Chapter 29 – Start of the Ball
There were a ton of people in the lobby and Nathan knew there would also be several photographers. He had warned Carol, but she still wanted to come down the grand staircase. Nathan knew that the hotel would also open the lobby up to people to come see the parade of Mounties and their wives/sweethearts. So to please his wife, Nathan filled out the card so they could be announced before they went down the staircase.
In the past, Nathan had normally would have avoided the grand entrance to the Ball. It probably also was in part because he had never had an escort to the Ball. The other part was because he didn't like crowds, especially large ones with many unknown factors. But more than anything, Nathan wanted to make his wife happy, so he would do what she wanted and put his personal reservations aside. Nathan did cut quite the striking figure in his full dress uniform with two rows of medals pinned to his chest. Carol had been impressed when she saw the ribbons at their wedding, but it was even more impressive when he put the medals there instead of just the ribbons. Most Mounties had never seen many of the medals that Nathan had, much less all in one place. Even the Commissioner himself didn't have several of the medals that Nathan sported on his dress uniform.
Nathan loved Carol's gold inspired dress on the hanger and it was ten times better on her. Not one for a lot of jewelry, Carol only wore simple tear drop diamond earrings and her rings. She had chosen to leave her hair with its natural curls after she had washed it that afternoon. She pulled it back at the temples and held it with a single comb at the back of her head. She had put several pins in as well to hold smaller pieces back. The gold comb with diamonds, pearls and a large emerald looked even more stunning with Carol's red hair. Nathan loved the comb and Carol promised he could pull it and the pins later. Nathan smiled and looked forward to it. He loved to play with her hair and run his fingers through it. He looked forward to the end of the evening and pulling the pins in Carol's hair.
Once they were ready, Nathan called the hospital to check on Allie. She said that she and Carson were playing Backgammon and he promised to stay until she fell asleep. They said their goodnights to Allie. Nathan also spoke to Carson for a moment and he assured Nathan that Allie was doing fine and recovering just as he had expected her to. Nathan thanked Carson again and let him know to call the hotel and have them interrupt the Ball if anything happened. Carson promised that he would, but that it would be fine and they should try to enjoy their evening.
After speaking to the hospital, Nathan and Carol went to the second floor and got into line and Carol was able to see what happened as several couples went before them. Nathan and Carol could see Jack and Elizabeth in the lobby. She was a little surprised at Elizabeth's choice in dress, but kept her thoughts to herself. They also noticed Bill near Jack and Elizabeth with JT standing in front of him. Nathan was sure that the little boy was having the time of his life watching all the Mounties. Finally, it was their turn. The man, one step down, stood facing them. He nodded and Nathan handed him the card.
"May I introduce Corporal Nathan P Grant and his wife Carol Jean." The man said in a booming voice.
Nathan waited a moment and then led Carol down the steps. Everyone in the lobby had turned and watched the tall Mountie and the gorgeous woman on his arm. Photographers' flashbulbs were going off as fast as they could change them. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Nathan once again paused to allow the photos that were a part of the deal when entering down the grand staircase. He then led Carol over to greet the senior brass that were lined up on one side.
"Good to see you Grant." Commissioner Delaney said.
"Thank you, Sir." Nathan said. "Thank you for calling and checking on Allie. She is spending the night in the hospital after a successful surgery to remove her appendix this morning."
"Glad to hear." Commissioner Delaney said.
"She was, however, sad about missing the Ball." Carol said.
"I am sure." Elizabeth Delaney said. "She was all excited yesterday. Which is why I have already pulled a program to save for her and spoken to several of the reporters. They will be making me copies of their best photos. I know that it won't be the same, but it will be something special for her to remember the weekend by, even if she didn't get to come to the ball. I also arranged for a special supper and dessert for her at the hospital tonight."
"Thank you, ma'am." Nathan said. "We are going back on the Monday evening train if she is well enough to travel. Shall I arrange a time to get that stuff from you?"
"Heavens no." Elizabeth D said. "I will mail them to her so they will be there for her waiting when she gets home. It will make it extra special."
"Thank you again." Carol said.
They moved down the line greeting the rest of those standing there. Then instead of going to find their seats, Carol wanted to watch some of the others enter. Nathan agreed only if she was sitting while she watched. She agreed only because she had promised to not over do it. Gerard even got Carol a comfortable wingback chair and placed it where she would have a good view. Nathan stood behind her, with his hand on her shoulder. As they watched other couples come down the staircase, neither noticed a reporter snap several shots of them, including a good one of Carol's hair comb when she turned to smile up at her husband. The reporter had also gotten a good shot of all of Nathan's medals.
