Chapter 7

Nathan ran. His heart was beating so hard he thought it would burst through his chest as he flew out of the building, taking the steps from the porch in one leap and then cutting across the fresh snow towards where he could see Elizabeth doubled over on her knees. From his right side he could see Gabe just ahead of him, alerted by the sound of Abigail shouting seconds after Chloe had screamed out. Behind him the crunch of snow told him that others were on their way too. Bouchard has gone too far, he thought. He does not know what is about to hit him.

Lucas was bent down now, trying to put his hand under Elizabeth's elbow but she brushed him away, slowly stretching herself up until she was standing. The side of her face was already showing the mark where his hand had struck, her scarf hanging around her neck where she had loosened it as the conversation had begun making her feel warm and uncomfortable. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. You know I would never do that. I thought you were going to slap me and I put my hand out too fast to stop it. Please, let me help you."

Elizabeth brushed his hand away, not wanting to look at the man who had caused this throbbing pain in her cheek. "Slap you? Lucas I was reaching out to comfort you as I know how hard my words must have been for you to hear. What you said in response was not pleasant, especially about Nathan and me, but I would certainly never have slapped you. That is the silliest thing I have heard you say!"

His chagrin was written clearly across his face. What must she think of him? Then hearing the sound of people approaching, their pace indicating that they knew what had happened, he felt himself shrink back wondering what was about to occur. The sight of a red serge only a few feet away made him catch his breath before he looked up and was relieved to see Gabe's face, although the expression on it was not something he would choose to be on the receiving end of.

Spluttering out his words he turned towards the Mountie, a gasp escaping his mouth as he realised that Nathan Grant was only a few paces behind. He held up his hand, backing away as both men approached, "Let me explain! It was an accident, a misunderstanding. I would never hit Elizabeth. Never hit any woman." He knew he was rambling, the anger from the others radiating out to where he stood. "Elizabeth, please tell them what happened!"

Elizabeth had recovered her composure by now, her hand holding some snow wrapped in the end of her scarf against her cheek. She could see Lucas almost cowering in front of them and wondered how she had ever considered him to be a possible candidate for her affection. In this moment she felt sorry for him. Lucas was Lucas, she thought. There was nothing deep about him and he had a habit of acting without thinking. Unable to face the disappointment she suspected he would run away, as was his want, but there was a part of her that hoped that wouldn't happen. With the right guidance he could be good for Hope Valley. Perhaps if she could persuade Abigail to return she would be the one to give him the direction he so badly needed. But first she had to sort out this situation as it was clear from Nathan's face that he was not about to let this go quietly.

She started to laugh, each sound from her cutting into the anger that was emanating from those now gathered around until finally they all just stopped, waiting to hear what she had to say. "I'm sorry, everyone, this really was a misunderstanding. I am fine, although tomorrow I may be sporting a black eye." Daring to look at Nathan then she could see his shoulders had relaxed and, whilst his face showed concern, the anger she knew he would still be feeling seemed well under control. "I will explain but could we please go inside as I am beginning to get rather cold out here".

It was only then she realised that Nathan was still just in his Henley and yet he showed no sign of feeling the temperature. Adrenalin, she thought, and passion, for she knew he did feel things very deeply. He was looking straight at her now, his eyes asking whether she really was okay and so she nodded. "Honestly, I am fine". From where he was standing Nathan couldn't tell if she was putting on a brave face or whether she was covering up what had happened, but he knew he had to respect what she was saying.

By now some of the children had joined them and he believed that it was not right that there should be any further discussion on the matter in front of them. Most were unaware of what exactly had happened and just wanted to be part of whatever was going on but looking at the faces of the Scott children he could almost sense a familiarity with this situation, as though they'd been through this before.

Keeping his voice calm he spoke to the assembled crowd, "Let's get Elizabeth back inside and sitting down. I think a cup of tea may be what is called for now." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he heard Elizabeth laugh again, "Is that for me or Lucas, Nathan?" Those who were familiar with Lucas's penchant for tea drinking joined in with her laughter, with even Nathan making a half-hearted effort as he knew she deserved this support.

He noticed Allie had come to see what was happening, "Perhaps some fun in the snow may be just the thing to burn off a bit of that energy from you young ones. Allie, could you help organise that?" She nodded at him, guessing that he wanted her to do this as a way of occupying them away from the house for a while until they had sorted out whatever had happened to Mrs Thornton.

"Of course, Uncle Nathan." Then turning to the others around her she shouted out, "Who's up for a snowball fight?", before running off in the direction of orphanage. There was a sudden rush as small feet crunched their way through the snow and for once none of the adults reminded them to get rugged up. Emotions were so high amongst everybody that a little bit of cooling down would probably be a good thing. "As long as somebody has the hot chocolate ready when we come back in!" Allie threw back across her shoulder as she raced away.

Turning to Gabe then, Nathan quietly asked. "Would you mind escorting Lucas to the outbuilding at the back and get his version of what actually happened here? I will come and join you as soon as I can." Then, as an afterthought he added, "I know this is your territory Gabe but I need to be the one dealing with this. Is that okay with you?"

