A mountie to rely upon

by awdeano

This is the story of how Nathan rescued Little Jack and his visit to Fort Clay. He had to move on from Elizabeth and other new characters came into his life. They all avert catastrophe and they are forced to test how they feel now that we venture into season 9 and beyond. It's not going to be easy. I, along with the program's aim, try to arrive at a positive outcome for all of us.

15. Chapter 15

"Well Virgil, unfortunately, we had better tell Captain Bedford that we have been unable to find any contrary evidence to show that the wrong man was convicted and sent to jail" lamented Bill Avery. "I have looked over every shred of available reports and details and it all seems to point to a correct decision, but somehow, I have a gut feeling that it is wrong. I know and pride myself at being a good judge of character and I know and would swear that this man is innocent but so far, I can't seem to do anything about it." Bill had been at Cape Fullerton for about three weeks after being summoned as requested by the young Captain Bedford to take the long journey and set about performing his own independent investigation. The captain was glad and relieved that Bill had accepted his request, "Since I took up my post, I have had this case in the back of my mind and I am very frustrated with it. We have always told people that if you are innocent, you have nothing to worry about and we always know about the never-ending number of criminals who will always profess their innocence. I have a bad feeling about this and I'm not leaving until I find it whatever it is." Bill and the assigned Constable Virgil McCain had been given unlimited access to whatever they needed as part of their search for new information, but it seemed now that all avenues were just about exhausted. They had viewed the crime scene again and again and interviewed the convicted man and all others who were involved at the time. "I got the distinct impression that the entire investigation was handled rather loosely, and the officers just built their case around why Fred Burns was guilty. I note that the entire investigation and the resultant court case took less than a week." Those officers concerned were not very impressed that their findings were being questioned by this unwelcome terse outsider, but Bill was not the least bit interested in how they felt. " Just assume that he's guilty and proceed with the case accordingly." Bill looked at one of them with a degree of contempt, "Someone is going to have egg on their face by the time I'm finished with this." Bill always made sure that he remembered his old and revered instructor telling him not only to find what is there but also to find what isn't there. He was in an awkward position now that he had virtually accused some of the officers of negligence, but his gut feeling had served him well over the years and he was undeterred in his efforts. The officers' flippant expression did not disguise their thoughts that maybe they should have taken more care with their approach. He persevered, heeding these tried and true techniques and continued to keep an open mind. Fred Burns had already spent five years in detention and it would be hard to face him if Bill could prove his innocence. He was very interested in some of the pictures as part of the evidence. He had gone over the few black and white photos with a magnifying glass many times over the recent weeks, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until he compared three of the prints.

It was well and truly into the early evening by the time Jean and Tony arrived in their huge hometown of Jacksonville with their excited guests along for the ride. The city lights made some of the busy streets appear like daylight as they blended in with many other cars while heading towards their large home. Amy and Florence could see how Judge Tierney and his family had been a very prominent part of this city as they drove up the long driveway to the house, something of the like that Amy had never seen before. Jean was very careful to make sure that she was with Amy as the whole experience could be rather overwhelming to her now that she stood right next to the massive entrance. Amy had never seen anything like this in all her wildest dreams and thought that it must be like a palace or fairyland in one of Mrs Thornton's books. She thought that it would take all day to navigate her way all around a home like this one. "Mum!" yelled out Jean, "It's Jean and I've brought you a visitor." The first part of the welcoming committee was a very big fluffy white dog that Amy absolutely adored. "You have won a friend for life Amy; he won't leave you alone from now on." smiled Jean. Her mother appeared along the hallway with her gaze steely fixed on the young lady patting her dog. She picked out Amy instantly and she deftly pushed her wheelchair along the walkway towards her and welcomed her to her home. She looked to be a kindly elderly lady who had an adoring family that cared so much for her, and they ached when she was troubled, and they felt powerless to help her. They all went into a large living room where there was a large unmistakable portrait of the late Judge Tierney on the wall. Amy recognised him from her torrid time in the courtroom and had a little shudder at the memory. "Please, everyone will you take a seat," Mrs Tierney smiled and motioned for Amy to sit with her. "Thank you both for letting my daughter kidnap you at such short notice, I am so glad that you could come." Jean introduced Florence as Amy's foster mother who has had a major part in Amy's life in Hope Valley. "You must be very proud of this young lady, Mrs Yost." Amy was dumbfounded to see how the hired help came out apparently on cue with sandwiches and tea for them after their long drive, Mrs Tierney took hold of Amy's hand and smiled knowing that this young girl had been her saviour. Amy loved her straight away. "I have plenty to tell you, I have not been myself since the judge passed away. Your letter, Amy was an unexpected surprise and after I read it and gave it to the family it made me take a good long look at myself." The dog's name was Lachlan and he sat obediently at Mrs Tierney's feet looking intently at Amy. "I phoned one of my friends today which is something that I haven't done in quite a while. She was surprised because she and everybody else have tried to help me but all I wanted to do was sit at home by myself with all my memories. Your letter made me realise that I have still got a few years left to contribute and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Jean, these people must be very tired after their long journey, can you show them to our guest room and tomorrow we can all visit the judge's gravesite. Amy, I want to know everything about you."

