Chapter 9

I'll not keep you, see end of chapter for notes.

Fanny Watson was at least sensible enough to finally know when she was defeated, and it was a much more subdued woman that was reluctantly shown back into the parlour at Harley Street. Her brother had stayed at the house for another half hour the afternoon before, offering frantic apologies to Fred.

"I'll not tolerate another word from your sister! The constant barbs and sniping will not benefit Margaret's recovery, and I will not hear such aspersions upon her character!" Fred had been almost incandescent with rage, although this argument took place in very hushed tones as not to disturb his resting sister. Fanny's remarks about how Margaret could have gained the scratches on her neck had got back to Fred, and he had been less than impressed.

"Again Fred, I can only apologise desperately for her. She always was silly and careless and being with child has only made her even more so. I did not realise myself the level of animosity she bore towards your sister. She will be brought into line, I swear"

Fred stared hard at John then.

"Why are you so determined that our sisters reconcile? You are away back to Milton in a few days, Margaret and I bound to Helstone. Their paths may likely barely cross again"

John fought hard against the instinct to blurt out that this was not how he wanted to part ways with Margaret. She had only just begun to understand his mind, that he no longer thought ill of her and was perfectly willing to be her friend. He did not want this final encounter mired by his sister's loose tongue.

"Miss Hale may yet have to endure Fanny's company if she returns to Milton. I would like them to be at least civil to each other. I'll not have business interrupted by my sister's churlish squabbles"

Fred was willing to stake a lot of money that this was far from the truth of it, but he nodded in surrender regardless.

"That's a big 'if' you're gambling on there Thornton. You saw how Margaret wanted to bolt from the room at the thought of another visit to Milton. You may not have to worry about any churlish squabbles for a good while yet"

Then he'd pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration before running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Very well. Bring your mother and sister back tomorrow afternoon to take tea. I'll talk Aunt Shaw into letting them back into the house without summoning the constable. That sister of yours behaves, or you'll never be welcomed in any polite London circle again. Don't underestimate Aunt Shaw on that," Fred warned John, before showing John to the door, citing the need to see his sister and seek some refreshment. John had returned to the hotel to find Fanny and their mother sitting waiting for him.

"I'm not even going to begin to explain why your behaviour today was so abominable. You're a grown woman, you've enough sense to work that much out for yourself. Miss Hale has been seriously unwell the last few months, no doubt brought on by the shock of losing both her parents. That's all you need to know and all you will ever hear on the topic. We're going back tomorrow and you WILL apologise, and you'll keep a civil tongue in your head. Do not forget that her Aunt is well connected in London society. Seriously offending her nearest and dearest will not do any good to your prospects of being welcomed into London circles. A single uncivil word out of your mouth tomorrow, and you'll be on the first train back to Milton and kept there until you have given birth. Am. I. Understood?"

Fanny nodded meekly.

"Yes brother. I will retire now, goodnight. Goodnight, mother"

It was this meek and humbled creature that now curtsied to Edith.

"Good afternoon Mrs Lennox. I hope you are well and will forgive me for my repellent behaviour yesterday. I fear the pains of expecting have overwrought me, and I quite took leave of my senses. I shall endeavour to keep a better temperament"

Edith, usually so cheery and flighty, stared back at Fanny gravely.

"I thank you for your apology, but it is not me that needs to hear it. Margaret will be joining us shortly; she is refreshing herself after a morning rest"

Fanny nodded and gently lowered herself into the seat she was offered. Edith had to stifle a giggle at the sight of her shrinking under the intimidating glares of both her mother and brother.

After some stilted conversation about the weather and the Thornton's stay in London, the parlour door opened, Margaret quietly slipping through the gap. John could instantly tell that she had not been getting much rest at all. The circles under her eyes were much more pronounced and she drew her shawl very tight around herself, almost as if protecting herself from something. She offered a weak smile when she saw him and bobbed her head in greeting.

"Mr. Thornton, it is good to see you again. I am sorry for my lateness"

"There is no need for apologies. I only hope we did not interrupt your rest," John replied, turning to stare at his sister, subtly clearing his throat as her cue to stand and address Margaret.

