Author's Note: TRIGEER WARNING Just want to give people a heads up that there is talk of an assualt in this chapter. There are no graphic details, but even the mention of it can upset people so I thought I add the warning.

Chapter 144 – Chilling Story of the Past

Elizabeth went upstairs, stopped in the spare room and looked for another journal that she wanted to find. There was something else that she wanted to show Jack from their conversation from that morning. When she found the one that she was looking for, she put the rest away and then went to her room. She was quiet as she didn't want to wake Jack if he was sleeping. She put the journal on the nightstand and carefully crawled into bed. Jack immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Elizabeth snuggled into his hold and let out a contented sigh.

"What took you so long?" Jack asked softly.

"Sorry." Elizabeth said. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't." Jack said. "I wasn't really sleeping. You didn't answer my question."

"I was talking to Aunt Elizabeth and Patty." Elizabeth said. "We finished our tea and then walked home. Thank you for putting the roast in."

"I didn't know what else you wanted, but I threw some potatoes and carrots in with the roast." Jack said.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "Aunt Elizabeth and Patty are going to finish supper and then wake us. Wynn and Dee aren't back yet either."

"I need to talk to you about something." Jack said. "But I don't want you to get frightened or upset."

"We are going to have protection." Elizabeth said with sadness in her voice.

"Yes." Jack said. "It is just a precaution. There will be someone guarding the house overnight and there will be someone stationed at the schoolhouse."

"I suppose better safe than sorry." Elizabeth said. "What aren't you telling me?"

"The man this morning." Jack said. "He was after me. Maybe to take you. We don't know. He is in jail and is not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Is this related to the situation with Wynn or something else?" Elizabeth asked.

"We aren't sure." Jack said. "They aren't ruling anything out."

"There is something else." Elizabeth said. "I can feel it. Just tell me. I do better knowing then not. At least I know what to be aware of."

Jack let out a deep sigh. He loosened his grip on Elizabeth and rolled her over to face him.

"If it isn't related to what Wynn is dealing with." Jack said. "Then the number one suspects are Charles and your father."

"Father would never do that." Elizabeth said.

"What about Charles?" Jack asked.

"He is a spoiled brat and always got what he wanted." Elizabeth said. "Even if he had to take it. I wouldn't put anything past him. I heard a story when I was growing up, I don't know if it is true or not, but I believe it."

"Care to share?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. Her hands immediately went to her stomach as if she was trying to protect her child from what she was going to say.

"You know that that Charles is about the same age as Viola." Elizabeth said. "There was also a Monclair daughter that was about that age."

"I didn't know that Monclair had a sister." Jack said. "There is nothing in the official paperwork."

"It is complicated." Elizabeth said. "Let me finish and you might understand better. Anyway, the story I heard happened about the time of Viola's debutante ball. Emily Monclair and her were in the same class. Charles was escorting Emily to the ball and Viola was being escorted by Andy Russell. It wasn't his idea, it was his mother's. He agreed to keep her happy. Anyway after the ball, some of the boys had a few drinks and the story that I heard was that several of them cornered Emily Monclair. They held her down and took turns. Just shy of two months after the debutante ball, Emily left for Switzerland. She supposedly married some rich man over there in an arranged marriage. She died in childbirth, six months after her reported wedding. I never heard anything about her after that. The Monclair's don't even acknowledge that they had a daughter. George Monclair had any official record of her expunged or sealed. Those of us that knew her were forbidden to speak of her ever again."

Jack sat up and looked at Elizabeth.

"Are you telling me that they assaulted her?" Jack asked. "Then her family sent her away only to pretend that she never existed."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Like I said I don't know if it was true or not, I do know for a fact that she was sent away and died. I also know that we were to never speak of her again. But what exactly happened I don't know for sure. One of the men that supposedly was a part of it was Charles and it was Edward's idea to attack his sister. The story I heard, there were three other young men of wealth that participated, so a total of five including Edward. What happened was brushed off as young people who got ahold of some alcohol. None of the families of the young men took what happened seriously. Even my own father said that 'boys will be boys' and that it was my job to protect my honor by never being in a situation where I could be compromised."

"I am so sorry Elizabeth." Jack said.