Constable Virgil McCain returned to the office where they were conducting the exhausting and draining investigation and he noticed Bill staring at the same three photos that he had left him with an hour ago. He was tapping his pencil on the table with a look of some expectation, "Virgil, is the person who took these photos still around?" Bill asked. "I hope we can get a chance to talk with him." There was one person in the squad here who always had the task of taking a multitude of pictures of a crime scene in order to help solve the crime or helping to provide proof of a felony when needed. It was always better to have more of these images than less, so Bill was making use of three seemingly identical pictures and doing a little comparison, something that hadn't been done before in this case. Within ten minutes Virgil had sought out and brought the photographer into the office as requested by Bill. "Thank you for giving us your time, I have a couple of questions for you that might help us out. You don't have to look like that soldier, you are not in any trouble sir." The young photographer relaxed a little. He knew that there was an investigation into this old case going on. "How can I help you sir?" Bill showed him the three photos in question, "I note that you have dated them and put a time on them. Two of them here have roughly the same time but this other one appears to be taken about twenty minutes later; can you explain this to me please." Bill felt that he had to be very careful in how he would frame his innocent sounding questions to avoid any chance of a mistake. "This is a constant concern to us all in this line of work sir," replied the photographer, "We can sometimes have a camera that refuses to cooperate, or I just run out of film at the time. In this case I believe that I needed to insert a new roll of film as I had finished the other one. I had to go back to the office and get another of the same type because I had run out." Bill had considered that to be a plausible explanation, "That would account for the twenty-minute interval. Could anyone else have entered the crime scene while you were away." Bill considered this to be crucial to his investigation because there was something here that needed clarification. The photographer carefully considered his reply, sir, I can't remember the scene being locked up at any stage, also, there were no investigators in attendance while I was there." Bill was not surprised at this revelation, "Now Virgil, have a look at the first two prints and then look at the later one and tell me if you notice anything." Both of these officers had played only a minor part in the original investigation and the photos were not considered much more than a negligeable part of the evidence when the officers already had someone to hold responsible. "They all look the same to me," observed a puzzled Virgil. Bill pointed to something in the corner and then asked if the photographer could identify what it was. It wasn't a hat or a scarf but more importantly, it wasn't there in the later photo.

Elizabeth was on cloud nine as she and her little boy wandered down the main street. It had been really nice how the captain had shown such understanding for her and that it seemed that her encounter with her buried husband at the gravesite actually happened as she had described it. She was bringing her photo of her and Jack for him to see. She was still overwhelmed that he had made the effort to come to Hope Valley on purpose to help her come to terms with her encounter. When she was returning back home after unsuccessfully waiting for the captain who was out somewhere else, she was in possession of a letter from her father who wrote to her on a fairly regular basis. She looked after Little Jack first and decided that she could read the letter after her boy had gone down for the evening. If there had been anything urgent to report , he would have sent a telegram to her which thankfully had never happened. He was always so complimentary and would continually tell her how he had admired her decision to head out to the frontier to become a teacher, even if it was against his initial advice. There was one part of the letter somewhere in the middle that had perked up her interest. He was describing in some detail how one of his sea captains had relinquished his attractive offer to command one of his new ships in favour of searching for his wife who was supposed to be somewhere out in the country somewhere. "I offered him the world to take this commission, but he was determined to find his wife. Elizabeth, I couldn't help thinking of how he reminded me of you and your own determination to tackle something out of the ordinary." She thought nothing more of it and put the letter away in the top drawer with all the other ones until she would get around to responding to it.

Amy couldn't believe to see a house like this one after being raised from childhood in not much more than a one room shed for a homestead. There were people hired to tend the expansive garden which was full of lovely flowers and trees. She had risen early as per usual and found it rather strange not having to head to the stables to tend the horses as she always did. She headed outside on her own and found a beautiful little gazebo in a lovely little setting where you could sit in anytime of the day and take in the scenery. There was an abundance of stunning flowers in full bloom, most that she had never seen before, and they were so beautifully looked after. She sat there in the early morning sunshine deep in thought trying to make sense of her feelings. This is where Jean found her after a while, and she could see that Amy was full of love and life but there were issues going through her mind as she sat in what felt to be such a spiritual little place. "Good morning Amy, I thought I might find you out here, it is so beautiful isn't it, I choose to sit here quite often sometimes when I need to and also sometimes just to relax when the weather is nice." Amy was quite teary, "Jean, I owe so many people so much for the help and guidance that I have received over the last year or more. It is such a turnaround from my upbringing that I still find it hard to believe. I have to be the luckiest person alive." She looked Jean in her eyes, "When I wrote those letters, I was not expecting anything, I was just expressing my gratitude and saying how thankful that I was. I wanted everyone to know that I'm going to spend my life learning and helping everyone. Mountie Nathan didn't have to give me a second chance, especially as I had pointed a gun at him. I will never, ever forget the time when he said that I could stay in Hope Valley. Mountie Simon rescued me and I promised him that when I could I was going to write him a letter to tell him how thankful I was. I didn't mean anything else by it, I just wanted him to know how much he and everyone means to me." Jean hugged her, "Amy, we could all see and feel that in your letter. To see you now is exactly like what we expected. You saw my mother last night; she hasn't shown such love and purpose like that for many months. She seems to have now snapped out of feeling sorry for herself and is now ready to re-join her life in the human race. She is a very influential woman in this city and many people owe her and my father a grand debt of gratitude for helping to guide their path along the way. This from you Amy is something special and we won't ever forget it. Come on Amy and have some breakfast with us."

