MEANWHILE IN HAMILTON

William Thatcher sat in his office wondering how things were going with Elizabeth and Nathan. He knew that today was the day that Allie was joining them on Charlotte's ranch.

While he knew that his wife of 35 years and older daughter wouldn't be happy, he was beyond thrilled at the idea that Elizabeth could still find that great love he had always wanted her to find. A love like what she had lost when Jack Thornton had perished in that landslide. It seemed to be unfair that the brave Mountie would have survived the Northern Territories only to be lost in a landslide that could have happened to anyone.

In his wife's mind, only Violet made her proud and made something of herself, while her other two were an embarrassment. The funny thing was that Julie and Elizabeth seemed happier than Violet, who married a member of the British peerage. He supposed that her views stemmed from her being from a wealthy background that went back generations, and it was expected to continue to maintain the family name by marrying well.

He had grown up with wealth as well, but his grandfather was from common stock and their wealth was considered "new" money. However, his father had more than tripled it, and the Thatchers were now considered royalty among their peers because of it. That was why William had even been considered a good match for Grace. He had fallen in love with her from the very first time he saw her at her debutante ball. For the most part, they were very happy in their marriage but after the girls arrived and began to move into society she began to change, and her views became stricter on what she expected from her girls.

What she hadn't counted on, though, was the Thatcher stubbornness that had been inherently bred within his two younger girls. In comparison, Elizabeth looked and acted like the Thatcher side. Violet was the complete embodiment of her mother's side of the family. Julie looked like her mother but was all Thatcher inside. She also spent a lot of time under Elizabeth's influence growing up, and they were as close as two siblings could be.

He chuckled as he thought back to that day she laid down the law at the dinner party and refused to back down. Grace had informed Elizabeth that she had accepted three invitations to society events over the next three days and that Charles would be her escort. She whispered to Tom and then, after he left, stood up and addressed the room.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but I won't be going. As I stated multiple times before arriving, and even reiterated that fact, since I have been here in Hamilton, I have no desire to attend any social functions while I am here. I only came to visit my family, not socialize with people I barely know. Please feel free to give them whatever reason you like, however. Furthermore, Mother, let me make it perfectly clear to you now that I won't be attending anything, anytime, anywhere here in Hamilton unless I wish it. I am not a little girl or the young woman who first went to Coal Valley, and you need to grasp that reality fully. I am a grown woman with a child of my own, one that you barely acknowledged since we first arrived. But more than that, I am a young widow of a wonderful man who died saving others as a Mountie. I know the pain and reality of losing a husband that you don't know and pray you never do. I gave birth during a blizzard in a hunting cabin, with only my two dearest friends with me. I'm raising my son as a single parent, working to provide for him, teaching school, and using the pension provided by my husband, all while still leaving my trust fund untouched. Other than missing my husband very much, I love my life in Hope Valley. I prepare my own meals, wash my own clothes, ride a horse to get around, and live quite simply, all without indoor plumbing! I can say that I am standing on my own two feet, and I take pride in it."

"Elizabeth, how dare you be so disrespectful to your father and me?" her mother said.

"Mother, I can't believe that you are sitting there asking me about respect. Especially when you have completely ignored my wishes, thinking you know what is best. I teach my students that respect goes both ways and until you see that, then I think that it's best for me to refrain from visiting for now. I'm not saying that this life is a bad one; only that it's not the one I want to raise my child in, nor do I choose it for myself. I love my family very much and loved growing up here. What you may call disrespect, I call standing up for myself and my child. Please don't ever presume to know what is best because you don't even know me." She said sadly.

Turning to her right, she said, "Charles, I am not interested in any type of relationship with you. I'm sorry to be so blunt about it, but it appears you haven't received that message yet, so I have no choice but to be direct. At this point, any chance of a friendship we might have had left is gone after your last visit to Hope Valley. Please do not approach me again because I can assure you that your attentions are most unwelcome."

Finally, she addressed her older sister. "Viola, you need to tend to your own affairs and stay out of mine." Elizabeth turned to go but suddenly realized that now was the perfect time to address something else.

"Elizabeth Rose Thatcher, I will not allow you to talk to me in this manner." Grace Thatcher said.

"I am sorry, Mother, and though you don't like it, I am Lizzie Thornton and proud of that fact. I will not allow you to treat me as if I am 6 years old and make decisions for me." She knew that her mother hated hearing the horrible nickname that Julie, Tom, and her aunt used. In her mind, the true Elizabeth was more like the woman who married Jack. On the other hand, Elizabeth Thatcher was the horrible woman from this past year. A woman who had carelessly wounded the heart of a dear man and his daughter, recklessly for selfish reasons. She had no desire ever to be that person again and preferred Lizzie over Elizabeth. By this time, she was walking to her father and said, "Father, for the remainder of my visit, if you would like to see Jack or me, please come to Julie's, as I will not be returning here."

"That sounds perfectly reasonable to me, Lizzie dear." Her father said with a wink, using her nickname. She smiled at the gasp of outrage from her mother as she kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Father." Elizabeth turned to go but suddenly realized that now was the perfect time to address something else.

