The foyer was so crowded that even in the large space people were having trouble finding room to stand. Nathan, Elizabeth and Clara were being hugged by Julie, Grace and William, with everyone moving around the luggage that was waiting to be taken out to the car by Thomas and the valets. Julie had added to Clara's portion of the baggage by gifting her with not only a number of last season's dresses and shoes, but also a trunk in which to hold them.

There seemed to be a larger than usual number of servants standing on the periphery of the crowd, adding to the confusion. It was clear that they had enjoyed having Elizabeth, Nathan and Clara in the mansion, and they were gathering to say goodbye.

Nathan felt a light tap on his shoulder. "Constable?"

Turning, Nathan found himself looking at Collins, who raised his eyebrows and tilted his head toward the hallway.

"A word, sir?" Collins said quietly.

Nathan nodded and followed the butler a short way down the corridor.

Collins turned, and Nathan could see that he had what looked to be a small dress box in his hands. He held it out and said, "For your Allie. Dried flower petals." Then he winked. "These should last her a while."

Lifting the top and looking in, Nathan saw every color of the rainbow as the aroma of flowers wafted up. Smiling, he said, "You can't imagine how happy this will make her." Then he looked back at Collins. "Next time we come for a visit, we'll have Allie with us." He raised an eyebrow. "You'll like her. She loves tea parties."

Collins grinned. "Well, I shall look forward to that, sir."

Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned closer. "Collins, what would it take for you to call me Nathan, just once?"

Collins' eyebrow shot up, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I suppose it would take a relaxing of the rules, sir."

Laughing softly, Nathan said, "First things first. You know my first name, and I just realized I have no idea what yours is."

With a conspiratorial smile, Collins said, almost in a whisper, "Arthur."

Grinning at the revelation, Nathan put out his hand and said, "Arthur, it has been a great pleasure meeting you."

Collins took a deep breath. "And you... Nathan." He shook Nathan's hand and then reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out an envelope. "You'll want to open this on the train. When you and Mrs. Grant are alone."

Unable to resist, Nathan lifted the flap of the envelope and peered in. He saw enough of the photo with Elizabeth in his arms, both of them so deeply into a kiss that he felt immediately like a voyeur. Closing the flap quickly and feeling the heat come into his cheeks, Nathan looked into Collins' eyes, which were now twinkling.

"As I said, sir. On the train." With that, he nodded once and turned back down the hallway. "Please keep her safe. We love her very much."

Nathan smiled back and nodded. "Always, Arthur."

"Stay warm," Grace said, pulling Elizabeth's collar up on her coat. "Those train compartments can be so drafty."

Elizabeth smiled. "And when was the last time you were on a train, Mother?"

Grace raised her chin haughtily and smiled back. "There are things you don't know about your mother. I was quite a traveler when I was younger."

Raising an eyebrow, Elizabeth said, "I'd like to hear all about that. And that gives me hope that you'll come visit us this summer after the house is built. Nathan is planning to put a small cottage out back for family visits."

Smiling, Grace said, "Yes, I heard him speaking with your father about that." She moved a wayward curl away from Elizabeth's forehead. "I believe he said it would be in some proximity to the barn." She said the last word in a tone that made Elizabeth laugh.

"No closer than you are to the stables here, Mother. Don't worry, we won't have you sleeping with the horses."

Grace sighed and gazed at her middle daughter. "You have always been the adventurous one, Elizabeth." Narrowing her eyes, she whispered. "But I must say I do like your Mountie. Your father likes him even better. If you have to wander halfway across the world, at least it's good to know you'll have him by your side."

Elizabeth smiled, her eyes soft, and kissed Grace on the cheek. "Same country, and thank you, Mother."

Grace felt her eyes beginning to fill and pulled herself up with a sharp inhale. "So. When are you making me a grandmother?"

"Mother!" Elizabeth said, laughing.

"Don't wait too long," Grace said. "Knowing you, you'll want to raise the whole passel yourself, with no help from a nanny. You'll need to be young to do that."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm not quite ancient yet."

Grace took Elizabeth's face in her hands and looked seriously into her daughter's eyes. "Come back and visit us soon."

Elizabeth looked back at her mother. "Come visit us in Hope Valley." She put her arms around her mother and gave her a tight hug. Then, feeling tears welling up, she said "We have to go."

Julie and Elizabeth had said heartfelt goodbyes earlier in the morning, and Julie had promised to visit soon, saying she thought she might go west and find her own Mountie. She and Clara had become fast friends very quickly and they hugged each other and promised to write.

One by one, the goodbyes were said, and Elizabeth finally hugged William and then Nathan shook his hand, before they stepped into the overloaded car. William raised an eyebrow and looked at his son-in-law. "Take good care of my daughter, Nathan."

Nathan smiled. "You know I will." He turned to Thomas, who had Clara in the front seat with him. "How far to the station?"

"Ten minutes, sir."

