Elizabeth was spending the day in the library. When she was in school, things would get out of place on the shelves. She was going to organize the books and rearrange a few things. She was taking the books off one shelf and making piles of the books so she could move the shelf to another wall. She made different piles of the books according to where she wanted them after she moved the shelves. Elizabeth hoped a certain Mountie would stop by later to help her with the moving.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Nathan appeared in the open doorway. He was carrying a large crate in his hands. He set the crate down on the table that was in the center of the room. Elizabeth smiled as he walked towards her after he set it down. He reached out for her hand and kissed her on the cheek. "Hello sweetheart, are you all alone here today?"

"Jack was here for a little while, but Allie came by and asked if she could take him to play with the other children. She is so good with him. I told her to come back if he got tired though."

Nathan nodded. He had been in the mercantile to send a wire to Mountie headquarters when Ned had told him he had a delivery for Elizabeth. He knew she was in the library and offered to bring it to her. Having a moment alone with her was definitely worth the trip. Nathan reached out and put his arms around her waist.

Elizabeth giggled as she put her hands on the arms of Nathan's serge. "Nathan, what if someone comes in?"

"Can't I have a moment alone with my fiancée?" Nathan said with a wink. Elizabeth sighed. She loved flirty Nathan. She pushed up on her toes and kissed him, pulling back quicker than other one of them would have liked. Elizabeth was curious though.

"What is in the box?"

"I'm not sure. Ned just asked me to bring it to you. He opened the top so it would be easy for us to open and he said there was an envelope on top."

Both of them walked over to the table and Nathan lifted the lid of the crate, setting it on the side of one of them chairs. Elizabeth reached in for the envelope. She didn't see any writing on the outside. She opened it and saw a thick white card. Immediately she knew who it was from. She took a deep breath. Nathan was confused but he could sense her discomfort and put his hand on her shoulder as Elizabeth read the note.

Elizabeth, I wanted to apologize for my reaction when you called your father and I regarding your engagement. I was surprised and I did not react the way I would have liked. I am thrilled for you and I hope to meet your fiancé and his daughter as soon as your father can plan a trip for us. I asked your father to tell me all about his visit to Hope Valley and he told me about the library in your town. I hope you will accept these books which are some new releases as well as some of your favorites. If you can, please call again so we can talk about your engagement and any wedding plans you have made. From your mother.

Elizabeth didn't feel a tear fall down her cheek. Nathan moved closer and wiped the tear which caused Elizabeth to look up at him. She fell into his arms and put her head against his chest. He held her for a few minutes as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself before she was ready to talk.

Elizabeth pulled back from Nathan and looked in his eyes. "It's from my mother," Elizabeth said as she held out the letter for Nathan to read. He took the letter from her hands and read it. He handed it back to her when he was done.

"What do you think, Elizabeth?" He didn't want to put his own opinions on her without first giving her the chance to say what she thought. After all, Nathan had not met Elizabeth's mother yet. He only knew what Elizabeth and William had told him.

"I am glad that she apologized. I was hurt by her reaction when we called. My mother didn't come to my last wedding and I always suspected it was because she didn't accept my choice or decision. I wanted things to be different this time around."

"If that is what you want, then we will make every effort to invite them to Hope Valley and include your parents in our plans. All I want is for you to be happy," Nathan said.

Elizabeth reached out and put her hand on Nathan's cheek smiling. She turned back to the crate and pulled a book from the crate. She saw a few new books that she hadn't heard of before, some that she had heard of but hadn't read yet, along with many of her favorites. Elizabeth and Nathan both looked through the books for a while before Elizabeth noticed the clock on the desk. She picked up one of the books that she wanted to take with her and turned to Nathan. "Do you think we could stop at the Mountie office so I could call my mother? Then maybe you and Allie could come over for dinner tonight?"

"That sounds great. Why don't you finish up here and I will come back in a couple minutes so we can go over to the office? I will walk over to where the children are playing and let them know where we will be."

A short time later, Elizabeth was sitting in Nathan's chair as Nathan sat beside her. She held the telephone receiver as Florence connected her to her parents' house in Hamilton. One of the servants was going to tell her Grace Thatcher about the phone call.

"Hello?"

"Mother?"

"Oh Elizabeth, I'm so glad you called. You received my letter and the books?"

"I did. Thank you so much mother. I can't wait to read some of those myself. Nathan and I are going to start to read one tonight actually."

"I hope you will apologize to your fiancé as well for my reaction to your engagement. Your father and I are hoping to come in a few months if you can let us know when would be best for you."

"We would love to have you visit mother. I will talk to Nathan and I will let you know, ok? I need to get going so I can get home for dinner. We will talk soon."

"Yes, we will talk soon. Goodnight Elizabeth."

"Goodnight mother."

Click

Elizabeth reached out for Nathan's hand. "Let's go home."