"Miss Hale, I must apologise for my thoughtless and careless conduct yesterday. I did not think that you would of course be still keenly grieving the loss of your parents, and that you cannot think on Milton without great sadness. I know that it held a great deal of sadness for me after the death of our father, and it was insensitive to not think that you were suffering the same anguish. I do hope you will forgive me"

Margaret did not honestly believe Fanny to be an inherently malicious person. Theatrical, sometimes a little oblivious and often clumsy in her compliments, but not intentionally cruel. She fixed a tired smile to her face.

"I thank you Mrs Watson and do freely forgive you. I must also apologise that I was less than civil in my replies to you. I have not been receiving many visitors while I have been ill, and fear I have fallen out of practice," Margaret replied with a tired, self-deprecating smile.

That was one of the things John admired most about Margaret. She would do anything to spare the feelings of those around her, even those who were less than deserving of her sympathy.

"You did not say anything I did not deserve Miss Hale, please do not worry yourself on my account," Fanny replied gently. The conversation then moved to cautious but altogether more pleasant topics, such as Fanny's plans for the child she was carrying. Margaret learned that John had not been exaggerating when he said that his sister could now rhapsodize about a great number of baby related matters for quite some time. Within about a half hour, Margaret had almost memorized the lists of names Fanny was considering, exactly the number of little gowns she had already ordered, as well as exactly where she was planning to order her own altered dresses as she grew larger. Not to mention how many yards of fabric she would need to sew all the baby's bedding and a list of the best toymakers in London. The amount of preparation needed for one little babe seemed overwhelming, Margaret felt almost glad to be spared it.

Fortunately, just as Fanny was running through her shortlist of friends and business partners of Watson's that were in the running for position of godparents, a maid knocked on the door.

"Forgive the interruption Miss Hale. A package has been delivered to you from Mrs Rivers"

"Thankyou Anna, please could you bring it in here?"

"Mrs Rivers? Was that not the dressmaker we went to see?" Mrs Thornton asked her daughter.

"Indeed Mother. We looked, but as she does not make maternity gowns I did not see the need to employ her services," Fanny replied, attempting to sound indifferent but only filled with longing for the beautiful drawings they had been shown. Unfortunately, the woman tended to cater for younger women and girls, and therefore could not be of much use to the expecting Mrs Watson, or the older Mrs Thornton.

"I am sorry she was not satisfactory to you Mrs Watson. She has made me some new gowns for our impending trip to Helstone. Would you like to look at them? I would so wish to see that you approve of them"

Margaret knew that her tastes would always be too plain for Mrs Watson, but also knew that she would not be able to resist looking over some new dresses.

"I would very much like that Miss Hale"

Anna returned, she and another maid carrying an exceptionally large box between them. John rushed to help by opening the door – the poor girls looked like the box was about to topple them both

"Oh, goodness! I do apologise girls; I did not know the box would be quite so big! I only ordered a few dresses!"

"No worries Miss. It's not heavy, just awkward is all. Thank you Sir, wish more London men were as helpful as you," the second girl replied. Jane, her name was. Margaret quite liked her; she had the most amusing habit of speaking whatever what was on her mind. Jane had also seen some of Margaret's most severe episodes, so Margaret forgave the occasional blunt honesty. It was also amusing to see Mr Thornton's reaction (was that a blush on his cheeks?) as he replied gruffly.

"Thankyou. May I recommend Milton as a holiday destination?"

Margaret couldn't resist the smile that came to her face.

"Girls, you are witnessing history in the making. Mr Thornton is telling a joke," Margaret told them in a serious tone, though the impish smile on her face would suggest she was not being serious at all. Edith also had to hide a smile behind her hand.

"Do not let word spread amongst my workers. They would have a conniption to know that their master is, in fact, a human being," John replied drolly. Margaret and Edith giggled at his rather unusual sense of humour.

"We shall guard your secret with our lives," she promised, that grin still in place.

Just then, Anna came back into the room.

