Author's Note: My gratitude goes to Eoin M. with whom I bounced around ideas and who answered questions regarding the actual Internment Camp at Castle Hill. I so appreciate his input in making my stories more authentic! There is much more to come that is a direct result of our discussions and his suggestions!

In addition, one response to a guest reviewer regarding the time between updates. Currently I am writing two involved stories, one with Nathan and Elizabeth and this one with Nathan and Faith. I prefer to post a few chapters each time as I prefer to read multiple chapters when I read fanfiction! Posting three chapters takes more time than updating weekly with one chapter. Please understand.

Thank you for reading. Eilie

. .

Chapter Eighteen

. .

Getting Answers

. .

Nathan was finishing his report when he heard a light knock. Standing, he opened the door. "Well isn't this an unexpected delight! How are you this morning, Honey?"

"Very well, now that I see your handsome face!" Faith blushed sweetly as she tilted her head. "Are there any Brownies left for tonight, Constable?"

"Four pieces. Of course, pieces of Brownie have been known to shrink over time, you know, cut to be certain they are straight and then needing to be cut again? So, I don't know. I might need to stop at the Cafe for backup!"

"Not a bad idea and I am also familiar with straightening Brownies!" Faith giggled. "We seem to have a lot in common, Sir!"

"Kinda nice, eh? So, is this a good morning call or?" Nathan wiggled his eyebrows, knowing they had promised each other that their expressions of affection would be more discrete than those of another couple in town. "Do you want to come in?"

"Want to? Yes, you know I do. Will I? Not until the new Constable is present." Faith smiled with delight. "At least for now…" She blushed, tilting her head and glancing at Nathan through her eyelashes.

"Oh, my goodness! You better quickly state your intent, Doctor, or all restraints are off and I'll have to kiss you senseless on the street!"

Throwing her head back laughing. "Well, that is something to consider… Actually I come bearing a message from Hans and Nellika. They would like to meet the person you mentioned, if possible. Isn't that great? Now, you just need to talk to Katy."

"Yes!" Nathan clapped his hands. "Yes! I will see to it before I meet the train! Thank you for being the messenger, Honey. Prettiest one I've ever seen."

Giggling, Faith responded, "Oh, I sure hope so!" And with that she turned and stepped off the porch, speaking quietly over her shoulder. "Good day, Constable!"

"Oh, it already is! Good day to you, Doctor!"

. .

"Ned? Could I please speak to Katy for a few moments?"

"Of course, she is in the back office helping with the books. Let me get her."

"Hello, Constable Grant. You asked to see me?" Katy shook his extended hand.

"I did, could we step out onto the porch, please?" Nathan held open the door as he continued. "I have a need that you may be able to fill if you are willing and have the time…"

A short time later, Katy Yost replied, "I should probably think about it, but I know my answer would be the same! I would love to meet the Sterk children and help them. I actually worked with another young boy who stuttered and might be able to help Pieter with that as well as reading! When can we go meet them?"

"Unfortunately I am occupied all afternoon and evening, so maybe sometime tomor…"

"What about right now? I just need to saddle a horse and let my father know. Can you go now?"

"Well, sure. I'll go get a horse. Any favorite from the Livery?"

. .

"Hello, Nellika! We are not letting any grass grow! Is Hans around? I've brought Miss Katy Yost to meet you."

"Oh! Come in, please! Hans? Nathan is here with someone for us to meet." Nellie escorted Nathan and Katy into the living room. "Please have a seat. May I get you some coffee?"

"If you don't mind, Nellie, I'll decline the beverage as I am on a schedule today. But, after I depart, maybe Miss Yost would like to stay and chat? Let me introduce you folks." Nathan made the introductions.

"Lovely to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Sterk. The Constable just shared his idea with me and I had to come right away. I can bring my credentials and my other papers tomorrow, but I didn't want to delay Constable Grant so I just brought a composition book to begin taking some notes. Is that acceptable?"

"All you need is Nathan's recommendation as far as we are concerned, Miss Yost." Hans spoke up.

