"North & South: John Thornton, Love Lessons", Ch. 23: Unexpected Complications, January 25, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace
(An original fan fiction copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace; All rights reserved; Based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novel, North & South and its 2004 BBC adaptation; No copyright infringement intended)
[I will illustrate my story using my dream cast from the 2004 BBC production of "North & South": Richard Armitage for John Thornton, Daniela Denby-Ashe for Margaret Hale, Lesley Manville for Mrs. Maria Hale, Tim Pigott-Smith for Mr. Richard Hale, Sinead Cusack for Mrs. Hannah Thornton, Jo Joyner for Fanny Thornton, Brendan Coyle for Nicholas Higgins, and Graham McTavish as Dr. Cameron Ogilvy, Holliday Grainger for Angharad Ogilvy MacIntosh, Simon Woods for Baird Ogilvy, and Emma Ashton as Mrs. Dillard, John Light as Henry Lennox, and Tim Faraday as Watson, etc] [(1)story logo]
Author's Mature Content Note: "N&S: John Thornton, Love Lessons" is a story with mature themes of love and relationships set within a period drama of the 1850's and beyond. As such there will be heartfelt moments of love and sensuality (S)--as well as other dramatic emotions, including some violence (V)--and I will rate those chapters accordingly. If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide, then please do not read that chapter. This is my disclaimer.
Author's Recap of the Previous Chapter: Mrs. Shaw's farewell dinner soiree for her sister Maria and brother-in-law Richard Hale and Fanny Thornton had some exciting and tense moments. But after Maxwell Lennox jettisoned his brother Henry and forbade him from making false attentions toward Fanny, the evening ended on a lovely musical note. The remainder of the weekend was a whirlwind of engagements between Fanny Thornton and Baird Ogilvy--culminating in their bethrothal Sunday afternoon , the day before she is to return home to Milton with the Hales. What with their whirlwind courtship, Fanny and Baird will have to seek their families' approval--with some unexpected complications.
"North & South: John Thornton, Love Lessons", Ch. 23--Unexpected Complications
After secretly becoming engaged Sunday afternoon at his sister Angharad's home on January 19th--they did not reveal to [Angharad] the change in their status--Baird Ogilvy and Fanny Thornton agreed to keep their engagement secret until both his father Dr. Cameron Ogilvy and her brother John Thornton have given their blessings and approvals. Though Baird is twenty eight years old, his father Dr. Ogilvy needs to approve because as the current Earl of Airlie, marriages that affect the succession must receive approval from Lord Airlie, Dr. Ogilvy. However, Baird is fairly confident that with his father encouraging him to meet Fanny Thornton while she was in London, that his father will approve.
For an entirely different reason, John Thornton needs to approve of the engagement because he is his sister Fanny's legal guardian until she reaches twenty-five years--and she is only just twenty years now. So she is under the age of consent to enter into a betrothal on her own. And given that Fanny had been informally courted by another mill owner, Mr. Watson, there will need to be the inevitable breaking of the news to that gentleman--that will undoubtedly fall to John. Fanny's only concern is that John might think her flighty or hasty in attaching herself to Baird Ogilvy after so short an acquaintance. John's concern would be for Baird, not for Fanny--in terms of Baird understanding what taking Fanny on as a wife will really mean. For John still has a older brother's outlook about his little sister.
It has been just three weeks since Fanny and Baird became acquainted with each other--twenty one days. And in that time, they have met on roughly a dozen occasions of differing levels of formality and intimacy. They have had heart to heart talks with each other--revealing the depths of their feelings and their inner joys and sorrows. And, they have enjoyed many activities together. So they feel that they are making a wise choice for themselves in agreeing to marry. They just have to convince their families of that.
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"N&S: John Thornton, Love Lessons", by Gratiana Lovelace (2013-2014) (Done)
FanfictionJohn Thornton has an eager mind, starved for intellectual stimulation. But what John could not have foreseen was that just as his mind needs nourishment, so does his heart. Mr. Hale's proud, beautiful, kind, stubborn, and compassionate daughter Mi...