They looked at each other in amazement, "How could we have missed this," said Virgil in horror. "Have you got any idea what it might be and any thoughts on why it isn't there in that later photo?" asked Bill, "Somebody has removed whatever this is during the period while you were away." He was looking at the puzzled photographer who could not offer any enlightenment on the problem. "I would dearly love to talk to whoever took the item as that places them at the crime scene at that time." said Bill. He wondered how to proceed further, "We firstly, need to identify what the item is and even more so, if it turns out that it doesn't belong to Fred Burns then we don't want to alert the wrong person." He gave one of the photos showing the object to Virgil, "show this around but I'm sure that I don't have to tell you to use your discretion, a man's life may be at stake here." This investigation was set up and conducted in secret, so Virgil did not show the picture to any of his colleagues as yet. There were many clothing shops in the town, so he started his inquiry at one of those. Nobody would know the significance of the photo, so he was confident that this was a good place to start. Many accepted that the object in question was not a hat but it might have been a scarf or a neckerchief. One, however, had a staff member who noticed what appeared to be a knot on it, so he described that it might be a bandana and after searching around, he was able to actually show him one that he had in the shop. "I only have this gaily coloured one because we don't get many requests for these." he said. Virgil offered to pay for it, but the smiling shopkeeper said that if he promised to come back and buy something then he could have this for nothing. Virgil returned to the station and was full of hope and anticipation when he showed the bandana to Bill.

It seemed different to look at a city from sitting in the back seat of a car. There had been so many new experiences for her in recent times such as reading and writing and being someone who was now able to help the little ones in the classroom. She still felt that there was nothing to compare with the trusting relationship that you could have with a horse as you could travel down the trail on horseback. It was going to take about a ten-minute drive in the car to the well-maintained cemetery in the town. The Tierney family and many friends would visit the judge's grave quite regularly to sit and pay their respects to an old friend who was sadly missed. This was also a new experience for Amy as she had barely known of an elaborate graveyard, but this place was so well laid out and looked after, she felt that it was something and somewhere to be very proud of. There were headstones with names and dates going back many years that would be for ancestors of families who would have many stories to tell. These would have been some of the people who would have helped put this city together so long ago. It made her feel very strange and nostalgic. She never at any stage failed to know and accept that these were real people who had lived here many years ago. The judge's grave had fresh flowers which showed that some of the family had been here recently. Amy hugged Jean and Mrs Tierney as she looked at the prominent headstone. She asked if she could sit for a while, and they said yes partly because this visit was primarily for Amy's benefit. The longer she was there, the more her eyes became glazed. "Hello Judge Tierney, I am so glad that your lovely family could bring me here to see you. I wish you could still be with your family and see me now because I promised everyone that I am going to do my best for everyone. You gave me a chance and I'm not going to let you or anyone down. I realise, despite my father's opinion, that I am smart and resourceful and as capable of learning as anybody else. I know my way around horses, and I can now read and write. I don't know yet what I'm going to do but, thanks to you and Florence, Mrs Thornton and the Mounties, my life is going to be for the benefit of everyone else. God bless you sir." Jean and Mrs Tierney thought that they had never seen such fierce determination and dedication and kindness in the eyes of anyone like what they could see in Amy.

Bill had gone to the prison and had spoken with Fred a number of times over the past few weeks and his impression was just as the warden had said. This man was a model prisoner who often helped many of the other prisoners with any problems. He had repeatedly said that if he was to be here for life then he had better make the best of it. Everyone was in total agreement that this man did not deserve to be here. To get to the truth whatever it was, Bill needed to have this man's complete confidence. Fred knew that Bill had been conducting some sort of an investigation, so he had been quite happy to make himself available when needed. Bill had a question to ask, "Before I leave here, I've been asked to some silly fancy dress gathering. How do you use a bandana? I have never used one before." Fred thought that this was a silly question, "I come from the Midwest, not somewhere where gypsies live. I wouldn't know a bandana from sailor's cap. I know who you could ask though, I have a friend who still comes to visit me from time to time. His name is Stephan, and he always wears a bandana, but he didn't have one back when I was sent here, and I thought that he looked so different." Bill was trying to remain calm, but he felt as tense as he had ever felt before. If what he thought was correct, Fred had a friend who was quite happy for him to spend his life in prison when he knew that he was innocent. It was now time for the Mounties to interview this Stephan and ask him why his bandana was seen at the scene of the crime.

Amy wasn't used to having someone else other than Florence fuss over her and now being taken to a fancy café and being able to sit outside in the sun was something really special. This was definitely a taste of the good life, but Amy was not distracted from her own well-thought-out destiny. Mrs Tierney reminisced about the life that she had shared with her husband over many years. "The judge had the knack of bringing people together when there was a big project that needed the right people to do the planning and others to figure out the feasibility. That big church that we went past on our way to the cemetery was his pride and joy. He would organise scholarships for worthy and hardworking students and many of them were now prominent members of the community in their own right. He had a very upsetting part of his life when one of our friend's daughter had a horse-riding accident resulting in paralysis. He is now the superintendent at Fort Clay, and he may never have come to grips with his daughter's disability without the help and support of my husband." It was so beautiful sitting amongst the flowers and the garden beds. "Amy, I have something to tell you and something to ask you," said a very serious Mrs Tierney, "You helped me realize that I still have a part to play in the life of the people of this city. You helped me when I need it and I want to help you. My family has more money than we know what to do with, so I have something for you to think about over the next few years." She was clutching the letter that she had read over and over again. "For you to be able to write a letter like this in such a short time means that it is exactly what you said. You are indeed most definitely a very smart and gifted young woman who will make a mark in this world. Sometime down the track maybe in a few years when you're ready, you will have to consider going to college or university so that you can get qualifications for what you may want to do in your life. You may choose to become a nurse or a schoolteacher or even a doctor. You are good with horses, so they need people who know how to look after their precious and loved pets. My family is in total agreement and that means that we will be providing the funds that you will need to do this whenever you decide in the future. It is our way of saying thank you for becoming part of our lives. I am sure that the judge would approve."