"Pardon the intrusion, I'm to bring a message to Mr Thornton. Mr Hale and Mr Bell are in the second parlour, and wonder if you would join them for some brandy?"

"Certainly. I apologise for leaving you ladies, and thankyou for the fine company," John replied, addressing the four ladies, though most probably knew his reply was more for Miss Hale's benefit.

"You are probably escaping at a most opportune moment, Mr Thornton. I fear once that box is open, the talk shall be of nothing but lace and ribbon!" Margaret replied reassuringly.

Once John had left to seek out the other men, Margaret finally lifted the lid on the large box, and all moved to admire the fine clothes within. Margaret pulled out the top dress, a lavender concoction with a modest round neckline. She was pleased that Mrs Rivers had worked Dolores' gift of Spanish lace into a pretty collar that sat on the neckline of the dress. She held it up to herself for the other ladies to see and was relieved to see Fanny's expression warm a little, and her head move in a little nod of approval.

"It is a lovely dress Miss Hale. Mother, perhaps we could give Mrs Rivers another visit when I have delivered?"

John made his way down the hall to find Fred and Mr Bell. He found them both seated at the table in the parlour, Fred scrawling his signature on the last of some papers for Mr Bell. They both turned at the sound of the door and Fred rose to greet him.

"Ah John, excellent. I apologise for not inviting you to join us sooner, but we were just reviewing the last of some paperwork, it was all dreadfully tedious. I'm sure the ladies were much better company. How are our sisters getting along?"

"Much better, thankfully. My sister has finally learnt her place, and learnt it well. She will conduct herself accordingly now. My mother is still supervising her, so we can be assured of her good behaviour"

Fred's face relaxed.

"Good. Edith is in there as well anyway, she will able to send for us if there is a serious problem anyway. The brandy is there, help yourself. Can I interest you in a game of chess?"

John Thornton did not like to lose at anything. However, a few games later, he had to declare himself thoroughly beaten, after an extremely poor attempt at the first chess game he had played in years. Admittedly, returning to the chess board had brought back memories of his father teaching him the game as a child, so he had been distracted, thinking back to that short period of idyllic calm in his life. Then how it had been so totally and utterly shattered by his father's death. He determined to engage the gentlemen on a more pleasant topic to distract himself.

"When do you think your wife will be able to join you Fred?"

"Oh that won't be for a good while yet. I've yet to establish where we will reside permanently. I like the idea of remaining in London so Margaret can remain close to Edith and Aunt Shaw, they've all become so close the last few months. But at the same time, she and I were made for the country, and staying cooped up in the city would frustrate her endlessly. She's already bored of the small park Aunt Shaw permits her to walk most mornings"

"Might you return to Helstone?"

"Perhaps," Fred replied thoughtfully, "It's a lot to organise. Houses in Helstone can be expensive, I'll need to find some other source of income. Margaret and I are alike in that we must keep busy; we weren't built for idleness. We couldn't be like those grand folks that reside in their manors. I'll also need to make sure there's a good local doctor who could treat illnesses like Margaret's"

"I've already offered to enquire about all of that on your behalf Fred. You'll learn this about the Hales Mr Thornton. Everything must be done by them or it cannot have been done correctly," Mr Bell piped up over the top of the book he had been pursuing.

"I have every confidence in your abilities Mr Bell. I just do not wish to inconvenience you is all. It's a lot to arrange," Fred replied with a roll of his eyes to John at his godfather's impertinence.

"Many hands make light work my boy. At least let me enquire about houses. I know some landlords who operate in Helstone"

"Very well, I shan't complain at a small amount of help," Fred conceded "Well John, do you want to see if you can prevail over me at chess, or shall we re-join the ladies? We have been cooped up in here rather a while"

"Let us join the ladies, Fanny will need to return to the hotel soon to rest anyway"

Fred could not repress a small smirk as he stood up.

The men proceeded down the hall, and re-entered the lady's parlour. However, they were instantly greeted in hushed tones, where Edith pressed a finger to her lips and pointed to the settee, where they saw Margaret curled up asleep.