Jack pulled Elizabeth into him. He held her and she cried.

"I will protect you." Jack said.

"I know you will." Elizabeth said. "That is why I made a point of never being alone with Charles or Edward. I didn't trust them and won't put it past them to do something like that. I mean look at the way Edward was toward women."

"Did you know Emily well?" Jack asked.

"I knew her." Elizabeth said. "She was a lot like Viola, prim and proper. She was also very beautiful. Tall, I mean taller than me now. She had long blond hair that looked like honey. She had bright blue eyes. She was also smart and very well read. We would talk about different books that we had read."

"Do you think Wynn knows?" Jack asked.

"I don't know." Elizabeth said. "We can talk about something else."

"Sure." Jack said. "What do you think of Patty?"

"She is nice." Elizabeth said. "I think that her, Aunt Elizabeth and your mother are going to have fun in the classroom this week."

Elizabeth let out a little chuckle.

"What?" Jack asked.

"When we were walking back here to the house." Elizabeth said. "We ran into Timmy, Miles, Albert and Caleb. When I told them that Aunt Elizabeth and Patty were going to be helping the classroom in the afternoons, they exchanged a look. I told them that they needed to behave and that included no frogs, snakes or bugs. Patty and Aunt Elizabeth then told a story about how one of Patty's brothers brought a frog to school and Aunt Elizabeth made him frog soup for lunch. Aunt Elizabeth then asked me if Abigail knew how to make frog soup. I told them that she would be willing to learn."

Jack was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.

"That is funny." Jack said. "I bet they had wide eyes wondering if it was true."

"I doubt that they will test it." Elizabeth said.

"I doubt it." Jack said. "Knowing Ma, if one of the boys brought a frog, she might just turn it into a science lesson."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Elizabeth said.

"So tell me about Patty." Jack said.

"She has four older brothers and three younger." Elizabeth said. "She also has two older sisters and one younger. Her father and older brothers have all worked for protection services and she joined just after her nineteenth birthday, so she had been doing so for about ten years. It sounds like she loves it. I am glad that she is here."

"So am I." Jack said. "Let's lay back down, if supper is taken care of. I think I might have pushed it a bit today."

Jack and Elizabeth snuggled down under the covers and both closed their eyes.

It was about an hour after Elizabeth had gone upstairs that Wynn came into the house. He found his wife and Patty in the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Wynn asked.

"Yes." Elizabeth Rose said. "Jack and Beth are resting. We are just finishing getting supper ready. You remember Patricia Winters."

"Nice to see you again, Patty." Wynn said. "I am surprised to see you."

"I was on my way to Vancouver when I stopped in Union City." Patty said. "When I checked in with the office, they told me that they had a high priority job nearby and were wondering if I would take it. I knew it must have been big for them to ask, so I agreed. It was only after I agreed did they tell me who it was for."

"Why were you headed to Vancouver?" Wynn asked.

"A month of vacation after my trip to Europe." Patty said.

"Oh, Patty." Elizabeth Rose said. "I am so sorry to take you away from your vacation."

"Don't worry about it." Patty said. "As much as I was looking forward to some time off, I am glad to keep you safe. Besides, small town life for a while might be fun."

"I agree." Wynn said. "Small town life once and awhile is fun. Just remember, that this is a small town and they tend to know or want to know what everyone is doing. There are several gossips, so please be careful."

"I will." Patty said. "You know me better than that. Also I know that you are related to Mrs Thornton, but it is not advertised."

"Thank you for that." Wynn said. "I am sure that Elizabeth told you, but some know and some don't. We don't talk about it. We also don't talk about Beth's past and her family. She has made some good friends here and doesn't want them to treat her differently because she has money."

"I understand." Patty said. "All I am going to say is that if they treat her differently because she has money, they weren't true friends to begin with."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Wynn said. "But Beth has had bad experiences in the past, so she is wary of trusting a lot of people."

"Do you want something?" Elizabeth Rose asked. "We have about a half hour until supper is ready."

"I wouldn't mind some tea." Wynn said. "I want to sit and read the paper that I picked up."

"I will get your tea." Elizabeth Rose said. "Sit and read."

