Hi Hearties,
Thanks for all the great reviews from my Thanksgiving chapter. I've had a few people mention the name "Matilda" and suggest it is Australian. While the song Waltzing Matilda is in fact a very well known Australia song, the name Matilda is not at all Australian (I think it's German!). We don't even really have "Australian names" perse here, we generally use British or American names. Matilda was a popular name in the US in the late 1800's (if it made it's way to Australia during this time then it surely must have to Canada!) so I just went with it cause I thought the nickname "Tilly" was cute.
Anyway, here's a new chapter for you. Lots of romantic stuff in here since it's Jack and Elizabeth's first anniversary already! I hope you like it. Would love to hear from you to know what you think :)
Three days before Christmas.
Elizabeth stirred in her sleep as Jack draped his arm across her waist.
"Happy anniversary." She heard him whisper as she felt his warm breath on her ear. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled as she looked over at him.
"Happy anniversary." She whispered back.
Jack pulled her closer and she rested her hand on his chest as he leant in and gave her a short but meaningful kiss.
"Has it really been a year?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.
"It has gone fast, but at the same time it feels like I've loved you forever."
"I know what you mean. Everything before I loved you seems like a lifetime ago"
Elizabeth leaned in and gently let her lips linger on Jack's until she got a response from him which was almost instant. She wrapped her arm over his shoulder and played with the hair at the nape of his neck as she felt his hand run down her side and then rest on her hip.
They got caught up in their kisses until they heard a little cry coming from down beside their bed.
"I'll get her." Jack said breathlessly as he pulled out of the kiss.
Elizabeth smiled at him as he got out of the bed and went over to their daughter. Elizabeth rolled over in the bed and looked down at the cradle and watched Jack pick Matilda up.
"Hey, Miss Tilly. Did you have a good sleep?" He asked as he headed back to the bed where he lay her down in between himself and Elizabeth. Tilly's cries ceased upon hearing his voice, and she looked up at him as she lay on the bed. She then noticed Elizabeth on her other side and a big smile appeared on her face. Elizabeth and Jack grinned as they noticed her smile, and Elizabeth placed a kiss on Tilly's cheek. Tilly reached up and took a handful of Elizabeth's long strands of hair and held her grip.
"Hey Missy." Elizabeth said playfully as she tried to remove her daughters strong grasp from her hair. Jack helped untangle her hair from Tilly's hold, and they soon had her free.
"Don't you worry Tilly, I'm sure it won't be long until you have hair just like Mummy's." Jack told her as he played with her wispy auburn hair.
Elizabeth smiled as she watched Jack talk to their daughter.
"I can't believe she's eight weeks old already." Elizabeth said as she pushed her hair back behind her shoulders and lay back down on the bed.
"Neither can I. She's grown so much already."
Tilly then tried to reach over for Elizabeth.
"Looks like Mummy is the favourite today." Jack said.
"Maybe she just knows I'm the one who can feed her." Elizabeth said with a smile as she brought Tilly over towards her and gave her a cuddle.
"How about you feed her, and I'll go make breakfast?"
Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head as Jack sat up in the bed. He kissed both his girls on their cheeks and then got out of the bed and headed downstairs to make breakfast.
After breakfast
"Jack, could you please bring the cradle downstairs so Matilda can sleep here where we can hear her?" Elizabeth asked as Tilly had fallen back to sleep in Elizabeth's arms at the kitchen table.
"Sure."
Elizabeth gave Jack a smile and he headed upstairs.
He soon returned with the cradle in his arms and he went and placed it in the parlour.
Elizabeth followed him into the parlour and placed Tilly into the cradle. She gently rubbed Tilly's tummy to settle her back into a deeper sleep before leaving her.
"I'm not sure she'll sleep there long, but we'll see." Elizabeth said quietly as she stood up and looked down at Tilly as she slept.
"Come sit with me." Jack said as he held out his hand. Elizabeth willingly took hold of his hand and he lead her over to the settee by the fireplace.