Elizabeth was totally disgusted with herself, how many times had she said to the older children and impressed upon them to be so careful when cutting fruit and vegetables. She had been daydreaming again about how the captain had come to Hope Valley specifically with concern for her. She knew that not everyone would do such a thing like that for somebody else and she thought that this was such a nice thing to have done. She had also remembered how Joseph had said that there was someone else that was going to need all the support and help that we could provide. "Surely there was no more disaster to come our way again." she thought. Her lack of concentration and focus on the job at hand caused her to slice her finger enough to draw blood and have it hurt like the devil. She found a clean rag and, after leaving Little Jack with Rosemary, headed for the Infirmary because she had no bandage in her home. This was another oversight that she could have done without. She had a frustrated little smile as she wondered what sort of lecture she was going to receive from Faith and Christine about stuff that she already knew. She also knew that they would be more than busy enough without having to see to another case which should never have occurred. They were surprised at how Elizabeth looked when she appeared at the front door. Her face was white, and she said that she felt giddy and lightheaded. Christine was astounded, "My goodness Elizabeth, come here and sit down, whatever has happened." It was a warm afternoon and the walk from home had taken the energy from her, but she soon felt better once she was inside and resting. Christine was soon busily tending the wound and the white bandage which she was trying not to look at convinced Elizabeth that she wouldn't be using that finger for quite a while. "I was daydreaming when I should have been concentrating on the job like I tell all the children." Christine and Faith looked at each other with a little nod and a smirk. "We heard that the captain walked you home the other night, that was very nice of him." commented Faith. "I'm sure that you must have heard that from a certain friend of mine who should know how to mind her own business." scowled Elizabeth with a little smile. "I get seen with someone for five minutes and that friend has a field day blabbing to all and sundry." Christine grinned and made her own observation as she finished up her work on Elizabeth's finger, "He is a very handsome man, and he would be a very good catch for any woman. Do we know whether he's married or not?" Elizabeth replied, Captain Foster came and spoke to the children in class and when he called for questions, that's the first thing they asked him." Christine laughed and thought how forward all the children were. "I wonder if the girls would ask him that straight out if they were a few years older. I wonder why they would ask him that." puzzled Elizabeth. The two ladies looked at each other, "I can't imagine why." A very suspicious looking Elizabeth remarked, "You two are just as bad as Rosemary." Well, I'm glad that he came to visit us for a while," said Christine, "he reminds me of my husband who is also very handsome I have to say." Elizabeth remembered something from when Christine first arrived in Hope Valley and how she had said that her husband was serving on a ship somewhere out at sea. "Have you ever heard from him Christine; it must be so heartbreaking to be apart for so long." She answered, "I have never had any letters or anything from him since his snap recall to active sea duty. We were married for less than a week and then he was gone. He must have been involved some very hard and desperate work in some strange places for him to be unable to write even a short note to let me know that he was alright." Christine was sad but she cheered up a little, "Well Mrs Schoolteacher, you now have a little colour back in your face, who knows, you may be allowed to go home tonight.

"We are going to be so sorry to see you leave, Bill, now that this case has been resolved. I am glad that I followed up on my misgivings and it worked out so well." lamented Captain Bedford, "you and Virgil worked so well together, are you sure that we can't entice you to stay with us?" There had been a great deal of anger and disappointment as the case started to wind up, and it was not so difficult to figure out where to direct that annoyance. Missing that little detail in the photographs had cost a good man five years of his life and it had been hard for everyone to face him because just an apology was not going to be good enough. A bandana was not a familiar sight in this neck of the woods and the Mounties were careful with their questions to Stephan once they had picked him up. He had no answer to why the bandana had been in the picture and, after persistence, he provided a full confession. He was treated with contempt because he professed to be Fred's good friend, but he was quite happy to let him languish in prison in his place. Stephan was not permitted any mercy upon recommendation and his long sentence was to include an additional five years at hard labour. Bill had not been backward in telling the previous, very embarrassed investigators that they should have been given a sentence themselves so that they could ponder over how their negligence was more than just a slight oversight. These so called investigators had shown little more than embarrassment so it was decided that these officers should be stood down pending an inquiry into their conduct. They were resentful at the assertion that they hadn't done their job. Bill had gained two more enemies, but he considered that a small price to bear now that justice had been served. There had been many who had seen the wrath of Bill Avery and two more would not bother him. Captain Bedford decided that he would not rest until Fred Burns was found a worthwhile job either in the community in this town or anywhere else of his choosing, complete with a more than amount of adequate compensation. He had been given glowing references by the prison warden who had said tongue in cheek, that he was sorry to see him leave. He was going to lose sleep over thinking how do you give someone back five years of his life.

