"You look so beautiful," Abigail said, standing behind Elizabeth as she gazed at herself in the full-length mirror.
"This hem will be just fine," Rosemary said from the floor, although with all the pins in her mouth it was hard to decipher exactly what she was saying.
Elizabeth exhaled. "Abigail, how can I thank you? This dress is... it's perfect."
Abigail had tears in her eyes as she gazed at Elizabeth. "Only worn once," she said softly.
Elizabeth turned, causing Rosemary to pull her back around. "Stay still. I'm almost finished!" she said, pulling her needle through the white lace fabric.
Looking at Abigail in the mirror, Elizabeth said, "I can't believe it fits so well."
Abigail laughed. "Considering my clothes were all you had for the first week you were in Coal Valley, it shouldn't surprise you."
"And you don't mind?" Elizabeth said.
Smiling, Abigail brought her face up next to Elizabeth's. "How could I mind? It worked for Noah and me, and you and Nathan are so right for each other. I love that you'll be getting married in this dress."
"There!" Rosemary said, snipping the last thread on the hem. She stood and looked at Elizabeth and then asked her to turn around. "Not bad if I do say so myself," she said, putting her hands on her hips. This was the most animated they had seen Rosemary since New Year's. Wedding planning seemed to suit her.
"Where did you learn to sew like that, Rosemary?" Abigail said.
"Oh, you haven't lived until your leading lady comes down with laryngitis two hours before showtime, and her understudy is three sizes smaller!" Rosemary sighed deeply. "And she had twelve costume changes!" Raising an eyebrow, she said, "You learn to sew pretty darn quick!"
Abigail put her arm around Rosemary. "Well, you did a beautiful job."
Elizabeth turned around and the three of them hugged each other. "I don't know how to thank you both."
Looking at the clock, Abigail said, "If you don't get this packed and downstairs, you won't have anything to thank us for. You have an appointment with the Justice of the Peace." Abigail began the process of unfastening the twenty-four buttons that ran down the back of the dress. "Oh, I remember these now," she said, laughing. She tilted her head toward Rosemary, who started at the bottom while Abigail worked her way down from the top.
Fifteen minutes later, the three women walked downstairs and Nathan was waiting with the wagon. Mike Hickam was coming with them so that he could bring Rebecca and Allie back after Nathan and Elizabeth boarded the train in Benson Hills.
The farewell party grew as the minutes went by, and when Nathan, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Allie and Hickam finally began the two-hour journey to Benson Hills, it looked as if half the town was in the middle of the street, waving them goodbye. Some of them even brought rice.
Elizabeth moved closer to Nathan on the bench seat and threaded her arm through his. She leaned against him and put her head back so she could feel the early morning sunshine on her face. In the back of the wagon, Rebecca was listening while Allie asked Hickam how it felt to climb up on the water tower.
"From up there, you can see all the way across the valley to the mountains on the other side," Hickam said, spreading his arms to show her just how wide the valley really was. "And from up there? People look this big," he said, showing a tiny space between his thumb and forefinger. "And horses? Not a lot bigger."
"What would I look like?" Allie asked, her eyes as big as saucers.
"You?" Hickam leaned in as if he was telling her a secret. "You would look like... a ladybug!" He reached over and tickled Allie, sending her into fits of laughter.
"More!" Allie said excitedly, "What else did you see?"
As Mike proceeded to describe the entire town for Allie, Elizabeth snuggled in closer to Nathan. "What is it about being in love that makes me want everyone else to be in love?" She turned slightly toward the back of the wagon. "Mike Hickam needs a girl."
Nathan laughed. "I would not have pegged you for a matchmaker, Lizzie." After spending so much time around Charlotte, Nathan had started calling her that to tease her, and Elizabeth had to admit she rather liked it.
"Well, Nate," she said, raising an eyebrow, "I'm not usually a matchmaker. But Mike is such a nice person, and he's good-looking, and he can do anything..."
Nathan looked over at her, frowning. "Should I be jealous?"
