"Elizabeth?" Rosemary knocked quietly on the guest room door. "Breakfast is ready."
"We'll be right down," she replied, gingerly touching the fading bruise on her cheekbone as she looked in the small mirror on the dresser. She hadn't gotten a good look at herself since they got off the train.
The bruises had been a deep purple color when she left, one across her cheekbone and one on her jaw. Now, they were yellowed, the edges fading. She thought about trying to cover the bruises again, but decided against it. She was sure everyone she had come into contact with thus far already had a good idea of what she had been through. No need to hide it.
She turned from the mirror and smoothed down her skirt. After making sure she was presentable, she straightened William's shirt and did up the last couple of buttons on Emma's dress.
"Mama?" Emma said sweetly.
"Yes, baby?" Elizabeth raked her fingers through her daughter's fine, dark hair, quickly braiding it back and tying it off with a ribbon.
"I wanted to wear my blue dress."
Elizabeth sighed, thinking about the very few articles of clothing she had packed in the small suitcase. "I didn't bring your blue dress, Emma. I'm sorry. Maybe we can find another blue dress for you here."
"Oh." She dropped her gaze, dejected.
"Why don't we go down and see what's for breakfast?" she suggested, trying to cheer up her little girl. "And maybe we can ask if Mr. Coulter can drive us back into town to do some shopping today."
She regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of her mouth. She forgot that they didn't have much money now. Most of what she had been able to stow away had gone toward their train tickets, and what was left would need to be used for essential items. New clothes would have to wait.
Maybe she could also ask Rosemary if there was anywhere she could do some work. She had never had a job before, but she was certain she could manage. She would have to.
Straightening up, she moved toward the door. "Come on, you two." She ushered the children over. "Let's go eat."
...
Jack sighed, setting the papers back on his desk.
He'd had a large number of newspapers to search through—thanks to an older couple in town who had a tendency to collect and keep newspapers from across the country—and he had found out a good bit of information about Elizabeth's history.
Unfortunately, nothing he had discovered thus far was of real use in creating a case against her abuser.
He had learned that Elizabeth Thatcher had married Sir James Spencer almost seven years before, when she was eighteen years old and he was twenty-one. The marriage had been arranged when Elizabeth was very young, in the hopes that their relationship could strengthen the connection between the Thatchers and the Spencers. Following the wedding, Elizabeth and James settled in Toronto. Elizabeth kept up their home while James worked for the family business.
Their son, William James Spencer, was born a year and a half after the wedding, and they adopted Emma Jean a few months after that. There was a short article about the adoption, citing the death of the child's parents—friends of the Spencer family—in an accident. Jack noted that something seemed off about the article, but he moved on, trying to find out more about Elizabeth's husband.
Sir James seemed to be very charming, and perhaps a bit of a ladies' man from the way he was described in the rest of the newspaper clippings Jack had acquired, but he hadn't found anything truly negative on the man, or his family.
The Spencers were well-known in eastern Canada, one of the wealthiest families in Quebec. Sir Matthew and Lady Lucille Spencer had three sons. James was the eldest, followed by Timothy and Daniel. The family spent much of their time frequenting charity events, often donating large sums of money afforded by Matthew Spencer's investments in both steel and oil.
He sighed again, leaning back in his chair. Without Elizabeth's word, nothing could really get done. James would still be walking around, probably looking for his family. And if he did find them, what would he do to Elizabeth for running from him? She could be in serious danger. Somehow, Jack needed to get her to open up to him. But how?
She had no reason to trust him fully. She likely feared that any information she gave him would make its way back to the Mounties in Toronto, back to her husband. His investigation would have to be discreet, he would have to convince her that the information wouldn't go beyond him until absolutely necessary.
But first, he needed to talk to somebody else. Perhaps another set of eyes could help lead him to a possible solution, a way to keep Elizabeth and her children safe.
...
Elizabeth pushed the eggs around her plate, her mind wandering too much to focus on the meal.
"I already told Clara that I would be staying home today," Rosemary stated, setting her fork beside her plate. "So I'll be here if you need anything."
She glanced up. "Oh, Rosemary. You don't need to do that. We'll be fine. Actually," she cleared her throat, "I was wondering if we could go into town today."
