Unfortunately, we don't know yet.

Fans know that Daniel Lissing's character, steadfast Mountie Jack Thornton, left partway through season 4, accepting an indefinite posting in the North. So Elizabeth (Erin Krakow, "Army Wives"), who accepted his wedding proposal shortly before he left, spent the final four episodes of the season pining for her absent love.

Fans are pining, too, and Lissing seems to know it, teasing them a little bit on Twitter. As his departure episode was airing, he wrote: "Just know that I love and appreciate you all #Hearties." #Hearties is the name the show's fans gave themselves on social media, but Hallmark has embraced it wholeheartedly (if you'll pardon the pun), putting the name on official merchandise and a section of the show's website.

Though there has been no official word of his return, it seems fairly likely. He hasn't signed on to appear in anything else, which is usually the catalyst for a lead actor departing a hit show.

And the show is a hit. It's been a consistent ratings winner for the Hallmark Channel and has already been renewed for a fifth season.

All that said, the show is clearly trying to build suspense about his character's fate. The writers played up both the danger of his northern posting and its indefinite nature. And we may not get resolution for a while -- the renewal announcement only said "2018" for a return date.

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