Shadow in the North

Chapter Six - Meeting with the Matriarch

Isabel climbed the stairs, returning to the drawing-room, just as Mr Hale had finished explaining to his wife and daughter of Mr Thornton's troubled past. She knew, of course, that the father's "miserable circumstances" in which he had died, were actually suicide, after a failed speculation which ruined the family and blighted their future with great debts. She knew from the book, that Mr Thornton had set straight to work, to re-build the family name and reclaim their honour; that the mother - Mrs Thornton - had ruled their family with staunch economy, so that a sum could be set aside each week to repay their debtors - long after they had lost any hope of seeing themselves re-paid. She knew that Mr Thornton had worked his way up from the bottom, to achieve the position of prominence that he held today - and at the young age of thirty! - purely through his own merit and hard work. She was, therefore, unaffected by the delicately spoken words she heard, upon entering the drawing-room at the end of Mr Hale's sad recital of Mr Thornton's past, but the same could not be said for wife and daughter. Both were grieved and unsettled by the notion of suicide and heavy debts. Margaret, for her part, truly felt the worth of the man in the recounting of the tale, and lamented only that such a man of fine character should be blighted by holding the position of a Milton manufacturer.

Isabel looked on, unable to suppress a scowl. Yes, this is why I could never warm to her in the book; so very judgemental. So determined in her bias, she said to herself.

'How does his being a manufacturer lower his worth?' asked Mr Hale of his daughter.

'Oh, Papa! He thinks solely in terms of trade. Everything of worth to him is only so for its monetary value. He spoke of the great machines with wonder, but I am certain he thought only of the money they could earn him in his mill. His interests lie only in gaining more wealth. He cares not for his workers - poor as they are. He has no feeling of sympathy for them because they are not capable of raising themselves as he has. You see, Papa; he cares only for riches and those who can do as he does.'

'He values the machine only for the money it can earn him?' argued Isabel, her temper rising. 'Can it not be that he takes a genuine interest in the science behind the innovations? Indeed, I cannot myself, see what use Plato or Euripides, Latin or Greek, can be to a manufacture, and yet he takes an interest - pays good money to your father, to see that interest satisfied. It seems to me, Margaret, that you are determined to find fault with him.' Margaret sighed; she was vexed and Isabel had tested her patience, but she was not insensible to the carefully chosen words which formed her companion's rebuke.

'I think him quite a remarkable man,' acknowledged Margaret, grudgingly. 'Surely any man who has improved himself and his family's lot as he has, must be a remarkable man, but personally, I don't not like him at all.' Personally, I do, thought Isabel, before turning to an ailing Mrs Hale and leading her upstairs to see to her comfort, for the woman was very weak, and Isabel was concerned that she would require the treatment of a doctor with tried and tested medicines before long, for no amount of tea or restorative drinks were likely to keep such a weakling from the grave.

Now it was some few days later that Margaret, whilst out walking, came upon her young friend Bessy Higgins - quite by chance. They struck up a conversation, and Margaret asked if she might follow her new friend home. She was sorry not to have kept to her commitment of visiting, but had, in truth, quite forgotten, just as all young people have a propensity to selfish forgetfulness. Mollified by the sincerity of the regret upon Margaret's face, and the strength of her desire to accompany her home, Bessy Higgins relented, and saw her new friend back to their home in Francis Street. And so it was that Margaret Hale made her first visit to the Higgins' home, and spoke at length with the firebrand father, without the cautious input or objective supervision of Isabel. On Margaret's return home, Isabel was most anxious to glean what Margaret had learnt of the worker's plight, but Margaret had sensed an alliance with the likes of Mr Thornton, and did not care to share the Higgins' secrets with the likes of her peculiar companion.