Laughin, Nathan interjected, "I confess the recommendation comes via Allie as she has frequently shared about your teaching capabilities in recent weeks! I have no doubt that if Allie says you are a worthy instructor, that it is true!"

"Oh, we love Allie, so that is a wonderful endorsement!" Hope-filled, Nellika inquired, "Would you like to meet the children now, Miss Yost?"

"Excuse me, friends, but I will depart and let Miss Yost make her assessment and recommendations to you. Greet the children from me, please?" Standing, Nathan donned his hat and saluted his farewell. "Enjoy your conversation!"

. .

On his way back to town, Nathan gave thanks to God for this wonderful opportunity and petitioned that Katy would be able to advance the children's learning beyond their expectations. He then added a request that God help Pieter to learn to communicate and even make friends.

'I'll have to mention to Katy that Robert is willing to visit to help Pieter practice. Now though? To the station!'

Arriving before the train was due, Nathan tied Newton to a railing and found a seat in the shade of the roof's overhang. Scanning the platform, he noticed Gustave muttering as he paced with his hands behind his back and head bowed. Standing, he closed the distance and interrupted the chef.

"Good morning, Gustave. You appear to be burdened in some way. Anything I can do to help?"

Startled, Gustave coughed, then sputtered a reply in mixed English and French. "Bonjour, Monsieur. Non, non, non. Je pense a mon menu, ahh… I want to hurry back. The boss is… dans le prochain train."

"Ah ha. Lucas seems to be traveling a lot lately." Nathan tempered his comment with humor, "In search of exotic ingredients?"

"Ingrédients? That is to be très agréable, mais…" Gustave shrugged his shoulders.

The train whistle pierced the air, soon followed by the rumble of the train and screeching brakes.

"Good day, Gustave." Nathan noted a hint of discontent or exasperation from the Frenchman, but tipped his hat and moved towards the front of the platform to stand at ease.

As a red serge caught his eye, he moved forward as the Mountie descended the steps, smiling. "Constable Calvin Burns?" Nathan saluted smartly as the man before him dropped his satchel and did the same.

"Constable Grant! Good morning, Sir."

"Welcome to Hope Valley, Constable. I learned from Superintendent O'Reilly that your horse is with you? Do you have other luggage?"

"I have a trunk and a few crates, but may need to return for those. If I may, I would like to collect my mount though?"

"Of course. I apologize. I came directly from an errand and neglected to think of bringing a wagon. Why don't we inform the stationmaster that we will return for your belongings this afternoon? Follow me? That gives them a few moments to disembark your horse." Nathan motioned the way to the station's office. "How was your journey?"

"Fine, Sir. As you know any uneventful journey is a welcome one." Constable Burns chuckled. "I am sorry to be traveling with so much luggage, but I acquired some family items recently and haven't the heart to leave them behind."

While Nathan made the arrangements, the new Constable eyed him carefully. Constable Grant was as tall as he was, although his appearance was the opposite in every other way, lanky and dark-haired with piercing blue eyes.

"Thank you, Sir. We'll return after lunch." Nathan tipped his hat to the Stationmaster, handed Constable Burns the tickets and together they headed to the paddock next to the building.

"Fine horse there. What is his name?" Nathan inquired as he observed the tall black steed, tied to the fence upon which rested a saddle, Mountie blanket and saddle bags.

"Shadow." Immediately petting the horse, Constable Burns reassured him, "Everything is okay now. We've arrived and you are such a good boy."

Approaching slowly, Nathan extracted a carrot from his pocket and held out his hand. "Hey Shadow. Welcome home, Buddy."

With only a moments' hesitation and quick sniff of Nathan's hand, Shadow accepted the treat with a shake of his head.

"Well! You are now his friend for life!" Addressing the horse he gently explained that he was going to saddle-up so they could head into town.

Standing on one side, as Constable Burns adjusted the blanket, then fastened the saddle, Nathan offered. "No formal titles are required in Hope Valley, so please address me as Nathan. You will find many of the citizens will be on a first name basis here. Shall I address you as Calvin or Cal or?"