They sat down, and Jack wrapped his arm over Elizabeth's shoulders and pulled her closer. Elizabeth rest her head on Jack's shoulder and she looked across at the flames flickering in the fireplace across from them.
"It's hard to believe it's been a year since I returned home from the Northern Territories and finally made you my wife."
Elizabeth smiled to herself as she continued to listen.
"I'm going to take you out tonight."
"You are?" Elizabeth said slightly surprised as she looked up at him.
"Of course. You didn't think we'd do anything to celebrate?"
"I wasn't sure, we have been pretty busy lately, especially with Tilly." Elizabeth reminded him.
"Yes, but you didn't think I'd let our anniversary pass without doing anything did you?"
"Well no, I didn't." She said smiling. She knew Jack would never intentionally pass up the chance to do something special or romantic for her. "So, what are we doing?"
"You'll have to wait and see." He said as he placed a kiss on top of her head.
She gave him a cute look and scrunched up her nose.
"And that's not going to make me tell you either." He said as he placed a kiss on her nose before getting up from the settee. "For now, I'm off to go chop some wood for the fire."
She gave him a smile and leaned back on the settee as she watched him exit the parlour.
Jack made his way out the backdoor and went down the side of the house to retrieve his axe. He then returned to the back of the house and placed a large piece of wood on top of the chopping block and took aim with the axe.
Elizabeth stood at the back door and leant on the door frame as she watched him swing the axe. She quietly watched him until she heard Tilly's cries.
Jack stopped what he was doing when he heard his daughters cries and he looked up. He spotted Elizabeth watching him at the back door and he noticed the colour in her cheeks. He gave her a smile and she shyly smiled in return before she headed back into the house to attend to their daughter.
Later that evening.
Jack held Tilly in his arms as he waited for Elizabeth to get dressed.
"You look amazing." Jack said as he watched her descend the stairs and make her way towards him.
"You look pretty handsome yourself." She said taking note of how attractive Jack looked in his blue suit.
She gave Jack a kiss on the cheek and then rested her hand on Tilly's back and gave her a smile.
"You ready to go?" He asked.
"I would be if I knew where we were going." She said playfully.
Jack took her hand and they made their way to the front door and put on their coats.
"You'll see." He told her suggestively, and he opened the front door for her and he let her exit before he made his own way out.
Abigail's Cafe
Jack and Elizabeth walked into the café. The room was empty and had a warm glow as they noticed several candles around the room.
Before they got far into the café, Abigail made her way out of the kitchen and gave them a smile as she came over to them.
"How's my little Angel this evening?" Abigail asked as she looked down at Tilly. Tilly shook her arms in excitement as she saw Abigail, and Jack placed her in Abigail's waiting arms.
"Quite alert this evening. I think you'll have your hands full." Jack told her, and Elizabeth listened as she knew Jack must have organised with Abigail the plans for the evening.
"You are a bright little button this evening, aren't you?" Abigail said as Tilly reached for her cheek and she gave Tilly a smile. "And you two look wonderful." Abigail said as she noticed Jack and Elizabeth were dressed up for the evening.
They gave Abigail a smile and watched Tilly play with her.
"Why don't you two take a seat, Tilly can come help me."
Jack pulled out a chair for Elizabeth and she sat down before Jack seated himself across the table from her.
"I have something for you." Elizabeth said as she gave Jack a smile. She searched through the basket she bought with all of Tilly's items until she found what she was looking for.
"You do?" Jack asked slightly surprised.
Elizabeth pulled out a present wrapped up in brown paper and handed it to him.
He took hold of it and then looked back up to her.
"You can open it." She encouraged him.
He pulled back the paper and found a leather-bound journal. He flicked carefully through the pages and noticed Elizabeth's handwriting on every page.
"I started writing this the day you left for the Northern Territories until a few weeks after we were married." She started to tell him. "It is an extension of all the letters I wrote to you while you were away. As well as a lot of the daily happening here, and my thoughts at the time."
Jack flicked through the pages and realised she must have spent many hours writing with all the pages that were filled.
