North Marries South

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

John made it back for dinner, but he was exhausted after a night of little sleep followed by a long day.  Higgins had gotten him down to the dining hall to eat, but he hadn't taken any other breaks from his work all day except one quick excursion to town.  Unless he counted the numerous times he had daydreamed about Margaret.  Now she was in front of him, fussing over his tired looks and giving him sweet smiles.  His mother had greeted him, but let Margaret take the lead on the welcome home activities.

As they ate, they discussed Margaret's living situation, and Mrs. Thornton reluctantly agreed, after much protesting, to let her continue to stay in the guest bedroom.  It was too late, once again, for her to go anywhere else tonight anyway.  John and Margaret shared a brief, heated glance at what this would mean for them.

He asked how her day had gone, and she told him how the wedding planning had gone so far.  Fanny, true to form, had lots of lofty ideas, but Margaret was insistent on a more practical affair.  Mrs. Thornton had agreed with Margaret, and Fanny, although disappointed, kept trying to edge her ideas in.  Margaret did like some of them, but others were still too rich for her taste.  They had decided on color -- yellow, of course, for the roses that had brought them together -- and talked about where to go for other aspects of the wedding.  It had been fairly productive.

"There is one other thing we need to discuss, Mother," John said, and Mrs. Thornton raised her eyebrows to inquire what that was.  "Margaret and I would like the wedding to be earlier than three months.  We'd prefer to be wed within a month."

"I can't arrange the wedding you deserve that quickly!" Mrs. Thornton protested

"It doesn't have to be as grand as Fanny's, Mother.  Neither of us wants that.  I know we must have certain frills because of who I am, but certainly not all the grandeur is necessary."

"Is this how you feel, Margaret?"  Mrs. Thornton looked at the younger women skeptically.  Yes, she was more pragmatic than Fanny, but did she really not care about any of it?

"Yes, it is.  I just want to marry John.  It matters not to me how fancy the wedding is."  The two lovers smiled adoringly at each other.

"I'll see what I can do, but I don't know if I can promise anything less than six weeks."

"Six weeks will do just fine.  Thank you, Mother."

Before dessert was served, Margaret produced a box and handed it to John with a look of adoration and delight.  At his quizzical look, she explained that it was her engagement gift to him.  He opened it eagerly and gasped with delight.

"Oh, Margaret, these are wonderful!" He said, holding up the cuff links for his mother to admire.  She was impressed that Margaret had picked something so tasteful.

"And since yellow is the wedding color, you can wear them on the day!"  Margaret added.  John smiled and nodded his agreement, then leaned over to give her a tender kiss.

"Thank you, my love," he said in a low voice.  Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he produced a box from the jeweler's also.  Margaret's eyes flew to his in delight, and she opened it eagerly.  A beautiful ring, with a delicate floral design and a yellow gem, sat inside.

"Oh, John!" was all she could say as he took it out and slipped it on her finger.

"I thought you could use an engagement ring," he responded with a smile.  She smiled back at him, then gave him a kiss.  They gazed at each other for a few moments, thinking again about their great luck.  Mrs. Thornton looked at the both of them, so happy, and was glad that John had found a bride he could respect and love.  While it had filled her with pride that all the ladies of Milton fawned on him, she realized now that he probably wouldn't have been able to respect any of them had he married them.