"Oh, thank goodness. As much as protocol is required at times, I am more comfortable with informality. Cal is great, Nathan. Thank you."

"Shadow is a good, tall horse for a tall fella, eh?"

Chuckling, Cal agreed. "I've ridden lesser horses and looked like an overgrown man on a toy!"

"I get it, Newton is a hefty size and we seem to fit." Nathan explained. "It's nice to have someone who breathes the same air as I do, Cal. We can both see above the crowd!"

Cal laughed. "In addition, we can be quite intimidating since our Strathconas' add a few extra inches as well!"

. .

As the two striking Mounties headed towards Hope Valley, Nathan explained the temporary accommodations above the Saloon. "If you are interested, I have some furniture ordered for the back room of the RCMP office and we can clean and paint it while we await the furniture. You have to use the W/C we use for the office but there is an outside entrance from the back. We have an icebox and an older, small stove, along with a sink, but that is the extent of our kitchen. I do have a lead on a used Hoosier cabinet, so I'll follow-up on that. I highly recommend the Café for your meals but, of course, they are closed on Sundays. For tonight you are invited to dinner with my daughter and the woman I am courting, the town's doctor."

"Oh? Thank you, Nathan. That is kind. So you have a daughter and a niece, yet no wife? It was your niece who came to live with you years ago, correct?"

Chuckling, Nathan explained. "My daughter is my niece whom I adopted a few years ago. She is almost fifteen. I never married, but have high hopes that status will be changing now! How about you? Have you left anyone behind?"

"There was someone, but she broke off our relationship when I headed into the Northern Territories. I heard she is married now and even has a child. So that book is closed to me."

Sensing the subject was also closed, Nathan began to point out the businesses in town as they meandered towards the Saloon. "Let us get you checked-in and then we can stop for an early lunch if you are ready to eat?"

Curiosity, mixed with some uncertainty, crossed Lucas Bouchard's bearded face as he noticed not one, but two Mounties enter the front door. A quick glance informed him that the Constable only carried a satchel so was probably just visiting. When he opened the registration book, Lucas was not pleased that the Mountie's stay did not include a departure date.

With a well-practiced smile plastered on his face, Lucas spoke, "Welcome to Hope Valley, Constable Burns. I hope you enjoy your stay." His beady brown eyes did not convey his welcome any more than his syrupy voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. I will see you later." Cal raised the key and followed Nathan up the stairs to find room seven.

. .

Out on the street, Cal whispered, "Now that's a curious specimen! Is he trouble or just trying to look the part?"

Sighing, Nathan responded, "I'll give details later, but for now, keep your eyes and ears open. I do not trust him, but you are discerning as he is often playing the part. His response to the inquiries of my colleague when Lucas bought the Saloon some years ago was that he was from 'here and there' and his previous work was 'this and that.'" Straight-lipped, Nathan momentarily raised one eyebrow before continuing. "You know, if we go meet Judge Bill Avery we will save you from having to share your story twice." Nathan chuckled. "Or save me from having to repeat it all. Let's walk to the Judge's chambers at the end of the street."

. .

Two striking Mounties drew a lot of attention as they made their way down the street with uniform strides. Both men were of equal height, but the visiting Constable was a brown-eyed blonde and of a more solid, filled-out form. The men could be heard laughing as they proceeded into the Judge's office.

"Hello, Bill. Let me introduce Constable Calvin Burns, or Cal. Cal, please meet our esteemed Judge and my dear friend, Bill Avery—a former Mountie, Inspector and Sheriff!"

Bill gave the new Constable the visual once-over and spoke gruffly. "So, another tall-drink-of-water, eh?" Chuckling, Bill continued. "You may beat me in height, but I still out-rank you, young man."

"So he says, Cal, but rank has nothing to do with it anymore. He does have the advantage of more experience and more years though." Nathan's half smile and side-eyed look at Bill proved his levity.

"And elders are due respect, remember." Bill wagged his finger. "Seriously, you are a lucky chap, Cal, to get an assignment with this man. He's one of the very best..." Chuckling, Bill added, "And my protégé!"

