Chapter 4

The day had become quite hectic after the arrival of Allie and Lucas. Nathan was called out of the office and despite his delight at seeing his niece he was concerned about why they had come. Anything that involved Lucas Bouchard always raised questions in his mind.

"Allie, what are you doing here? You were to stay with Opal's family until I got back."

Allie gave that little shrug that he knew all too well, meaning that she had a story to tell and it was going to be a good one.

"Mrs Coulter was worried that you weren't going to get back in time for Christmas, although she told me that I would be very welcome to spend it with them if that was the case. Then some of the men from the lumber yard came back from logging higher up the mountain and said that there was a weather front moving in that looked as though it would bring a lot of heavy snow. I wasn't privy to the discussions amongst the adults but apparently Mr Gowen offered to drive me across to here so that you wouldn't feel pressured about helping Uncle Gabe with this case instead of coming back to me."

She paused for a breathe then but Nathan knew that there was more to come. "Dr Shepherd was worried about Mr Gowan being out for too long in the cold weather as apparently he has just recovered from a chest infection so it seemed as though the plan was going to have to be dropped."

Before going on she turned in the direction of Lucas, who was happily chatting with Abigail and Bill in the kitchen, a teacup in his hands and his cheeks turning to pink as he let the hot liquid warm him. "Thennnn….Mr Bouchard found out from Mrs Blakely and he told Mrs Coulter that there was nothing big planned at The Queen of Hearts this Christmas, at least nothing that Gustav couldn't deal with, so he would bring me. He said if it stays clear he will drive back tomorrow, if not he has booked a room in the hotel here."

Nathan let it all sink in for a minute, astounded by how many people were involved in getting his niece to him for Christmas. "Wow, that is a lot of kindness from everyone but I told you…."

Allie shook her head, causing him to pause so that she could continue, "That's not all. Mrs Canfield said that there was no point in wasting an empty car coming across here so she called around to everyone to see if there were any more donations and before we knew it the back seat was full". Seeing her opportunity to escape her uncle's stern words she quickly added, "I'd better organise some people to help me bring them in before more snow falls."

Elizabeth had wandered across to where they were standing, not wanting to interrupt but having heard Allie's last sentence she assured her that it was already in hand. "Lillian and Grace have already arranged that. I think they have roped Gabe into doing it, with the two oldest boys."

Nathan knew he had to get on with questioning the children but there were still some things he needed to ask. "Why didn't you telephone to let us know you were coming? What if something happened on the way and we weren't expecting you so wouldn't know to go out looking?"

Allie's hands flew up to her face then and she quickly looked around, "I need to use the telephone, I promised Mrs Blakeney I would let her know that we have arrived." Before she could move Elizabeth put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "I believe that Lucas has already taken care of that."

Upon hearing the ease with which she mentioned the saloon owner's name a shadow crossed Nathan's face as the reminder of who she had chosen hit him again and the image of her arriving back from Union City floated in front of him turning his smile into a slight scowl. "I'm sure he has", he muttered curtly under his breath before looking up at them again. "Right, I need to get back to what I was doing. Allie, please make yourself useful here as I am sure there is a lot to do. Elizabeth, if you could ask your….errr….Lucas….to not get in the way that would be appreciated. I shall of course thank him later for doing this for Allie". Somehow he couldn't bring himself to say more about the man who it seemed had won the competition for her affection so he quickly bid them both goodbye and walked out of the room, leaving Allie and Elizabeth wondering what had just happened.

This is worse than I imagined, Elizabeth told herself, but now is not the time to be thinking about that. She looked around for Abigail, hoping to spend some time with her friend as she knew there were more things they needed to talk about, not the least of which was what she guessed the other woman was hatching in her mind. She saw her across the other side of the room, sitting in the rocking chair trying to get the youngest of the Scott children to sleep.

The infant had suffered the worst in the fire of all the children, her little lungs having taken in a bit of smoke, but it was her good fortune that one of the men who helped save them had been a medic during the war so he recognised the need to help her. Expired air ventilation was still a fairly unknown practice on the frontier but he knew that getting air into her lungs was the best thing they could do for her. He knew the technique for adults as he had seen it used with soldiers on the battlefield but this was the first time he had thought about it for a child. The gentleness of the man had touched everyone watching before the panic that caused first Mrs Scott and then her husband to rush back into the burning building overshadowed everything.

After their arrival here Maggie Parsons, the Brookfield nurse, had given all the children a thorough check, stressing to everyone the need to be on the lookout for any signs that may indicate after effects from the fire. Thankfully all seemed to be fine but this little one needed the most monitoring, she said, especially throughout the coming winter months when the slightest infection could manifest itself into something much worse.

Abigail was humming quietly to Bessie as she rocked her gently, the little girl snuggled tightly into the crook of her arm. Elizabeth approached quietly, not wanting to disturb the infant whose eyes were fluttering in that final moment before sleep won the battle. She crouched down beside the chair, not saying anything, just nodding as though she understood what her friend was thinking and to let her know that she was in favour. It would be hard but there was no-one better to take on the task than Abigail Stanton and she was sure that the town of Hope Valley would be right behind her. Looking across to where the men were gathered she hoped that one man in particular would be there by her side.

