Chapter Four
The train rattled along the rails, quickly approaching Elizabeth's final destination. Hamilton was slowly appearing in the far off distance as Elizabeth rested her head against the window, anxiety spreading as she thought about enduring the next few days in her family's company. Only seven more days until she was back in Jack's arms, she thought wistfully.
Looking down at the diamond gracefully perched on her left hand, Elizabeth brought her thoughts back to the morning she left Hope Valley and let the pleasant remembrance feed her strength to endure the next week thousands of miles apart from the man she loved. She smiled as she pictured Jack in the kitchen of the Cafe, deftly preparing her breakfast as he had promised.
Upon seeing her descend the stairs, Jack had pulled out a chair and indicated for her to sit, a cup of hot coffee already poured and awaiting her company. "I hope you like pancakes." He said to her as he finished preparing her plate and set it down on the table, next to her coffee.
Elizabeth smiled as she looked upon his concoction, stunned to see an appetizing stack of fluffy pancakes, topped with butter and maple syrup. Fresh berries had been placed around the edges subtly indicating an artistic flare for the presentation. "This looks delicious, Jack. Thank-you so much." She began to eat and was pleased when Jack sat down to join her with his own plate. Her eyes lit up in delight as she savoured her meal and thought how wonderful it was going to be to wake up to this man every day. "Is there anything this man can't do?" Elizabeth thought dreamily.
"Please tell me you have managed to reduce the amount of luggage you intend to bring." Jack said, breaking the silence. "I don't think I can handle carrying more than out to the stage coach." Jack looked at her jokingly.
"I've only packed one bag for this trip, Jack." She nodded toward her suitcase sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Then, suddenly too full to finish her breakfast, she pushed her half-eaten plate into the middle of the table.
"Is it that bad?" Jack inquired, looking at her plate.
"No. It's delicious. Really. It's just a lot to eat." She looked at him sadly, dreading their impending goodbye.
"Oh. I almost forgot. I have something you may want to bring with you." Jack stood up quickly and picked up a large brown envelope sitting on the counter.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Open it." Jack smiled knowingly.
Carefully opening the envelope, Elizabeth's breath caught in her chest as she pulled out an 8x10 photograph of the class picture Jack had taken only weeks before. "Oh Jack. This is wonderful." She carefully hovered her fingers over the photo, admiring the smiling faces staring back at her.
"I thought you might like to share this with your parents and show them all of the children that are lucky to have you as their teacher. And...I hope it can serve to show your parents how important you are to this town." He studied her reaction thoughtfully. " I also had an extra photograph made that you can hang up on the wall at the schoolhouse...but...it's not framed yet." He looked at her and smiled warmly, a look of genuine love spreading through his features.
"You're incredible Jack. Thank-you." She looked into his eyes and felt his love radiating out to her, causing the beat of her heart to skip rapidly. This gesture further solidified Elizabeth's understanding of how much Jack truly respected and treasured her role as this town's teacher and only made her love for him grow. She was quick to note, too, how this was Jack's way of attempting to help resolve some of the disappointments her parents had developed for their middle daughter's actions from the past year.
Jack pulled her free hand into his and gently rubbed the top of her ring with his thumb, staring into her eyes with a look that told her he was trying to not think about Elizabeth leaving on the stagecoach in a matter of minutes.
Picking up on his cues, Elizabeth interjected and wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her hand along his newly shaved cheek. "Mmmmm…" She lightly moaned. "I can't decide what I like better." She gently kissed his smooth skin, lightly trailing kisses along his jaw.
Feeling the impact of her lips on his newly delicate skin, Jack pulled her tight and allowed her to continue with her affections. Time seemed to slow as he languished in the physical attention Elizabeth was playfully showing him, to the point where he could not contain his desire for her any longer. He tilted his head and met her lips with a sudden explosion of need for her, their mouths exploring and teasing each other until the heat from their exchange threatened to take them over the edge of respectable conduct. Elizabeth was the first to break their hold.
"You're positive you don't want to join me?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly, unable to steady herself from their recent kiss. She pressed her forehead to his cheek and tightened her hold around his neck.
"We have the rest of our lives together, Elizabeth. What's ten days?"
Elizabeth snapped back to the view out of her first-class compartment, recognizing the familiar buildings trudging by her window and subtly noticed a slowing of speed of the train's engine. A half hour later, the train was fully stopped at Hamilton's bustling train depot, passengers filing purposefully out of the compartments. Elizabeth made her way onto the platform, her steps slow and steady in an effort to re-familiarize her footing with solid ground. She hesitantly made her way to the meeting area while scanning the crowd and searched for her father's driver.
Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks, unexpectedly locking eyes with him, a sight she was not prepared to deal with at the moment.
"Elizabeth!" Charles raised his arm to help draw her attention towards him.
She approached carefully while trying to come up with a plan of reaction to his presence, the weight of her luggage clutched in her left hand suddenly becoming a burden. "Charles...I...I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you."
"Yes. I understand. You're father asked if I could personally meet you here and bring you home. His driver is currently tied up with other matters." His look conveyed a slight twinge of annoyance at having to perform such menial tasks for his mentor and she felt a touch of hostility towards her.
"Of course. Thank-you. I'm sure Father is most appreciative of your help. Shall we then…?" She indicated towards the exit and loudly noted the absence of help that he offered with her bag.
The ride home began with awkward silence, but quickly turned to light chatter as Charles filled her in on the recent preparations for her sister's wedding and what was planned for the next four days' of Elizabeth's visit. Luckily, there was so much information to share that there was no opportunity to delve into the messy details of their last meet-up in the schoolhouse and Elizabeth felt a rush of relief as Charles steered the car into the driveway of her childhood home, offering her an escape from his company.
"Father!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she hurriedly disembarked our of the vehicle and rushed into her father's waiting arms.
"My dear Elizabeth!" He replied. "It's always a pleasure to have you home. Let's go inside where you can tell us how your trip went." Elizabeth's heart fell through her chest at her father's mention of the word 'trip'. "He still views my absence as an extended vacation," she thought. "Where any day, I will return home and lead the life he wants me to lead." Elizabeth forced herself to maintain her pleasant smile and followed him into the cavernous house, eager to reunite with her mother.
The sound of Charles driving away faded into the distance as the large wooden door was shut behind her. "Elizabeth, darling!" Her mother was descending the stairs and holding out her arms to welcome her daughter into a warm embrace. Her hand slid down to capture Elizabeth's in hers and was immediately struck by the new addition to her left ring finger.
A look of surprise, mixed with a twinge of horror crept into her mother's face, her eyes widening at the realization this ring's existence implied. "So...the Mountie proposed, did he?" She raised her eyebrows, concern for Elizabeth written plainly in her delicate features.
"Yes. I was just about to share this wonderful news with you and Father but see you beat me to it." She looked expectantly at her mother, then on to her father who met her stare with a look of stern coldness.
William Thatcher tactfully softened his look towards his daughter and tried to coax her into a more comfortable discussion in his office, offering the two ladies entrance into his ornate hide-a-way. "Please, Elizabeth, come and have a seat where we can discuss this further…"
"If, by discuss this further, you mean ask me when and where my wedding will take place, I would be happy to oblige. But…" She stopped momentarily, confidence and resolve slowly building within, focusing on meeting her father's hidden agenda. "If you were hoping to try and talk me out of marrying Jack, I will have no part of it." She maintained her father's eye contact and silently said a prayer, requesting the strength required to stand up to this imposing, but familiar, man.
"I hardly consider this a standing marriage proposal, Elizabeth. The man didn't even ask for my permission!"
"And would you have given permission?" Elizabeth responded, fully knowing what his answer would be.
William remained silent, secretly seething at the thought of his precious daughter being proposed to by an unworthy beau.
"Exactly." Elizabeth met her father's gaze and remained unmoving, willing him to prove her wrong.
Her mother interjected between the awkward standoff between her husband and daughter. "Elizabeth. You know we think fondly of your friend, Jack, but you can't possibly be considering his proposal of marriage?"
"I can. And I did, Mother. Now..If you have nothing positive to say on this then I suggest you keep your opinions on the matter to yourself. The fact is I am marrying Jack, with or without yours and Father's approval. I'd like to think you raised me to be an excellent judge of character, and in this case, you would understand why I think so highly of him...enough that I wish to spend my life with him." Sadness flowed through Elizabeth's body at the realization that her parent's disappointment was still alive and well in their minds and she suddenly felt very alone, missing Jack's reassuring presence.
"Well" Elizabeth began again, hoping to steer the conversation into more neutral territory. "I've travelled a great distance to be here for Viola's wedding and I intend to fully enjoy this wondrous occasion with the two you and the rest of our family and hope we can simply agree to disagree on this topic." Elizabeth felt her back straightened and held her head up higher to help her mitigate the ill-feelings her words may have caused. She smiled sweetly at her parents.