"Thank you sweetheart." He said softly.
She gave him a small smile as she noticed tears gathering in his eyes. She reached across the table and took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"You're welcome. This was my love letter to you every day when I wasn't able to tell you in person."
"It's beautiful, I can't wait to read it." He said as he held onto her hand.
Jack and Elizabeth had almost finished dinner when they could hear their daughter's inconsolable cries from the kitchen. Elizabeth got up from the table and went into the kitchen to find Abigail with Tilly and she willingly took her from Abigail.
"I'm sorry, I think she just wants her Mummy right now." Abigail said apologising and she noticed Tilly stop crying as soon as she was in Elizabeth's arms.
"No need to apologise." She said giving Abigail a smile.
Elizabeth headed back to the table to find Jack.
"I think she's tired and hungry, I will go feed her and I'm sure she'll sleep." Elizabeth told him, and he nodded.
Elizabeth headed off to the back room so Tilly wouldn't be distracted, and Jack got up from the table to find Abigail.
"We're going to head off soon." Jack informed Abigail, and she nodded.
"You might need to do some convincing with Elizabeth when it comes to leaving Tilly here for a while." Abigail said knowing that Elizabeth hadn't left Tilly's side since she'd been born.
"I know Elizabeth would trust you with our daughter more than anyone else we know, and we'll only be gone a few hours."
Abigail and Jack looked over at Elizabeth in the settee on the far wall as she rocked Tilly in her arms.
Elizabeth noticed the two of them looking over at her and she stood up and walked over to them as Tilly slept in her arms.
"How about I take her for you while you enjoy the rest of your evening?" Abigail suggested.
Elizabeth nodded, and she handed her daughter over to Abigail.
Elizabeth and Jack headed back over to the table together and sat down. As soon as they were seated, Jack took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket, and he placed it on the table before sliding it across to Elizabeth.
"This is for you." He said.
"What is it?"
"Open it and see."
Elizabeth carefully opened the envelope and read the note out loud "Take a walk with me."
She smiled knowingly and looked up at Jack.
"Is there a reason for this walk?"
"There is." Jack stood up and offered his hand out to her and he lead her to the front door of the café.
"What about Tilly?"
"Abigail will watch her, we'll only be gone a few hours."
Abigail entered the dining room with Tilly sleeping in her arms.
"She'll be alright." Abigail told her, and Elizabeth nodded.
"I know she will be." Elizabeth said. "But if she wakes, she normally feeds back to sleep so she may not go down so easy, and when she's upset she likes it when you play with her hair, it helps her settle. If that doesn't work try this, she loves it." Elizabeth goes over to her basket and finds Jack's blankie and hands it to Abigail.
Jack's eyes widen, and Elizabeth gave him a look to let him know she wouldn't let his secret out.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Abigail told her.
"I know she will." Elizabeth said reminding herself as much as letting Abigail know.
"I think you may miss her more than she will miss you." Jack said to Elizabeth as he wrapped an arm around her.
"You're probably right."
"So, you ready?" Jack asked, and she nodded.
Both Jack and Elizabeth gave Tilly a kiss on the head and then said goodbye to Abigail as they headed for the front door of the Café.
"You'll find spare diapers in the basket." Elizabeth called back over her shoulder, and Abigail nodded and gave her a smile.
Jack took Elizabeth's arm and guided her out the front door, she was then silenced and forgot her worries as she saw what was in front of her.
She noticed Jack had recreated his proposal night for her. She looked over the pathway of candles and rose petals before she brought her eyes back up to him and she smiled.
Jack offered his arm to her and she willingly took it as he guided her down the steps of the Cafe. They walked silently through the pathway of candles and rose petals until they reached the Church. Jack made some space between the candles on the Church steps and he motioned for Elizabeth to sit with him.
Elizabeth sat down on the steps and took hold of Jack's arm. She leaned in closer to his side as the two of them looked out at the array of candles.
"Did I ever tell you how beautiful it was that you did this?" She asked him.
Jack shook his head.
