The other day, when I was editing the rest of this story, I realised that this chapter and the next are both rather short, and written in a very similar tone (they are basically fillers with a tinge of fluff), so I summarily decided to put them both together into one chapter.

This will leave four remaining chapters instead of the promised five, but you're not losing anything - you're just getting two chapters at once ;)

Chapter 22

The next day, John Thornton was seen entering the jeweller's shop at Lever Street, early in the morning. The shop assistant looked up, surprised to see the master of Marlborough Mills there, but tried to hide his astonishment as best as he could and inquired if he could be of assistance.

Thornton declined, stating that he was just planning to browse a little, before letting his gaze wander over the shop display.

John was more nervous than he wanted to admit. He had never done anything like this before, but he could not stop himself. He did not consider himself a romantic man, but after last night, he could barely wait to see Margaret again today, and he felt it only fitting to give her something to convey to her how he felt, something meaningful.

He took his time to look at the rings on display, weighing his options, eventually daring to consult the shop assistant about the meaning of different gemstones. Over half an hour later, he left the shop with a small package in the left breast pocket of his coat, trying hard to calm his nerves, as he started down the street, on his way to the Latimer's home.

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Margaret had been sitting in the upstairs drawing room, pretending to read a book for the last hour. Every few minutes she would turn the page, so as to not raise suspicion in Mrs. Eldon, who was sitting nearby, doing needlework, but she had not read a single word.

All she could think of was the man who had kissed her so passionately last night, it still made her toes curl, and the anticipation she felt at his promise to call on her today.

It was an hour before lunchtime, when the doorbell rang, and Margaret's heart skipped a beat. A mere minute later, a servant appeared at the door, letting the women know that Mr. Thornton was here to inquire about a private audience with Miss Hale.

Margaret caught Mrs. Eldon's surprised look, as she nodded at the servant and followed her downstairs to the sitting room.

He was standing by the window, hands clasped behind his back, looking out. When he heard the door shut behind her, he turned around, and as their eyes met, a small smile spread across his face.

Margaret felt the warmth of a flush on her face at the sight of him. "You came", she whispered. He carefully took a few steps towards her, unable to take his eyes off her. "Of course, I did", he said in a low voice, as he took her hand in his.

Everything in his demeanour conveyed his love and admiration for her, and Margaret wondered how she could have been blind to it for so long. Or was he only now showing it this openly?

"I hope you got some sleep after last night?", he inquired. "I slept better than I had anticipated", Margaret confessed. "How about you? Did you get any sleep at all?"

"I slept like a babe. It could have been the brandy, but somehow, I doubt it", he told her warmly, and Margaret could not stop a small, nervous giggle from escaping her lips at that statement.

"Margaret-", he started, "I came to make sure that you are still certain about your decision to accept my hand." He seemed nervous all of a sudden.

"I know both of us felt rather emotional last night, and I – I just need to know that I am not forcing you into anything, you may have second thoughts about now. No one but us knows what happened, and I swear, I would never mention it to anyone, so there are no obligations."

Margaret did not know how to respond for a moment. Was he this unsure of her feelings? She knew his feelings for her ran deep, last night had been proof enough of that.

Was he really still offering her a way out? Her heart warmed at the thought that he was willing to forgo his own wishes to avoid putting her in an uncomfortable situation.

Carefully she lifted her hand and placed it on his right arm. "John", she whispered with a smile. "I meant every word I said to you last night. I wish to marry you with all my heart." He breathed out a small sigh, and she saw a relieved smile appear on his face. She could really get used to seeing him smile.

He reached a slightly trembling hand into his breast pocket, pulled out a small package, and held it out to her. "John?", she asked incredulously, as she took it from him. "Open it", he encouraged her gently.

Margaret did as she was told, and a moment later her breath hitched, as her eyes fell on the ring in her hands. It was a simple, but beautiful gold band, circling around the delicate design of a rose with a small ruby at its centre.

She looked up at him in shock. "My God, John, this is – I don't know what to say. It is beautiful!"