"You seem very pensive today," Abigail observed, turning to carefully place little Bessie in the cot that sat beside her chair. Once she was sure the baby was settled she stood, lifting Elizabeth up along with her, and indicated towards the kitchen. The bustle of food preparation had died down for the moment and Abigail knew that there was nothing better than a chat with your closest friend over a cup of tea to help clear things in one's head. So with cups in hand they sat down on the window seat, the view out over the back almost magical as snow hung off the branches of the trees that lined the boundary of the property.

Elizabeth broke the silence, "I've been thinking…"

"I know you have," Abigail replied. "You may not realise it but I can read so much from the expressions on your face. I've seen love and empathy there today, sadness too. Plus a lot of confusion. Christmas often brings that out in people as they are reminded of the past, the people they have lost and the ones they are hoping will be a big part of their future."

Elizabeth screwed up her face, the expression familiar to Abigail as it meant that she had hit the nail on the head. It brought back memories once more of the many times she had doubts about Jack and whether she could live the life of a Mountie wife. Yet in the end she had faced her fears and despite the outcome Abigail knew that she wouldn't do things differently.

"Do you ever regret loving Jack? Marrying him?"

Elizabeth looked straight back at her, as though surprised by the question. "How could I regret anything about Jack when loving him gave me the most precious gift ever." She turned to watch out the window as the older children were helping the young ones build a snowman. Little Jack was laughing, the twig he was trying to push in resisting his efforts yet still he persevered, determined just like his father had been when he set his mind to something. "Nothing in the world is more important to me than my son. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him."

The words were out of her mouth before she realised what she had said. "Oh Abigail, I am sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I have never understood how you could be so strong after losing both Noah and Peter. You must have been in so much pain and yet all you thought of was other people. The other widows. A silly young schoolteacher who had no idea what she was doing."

"Perhaps it was exactly that which kept me going. I needed to be needed and that silly young schoolteacher came into my life at just the right time. In the same way that Little Jack has given you the strength to carry on. You don't always get to choose what happens to you but it is up to you whether you want to take back your life when something unimaginable occurs. We could let the darkness consume us or we can seek the light. Only we can decide which path to choose."

Elizabeth nodded, knowing that she would probably have given up without her son. She would have wallowed in the despair that enveloped her with Jack's death. But Little Jack gave her a reason to live again and now deep in her heart she knew she needed more, to have the life that Jack would have wanted for her. Be with someone who would fill her heart with joy again. Who would give her the family she so desperately wanted.

Abigail stayed silent, once again watching a range of emotions flit across the younger woman's face. When she thought she saw peace settle in her eyes she quietly asked, "Do you love him?"

Now back in the office, Nathan shut out any thoughts of Elizabeth and Lucas, his focus back on getting what information he could from the young girl sitting in front of him. He saw a hint of a smile on her face when he explained to her about his niece coming from Hope Valley to make sure they could spend Christmas together. "I think you will like Allie", he said. "She can be quite feisty, which I imagine you are at times, but inside her there beats a big heart that only wants the best for everyone."

The little girl nodded, feeling comfortable now with this man who spoke about his niece with so much affection. He had explained to her how Allie had come to be living with him, that she was an orphan just like her, and how he hoped one day to make her his daughter. She felt a stab of envy, wondering what it would be like to have family who would want you. Willing to change their own life to take care of you. But there was no-one. At least nobody capable of looking after themselves let along seven young children. It seemed inevitable that they would be sent off to one of the big government or church orphanages, a prospect she did feared having heard some of the adults talk about how awful they were.

What would happen if she told them what had really happened the night of the fire. Would they believe her? What if they sent her to prison and she wasn't here to care for the others?

"I know this is difficult for you Chloe but I really do need to hear from you about that night. You said that you all went to bed at the normal time and then you were woken by the sound of the dog barking and scratching at the doors. Is that right?"

She nodded. "Scruffy never makes a noise at night but he was running up and down the hallway barking loudly. I heard my parents get up and suddenly they were shouting out loud, opening doors and telling us to get downstairs. It was then that I smelled the smoke and realised that there was a fire. Mummy handed Bessie to me and I made Joey and Susan hold on to the back of my nightgown as we went down the stairs. The air was much thicker down there and the flames were in front of us so we couldn't go out the front door. I got a little confused so I had to stop for a moment and picture the best way to the back door. The others were crying but I knew I had to stay strong and think, then suddenly I felt big hands grabbing hold of me and those men carried us outside."

The tears were streaming down her face now, her hands clenching tight to Lillian's as the picture of that night played out again in her mind. Taking a big gulp of air she looked up at Nathan, her eyes pleading with him not to make her do this but then almost immediately she began to speak again, "I lost Susan. One of the men had picked Joey up and run out ahead, another held me tight to his chest with Bessie squashed between us. He covered our faces with his shirt and I could hear him coughing as he found his way along the wall. Once we were outside he put me down on the grass and that is when I started to panic, Joey was beside me but I couldn't see Susan. Then suddenly she was there, coming through the door in the arms of another of the men".

Lillian reached her free arm around to the table beside her, trying to pick up the jug of water she had placed on it earlier. Realising what she was trying to do Nathan jumped to his feet and quickly poured a glass, handing it to Chloe who gulped most of it down in one go. "Take your time," he said gently, "we are in no hurry".

Suddenly the girl grabbed hold of him, her eyes wide and full of tears, the resistance they had seen earlier all gone now. "It's all my fault. I did it", she whispered.