Chapter 6 – An Agreement
Bill took the lead.
"William." Bill said. "I am going to assume you have a proposal you would like to put forward."
"Yes." William said. "I am willing to negotiate on some of it, but there are some points that are absolute."
"And this is in regards to Elizabeth's behavior as of late?" Abigail asked.
"Yes and her ability to teach." William said.
"She has failed to listen to any of us that she is on the wrong path." Abigail said. "So we will take any help that you can give. The last thing that we want is for something to happen to Elizabeth or Little Jack, but she can't continue down this path and remain a teacher here."
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but Bill cut her off.
"If you are thinking about fighting over the building." Bill said. "Jack made sure that it was clear that the building belonged to the town. He might have donated the money to build it and did most of the labor, but it doesn't belong to you so you can get that out of your head right now. Unless you want to end up behind bars in a lot more trouble, I would suggest that you check that attitude that you are sporting and listen very carefully to your father."
"As I was saying." William said. "The three points in this that I will not negotiate are
1. Elizabeth needs to take a year off of teaching to get her life together
2. Elizabeth needs to focus on Little Jack and healing during that time
3. Elizabeth needs to immediately break off her engagement to Lucas Bouchard and stop all forms of communication with him other than civil greetings around town.
I have other things that I am willing to negotiate on. They include where she is going to live, how she will pay for things and who will be involved in her life. If she fails to do any of the three first points, then I will have her teaching certificate revoked, I will cut her off from her trust fund and will file papers to remove Little Jack from her care."
"You can't take my son!" Elizabeth yelled.
"Mrs Thornton." Collins said. "As of right now, there is enough for the RCMP to step in and recommend that Jack Thornton Jr be removed from your care for his own well being. I am sure that Corporal Grant and Judge Avery would be more than willing to do the paperwork given how you are acting."
Elizabeth looked at Nathan and Bill.
"I never wanted to hurt you." Nathan said. "But you have left me no choice. I have numerous documented times of you staying out way past the time you told Laura that you would be back and then not paying her for the extra time she was caring for Jack. Also the numerous times you kept her after dark without arranging for her to get home safely. Not to mention the numerous lavish dates you chose to go instead of spending time with Jack, including at least once when he was sick. These documented incidents are not only from Laura but the Coulters as well.
I have other documented narratives from other members of the community about how you treat Little Jack in public. The amount of time that you have spent with him in the saloon. There are also several documents from parents about their concerns regarding your teaching or lack thereof. I have documented several times you have left the classroom in the hands of an unapproved sub or let class out early. Like I said, I never wanted to hurt you, but you have left us no choice. I documented these things because it was my job. I have also documented each and every time that you have accosted me in the street or in my place of work with one of your rants and/or demands. I had enough to arrest you a long time ago if I had wanted. So I would suggest that you get over yourself and look at things from a different point of view before you lose the little that you have left."
Elizabeth huffed twice.
"What if I don't want to break things off with Lucas." Elizabeth said.
"Then that is your choice." William said. "You will then have to face the consequences of that choice. We all want you to be happy, but we know that your happiness won't be found on the path you are currently on. You need to make changes to your life and if you fail to do that, then you leave us no choice but to follow through with other things."
"I can't believe that you would really cut me off." Elizabeth snapped.
"I would do it in a heartbeat." William said. "If I thought for a moment that you were going to allow a known gambler and drifter access to the money that I work hard and sacrificed for."
"What am I supposed to do if I can't teach?" Elizabeth asked.
"You can write." Abigail said. "You can take the time to properly work through the grief that we know that you haven't. In doing those things, you would be able to show us that you have changed and are more like the woman I remember and not this lustful, angry, petulant teenager that you have turned into over the last year."
"How am I supposed to support myself if I am not working?" Elizabeth demanded.
"I will allow a very small stipend from your trust fund." William said. "I will set up an account and pay Laura, your nanny directly based on how many hours she works. I will also have the mercantile set up an account and I would pay that directly as long as you are being responsible about your purchases. I will not allow you to continue to try and flaunt that you have more than the rest of the town. You want to live out here, then you will live like the people out here and not put on airs as it seems I have been informed that you have been doing since taking up with Mr Bouchard."
"Father!" Elizabeth whined.
Everyone looked at Elizabeth when she pulled out that whiny tone.
"Don't start." William said. "You are not ten years old anymore. It didn't work then and it definitely won't work now."
"Lucas's mother is my editor." Elizabeth said. "How am I supposed to break off all communication with Lucas with his mother being my editor."
