learn some other ways of handling confrontation then Christian will not keep getting sent home for fighting."
"I can. It will actually make teaching techniques a little easier teaching more than one boy," Gabriel told her. "I do plan on waiting until Maggie says Billy's wrist is healed from this newest injury. I do not want to take any risks."
"Just let me know when you are ready. I think it would be best not to say anything until you are ready to start."
"As you wish," Gabriel told her.
"I should probably go pick up the other children," Lillian said, knowing it was probably about time for school to let out.
"I would offer to come with you but I want to stay near, Billy. I am so thankful that when he left school today he ran to me and did not simply run."
"I think Billy knows just how lucky he is to be with you," Lillian told Gabriel. "I know I am," she informed him before rising on her toes just a bit so that she could kiss him.
After dinner that night, Gabriel read a couple of chapters of their book to the children. When he was done, Lillian took Mary Louise and Ellie upstairs to start getting ready for bed. Sophia went to the kitchen to be with Eleanor while the three boys retreated to the dinning room table with a deck of cards, intending to build a house of cards. The arrangement left Grace alone with Gabriel. Retrieving the folder from the desk drawer, Grace headed toward the settee that Gabriel was sitting on.
"Gabriel, I was hoping to get your professional input on a situation," Grace asked nervously. She knew that involving Gabriel could get messy. She knew that he would not violate his oath of duty nor would she want him to. As she had told Lillian, she wanted to face this head on, no matter what that meant. She was tired of getting blind sided by it.
"All right," Gabriel said, none of his usual lightness in his tone. He patted the cushion next to him.
Grace sat down, the folder in her lap. "You will keep what I tell you confidential, right? Lillian already knows, so you don't need to keep it from her but I would rather it not end up in the Brookfield rumor mill."
"You have my word that what you tell me will be kept confidential. Know now though that if you are asking my professional advice, if I feel duty bound to report the information I get, I will do so."
Grace nodded. "I figured that," she told him. "I do not know who else I can go to and it already involves the Mounties," she told him.
As Gabriel listened patiently, Grace filled him in on everything. She told him about running away from the Binnford orphanage when she was seventeen and how she had found food and shelter. She told him about the inspector who had informed her that money had gone missing from the orphanage the same night she had runaway and how he had told Lillian that Grace had not been questioned because no one could find her. She finished with the folder that Tess had given her and the information the private investigator had uncovered. :
"I know I did not take that money but it is clear that my innocence is not proven. If they had found the real thief, the file would not have been sealed would it?"
"It could have been," Gabriel commented. "The sealed file could be a court order that was part of a deal if the culprit had been found. However, the fact that the case was solved should still be public knowledge and apparently it is not. I would say that most likely the case of the missing money was never solved and as there was a suspect under age, namely you, that could not be questioned the file was sealed when the case was abandoned."
"So I could still be a suspect? I could be wanted for questioning?" Grace asked, her voice trembling.
Gabriel reached out for one of her hands. "You are not actively being searched out by the Mounties, Grace. If you were, I would have already known about this."
Grace nodded.
"However, if I go poking around this case you need to know that could change," Gabriel told her.
"So you think I should just ignore this like Chuck suggested?" Grace asked.
"Not necessarily," Gabriel told her as Lillian came downstairs. She paused briefly at the bottom of the steps, presumably checking on the boys, before entering the room as Gabriel continued. "You are right that if the children's society wanted to investigate this matter further, given your position here at the orphanage, they probably could get a court order to unseal the file. In that case, you could be questioned about the missing money anyway. So, the question is, do you want to let this go and hope nothing more comes of it or do you want to face this issue head on. While I believe you when you say you did not take that money Grace, my personal opinion doesn't mean much when it comes to upholding the law. You need to decide for yourself how you want to handle this."
Grace nodded as she looked up at her sister.
"I am behind you whatever you decide to do, Grace," Lillian told her.
Grace sighed. She looked down at the file. This issue had already surfaced twice in the last couple of years. She could not help but think that it might just be better to face this now than always be wondering if her past was going to cause trouble for them or the children in their care.
Looking up at Gabriel, Grace met his gaze. "I want to know. Whatever I end up facing now, I would rather face it then live wondering who might bring it up later on."
Gabriel nodded. "Can I have the folder then? I would like to read first hand what the private investigator found."
Grace handed the file over. "When you're done with it, feel free to destroy it," she told him. "I do not want it back."
"All right," Gabriel replied. "Grace, right now, we can pretend this conversation never took place. As soon as I make the request to unseal that file, there is no turning back. Do you want time to think this over?"
"No," Grace said with determination. "It is best to face this head on."
Gabriel nodded. "Then if Maggie can keep Billy for a while tomorrow after school, I will ride to Clearwater. I trained under Superintendent O'Rielly who is currently in charge of the Union City office. He would have the clearance to look into this sealed file. I will let you know what I find out when I get back tomorrow night and we will figure out where we go from there."
"All right," Grace said, looking down at her hands which were folding on her lap.
Setting the file aside, Gabriel reached out and drew his soon to be sisters-in-law into a tight embrace. "I know this is scary, but I think you are doing the right thing. It is better to know. Remember that I am on your side, Grace. No matter what turns this take."
"And if you end up having to arrest me?" Grace muttered, her mind going to the worst case scenario.
"Then when it goes to trial I will be on the stand stating that I believe you when you say you did not take the money," Gabriel told her. "I do not plan on letting it come to that, though," he assured her.
"You are not facing this alone, Grace," Lillian told her sister.
Still holding onto Gabriel, Grace finally smiled. "It is nice not to be alone," she said, even as she remained in the comforting embrace. Though she would rather have Chuck holding her right now, Gabriel still made her feel safe and that was what she wanted right then.