CHAPTER 33

Elizabeth and Jack, went to their new house where they spent their first night. The next day promised. The two would be interrogated by Rose about the honeymoon and they knew she would be very insistent. Jack and Elizabeth laughed, they could say it was, the honeymoon, of dreams; but they could not tell the details. And so laughing, they fell asleep.

Bill and Charlotte, arrived home. She was quiet, and he didn't know what was going on in her mind.

"You like that young lady a lot, don't you Bill?"

— Yes. I love that young woman, as if she were my daughter.

- Why?

— She doesn't need a reason to be loved, charlote. But she, when I got here, welcomed me and transformed me. My heart was heavy and closed, I changed a lot, after suffering the death of my son, but she arrived slowly, she started laying the groundwork, so to speak, and when I realized it, I was already opening my heart to her. And I ended up moving and decided to stay here in the city.

— I noticed, that they are really in love. And I also noticed that the city loves them very much.

—Charlote, they are very popular here. Just imagine... A former villain of the city, who was arrested, who did various evils, was regenerated due to a certain teacher. She was the only one who gave him strength and trusted him and his reconciliation with the path of good. On the day he was being transferred to prison, she handed him a small package of food, gave him a smile and told him that she trusted him. She sent him letters every month, sent him boxes of cookies that she learned to make from Abigail, and when he got out of parole, she was here, waiting for him in the square, in front of the whole city, and when he came down from the stagecoach, she hugged him and said welcome.

If a man of this stature can change because of her, then that means, that she is very good, with a huge heart.

"I noticed Bill. And saying goodbye, they went to rest.

The next morning, Charlotte waited for Bill to leave straight for the office, and taking her horse, she went to school. From afar she saw the wonderful school, which on weekends served as a church. It was small but welcoming; The work itself screamed "LOVE". She knew her son used all of his winnings from busting a gang to build that school. He said it was his contribution to the city, but in an excerpt from the letter, she remembered him speaking very clearly, that he couldn't leave her, teaching in a bar, besides the danger with other men from out of town, she deserved a proper place to teach the children that Hamilton could offer her wonderful places to teach, but that he would offer a special place full of love. And really, her son did school for Elizabeth!

This work was pure love...

Charlotte, had a plan, to approach before the students arrived, but would introduce herself as a new farmer...

She tethered her horse and when she couldn't find Elizabeth, she went to the back of the school, where sounds were coming from...

She was singing as she carried firewood into the school. Charlotte had never seen a teacher do that...

- Hello! Want help? I'm new here, I'm Jane... That was her middle name, so Charlotte Jane, she didn't feel like a liar.

- Hello! I'm Elizabeth Thorton. I'm the teacher. Sorry but my hands are dirty, she pulled her hands away.

But before he hid them, Charlotte grabbed his hand, saying it was a pleasure to meet her and that she had a beautiful name and Thorton was a strong name, of someone valuable.

Elizabeth smiled...

— Yes, he is valuable. And he is my greatest treasure, my husband Jack Thorton.

So the two started talking and carrying firewood to school. She said that Jack or Bill always cut the wood and left everything organized for her inside the school, but that as it started to get cold, she would leave a few more logs closer to the stove. Charlotte, saw that she lit the stove, in an easy way, she also said that she didn't want the children to feel cold, that's why she always arrived an hour before and that she put the place to warm up. She smiled and said:

"This is their home. I want them to feel welcomed.

Class was about to start, and Elizabeth asked if she would like to join.

- Can I! I will love to see how the class works.

— Of course you can, either you or any of the parents, you are always very welcome here. And Charlotte saw her taking something from the table, opening the doors and playing...

— A cowbell! He spoke loudly without meaning to.

Elizabeth smiled and told about Jack's gift, as well as telling everything briefly about her students' farm that she took care of when she arrived in town.

In her time as a teacher, charlote, she had never witnessed something like that. After the sound of the bell, children and young people appeared from all sides. Everyone wanted attention from the new Mrs. Thorton. They had a class on prejudice. That teacher got the attention of all of her twenty-eight students, and she had kids ages six to sixteen, and that was amazing; how she had so much power and managed to exert so much fascination on everyone in that room. Even Charlotte, a retired teacher, was delighted and took lessons from that class. Now she was realizing why Jack was so taken with her.

When the afternoon arrived, she had already asked a young man called Robert to run to the police station and inform Jack and Bill, and she would go to Laura's house, as she needed to talk to her father about the direction of the girl's studies and that needed be resolved that day. Elizabeth knew that the girl wanted to be a teacher, but her father, an uneducated widower, didn't think he could afford it or that his daughter should continue studying. He needed help on the farm, he couldn't send Laura to another city, just to waste time studying. Elizabeth invited Jane to go with her to the farm, she would be good company.

Soon Robert, who arrived carrying Apollo, was Bill's horse, so that Elizabeth could go to the farm without getting tired. Charlotte was impressed, she knew Bill's fame, as Jack had already talked about it, that he and his horse Apollo were inseparable and the man wouldn't let anyone ride him. Jack was good with horses and loved them, so he liked Apollo at first sight. Going alone, she realized that Elizabeth actually had Bill in her hands. She saw that girl, climbing in a perfect jump, and questioned her where she had learned to ride so well. Because he realized there that she used the techniques of the mountie and Charlotte always saw her husband doing that.

Elizabeth proudly said that her husband had taught her and that when she arrived in the city, she had never gotten on a horse, but today she loved it and that Sargent and Apollo were her favorite horses.

"Sergeant? Charlotte was startled; not even herself, had climbed on her son's mountie horse.

- Yes; it's my husband's horse. And this one is Apollo, my father's horse... I mean Judge Bill Avery's. She said amazed, wanting to fix her speech.

"You can call him Dad if that makes you feel good." I'm not that formal.

- My father. You can't even imagine how much I like that word.

They arrived at Laura's farm, and Charlotte saw you as a born teacher, she used reason, heart and emotion to convince the girl's father to allow her to continue her studies. Elizabeth, had it all planned out; she would help with the studies and got a scholarship for Laura… it would be distance learning and in the end Elizabeth herself would administer the final test and send it to the secretary of education in Hamilton. And so they said goodbye to that family, and each one of them went home, knowing that Laura would fulfill her dream of being a teacher.

That night on her pillow, Charlotte, thought of her late husband and thanked him for helping her to know the real Elizabeth, without prejudice to her last name and family. She already liked that young woman very much, and now she saw the kind of woman she was. And to God, she sent a prayer before closing her eyes:

"LORD, PROTECT MY SON AND HIS WIFE ELIZABETH FROM ALL DANGERS, OPEN THEIR WAYS AND ALLOW THEM TO ALWAYS BE HAPPY...

AUTHOR'S NOTE= And Charles, he's already marking his territory with evil, and there's more to come...

Wynn… he's coming.

And it has a lot of mystery and hidden stories that will spice up the next chapters and our imagination. And since today is a holiday here in Brazil, I'll be presenting you with three chapters.