A/N Welcome to our correction of the mess that was Season 9 and what we are sure will be Season 10. It will pick up before the beginning of S9 and address issues from S8 too. Special shout-outs to our betas Amy Mefford, Nancy Nash, and Chrissy Sengle. We will post our weekly updates to this story every Sunday. Please let us know what you think. Also, a very special Shout Out to Stine Vikesland for designing our cover. She submitted it as part of a contest for the Heartie Analyzer's Season 10 poster contest and was our winner. She graciously agreed to let us use it for our story cover and modified it to add a title.
Elizabeth sat talking with her Aunt Agatha, Viola, and Julie in the drawing room of her aunt's Hamilton elegant townhouse. As always, talk turned towards gossip, and her sister Viola began telling a story of a young lady who was recently disgraced by a man in his thirties.
"The crazy thing was that everyone knows he is a scoundrel. I mean, after all, his favorite book is Dangerous Liaisons."
"OOH, I read that book," Julie said. "I take it that she met the same end as the unfortunate Cecile?"
"Yes, only she wasn't in a monastery or became a nun. The sad part is, it was only a week before her wedding to one of the most eligible bachelors. Of course, that is now by the wayside poor girl.
"Okay, I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage because I haven't read that book, although it is Lucas' favorite," Elizabeth said.
"Somehow, neither fact surprises me, Sister," Julie said, chuckling. "Let's just say it isn't Jane Austen or William Shakespeare. As for it being Lucas' favorite book, well, let's just say that he seems more the type of man I go for than you. Truth is, he is more like the type of man that you were always warning me to stay away from."
With a start, Elizabeth realized that her sister was right. Viola's words further compounded her unease. "Julie is right, Elizabeth. You turned down Charles because you said that you didn't want the Hamilton lifestyle. I was shocked, but over the years you have lived in Hope Valley, you seemed content in the primitive frontier. "But now you are changing away from the woman you used to be, especially your clothing."
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked, beginning to feel offended. "What she means, sweetheart," her aunt said. "Is that your style has changed, especially in the past six months. I have never seen you wear such dark colors or, dare I say, such progressive style."
"I mean, think of the dresses you tried on yesterday. The decolletage was a bit low, even for Hamilton's standards. Those two dresses you brought from Hope Valley should be in the trash bin." Viola added, though not meaning to be unkind, it still hurt.
Elizabeth knew the two she was talking about that Lucas loved. Her favorite ones sat in her closet at home because he said they made her look like an old schoolmarm.
"Do… do you have a copy of the book Julie?" Elizabeth asked.
"She borrowed mine because your parents would be horrified if they knew any of you had read it," Agatha said, getting up from her chair to peruse the bookshelves against the wall. "But an old woman like me loves to flirt with scandal occasionally to fill my empty days between society affairs."
"You know you should come to spend some time in Hope Valley, Aunt Agatha. It might prove to be exciting, and I would love to spend time showing you my home."
Selecting a book from her shelf, she approached Elizabeth and handed it to her. "You know, I just might do that. Best you keep that hidden from your mother, dear."
Elizabeth thanked her, and then she and her sisters took their leave. Elizabeth spent the rest of the day into the early morning hours, reading it. She couldn't even finish it because the story was scandalous and heartbreaking at the same time.
As Elizabeth fell into a deep sleep, she started to dream of being back in Hope Valley. Hope Valley was a wonderful town where people helped each other and were kind and loving. They would help each other through tough situations and band together to build a church, paint a home, or fulfill any need.
Things changed, though. The people changed. It started with the influence of one Lucas Bouchard. A gambler at heart. When he first came to town, he pushed the norm and had later hours at his Queen of Hearts Saloon. He loved literature and wanted to play out his favorite book, Dangerous Liaisons. He became fascinated with the widowed teacher, Elizabeth Thornton. He chose her and gambled with her heart. He would win her. She was the largest prize! It became more enticing when he realized the local Mountie, Nathan Grant, was also interested in her.
It took him 3 years, but he did finally win her. But there was more. He wanted her to have high morals and totally go against them.