Nathan nodded and said, "We'd better get going then," and he turned and waved with Elizabeth and Clara. As they pulled away from the mansion, he tried to remember if he'd been anxious at all when they had first arrived. He felt none of that now. He'd made friends; Julie, James at the stables, Arthur Collins, and even Maisie from the kitchen. And he felt that he and William and Grace had an understanding and a mutual respect, if not quite the love of family. That would come in time.

Because they had someone in common. Someone they all loved very much. Elizabeth.

Rosemary took another look out of the window of the Cape Fullerton Mountie Office. Back in Hope Valley, seeing Nathan every day in his red serge wasn't a shock anymore, in part because he was so different physically from Jack and so much taller. But here in the busy Cape Fullerton Mountie Office, it seemed everywhere she turned, there was a man in red serge with Jack's height and build, or his hair, and it wasn't until they turned around that she could see it was someone completely different.

And if seeing Jack everywhere wasn't confusing enough, Rosemary was just generally baffled at the turn of events on this trip. She'd known that she was starting to have feelings for Lee, but she'd thought they would take time. She and Lee had both assumed that he would be the one waiting until she was ready. Now Rosemary wasn't so sure.

The night before, she and Lee had enjoyed a lovely dinner together and then had taken a walk in the park along the water. They'd talked easily about everything imaginable; about Rosemary's dream of building a theatre someday in Hope Valley and about Lee's hopes for the sawmill. About Madeleine Charlotte, who Lee had already started calling Maddie because he said her full name was too much of a mouthful.

Rosemary had forgotten her wool scarf back in her room, and Lee had taken his own from around his neck and circled it gently around hers. It was still warm from his skin, and Rosemary found it to be the most intimate thing she'd done since she'd last seen Jack. She was grateful that it was dark and Lee couldn't see the flush that spread across her cheeks.

As Lee wound the warm wool around her, he moved closer, and for a moment neither could look away. A foghorn blew out on the island and still their eyes were locked together. For a fleeting moment, Rosemary thought Lee was going to kiss her.

And for a fleeting moment, she wanted him to.

Knowing that she had a "connection" to Lee Coulter was one thing, but the attraction that Rosemary was feeling for Lee was getting stronger, and she knew that one of these days, probably soon, they would find themselves on the precipice of something that couldn't be undone. They were almost there already.

Rosemary gazed through the window at the busy street outside the Mountie Office. They had found her marriage certificate and she had filled out the rest of the paperwork with Lee's help. After she'd managed the necessary forms, validations and certifications, Rosemary had begun to feel the exhaustion of the two days of traveling and moving, and a very nice Constable had led her to a small empty office with a view of the main street. She'd immediately sat in the creaky wooden chair and closed her eyes for a time before the noise of the street caught her curiosity.

Of course, Cape Fullerton was nothing like New York, but it did have a certain similar energy to it. A feeling of endless possibilities, of growth and change. And as she looked out on what used to be exciting to her, all Rosemary wanted was a small apartment in Hope Valley, surrounded by her new friends. A street so calm that she could walk safely right down its middle. A café where you knew everything on the menu and what day it was being served.

And Lee. Yes, if she had to admit it to herself, she wanted Lee there too. With his smile, his kindness and best of all, his laugh, which she found she wanted to hear nearly as much as she used to want to hear applause.

The door opened and Rosemary turned and stood to see Lee standing on the threshold, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. He closed the door behind him and held up a plain white envelope. Rosemary walked to him and raised her eyebrows. Lee nodded as she took the envelope.

Peeking inside, Rosemary gasped. "Lee!" she said looking up at him. "I had no idea! I could buy a house with this..." Then her eyes widened. "I could build my theatre!" Then, her emotions moving across her face so rapidly that Lee was having trouble keeping up, Rosemary said, "Or... I could save it for Madeleine to go to college..." Her voice drifted off and she looked at Lee, confused.

He took her by the shoulders gently and said, "You don't have to decide right now."

That simple statement caused such a wave of relief to surge through Rosemary, that before she thought twice, she threw her arms around him. She knew she would never have had the energy to handle all this by herself, and her gratitude was causing her to hold him tightly as she said over and over, "Thank you, thank you..."

Lee closed his eyes. One hand was at the back of her head, buried in her curls, and the other was around her back. He'd never held her before, and he was surprised at how small she was. Though she be but little, she is fierce.

They both stopped moving and simply held there in each other's arms, breathing quietly. Rosemary's eyes were closed too. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this, being held by a man, how solid and strong Lee felt. The sounds continued around them, the noise outside the windows on the street, the ringing of telephones, men's voices beyond the door.

Finally, Lee took a long shuddering breath. "Rosie," he said, almost in a whisper, "Is it wrong that I want to kiss you?"

Rosemary felt her heart begin to race, but she didn't move. She couldn't look at him. "Is it wrong that I want you to?" she said softly.

Lee pulled away only enough so that he could look into her eyes. "Really?" he said, wanting to be sure.

