Immediately upon returning to his lodgings, John decided to compose a letter to his mother. He knew that he would not be able to fall asleep anyway, his heart was too full of joy. Also impressed upon him was his duty as a devoted son to inform his mother of his extended stay in London and the reason for it, as soon as possible, so she would not worry about him. He knew she would be happy to hear that he had secured an investor for the mill. How she would react to the news that Margaret was the investor and that they were now engaged to be married, he did not know.
When he had finished, he took the letter down to the concierge to insure that it was sent express to Milton first thing in the morning. If the trains ran on time his mother should receive the letter by midday. He went back up to his room to try to get some sleep.
….oOo….
It took Margaret some time but she did finally fall asleep. Her dreams were filled with the tall dark and handsome, blue-eyed manufacturer. She woke in the morning quite refreshed but startled when she saw the time. John would be here in less than an hour. She jumped out of bed and rang for Dixon.
She made it downstairs with ten minutes to spare wearing her best day dress and with her hair perfectly coifed. The most difficult thing she had had to do however was tell Dixon that she was engaged and to whom. Margaret chuckled at the recollection:
"Dear Dixon, I have some wonderful news to share with you!" Margaret exclaimed, as soon as the faithful servant had walked into her room, "I am engaged to be married!"
"Oh Miss Margaret! Congratulations!" Dixon said as she hugged Margaret, "He finally asked you, did he? Well, it's about time."
Confused, Margaret said, "I don't see when you think he might have had the opportunity until last night? It has been a year and a half since we've seen each other."
It took Dixon a moment to think about what she just heard.
"Miss Margaret!" exclaimed Dixon in shock, "You're not telling me that that tradesman from the North asked you to marry him!? and you accepted!? No, no, no, you mean Mr. Lennox is your betrothed."
"Dixon!" said Margaret, "I thought you had come to like Mr. Thornton after all the help he gave you when you had to take care of all our affairs upon leaving Milton."
"Well, yes," grumbled Dixon. "But Mr. Lennox is a much better choice for you, Miss Beresford's daughter," she tutted.
"Dixon," cajoled Margaret, "we have been through this before. I do not like Mr. Lennox in that way. I am engaged to marry Mr. Thornton. You are welcome to stay here with my aunt if you do not wish to come back to Milton with me when we marry."
"Oh, Miss Margaret," fretted Dixon, "this is all a shock to me. It will take some getting used to. Now, let's get you finished and ready for the day."
….oOo….
It was a good thing Margaret was early because John was early as well. No sooner had she finished her musings about Dixon and turned into the breakfast parlor when the doorbell rang.
Margaret stopped the butler on his way to the front door, "I will get it, Nestor. Thank you."
The butler nodded and walked off.
Margaret smiled when she saw the tall dark figure through the frosted glass.
Margaret opened the door saying formally, "Please come in Mr. Thornton."
John stepped inside. Margaret shut the door and took his hat and coat and hung them up.
Then taking her in his arms John said, "Well, you were right when you said no one would be up at this hour. We are in luck, not even the butler is awake it seems." Then he bent down and kissed her.
"Oh, the butler is on duty. I dismissed him when I heard the door," Margaret said with a shy smile, "Come let us go to the breakfast parlor before one of the maids finds us like this."
John grudgingly complied and followed Margaret down the hall.
….oOo….
During breakfast John told Margaret of his note to his mother.
"Oh, dear," said Margaret "I can hear her indignant tones now as she says, 'That woman!'"
"Yes," John said embarrassedly but with a smile, "I'm sure she will come around."
"Does she know about Fred?" she asked, "I mean that the man I was with at the station was my brother? She need not know the rest. She had come to visit me once to admonish me for my indiscrete behavior."
John replied in the negative. He had kept her secret strictly. However, he assured Margaret that he would explain it to his mother when he arrived back home.
Margaret informed John that her aunt usually breakfasted in her room and then came down to the drawing room by ten. So the two decided that they would speak with her as soon as they knew she was settled.
Ringing the bell for the butler, Margaret asked him, "Nestor, would you please inform me when my aunt has arrived in the drawing room?"
"Of course, Miss Margaret," he replied with a bow and left the room.
At a few minutes past ten, as Margaret and John were finishing their coffee, Nestor stepped into the room. Tucked under his arm was Tiny, Mrs. Shaw's snowy white lap dog which he was to deliver to her. The butler had entered to inform them of the matriarch's arrival downstairs.
"Thank you, Nestor," Margaret said and turned to John, "Shall we?"
….oOo….
As Margaret and John stepped into the drawing room Mrs. Shaw said, "Good morning Margaret." Then noticing the gentleman she added, "And you too, Mr. Thornton. I did not know you would be joining us today and at this early hour." She looked questioningly at her niece.
"Yes, Aunt Shaw, I invited Mr. Thornton for breakfast," and then becoming a little nervous she added, "Uh – he and I have a meeting with Mr. Lennox here at eleven."
"Oh, yes," Mrs. Shaw replied, "please, do be seated," she told the couple and went back to fussing over Tiny.
John, sensing Margaret's hesitation and knowing it was his responsibility anyway, took over the conversation. He said, "If you please, Mrs. Shaw, there was another reason for my early arrival here today."
