Chapter Five
Margaret found her father where she had left him, sitting on the bench outside the post office, his collar loosened against the warmth of the midday. He was breathing heavily, a trait she had noticed more and more in recent months. "I am sorry to take so long, father. There were a number of others in line ahead of us."
"Was there a letter from Frederick?"
"No, but there is a letter from someone else you know, which may be of some consolation. Cousin Edith wrote."
"Ah!" Mr. Hale paused to cough, clearing his throat. "Imagine young Edith, married and with a child, writing to you all the way from Corfu!"
"And Aunt Shaw might have included a line too, I imagine. You know she is visiting Edith and the captain right now."
"I doubt that your aunt will have much to say to me. She never thought I was good enough for your mother, you know. She may have been right."
This was one of those moments of despondency that Margaret had mentioned to Thornton. It grieved her to hear her father speak of himself this way. She knew that her mother had loved her father deeply, enough to turn her back on a life of luxury in order to become his wife, while Aunt Shaw had accepted a life of security instead of affection. Aunt Shaw had always envied her sister for her choice. But her father blamed himself for his wife's untimely death, and Margaret could not persuade him that more than the dirty Milton air may have contributed to her sad end. It was best to try to distract him.
"Here, father, let me read Edith's letter to you, unless you would rather read it at home."
"I think I will enjoy it more here, in the fresh air. Where is John?" Her father peered behind her. "Did he come out with you?"
"He was directly behind me in line. I expect he will be out shortly." Margaret decided not to mention Thornton's promise to call on her father that night. She did not want to raise his hopes, considering how Thornton had looked daggers at her while she posted her letter to Frederick. Most likely he assumed Margaret was writing to her lover, since she had not had the sense to behave calmly when the clerk called attention to Frederick's assumed name on the envelope. Why did she always have to overreact when Thornton was nearby? Vexed at her own lack of judgment, she broke the seal on her cousin's letter and began to read.
My very dear Margaret,
How strange it is to write to you from this place, so exotic and so far away from everything I hold dear! I think in some ways I may never get used to this island, where the warm air is so unlike England and the sea is so close by. I can hear seagulls calling at our window almost every morning and the smell of salt never leaves the air.
Mama arrived here almost a month ago and she cannot stop talking about how very modern Corfu is. She expected to find us living among barbarians and heathens, in the most primitive conditions imaginable. Instead everywhere we take her there is some new road being built or some new public work under construction. The talk is all of progress and modernization. We are every bit as civilized in Corfu as we would be in London. As for barbarians and heathens, I had to remind mama that the earliest Christians were Greeks, and we see their ruins and hear their beautiful language spoken all around us every day.
I have news which will no doubt come as a surprise to you. A fortnight ago the captain asked to extend the length of his posting here, and just yesterday we received word that his request was granted. As a result, my dear Margaret, we will not be returning to England as we had planned. Instead we will all be staying here in Corfu! Even mama, who says that the climate is doing wonders for her ailments. She is already making arrangements through Henry to let the house in town until we can return. The captain says we are not likely to see England again in less than three years.
Does this news upset you, my dear cousin and almost sister? I hope not. Three years is a tolerable amount of time but as you know, time has a way of passing quickly. I believe that we shall see each other again, and when that happens we shall be amazed at all we have to tell each other.
Besides, we will not have to be separated at all, not if you and uncle would consent to join us here as well!
Dearest Margaret, would it be possible to speak to my uncle and see if he would agree to bring you to visit us on this tiny Greek island? I wish you would. I cannot think of any reason now for you to stay in that dirty manufacturing town, where I am sure the air is not as clean as what we enjoy here. Our quarters are small but we could find accommodations for you easily enough. And if you decide to stay in Corfu, you and I could be as close as we ever were when we were little girls. I would dearly love for Sholto to come to know his Aunt Margaret quite as well as his Uncle Henry.
Mama will rise shortly and then we will be off for a tour of an old fortress left here by the Venetians many years ago. I will be looking at the ruins, but I will be thinking of the day when you are here to view them with
Your own dear cousin,
Edith
"Imagine that, papa!" Margaret exclaimed when she was done. "They are staying in Corfu! I never thought Edith and the captain would go to Corfu and not come back!"
