A/N: Hey everyone, sorry I took so long to update. In the beginning I had a writer's block, but then I got kind of bored of my story for some strange reason. I didn't want to write while I was feeling like that, but after reading some other fanfics I felt much better and here you have it!

Thank you to all who reviewed for the last chapter, I know you want to see more of the married Thornton and Margaret, but that will have to wait a while, I have some good ideas though!

Enjoy! (And remember to review!)

Chapter 10: Win Some, Lose Some

The dining-room was decorated to the point of exaggeration, the walls were barely visible, the center-piece looked like it had cost a fortune. Everyone was talking animatedly for the whole time before the dinner. Mr Thornton was entertained by the men, who were eager to converse with him about his newly reopened mill. Margaret was bombarded with questions from the wives of the mill owners, they were anxious to know how it was that she managed to win over the usually reserved Mr Thornton. But John and Margaret's attention were elsewhere; they constantly caught each other's eye.

Finally, dinner was announced, Mrs Hannah Thornton was still playing the host, hanging on to her last bit of power while she still could. Mr Thornton seized the opportunity to lead his wife to her seat, which to his dismay, was at one end of the long table, while his was on the other end. Both of them knew that this was customary, but they could not help but feel a tinge of disappointment at finding themselves so far from each other.

Once seated, Margaret noticed Mr Henry Lennox seated two seats to her left, and next to him, a handsome woman that she had seen him lead into the dining-room. She wondered who this woman was; surely they would be introduced during the dinner. But this was not to be; it was as if the other couples seated near her were determined not to let her meet this mysterious woman. Edith, who was seated across from this woman, spoke much with her, which intrigued Margaret the more so. Finally, when dinner was over and the ladies made their way into the drawing-room, Margaret decided to ask Edith about the woman.

'Edith, who is that handsome woman that accompanied Mr Lennox?' Margaret whispered hurriedly.

'Oh, you mean Miss King? Well, didn't Henry tell you? They're engaged!' Edith said excitedly. 'But of course he would not want to steal your moment of happiness. My, I can't believe how I forgot to tell you. It happened about a week after you left London.'

'Really? So soon?' Margaret said, but she had faintly suspected it, the way Ms King looked at Mr Lennox.

'Yes, they had met various other times, she is the daughter of one of his older friends in the same line as him. I'm not so sure who the man is, but I know that Henry is quite pleased, it will help him with his station you know,' Edith said, taking a seat on the most comfortable looking sofa beside Fanny. Margaret had known her not to be too great with details, so she was not surprised that Edith quickly entered into a conversation with Fanny, probably a conversation they had not managed to finish at dinner. Margaret looked around and saw Miss King seated near her Aunt Shaw, who in turn was seated next to Mrs Hannah Thornton.

Margaret bravely went to seat near them, ignoring the other mill wives who looked up as she passed them, hoping that she would join them. Frankly, their questions had begun to annoy her. She would much rather solve the mystery of this woman.

'Ah, Margaret, have you been introduced to Miss Catherine King?' Mrs Shaw said, introducing the two when Margaret approached them and took a seat on a comfortable sofa.

'Miss King, I hear that you are engaged to Mr Henry Lennox, congratulations,' Margaret sincerely said, in a way it made her feel less guilty about her marriage to Mr Thornton after Mr Lennox had proposed to her.

'Thank you, Mrs Thornton, and of course the same to you,' Miss King replied with a smile on her face. Margaret blushed at being addressed by her new title; it was a bit disconcerting, after all, in her mind that name had been associated with Mrs Hannah Thornton. Margaret entered into a conversation with Miss King, whom she found that she liked very much. It was easy to see why Mr Lennox had chosen to marry her. She would be looking forward to this wedding.

Mrs Shaw meanwhile was talking with Mrs Hannah Thornton, it seemed that they could go on talking about the accomplishments of their children. But when Mrs Shaw began talking about how happy she was with her grandchild, Mrs Thornton turned pale. Mrs Hannah Thornton had not yet begun to think about the future of her son and his family. She was still coping with her son's marriage; she did not know how she could handle the thought of a grandchild, or grandchildren.

The gentlemen soon joined them, and the whole house buzzed with conversation. Everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Eventually Henry Lennox ventured towards Margaret who was conversing with his fiancée.

'Miss — pardon, Mrs Thornton, may I compliment you on how elegant you look tonight?' Mr Lennox said as he approached.

'Thank you, Mr Lennox,' Margaret said as Mr Lennox kissed his fiancée's hand, making Miss King turn a bright shade of pink.

'Please, call me Henry, we are friends after all,' Mr Lennox smiled, something that Margaret was sure she had never seen before.

'Yes Henry, so we are, I suppose that there is no need for calling me Mrs Thornton then,' Margaret said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at the way "Henry" was smiling at her.

'As you wish,' Henry said, not looking at Miss King, his attention on Margaret.

'And might I congratulate you on your engagement to Miss King,' Margaret said, seeing that Miss King was looking uncomfortable with the way that Henry was staring at her.

'Yes, yes, thank you Margaret,' Henry said, turning his attention back onto Miss King, who smiled at him lovingly, but somehow his smile didn't seem as full as love. Margaret noticed this and couldn't help but feel that this was her fault. Perhaps Henry was only marrying Miss King because he felt that he needed to, not because he loved her. But Miss King was oblivious to this; she was blinded by her love for a man who most likely did not love her.

