Chapter 31
Chapter thirty-one
Margaret opened her eyes to the morning light.
She glanced around at the walls, the framed pressed flowers from Helstone, and her childhood furniture.
All these things were the same, and yet—everything had changed.
She smiled at the recollection of all that had taken place the previous evening.
She closed her eyes again to remember the tingling magic of his tender kisses.
All the darkness of her time here seemed swept away. She could not help but smile today. Her future was secure. An exuberance of hope and promise filled her spirit.
Eager to share her news, she sat at her old secretary and dipped her pen in ink to write her cousin.
Dear Edith,
This will come as a great surprise to you, but I am to be married. You will doubtless wonder how I could find a suitable husband in such a place. You expressed just such thoughts in one of your letters to me once, do you recall?
His name is John Thornton, and he is a manufacturer of cotton in Milton’s grandest factory. Although it will not seem an entirely respectable and meritorious position to you as a Londoner, Mr. Thornton is esteemed here in Milton.
Why should I stoop so low as to marry a manufacturer, you and Aunt may wonder?
And I understand your sentiment, as I too once thought tradesmen beneath my station.
But I have since realized that it is far too easy to ascribe unkind attributes to an entire class of persons without truly knowing them at all.
Yes, I have been acquainted with men and women who have lived wholly different lives than mine or yours.
I have come to know the manufacturing class of men, who are building the industries for which England is lauded.
Are they not worthy of consideration for their own accomplishments and great responsibilities in advancing our nation?
I have also befriended a girl who worked in the factories until her health was compromised.
This girl, my friend Bessy, had to quit her schooling when her mother died and take work so that her family could eat.
Bessy is my age, and she has spent her short life longing for a better world, which I am certain she will inhabit in the time to come.
I have strayed from my original intention. Let me tell you about Mr. Thornton so that you and Aunt can put your minds at ease about my forthcoming marriage.
And now I will tell you a secret I have kept from you!
I met Mr. Thornton at a ball we attended the summer before you met Capt.
Lennox. I danced with Mr. Thornton, not knowing at all who he was, only knowing that he was from the North.
He left an impression of feeling on me I carried for many months.
I even hoped that I might see him at other events that season, even though I knew he did not live in London.
I thought my fascination was of no consequence.
But now I believe Providence placed us together there that evening so that we would meet.
And you must admit that you did not need to worry about me, and that no human contrivances were needed to find my match.
It was indeed heaven’s hand that brought us together.
It is too incredible a coincidence to be anything else.
I hope you will come to my wedding, although I will understand if you cannot, for little Sholto must be your first concern. Is he already two months old? I should love to see him, if you come.
Please share my news with Aunt and your Captain, of course. Tell them I am very happy.
Affectionately,
Margaret
The very next day in London, Edith bolted from her silk damask chair with the letter in hand. “Ma-ma!” she exclaimed, holding the parchment aloft as her skirts swished in her attempt to search for her mother.
Mrs. Shaw was in her usual spot, reclining on the sofa in the elaborate front parlor, petting her toy dog Tiny.
“Ma-ma, Margaret is to be married!”
“Nonsense!” she replied, exerting herself to sit upright. “There can hardly be anyone suitable for her in that place,” she affirmed as fact.
“But I believe she has found a good match, Ma-ma. Oh, but she has been so secretive! She says she met him here in London at one of our balls. And she never told me!” It was a thing incomprehensible to Edith that one should keep a feeling of attachment to oneself for so long.
“I don’t know whether to be hurt that she never said a word to me,” she considered aloud.
“Well, who is he? You must let me know all,” she demanded, helping her pet to the floor to scamper off.
“He is a manufacturer—“
“A manufacturer! Oh, I knew that moving to that town would not end well.”
“But Ma-ma, you must read the letter yourself. He runs the largest mill in Milton and is respected in their town,” she explained.