The little town of Hartford was way out on the frontier and a long journey for Peter, but it gave him time to reminisce about his first meeting with Christine, the wedding and then the rush back to sea. There was only one coach that had a connection to the train arrival at St. Pierre that would take him on the long dusty track to Hartford. He wondered what sort of town could exist out here on the frontier such a long way from civilisation. The further he travelled, the more trees appeared, and Hartford literally turned out to be an oasis in the wilderness. It had been a credit to the people from the past and it couldn't have been easy to be able to carve a quaint little town like this out of the countryside. James Pennington, another name on his list, was a distant relation to the family of Tom Pennington, and no one had seen much of him for many years. He and his wife of more than fifty years had made Hartford their home and they had been very happy together. The coach pulled into the main street after what had seemed to be an eternity on the track and the driver exclaimed how the place seemed unusually deserted with no one around. Peter and the puzzled driver walked along the street and noted how there was no shop closed up and locked. There was, however, a sign on some of the doors which indicated that all the people were at the funeral and the shop would remain unattended for a period. There was a man looking after the single telegraph facility of the town. "Welcome gentlemen, I hate to have to tell you that everybody is at the church today because of the funeral for Judy Pennington who passed away two days ago." He took note of Peter's jacket, "I take it from the uniform that you're wearing sir, you aren't from around here." He directed Peter to the church which was around the corner and down the road a little. There were plenty of carts and carriages, so it looked like there were plenty of people in attendance to farewell Mrs Pennington. He was pleased that the large door didn't squeak as he opened it slowly and then walked inside. He was reluctant to interfere with the proceedings so he waited patiently at the back. Of course, he felt very conspicuous as many people turned around and noticed a man in a naval officer's uniform appear in their church when the ocean was at least thousands of miles away from here. He sat down quietly at the back and the preacher resumed his duty. Peter could see a very miserable and resigned man sitting at the front who must be James Pennington. The preacher described how Judy and Jim were loved and respected members of their small community for as long as he could remember. When the river flooded, and the town became threatened on many occasions it was always Jim and Judy as a team who always came to the rescue with sandbags and barricades and somehow, they all got through it together. "We offer our prayers for Judy and we pray always for loved ones who are left behind."

It was so heartbreaking for everyone to see, including Peter, someone who had been a soulmate for such a long time and now she was gone. The preacher invited a couple of townsfolk the chance to speak of their friend and devoted neighbour and their comments and thoughts reminded people of old friends who always had a smile and a kind word for everyone. The preacher had also noticed the unusual new visitor who had arrived in their church, "Folks, we have a visitor to our little town and I wonder whether he would like the opportunity to offer a few comments. Sir, I imagine that you haven't arrived here just by chance, so I invite you to come forward and be part of our tight community today." This request put Peter on the spot, and he felt a bit embarrassed to have imposed upon this revered occasion, but he was here for a good reason. He reluctantly and tentatively walked down the aisle to the front and faced the people of Hartford. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, your preacher is quite correct, I haven't arrived here by chance or by accident. My name is Peter Glover and when I stepped down from the coach earlier, I hadn't expected that I would be speaking in your church later. I have only just recently completed four years of sea duty and now I am searching the country for my wife wherever she may be. I have arrived here planning to talk to James and Judy Pennington in the hope that they may have some knowledge of the whereabouts of Christine Pennington who is my wife. We were married four years ago and then I was ordered back to sea duty and I haven't heard from her since." He looked at the desolate figure of James Pennington. "Sir, I am so sorry for your loss, I can't imagine what it is like to have to say goodbye to your wife after so many years. I do know what it's like to lose a loved one. I lost my grandfather about three weeks ago; his last words were to say not to worry and that my wife is out there somewhere waiting for you." His voice was shaky by now, so he thanked the preacher and started his way back along the aisle. A lady stood up and took him by the arm and asked him, "Would you care to sit with us captain?" She was close to tears after hearing Peter's story.

Peter had seen this only too recently, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust," and the coffin of Judy Pennington was laid to eternal rest. Mr and Mrs Carrington had escorted Peter and James along the way with the casket. Now was not the time for him to do more than introduce himself so he just went along to help offer some support and understanding for this elderly man. When everything was all over and they were all in their little hall, which was the town's meeting place, James lightened up a little with all his friends around him. He now sought out Peter and became curious about sea life and his marriage. The townsfolk were very pleased to see him talking with this new stranger who they had all taken to as one of their own. It seemed like this man was about as close as any family that he now had. Peter asked Mrs Carrington, "I noticed a small grave next to where James' wife was buried today," She replied sadly, "They had a beautiful little girl but she got drowned in the flood one year, she was only five years old and it broke their hearts. This was years ago before many of us arrived in this town. It took many years apparently but somehow time healed as best as it could and they have proved to be the nicest people that anyone could meet. They never had any other children after that. Peter couldn't imagine what was going to happen for James when the gathering would come to an end. "I hate the thought, Mrs Carrington, of James having to return to his empty home on his own knowing that his wife was never going to be there again, that is the most horrible thing that would happen to someone to now be struck with the loneliness of suddenly being by yourself." She loved how Peter had hardly been in town for much of the day, but he had shown such a loving and caring nature for the people here in such a short time. "Christine will have to wait, if that's alright with you Mrs Carrington, I'll ask him if I can stay with him for a few days." They walked home slowly as they were not in any desperate hurry to get somewhere where Judy wouldn't be. They walked through the front door and even Peter felt the memories that would always be there after fifty years of a life together. The emptiness that Peter felt waiting for Christine was nothing compared to this awful sensation. James put the kettle on, and they sat down with a cup of tea as neither of them felt like anything else. After a while it seemed that the roles became reversed. He remembered the shock of seeing Susan for the first time but now he felt so lonely and nothing could shock him out of it. They talked well into the late night about anything and everything. They described how they met their spouses and what it was like to fall in love and know that it was going to be forever. In the darkest hour after the funeral of James's wife Peter told him that he envied him. "You were so fortunate to have all those years with Judy, I had three days." James had not seen Christine since she was a young girl, but he remembered how there were two of them most of the time because they could almost have been twins. He smiled as he remembered the past, "Those two girls infuriated Judy constantly and ran her ragged." Most of the next day was spent on horseback with James showing Peter around the district and many of the special little places that he had shared with his wife. It was a thriving little town, bustling with people going about their business far different from the deserted appearance of the day before. There were about thirty young schoolchildren outside at play in their quaint little school building with a happy looking lady with them who must be the teacher. Just as they were returning home James stopped and looked at Peter, "I want to thank you for caring about me Peter, I'm going to be alright from now on thanks to you. It's time for you to resume your search for your wife and when you do happen to find her, can you remind her of an old man who remembers how beautiful she was when she was a young girl.