Smiling, Rosemary said softly, "Well, don't talk me out of it..." but before she could finish, Lee had traveled across the inches between them and his lips were on hers, warm and soft and just how she'd imagined them.

And though it felt like she had missed this, and it had been a long time, Rosemary realized that she didn't just want any man to kiss her. She wanted Lee. She realized that alongside the friendship, the gratitude, the shared humor, the admiration – this attraction had been growing faster than she'd known.

Lee hadn't imagined this first kiss beyond a touch of the lips. He'd wanted to do it so many times, and had nearly given in so often, that he mainly hoped not to be slapped. But this was so much more. Rosemary seemed to melt against him, her arms tightening around his neck with a soft sigh as the kiss went on and deepened, and Lee knew that Rosemary had wanted it as much as he had.

"Rosie..." he said against her lips, trying to catch his breath.

"Don't talk," she said softly. She ran her hands around the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

The door opened suddenly, and a young Mountie walked in, talking to an older gentleman. "Sir, if you'll have a seat, I'll get all the particulars..." The Mountie stopped as his voice trailed off, and then he said, "Oh, I beg your pardon..."

Rosemary and Lee separated immediately, looking like two children and feeling completely caught. Their faces were a similar shade of crimson and the Mountie looked from one to the other with a small smile.

Lee pulled Rosemary's coat from the back of the chair and put his arm through hers. "We were just leaving," he said, a smile of his own beginning to form. His happiness was so overwhelming, that he actually thought he might start laughing.

When he looked at Rosemary, it was even worse. He could see her lip quivering and he knew that one of her brilliant smiles wouldn't be far behind. As they passed through the doorway and into the main room, he helped her on with her coat, and by the time they stepped out onto the main street, they were beyond saving.

They collapsed into laughter against each other and Rosemary said, "Was that terrible? I was picking up Jack's pension!"

She turned and looked at Lee and put a hand on his cheek, her eyes holding a combination of elation and horror. "You see? I'm a scandal. I have absolutely no idea how to be a widow."

Without a word, Nathan and Elizabeth went to the beds in their sleeping cabin and tugged the mattress off of the top bunk. They laid it on the floor, and then did the same with the mattress on the lower bunk. Once they'd pulled down the pillows, they both kicked off their shoes and laid down, still dressed in their traveling clothes and watching as the last of the station disappeared from view outside the window.

Elizabeth moved closer and put her head on Nathan's chest, sighing in contentment.

"Well, it's not the Blue Room, that's for sure," Nathan said, grinning. "But it does feel a little like home."

Elizabeth rolled over onto her elbows and looked at him. The sun was high in the sky and just a narrow line of gold was beginning to make its way down to Nathan's face. She moved slightly so that she was shading his eyes and she gazed into the bright blueness of them, the mountain lakes that she had loved right from the beginning.

"Anywhere you are is home," she whispered, kissing him lightly on the chin, then down his neck and into the shallow space at the base of his throat.

Nathan put his arms around her and breathed deeply. "I know," he said softly. "I even felt at home in Hamilton, in a mansion, with servants," he said, kissing the top of her head, "Because I was with you."

"They loved you," Elizabeth said against his skin. "I knew they would."

Nathan pulled away and raised an eyebrow. "No, you didn't," he said, laughing softly. "You thought I might go all Mountie on Clyde and ruin the dinner party."

Elizabeth laughed too, unable to meet his eyes. "Maybe only a little..."

"Oh," Nathan said, suddenly remembering. He put his hand down into his jacket pocket and pulled out the envelope that Collins had given him.

"Arthur gave this to me," he said, handing it to her.

Elizabeth sat up, incredulous. "He told you his first name? It took me years to get that out of him, and he practically raised me!"

Nathan smiled and tilted his head. "What can I say? I guess I have the magic touch with butlers..."

Her eyes soft, Elizabeth said, "I'm starting to believe you have the magic touch with everyone..." She opened the envelope and pulled the photos out. Nathan had placed the one of the two of them against the blue wall and smiling at the camera on the top, and she looked at it carefully. "Oh, this turned out wonderfully!" She held it closer as Nathan waited, his crooked smile firmly in place.

Then Elizabeth brought the second photo to the front and Nathan watched as she gasped. "Oh... my..." she said. Nathan watched in wonder as the deep blush crept across her cheeks. Then her eyes went wide. "Collins gave you these? So we can assume... that he... oh!" she said, her voice trailing off. She looked at it again and then looked at Nathan.

"We look beautiful," she said, almost in a whisper. "We're beautiful..." Elizabeth put down the envelope and leaned down, her hair falling in soft curls around his face and tickling his cheeks. She touched her lips to his, gently at first, and then more insistently, as she stretched out full-length beside him on the mattresses. She pulled his jacket over his shoulders, her lips never leaving his, while he unbuttoned her blouse.

"I love you, 'Lizbeth," he said, feeling her urgency and giving in to his own. The sun streaming in the window warmed their skin as they clung to each other, making their way home to Hope Valley to the soft singing of the rails.