"Of course, dear." William replied while hiding a deep-seated resentment of the man who had stolen his daughter's heart. It had suddenly become very real to Mr. Thatcher that his middle daughter was on the cusp of being torn away from him for good, a prospect he didn't much care to consider. Not only by distance, but Elizabeth would be torn from the very society that he had so diligently raised her in.
William's thoughts anxiously raced with potential scenarios which would lend themselves to ensuring his daughter's return into the fold of their world, a world where she rightfully belonged. He had to act quickly.
Elizabeth spent the rest of her afternoon in the company of her her mother and Viola, finalizing plans for the next day's engagements and excitedly discussing the events of the big day itself. Elizabeth remembered a time in her life when an affair as grand as a wedding, hosted by your own family no less, would have generated more excitement and awestruckness in herself than it currently did. Besides the current strain between Elizabeth and her parents regarding her own soon-to-be nuptials, not having Julie in attendance was another blow to the sanity of her family as a whole.
Although initially confused and worried about her younger sister's whereabouts, it was Viola who nonchalantly updated Elizabeth on her current status. They were in the parlour, waiting on their guests for dinner to arrive and Miss Thatcher had just excused herself when Viola took the opportunity of solitude to suddenly sit herself down next to Elizabeth and proceed to fill her in on the latest news.
"Seems our darling little sister has followed in your footsteps by running off with a Thornton brother!" Viola spoke quietly, indicating to Elizabeth that this information was not something to be discussing openly.
"Viola! I didn't run off with anybody. I left home to teach and follow my calling. Maybe Julie has found hers? Please tell me she is alright..." She looked at her sister worriedly.
"I don't know about finding her calling, necessarily. More like finding a reason to shame our family. Father has been telling everyone that Julie is studying abroad, in Paris, no less, and I hope you can cooperate with keeping Julie's true whereabouts a secret. Fort MacNeil is a far cry from the glamour of Europe!" Viola wore her trademark face of disgust, indicating how disappointed she was at Julie's timing and potentially damaging actions on behalf of the entire family.
Elizabeth gently grasped her sister's hand and looked imploringly into her eyes. "Viola, I can completely understand your feelings on the matter, what with it being your wedding and all, but I need to know if she is alright." Secretly, Elizabeth felt slightly sick to her stomach at the thought that her family was trying to hide Julie's true whereabouts, all to save face in the latest High Society newspapers.
Viola's features momentarily softened, but quickly returned when she replied, "Julie is living at a common boarding house and taking classes at the local College. What she intends to learn there, I'm not sure, but I am sure that, in due time, she will wake up and realize her life doesn't measure up to all of the romance novels she has filled her head with over the past few years…" Her speech was interrupted by Grace Thatcher returning to the room, smiling at the sight of her two daughters sitting side by side, engaged in conversation.
Grace's entrance was followed by the appearance of Sir Lionel who was joined by a well-dressed stranger Elizabeth did not recognize. "Viola, Elizabeth, may I present to you His Grace the Duke of Kent, accompanied by his cousin Sir Lionel." Elizabeth caught the gleam shining in her mother's eye at her pride introducing one so close to royalty. She also caught a hint of another, more devious look, observing her mother's eyes flit between the Duke and Elizabeth, trying to gauge her daughter's reaction to him.
"Sir Lionel, a pleasure." Elizabeth held out her hand for Viola's groom-to-be, nodding her head in respectful recognition.
"Elizabeth." Lionel spoke eloquently. "A pleasure as always. Please...I'd like you to meet my cousin, the Honorable Duke of Kent…" Sir Lionel, still holding onto Elizabeth's gloved hand, brought it towards the approaching Duke, who replaced his hold regally.
"Please, call me Henry." He slowly brought her hand up to his lips, lightly pressing his lips to the back of her satin-wrapped hand, all the while maintaining her gaze. "I've heard many wonderful things about you Elizabeth...I'd love if you could humor me with some of your grand tales from out west." Henry flashed her a gleaming smile, clearly comfortable utilizing his powers of persuasion.
Elizabeth quickly caught on to the reason behind the Duke's appearance and received confirmation on her intuition when she glanced at her father, clearly delighted in the Duke's interest in his middle daughter. "Of course. It would be my pleasure." Elizabeth mentally pushed back the seething anger within and decided to humor her parents this one night only - by entertaining a man they hoped would help lure her back into the world she had been away from for over a year.
"Oh Jack…only one week left." Elizabeth sighed to herself, desperate to find the strength to endure the next week apart. Taking a deep breath, she brought herself back to the present moment and smiled sweetly at the Duke of Kent.
"So, Henry, do tell...is it true all Duke's live in castles, surrounded by a moat?"