Nathan burst out laughing and Bill was hard-pressed to keep from guffawing himself.

Surprised by the familiarity between these two men, Cal nevertheless grinned and enjoyed their banter.

"What can I do for you, fellas?" Bill asked, his tone softened.

"We've come to invite you to lunch. You'll want to know all the details anyway, so we might as well learn it together. Can you join us at the Café?"

"Are you buying, Nathan?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Then, yes. Are you heading over there now?"

. .

In the Jack Thornton schoolhouse, Elizabeth Thornton had introduced morning class by leading the children in singing a verse of 'This is My Father's World' as Angela Canfield played the piano. Philip Cantrell, a senior this year, read selected verses from the book of Proverbs and led in a prayer before Mrs. Thornton instructed the newcomers to color and the older students to complete a worksheet, reviewing last year's math before the tutors would meet with their assigned children.

At recess, the littlest ones followed Allie and the older girls outside to play kickball before returning inside to color letters while Mrs. Thornton taught an intermediate math lesson until it was time for lunch. While the oldest students continued to read their individual books, Mrs. Thornton asked the tutors to meet with their assigned children.

. .

"Thank you, Minnie. Please take your time as we are early for lunch and not in any hurry." Nathan lifted his cup of coffee and sipped after Minnie returned to the kitchen with the lunch order for the three men of the law.

"Tell us about yourself, Cal?" Nathan requested. "Where have you served? What brought you here?"

"After graduating from Depot, I was assigned to Calgary until I was sent into the Northern Territories." Pausing to sip his coffee, Cal considered how to explain more. "Ah, I guess I need to tell you up front that I knew Jack Thornton up there. We were in the same unit. I know Hope Valley was his home so, did either of you know him?"

Nathan whispered, "No, I never had the privilege."

Looking from Nathan to Bill, Cal searched Bill's face and, noticing his shining eyes as he nodded, Cal decided to continue his own story and ask questions later.

"I was shot and sent to Edmonton to recover, but while healing, I fell ill with influenza and remained in hospital for months."

"When I was discharged from the hospital they were ready to discharge me from the NWMP, but I fought to remain. They sent me to work in the offices at Headquarters as they were uncertain of my abilities on the field, yet when a gang of bootleggers was discovered operating south of Medicine Hat, I was called into service and proved my worth on the field once again. We exposed the operation and captured the perpetrators, but afterwards I was assigned to remain in Medicine Hat. I've remained there until receiving orders to report here to Hope Valley."

"Do I understand correctly that you have served here alone for numerous years, Nathan?"

"Alone as far as a Mountie regularly stationed here, but Bill here has served as my backup on many occasions. In addition, others have been called-in to assist with certain cases. Many times Bill has been the one off of whom I bounced my ideas and solutions so we work together well."

"I should tell you about Nathan's first few days in Hope Valley though. We had an inauspicious start!" Bill explained mistakenly throwing the new Mountie in jail. "You are fortunate that Nathan's presence has softened my welcomes to town!"

Laughing, Cal agreed. "Yes, thank God for that. I have only seen the inside of a jail cell to clean it! If that was your first day, how was your second?" Cal looked from Bill to Nathan.

Grinning, Nathan spoke up. "We had some competition regarding the use of the desk and it took some time for me to stake my claim, but we solved a stagecoach robbery on that next day."

"We did. Saved the payroll for the largest employer in town too!" Bill had a faraway look in his eyes as he admitted, "That was when I knew Nathan Grant would be a good fit for Hope Valley and a worthy colleague for me." Bill glanced at Nathan. "Since then Nathan has become a friend and a son to me."

"I can see your ease with each other," Observed Cal. "You are both very lucky."

"No luck about it. God brought me here and gave us to each other." Nathan explained. "Now, do you know why you have been assigned here? Do you know anything to share?"

"I confess, I am in the dark on this. I was instructed to pack-up and relocate, although I sense there are changes coming within the RCMP."

Bill nodded at Nathan, sighing. "It appears that everyone is being kept in the dark and that is not a place I like to be."

Cal offered, "I was happy to learn I would be serving with you again though, Nathan."