It wasn't a life-threatening injury, but Faith and Christine had instructed their defiant uncooperative patient that they wanted to see her back again before school the next morning. Despite the insistence that everything was just fine, Elizabeth could see that she wasn't making much headway. Faith was very determined that their most loved and revered schoolteacher would be back here in the morning and there would be no further discussion on the matter. "I don't want to have to come to your classroom and tell the children that their teacher was not cooperating with the doctor who was supposed to know better." They were always concerned about the risk of infection which would then make the situation far more disturbing. With all that in mind a dutiful Elizabeth fronted up and sat inside the Infirmary allowing her injured finger to be inspected and have a replacement bandage. "Has anyone seen Amy in the last few days. She wasn't in the classroom as per usual and the children were wondering where she might be. I didn't see Florence about the place either. I might go and see them at the Mercantile and see if everything is alright." She was told not to rush around because of her injured finger so it was to be a gentle relaxed walk and on the way, she decided to call into the café first. Clara asked straightaway if Amy was back yet. Elizabeth was quite surprised, "I didn't even know that she had gone anywhere." Clara had quite a story to tell about how a very nice couple had arrived in a car and the lady was quite teary as she asked about Amy. "You should have seen them Elizabeth when they first met. It was like as if Amy was a long lost daughter. Amy had apparently written a letter to her family and they came immediately to see her. Amy and Florence packed a few things quickly and then they went with them in their car for a stay overnight." Elizabeth had known that Amy was determined to write some letters to people who she felt indebted to and she wanted them to know that she was going to pay everyone back during the rest of her life. Elizabeth headed off to school and used her injury to reinforce to the children, the importance of concentrating on what you are doing and not daydream like what she had been doing. She was thankful that her finger didn't hurt as much like it did yesterday. She was also thankful that she never had to explain why she had been daydreaming. "My goodness," she thought, "I can't get it out of my mind how this man came here to talk to me and help me understand my experience at Fort Clay and we're not even on a first name basis. He is such a gentleman and he obviously does not wish to pry." She had been curious all day about Amy's little adventure.

School ended for the day and just as Elizabeth was preparing to go home, a car appeared and parked next to the steps. She was suddenly reminded when the last time a car was parked right out front but now that was long in the past. "Hello Mrs Thornton, I'm back from the most wonderful two days and I asked for these people to meet you when we returned." Elizabeth now saw the nice couple that Clara had mentioned before, "Hello Mrs Thornton, it is our great pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Jean Campton and I know that you are very proud of this young lady. Amy will fill you in with all the details because we need to try and return back home before darkness sets in if possible." They delivered Florence back to the Mercantile and then they were on their way. "Mrs Thornton, I promised that I would write a letter to the family of Judge Tierney and I did. Mrs Campton is his daughter and they loved my letter." Amy started on the story that had evolved from a letter sent with love. Elizabeth was enraptured with all this information especially the part about how the judge's wife took some heart from the letter and started to feel revitalised again. "Mrs Thornton, they want to pay for me to go to university one day because they know that I'm never going to stop trying to learn everything that I can in the next few years. I told Jean that I never wrote my letter expecting something like this." Elizabeth could see that Amy was seeking some direction and would most probably rely on her judgement. "Amy, you have astounded us all since you came here and they understood how passionate you are and plan to let nothing stand in your way. You gave Mrs Tierney her life back and she is obviously very grateful. Jean could see that they were unable to help her themselves and they know that their mother is better now from something so thoughtful that you did. You should accept their offer with all your heart. It sounds like from what you say that this family had used their influence to help many people over the years and they have had much success. They saw exactly what we have said to you for a long time, you can be anything that you want to be and nothing will stand in your way. Anyway, I can't see them taking no for an answer anytime soon."

"I think that your finger has finally retaken its place as part of the human race Elizabeth." Faith had done her final examination and now she was satisfied that Elizabeth's cut finger had healed well, and that Christine had done a fine job of looking after it and there wouldn't be any scar to speak of. Elizabeth sat there patiently and just watching Christine go about her business. She was allowed to leave and head to the school for the day, but she couldn't help just wanting to sit for a while. Christine was busy sorting and rearranging medical items, but she stopped when she noticed that Elizabeth was still there just staring at her. "What's the matter Elizabeth?" asked a concerned Christine. "I'm sorry Christine, I can't help thinking how lucky we are to have you and Faith here to help us all when we do something silly like I did. I will never take you for granted and I am amazed at the job that you do although I will always argue with you." Christine was quite surprised and taken aback at hearing such heartfelt comments coming from Elizabeth at this stage. "We do the same job with the same dedication as what you do. All those children who have come and gone over the years have been so lucky to have you there to help and guide them as they were growing up to adulthood." She took Elizabeth's hand, "You somehow were able to do all this after losing your husband so tragically. I don't know who told me but when I found out about what had happened to you, I cried at home in the evening. Maybe it reminded me of my own husband somewhere out there on a ship. He was taken from me after three days of marriage and you never know, he might come back. I can't bear it but, for all I know, his ship could have gone down somewhere in high seas and I may never find out. Even if they knew that he was married, they won't know where to find me. I'm the same as you Elizabeth, we just have to go along with our lives and do our best for everyone."