"Poor thing fell asleep not long after we put the dresses away. We felt it better to let her rest. I have been sharing my experiences of childbearing with Mrs Watson"

Despite her initial iciness to the other lady after her behaviour yesterday, Edith had eventually found her to be not bad company when she could carry a sensible conversation.

"Perhaps we should take our leave then? Miss Hale should rest as much as possible and recover her strength," John suggested, rebelling against his impulse to curl up next to her and stroke the rogue strands of hair away from her face.

Suddenly, Margaret began to twitch and mumble in her sleep.

She was walking through a field, which she recognised as being close to the old parsonage in Helstone. She looked up, and sure enough, there was the house itself. Astonishingly, everyone she knew was there. There was Mother and Father, and Fred. Oh, and there was dear Bessie, and Nicholas and Mary stood next to her. There was Edith and Aunt Shaw, and Henry and Captain Lennox, Sholto standing next to his parents. There were the Boucher children, and an assortment of childhood acquaintances she had not seen in years. And finally, sure enough, there were the Thorntons, standing next to Mr Bell. She raised her hand to wave to them all, and they all seemed to wave back to her, calling out to her.

"Come, join us Margaret!"

"Margaret, over here!"

"This way Margaret!"

She lowered her arm, and took a step forward to walk towards them. However, the moment that she stepped forward, the smallest Boucher lad, staring at her so solemnly, simply melted into thin air. None of the others assembled seemed to notice or pay this any mind, continuing to call out to her.

She stepped forward again nervously, and an old childhood friend, Penny, Margaret thought her name had been, melted away too. Perhaps it is a trick of the light, and they are hiding elsewhere, Margaret thought. She quickened her pace nervously, and yet more and more of her old friends and relations continued to melt away. All the Bouchers gone, Nicholas and his daughters too.

"Where are you going?" she called "Come back!"

She took the last few steps at a run, and burst through the gate to find the previously full garden completely empty. She gasped for breath; the running had fatigued her. She noticed a most pleasantly inviting chair next to her, and sank into it. No sooner had she reclined into it, then chains shot out of the chair, binding her wrists and ankles. She thrashed against the chains desperately but it was no use. Then, faceless men appeared, in long white robes. They did not speak, but simply picked up the chair and began bearing her away.

"Who are you? Where are we going? Put me down!" She cried repeatedly, but they gave her no answer. The sunny visage of Helstone melted away, and suddenly she was in a large, bare room, with cold stone walls. She was still in her chair, and she managed to turn her chair in time to see one of the faceless men slam a large wooden door shut, and the metallic click of a key in a lock. Bizarrely, she could still hear the voices of those she had seen assembled calling to her.

"Margaret, where are you?"

"Where am I? Let me out!"

"Margaret, over here Margaret!"

"Oh please let me go. Please, please, let me go!"

"Margaret!"

"Let me go!"

"Margaret!"

The final anguished cry of her name finally jolted her awake. Her wrists still felt bound, and she thrashed wildly, before realising it was Fred kneeling by the sofa she was lain on, holding her wrists to try and still her. She gazed frantically about the room, wide eyed. Everyone was staring back at her with fright and concern. Mrs Watson and her mother were in the corner, Fanny having placed one protective hand over her stomach and another over her mouth in shock. Mrs Thornton's expression was unreadable, but she had her arms tight around her daughter's shoulders. Edith was not in the room. Perhaps gone to fetch Aunt Shaw. Fred was beside her, Mr Bell and Mr Thornton ferreted away in another corner. Both were looking concerned, but Mr Thornton was staring at her with such anguish that it near broke her heart.

She caught her breath back with wild heaves of her chest as she stared in anguish at her brother. He did not say anything, merely stroked her cheek reassuringly and whispered soothing nothings to her. Her bottom lip wobbled dangerously at the memory of the dream, and it was like a dam broke in her. She threw herself into Fred's chest, and curled up tight against it, sobbing and sobbing for the heartbreak of seeing all her loved ones only to lose them once again. Fred wrapped his arms tight around her and rocked her like he would rock a child, continuing to whisper to her. The Thornton's could do nothing else but watch this haunting display, until they were distracted by a clattering at the door. Mrs Shaw came through the door, took one glance at her sobbing niece, and then threw a hard stare at the Thornton's. Fred's chest filled with dread with what was probably about to occur.

