In the Mountie office, Marcus continues to comfort Lexi who still has her head resting on his chest. He had given her his handkerchief to wipe her eyes. As Lexi stops crying, Marcus says, "Miss Lexi, you do know that Constable Kinslow and I will keep you safe from the other three men?"
Lexi pushes away from Marcus and says, "Okay, Constable Obvious, did you blank out on my story that I knocked out my much older faux brother at the age of fifteen while having three cracked ribs and two fractured ones? Let me inform you that once I reached England and my ribs healed, my grandfather saw to my training not just with guns, but also other weapons such as knives and swords. I also learned boxing techniques from some of the best boxers in London. My grandfather wanted to make sure I could take care of myself and that I wouldn't need to wait for some man to come riding in on a white charger!"
Marcus sheepishly says, "Sorry, Miss Lexi. Maybe once your shoulder heals and Nurse Maggie gives you a clean bill of health you can show me some of those boxing techniques. The Mountie Academy teaches us how to handle guns and knives, but maybe your boxing techniques can expand my hand-to-hand combat knowledge."
"Are you trying to butter me up, Constable Obvious?" Lexi asks skeptically. "Alright, how about a trade of knowledge? I show you what I know, and you show me what you know?"
Marcus grins and tells Lexi, "I think that sounds like a great plan once your shoulder has healed. Constable Kinslow said you were planning on teaching yourself to shoot with your left once Nurse Maggie clears you. If you'd like, I could show you where Constable Kinslow has done target practice."
"Oh, is your shooting so good that you don't need to practice, Constable?" Lexi asks disbelievingly.
"No," Marcus answers, "But I just got to Brookfield about three days ago. I am replacing Constable Kinslow as the Brookfield Mountie when he is promoted to Staff Sgt in Clearwater in a few months. He will mostly work in Brookfield, but he will have to travel to Clearwater at least once a week. While they are waiting on the phone lines to get to Brookfield, he is showing me the ropes in Brookfield."
"Well, once I am cleared by Nurse Maggie, then we can begin training until I leave." Lexi states.
"You aren't planning on staying in Brookfield?" Marcus tries to keep the sadness from his voice. "I thought you were good friends with Miss Walsh and Mrs. Stewart, and you would want to stay here with them."
"The grandfather of the girl that Grace escorted to London was good friends with my grandfather. I just happened to meet them because another orphan that was coming to London to be adopted by the grandfather was on the pier in London with her very sick chaperone the same day, I was looking for ship to take me out of England. As per the grandfather's request, I escorted Sophia to them since the chaperone was going to the hospital. That is how I met the Stewarts, and how I came to escort two orphans to Canada. However, I feel I need to keep on the move to keep my creepy cousin from finding me." Lexi explains.
"I know you can protect yourself. I am the one who brought the bodies in here, so I know you can shoot very accurately even injured. However, don't you think it would be safer if you have a whole town looking after you, especially one with two Mounties?" Marcus advises hopefully.
"I will consider it." Lexi states as she tries to put the locket around her neck unsuccessfully.
"May I?" asks Marcus with his hand extended. Lexi hands him the necklace and turns around and lifts her long hair off her neck. As he fastens the clasp of the necklace, he says, "With the three of us on the lookout, your other Faux brothers and your cousin would have a hard time getting away with anything."
"Watch it, or I am changing your nickname from Constable Obvious to Constable Conceited. My other Faux brothers and my creepy cousin are like cockroaches, hard to kill, filthy, and sometimes they fly!" Lexi says with exasperation as she drops her heavy fall of red locks and leaves the Mountie office with a huff to go back to the Infirmary.
As Marcus starts to follow her, Gabriel returns from the Telegraph office with news. He relays that the uncle has reported Simon missing, but Sgt. Oakley wants Gabriel to see if he can determine if the boy was abused by his aunt or uncle. While they might be his family, they may not be the best place for him to be and Sgt. Oakley realizes that sending Simon back without investigating probably means he will try running off again with possible dire consequences. Since he would like to speak to Lexi, and agrees with Gabriel that traveling again may cause too much discomfort, Sgt. Oakley will be coming to Brookfield the next day.