“A great deal can be overlooked if he is wealthy, to be sure. But I must still wonder at his breeding,” the long-time widow demurred. Mrs. Shaw herself had married General Shaw, an older man, for his status and wealth.
“I think it’s romantic!” Edith effused, beginning to feel excited for her cousin. “Here, read it for yourself,” she said, handing the letter to her mother.
“Well,” she said, looking up after a few moments of silent reading, “I suppose we shall take a journey to Milton.”
On the day the Master of Marlborough Mills married, the church filled with eager spectators of all classes of people who had come to see for themselves the conclusion to the rumors that had spread all over town weeks before.
Those closest to the couple sat in the front to witness the union.
Mr. Bell was there, sitting next to the bride’s father.
He had suspected this would be a good match since the night of the dinner party.
He grinned to imagine Thornton’s shock at the present he was giving them: the deed to the property.
Mrs. Hale wore a new gown of lavender silk. She watched all the proceedings with tears in her eyes, grateful to gain this glimpse of her daughter’s future. How she wished Frederick could be with them!
Mr. Hale was moved even more than he had imagined he would be.
Memories of his own wedding streamed into view before him, and he looked to his wife with misty eyes and held her hand tighter.
He had been proud to give his daughter to John.
He could not imagine a better man for his Margaret.
It erased much of his pain and guilt to see that coming to Milton had filled a greater purpose for his daughter and his dear friend.
Mrs. Thornton’s lips quivered as her son made his vows to his bride. Her heart beat strong with the hope her son’s marriage would be happy, as hers had been, before its tragic end.
Her chin lifted at the thought of the streams of people who had come to see her son married. He was the pride of Milton in her estimation. Every dignitary in this town respected and admired him.
She wore a dress of dove gray silk for this occasion, surprising her daughter, who had never seen her in anything but black.
Fanny was amused that her brother, so serious and secretive, seemed to be truly affectionate with Margaret. She watched the whole ceremony with a mind to how she would have her wedding, and judged every lady’s taste in what they wore.
Edith beamed as Margaret’s attendant. She had seen at once why Margaret’s Mr. Thornton had fascinated her and was overjoyed to see her cousin smitten in love.
Aunt Shaw sat next to her sister Maria, with Edith’s husband on her other side. Mrs. Shaw was impressed with the large number of people in the church. Mr. Thornton was indeed a great man in this town. However, she still took some pity on Margaret, who was now installed in such a place.
The Higgins family was there, very near the front, as Margaret desired. Mr. Thornton bought Bessy a blue dress for the occasion, such as she had always dreamed of. Mary, too, was given a dress to wear.
Bessy, sitting in a wheelchair near her father, glowed with contentment at the sight before her, satisfied her prescient glimpse of a better peace among men and masters now had a foothold in this town. She was filled with spiritual happiness, beyond her own misfortunes.
Nearby, Mary cried at the beauty and peace around her. She had never seen the like and believed she might never know such a heavenly scene again.
Nicholas still held his doubts about how much could be improved between workers and masters, but for the first time in his long life he carried more hope in his heart.
And it was the couple being married before his eyes that had brought such a change in his attitude.
If this was the work of the divine hand, he would be grateful for it and try to have more faith that good could prevail.
In the back where the lower classes congregated, Jem and Jenny Daugherty were there, and John Boucher, who had been given work at Thornton’s mill instead of being sent to prison.
Everyone in attendance agreed that the bride and groom looked exuberant indeed. Many commented that they’d never seen such a smile on the Master’s face before—or perhaps had never seen him smile before at all!
The only undercurrent of sorrow present was the silent disappointment of several young ladies who saw their dreams of pursuing Mr. Thornton at an end.
The church bells chimed gaily, their deep resonance echoing off the stone church to announce joy throughout the town. The newlywed couple emerged from the church with beaming smiles. Hand in hand, they stepped onto the flower petals strewn on their path.
Margaret looked up into her husband's face and smiled brightly.
She was home.