"Who is responsible for this?!"

"Aunt, please, it wasn't" –

"I heard enough about your behaviour yesterday, Mrs Watson, to know the havoc you are capable of with that tongue of yours! Explain, this instant!"

"Mama please, Mrs Watson did ap" –

"I hope you are happy now! First that filthy town of yours kills my beloved sister, and now look what you have done to her daughter!"

"Mrs Shaw, if I could explain" –

"Are you satisfied now, that you have dragged one who was once above you down to this pitiful wretch you see now? Are you content, that you can take this back to your hovel of a town to feed your gossip mills? Would you like to stare at the spectacle some more, or must I summon the constable to see you out?!"

"Aunt Shaw, please, listen!"

Only the heartbroken cry of her niece could diffuse her mighty tirade, and all turned to stare at her. She was still caged in her brother's protective embrace, but sat up enough to be able to turn her tear stained face upon her Aunt.

"Aunt please. I fell asleep after looking at all my pretty new dresses, and I had a terrible dream, that is all! Please apologise to the Thorntons, it was very wrong to accuse them like that! Mother was already so ill before we left Helstone, it was not Milton that killed her!"

Mrs Shaw faltered slightly, staring at her niece. She then turned her gaze upon her nephew and daughter, asserting that this version of events was correct. They nodded their agreement, and she stiffly squared her shoulders before facing the Thorntons again.

"I am very sorry for my indecorous behaviour. The safeguarding of my niece is of upmost importance to me, and I should not have hurled accusations about as I just did. Forgive me" she made no mention of apologies for the way she had spoken about Milton, but John did not press the issue.

"I too would be most aggrieved to see my sister in such a state, and would be quick to temper. The offence is forgiven," John replied, biting down anger with every word. At mention of his sister, Mrs Shaw glanced over at Fanny.

"Perhaps it would be best if you left now. Your sister has had quite enough excitement for the day, and should rest before any harm comes to the child," she offered listlessly, gesturing towards a footman who was waiting with their coats.

"Indeed. Please recover soon, Miss Hale. Enjoy your trip to Helstone," John took the lead, and found his voice weary as he addressed Margaret. Her face still streaked with tears, she could only gaze back at him.

"Indeed, Mr Thornton. I hope your journey back to Milton is not too arduous, and that the mill will be safe again soon," she replied, her voice quiet and shaky. The quiet tremor of her voice pulled at him, but he must leave, before he make another emotional display. He took his coat and hat, and was gone towards the main door in a whirl of wool.

Fanny and her mother also filed out.

"I do apologise for the scene you have just endured. I hope you will recover Mrs Watson, and have a safe journey home. I do apologise Mrs Thornton, I hope your grandchild will bring you joy," Margaret said in a still quavering voice.

Mrs Thornton reached over and somewhat awkwardly, patted her hand.

"Do feel better soon Miss Hale. Do not worry about us"

"I shall write you when the child is delivered, if you like Miss Hale?"

"I would like that very well Mrs Watson"

Both ladies filed out, and were also gone. Margaret put her head in her hands and fought back another round of sobs. She had failed. She had not hidden the extent of her illness from the Thorntons. Now Mr Thornton knew what a weak and frail creature she was, and would have nothing more to do with her. He had sounded so cold, so distant, and had been so eager to be out of there. And tomorrow, away back to Milton, far from her.

He was truly lost to her.

Author Note: This chapter is brought to you by the surrender to a Spotify Premium trial, just to make the adverts go away.
Again, a bit more doom and gloom, but I live for the drams. It WILL get better from here. I couldn't not let Fanny see how bad it was. Perhaps she will be a bit less of a biotch now, no?

Restrictions are finally starting to lift where I am, so I might get to spend some actual time with my partner who I have not seen properly for like 4 months. I'll try to whack out some more chapters to tide you over. I think this will be concluded by the 20th chapter. I'm aiming for that number.