Lost In Gaskell

Chapter 6: Where Do We Go From Here?

Chapter 6: Where Do We Go From Here?

"I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love."-Henry Ward Beecher

Lily woke up and looked at her face in the mirror the bruising was coming out a lot more today. She sighed and ran a finger through her hair. In her time a bruise would have been questioned but no one would pass any judgement upon it. Here she was sure that it would mean they would look down at her and think that she is some kind of devil or something. If it was Mrs Thornton she would think she was a devil that was here to tempt her son away. She could not bear for Mr. Thornton to be disappointed in her, or to bring his reputation into disrepair because of her actions, that would be one of the worst things that she could possibly imagine. But she also could not stay away from him no matter how much she tried to. There seemed to be something that kept bringing them together. Many would call it fate but to Lily it was life trying to twist the knife in. How could she be feeling this for a man that would never be able to be hers and she was stupid to think that it would.

She would not be able to be seen outside this household for the next couple of days if she was not going to bring shame on the people who had graciously allowed her into their home. Tears began to fall when she thought of the Hale’s not liking her Or them, wanting her out of their home because of her stupidity or her modern ways. For her trying to look out for Mr. Thornton in some act this would be said in stupidity. She knew that this man she was falling in love with. She wiped away her tears when she heard a knock on the door.

‘Come in’ she spoke softly.

‘It’s me Mr. Hale’ he said as he entered. Lily heard the intake of breath he took when he saw her face, ‘Oh that is awful, no wonder Mr. Thornton was worried about you’

‘He has been here?’ Lily asked a little out of breath.

‘Last night’ Mr. Hale said, ‘He said he would be around later to see you’

Lily smiled, ‘Thank you Mr. Hale’

‘What for My child?’

‘For being you, Margaret is very lucky to have a father like you’ she smiled.

Mr. Hale blushed, if that was true then why would Margaret not want to be in Milton with her family but he humoured the girl and smiled warmly back to her, ‘You should come and have some breakfast with Mrs Hale and Myself before I have to go and work’

‘Thank you Mr. Hale’

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Lily sat with her hair tied up in a bun; this was something she was still not used to having her hair up all the time, she would love nothing more now than ever to have it down, and flowing down her back. She had longed for a while to have it like this but in these days it was a show of sexual allure. If a woman was to have her hair down and she did not think she needed to push that any further than she had already. She sat reading a book, after breakfast this morning she was trying to avoid Mrs Hale as she had been shocked when she saw her. She had looked at her with some form of contempt confirming to Lily that she would not to be able to go outside until at least the bruising on her face had subsided. If Mrs Hale had looked at her like this then what was to say that some other woman would or worse a man who knew John. She shook her head she would not let that happen.

She flicked her hair out of her face. It was beginning to get dark when she looked up again she was shocked to see before her was Mr. Thornton, the way he stood in front of her was nothing like a Greek statue, his tall frame leaning elegantly across the doorframe. If Lily had not known it was him she would have been sure that he was an angel and not really in front of her. For a moment Lily forgot to breathe.