"Well it is, I think I was just a little distracted to tell you at the time."
"Just a little?" He asked with a laugh.
"Well, a lot distracted." She said giving him a grin and kissing him on the cheek.
"I always wanted this place to be where I proposed to you. I built this Church and school house in part for you, it's where I knew I wanted to marry you, and I think where you wanted to marry me if you were to say yes."
"If? You weren't sure I'd say yes?" She asked surprised.
"I knew you wanted to, but I wasn't so sure about you willing to wait for me, especially when earlier that day you told me to leave you alone and you ran away."
"I understand that. When you told me your posting was indefinite though, I was scared you were leaving me forever."
"I could never do that." Jack said as he placed his hand gently on Elizabeth's cheek and looked into her eyes.
"I know that now, just as you know I would wait an eternity for you. Even if that means you have to leave me again at some point."
Jack leaned in and kissed her passionately. He could taste the salty tears that had fallen from her eyes only moments ago as he felt her arms wrap around him and pull him closer.
"You know it was also here where I first saw my bride walk towards me." He said as he looked at the Church doors behind him and Elizabeth followed his gaze.
"You did." She said with a smile on her face. "Tell me about it."
"I was standing at the front of the Church, more nervous than I've ever felt in my entire life. But then I saw you enter, and I forgot everything else that was going on around us. I saw you in that amazing white gown and you were more beautiful than I could ever have imagined." He said continuing as he ran his hand down the side of Elizabeth's cheek. "You're always beautiful, but I think there was something special about you being dressed in a white gown as my bride that made you especially appealing to me."
"Jack…" Elizabeth whispered, but the emotion from his words silenced her and she listened to him continue.
"I dreamt of our wedding day long before I was able to make you my wife. It's now been a year since that day, the day you became mine, and I'm still just as proud and excited to have you as my wife as I was when I first heard you accept my proposal, and the day you said, "I do"."
Jack's words left Elizabeth speechless, but her actions spoke louder than words. She leant over and placed her lips on his as she expressed her love to him in the way she let her lips collide with his.
Eventually she pulled away and looked into Jack's eyes. She smiled through her tears and Jack ran his thumb over her cheek to wipe the tears away.
"From the day of our very first kiss, and I think even before then, I knew I loved you Jack Thornton. The more I got to know you, the more my love for you grew. I often think I can't possibly love you more, but then I realise my love continues to grow for you. I love how you care, and how you protect me, I love how you're such a gentleman and have always treated me so honourably, and I love the way you love me. Sometimes your love is not even something I can explain, it's just something I see in every part of your being, in the way you are with me. I just wanted to say that, because I want you to know that I do realise how much you love me, and I'm so thankful, and so proud to have you as my husband."
"I'm so proud to have you as my wife Elizabeth, for so many reasons, and I'm going to remind you of them every day of our life. But, from the day I first kissed you, I was in, I was all in. I knew you were the one, the only one, and I knew I wanted to make you my wife, even back then. I knew right then that I loved you in a way I never could have imagined loving someone."
"Jack…that's beautiful." Elizabeth spoke just above a whisper as tears ran down her cheeks. "That same day, you told me it was hard for you to say what was in your heart, and while I thought you were wrong back then, I've seen your actions and words speak to me from your heart. You're a lot better at this than you think you are."
"It's you that's helped me. You've made my heart so full that I can't help but tell you how I feel about you."
Jack then couldn't resist the need for more physical contact with her, and he pulled her onto his lap.
Elizabeth felt Jack lift her with ease as he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her forehead on his, and Jack noticed the smile in her eyes as she looked into his. He leant in and kissed her, and their lips danced together gently.
She noticed how gentle he was being with her, with his lips and the way his hand rested on her cheek. She smiled in between his kisses before pulling away to look into his eyes momentarily. She then returned her lips to his and pulled him closer and their kisses became more passionate.
"There's something else." Jack said breathlessly as he broke away from the kiss.
"There is?" She asked surprised.
Jack gently held her by the waist and he gently slid her off his lap and sat her down on the step next to him.
