Hello everybody!
Your response to the last chapter was overwhelming! I'm so glad you enjoyed how ODC finally came together, and hopefully this story has provided a little bit of diversion during a troubled time. Please keep the comments coming! Now more than ever, they brighten my day!
And now, on to our story!
It was some time later when Margaret awoke with Thornton's arms around her. She was surprised at how natural it was to be surrounded by him in this way, to feel him against her and realize that they were now truly man and wife. There was no embarrassment, no shame, only a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment. She gave a little sigh and snuggled closer.
"Are you cold?" Thornton's deep voice rumbled in her ear as he pulled the blanket higher around her shoulders.
"No. I was just enjoying being with you. I hope I did not wake you up."
"I was not asleep. I was too busy thinking."
"About what?"
"How beautiful you are." He kissed her gently, and Margaret's senses swam in the delightful sensation until he pulled away again. "I was also thinking how fortunate I am to have you, how grateful I am that your father entrusted you to my care. If he had not, you would have had no reason to stay in Milton. You would have gone to your brother in Spain and I would never have seen you again."
"That is not necessarily true."
"No?" Thornton leaned up on one elbow so that he could look down at her. The room was dark, with only a single lamp lending its dim light, so that she could just make out the outlines of his face.
"My father knew that you had proposed to me and that I had turned you down. He urged me to reconsider my response."
"How did he know about my first offer?"
Margaret frowned, trying to recall what her father had said. "He didn't, not at first. Mr. Bell said something to him, I think, about you being interested in me. Then he began to wonder, and finally he asked me directly. He was . . . . surprised when I told him."
Thornton pushed a lock of hair off her forehead, letting his hand linger on her cheek. "He was surprised that I was in love with you?"
"Perhaps surprised is the wrong word. Yes, concerned is better. He was concerned that you might have been hurt, and he thought that I had perhaps made a mistake. He said you would make an excellent husband for me, if I could learn to love you."
"I cannot argue with that conclusion." Margaret heard more than saw his smile as he said this.
"John!" She tried to bury her face in his shoulder, embarrassed. "I am so ashamed of how I turned you away before!"
"Hush, love, I was only teasing you," he answered, still smiling. "You should feel free to tease me in return any time you like, and on any subject. There are many areas in which you could justly criticize me."
"Maybe I will, in time, but right now I just want to be with you."
"Hmm. For once, you and I want the same thing." Thornton's low rumble of laughter vibrated against her as he kissed her again. She broke away after a minute, rather breathless.
"John, may I ask you a question?"
"Anything."
"If you were still in love with me when my father died, why did you not tell me so at once?"
At her question Thornton sighed and rolled away from her, lying back on his pillow. Margaret wondered if she had offended him. "I am not angry with you," she clarified, "simply curious. I thought you must have given up all feelings for me, since you said nothing about them. I really believed you intended to have a marriage in name only."
"My love, do you know what the most dangerous emotion in the world is?"
"I am not sure," she answered hesitatingly, wondering what he meant.
"It is hope. Nothing hurts more than having one's hopes raised and then dashed again. When your father gave you into my care I had little hope at first, because I assumed you would go to your relatives, or perhaps to your young man in Spain. Then I was certain that you would go to Bell. Finally, when I knew that you would be my wife, I could not keep my hope from growing."
"But you still said nothing to me."
"True, since I had no reason to think you had developed feelings for me. I had already bared my heart to you once and been rejected. I was not eager to go through that again, especially since we were now living in the same house and I would have to see you every day. I wanted to be certain before I said anything. That was my real motivation, but I told myself that I was protecting you. Declaring myself so soon after your father had passed would have been cruel. I was convinced that I was thinking of your best interests, but the truth is that I was protecting myself."
She felt she had to be completely honest. "You were right to wait. My feelings had not yet completely changed. I knew that I had misjudged you and that you were a good man, but I did not yet love you."
"I was willing to wait as long as it might take."
The humble honesty in his answer touched her. Why had she been so slow to see the simple goodness in this man? They should have come together long before they did. She put her arms more closely around his neck, wishing she could undo all the mistakes of the past with him.
As if Thornton had heard her thoughts, he asked, "Why did you not tell me about Frederick sooner?"
Margaret tensed. "Do you remember the first real conversation we had after we were married, when you came back from a meeting with the other magistrates?"
Now it was Thornton's turn to frown as he tried to remember. "It was the night before you defended me to my mother and Fanny, wasn't it? I told you about a fugitive whom the magistrates were planning to turn over to the crown."