"But Faith wanted you to rest," Rosemary insisted. "You've been through a lot. You really should take a few days, make sure you're okay."
"I can't just sit here and…wait," she finished in a whisper. She didn't have to add more; Rosemary knew what she was talking about. She didn't want to wait around for James to find her.
"You'd be safer here," Lee pointed out.
Elizabeth sighed. "I know, but I need to be doing something, to get my mind off of everything."
"Well, if you really feel like you want to go to town today, I can show you around. I know you didn't get to see much beyond the infirmary."
Elizabeth gave her friend a grateful smile. "Thank you, Rosemary. And thank you, Lee. You two have no idea how much it means to me, and to William and Emma, to have your support."
"We're happy to help," Lee said.
"Yes, and I have a feeling you'll see that just about anyone in Hope Valley will be willing to help you, too," Rosemary added. "It's truly an extraordinary place."
...
Julie stepped into Elizabeth's old room and glanced around. There weren't many of her personal effects left—she had taken most of her things to Toronto after the wedding—but she hoped that maybe she could find something that would give her a clue as to where her sister had gone.
She rifled through the closet, finding nothing more than a couple of dresses that were left behind. The dresser drawers were empty save a few old pairs of stockings. She ran her fingers along the spines of the handful of books stacked neatly on the bedside table.
Sighing, she sank down onto the bed. How did they not know? They should've known that something was wrong. She thought back, trying to think if there were any signs of what her sister had been dealing with.
Elizabeth had backed out of plans more after getting married, but she always claimed one of the children was sick, or the nanny couldn't watch them, or James had something come up at work and they couldn't get away just then. Perfectly valid excuses, nothing that would make them question things.
When they would visit her in Toronto, there was never anything out of ordinary. James would occasionally have a glass of wine at dinner, but he was never drunk. Elizabeth and the children never seemed fearful of him. Yes, he was never really affectionate with them, but Julie had seen plenty of fathers who weren't affectionate with their wives or children.
She sighed again, leaning back onto a pillow. Turning her head, she once again looked over the stack of books, recognizing the titles of some of Elizabeth's favorite novels. Julie wondered why she left them.
"Oh, Beth," she whispered. "Where are you?"
She sat back up and reached for the book on the top of the stack. A theater program fluttered out when she flipped open the front cover.
"What's this?" Julie mused, leafing through the playbill. Her eyes stopped on a familiar name.
She waved the program in front of her a few moments later as she walked into the sitting room a where her mother was staring out the window.
"Mother, I think I might know where Elizabeth went."
"What?" Grace quickly joined her.
"I know I said I thought she'd go west, but maybe she's closer than we think. I found this in her bedroom." She handed the program to her mother. "I think we need to go to New York and speak with Rosemary LeVeaux."
...
"Bill. Good." Jack looked up when Bill Avery entered the jail.
The older man furrowed his brow, confused by his reception. "Not the usual way you greet me."
"I need your help with a case," he explained.
Bill took a seat across from the desk. "Does this have anything to do with the young lady who arrived a few days ago with her children?"
"Yes." Jack sighed, sliding his notes to Bill. "Her husband was violent with her, and she's trying to get away from him."
Bill scanned the page, getting the gist of the information that Jack had collected. "She tell you all of this?"
"No, but I know that's what's going on. Faith told me about her injuries, and Allie told me the children wouldn't talk about their father. The rest of that is information I got from different newspapers."
"You know you have no case if she doesn't talk. Even if she does talk, it would be her word against his, and most of the judges I know of would side with him, no matter the evidence. It's not a great system, but that's how it is."
"I know." Jack nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. "So what can we do?"
"Protect them as much as we can." Bill shrugged. "Hope he's upset enough to divorce her."
"Do you think he would?" he asked eagerly, not having thought of that possibility.
"Don't get your hopes up too high." His lips pressed into a line. "If these are the same Spencers that I'm thinking of, they'll do just about anything to protect their reputation. A divorce wouldn't look good for their family."
Just as quickly as his excitement rose, it fell again. "I just want them to be safe. I don't want her to feel like she has to walk around with her guard up all the time."