When it was time to go to the ballroom and find their seats, they were stopped by one of the Commissioner's assistant's.
"Is there a problem?" Nathan asked.
"No problem, Corporal." The assistant said. "You just need to wait to be introduced since you are at the head table with the Commissioner and his guests."
Nathan knew that the head table was going to be the Commissioner, his wife, two Deputy Commissioners and their wives, Chief Superintendent Collins and Superintendent O'Reilly and their wives.
"Oh." Nathan said. "I didn't realize. My wife shouldn't be standing that long."
The assistant looked at Carol and then nodded. He looked around and saw another assistant, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The younger assistant quickly came over.
"Please show Corporal and Mrs Grant to the private lounge for the Commissioner and his guests." The assistant said. "And be sure to get her some water and a comfortable chair."
"Yes, Sir." The younger assistant said.
Nathan and Carol were led to the lounge and the assistant made sure that Carol had a glass of water and was settled on the settee before he left. Nathan was slightly overwhelmed. He recognized a couple of the wives and two of the retired Mounties, but that was all and there were close to two dozen people in the room. Carol tugged on Nathan's hand and motioned for him to join her on the plush settee. Nathan carefully took a seat and tugged at his collar. He wanted to unbutton it, but knew that he couldn't.
Nathan and Carol were quietly talking when he noticed one of the older gentlemen coming over, Nathan moved to stand.
"Sit, sit young man." The guy said. "You must be the Commissioner's chosen one."
"I am sorry. What?" Nathan said.
"Senior Inspector Russell Wilson, retired." He said. "Every Commissioner picks a young Constable and mentors him. The last three are now Deputy Commissioners and one might be the next Commissioner unless Delaney chooses someone else to succeed him."
"You must have mistaken me with someone else." Nathan said. "I am Corporal Nathan Grant of Hope Valley. I am just a small town Constable and I gave up career advancement a decade ago when my sister died and I needed to take in my niece."
"But you are on the officer's track, are you not?" Wilson asked.
Nathan and Carol exchanged a quick look.
"No, he is not." Carol said. "He gave that up to raise his niece, now daughter. He has been promised he won't be moved until she is done with school. She is only fifteen. We have no plans to leave Hope Valley any time in the near future."
"My wife is right." Nathan said. "The Commissioner knows I would rather leave the force than drag my family from pillar to post again. In the five years I had Allie before we went to Hope Valley, we had moved seven times. Allie was suffering and so was her schooling. So I turned down a promotion and talked to the brass. I said I needed to put my family first. So I was told I could stay in Hope Valley as long as I wanted. Not only am I staying for my daughter, but we are also expanding our family, including potentially adopting other children. So again, you must have mistaken me with someone else."
"Oh." Wilson said. "I am sorry. I thought for sure you were the one he had been bragging about. This summer he was all about a Constable who had all the makings of a future Commissioner. I never got a name, but he kept talking about a Constable he was so excited about."
"Not me." Nathan said. "I got married this year and as you can see we are expecting. I just built us a new home in Hope Valley. I love the force and serving my country, but I love my family more and they will always come first. I would hate to have to choose between them, but at the same time, my family needs to come first. There are other things that I can do, so if I need to choose I will always choose my family. I thought I had made that very clear to my superiors before."
"Good for you." Wilson said. "Too many young men think they have to choose between the two – family or force. But really they don't need to and the Brass would do well to remember that. I think they lose too many good young men because they won't be flexible about serving in one place and not running them from one end of this country to the other. I hope that you don't have to choose, but do hope that you know that if you leave you will be missed. I have heard a lot of good things about you today."
"I agree." A voice behind Nathan said. "It would be a shame to lose this Constable. He has a lot to offer the force."
Nathan turned and saw Chief Superintendent Collins. Nathan went to stand but Collins put his hand on Nathan's shoulder to keep him sitting.
"I hope Wilson isn't boring you with tall tales." Collins said.
"No, Sir." Nathan said. "I was telling him about how much I love Hope Valley and have made it my home."
"I just came over to let you know that it is time to line up." Collins said. "But good to hear about Hope Valley. It is a wonderful little town."
"I agree." Carol said. "You said it was time to line up."
"Yes." Collins said.
… … … …
Jack had been trying to enjoy himself. He did agree to escort Elizabeth down the grand staircase. He only agreed if they went early. While Elizabeth wanted to wait, Jack said her only opportunity to go down the grand staircase was early or not at all. They had gone down the staircase and Elizabeth's dress caused quite the stir. He knew that people would be talking about her dress for a while and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. When they got to the ballroom, Elizabeth was not happy that they didn't get to walk under the arch, but just between the two rows of cadets. She also wasn't happy they were off to one side and in what was the second row of tables.