"Oh?" she replied, giving him her full attention.
"Yes," John said glancing at Margaret and receiving a nod, "Margaret and I would like to announce our engagement."
"Oh!" was her initial reply. Then there was a slight pause in which Margaret could see crossing over her Aunt's countenance a moment of shock which, at one time, might have culminated in her refusal. But then her eyes darted to her niece's where she recognized that look of stubborn determination and her countenance changed to one of a more conciliatory nature.
Knowing her niece was already set up for life and having heard many accounts from Margaret as well as witnessing herself the previous evening Mr. Thornton's intellect, fine stature, and gentlemanly behavior, she had no qualms in replying, "I am quite pleased for you both. I give you my hearty blessing and wish you joy!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Shaw," said John.
"Thank you, Aunt," said Margaret and she rose to give her aunt a kiss. John rose too and sat again when Margaret sat.
Then Mrs. Shaw said, "Although Margaret, we will miss you greatly when you move back to Milton."
John replied saying, "I promise I will take very good care of her and I'm sure we will be able to visit you quite often."
"Yes," Margaret added, "the train ride is not that long and John often has business in London."
"That will be wonderful, then," Mrs. Shaw replied.
Just then Edith came bursting into the room with, "Has she told you the news!?"
….oOo….
For the rest of the hour the conversation revolved around wedding plans, which Margaret perceived was much to John's dismay. She noted, however, that he covered it well. At a quarter of an hour untill eleven, she managed to rescue him by announcing that they needed to prepare for their meeting with Mr. Lennox. So they left all discussion of flowers, flounces, and furbelows, in their wake as they retreated to the back drawing room.
As soon as the door was shut John, taking Margaret's hands in his, let out a long breath and said, "Finally, alone at last."
He led her to the settee where they both sat, closer than was considered proper. He raised her hands and kissed them then he laid her arms as they had once before been placed to protect him from the rioters.
"Do you remember, love?" he murmured. "And how I requited you with my insolence the next day?"
"I remember how wrongly I spoke to you,-that is all," was her reply.
Wasting no more time John took Margaret's face gently in his hands and lowered his lips to hers. Margaret plunged her fingers into his thick black hair, something she had been dreaming of doing for a long time.
They were too preoccupied to notice the doorbell or the footsteps approaching down the hall. It was not until Nestor opened the door that they jumped apart. They had barely a moment to recover themselves before the butler announced Mr. Lennox.
Margaret's cheeks were flushed and her lips swollen and John was still running a hand through his hair to tame it when Mr. Lennox walked through the door. Thankfully Edith had prepared him beforehand with the news, so the spectacle in front of him wasn't quite so much of a shock. Averting his gaze and his steps toward the table the newly betrothed couple followed him.
He was able to manage with only a touch of bitterness, "Well, shall we get started on this matter of business or should I come back at a later time?"
….oOo….
They finished their meeting with Mr. Lennox after only about an hour or two. The paperwork for the loan was all drawn up and signed by all parties and Mr. Lennox left them to deliver it to the bank so that the money could be transferred immediately.
Wishing to avoid all discussion of wedding frivolities and having quite worn out their excuse of 'discussing business matters' (which they were getting very good at), John and Margaret offered to take little Sholto to play in the park.
Regents Park was only a few blocks away. John and Margaret found a comfortable bench where they could watch Sholto chase the ducks and throw pebbles into the pond, while they enjoyed each other's company. Margaret loved watching John and Sholto become fast friends as John attempted to teach the boy how to skip rocks across the pond. While Sholto did not yet have the skill to perform the feat himself he greatly enjoyed watching Mr. Thornton do it over and over and over again. Margaret's heart swelled to think of what a wonderful father John would be. When Sholto finally began to tire, John lifted him in one arm and, offering the other to Margaret, they strolled home. Along the way the little boy fell fast asleep on John's shoulder.
….oOo….
After they had arrived home and deposited Sholto in the care of his nanny, they discovered it was time to dress for dinner. Even on such short notice Edith, along with her housekeeper, had managed to throw together a very nice engagement dinner for Margaret and John. The newly betrothed couple, however, had only a few stolen moments together all evening until it was time for John to leave. He would be rising early the next morning to catch the first train back to Milton so this was their goodbye. He did not know when he would be able to return as they had agreed it was best that he stay in Milton until the Mill was back up and running and that could take many weeks as there was a great number of things to be done. But they would write and Margaret would come to visit him as soon as proper arrangements could be made.
Before they parted, besides exchanging many kisses and professions of love and adoration, they had each decided to give the other a personal gift to remember them by whilst they were separated. They had each chosen to give the other – their embroidered handkerchiefs. They smiled and laughed at the idea that they had both decided to give the same item. After each neatly tucked their treasure away they shared one more parting embrace and John left.
….oOo….
A/N: I have to thank my children for the butler's name. As there was none mentioned in book or adaptation, I went online to choose a name for the Lennox's butler. Scrolling through a list of famous literary butler's names I came across Captain Haddock's butler, Nestor, from Herge's Adventures of Tin Tin series, which my children have greatly enjoyed. I also added a slight reference to 'Snowy,' Tin Tin's dog.