Chapter 199 – Productive Afternoon
Elizabeth gave her aunt a hug, picked up her basket and walked out of the schoolhouse. The guards looked at her and she motioned toward the rowhouses, so they headed that way. Elizabeth waved to Charlotte, Patty and the children as she headed toward the path. As much as she hated the reason for the guards, she did feel better for the most part that they were there. She knew that Frank stuck close to the building most days now as well. She was glad that there were people looking out for her, but she still wished things were different and she didn't need the guards.
Elizabeth also realized that if she didn't have the guards, her extended family might not still be here. She loved having her aunt and mother-in-law to help teach. She was hoping that after another week of half days that she was at a point where she was able to go full days. She also knew that after the science fair next week, Charlotte would probably leave. Elizabeth wasn't sure when her aunt, uncle and cousin were leaving, as it sounded like it was safer in Hope Valley at the moment for them. The two guards escorted Elizabeth home and then headed back to the schoolhouse.
Elizabeth went into the house and immediately went to check on Jack. She saw that he was resting and didn't even open his eyes when she went in. Elizabeth decided to make herself some tea and a sandwich. She then thought that she might be able to get some grading done. She knew that her aunt and them wouldn't be out that evening and as much as Elizabeth wanted to spend time with her family, she really just wanted a quiet night in with her husband. Elizabeth was just about to sit down when she heard Jack coughing. She immediately went to him.
"Come on, Jack." Elizabeth said. "You need to sit up."
Jack's eyes flickered open at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. Knowing that he couldn't talk without coughing, he gave her a dimpled grin.
"When was the last time you did a steam treatment?" Elizabeth asked.
Jack didn't answer, but ducked his head.
"Come on." Elizabeth said. "The water won't take long to heat, I have it on the stove already."
Jack sat on the edge of the bed.
"Give me a moment." Jack said.
"Do you want me to get a guard?" Elizabeth asked.
Jack shook his head. It took a moment, but Jack was able to stand. He slowly moved toward the kitchen, holding the wall and then the door frame. Elizabeth wanted to get a guard, but Jack shook his head again. After a moment, he was able to take a few steps to the table. He sat down with a huge sigh.
"Just sit there." Elizabeth said. "I will get the water."
"You were just sitting down to eat." Jack rasped when he saw the sandwich and tea cup.
"It is fine." Elizabeth said. "I haven't poured the tea. I can eat my lunch in a bit."
Elizabeth got the steam going for Jack, then sat down and ate her sandwich. After a couple of bites, Elizabeth got up and poured herself some tea. As she ate, Elizabeth told Jack about her day at school, she intentionally left out the appearance of young Mr Higgins. After Jack finished his steam treatment, he sat back and watched his beautiful wife.
"Thank you." Jack said.
Elizabeth smiled at Jack.
"So have the children asked about the baby yet?" Jack asked.
"Not directly." Elizabeth said. "I have heard snippets and seen the girls look at me and giggle. I know that I have to address it, but I was hoping to do it later. I was wondering if it wouldn't just be easier to make an announcement at church."
"If you want." Jack said. "Our families know, so it doesn't matter. We aren't hiding it."
"I know." Elizabeth said. "I also know that the mothers mean well, but once we confirm it, they are all going to have an opinion and I don't know if I can go all summer dealing with that."
"I am sorry." Jack said. "I didn't realize how hard this would be for you."
"It isn't so much that." Elizabeth said. "I know that they are going to expect me to leave teaching and stay home. So when we hire a nanny, it is only going to lead to more talk. I just don't know a way around things. I want to be able to think things through a little before we make a grand announcement."
"Whatever you want." Jack said. "What are your plans for the afternoon?"
"I would like a short nap." Elizabeth said. "I have grading to do. Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Wynn are going to give us a quiet night in. Dee might stop by and update us on some stuff, but for the most part, it will be just you and me. Why? What did you have in mind?"
"I wouldn't mind a nap with my wife." Jack said with a grin.
Elizabeth shook her head. She stopped and looked at Jack for a moment. She wondered if she should tell him what had happened or not. She didn't want to upset him, but at the same time she felt that he needed to know. She didn't have all the answers, so again she wondered what to do.
"What happened?" Jack asked. "I know that something is going on, because I heard the guard talking and then there was the way that Frank talked around what he had been busy with."
Elizabeth let out a harsh breath.
"I don't want to upset you." Elizabeth said. "Also I don't have a lot of information."
"How about you tell me what you know?" Jack said.
Elizabeth took a moment to tell Jack what happened and all that she knew.
"What do you think?" Jack asked.
"I think that this is some way to get back at me for telling Aunt Agatha about what Thomas Higgins did to me." Elizabeth said. "I am sure that she went over his head, since she has regular tea with the wife of the Minister of Education. I am sure she looked into things and found enough women who would be willing to tell their story and demanded something be done."
"Okay." Jack said. "I don't like it, but I will let Bill and Jacobs handle it. I am sure that there have been a flurry of wires sent off to get information."
"I am sure that both Aunt Elizabeth and your mother sent a bunch." Elizabeth said. "I am also sure that Bill and Jacobs have sent a few looking for information as well."
"So how about we have a guard help me upstairs." Jack said. "Then we can take a nap."
"I like that idea." Elizabeth said.
When Elizabeth stood up and looked at Jack, he had a silly grin on his face and she was sure he was thinking something along the lines of what she was thinking and it involved other things before a nap, not that Elizabeth minded what Jack was thinking.
