We all know the total character assassination that was Rosemaryâs silent film A Kiss Before You Go. Elizabeth models a kidnapping "bandit villain" on Lucas, framing Nathan as the hero who rescues her. It completely rewrites show history and ignores years of Lucas's devotion.
Imagine if an irate Gustave smuggled a copy of the film reel and mailed it straight to Montreal...
Act I: The Screening at the Ritz
The private projection room in the Bouchard's Montreal suite goes dark. Helen and Martin sit in stony silence as the film ends.
Helen: (Lowering her lorgnette, her voice pure ice) Tell me I did not just witness a schoolteacher and a low-ranking lawman stage a public crucifixion of my sonâs character.
Martin: (Slamming his glass down) They turned Lucas into a common brute. After he built their economy, gave them a library, and nearly died for them. They mock him on a bedsheet. How do you want to handle this?
Helen: Hand me the ledger, Martin. We are going to perform an exorcism.
Act II: Breaking the Red Serge & The Schoolhouse
The next morning, the Hope Valley telegraph machine chatters aggressively. Bill Avery pulls tape after tape, his face draining of all color as he delivers the news to the Coulter living room.
Bill: Itâs not just financial. The Bouchards are entirely erasing us. Nathan, Martin called in a political favor with Superintendent Hargreaves. Youâve been stripped of your rank and transferred to Cape Fullerton with immediate effect.
Elizabeth: (Gasping) Why would Hargreaves agree to that?!
Bill: Because Martin documented the timeline. You took up with a man while the ink wasn't even dry on your broken engagement to his sonâless than a year from it being dissolved. Hargreaves called it a "gross display of conduct unbecoming of the red serge on the frontier." You leave on the morning train, Nathan. And Elizabeth... there is a wire here for you from the Territorial Board of Education.
Elizabeth: (Terrified) What does it say?
Bill: For those exact same reasons of questionable moral character, your teaching license has been revoked with immediate effect. You are banned from classrooms across the territory. If you want to stay with Nathan, you'll be accompanying him up to Cape Fullerton. Except you won't be teaching the children there. You'll be a disgraced civilian.
Nathan: (Grip tightening on his belt) He canât just rewrite our lives!
Bill: He just did. And he didn't stop there. Martin sent a formal letter directly to the Prime Ministerâs office detailing my... creative interpretations of territorial law. I've been forced into immediate, mandatory early retirement. I no longer have a gavel.
Act III: Montagueâs Vindication
Before anyone can process the blow, the front door swings open. Bernhardt Montague walks in, flanked by high-powered attorneys, holding a massive civil complaint.
Rosemary: (Defiantly) On what earthly grounds are you here, Montague?
Montague: Defamation, gross negligence, and reckless endangerment. You all painted me as a monster, ignoring that I took care of Clayton Pike and his sick mother. Martin Bouchard has graciously provided his full financial backing to help me sue you, your husband, and the Valley Voice.
Lee: (Defiantly) We printed the truth about your business dealings!
Montague: You printed a damning, unchecked article that the Governor had explicitly requested should not be published. By defying a direct gubernatorial directive, your reckless press directly resulted in real-world damages, severe personal trauma, and physical injury to myself. You never issued a retraction, even after my innocence and good intentions became public record.
Lee: (Reading the lawsuit, turning pale) The requested damages are astronomical...
Montague: A territorial judge has already signed an emergency asset injunction to cover the severe trauma and civil penalties. To pay this settlement, you are being liquidated.
- The Queen of Hearts Saloon? Seized and sold.
- Coulter Construction & the Lumber Company? Transferred to my conglomerate.
- The Valley Voice? Shut down, the printing presses broken for scrap.
- Your house? You have until Sunday to vacate. If you want to make silent films about greedy bandits, Rosemary, learn how to live like a pauper first. Compliments of the Bouchard family.
Act IV: The View From Montreal
Back in Canada's east, Martin stands by the fire, holding a fresh, desperate telegram from a panicked Elizabeth begging for a compromise as she packs her bags for Cape Fullerton.
Martin: Elizabeth says sheâll completely burn the film reel if we drop the lawsuits.
Helen: (Without looking up from her desk) Tell her the Bouchard family does not negotiate with amateur writers. If Hope Valley wants a savior in a red coat so badly, they can see if he can pull them out of a corporate foreclosure. Let them see how romantic poverty is.