In Consequence

In Consequence - Chapter 14

“Hamper’s not one to listen to aught else but hisself and his great book of capitalism. Never minding that, I’m a good worker and steady. I been working the mills ever since I were a lad and am rightly skilled in all yo’d ask o’ me,” he answered, his last words more pleading.

The Master’s eyes narrowed, discerning however reluctantly the qualities in this rebellious ruffian that might have appealed to Margaret. He was open and frank, proud and impudent, but he seemed wise in a way - the sort who could stay the course when the seas grew rough. What he needed most at the mill right now were skilled workers, he told himself, feeling the tug of inclination to hire him.

“I’ll give you work, but I warn you….” Mr. Thornton announced threateningly as he uncrossed his arms and raised his chin. “Stir up trouble and you’re out. And I wager you’ll not find work in this town again,” he finished, his lips pressed together in firm conviction.

Higgins eyed the Master with grudging respect, recognizing the glowing embers of his own bitterness in the prosperous mill owner’s penetrating gaze. “I give yo’ my word,” he promised, his gruff voice lowered to a somber, even tone.

The Master silently appraised the jobless man another moment before thrusting out his hand to settle the matter. “And I’ll stick to mine. I offered you work, and I’ll not retract it,” he declared.

Higgins took the offered hand with a firm grip. “Thank yo’. It’s a good deal for me, and yo’ll not be sorry for it neither,” he responded, a sweep of grateful relief quickening his eagerness to prove his usefulness.

“Keep sharp to your time. What hours we have, we keep strict,” Mr. Thornton admonished him, keen to ensure the man that he would be treated no different from the rest.

“Aye, you’ve given me right warning,” Higgins returned, detecting the Master’s discomfort with this unlikely new collaboration. “If yo’ll not mind me saying, I have a fair warning for yo’,” he offered cautiously with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

The Master cocked his head curiously and frowned.

“Yo’ll not be the same man if yo’ marry that woman. She’ll turn your world upside down,” the mill worker warned.

A smile crept over the Master’s face at this unexpected retort. “I suspect she’s already begun,” he sagely replied.

Higgins grinned, and Master and man locked eyes in the shared humor of understanding their plight.

******

Alone again at last that evening with Margaret in the shadowed Crampton hallway after his lesson, Mr. Thornton snaked his arms around her waist possessively, eager to tell her his news. “Higgins came to me today,” he began in low tones, unable to suppress the smile that teased his lips as he imagined her reaction.

Her head snapped up to meet his gaze with great interest. “Did you take him on?” she asked anxiously, her wide blue-gray eyes staring up at him.

“I did,” he answered slowly, reveling in the brief power of holding her in suspense.

She jumped up onto her toes, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck in her excitement. “I knew he would come! You will not be disappointed,” she exclaimed.

Every impulse urged him to take possession of those lips and press the soft curves of her body to his tall frame, but he kept still as a playful deviousness impelled him to test her.

“He advised me against marrying you, saying you would meddle in all my affairs,” he provoked her, keeping his face somber with great effort.

She was at once solemn and uneasy, slackening her hold around his neck. She looked up to him with meek repentance. “I…I would never wish to interfere…” she stuttered anxiously.