Elizabeth wiggled her hand in front of his face. "Taken." She moved closer on the bench and turned the ring until it was around her first knuckle. "I almost forgot," she said, taking it off and moving it to her right hand.
"What are you doing?" Nathan asked.
Elizabeth looked over at him. "We don't have wedding bands, so I thought you could use this ring and just put it back on my finger for the ceremony."
Nathan gave her a sly, crooked smile. "You can put it back now," he said softly.
Elizabeth tilted her head. "What did you do?"
"Never mind. We're not married yet, so I still get to have some secrets." Nathan pulled her closer and laughed softly. "Married." He shook his head in wonder. "Now that is a word I thought didn't apply to me." Turning to her, Nathan kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Takes some getting used to."
"Well, get used to it, because in..." Elizabeth reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his watch. "In exactly an hour and thirty-five minutes, you're going to be a married man."
Nathan exhaled and grinned at her. "And it's not nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be."
Elizabeth made a face and said ominously, "Don't speak too soon. As you said, we're not married... yet."
Laughing, Nathan bent down to kiss her. An hour and thirty-five minutes.
And it couldn't come soon enough.
The Benson Hills Justice of the Peace Office had a lovely chapel attached where Justice John P. Campbell married an average of twelve couples a week. Justice Campbell was short and angular, with a hook nose, deep pockets in his cheeks, and an easy smile. Mrs. Bula Campbell, who was nearly as wide as her husband was tall, kept the flowers nicely arranged, and she also played a small organ. Elizabeth couldn't imagine a better match.
Mrs. Campbell allowed Elizabeth to use her sitting room to change into her wedding dress, and Rebecca clucked over her like a mother hen. Allie was wearing her best pink pinafore and would be scattering dried rose petals that Cat Montgomery had brought up to the house when she'd heard the news. She had collected them from her garden in the spring, and liked to use them for sachets, but she said she couldn't think of a better use for them than Nathan and Elizabeth's wedding.
"The dress is borrowed, Charlotte's brooch is old, you have the new penny we got from the bank, and..." Rebecca reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a tiny ceramic bluebird. "This has been on the shelf in Nathan's room since he was a young boy. I packed it in his things when he moved to Coal Valley and I saw it the other day on a shelf. He would love that you carry this." Rebecca folded it into a corner of Elizabeth's sleeve and pinned it securely. "You show that to him later, and let him tell you the story."
Rebecca held Elizabeth at arm's length. The gown wasn't overly fancy, but it was simply elegant. Soft brushed satin in champagne white with an overlay of pure white lace. It was gathered at the waist and longer at the back, creating a natural train. The veil that Elizabeth wore over her chestnut curls matched the dress and was held at the sides by pearl barrettes.
"You are the most beautiful bride I think I've ever seen," Rebecca said. Elizabeth gazed at her, thinking her blue eyes truly looked like mountain lakes, as they suddenly filled and spilled over.
Elizabeth went into Rebecca's arms. "Thank you for welcoming me into your family."
"Thank you for giving me my son back," Rebecca said, her voice breaking. She pulled away and looked at Elizabeth. "I thought for a while I might have lost two children on that busy street. But you brought him back to me." Rebecca reached in her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes. When she saw that Elizabeth's cheeks were also wet, she reached over and dried them. "Now, now, don't you start."
Rebecca pulled up to her full height and got control of herself. She fluffed Elizabeth's curls and then picked Allie up from the chair where she was playing with one of the dolls that Elizabeth had given her for Christmas. "You remember what to do, Alliebeck?" Rebecca asked. Allie smiled and said, "Throw the flowers!"
"That's right, my precious girl. You throw the flowers!" Rebecca laughed a wonderful deep laugh as the three of them walked out to what served as an aisle for the small chapel.
Nathan was waiting at the end of the aisle and the look on his face was one that Elizabeth knew she wouldn't forget for as long as she lived. He was wearing his deep blue Sunday suit that she loved because it brought out the color in his eyes. And right now, even from six rows away, Elizabeth could see that they were very, very blue.
