I am back again! Thank you all so much for your continued kind words. There will only be two more chapters after this one, so we're nearly there! I have an exam coming up next week and I do really need to study for it so I'm not sure if the next chapter will be out before it or not. Enjoy, my friends!

xxx

Hannah Thornton was silent as the young lady led the way into her parlour. The servant left them alone and the two stood in silence for some time before speaking.

'Have a seat'. She had not meant it to sound so stern, but her concern for her son's wellbeing kept her from making her usual efforts to be polite.

Margaret took a seat in the chair at the head of the long, empty table and Mrs Thornton took the one beside her.

'Would you care to explain why a young widow such as yourself is here in Milton, away from her family whilst still in mourning?'

Margaret flinched visibly. 'I was under the impression that such things weren't of consequence here'.

'Perhaps not so much, but that doesn't mean I don't know what is expected of you'.

The young woman sighed. 'Did you marry for love, Mrs Thornton?'

The temptation to chide the girl for her imprudent question came and went as Mrs Thornton observed her. 'I married because it was expected of me. Love was never my motivation'.

'Then you understand me,' Margaret continued, her eyes cast down to the table. 'I only married so that I was no longer a burden to my parents. Henry and I had a relationship of mutual respect and friendship, but we were never truly husband and wife'.

Mrs Thornton waited for to her to continue with her usual mask of indifference in place.

Margaret took a moment to choose her next words. 'My marriage to Henry was never consummated. He wanted the marriage just as much as I did, it seemed. He took his own life because he could not be with the one he wanted to be with'.

Mrs Thornton frowned then. 'Why did he not marry her instead of you?'

'I do not wish to betray his trust, even in death, but I will say that it was never possible. Their love was forbidden from the start'.

'I see'.

'So now you find me here, Mrs Thornton. I know that you don't trust me or like me but hear me now. I want to help you and Mr Thornton. Whether I must be anonymous or not, I cannot see him suffer, or know that I could have done something to help you'.

Mrs Thornton was shocked. 'What are you proposing?'

'I have money now, and little to do with it. I want Mr Thornton to take this money and reopen the mill. I want you both to be able to continue as before without fear of failure. I want him to be happy…'

'And what would you want in return?'

'Nothing,' Margaret whispered. 'I need only see the mills run again and the debtors paid to be content'.

Mrs Thornton narrowed her eyes. 'We would be in your debt'.

'No debt,' Margaret shook her head. 'That I can promise you'.

'John will need to know of this,' Hannah replied, still not willing to believe her ears. 'Where can you be reached once I have gotten word to him?'

Margaret relayed the address of her hotel and left her in a state of complete and utter confusion.

Perhaps it was not so much confusion as it was surprise at the young lady's actions. While Mrs Thornton was not a romantic person, even she could understand the look in Margaret's eyes when she spoke of her son. Whilst their marriage had not begun as such, she had known some semblance of love with her late husband. She knew that John still loved the girl and now having heard almost as much from Margaret, she had little else to do but write an urgent message to John at once.

Xxx

John strode down the busy street with little knowledge of where he was going. His determination to save his livelihood was distracted from time to time by the appearance of a lady who resembled Margaret or a voice that he yearned to be hers. Whilst London was a very large place, he could not help but hope to run into her at some time or other, if only to gaze upon her beauty once more.

His attempts to acquire funding had not gone well and he had very few options left available to him. He entered his lodgings with a heavy heart and was greeted at the entrance by a man holding the post.

'Excuse me sir, but are you a Mr Thornton?'

'I am,' he answered with a nod.

'This came for you this morning,' the man thrust an envelope at him and then hurried out into the street before he could offer his thanks.

He recognised the writing as his mother's and opened it immediately, fearing that something else had happened in his absence.

John,

In your absence, I have received a generous offer for full funding of the mill and all of its operations. I would have you come home at once. There is much that needs discussing. I hope to see you tomorrow if this reaches you.

H.T

His heart leapt in his chest. Could it really be true? He hurriedly cancelled his accommodation for the night and took off in the direction of the nearest station. If there truly was an investor willing to fund them again, he did not have a minute to lose.

As he boarded the train, his mind began to imagine all sorts of impossible things. He saw the business up and running again, he saw his mother restored to her rightful place and he saw himself in a position to be worthy of Margaret. Oh, how lovely that all sounded. He smiled softly at the hope of such things and drifted off into the most peaceful sleep he'd had in many weeks.

Xxx

Once he reached Milton, John made light work of winding his way through the station and out into the street. In that moment his legs needed no encouragement. He rushed through the streets as fast as he could without running. At one moment he was sure he saw a familiar face down one of the side streets as he hurried past, but I did not stop to check. There would be time for that, and he knew his eyes to be fooling him.

As he entered the empty yard of the mill, he was struck once more by sadness as he thought of his mother staying there alone for the time he'd been gone. He never wanted that to happen again. His mother was never to be alone and vulnerable again.