Scenes from the previous three years began to play as, time and again, she rejected Nathan's love or ran from it out of fear of losing him, but she already felt his loss as he and Allie kept her at a certain distance though they had begun to develop a sort of friendship. Then things morphed once again and she began to see a future of her a year after dating Lucas in the summer of 1918 it wasn't long before they discovered that in order for them to spend time together, she had to spend evenings at the Queen of Hearts. She happily left her almost 3-year-old son with the Coulters each night.
Elizabeth Thornton's rejection of the selfless Mountie changed him, too. He lost all desire to continue being the moral, selfless, upstanding Mountie that he was. Instead, he took up spending time at the Queen of Hearts. And for the first time in his life, he did something he swore he would never do. He started drinking and gambling.
Elizabeth found that she enjoyed spending time at the Queen of Hearts and drank heavily too. That first year of spending time at the Queen of Hearts with Lucas was her last one as a teacher. She found that she couldn't stay awake to teach her students. She often had a hangover. Pastor Joseph Canfield had taken his children out of school because of her poor influence and moved his family to the town of Brookfield. A two-hour car ride away.
Rosemary and Elizabeth were no longer close. In fact, Rosemary and Lee decided to move to Brookfield as well. They helped Lillian at the orphanage. Lee eventually became the town mayor and Rosemary started a monthly newspaper in addition to their responsibilities at the orphanage. They would visit Hope Valley once a month for 3 days. Lee would make sure everything was going well with Kurt Lawson and his management of Coulter Enterprises. Rosemary would bring Little Jack to visit his mother.
Yes, in 1919 when he was 3, Little Jack spent the summer with his grandparents in Hamilton. When his Aunt Julie brought him back, Elizabeth didn't know what to do with him. She slept all morning, then the rest of the time she was entertaining at the Queen of Hearts, whether it was serving the customers their food, or providing services in the back room where the gambling occurred, or entertaining someone in a room upstairs. She ended up begging Rosemary to keep Jack with her and Lee in Brookfield. Of course, they were more than happy to do so. Jack grew up in a loving home with lots of children to play with. Every so often he would get a new brother or sister.
The summer of 1919 was the start of her sharing her favours. Everyone knew that she hadn't been staying at her row house since Jack's third birthday. That last winter and spring her son was in Hope Valley her Nanny would watch her son at the row house during the day. She had been spending an hour with him in the afternoon before Rosemary got home. Then she would leave him with Lee and Rosemary until they took him home in the morning when the Nanny arrived again. Everyone knew she spent the nights with Lucas in his room at the saloon. Things changed after the school year ended. Now that she was no longer teaching, and Little Jack was visiting his grandparents for the summer, she became freer with the gentlemen customers.
Lucas Bouchard had actually tired of Elizabeth. He had won the prize, he had corrupted her morals. He was satisfied with that win but was bored again.
He thought it might be time to move on. He started gambling more and looking for another town to invest in. He was surprised that his winning Elizabeth and corrupting her had also corrupted the local Mountie. Nathan became a gambling buddy for a while. The problem was that Nathan always won. Always.
Nathan thought if women liked the rich men dressed in suits, he would become like that, too. He had women vying for his attention all day long. On the street they would stop him and touch his arm. Every time the stagecoach dropped off women, they would flock to him. Florence's niece asked if he would go with her to find a hat she lost in the woods. Michael Hickham's sister wanted him to go on a horse ride with her. In the Queen of Hearts he never ate alone. A lady would always ask if she could join him so they wouldn't have to eat alone.
Nathan didn't neglect his daughter. They had worked out a schedule. He spent the day with her on Saturday. Friday and Saturday nights she went on sleepovers. Those were his late nights at the Queen of Hearts. Sundays he spent all day and night with her. He also spent Tuesday and Thursday evenings with her. Mondays and Wednesdays she was on her own. Though Ellen Weise or Mary Wolf would always have her over for supper. He was usually home by 10 or 11.
It was just as surprising to Nathan as to everyone else that he was so good with cards. Much better than the other men in town. Soon, the only people who would play with him were Lucas and visitors from out of town. It was a matter of pride with Lucas. He had won the prize that was Elizabeth and won Nathan over to gambling. But Nathan kept winning. Until he was the richest man in town.