It was agreed that Abigail would spend the afternoon at the cafe, if she was needed, Dee would run over. After having a nice lunch and making a plan to move forward, Dee, Wynn and Jacobs along with David and Andrew head back to the office. Before they leave, Abigail pulls Wynn aside.
"If you need anything from the filing cabinets." Abigail said. "The key is in my middle drawer."
"If we need something." Wynn said. "We will come talk to you first, but thank you for trusting me."
"Thank you." Abigail said. "Hopefully things become more clear this afternoon. I also know that this won't be a quick process."
"Agreed." Wynn said. "We will work this afternoon and then have the weekend to deal with other things."
Abigail nodded. Wynn turned and headed across the road with Jacobs.
"Everything okay, Sir." Jacobs asked.
"Yes." Wynn said. "Abigail is feeling torn again."
"I am sure that it is not easy." Jacobs said. "I am sure that she wants to be with her customers, but also knows that she needs to deal with town business. There have been so many changes, I am sure that she hasn't had time to adjust. I am going to see if Frank can sit down and talk to her."
"I know that they are close." Wynn said. "But do you think that she will open up to him?"
"I think she will." Jacobs said. "I have seen the looks that they exchange. I think that their feelings for each other are deeper than either are willing to admit. I am sure that with everything going on, added to the fact that Abigail's husband has been gone just over a year are fueling a fear of opening up. I think if I talk to Frank, he will be able to break through Abigail's wall. I think that they are both afraid, but I am sure that they love each other."
"I will leave that to you." Wynn said. "I may have played matchmaker for Beth, but that was different."
Jacobs looked at Wynn with a raised eyebrow.
"I will explain later." Wynn said. "Or you could ask Jack how he came to be stationed here in the first place."
"Got it." Jacobs said.
Jacobs had heard part of the story of how Jack ended up in Hope Valley, but to hear it in Jack's words, would be something. Jacobs put the thoughts aside and went over to the office with Wynn. As much as Jacobs wanted to sit and visit with people, he knew that there was work to do and he needed to focus on that at the moment. He knew that there would be time to sit and visit later.
When Wynn and Jacobs got to the office, they didn't see Dee. They weren't concerned as they knew that he was running back and forth to the mercantile for wires. So they took their seats and went back to their work.
"Andrew." Wynn said. "Just so you know, Abigail will be staying at the cafe this afternoon. If we need her, we can go get her. It is just that she only has Ann in the afternoons so she usually spends the afternoons there."
"That is fine." Andrew said. "We are going to continue as we were. We want to get through all the books before we sit down with questions. We have only been asking background questions at this point, but I think we should be fine. However, if we find anything, I will keep that in mind. I can always run across and ask a quick question as well."
Dee came back in shortly after that. He had another stack of wires.
"The law books from Calgary will be on the stage Monday." Dee said. "Also, headquarters confirms that if we want to bring charges against either of the Higgins men, they will back it up. It was also suggested that young Mr Higgins be moved to Buxton and then back to Hamilton where they can deal with things."
"You will need to go talk to Beth." Wynn said.
"I will go in a little bit." Dee said. "I want to get through these other wires and we need to talk about what possible charges will be. I know that we need to talk to Beth, but I wanted us all on the same page first. I also wanted to hear what you thought we should do. This is a different situation."
Before Elizabeth could get one of the guards, there was a knock at the door and Dee entered.
"Hey." Jack said. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to both of you." Dee said.
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "We were just going to head up and take a nap."
"I won't be long." Dee said. "I just need to know if Beth wants to press charges on Mr Higgins?"
"What kind of charges?" Jack asked.
"Making false allegations." Dee said. "That is just for starters. From what we have learned, he met with Charles Kensington a couple of weeks ago. Charles paid Mr Higgins to make allegations that you didn't actually receive a teaching certificate and you had your father buy it for you. Apparently Charles knew that you would never come back as long as there was a job here for you, so he was determined to make sure that you didn't have a job. There are also a few other minor charges that Jacobs and Andrew were talking about, but those wouldn't matter what you thought."
"Bella." Jack said.
"Do whatever you need to do to get all three of those men out of my life forever." Elizabeth said. "I warned Charles that if he came after my teaching certificate that I wasn't going to hold back on him."
"I know." Dee said. "I just wanted to check."
"Anything else?" Jack asked.
"Not really." Dee said. "This was the biggest thing. If you agreed, Dad and Jacobs were going to have Captain Cook and Constable Lane take him to Buxton. Charles has been moved to Hamilton and will be facing additional charges."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "Jack and I were going to have a quiet night in. I don't know if there are enough leftovers for all three of us."
"I will eat in town." Dee said. "Mom has a project that she needs Andrew and I to work on tonight. So that will workout perfectly. Mom and Patty will be here mid-morning tomorrow to cook and talk about school."
"I know, thank you." Elizabeth said.
"Then if there is nothing else." Dee said. "Jacobs and I will be back later to give Jack a treatment."
"Can you help me upstairs?" Jack asked. "And check the mail before you come back."
"I can do those things." Dee said.
Dee helped Jack upstairs while Elizabeth picked up the downstairs. When Dee came back, he looked at his cousin.
"Are you okay?" Dee asked.
"I will be." Elizabeth said. "I was shaken this morning and then I was angry after your mother told me a little more at lunch."
"Let it go." Dee said. "We will deal with it. Apparently, your Aunt Agatha is not happy and has made several phone calls already."
"Oh boy." Elizabeth said.
"Go upstairs." Dee said. "I will lock the front door and slip out the back. I will also let the guards know that you are both sleeping. I need to grab something from my room."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth headed upstairs, while Dee grabbed the sketchbook he needed and then left.