The usual servant greeted him at the door, and he did not wait to climb the stairs. He found his mother in her usual seat with some papers spread out before her.

'Tell me,' he breathed. 'Are we to receive funding?'

Mrs Thornton nodded, and his heart leapt again.

'Who? From where?'

Mrs Thornton leant around to him to where the servant was coming to close the door behind him. 'Could you send word to Mrs Lennox that my son has returned?'

The servant nodded and bowed before leaving once more.

Mr Thornton frowned at his mother. 'I do not understand. Why is Mrs Lennox here?'

'I'll allow her to explain,' Mrs Thornton replied firmly. 'I do not wish to put words in her mouth when she'll have plenty of her own'.

John winced a little at his mother's jab towards Margaret. She knew how much it wounded him, and she continued to scorn her. Little did he know, she did not mean her words as he assumed.

It didn't take more than an hour before there was a knock at the door. John leapt to his feet at once and caught his mother's eye. She nodded and he left the room to greet their guest. His heart hammered in his chest as he rounded the corner to see her greeting the servant by the door. Even from his position at the top of the stairs, he could see how thin and pale she looked in her black attire. It was a harsh reminder to him that she was in mourning and would likely never wear any other colour again.

His observation of her was interrupted when the servant directed her up the stairs and she looked in his direction. The moment their eyes met, John felt the warmth rise in his chest and it pleased him immensely to see the hue of her cheeks deepen to a lovely shade of pink.

She ascended the stairs slowly and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. Seeing her again gave him more pleasure than he cared to admit, and he was more than happy to offer her his hand as she ascended the final steps.

She took it gratefully and gave him a shy smile. He was loath to let go of her as she bowed her head in greeting.

'Mr Thornton,' she greeted softly. Oh, her voice was a sweet balm to his aching heart.

'Mrs Lennox,' he responded in an equally soft tone. 'What brings you back to Milton?'

'I have a matter to discuss with you and your mother,' she blurted. 'Do you mind if we discuss it in the parlour?'

'Not at all,' he nodded and gestured for her to go ahead of him.

John would've been happy to listen to anything she had to say, even if she were to round on him and slander his name. The words she spoke were such pretty ones and he was completely awestruck as she put forth her proposition to fund Marlborough mills. By the end of her explanation he was speechless. There she sat, she who owed them nothing, offering them everything. If he had not loved her before, he had no doubt in that moment. She had no right to be so generous and selfless.

'We can discuss the particulars later,' she added quietly.

'Why would you do this?' he asked seriously. 'Do you not have other purposes for your money?'

'None that would ever require so much,' she replied earnestly. 'I require only what I need to live on, which is a remarkably small sum in comparison'.

'I imagine living in London is not cheap'.

'I'm no longer living in London,' she confessed to both their surprise. 'That is to say, I won't be for much longer'.

'Have you any plans of where you might be moving to?' asked Mrs Thornton.

Margaret shook her head. 'I have places I'd like to visit, but as of yet I have only considered Milton. My business is here and a good amount of my friends. But at this point it is only a possibility'.

Their conversation continued to other topics and after a few minutes more, Margaret bid them good day. She mentioned something about visiting with friends and John saw her to the door.

As the door closed behind her, John sighed softly. He could feel the eyes of his mother watching him from the top of the stairs and he turned to face her with a small smile.

She gave him a look that he recognised as being torn between smiling and disapproving. He climbed the stairs quickly and took her into his arms.

'Perhaps we will be saved after all, mother'.

Mrs Thornton smiled and took his face in her hands. 'I have to apologise to you, John'.

'What for?'

'For my harsh judgement of Mrs Lennox,' she paused to gather her thoughts. 'She is much wiser than I gave her credit for'.

'Mother, would you…would it be disagreeable to you if I asked Margaret to be my wife?'

Mrs Thornton pulled away with a frown. 'Is it not highly improper to proposition a widow so soon after her husband's death?'

'Perhaps,' John sighed, 'but I cannot wait. Every moment I waste is another moment that she could find a reason to leave here'.

'I don't think she will,' Mrs Thornton replied softly. 'But do you not care for propriety? A widow is not free to wed again for several years in society. Could you not wait until then to wed?'

John gave his mother a small smile. 'If she agrees to be my wife, I will be content to wait some time, but any number of years is far too long. Propriety be damned, I would marry that woman tomorrow if I could'.

Mrs Thornton sighed. 'I have no further objections if it pleases you. She has proven herself to be a far better woman than I presumed her to be'.

'She is a fine woman,' Mr Thornton agreed, happy to voice his feelings so openly.

'Then I suggest you discuss this with her'.

Mr Thornton smiled. 'I will'.

xxx

And there we are. I know it wasn't very long, but I wanted the next bits to be their own chapter. Thank you all so much for your support and please drop me a review and let me know what you thought. Hopefully the next one isn't long!