Gazing at her, Nathan couldn't believe that in just a few minutes this woman would be his wife. Elizabeth's natural elegance, evident even in culottes as she ran Sarah across the meadow, was on full display as a bride swathed in white lace. He could see that she was as close to tears as he was.
Rebecca walked down the rows of empty chairs and sat in the front next to Hickam. Then she nodded to Mrs. Campbell and turned to Allie. As the strains of the wedding march wheezed softly out of the old organ, Rebecca whispered down the aisle, "Now, Allie."
Nathan laughed softly, thinking Allie might have a future in baseball with the distance she was able to cover with those rose petals. She was obviously taking her wedding job very seriously, with her mouth set in a firm line of concentration until she reached the front of the room where Nathan was standing. Allie put down her basket and put up her arms and Nathan laughed and picked her up.
"I threw the flowers," Allie said, grinning.
Nathan hugged her tightly and said, "You did a great job."
Allie pointed to Nathan's chest and then looked down the aisle at Elizabeth, who was laughing too. Allie turned back to Nathan. "You and 'Lizbeth get married now?"
"Mm-hmm," Nathan said, nodding.
Allie looked back at Elizabeth. "'Lizbeth will be my mom. Emily says so."
Nathan hugged her again. "Yep. Emily is right. Go sit with Grandma," Nathan said, kissing her on the cheek and setting her down. Allie ran to Rebecca and jumped up on her lap.
Mrs. Campbell started the wedding march again, and Elizabeth began to walk toward Nathan.
They had no vows written, and that was just fine. Their vows had been spoken to each other over months, through fear and sorrow, through joy and their shared view of the world, through their commitment to Allie and to each other. There was no need to say more now.
When it was time to exchange rings, Nathan nodded to Hickam, who stood and offered a gold band to Elizabeth, and a smaller one to Nathan. They placed the rings on each other's fingers, and then the tears had to fall.
The most important words they spoke, one to the other, were "I do." And when they kissed, they sealed their promise to God and to each other.
This was forever. A lifetime together. And they couldn't wait to begin.
When the train stopped in Benson Hills, Clara decided to get off and stretch her legs. She knew she would be sleeping sitting up for the next three days, and she wanted to take any opportunity that presented itself to breathe fresh air and walk a bit. The stopover was short, only about a half an hour, so she stayed close and watched as passengers at their final destination stepped off the train and new travelers stepped on.
Her eyes were drawn to a newly-married couple, the bride still in her wedding dress and the groom tall and handsome in his blue suit. An older woman was with them, and a four- or five-year-old child, a little girl who was proudly carrying what looked to be the bride's bouquet. Nearby, but at a short distance, was a young man, standing respectfully apart, but obviously filled with happiness for the young couple.
Clara was a watcher of people. She always had been. She loved to try to read the stories that people told in the way they related to each other. Clearly the bride and groom were very much in love. Clara guessed that the older woman was the groom's mother, and that the little girl was her grandchild. How the young man was related was a mystery. The coloring was wrong for a brother, and as always with people-watching, there was more to the story that Clara guessed she would never know.
They all hugged each other goodbye and just as the couple reached the steps up to the car, the groom scooped up the bride and carried her on to the train. The bride's laughter was so spontaneous, so entirely filled with joy that even on the busy train platform, people stopped and watched, unable to keep from smiling themselves.
Clara again found her eyes drawn to the young man. He was laughing too, and reached down to pick up the little girl. Perhaps his daughter? Clara smiled. She thought him very good-looking, which surprised her. Because she hadn't really looked at a man this way since Peter.
Suddenly, he turned and gazed at her, almost as if she had called his name. Clara was mortified to feel a warm blush creep across her cheeks. He was too far away to see it, certainly, but he smiled at her. A kind smile, as his eyes danced in the joy of the moment. For a split-second, Clara felt not so alone.
Clara turned quickly, pretending to need something from her purse. She laughed softly to herself. So silly to be this affected by a stranger on a train platform.