Once they were seated, they watched as others filed into the ballroom and take their places at tables. Jack could tell that Elizabeth was sulking and he had enough.
"This night is not about you." Jack whispered. "So put a smile on your face and at least pretend to be happy. This night is about honoring the men who serve others, not about you or what your last name used to be. Because as far as the people in this room, you are a Thornton. They never knew you as a Thatcher, a Hamilton socialite. They only ever knew you as Elizabeth Thornton, schoolteacher from Hope Valley. So start acting like it."
Elizabeth huffed.
"Fine." Elizabeth said. "I still don't think that it is fair."
"Fair or not." Jack said. "It is what it is right now. Only you are the one that can make sure that it changes going forward. But for tonight, it is what it is and if you are going to be here, you are going to at least pretend to be happy. If not, we can leave. I know that Chief Superintendent Collins and Commissioner Delaney will understand if I am not here. I will be honored for my work on the Hargraves/Bouchard cases, but beyond that I don't have to be here. So make the decision, because I will not allow you to embarrass me tonight."
"Fine." Elizabeth said. "I want to be here."
"Then put a smile on your face and sit nicely." Jack said. "The Commissioner and his guests will be announced and coming in soon."
Jack turned to watch as the rest of the men and their escorts came in. He knew that Elizabeth was still sulking, but at least she was pretending to be happy to be there. Jack wished that there was something more that he could say to Elizabeth to get through to her. He really didn't want to leave Elizabeth because she was the only woman that he had ever truly loved, but he didn't currently love how she was acting. He wished that there was something more that he could do, because he knew that leaving her was an option that once done there was very little chance of them finding their way back to each other.
Elizabeth sat there and watched Jack. He wouldn't look at her any longer and when he did, she didn't see the love in his eyes that she used to see. There was a part of her that wished he would leave the Mounties and they could have a normal life, but she also knew that Jack had said that wasn't an option and he would never leave the Mounties as long as he was physically able to do the job. She also didn't know how to get past her hurt and fear every time that he walked out of the door. She feared that he would truly leave her and it would break her to the point that she wouldn't be able to continue living, but she also didn't know how to tell Jack about her fear. Elizabeth was angry with what had happened and she let the fear that had gripped her take over her life and she didn't know a way out of it.
… … … …
Nathan stood and helped Carol up. When they walked to the door, the assistant showed them where to stand and said it wouldn't be long, but if Mrs Grant needed to sit, he could get a chair and just keep it moving as they went toward the ballroom. Carol thanked him and said she should be fine as long as it wasn't more than fifteen minutes.
Ten minutes later, Nathan and Carol were walking into the ballroom under the arch of swords that had been provided by more than two dozen cadets. Nathan wasn't comfortable with all the pomp and circumstance, but when he looked over and saw the smile on his wife's face, he figured it was worth it. When they reached the end of the arch, they had their picture taken before being announced to the rest of the room and taking their place up on the platform at the head table. Once Nathan and Carol were there standing with the rest of the honored guest, the Commissioner made the signal to sit down. He sat and everyone followed suit. Once everyone was seated, Chief Superintendent Collins stood and went to the podium. He welcomed everyone to the Ball and gave a few remarks.
When Nathan and Carol looked out, they saw Jack and Elizabeth sitting in the second row of tables, off to the far side. Gabe was in the first row of tables in front of them, where Allie would have been if she had been able to come with them. Bill was also sitting at that table. Nathan felt uncomfortable being upfront, but he tried to not think about that and just focus on what Chief Superintendent Collins was saying.
After welcoming everyone to the ball, Collins turned the podium over to the Commissioner for a few remarks.
"I also want to extend my welcome to all the members of the force, their families and the invited guests." Delaney said. "It has been a busy year for the force. A lot happened to change the force this past year. Not only has our name changed, but there has been a huge shake up with various Superintendents and other Constables leaving the force for various reasons. The best thing that has happened this year is that the members of the force who have abused their power have been relieved of their commands and removed from the force.
While this is a night to come together and celebrate, I want to take this opportunity to make it very clear that any member of the force found to be abusing the badge or violating the oath that they took will receive severe and swift consequences. I will no longer allow second chances because by not dealing with things in a swift and severe manner the first time, it allowed people to think I was soft and willing to turn a blind eye. Let me be clear. I have dedicated my life to the Mounties. I joined the force when I was seventeen years old and have spent nearly forty years upholding the laws of this country and I will not allow my legacy to be that a few bad apples ruined it."