She was overwhelmed at how deliberate his choice seemed to have been. Apparently, he had remembered her love for roses, after she had told him about Helstone and how much she missed those flowers here in the north. The ruby, she knew, was a symbol of love, passion, and courage. It was a perfect choice.

He carefully took the ring from her and grasped her left hand. "I had to guess your size", he confessed. "I hope it fits, otherwise, I'll have it adjusted." He slid the ring onto her finger. It fit her like a glove. She looked down at her hand and then up into his face, tears of happiness glinting in her eyes.

"It is perfect! But John, you did not need to-" He shook his head, making her pause. "Margaret, I wanted to", was all he said.

And then he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers in the gentlest manner, his right hand coming up to caress her cheek. Margaret felt a shudder run through her as her arms slid around him, to draw him closer. She had not known that it was possible to feel this way, every small touch making her head spin.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity, he slowly drew back. "I will go and see Mr. Latimer", he told her. "He is not your guardian, but with you being a guest in his house, I think it necessary to inform him of our engagement." Margaret nodded.

"Will I see you after?" "I will make sure to see you, but, now that it seems that the mill will keep running, I have some business to settle in the afternoon, so I will not be able to stay long. However, if you are free tomorrow, maybe I can take you on a walk?" "I would love that!", she beamed.

He took her hand with the ring once more and pressed a brief kiss to it, before exiting the room, leaving Margaret standing there with her insides on fire.

It was a few minutes later, that Mrs. Eldon entered the room and found the young woman standing by the window, holding out her hand in front of her and gazing down at it in wonder.

"Miss Hale?" Margaret's head shot up and the older woman was taken aback when she saw the raw emotion on her face. "What happened?", she inquired and stepped closer.

Then she caught sight of the ring and both her eyes and mouth widened in astonishment. "Miss Hale! Mr. Thornton?", she exclaimed, to which Margaret could only nod, unable to keep the smile off her face.

Mrs. Elden sank down onto the nearest chair, obviously overwhelmed by this unexpected turn of events. "But – how is that possible? I did not know the two of you held much regard for one another?" Margaret slowly took a seat herself. "We certainly took our time coming to terms with our feelings", she admitted. "But I can assure you that they are genuine on both sides."

Mrs. Eldon shot her a doubtful look. "Miss Hale, I am very happy for you, please believe me. It is just that – you have grown very dear to me and, being the age that I am, I cannot help but feel a sense of responsibility. You have surely given the timing of this offer some thought?"

"I do not think I understand?"

"Miss Hale, I certainly do not mean any offence. I hold Mr. Thornton in high regard and would never suspect him to be a fortune hunter. But a young man must live on something. The mill has failed, and you recently came into quite an extensive inheritance. You must know that, when you marry, all your property will go over to your husband, to be rightfully his."

Margaret just stared at her in shock at such an outrageous presumption. A moment later, it dawned on her that this was likely how many people would perceive it. Society could be cruel in such situations.

She forced her voice to be as calm as possible, before she answered. "Mrs. Eldon, I am aware of how this might appear, but I assure you that in this case, my inheritance has nothing to do with it. Mr. Thornton made me an offer of marriage once before, over a year ago, but I turned him down, not realising my feelings for him at the time.

At this, it was Mrs. Eldon's turn to stare. "He – made you an offer before?", she gasped, to which Margaret nodded with some embarrassment. "I was not very forthcoming towards him back then, nor very kind." "But why would he repeat his offer, now of all times?", her older friend probed her further.

"Because I recently spoke to him about a business proposition for Marlborough Mills, and I – I unintentionally gave away my feelings for him."

It had not been quite so unintentional as Margaret made it appear, but she could not dare raise suspicion about anything that had passed between them. "Not in so many words", she added quickly. "But he could guess them just the same."

Mrs. Eldon finally seemed somewhat satisfied, as a small smile appeared on her face. "So you truly are happy, Margaret?" The overjoyed expression on the young woman's face was all the answer she needed.