William reached back and Thompson handed him a stack of papers.
"As of two days ago." William said. "Helen Bouchard and her company no longer have anything to do with your book. I have bought the rights to it and they will also need to pay several thousand dollars into a trust that I have set up for the Corporal's daughter since you have used her story without permission I assume. It was ridiculous that they were only paying you thirty-five percent of the profits with Lucas getting twenty-five percent and them keeping forty for themselves. Your Aunt Agatha was horrified when she got her hands on the contract. She was wondering if you even read it before you signed it. The fifty percent that you should have been getting will now go into a trust for Allie Grant. I don't want to hear any argument from either of you.
Elizabeth was wrong in using personal details of a child's life without permission and then allowing others to take what was rightfully hers. Corporal Grant, Allie deserves the money. I am assuming that she wants to maybe go to college one day or she can use to start out in life. You will be able to manage the trust for her. She can't touch it until she is eighteen and then only for educational purposes. She can't draw an income from it until she is twenty-five or married. I have also set it up that even when she is married, unless she allows her future husband access, it will be hers and hers alone. I have set up my girls' trusts the same way. I know that is not common and that in places unmarried women are not allowed to own property, but my lawyers assure me that everything is completely legal and binding."
"Thank you, Sir." Nathan said. "Just let me know what I need to do."
"I will." William said.
"So you mean that Lucas wouldn't have automatically had access to my trust?" Elizabeth asked, stunned.
"That is exactly what I am saying." William said. "I have since put further restrictions on your trust, so that you can't draw a single penny from it without my permission. It will remain this way until you can prove to me that I can trust you. Will say this, if we are forced to remove Little Jack from your care, the entire trust goes with him."
Elizabeth sat there mouth agape for the second time that day.
"I will let Abigail and Bill here to be the judge of your change." William said. "They will send me reports and I would ask the same of the Corporal if he was willing. If they tell me that you have broken one of the stipulations that have been laid out, then my reaction will be immediate and swift. I am not you can't be with someone later, but it won't be Mr Bouchard. I want you to take this next year and get back to the Elizabeth that was beloved by this town."
"I am fine with that." Abigail said. "I miss the Elizabeth that I left when I went to take care of my mother. I feel like I don't even know this Elizabeth."
"I am fine with the agreement as well." Bill said. "I will do whatever I can do to take care of my godson."
"I will do what I have to." Nathan said. "I swore I would look over a fallen brother's family. Besides that, I love Little Jack and feel that it is my duty to be there for him since his father lost his life in the line of duty as I know that Bill and others were there for Jack Sr when he lost his own father in the line of duty."
William saw something in Elizabeth's eyes when Nathan agreed to be one that would check up on her.
"Elizabeth Grace." William said. "Whatever designs you have in your head about Corporal Grant end now. I have heard about how you have treated him and his daughter. You will leave them alone and if Corporal Grant wants something more with you, he can initiate it. So put a stop to those thoughts in your head right now. You are in no place to be with anyone and especially not the Corporal after the way that you have treated him."
Elizabeth glared at his father as he spoke.
"You can be mad all you want." William said. "You need to learn that the world doesn't revolve around you or what you want. There are other people in this world and from what I am learning you have hurt a lot of people in this town that you claim to love. So until you can prove that you have changed, I doubt that any man in this town would be willing to go out with you."
"That is not fair." Elizabeth huffed.
"No, it is more than deserved." Bill said. "I know that you were hanging out in the tree line over a month ago when we had the community picnic that you were so against because Nathan was going to be honored along with the other fathers. I could see your face when Nathan was named Hope Valley Father of the Year by the children of his town. You were so jealous that the children wanted to honor Nathan. We didn't put them up to it, they came up with it themselves.
They see all that he has done for Allie and you don't even know half the things that Nathan has done for this community as he is not one to toot his own horn. I read some of the things in that scrapbook and I didn't even know that he had done them. Did you know that Nathan has chopped wood for almost everyone widow and older person around Hope Valley or how about fishing with several of the boys one day. I sort of knew about the wood, but there was story after story of things that he had done for people that no one knew about."
Nathan blushed as Bill was talking. Nathan was embarrassed about all the praise that he had received that day. He loved to help other people, but he didn't want nor did he need he recognition for it. Part of him was glad that Superintendent Collins didn't mention the numerous awards and commendations that he had received over the years.
"Did you know that Little Jack was so excited about everything that day, especially the stories about his father." Nathan said. "He might not have understood everything, but every time someone mentioned Mountie Jack, his face lit up and he would smile up at me."