Wynn took a seat in one of the armchairs. Elizabeth Rose quickly made her husband some tea and brought it over to him. Patty went and grabbed a book off the shelf and sat to read as well. Elizabeth Rose worked in the kitchen. It was about twenty minutes later that Dee came in with Jacobs.

"Dad." Dee said. "We might have a problem."

Wynn looked up and saw the look on his son's face. He also saw the look that Jacobs had. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Do we need to wake Jack?" Wynn asked.

Dee and Jacobs looked at each other before looking back at Wynn.

"Your call." Jacobs said.

"Dee." Wynn said. "Please go get him. Beth is up there as well."

Dee nodded before heading up the stairs to wake Jack.

"Jacobs." Wynn said. "Do you want some tea or something?"

"Tea or coffee." Jacobs said. "Whatever is ready."

"I have both." Elizabeth Rose said.

"Then I will have some coffee." Jacobs said.

Elizabeth Rose poured Jacobs a cup of coffee and just as she brought it over to him, Dee and Jack came down the stairs. Patty excused herself and headed to the kitchen.

"Where is Beth?" Wynn asked.

"She is changing her clothes." Jack said. "What is going on?"

"Dee. Jacobs." Wynn said.

"I promise I will explain everything." Dee said. "But I need to ask some questions first."

"Ask away." Wynn said.

"Miss Winters." Dee said. "Will you please come over here and have a seat?"

Patty walked back over to the group of men. Wynn and Jack each occupied an armchair. Dee was on the settee and Jacobs had grabbed the chair from the desk. Dee pointed to sit next to him.

"First things first." Dee said. "I am Constable Wynn Delaney, Jr. You can call me Dee. I also have Sergeant Jeremiah Jacobs (pointing at Jacobs). We need to ask you some questions. Are you willing to speak to us?"

"Yes, I am." Patty said. "Please call me Patricia or Patty if you prefer. How can I help you?"

"We need to know where you were and who you spoke with in Union City." Jacobs said.

"I checked into the hotel on Friday afternoon." Patty said. "I then checked in with the office. I received a coded message from them. I then went to the Mountie office and used their secure line to make contact with the office. I learned that they had a high profile job for me in the area. I told them that I would take it since I was here. They then gave me details to come to Hope Valley and I was going to be protecting Mrs Delaney. I spoke to Captain Anderson and he told me that there was Captain Edward Wilson at the hotel, he was heading to Hope Valley in the morning and I was more than welcome to ride with him.

I told Anderson that I knew who Eddie Wilson was. I asked to borrow a Mountie horse and he said he would have one ready for me in the morning. After I left the Mountie office. I went shopping and got a few things as what I had brought wasn't going to work. I also picked up a leather satchel. When I was done. I went to the hotel and packed my things to come here. I made arrangements with the hotel manager to have my trunk shipped here on the stagecoach on Monday. I just wanted my things since I wasn't sure how long I would be here. I then had supper at the hotel restaurant. I saw Eddie and spoke to him for a few moments. We made arrangements to meet just outside of Union City the next morning and ride here together.

This morning I went to the Mountie office and again spoke to Anderson. He told me that he was sending five cadets to Hope Valley as well. I was introduced to the cadets, they were told I outranked them and they were to listen to me as well as escort me to Hope Valley. We then mounted up and left Union City. At the prearranged spot, Eddie joined us. I introduced him as Eddie and a friend of mine who was going to ride with us. We talked a bit as we rode, but didn't stop other than to water the horses. We ate as we rode. Just this side of Buxton Captain Campbell joined us. He wasn't happy to see the cadets or me. He was only expecting Eddie. Eddie didn't say much to Captain Campbell and the cadets didn't know what to make of him. He was gruff and said that he wasn't happy babysitting a bunch of greenhorns and a woman.

When we got here, I led them straight to the Mountie office. McGinty greeted us. He said that we had rooms at the saloon hotel and that the cadets would be staying in a tent out back. McGinty insisted on walking us over to the saloon while another Mountie cared for our horses. When I learned that Mrs Delaney was at the cafe, I said that I could find her and dismissed McGinty. After I left the saloon, I spoke to a group of schoolgirls and then went to the cafe. I have been with Mrs Delaney since."

Dee looked at his mother who nodded.