"In this case, I apologize for presuming there to be any ulterior motive. Now, do show me that ring!" There was now an unmistakable tone of excitement in Mrs. Eldon's voice as she leaned forward in her chair, to examine the hand, Margaret held out to her. "It is beautiful", the older woman breathed. "And meaningful too. A truly considerate gift."

As Margaret nodded with pride, Mrs. Eldon could not help but chuckle. "And there I was some time ago, telling you about my enjoyment of his fine face", she said, blushing slightly.

"I may congratulate you on securing yourself one of the most handsome men in all of Milton. You will be faced with a certain amount of envy from all the other young women."

If it was even possible, Margaret's smile widened at that.

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About half an hour later, John exited Mr. Latimer's study, with a satisfied look on his face. The banker had been quite surprised at the news, but as he had always held John in high regard and had taken quite a liking to Margaret, he could not help but consider them a beautiful match.

Before John had left, Latimer had also mentioned Margaret's business proposition, and for the past twenty minutes had presented the younger man with the calculations he had made so far, assuring John, that things were looking rather promising, should he agree to the investment.

"However, I suppose that the whole scheme will be rendered unnecessary once you are married", Latimer pondered. "As her property will be rightfully yours."

John shook his head at that, decidedly. "I do not intend to touch a penny of her inheritance that she is not willing to give. We will go through with the plan she initially proposed for the mill."

John found Margaret standing outside the sitting room, waiting for him. She had gotten up when she had heard the door to the study open. He gave her a bright smile and held out his hand, which she took willingly.

"Everything is settled", he informed her. "I will come by tomorrow, in the early afternoon, if that is convenient for you? We can go for a walk and talk about the wedding plans."

"I will be waiting", she whispered to him. He bent down to press a quick kiss to her hand, before stepping out the front door and making his way back towards Marlborough Mills.

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"I KNEW it!", Ann Latimer exclaimed with wide eyes. "I just KNEW there was something between the two of you!" Margaret quickly hushed the younger woman, afraid that her voice might draw the attention of the entirety of the household.

They were sitting in the small, upstairs drawing room, Ann was still holding Margaret's hand, looking at the betrothal ring. "I remember the way he looked at you at the ball, last year, but I always thought you did not like him! Do tell me everything, Margaret. I need to know!"

So, Margaret related to Ann all the parts of the story she considered safe to share, which, it turned out, were not many at all. Looking back now, she realised that the majority of all situations she had found herself in with John Thornton had bordered on the edge of propriety, or gone far beyond it.

She had to leave out all their nightly encounters, when he had had to follow her through the streets of Milton after dark, making sure that she got home safely, once even carrying her for miles (she now blushed at the mere thought of how close he had been to her then).

Neither could she mention the riot at the mill and how she had tended to him, when he had been injured – the two of them alone in a room together. She could not possibly tell Ann about Fred and the events at Outward Station. And, most of all, she had to avoid mentioning what they had done last night in his office.

In the end, all that remained to be told was the fact that he had taken lessons with her father, had made her an offer, which she had turned down, and had repeated that same offer now, a year later, with her having changed her mind.

It was the most trimmed-down story Margaret had ever told, but for Ann, it was enough to fuel her excitement. "Oh, I cannot tell you how glad I am that you agreed to marry him. Now, father will stop trying to get him to notice me", Ann laughed.

"And you will make a beautiful bride, and he a handsome groom. He is very handsome, there is no denying that. He is a bit too serious for my taste, as I have told you before, but it appears that you do not mind it that much."

"I used to think of him in that way too", Margaret admitted. "But there is another side to him, he rarely lets anyone see. In fact, he can be quite delightful company."

"Oh! That is so romantic, Margaret!", Ann ejaculated, clapping her hands in excitement and wobbling about on her chair like a small girl. "Did you manage to crack his hard shell to uncover the softness inside?"

Margaret could not help but roll her eyes slightly, with a smile. "I am still working on that, Ann. But I daresay there is more to him than meets the eye."

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That evening, Margaret sat at the small desk by her bedroom window and nervously tried composing a letter to her aunt Shaw and Edith. She was well aware that she had to inform them of the newest developments in her life, and that especially her aunt would be anything but pleased at such a match.