There never seemed to be any arguments between the children while Amy was there especially at recess time when minor matters could get out of hand. All the children could remember the time when Amy knew nothing about words and numbers and more importantly, she was a wonderful example as she was never frustrated. She had already proved that she was going to be a success at whatever she would decide to put her hand to. All the children could take credit for what Amy had achieved so far. It certainly made Elizabeth's job a great deal easier with Amy around. It might take a few years but Amy was going to have to make up her mind and pursue a course of action for her future. There was no hurry and there was still much to learn and experience. There would be plenty of people to talk to along the way for guidance. She sat by the steps at recess time pondering over her conversation with Christine. She knew that her own husband was gone and not coming back but how was it possible for Christine to cope not knowing where her husband was or even whether he was still alive. She could hardly imagine what would be worse. She remembered her father's last letter where he vividly described how one of his ship's captains had decided to end his seafaring career so that he could seek out his wife who he hadn't seen for some years. She thought that this must be quite a decision to have to make for countless many men after they had been at sea for so many years. She decided to read the letter once again when she got home.

There was nothing in the letter that was any different than before but now she was curious as she read it again. She understood that in such a big shipping industry there would have to be many examples of crewmen leaving the service from time to time, but this man must have been very highly thought of to have been referenced by her father, probably an officer. Christine had never mentioned whether her husband was more than a seaman let alone a high ranking officer maybe in command of the vessel. It wouldn't do any harm to talk to her father and ask him for a name. A few weeks had gone by since this happened but surely her father would have remembered who he was and maybe have kept a record. It had been proven in the past that getting hold of her father was always easier said than done. He was the owner and managing director of a huge shipping company and that meant that he could be in various meetings or even away on business for lengthy periods at a time. The more she thought about all of this, the more impatient she became, and she wished that she could have done more than just leave a message for him to ring. There was no point in talking again to Christine as it would be cruel and unfair to have her hopes raised and shattered once again when and if the information proved that the officer was someone else. On the other hand, what if the man out there was in fact Christine's husband and he was searching the country for her, she simply had to know for sure if he was not the right man. He may have already found his wife and had a very happy reunion and now started a new life. Elizabeth thought, "I'm not ever going to be able to sleep ever again until I find out." She sat at home silently in the dark at night wondering how Christine could possibly have got through and completed her nursing qualifications with all this hanging over her for years.

It took two days but eventually a message came through from one of Mr Thatcher's staff that he would ring at about five o'clock this afternoon. He had in fact been out of town for over a week and had only recently returned to his office. Florence had asked Robert to let Elizabeth know that she should stay close to the Mercantile and expect a phone call at five o'clock. He hadn't been concerned at all because she would have said if there had been some sort of an emergency. Around the time she waited in the Mercantile and talked to Florence about their hurriedly arranged trip to see Mrs Tierney. "Elizabeth, that young girl never ceases to amaze me. All this happened just because she wrote them a letter." Soon there was a ring and Florence summoned a very excited Elizabeth to the phone. "Hello father, it's nice to hear your voice again from so far away." She never ever took it for granted how the advance in the technology had now enabled people to talk to their family over the miles. She talked a little about her brave trip to Fort Clay and then eventually she got around to the real question. Her father was a very perceptive businessman and he could tell that there was a different tone in his daughter's voice today and a specific reason for her call. He thought that whatever it was, if she wanted me to know then she would tell me. She drew his attention to his letter and said how nice it was that he put her in the same category as the ship's captain that he lost from his employ. He was rather puzzled and bemused when she asked for a name, but he didn't pursue the issue. "Elizabeth, I distinctly remember talking to that man. The ship's captain, who I knew quite well, provided a glowing recommendation of this man's ability in handling one of my ships. He had a meteoric rise up the ranks to second officer in such a short time. This man had worked alongside the captain for four years to nurse our old ship the 'Cherry Hills' on its last voyage. Elizabeth, I was quite prepared to offer him the command of our new ship, the 'City of Hamilton' but he declined it because he wanted to find his wife. He said that this was going to be quite a search because he had no idea where she could be. I think his name was Peter, but I can't remember anymore. I know that I told him that I would have his rank listed as captain just in case he decided to return to the sea duty in the future. I wrote it down somewhere because I was so impressed with him and I was sorry to lose him. If I can find any more details, I will send it to you by telegram."

This was totally unacceptable to an exasperated Elizabeth because she now felt helpless at having to wait just in case her father found where he had written down the information. She knew her father and that he was very much like her in that she would tear everything up and down and not rest until she found what she was looking for. She wasn't sure whether Christine had mentioned her husband's name as Peter, if she had it seemed as if it was a long time ago. Her frustration showed as she thanked Florence and said how Little Jack must be wondering where she was. Rosemary had spent more time with Christine as she had been instrumental in helping her with her grandmother after she had passed away. They would often visit the grave together with Marie, Emily and Rusty and put new flowers to replace the old ones. Elizabeth told Rosemary about how wonderful it was to have her and Faith here and how we had something in common about their husbands. "Christine doesn't get around to talking much about him probably because it has been so long, and she doesn't know where he is. That would have to be unbearable to have to go through life like that." Elizabeth asked if she knew his name, "I'm really not sure Elizabeth, because it was a long time ago, but I think she might have called him Peter." Elizabeth's heartrate just started to increase a little, but she kept it all intact because she now wondered if all this was more than a coincidence. She hoped that all the telegraph lines were still intact.