"Wait." Bill grabbed the paper again, reading over it once more. "She's a Thatcher? Like the Thatchers in Hamilton?"
"Yes. You know them?"
He nodded. "From my time living there. I never met them personally, but everyone in Hamilton has heard of the Thatchers. Maybe it's about time for me to make a visit back there. It's been a while since I've seen my former father-in-law anyway."
"Whatever you do, Bill, just please don't let anything get back to the Spencers until we know we have a case. I don't want them trying to cover their tracks."
"I know what I'm doing, Jack." Bill stood. "I'll let you know when I decide to go."
"Thank you for your help, Bill."
...
"The Mayor's office is right here." Rosemary pointed to the building on their left. "If Abigail isn't at the café, that's where you're most likely to find her. The church is over that way." She turned slightly to show them the small white building. "That's also where the children go to school."
"Mama?" William looked up at Elizabeth. "Will I go to school there?"
"I don't know, Willie. It depends on how long we stay here."
Emma held her arms out, waiting for Elizabeth to pick her up. Once situated on her mother's hip, she snuggled into her shoulder. "I don't want to stay. I want to go home."
"I know, baby." Elizabeth rubbed her back. "But it's nice here. Why don't we go see the rest of the town? Maybe there will be some more children you can meet."
"I bet Allie will be at the café," Rosemary added. "Let's head over that way. Okay?"
William nodded, slipping his hand into Elizabeth's. They started down the street again, the gravel crunching beneath their feet.
Rosemary indicated a small blue building to the left. "There's a library right there."
Elizabeth's face brightened. She thought of all the books she had to leave behind, thrilled that she would have a place to find some new reading material. "I have a feeling I'll be spending some time there. What do you think, Em? Maybe we can go get some books later, so you and Willie can have bedtime stories again."
"Do they have Wizard of Oz?" she asked quietly, still leaning her head on Elizabeth's shoulder.
"I believe they do," Rosemary replied, touching the little girl's hand. "If I remember correctly, they have a whole selection of children's books."
"That sounds great." Elizabeth shifted Emma on her hip and took William's hand once more. "We'll definitely come back here later, but for now, let's see the rest of the town."
"Let's," Rosemary agreed, continuing her tour. "The jail is right there, if you ever decide you want to talk to the Constable…" She glanced at Elizabeth out of the corner of her eye, seeing her jaw clench. She cleared her throat and moved on. "Beside that is the barber shop, and next to that is Lee's office. Across the street is the saloon. We tend to use that as our meeting space, because it can hold more people than the church."
"And that way leads back to your house?" Elizabeth nodded toward the road that ran between Lee's office and a building marked as the Mercantile.
"Yes. Then the Mercantile is here, and the stagecoach stop, and Abigail's Café is at the end of the street there. Across the way, we have the infirmary, which you already know, and the dress shop, which is where I work. And that's about it. I know it's small, but we have everything we need." She smiled, clearly proud of her little town.
"It's nice." Elizabeth looked back down the street, straightening up a bit when she caught a flash of red serge as the Constable exited the jail.
"Would you like to stop by the Mercantile?" Rosemary asked. "I know you weren't able to bring much with you, so we can go see if there's anything you need."
"Well, um…" Elizabeth glanced at the children, "I suppose we can go see what they have."
"Elizabeth," Rosemary spoke quietly, "if you're worried about money, they can start a tab for you, and you can pay it back later. Mr. Yost is very understanding."
"Actually," she shifted nervously. "Do you know of anywhere that's hiring? I haven't had a real job before, so I don't have much experience, but I'm willing to learn." She reached down and squeezed William's shoulder gently. "If we're going to stay here for a little while, I'll need to make some money."
"Can you sew? We could always use some help at the dress shop."
She shrugged. "I can do a few basic things with a needle and thread, but not much."
"That's fine. Clara and I can teach you. And you can bring William and Emma with you if you'd like." She smiled, giving Emma's cheek a tweak.
"Well, thank you, Rosemary."
"Like I said, we help each other out here in Hope Valley." She looked expectantly at Elizabeth. "To the Mercantile?"
"Lead the way."