Margaret continued to talk with Miss King; Henry stayed with them a short while, casting glances at Margaret, which she duly ignored. He had changed greatly in the past two weeks since she had last seen him, and frankly, she was more interested in making friends with Miss King than continuing the friendship Henry claimed they had. The rest of the evening passed on quite uneventfully and slowly, everyone began to take their leave until it was only Margaret's Aunt Shaw and Edith that remained.

'Well, Margaret, as you know, we leave for London tomorrow morning. Too early to call,' her Aunt Shaw said, not only to her, but also to everyone. Margaret nodded, her attention was more focused on the fact that John had finally managed to find his way over to her, and his hand had somehow found her knee; his finger absentmindedly running over it, but no one seemed as interested as she was. 'And of course, Hannah' for they were family now and therefore on first name terms 'you are welcome to come visit me in London whenever the fancy strikes you.'

Mrs Hannah Thornton smiled, 'Thank you.'

After many hugs and tears, mainly on Edith's behalf, Margaret was left with her new family, her husband that she loved more than anything in the world, and her mother in-law, who she still uncertain about. There were a few moments awkward silence while the three of them sat there, John's hand had once again resumed its place on Margaret's knee, and though Mrs Hannah Thornton was purposely not looking at them, Margaret was blushing.

'I am tired, I think I will go up to bed now,' Mrs Hannah Thornton said, getting up from her seat and looking over to her son, who had already taken his hand off Margaret's knee. He nodded, and though she wanted to go over and kiss his forehead, she resisted the urge. 'Good night, John.'

'Good night, mother,' John said, waiting expectantly.

'Good night, Miss Ha— Margaret,' Mrs Hannah Thornton said, catching her words at the last minute.

'Good night, Hannah,' Margaret said with a smile on her face, she wanted to show her mother in-law that she wasn't at all fazed by being ignored by her. And with that, Mrs Hannah Thornton made her way out of the room and towards the side of her house where her room was located.

'I suppose that we should make our way up to bed as well,' John said before Margaret could speak. He offered her his arm, and they made their way to their bedroom on the other side of the house. Margaret's heart was beating relentlessly, and she was grateful that Mrs Hannah Thornton's bedroom was so far away.

John left Margaret at the door of her dressing room, kissing her hand before going to his dressing room. In his dressing room, he fumbled with the knots of his cravat, which seemed to be suffocating him at the moment. He couldn't believe that Margaret was his wife, his alone! He peered into the looking glass, he looked a little tired, the reopening of the mill had gone smoothly, better than he had anticipated, yet there was still a lot left to do.

But for now, his attention was focused on his wife, who would be waiting for him just beyond the doors that led to their sleeping quarters. His heart began to pound heavily, and he chuckled to himself. What was he nervous about? He had to be honest with himself, Margaret most certainly wasn't his first, but then again, he hadn't loved any of those other women. They had been after his money, he knew that, and now he felt a bit guilty for letting himself get carried away by their attentions. He had been young, and foolish, despite all the self-control his mother had taught him. But of course, Margaret would never hear of any of this, her chaste ears would be horrified to hear of his past, and he could not let her see him in such a light. No, she would never know of it. And surely, they would never run into those women in society, right?

Margaret quickly changed into her night-gown with the help of Dixon's niece, Charlotte. She let her hair down and the girl, not much younger than herself, combed it through and through, so that it had a nice shimmer to it. Margaret then allowed the girl to go. As soon as she heard the girl go, she examined herself in the large looking glass. Her face was pale, making the redness of her lips stand out. She took a deep breath, and went to the door that led to her bedroom with John, her husband.

She cautiously opened the door and peered inside for any sign that John was already there. She let out a sigh of relief; she hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath. At least she would have some time to compose her nerves, for Margaret knew what a husband expected from his wife the first night of marriage — or rather, she thought she knew her wifely duties. Her Aunt Shaw had had a brief, but nonetheless awkward, conversation with her in the week that her Aunt had arrived from London. Her Aunt tried to explain everything, but there were some points where she had been extremely vague. Of course, Margaret had been too embarrassed to enquire further, but she had picked up what she felt was the most useful advice that her Aunt tried to give her: Don't be afraid. But as much as she repeated those words to herself, she could not stop the pounding of her heart.

When John opened the door to their bedroom, he found Margaret already in their bed, sheets up to her chin, eyes closed, hair shimmering in the dim light of the candles. She looked beautiful, and she was his.

'Margaret,' he spoke softly as he sat on the side of the bed opposite her. Her eyes opened timidly. He smiled, and she smiled back. He could tell she was nervous, but it was only a reflection of what he himself felt. 'I love you.'

'I love you too John,' Margaret said smiling, and reaching for his hand.

'You don't know how sweet those words sound coming from your mouth,' he said, intertwining their fingers. He kissed her, passionately, and she didn't object, she reveled in his lips. But before they carried their situation on any further, he broke their kiss and looked into her eyes, 'You're not afraid?'

'Of what?' Margaret asked, her voice betraying the fear that she felt, but she was determined to push that emotion far from her, for his nearness was making her feel something that she had never felt before.

'Of our future, of our lives together, of what we are doing right now,' John said, looking intently at her, taking in every ounce of her beauty.

'John, I am your wife, and you are my husband. I agreed to marry you, and I'm prepared to spend the rest of my life with you,' Margaret said, she could not break her gaze from her husband's eyes.

'And I promise to make sure that you don't regret that decision.'

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