Margaret Hale & John Thornton

Margaret Hale and John Thornton 19

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A week before the wedding, at Margaret's house, Margaret returned home from walking and went up the steps to the entrance.

"Miss Hale."

She turned around when she heard someone call her from behind. Two men in silk hats were standing there. The unexpected visitors surprised her. 

"Henry..." she said.

Henry put his hand on his hat and said, "It's been a while."

Turning away from her, he gave a look to the man standing behind him.

"This is Mr. Weston."

She greeted this new man with her eyes, then Henry introduced Mr. Weston to her.

"Mr. Weston, this is Miss Hale."

As Dixon was preparing tea, Henry and Margaret came down to the front door. It had only been about ten minutes since the two men arrived at the house. He put on his hat and turned to her.

"Take care, Margaret."

Lowering her gaze, she cracked a slight smile.

"Thank you, Henry."

He also lowered his gaze and said good luck before leaving. She lingered just inside the door, not going outside to see him off. After a while, she noticed that Dixon was there with a tea cup.

Saying, "Take that upstairs, please," she walked up the stairs.

Dixon heard the voices of Mr. Weston and her coming from upstairs.

After Mr. Weston left, Dixon took away the tea cups and asked Margaret who that man was. Margaret, sitting down by her desk, stopped reading her papers and said.

"He is Mr. Weston, who is going to be in charge of managing my assets. He's a relative of Earl Reid's and also a friend of Mr. Bell's. I'm sure he is a trustworthy person."

The servant frowned a bit. "Mr. Henry Lennox is no longer..."

Margaret said "Yes," and stopped talking for a while.

When Dixon went down the stairs, she heard Margaret murmur:

"But Henry will be my associate and a reliable lawyer the same as before."

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The next day at Marlborough Mill,

Nicholas Higgins and Tom were eating food in the communal kitchen, where Mary was busily serving meals. Margaret was at the table next to Tom. Around them some workers quietly had a meal, while others argued about their work with zest.

Higgins put down his spoon and spoke to her:

"Margaret, how is your brother?"

"You mean Fred?" She asked back and shook her head, smiling sadly.

"He's already settled in Spain. I don't expect to see him."

Higgins looked down and said: "I'm sorry he can't be at your wedding."

She smiled a little again, giving Tom a warm look, then said to Nicholas:

"I guess he doesn't care about it. I've written to him what I've been up to, and he to me. It's enough for me that we're both doing well. It could be worse. If we are alive, we'll meet again someday, I believe."

Higgins nodded and agreed with her: "That's right."