It wasn't like she would ever see him again.
The porter helped Nathan and Elizabeth find their cabin and brought in their bags. "Dining car is three cars down, this way," he said, pointing to the left. Smiling at Elizabeth, who had removed her veil but still looked every inch a bride, he added, "If you're feeling indisposed, just leave a note…" He showed them the leather pocket on the outside of the door, "...and we'll put your supper out here." And then, with a wink at Nathan, he was gone and they were alone.
Nathan took Elizabeth into his arms and she laid her head on his chest. He reached under her soft curls so that he could touch the skin at her neck, and he could feel her heart beating quickly. He knew that she could hear his own doing the same under her ear. He laughed softly. "The porter winked at me. You think he knows we're newlyweds?"
Elizabeth laughed too, against his chest. "He seems a very observant man." She pulled back and looked up into Nathan's eyes. "And accommodating. He said he would bring us food."
"We might need him to…" Nathan leaned down and pressed his lips to hers gently. The lavender in her hair and at her neck was rising up to him in the small space and he steadied himself as he felt the train begin to move. Or at least, he assumed the train was moving. He was so lost in Elizabeth he thought he might simply be disoriented and off-balance. Without veering away from her lips, he widened his stance, and realized that the train was indeed moving.
Elizabeth laughed and went quickly to the window, sitting on the small upholstered bench opposite the bunks. Just from the corner of the window, she could see the last of Rebecca, Allie, and Hickam as they waved and turned to go - back to the wagon, back to Hope Valley. Elizabeth sighed. "I'm going to miss them," she said softly.
Nathan sat behind her, enclosing her in his arms. "I will too."
As the train pulled away from the station, the view out of the window changed from the platform to the backs of businesses, more industrial and less than picturesque. Elizabeth and Nathan leaned back and for the first time, looked around their cabin. It was small, to be sure, but cozy. The large window with curtains, the bench on which they were seated, a small built-in folding table under the window, and across from them, two bunks, one on top of the other.
Elizabeth turned to Nathan and grinned. "I get the top bunk," she said.
He raised an eyebrow and gave her his crooked smile, and then leaned down and nuzzled her neck. "Is that where you really want to sleep?" he said softly, moving his lips up under her jaw and causing her to close her eyes and lean back.
"Sleep?" she said, smiling and reaching her fingers up to run them through his hair. She sighed as she felt Nathan's warm breath on her neck, both of them rocking gently with the motion of the train. "Do you have any idea how happy I am? There's nowhere else in the world I would rather be than right here with you."
"I would hope not," Nathan said, his words muffled against her skin. "It's our wedding day." He turned slightly and opened his eyes to look out of the window. He'd known that the departure of the train would coincide nicely with sunset, and had requested a cabin that would have a view of it every evening.
They'd moved out of the city and were now looking at fields of white that stretched out to the mountains. The small radiator in the room hissed lightly as it warmed the small space, and for a time, they simply watched as the light on the snow flickered and changed from gold to pink and then to a muted orange.
To someone watching, they would look entirely calm and as if they hadn't a care in the world, and to a certain extent, that was true. Nathan and Elizabeth always felt at home together, at peace, and they loved enjoying these last moments of light on the mountains. They'd done it so many times, but always, until this night, they knew that no matter how many kisses they shared, they would go home to their separate beds.
As Nathan moved his fingers absentmindedly through Elizabeth's curls to the warmth of her neck, he knew that tonight, soon, he would touch her skin in places that he'd never even seen, and that they would share more than a sunset, more than kisses.
"We're alone," he said softly, as the last rays of the sun dipped down. He grazed his lips across her cheek tenderly. "And it's… proper... " he said, smiling, hearing the incongruity of the word even in its correctness. Elizabeth laughed softly and turned to him. They hadn't switched on the electric lights yet, and the cabin was nearly dark.
"Are you saying that you expect me to be… proper tonight?" she murmured, glad that the darkness was hiding the blush she felt suddenly cross her cheeks. "Because I'm not feeling very…" Nathan didn't let her finish the sentence. He couldn't see the color of her cheeks, but he felt the heat of them as he moved his lips up to hers.