"I asked if you thought the man might be innocent of the charges against him, and you said that was not your job to decide."
"But I would never betray my own wife's brother!"
"You said your job was to enforce the law without passion or prejudice, and without regard for personal cost."
"Oh, my love! I never though the cost might include you!" He pulled her closer. "That is a price I would never agree to pay!"
"I know that now," Margaret answered. "But I didn't then. And Frederick had asked me to keep his secret. Then a few days ago I received a letter from him in which he encouraged me to tell you about him. He said that secrets have a way of tearing couples apart. I wanted to tell you about him then, but . . . " She let her voice trail off.
"My love, we have been at such odds," Thornton said, finishing for her. "Our timing was all wrong. You were not ready to trust me, and then when you were, I was not able to trust you. But I would like to think those days are behind us now! We will have a good life, now that we are finally together."
"Even though you are losing the mill?" Margaret could not help asking.
"I do not regret losing the mill as much as you might think."
"Why not?"
The lamp flickered hard just then, using up the last of its oil, and Thornton reached past her to extinguish it. When he resumed his place at her side, he reached around her with both arms to bring her against his chest.
"It was when I told you that the mill was closing that I finally realized your feelings for me had changed. I shall never forget the look on your face when you said you wanted to be with me, wherever I was. All was right in the world as long as my Margaret loved me! And when I kissed you for the first time, heaven itself smiled on me. In the future, whenever I remember that I was once a mill owner and a master, any pangs of remembrance will disappear as long as I can put my arms around you!"
Margaret doubted this last statement very much. No matter how much Thornton loved her his exuberance would not be enough to carry him through all the days of loss that lay ahead. There would be many moments of dejection and grief. Still, his words were sweet to her ears. She marveled at how much their relationship had changed in one day, from the stark despair of the morning to the sweet joy in the evening.
They continued to speak quietly together, using this precious time to clear away the misunderstandings of the past and look forward to the hopes of the future. "Tell me about Frederick, my love," said Thornton. "It is strange to discover that I have a brother I did not know about until now."
Margaret told him about Frederick, describing his cheerful disposition, his tendency to speak his mind, and his determination to go to sea when Margaret was still a little girl. "When he started on board the Russell he came under the command of a Captain Reid, who was notorious for his petty cruelties. Eventually the captain caused the death of one of the sailors. Frederick spoke out against him and there was a terrible mutiny. The captain was set adrift in a boat and left to die. By some miracle he was saved and after he was rescued he named Frederick as a traitor."
"Is there no hope of his name ever being cleared?"
"It is not likely. Some of his fellow sailors were eventually captured and hung."
Margaret described how her parents had grieved for their lost son, how his name was never mentioned at home, and how her mother had finally asked to see Frederick one last time before she passed away.
When she finished there was a thoughtful silence. Then, "I begin to understand your father better now. There was always a certain sadness to him that I could not quite understand, but now I know he must have missed his only son dreadfully. I am glad that I could help fill that gap a little for him, though I could never take your brother's place."
"He missed both my mother and my brother terribly towards the end, I think."
"He would have. He was that sort of man, always thinking of his family first. I shall have much to do, trying to fill the hole he left in your heart."
Margaret wanted to correct her husband, to reassure him that he had already filled that place, but she noticed for the first time that his breathing had slowed and his words were coming with an effort. "I still have so many questions," he murmured.
"When was the last time you slept?" she asked.
"I can't remember. Yesterday, or the day before. I could not fall sleep earlier. I was too afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"That I would awaken and discover this was all a dream." His arms tightened around her.
"This is not a dream. We have found that we love each other, and we are together at last. Go to sleep now, and we can talk more in the morning."
His grip on her did not loosen. "Do you promise you will still be here in the morning? I will not wake up tomorrow and find that you are living in Spain?"
Her heart swelled. "If you need my promise you may have it. I promise I will be here tomorrow when you wake up, and the day after that, and every day you can think of. I will never leave you."
He exhaled a sigh of relief just before he let sleep claim him. "I love you, Margaret."
"And I love you," she answered, feeling herself drift off as well. "I will always be your Margaret of Milton."
I am tentatively planning on publishing this story on Amazon in several weeks. From here on out I will post much more often than every two weeks, so that you can have the whole story up and available to enjoy before publication. Per Amazon's rules I will have to remove it from fanfic and other sites just before publishing. So from here on out, watch your inbox carefully so you get alerts when a new chapter has been posted! The last few chapters will likely go up fairly rapidly. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for the cover reveal and publication date!
Have a safe and happy Easter! See you again soon!-Elaine