Taken aback by the new Mountie's admission, Nathan questioned, "Excuse me? We served together? I never served in Medicine Hat, although I have seen more than my share of other posts. I apologize for not remembering you, Cal. Where did we serve?"

"Near Banff at Castle Hill."

"Oh? In what capacity were you serving?"

"I was assigned to your team, but sent too late to be of much use. I accompanied you along with the dog!"

"I apologize for not remembering you, Cal. My only excuse could be my focus on the task at hand and, of course, the dog!"

"What case? What dog?" Bill leaned forward, focusing his attention on Nathan. "I don't recall you telling me about this, Nathan."

"Maybe not? It was a brief assignment! A couple detainees from the Internment Camp escaped and I was called in for my tracking expertise. As it turned out, I was not as needed as the guard dog from the Camp. He led us right to the escapees and we solved the issue within two days. The prisoners didn't know enough English to get very far."

"You are right, they didn't, or they were scared to use it. I was the one who translated for you." Cal smiled, grateful for the opportunity. "You see I learned German from my grandparents who were deceased by that time, but somehow it got into my record that I was fluent in French and German."

"That was you? I guess I need to pay more attention when being translated. Sorry."

"On the contrary, you did what anyone should do. You paid attention to the German speaker and not to the translator."

Bill was about to speak when Minnie and Clara arrived with their meals.

"The plates are hot, so please be careful. Can we get you a refill of your coffee, or interest you in lemonade or a ginger ale?"

"Oh! A ginger ale for me, please, Minnie! Gentlemen?"

"Make that two, please Ma'am? Thank you." Cal added. "This smells delicious!"

"Another coffee, please?" Bill adjusted in his seat, "It does look good, Minnie!"

"Shall I pray the blessing?" Nathan offered and did so when the others nodded.

"I need more details, fellas." Bill prepared a forkful before questioning. "What about this dog?"

"When I arrived, the detainees had a few days lead on us and when I saw the guard dogs, I was inspired to try something I had trained my dog to do back on the ranch. After sniffing a shirt that belonged to one of the men, I let the dog lead the way and it worked. The scent was enough for the dog to follow the track and find the men."

"Thanks, Clara." Nathan tipped and sipped the ginger ale that Clara handed him.

"I've done the same with Prince. As a matter of fact, Prince and I play a game of search and rescue! I hide an old shirt and he finds it, returning it to me and receiving lots of praise!"

"Nathan? I wonder if that is our clue. One of the Senior Officers visited Medicine Hat a couple months ago and questioned me about that capture." Cal inquired. "Has anyone quizzed you about it?"

"I do recall sharing the story with Supt. Black when I dined with him and Supt. O'Reilly a few months ago in Union City."

"Did you tell him about Prince?" Bill inquired.

Shrugging his shoulders, Nathan responded. "Maybe? I can't say as I don't recall."

"Hmmm. I guess we wait and see then." Disappointed with the unresolved mystery, Bill sighed and returned to his meal.

Nathan, Bill and Cal ate in silence until Lee and Rosemary entered the Café and stepped over to the Constables' table to be introduced.

After welcoming Cal, the Coulter's were seated in a nearby table just as Philip Cantrell burst through the door and hurried to Lee.

Philip breathed heavily. "Sorry, Sir? You asked me to let you know if it happened again? It did."

"Let's step outside, Philip. Excuse me, Rosie? I'll be back in a moment. Go ahead and order for me?" Lee requested as he gave Nathan a quick glance.

. .

After enjoying more stories and a slice of apple pie, Nathan headed to the counter to put the meal on the RCMP account then turned to follow Bill and Cal who were already outside.

"Nathan." Lee whispered then wiped his mouth as Nathan stepped beside the Coulter's table. "I'll be taking Shane with me this time, since I can let him off from work for a meeting following school."

He continued.

"Prayers appreciated," Lee grimaced, "Again."

"Okay. I'll pray and thanks for staying on top of this." With a nod and hat tip to his friends, Nathan departed the Café to continue Cal's orientation, leaving unanswered questions behind.

. .