As the family was still in Greece, Margaret presumed that, by the time she could expect a reply from them, the wedding would likely already have taken place.

With a sigh, Margaret dipped her quill in the ink and started writing:

Dearest aunt,

I hope this letter finds you well.

It has been a while since I last wrote to you. Times have been rather busy here, and there are some things I feel I need to share with you.

I think you might remember Mr. Thornton, whom we met at the Great Exhibition last year in May.

He is a very successful businessman here in Milton, who has been a dear friend to my family for over two years.

He was very close to my father, and my mother also held him in high regard.

Yesterday, Mr. Thornton asked for my hand in marriage, and since I have to admit that I have held tender feelings for him for quite some time, I was happy to accept his proposal.

I am aware that this match is not one you would necessarily consider very suitable, as Mr. Thornton obtained his fortune through doing business, instead of being able to look back

at a long family lineage, but I can assure you that he truly is an honourable and respectable man, who is educated and refined, and will be able to offer me a very comfortable life.

But above all, this is not a marriage of convenience, but one of true regard and affection, which is much more than I had ever wished for.

Truly, I am very happy, dear aunt, and I hope that you will find it in yourself to give me your blessing in this matter, as it would complete my happiness.

It is likely that we will keep the engagement rather short, and since you are still out of the country, I am afraid that you would not be able to attend the wedding.

However, I would be delighted if you accepted my invitation to come and visit me in Milton, once you have returned.

Please give my regards to all of my acquaintances and give a kiss to Edith and little Sholto.

Sincerely yours

Margaret

She folded and sealed the letter with quivering hands. It was the best she could do, now she could only hope that aunt Shaw would not fall in a faint at her news.

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On the next day, after lunchtime, John called on the Latimers, as he had promised, to pick up Margaret for their walk.

Mrs. Latimer asked him to join them in the sitting room briefly, before they left, to take the opportunity to congratulate him. They took some refreshments and made polite conversation with Mrs. Latimer, Mrs. Eldon, and Ann, all of whom had made sure to join them, likely out of curiosity. Margaret was very aware of the prying looks Ann shot John and her, trying to catch a glimpse of their feelings.

It was a task that proved rather easy, as both Johns and Margaret's affection was very apparent on their faces, whenever they looked at each other. Anyone who observed them was able to tell that they were madly in love, and for Mrs. Eldon, this fact came as a reassurance, that this was indeed more than just a match of convenience.

After they had finished their drinks, John offered Margaret his arm and they made their way out of the house.

They walked along the dusty streets in silence for a few minutes, each of them enjoying the closeness of the other.

Margaret noticed that some people shot them curious looks, and with a smile, she tightened her hold on his arm. They were officially engaged now and allowed to walk this way, and it filled her with pride to show the world that he was hers.

"I think it is time to talk about wedding arrangements", he started eventually. "I do not know how you feel about this, Margaret, but personally I would prefer our engagement to be of a short duration." "I feel the same way", she told him without hesitation.

"It will take three Sundays for the banns to be read, so the earliest possible date would be the Monday after that. But of course, that would not leave much time for preparations."

"I do not think there is much need for extensive preparations", Margaret mused. "I always wanted a simple wedding. If I had any say in it, I would just put on my favourite dress and walk to the church, no big ceremony with too many people."

He smiled at that. "That will make things much easier then. I will talk to the vicar tomorrow and inform him of our plan, and Monday in three weeks it shall be."

They had reached the small path that led out of the city and up the hill to the old graveyard. "I am afraid, with the reopening of the mill, due to your generous offer, Margaret, the next few months will be rather busy, and it will be hard to get away for a honeymoon."

"It does not matter", she stated plainly. "We can make good for that, once things have settled down." She turned to look up into his face.

"I want to be with you, John. Where we are is wholly unimportant to me." He held her gaze with joyful astonishment. "What have I done to deserve you?", he then whispered, with a slight tremor in his voice.

She stopped walking and leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment. "What haven't you done, John? You have saved me, body and soul, more times than I can remember."

