No one ever knew why Mr. Lennox did not keep to his appointment on the following day. Mr. Thornton came true to his time.
The maid knocked on Margaret's door to tell her that Mr. Thornton had arrived and been shown to the back drawing room. Margaret asked if Mr. Lennox was there yet and was told 'No.' After asking the maid to inform her as soon as Mr. Lennox was in the house she shut the door and leaned against it.
'He is here,' she said to herself with gravity and let out a long breath. She grabbed Bessy's cup and with slightly shaking hands poured herself some water but set it on her dressing table without taking a drink.
Mr. Lennox should be there shortly and then she would proceed downstairs. Margaret sat on the edge of her bed and rehearsed in her mind the things she wished to say to Mr. Thornton expecting her legal advisor to handle the business proposal.
A quarter of an hour had passed with no new intelligence from the maid. Margaret took a little sip from Bessy's cup. Thankfully her shaky hands didn't spill any water.
'So Mr. Lennox was a little late. No reason to be concerned yet,' thought Margaret wiping her sweaty palms on her skirt. She wished she had the business proposal paperwork to review but it had all been left in the back drawing room. She tried to think through what she could remember of it. She had insisted on certain aspects of the proposal that Mr. Lennox opposed but had to accede to her wishes. She wanted this business proposal to convey a certain message to Mr. Thornton: that she had complete faith in his abilities and that her opinion of him had drastically changed. If he was able to discern her message what his reaction would be she could not guess.
After another quarter of an hour there was still no word of Mr. Lennox's arrival.
'What if Mr. Lennox doesn't come? What shall I do?' worried Margaret. She took a drink from Bessy's cup, the cool liquid sloshing precariously close to the rim. Margaret started pacing the room.
It was now three quarters of an hour since Mr. Thornton's arrival at Harley Street and still no Henry Lennox. Margaret's throat was starting to feel constricted. She took a drink of water from Bessy's cup and managed to spill only a few drops on the bodice of her dress. She continued her pacing back and forth and began to wring her hands nervously. It seemed as though she may very well be left to deal with Mr. Thornton herself. How was she to convince him to accept the business deal and not offend him? If he would not accept her offer to save the mill it would break her heart…
After keeping him waiting for nearly an hour, Margaret, looking very white and anxious, swallowed the rest of the water in Bessy's cup to quench her parched mouth. With wobbly knees she placed a trembling hand on the knob of her door and opened it. Then gathering all her courage she proceeded down the stairs to the back drawing room and Mr. Thornton.
A/N: Did anyone catch my hat tip to Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield?