A Life Together - A North and South Continuation

Chapter Eight

"Mother will come around to it." Edith said, understanding the unsaid. "She is just a little stuck in her ways. I believe she- well, she believes Mr Thornton to be unworthy of your hand."

"I am well aware of that, she has been vocal enough these past two days. It does not concern me. I do not require her approval but I should like to have it all the same."

"He is coming to Harley Street for dinner tonight, yes? Then let him speak for himself." Edith told her cousin, mindful that Margaret could be a little bold with her words. Perhaps she had a point, but Margaret feared that John would not be any more convincing.

"I'm afraid he has lost all patience with your mother, Edith. He will not want to charm her; he is not that sort of man. He does not have time for fickle conversation."

Although, when Margaret gave it some thought, John was rather charming. He had a manner about him, a way of speaking to people that made them listen. While he certainly did not adopt airs or graces to make people like him, he was not the brute Margaret had, at one time, believed him to be.

"You make him sound so severe, Margaret! I am sure it will be fine. I should like to meet him properly and talk to him, even if Mother would not."

"Will the captain be dining with us?" Margaret asked, hoping that the presence of another man (even one like Maxwell Lennox) would ease the tension between John and Aunt Shaw.

"No, he has a prior engagement tonight. Did I tell you we shall be going to Corfu?" Edith asked.

"No! When?" Margaret asked, saddened at the thought of her cousin being even further away.

"The autumn, I think. Sholto will enjoy the warm climate, and the chance to dip his little toes in the warm sea. I shall enjoy it too, I think."

"Oh Edith, I shall miss you so!" Margaret said.

Another piece of her already small family gone to foreign shores. Her aunt would no doubt join her daughter there; she was already barely in England as it was. Now Edith would be stationed abroad, Margaret doubted Aunt Shaw would stay in London for long at all.

"I will write, of course. Perhaps you could come and see us, with your husband. You could stop at Cadiz on your way - that would serve as a lovely honeymoon."

"It is a nice thought." Margaret said wistfully. "Though I am not sure John would be able to take so much time away from Milton. I would so love to go to Cadiz, I know John would love to meet Fred."

"He knows about Frederick?" Edith asked, her voice dropping in volume. Prying ears were everywhere, and many in London knew of the Shaw's relationship to the mutineer Frederick Hale. "You are still going to try and defend him, aren't you?"

"Of course. Henry was helping me with that, but I do not know if he would still want to help me, not after..." Margaret could not finish her sentence, feeling embarrassment burn in her chest. She had been so brazen in her display of affection that Henry must have felt it a personal insult.

"Henry is a kinder man than you credit him. I am sure he would still help, if not for love of you then for love of me, his dear sister-in-law." Edith beamed.

Margaret couldn't help but laugh at that; Edith had a charm about her that implored anyone she met to show her kindness. Henry had been working hard on the intricacies of Frederick's case, but it had been a favour to Margaret. Margaret had also suspected that he was using it as a way to spend more time with her. Surely now she had become engaged to another man, Henry would not be so forthcoming with his aid.

"Let us talk of something else. Sholto is beginning to speak very clearly, I hear."

"Yes, and getting himself into more mischief every day! Oh I cannot wait for you to have children, to give Sholto some cousins to play with. And this new baby, of course."