"Before I leave, I have one last thing to say. I don't know what possessed any of you to think I would have ever chosen Charles over Jack. Having money or being from an influential family doesn't automatically make someone a good person." Remembering how they had treated her late husband.

"Jack and Tom Thornton are two of the best men I have ever known, and I was blessed to be Jack's wife. I'm telling all of you now that I know what is best for me and my son. It is I who will decide what that is. I won't tolerate any more of your interference because you are not in charge of me or my life. If I am ever lucky enough to gain the love of a good man, no matter where he comes from or does for a living, you will treat him with respect, or you will remain out of my life. You may think you are better than the people of Hope Valley, but I can assure you that you are not." Elizabeth added, thinking of Nathan, Bill, Rosemary, Lee, and the others.

She then went to her Aunt Agatha. "How was that for being scandalous?" she said with a grin as she kissed the woman's cheek. (1)

He and Agatha toasted her as she walked out like the Queen of England, not caring about anything else. He had never been so proud and knew that she was just like her grandfather in that way. Of course, Julie couldn't help stirring the pot by referring to her as Lizzie either as they left, which further infuriated her mother.

Later that night, he heard an earful, and they had a huge fight when he refused to agree with his wife about Elizabeth and her actions. In fact, he laid down the law for the first time in their marriage that she was never ever to interfere with their girls again. He also stipulated to her that he would no longer tolerate disrespect of Tom or whoever Elizabeth chooses to spend her life with. His final act that night was to point out that instead of worrying about her daughters, she needed to look at herself and figure out how to be a proper grandmother because she had neglected their grandson the entire night. If she wasn't careful, she could find herself very lonely while he enjoyed the family God blessed them with. Things were still frosty between them, and he began spending more time at the office.

As a boy, he spent many a day on the docks alongside his grandpa and father. They had insisted on him learning every aspect of the business. He recalled that day they had the conversation.

He had been about 12, and he was working with his grandfather one afternoon, helping with the loading of cargo.

"Grandpa, if you run the company, why do you and Papa still work the docks and insist I do? Shouldn't we be in the office?"

"Willy, my boy, when you are the boss, you have a responsibility to your workers. A business is only as good as the people who do the job. Knowing how to do every aspect of operating the company serves two things. First, it lets the people working for you know you are not afraid to work beside them and value their time. Since you'll know exactly how hard the job is to do, you'll never ask more of them than they can give. That will go a long way to earning their loyalty, and you need to reward them with fair wages. The other benefit is that you know how it should be done and will know when someone is not doing their job. Be careful not to become complacent because the closest people are sometimes wolves in sheep's clothing. A good man of integrity will take whatever job he needs to in order to feed his family. He knows instinctively the value of a hard day's work for his wages. On the other hand, someone who thinks he is above hard work and wants something for nothing.? Those are the type of men you stay away from. That goes for life in general as well as business."

He thought back to the last time he had ever gone to the docks and realized that he was way overdue, and he was surprised to see he was eager to go. As he stood up, there was a knock, and the door opened without him even responding, which irritated him. His secretary knew better than to allow that. Upon seeing Charles, though, he realized why she had, making him compare Charles to Tom. Tom only entered if William gave him permission out of respect. His grandpa's words returned to him, too, and he realized that Charles needed to be watched.

"Charles? What are you doing here?" William said with a hint of irritation. "You are supposed to be over at the dock checking on the loading of that shipment we have departing tomorrow."

Charles wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I figured with Thornton out of the office, you will need me here since I know the job better. Besides, it's a waste of my talent because anyone can load a ship; it's not like it takes any skill."

"Well, make an appointment with Claire because I have someplace to be and can't talk now," William said, continuing to head to the door.

"Where are you going? I think since Thornton isn't here, I should go with you. When is he due back anyway? I'll never understand why you would ever consider giving him the company. He has no formal education and doesn't know the first thing about running a business of this size. Why, the men at the club will laugh in his face."

"First of all, my comings and goings are not your business unless I say it is. If I deem that you need to know, I will inform you. As for Tom, he is handling things in Cape Fullerton, as I requested. I'm not even going to dignify the rest of what you said with an answer. But there are a couple of things I want to make clear," William said, his tone became glacial, and his eyes hardened. "Don't ever refer to my son-in-law as Thornton again. It is Tom, or maybe it should be Mr. Thornton, and second, you stay away from Elizabeth because I will NEVER see you as a suitable match for her, regardless of what my wife and Viola think."

Charles stood there in shock, unable to voice a response.

"Are we clear, Charles?" William said.

"Yes, we are."

William ushered him out and locked his office door. No one but him had the key. He also changed the lock himself occasionally so that if someone managed to get a copy, it wouldn't last long. Since he did the work himself, no one knew about it except Elizabeth. It was a trick he learned from his grandpa and papa. He did keep a spare hidden in his desk that only Elizabeth knew about. He missed her and really wanted to get things settled so he could take the trip to see her and hopefully meet her Mountie.

A/N (1) is an excerpt from Ch 5