"I promise you that Ringwood is a lovely little town," laughed Cassie, a lovely young nurse who had seen Peter sitting by himself by the window. The rickety old train on the bumpiest railroad track in the country made nurse Cassie's assessment rather difficult to believe. He was totally convinced that they were heading to somewhere on the edge of civilisation and hopefully, they wouldn't fall off the edge of the earth. "I've been away for six weeks on trial at a big city hospital and now I'm going home and I'm excited and looking forward to see my parents again." They had a big expanse of land to cover so to have some company on the journey was well received. Otherwise, he would have been recounting his last moments with Bert and his time recently with James. She hung on every word when he told her of his quest to find his wife after four years. She was horrified to think that all he had to help him was some obscure leads and names of distant relatives that may not bring him any success in the end. "I'll have to worry about that when the time comes." he said ruefully. "Well, at least I've got Ringwood to look forward to," She grinned at him because she knew how surprised he was going to be.

The train was heading up a rise and had slowed quite markedly. "I hope your parents aren't waiting at the station for you, they might be there for quite a while." he said ruefully. The conductor wandered along the aisle of their carriage just as Peter saw some elderly people waving to the train frantically as their cart on the road parallel to the train track had sustained some damage and they looked like they were stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. "Stop the train!" yelled Peter. The conductor turned in surprise, "Who said that?" he asked in a rather annoyed tone. "I did, can't you see those people out there who need help." He was standing and now looking for an emergency cord or button, but the conductor had now headed up to the front to alert the driver with a red flag. Thankfully the train finally stopped, and Peter told the conductor that he was going to get off the train so that he could provide some help. "What can you do, that cart looks damaged?" asked the confused conductor. "I had four years in an old cargo vessel out in the middle of the ocean, and we had only ourselves to conduct our running repairs or else we would have been stuck out at sea forever, about five hundred miles from home. Goodbye Cassie, thank you for the company and your optimism about Ringwood." Cassie stood up and grabbed her bags, "I'm coming with you, that lady out there looks to be in some difficulty so she may need my help so lead the way captain." He could see that she was not one to take no for an answer.

The conductor apologised as he said how he would be unable to hold the train up as there would be other trains coming along the track eventually and that could cause a problem. Peter had his kit and Nurse Cassie had a case as they disembarked from the train and found their way to the road and then to the beleaguered cart and worried elderly couple. "Oh, my goodness, it's Mr and Mrs Kennedy, mum and dad have known these people for years." There was indeed a problem for these old folks as their cart had drifted into the muddy ditch and became stuck fast. Cassie was right to have insisted to come with Peter as the man's wife had sustained quite a bump and a gash on her leg when the cart had rolled into the ditch. "Thank heavens you came to help us," said the elderly man. "I'm Harry Kennedy and this is my wife Mary, I'm afraid we caused you some inconvenience to your journey. I want to thank you because not everyone would have stopped for us like what you did." Cassie went straight to work to make life easier for Mary while Peter and Harry inspected the damage. "I'm Peter Glover and you already know Cassie. I think that we can help with this if we are careful." Peter knew that he had made the right decision because this nice elderly couple would clearly not have been able to get themselves out of this jam. The situation looked a lot worse than it really was as far as the cart was concerned but Harry was more worried about his wife who had clearly been in some degree of pain. Peter was amazed how patient the horse had been, he must have known that he wasn't going anywhere for a while but now he was asked to cooperate and do something different. He had been the family pet for years, so they knew that he wasn't presupposed to bolting off when he became unhitched. They had brought extra rope with them so Peter found a few secure places at the back of the cart where he could tie it evenly. "This is where my sailor knots come in handy," grinned Peter. It was unfortunate that they had to ask Mary with her injury to come off the cart to lighten the load as now he planned to bring it out the way that it had gone in. He hoped that the horse didn't mind pulling the cart backwards as he snorted and flicked his ears. Peter was pleased that it hardly needed a helping push as he boots were muddy enough already. Harry was ecstatic, "That came out just like a pie coming out of the oven." Just when all the work was done a car came along and stopped to see if there was any assistance required. There was room for three passengers so Peter insisted, with Cassie's blessing, that they head straight to the Ringwood hospital to see to Mary's injury and the fact that both husband and wife would have been quite dehydrated by now. The ship's captain would have the company of the horse to slowly bring the cart into town.

It was a very slow and extremely relaxed last ride around the town for the captain because his ton of administrative work was almost completed, and he was expecting to return soon to Fort Clay. Hope Valley was all that he had expected, and he was going to be sad to finally leave. He rode by the school and wondered whether he should call in and bid a last farewell to all the children, Amy and Mrs Thornton. This was going to be difficult because he never knew whether he would be back this way again. All the children were just coming outside for lunch in the sunshine, and they saw the captain watching them. He climbed off his horse, and he was immediately swamped by what seemed about a million schoolchildren. They wanted to play ball with him, but he insisted that they have their lunch first. This was no different than each time Nathan would show up unannounced and throw the normal order of things into disarray, but Elizabeth didn't mind. Just as lunchtime was finishing, he told them that he would be leaving in a day or two, but he had enjoyed his time very much at Hope Valley. The children were sad at hearing that news as they didn't want him to leave. Amy hugged him again and told him that she wouldn't be here if not for him. She had told Jean and Mrs Tierney that he was one of the Mounties that had believed enough in her to give her the chance at a new life. They planned a long trip to Fort Clay one day so that they could meet this man who Amy thought of so highly. Elizabeth had known that this day was coming, and she was saddened to think that someone that she had bonded with was finally leaving and she probably would never see him again. Everyone could see that Mrs Thornton didn't want him to go and they could all see that she liked this man. Just as school was ending for the day Robert showed up on the steps with a telegram for her.