When Calls the Heart Season 4 Episode 9: Heart of a Secret

Elizabeth runs into Phillip and his father, Shane, while out for a walk and tells Shane how proud she is of Phillip's progress in school. Shane is easily distracted when Faith walks by. Elizabeth notices and encourages Shane to just ask Faith to dinner. Cody is surprised when Abigail brings his sister, Becky, back into town for his birthday.

She is home from school break and tells Cody she wouldn't miss his birthday for anything. Dottie and Florence are celebrating the upcoming opening of Dottie's dress shop when they are approached by a beautiful woman looking for Carson. She then asks where she can find a hotel to stay for the night. Rosemary pays Abigail a visit at the café, offering to volunteer with updating the newly re-appointed mayor's look.

Now that Rosemary is working at the dress shop, she is ready to put her talents to good use. Abigail politely declines the offer with a laugh and says she is happy with her look. Opal's grandmother has fallen ill and her parents let Elizabeth know she will be leaving school temporarily to go visit her. Instead of taking Opal out of school, Elizabeth offers up her spare bedroom to house her student.

Opal's parents accept the offer. Abigail heads to the jail to pay Henry a visit. She tells him she is happy he is testifying against the railroad. He tells her he made the deal to save his own skin.

Elizabeth finds out the hard way that babysitting a little girl may not be as easy as it looks. She finds Opal at Abigail's Café covered in sticky jam, and ends up getting some on her own white blouse. As Elizabeth is washing up, she confides in Abigail that she didn't realizes the challenges of actually having sole responsibility over a child. Abigail laughs and tells Elizabeth “welcome to parenthood.”

Later on that night, Opal has trouble sleeping and tells Elizabeth she is worried about her grandmother. Elizabeth recommends she count her blessings and Opal responds that Elizabeth is one of her blessings. As Abigail is closing the café, Bill stops by with the mysterious blonde woman Dottie and Florence spotted earlier. He introduces her as Marlise Bennett and says Abigail should stay to hear her story.

Marlise tells Abigail that Carson is a doctor who was once married to her sister. She says her sister was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor, but Carson insisted on operating on her anyway and she died on the table. Marlise says it took her two years to track Carson down and now that she has found him in Hope Valley, she wants to sue him for negligence. When Marlise leaves, Bill tells Abigail to not take any actions against Carson until he gathers all the facts.

Rosemary hands out fliers promoting her work at Dottie's Dress Shop. She corners Shane and offers her services. He tells her he doesn't think he can afford to hire her as a stylist unless he gets a raise from his boss… Rosemary's husband, Lee! Dottie confides in Abigail that she is nervous about the lack of business her dress shop is getting, but Rosemary assures her that she will see customers in no time.

Carson shows up to work and finds a rattled Abigail. He asks her if everything is okay, and she tells him she is just tired. He takes her word for it and gets started on fixing the café's gutters. Faith tells Elizabeth that she likes Shane but is afraid Phillip won't warm up to her.

Later on, Faith stops by after class and attempts to get on Phillip's good side by offering to help with his science project about caterpillars. She offers to accompany him to the marsh to find them. Phillip smiles widely and accepts the offer. Elizabeth finds Opal being bullied by her classmates who are taunting her with the nickname, “teacher's pet.”

Opal defends herself by inviting the girls to Elizabeth's house for dinner the next night, catching Elizabeth off-guard. Opal also invites the girls to a sleepover! Elizabeth reluctantly agrees. The next morning, Carson and Becky bond over her studies.

Cody asks Becky to join him in playing with Dasher, but she says she has to prepare for exams, leaving her brother disappointed. Carson invites himself to join Cody, instead. Bill and Frank tell Abigail that after doing some background work, they found out that Carson did everything by the book when operating on his wife, Amber, giving Marlise no grounds for a lawsuit. Abigail acknowledges that Frank was right all along when he had his suspicions about Carson.

Frank tells Abigail that he was just looking out for her and before he leaves, Abigail tells him she likes it when he does that. Elizabeth is having dinner with Opal at the café when she is interrupted by a Mountie, Matthew Gleeson, and asks him if he knows Jack. He tells Elizabeth that Jack is his superior officer and says Jack talks about Elizabeth non-stop while up at the northern territory. Matthew offers to deliver a message to Jack from Elizabeth: a note reminding Jack that “love is patient.”

Matthew promises her fiancé will get it. At dinner, Lee is trying to lift Rosemary's spirits by telling her she makes the best pot roast in Hope Valley. She confides in him that she is worried about her professional life because she has yet to sell one dress from Dottie's shop. Lee says he wants to hire Rosemary to make uniforms for his company.

She is reluctant at first, thinking she is being looked at as a charity case, but agrees to the job. Abigail, Faith and Elizabeth talk about Carson, and Faith says it is too bad he won't go back to medicine considering the town can use a doctor. Elizabeth wonders if Carson might change his mind and go back to practicing medicine. Shane and Phillip walk by and smile at Faith.

Elizabeth makes a note that tonight is Faith's big date with Shane. Back at his office, Lee surprises Rosemary by giving her a list of notes he has for the new uniforms she is designing. Rosemary is not too happy with all of Lee's suggestions, but he reminds her the first rule in business is that the customer is always right and in this case, he is the customer. Back at the jail, Henry and Bill bond over a drink, with nothing but a set of bars separating them.

They both take note of where their life has each taken them and toast. After dinner, Shane and Faith share a lovely walk through the town. Faith tells Shane she has had a run of bad luck with men in town. Shane tells her that is all about to change, and kisses her.

The girls are having a sleepover at Elizabeth's and Rosemary stops by with a delicious chocolate cake. Rosemary says that it is great to see Elizabeth enjoying herself. Elizabeth tells Rosemary that Opal's parents will be coming back to town soon, since her grandmother is doing much better. Elizabeth even admits that she is going to miss having Opal around the house.

She gets serious for a second and asks Rosemary if she would design her gown for her wedding to Jack. The next morning, Marlise confronts Carson and still accuses him of getting away with killing her sister. Abigail interrupts the fight and asks Marlise to leave the café. Before she departs, she vows that Carson will pay for what he did.

Carson tells Abigail that it is best for everybody if he leaves Hope Valley, leaving Abigail shocked. Later that night, Abigail has a talk with Cody, who is in bed early. He tells Abigail he is sad that Becky hasn't made any time for him since arriving in town. Abigail reminds Cody that his sister is growing up and has to focus on studying for her upcoming exams.

Cody asks Abigail why things have to change and she tells him the only thing that life guarantees is that it is always changing. After tucking him in, Abigail talks to Becky and suggests she take a break from the studies and spend a little time with her younger brother during her visit. Their conversation is interrupted by Cody who comes downstairs complaining that he doesn't feel so well. Before the women can react, Cody collapses!

After tucking him in, Abigail talks to Becky and suggests she take a break from the studies and spend a little time with her younger brother during her visit. Their conversation is interrupted by Cody who comes downstairs complaining that he doesn't feel so well. Before the women can react, Cody collapses!.

The episode's closing beats are left open in the official recap: how the threads above resolve is not confirmed within this episode, and the recap leaves them to be carried into the next one.