"Wait here." He said.
Elizabeth went to talk but he placed a finger gently on her lips to silence her. She stopped and watched Jack as he removed his finger from her lips and then stood up. She sat and quietly watched him as he headed off down the side of the Church.
Jack then returned to the front of the Church with a horse and carriage in tow.
Elizabeth stood to her feet and was in awe and he gave her a smile.
"I told you one Christmas that I was going to take you on a horse and carriage ride. We're not going to a Mountie Christmas Ball, but I thought it was about time we went on that carriage ride." He said as he stopped the horse in front of the Church steps.
Jack offered his hand out to Elizabeth and she took his hand in hers and he helped her up into the carriage. He then got in himself and sat down beside her before taking hold of the reigns.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see." He said as he gave her a grin before motioning the horse to move on.
Elizabeth leaned over and placed a kiss on Jack's cheek before taking hold of his arm and making herself comfortable.
"This is amazing, I never imagined we'd be doing this tonight."
"You don't know where we're going yet." Jack told her.
"What about Tilly?" Elizabeth asked as she was reminded of their daughter and she started to worry.
"I told Abigail we'd be back in a few hours. Don't you worry your pretty little head off, or you won't enjoy yourself." He said giving her a small smile and she held onto his arm tighter.
"I am enjoying myself." She said giving him a smile, and she was also relieved to know they weren't leaving Tilly overnight.
Elizabeth noticed them heading out of town, but she bit her tongue and patiently waited to see what Jack had in store.
About fifteen minutes into the ride she recognised the log cabin nestled amongst the trees where they had spent their honeymoon.
Elizabeth excitedly placed a kiss on Jack's cheek and then looked back at the cabin again. Jack smiled as he noticed her excitement, and he pulled the horse up out the front of the cabin.
He jumped out of the carriage and then went around the other side to help Elizabeth out.
They walked up the steps and onto the porch of the cabin and Elizabeth noticed a warm glow emitting inside as she looked through the front window.
Before she knew what was happening Jack swept her up into his arms with ease and she looked at him with surprise.
"You'll always be my bride." He said to her.
He then opened the front door and carried her over the threshold.
"Oh." She said feeling somewhat speechless but also quite comfortable in his hold. She then wondered why he was still holding onto her and she gave him a small smile.
Jack let his hold on Elizabeth linger before he unwillingly placed her back down onto the ground.
She looked around the room and noticed a roaring fire in the fireplace and several candles surrounding the room of the small cabin.
The cabin was warm, Jack helped Elizabeth remove her coat before he removed his own. He then draped their coats over the side of the settee before he and Elizabeth sat down.
She watched the flickering flames of the fire dance as she leaned into Jack and she placed her head on his shoulder.
"You're amazing Jack, I can't believe you did all this tonight." She said in awe of all the plans he'd made to surprise her.
"Well, I did have some help." He said as he played with her long tendrils of hair.
"Sure, but I know you and your surprises, and this speaks volumes." She said knowing full well that Jack would have planned out the entirety of this whole night, and that he would have taken on board as much of the organising as he could manage.
"You're always full of surprises." She said with a smile.
"Hopefully I have a lifetimes worth of surprises stored somewhere because I want to be doing this with you forever."
Elizabeth turned to face Jack as they sat on the settee and she ran her hands up his chest before tugging on his shirt collar to bring him closer. She looked into his eyes and lingered momentarily before closing her eyes and letting her lips find his. He willingly complied with her advances as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her even closer.
Jack then pulled away from the kiss.
"Jack?" She asked querying his intention of pulling away.
Jack then surprised her again as he pulled her into his arms. She relaxed into his strong arms as he walked her into the bedroom before sitting her down on the end of the bed.
He sat down next to her and took her hands in his.
"I love you Elizabeth Thornton." He said, and Elizabeth noticed his admiration and love for her in his eyes, as well as his desire.
"I love you." She said as she placed a hand on his jawline and thought she couldn't possibly love this man, her husband, anymore than she already did.
