The stage -Chapter 9
- Sargent wants to run...
And so a blond boy ran past and disappeared behind a thicket of trees. A deep silence filled the room. How clever that boy was, Elizabeth thought... Soon there was a loud dusting and the stage was approaching. She signaled and the boy stopped. Someone looked through the window, but it seemed to be a nice person.
- Sir, do you have a seat on that stage? My mother is ill and I need to see her urgently.
- Ma'am, I'm John, the owner of the mercantile, I'm going to the capital, if you want a ride I'll take you there. The stage leaves town in two hours, but I think it'll be full, there's an inspection going on there, I think they're looking for some bandits.
- Oh my God," said Elizabeth, putting her hand to her chest in horror.
- Come on, I wouldn't leave you here on your own; that's when he saw her go over to the bush, say something quietly and a beautiful boy appear. This woman must really be desperate to see her mother, she was so beautiful and so was the baby. Her blue eyes were mesmerizing.
After taking the stage, they began their journey. The child soon fell asleep and Elizabeth hardly spoke. The journey to the capital would take more than eighteen hours.
Meanwhile, an hour ago, Lilian was knocking on Grace Marie's bedroom door. It was already past eleven in the morning and she hadn't left her room, not even for breakfast and not even for the child. Could it be that she was short of money and that's why they hadn't gone to eat? But everything was included in the price of the room, it was room and board for that amount. She knocked, knocked, knocked again and there was no reply. Determined to let her rest as long as she needed to, as she seemed exhausted the day before, she left and went to see her children. Just then, three cars arrived, along with some men on horseback and Gab.
- Nathan, she quickly greeted. He and Alien had become someone special when they came for their vacation. She knew of the close friendship between Gab and Nathan and of his love for his teacher Elizabeth. Soon the introductions were made, along with Nathan, there was Lucas, Bill, Henry, Lee, Jesse, Carson the doctor, Ned, Frank the pastor and they informed Lilian about Elizabeth and little Jack and his escape from his family, under his real name. She looked into Nathan's eyes and there she saw the love he spoke so much about for his teacher.
- Calm down, they're asleep, heavy sleepers, I knocked on their bedroom door several times earlier, but she didn't answer. She was exhausted yesterday.
- Are you sure about that? Nathan ... that boy wakes up early, and his pleasure is to jump on his mother every morning, Lucas went on to say.
Nathan, with a frown, wondered how he knew that...
- Well, Fiona and I needed to date, but I was Elizabeth's boyfriend in a lie, right? So here's how she did it: Fiona would hide out of town with Jack, so you'd all wonder what she'd done with the child, she wanted you all to think that she was a bad mother and that she'd given up the child for a man, in this case me? Meanwhile I would go out with her in the car, day or night, like the day of the book reading, where the three of us went into hiding, everyone only saw her and me leaving town but they didn't see that Fiona was hiding in the car lying down. Then we would always go camping, her in one tent and us in another, we're married, but just so you know our wedding was fourteen months ago at the justice of the peace in Hamilton and Elizabeth is our witness. She thought it was better that way, because if Charles investigated, I'd just be the widow scammer to take his land and pension money. So I kept an eye on Charles without suspicion, but at the camp for four days that boy got up at four in the morning and jumped on her, we laughed at the scene, because in their tent it was a big party. Lilian went to the bedroom door and knocked, knocked again and there was no answer. Gab tried to open the door and turned the handle to see that it was unlocked; Lilian went in first to avoid embarrassment and when she came out, pale, she handed over the note and the money.
LILIAN, I WAS GOING TO BUY SWEETBREADS FOR THE CHILDREN, BUT I HAD TO KEEP THESE.I CAN ONLY THANK YOU FOR THE DELICIOUS FOOD, I'M LEAVING MONEY FOR THE ROOM AND A BATCH OF SWEETBREADS FOR THE CHILDREN TO HAVE WITH MILK, I THINK THEY'LL LIKE . GRACE MARIE.
Bill, coming from the bedroom, explained that there was a suitcase of hers inside, a lot of Elizabeth's clothes in it, but not much of Jack's, but there were several photos in there.
- When she arrived, there was a smaller suitcase and I carried that," Gab explained. Seeing the photo in Bile's hands, he picked it up and said, "I miss you Jack Thornton, God I miss you. We'll find and look after them both for you, my brother.
- We need to find her and the child quickly, said Henry. Maybe she took the stage that left town.
Gab said that the two stages that left the city, she didn't take, because he was at the market, saying goodbye to John, the owner of the market, when he left for the capital. In addition, there were many strange men in the square, who said they were looking for someone. - According to them an escaped bandit.
Nathan turned pale, they were treating her and her son like outlaws, and he was here without knowing where the woman he loved so much was. Where could they have gone?