She felt him smile against her skin as he kissed her forehead. "As you have done for me", he replied.

They resumed their walk, soon reaching Mrs. Hale's gravesite, and Margaret bowed down to inspect the yellow flowers she had planted there the year before. "It is a pity that father could not be laid to rest here", she mused sadly. "I had never imagined that my parents would be parted in death like this."

"I am sorry", he told her honestly. "You must miss them a great deal." She wiped a hand over her eyes self-consciously and then took his hand. "Let us go and visit your family", she said. He suddenly felt rather insecure, but fell into step beside her silently, as they continued their way up the hill towards the gravesite of his family.

As they stood there, looking down at the flowers she had planted, she squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Do you still think about your parents often?"

She noticed that he suddenly looked quite uncomfortable, obviously unsure of what to say. "I try not to", he replied eventually. "There was a lot of pain involved in their passing and – thinking of it tends to do me more harm than good."

She saw him blink and gently stroked his hand with her thumb, trying to show him that it was alright. "I have never spoken to anyone about these things", he confessed, and she could feel that he was trying hard to be open with her, against his nature. "I want to share them with you. I want our marriage to be based on mutual trust, without any secrets."

"I want that too, John", she told him softly.

"But - it will take some time, I think", he continued a bit unsurely. "This is all very new to me."

"I understand. Whenever you are ready to share something, I will be here to listen, but I know how hard this must be for you. There is no need to push yourself into anything you are not ready for. We'll just give it time."

She saw him look around for a moment, as if to make sure that no one else was there. She felt the tip of his finger underneath her chin, carefully lifting up her head, and then he lowered his head and kissed her.

The sun stood high in the sky, sending a warming glow down on them, as they lost themselves, clinging to each other, the air around them occasionally punctured by a small gasp or sigh as they deepened the kiss.

Eventually, he broke away, trying to catch his breath. "I cannot wait for our wedding", he murmured, his hands tracing circles down her upper arms. "I long to hold you like this forever." His voice sent a shiver down Margaret's spine.

He pulled back from her and she felt bereft of his warmth. "We should go back", he told her, his voice slightly hoarse. "If we keep this up, I will come undone and I cannot afford to let that happen just now.

Once more, she was not entirely sure what he meant, but he seemed rather serious about it, so she let him take her arm and lead her back down towards the city.

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On the following Sunday, the wedding banns were read for the first time and from then on, Ann Latimer and Mrs. Eldon took it upon themselves to assist Margaret in her wedding preparations.

Things needed to be organized, a dress and flowers had to be picked out, invitations needed to be written, the course menu for the wedding breakfast had to be chosen and there had to be table decorations.

All of Margaret's protestations that she wanted to keep things as simple as possible, seemed to be lost on her two friends, who relished in the whole situation, so she eventually decided to let them have their fun.

The wedding breakfast was to be held at Marlborough Mills, as John did not want to impose on the Latimer's hospitality any more than was necessary. As there was to be no immediate honeymoon, Margaret would relocate to the mill house after the ceremony to spend the wedding night there.

The latter was something Margaret started feeling increasingly nervous about, the nearer the date of the wedding drew. She was aware that there were certain marital duties she was expected to perform once they were married, but she knew close to nothing about them.

Her mother and aunt had told her very little, and Edith had seemed too embarrassed by it after her own wedding night, to go into any detail in her letters, as to what it really entailed, stating only that it was not the most comfortable thing, but that it was bearable and worth the joy Sholto's birth had given her.

It was quite obviously something everyone avoided talking about, as it was not considered a suitable topic of conversation for young women, but how was she expected to know what to do, when no one had ever told her what these duties consisted of?

What worried her most was that many women seemed to consider them a rather unpleasant experience. Something they would rather have avoided, had there been no necessity for it.

Mrs. Eldon seemed to have sensed the trouble Margaret was facing, for one evening, about a week before the wedding, she called the younger woman into the small upstairs drawing room for a private conversation.