He leant in and kissed her again. She felt his warm lips on hers as the tears fell from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
"Hey, are you ok?" Jack asked as he pulled back from the kiss as he'd felt her tears on his face.
She nodded.
"They're happy tears." She said as she smiled through her tears.
He gave her a small smile in return and she leant in and their lips met once more.
Jack ran his hands through her hair and kissed down her neck as he pushed back the edge of her blouse and left a trail of kisses along her collar bone.
Elizabeth then started to undo the button on the front of his shirt and every few moments her eyes lifted to meet his gaze before returning to his buttons. Jack then wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest until they fell back onto the bed together and got lost in each other kisses.
An hour later
"Elizabeth?" Jack whispered as he noticed Elizabeth's eyes had closed as she lay in his embrace under the blankets of the bed.
"Hmm." She said dozily as she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"We need to go get Tilly." He said as he ran his hand gently up and down the soft skin of her back.
"We do? Where is she?" Elizabeth asked somewhat confused as she started to come back to her senses. "We do." She said remembering that Tilly wasn't with them. She had gotten so used to having her around the past two months that she often just expected she was there.
They both sat up in the bed and looked at each other.
"Thank you for tonight, it was amazing Jack."
"You were amazing." He said as he placed a kiss on her cheek and she smiled. "We need to get up though and get back into town."
Elizabeth nodded, and they got out of the bed and pulled their clothes back on.
"I think Tilly needs me." Elizabeth said noticing the tightness in her chest and Jack nodded as he understood what she meant.
Once they were dressed they gathered they're few things together and made their way out of the cabin.
Jack helped Elizabeth back up into the carriage and then got in himself.
He looked over at Elizabeth and noticed tears in her eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked with concern in her voice.
"I'm so glad we came here Jack, it was so special, but I just really miss Tilly right now."
"We'll be home soon ok." He said leaning over and placing a kiss on her cheek to try offer some sort of consolation.
She nodded and smiled through her tears and Jack sanctioned the horse to move on and they made their way back into town.
Elizabeth leant into Jack's side as they sat in peaceful silence on the ride back into town. As soon as Jack pulled up outside the Café, Elizabeth got out of the carriage and headed into the Café and Jack quickly tied up the horse and followed her in.
They walked through the Café dining room and into the kitchen where they found Abigail sitting on the settee. Tilly was asleep, lying on the settee with Jack's blankie draped over her.
Elizabeth smiled at Abigail and Elizabeth wrapped the blankie around her daughter and carefully picked her up and brought her into her arms. She brought Tilly to her chest as she held her, and she continued to sleep. Jack walked up to Elizabeth's side and gently ran his hand over Tilly's head as he saw her.
"How was your evening?" Abigail whispered as she didn't want to wake the sleeping baby.
"It was wonderful." Elizabeth told her with a smile. "How was Tilly?"
"She woke for a little while and was unsettled but the blanket did the trick." She said.
"Thank you for everything Abigail." Elizabeth said, knowing full well that Abigail's help for the night went well beyond babysitting duties.
"You're more than welcome." Abigail said as she gave Elizabeth a gentle hug so as not to disturb the baby.
Jack gave Abigail a nod and they shared a common understanding that he was thankful for her help.
"We should go get this girl to bed." He said referring to Tilly as he wrapped an arm around Elizabeth.
They all said their last goodbyes to each other as Jack and Elizabeth headed out of the café.
"You want one last carriage ride? I can bring the carriage back into town in the morning."
"Of course. That would be wonderful."
Jack took Tilly from her arms as she climbed into the carriage and he then carefully placed Tilly back into her arms before he got into the carriage himself.
He sanctioned Sargent to move on and they headed down main street and towards home.
"Thank you for tonight Jack, it was so special." She said looking over at him. He kept his eyes in front of him as he carefully rode through the dark of the night.
"You're welcome, it was special for me too." He said giving her a quick glance and a dimpled smile before his eyes returned to the horse and road in front of him, and they silently rode through the dark of the night, until they reached home.