Elizabeth made that discovery one Friday night when there were no other gentlemen to entertain. She went to the owner's suite where her belongings were. There was a cot she had been sleeping on when her visits with guests didn't last all night. But this night she was feeling unfulfilled and amorous. She thought she would entice Lucas into a romp. Well, that was the best she had ever had, and she said so. When he turned on the lamp beside the bed, she discovered she had just been with Nathan. His reply was that unfortunately, you turned down the opportunity to have daily exclusive access to such activity.
Turns out he had won the Queen of Hearts and Lucas' shares of Gowen Petroleum in that night's game of cards. Lucas planned on leaving for his parents' home in Montreal the next morning with only the clothes on his back. Nathan had slowly been winning all his fortune and profits from both businesses for months. As the new owner, Nathan worked out a deal with Elizabeth so that she could remain as a guest in the owner's suite and still enjoy her heart's true calling. Drinking and spending time with men. She even was able to enjoy private time with Nathan again on rare occasions.
Five years later the moral corruption was widespread in Hope(less) Valley. Nathan was still the richest man in the community. He spent his days at the King of Hearts. He called his managers to the saloon office so they could give their reports and discuss business for an hour every afternoon. Other than that he was at leisure to spend his time how he wanted. Visitors came to the town specifically for the games of chance and for the friendly ladies at the King of Hearts.
Nichols and Dimes had a room built off the back where a bed was often used after hair or grooming services were paid for. Dr. Carter often asked her male patients for assistance in her apartment above the infirmary after her patients' office visit or when they were healthy again after an ailment. It was a form of payment, she said.
There is moral corruption that is more acceptable socially than others. The Yosts were tight-fisted with their wealth. They were the third or fourth wealthiest in the community. There was no more donation of things for free. They collected every nickel and dime owed to them. They also shared information freely. They were the central gossips of the community. Nothing passed by them, either. They had prime sources with the mail, telegraph, and telephone services coming through the mercantile.
Molly Sullivan had become slothful and obese. A glutton. When Bill sold his part of Abigail's Café to Nathan, he also left Hope Valley for Brookfield. Molly had been sweet on Bill, and they had even shared some coffee and meals together. When he left it devasted her and within a year she could be seen waddling through town to the Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Shoppe for her daily ice cream and soda.
Katie Yost and Laura Campbell tried to teach and portray good morals to the school children. But they failed with many of the students. Allie, Anna, and Opal all dropped out of school and became teenage moms. Allie was the only one who married her baby's father. Robert was now the town Mountie. However, Allie's second child looked very much like Paul Blakely, to Florence's chagrin. Fortunately for Emily, Cat could see what was going on early in 1919 and they moved to be closer to her eldest son, Gabe.
Michael Hickham and Kevin Townsend spent every evening at the King of Hearts. They even spent time with Elizabeth and the other ladies. They, along with Nathan also frequented the little room off Nichols and Dimes after a haircut or shave. Bruce Weise, Kurt Lawson, and Richard Wolf were more likely to be the ones "helping" Faith with things in her apartment. Their wives cut their hair and wouldn't let them near the saloon unless a community event was happening there and those were few and far between these days. Whereas they could often pretend to be sick, and their clueless wives would send them to see Dr. Faith. They went with no complaint.
Jack had grown to be a big 8-year-old. He loved his mom and dad. A few times his mama had come to live in the Brookfield Hotel for a month or two. Each time she did that Mom and Dad Coulter got a new baby. Jack now had a brother named Nathan, another brother named Kevin, and a sister Michaela. But they called her Mikey. He didn't go with Mom to see Mama every month anymore. Instead, she came for their birthdays. They would see her four times a year unless she had one of the longer stays at the Brookfield Hotel. He was really happy with Mom and Dad Coulter and his brothers and baby sister. He thought he was a fortunate boy. His favourite day of the week was Sunday when he got to hear Angela Canfield play the piano at church.
Elizabeth woke up crying out in horror at how not only she had changed but so did her beloved town and the people she considered family. Rushing to the mirror, she looked at her appearance, afraid she would see herself as she had been in the dream. Then needing even more assurance, she ran out her door in desperate need of Julie's comfort and a determination to fix the huge mess she had gotten herself and her son into. Already grieving over the love that she had carelessly tossed aside out of her fear of losing him and knowing that the crushing pain she now felt would only increase when she returned home.
A/N The words that are italicized are from Chapter 1 of Melissa's story Dream of Hopeless Valley, which she published under her pen name Missela.