"They say it is very beautiful," said Mr. Hale, wistfully. "All of those warm climates seem to be."
"I wonder if they are learning any Greek. Probably they must be, since they hear so much of it. Do you suppose little Cosmo will speak Greek as well as English by the time they return to London?"
"Perhaps he will. Young children have an ear for language; they learn it much more easily than the rest of us do. How marvelous it must be, to live in the same part of the world where some of the great ancient stories took place! I should love to see where Odysseus washed ashore, driven by the goddess Athena herself!"
"And where he was taken to the Phaecian palace to meet King Alkinoos," Margaret added. "I don't suppose it is possible to know where the palace once stood, but one might guess at its location, if one had the time to explore properly."
"You should go, Margaret," her father said unexpectedly, surprising her. "You should do as your cousin suggests and go to Corfu!"
"What? No, papa; if I were to go abroad anywhere it would be to Spain of course."
"Yes, of course; go to Spain first and then see Corfu."
Margaret patted his hand. "Perhaps one day, papa. Not until you are better."
"My dear, if you wait for me I might never be able to come."
"I do not believe that!" she answered stoutly. "You will regain your strength one day and then you and I will go together to visit Frederick and Dolores. There! Is that not a pleasant thought? That gives you something to look forward to, does it not?"
"I believe it does!" Mr. Hale said, brightening. "Why did I not think of that before? We can go visit Frederick in Spain, even if he can never come here! What a marvelous adventure that will be! I have never been on the continent before. Your mother did not care to travel."
Margaret noted how much the idea of seeing his son again suddenly animated her father. She wished she had thought of this idea earlier. "Promise me we will do this, papa. Once you have lost that little cough that has been troubling you we will book passage to Cadiz!"
"You have my word, Margaret. As soon as my health returns we will go together to see Frederick!" Mr. Hale looked and sounded eager, more like an animated scholar and less like a bereaved husband. His color rose in his cheeks and his eyes took on a new life. Perhaps the prospect of seeing Fredrick was what her dear father had needed all along to console him for his wife's death. As if eager to get started, Mr. Hale rose to his feet.
Thornton finished his business inside the post office and exited the building quickly, looking neither to the left nor to the right. He knew it was ill-mannered of him to walk right by Mr. Hale and his infuriating daughter without saying anything to them, but he did not trust himself to speak rationally just then. Besides, it was clear that they were utterly absorbed in reading the letter Margaret had just retrieved. They did not even lift their heads to see him pass by.
What a fool he had been, to think that Margaret might have softened in her attitude towards him! Just because she had asked him to call on her father, Thornton had, like a blind fool, assumed that the invitation was meant for him! He had enjoyed looking into her fine eyes and imagining that the welcome he saw there was for his sake, that she might be saving her bright smile for him. His mother was right; he had lost all good sense when it came to Margaret Hale.
Well, he would lose it no more. He would call on Mr. Hale this evening as promised but he would pay no attention to Margaret. No attention to Miss Hale he reminded himself. He should not allow himself to call her by her first name even in his mind. He would not listen for the sound of her footsteps approaching the study where he always sat with her father, nor strain to catch glimpses of her through the doorway of the room. And if she did happen to join them for a discussion of Plato, what was that to him? She could participate in the conversation or not, whatever pleased her. Her choices made no difference to his life, not if she preferred the unknown gentleman from Cadiz over him.
He pulled up short as remembrance swept over him. He had promised to call on Anne Latimer tonight! There was another mess he would have to sort out. Not only that, but he had meant to leave the post office and go on to Watson's mill to finalize Fanny's marriage documents. Instead he was so addle brained that he had turned instinctively towards home. Like a love struck schoolboy, he fumed to himself. With an annoyed grimace he turned back towards the post office. He was just in time to see Mr. Hale stand, take several steps forward, crumple, and then fall to the ground.
The rest of this story is available on Amazon as Margaret of Milton. It was published on April 30th, 2020, and has received a warm reception! Thank you for all your support! I am proud to have written it first here on fanfiction dot net, as I do all my stories, and to make it available to you for free before it was published commercially. :-) Follow me to receive notifications when I start to post my next story, which will take us back to the Darcy and Elizabeth world! Until then, stay well and healthy! -Elaine Owen