Gabe didn't need asking but he understood why Nathan had felt it right to check with him. "Of course, I know you have to do it and this is the right way. I'll make sure I get everything from him that was said. Everything."

Nathan turned back to Elizabeth then, wishing he had his serge to wrap around her shoulders. She seemed quite composed and unruffled by the situation, clearly playing down the incident. He wondered if she would be honest with him about what she had discussed with Lucas and just what had been implied about the two of them. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up but his guess was that she may have finally given Bouchard his marching orders. What that meant for them he didn't know but when it came to Elizabeth he was a patient man. If he had to wait a even longer for her to know what was in her heart then that was exactly what he would do.

In the small office Lillian and Chloe had watched the goings on outside from the window. The girl had been worried at first, thinking that Elizabeth had been badly injured by who she referred to as "the bad man". But even from this distance it quickly became clear that there was not going to be any ongoing disturbance. In fact the sight of Elizabeth laughing had confused the girl as she tried to understand such a reaction to something she had clearly witnessed so many times before.

Softly Lillian spoke to her, noticing that she had once again moved closer so that they were touching on one side. "Do you want to talk about how you are feeling, Chloe?" She knew that Nathan would have questions but at this moment she was more concerned with offering whatever comfort and reassurance was needed. This child had clearly been through some traumatic times and she wanted to make sure she understood that she no longer had to keep it all bottled up inside.

Chloe shook her head, though her little hand reached out to take Lillian's. "Can we wait for the Mountie to come back? I like him and I know he wants to help me. To help us. I don't want to have to talk about it too much." She had such a look of innocence mixed with sadness on her face that Lillian found it hard to control her emotions. The cruelty of some adults towards others was something she could never understand, no matter the circumstances, but when it involved children it went beyond anything she could comprehend. They deserved love and nothing else."

She too had noticed the bruise marks on Chloe's arm and now found herself rubbing the spot gently with her thumb, wishing that she could take away some of the young girl's pain. "Did someone hurt you here?" A nod in reply was all she got and so she didn't ask any more. The answer would come later.

Somehow Nathan had a way of easing information out of the child. Perhaps it was his Mountie training but Lillian had a feeling it was more than that. He seemed to understand the pain she was experiencing as though he had lived it himself. She only knew a little of his history from the odd comment she had heard Gabe make to him but sensed that he had definitely been hurt at some time in his childhood. She had wondered at first why both Gabe and Bill thought he was the right person to be questioning the children but seeing his gentle way with Chloe now made her appreciate their reasons. It was as if the young girl sensed that he felt every emotion she was experiencing and that somehow, bit by bit, he was taking the pain away from her and carrying it himself.

She could sense an easing of Chloe's mood now that she knew Elizabeth wasn't hurt. "I'm not sure how long Mountie Nathan will be so shall we go into the kitchen and get some more hot chocolate for you? This one Mrs Winters brought has gone cold." The girl suddenly looked frightened, not sure how to respond and it took a moment for Lillian to understand. "You're not in trouble Chloe. My cup of tea has gone cold too. I guess we were both too busy watching what was happening outside to think about drinking them!"

She gave a big smile and was rewarded by the tightening of a small hand in hers and a look that now showed no sign of fear or concern. These children are going to need love and patience more than anything else for quite some time and it worried her how they were going to manage to make sure they got what they needed with so many of them here. We will find a way, she told herself. Somehow we will find a way.

The outbuilding at the back of the house was mainly used for storage but there was a second room with a bed and other pieces of furniture where travelling workmen sometimes stayed in return for help around the orphanage. A small stove in the corner was stacked with wood and Gabe took no time in lighting it, the temperature in the room when they first entered feeling colder than outside. He motioned for Lucas to sit down on a chair on one side of the square wooden table and pulled out the other for himself.

Nothing had been said by either of them on the walk there, the squeals and laughter of the children as they threw snowballs the only sound. Now as the room began to heat up Gabe gave Lucas a proper look. The man was in a state, his head held in his hands and his whole body trembling from more than just the cold . There was none of the bolshiness he had always associated with the saloon owner but instead in the chair opposite sat a man who looked as though his entire world had fallen apart.

He was about to speak when there was a knock on the door and it slowly opened. Grace's head appeared and taking in the scene in front of her she spoke quickly, "Nathan was right, he thought you would both need coffee!" In her hands was a tray with a steaming pot and two mugs which she held out to Gabe. "I won't interrupt but when you want more there is a bell outside the door and if you ring that we will hear it in the house."

With that she was gone and closing the door behind her Gabe walked back across the room. After pouring two mugs he placed the pot on the stove to stay warm and took his seat again. "I don't know what went on between you and Elizabeth, Lucas, but I think the best thing you can do is tell me exactly what happened. However much she may say it was her fault, just an accident, if the facts prove otherwise then you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. So be honest with me, tell me everything, and pray that your version of events matches hers."