Abigail, Bill and Frank were nodding their heads.
"So it sounds like you are not giving me a choice." Elizabeth said. "You want me to choose between my son and my fiance. That is no choice."
"To most people." Frank said. "It would be an obvious choice, especially when said fiance wants nothing to do with said child."
"I agree." Bill said. "What has Lucas done for Jack?"
Bill looked at Elizabeth.
"What?" Elizabeth said.
"I asked you what Lucas has done for Jack." Bill said. "Has he spent time with him? Has he tried to get to know the child? Has he done anything for Jack?"
"He took him on one of our picnics." Elizabeth said.
"How did that go?" Abigail asked.
"Jack cried and knocked things over." Elizabeth said. "Lucas got mad and said it would never happen again."
"And you have still chosen to be with him." William said. "What do I need to say to get through to you that Lucas doesn't want Jack around."
"It will get better." Elizabeth said. "Jack just needs to learn to be around Lucas. Jack is a child and hasn't been around men that much."
"He doesn't act like that with me or Lee." Bill said.
"He doesn't do that when I have been around him." Nathan said.
"I am giving you until tomorrow to decide what you want, Elizabeth." William said. "If you agree, you can sign this agreement and return it to Judge Avery. If he doesn't have it by four o'clock tomorrow he will have paperwork that he can file to remove Little Jack and I will file the paperwork to cut you off from the trust."
"Fine, I will sign it." Elizabeth said.
"Just know that if you sign it." William said. "You are agreeing to do what is written in it. So I suggest that you read it over."
Elizabeth grabbed the agreement and skimmed it over, just like she did with other things. She didn't really read it and both William and Bill knew it. Elizabeth then grabbed a pen and scrawled her name across the bottom. William and Bill exchanged a look that didn't go unnoticed by Nathan. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but he had hoped that she would have at least taken it seriously.
"Good." William said.
He signed it and then passed it over to Bill and Abigail to sign.
"Bill if you could get some copies of that made." William said. "One for you, one for Abigail, one for the Corporal and one for Elizabeth. Then please send me the original."
"I can do that." Bill said.
"Elizabeth." William said. "You have seventy-two hours to break things off with Mr Bouchard. I will be checking in with Bill and Abigail to make sure it happens."
"So you said that he was in Edmonton." Elizabeth said.
"As far as I could tell." Thompson said.
"What if I can't get a hold of him?" Elizabeth asked.
"Then you write him a letter and return the ring." William said. "Before you drop off the letter at the saloon you let Bill and Abigail see that you have written it."
"Fine." Elizabeth said.
"Then I think we are done here." William said. "I have a bit of business with the Corporal."
William looked at his watch.
"I think if we finish that up." William said. "As much as I should move on because I have other business, I will stay and have supper here and maybe meet my grandson."
"Why don't you all come to the cafe?" Abigail said. "Nathan, you bring Allie as well. I will call Rosemary and have her and Lee come."
"I will help cook." Bill said.
"We can do that." William said. "Sam, are you staying or catching the train back."
"What are the plans for the night?" Sam asked.
"Are there rooms at the saloon?" William asked.
"Mr Thatcher." Nathan said. "I insist that you take my house. Allie can stay with Opal and I can stay at the jail."
"I will not displace you or your lovely daughter." William said. "I can stay at the saloon if there is room."
"I believe that there are rooms." Nathan said.
"I have an extra room if someone needs it." Bill said.
"We will figure something out." William said.
"What about your drivers and other people?" Nathan asked.
"They will be fine to stay in the train car tonight." William said. "I have two Pullman cars that will be moved off to a separate track to wait for me. They will be fine there or I can send them to Benson Hills or something. They have the cars."
"Why don't you send them to Benson Hills." Bill said. "How many rooms will you need?"
"Four." William said. "They can share, otherwise eight."
"Let me make a couple calls." Bill said.
"Can I leave?" Elizabeth said. "I have things to do and I want to check on Jack."
"Fine." William said. "Supper at …."
"Six thirty." Abigail said.
"Fine, I will be there with Jack." Elizabeth said.
She didn't say anything else, but just left in a huff. Abigail handed the keys to Bill. She then spoke to everyone and let them know that she was heading to the cafe. Frank agreed to head over as well so they could get supper going as it was already getting close to four. Bill made the arrangements for the hotel in Benson Hills. Being that it was a Wednesday night, they were fairly empty so they were able to get eight single rooms. Thompson was able to get on the phone and provide the information for billing Thatcher Industries for the rooms.