"Miss Hale, since your own mother has sadly passed, and there seems to be no other female relative who is very close to you at the moment, I see it as my duty as your older friend, to enlighten you about the things which will be expected from you on your wedding night and throughout your married life. I know this is a delicate topic, but in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises, it is important for you to understand the basic workings of it."

Margaret looked down at her hands in silence, swallowing hard, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Are you at all familiar with your marital duties?", Mrs. Eldon inquired, to which she honestly replied that she was not.

"You do know that after your wedding, you will be expected to bear your husband's children."

Margaret nodded and Mrs. Eldon, who had always been rather honest and outspoken, continued: "In order for a child to grow inside a woman, a man's seed needs to enter her body. Now, the male and female body differ from each other in various ways. There is the female organ, which is found between a woman's legs, and there is a male organ. The male organ fits inside the female organ and is used to transfer the seed into her body."

Margaret listened with growing horror at what Mrs. Eldon was describing, still unable to imagine such a thing.

"When you lie with your husband on your wedding night, both of you will strip bare before each other and he will put his organ inside you, until his seed is released into your body. This may cause a feeling of discomfort, it may even be a little painful, but it is something most women get used to and some even grow to enjoy a little bit over time."

Mrs. Eldon glanced at Margaret, whose face was burning up in a bright shade of crimson. She was expected to strip completely bare before John? And he before her? This was so far beyond proper that she could barely breathe at the thought of it.

Her whole life, she had been taught how important it was to cover her body and keep it away from anyone's eyes, how even the unintentional flash of an ankle was to be considered a sin.

She had barely ever looked at herself without her clothes on, having washed and dressed in the semi-dark, without paying much attention to her own body. To do this in front of him, and have him look at her – it was beyond embarrassing.

How did other women bear it? How had Edith gone through with this on her wedding night?

Mrs. Eldon continued speaking and Margaret quickly tried to focus her attention back on the woman's words.

"Not every time this act is performed, a child is conceived, so it has to be done repeatedly. Men generally enjoy the whole experience much more than women, as the act of releasing their seed brings them immense physical pleasure. This is why they crave it repeatedly. It is a woman's marital duty to please her husband in this way, whenever he feels the need for it.

However, many husbands will eventually proceed to spare their wives and take pleasure with either a mistress or women who are paid for relieving a man in this way. So it is possible that a woman may be released from her duties eventually."

Margaret stared at Mrs. Eldon in complete and utter shock. As frightening as the thought of doing – that – with John seemed to her, the thought of him seeking out other women to perform this act with them, cut straight through her core.

A sudden fear gripped her. What if she was not able to please him? What if he was disappointed and would then go and see other women instead of her? She could not bear to even think about it.

Mrs. Eldon noticed that Margaret had gone quite pale. "I hope my honest words have not frightened you", she said quickly. "I know this information can be overwhelming, but I think it best to know it beforehand, instead of being confronted with the reality of it, without warning."

Margaret nodded, still rather pale. "No, Mrs. Eldon, you are right. I am very grateful to you for telling me. It is just – I think I need some time to think this over."

"Of course,", Mrs. Eldon reassured her. "And Margaret-", she added, making the younger woman look up at the use of her christian name,

"Mr. Thornton cares for you a great deal, I can tell", she said reassuringly. "He is a kind and considerate man, and I am sure that your well-being is his utmost priority."

Margaret contemplated those words for a moment and found her heart warm at the memories of how gentle and caring he had been with her in these past days. How he had held her and kissed her, how he had even offered her a way out of this marriage, in case she had changed her mind, how he had opened up to her about his feelings.

All of this gave her a slight sense of security. If he was anything like this in their marital bed, she was convinced that she would be able to bear it. She would do it for him, if it gave him pleasure. She would do anything for him, she knew.

"Thank you, Mrs. Eldon", she said eventually. "I am very grateful to you for having shared this information with me."

She really was, even if she did not know what to make of it, or how to go about this, when the time came. All she could do now, was hope that at least John would know what he was doing, and that she could learn from him.

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NOTES:

Yep, it was basically a filler. Had to include some birds and bees-talk in this. It's crazy how women were kept in the dark on these issues back then.