As he pressed against her, Nathan realized that everything he thought he was going to feel in this moment was wrong. No fear, no nervousness, only need, hunger, the desire to know all of her, not as simply a woman, but as Elizabeth, his love, the person who laughed and loved Allie, and stood in the schoolroom, and rode Sarah. Elizabeth, who he dreamed with and cried with, and trusted beyond all others. Elizabeth in all her perfection and her faults. Elizabeth, who loved him the same way.
With fingers that he hoped weren't trembling too badly, Nathan reached around to the back of Elizabeth's neck. He found a button, small and covered with lace, but his hands were accustomed to leather straps and bootlaces, and coupled with the slight tremble, he fumbled for a moment before he felt Elizabeth smile against his lips.
"There are twenty-four of them, and it took two people to get them undone this morning," she whispered, leaving small kisses across his cheeks and lips. "We're going to need light and more concentration than either of us are capable of right now." She laughed softly, trying to catch her breath in the hollow of his neck, and she felt Nathan begin to laugh too.
"You would think a Mountie would be better at reading the terrain," he said, breathing deeply and cradling her head against his chest.
"Now I know what Abigail was talking about when she said she remembered these buttons," Elizabeth said. She kissed him quickly once more and sat up, turning to face the window and lifting her hair. Nathan reached behind him and turned up the small lamp on the wall, and then bent to inspect the task at hand.
"How do they make buttons this small?" he asked, laughing softly. After a moment, he said, triumphantly, "One!" and started on the next in line.
"Since we may be here for a while..." Elizabeth said, smiling at her reflection and his in the window, "...what is the story of this?" She reached into the lace on her sleeve and removed the tiny ceramic bluebird.
Nathan stopped and reached out to take it. "Where did you get this?" he said.
"Your mother gave it to me. For the 'something blue.' She said you would tell me about it," Elizabeth said.
Nathan smiled and handed it back to her while he continued working on the buttons. "Colleen gave it to me. I told you that my home in Airdrie was a ranch, but I don't think I said it was quite a large one…"
"Well, I sort of assumed, since you said it gives you a good income…"
"Three!" Nathan said, moving on to the fourth button. "We have a head ranch hand there, Charlie, who has been around for as long as I can remember. He's Algonquin, and he used to sit in front of the fire with us as kids, telling us stories of his people."
As Nathan moved on to the fifth button, Elizabeth began to be aware of his warm fingers on the skin of her back. It was a place she'd never been touched by him before, or of course, by any man, and it began to feel very intimate. The combination of that and his voice, low and resonant, caused her to close her eyes and arch her back slightly.
"Colleen especially loved Charlie's stories about the bluebird. It's a symbol of happiness, and according to the tribe, when you see a bluebird you can expect something wonderful and new to happen to you. Also, it's believed to be a spirit that drives off the god of winter and brings the spring." Nathan's voice was getting lower as he looked at the skin on Elizabeth's back. She was sighing softly and he could see the gooseflesh rise when his fingers brushed against her. As he unfastened the tenth button, he allowed himself the luxury of running his knuckles a short way down her spine, and then up, feeling the softness and warmth under his fingertips.
Elizabeth released a shuddering breath as Nathan whispered, "It's also a symbol of fertility…" He had reached the top of her corset and he was getting better at the buttons, so in addition, he began to loosen the laces, and Elizabeth felt able finally to take a true deep breath.
Nathan couldn't stop himself, and as he continued working with his hands, he leaned down to place his lips on her back. He needed to know what it felt like, this forbidden place, warm and soft under his lips, and the faint taste of lavender he found there made his head spin.
The rest he could do in the dark. He reached around and switched off the light. With his lips on the skin of her back, Nathan said, "I love you so much. My sweet angel, my Elizabeth."
Not able to wait another moment, Elizabeth turned to him. The buttons could be sewn back on.
And as the train moved on through the night, together they found their way.