Ch.3- Indecent Proposal
Margaret rushed down the stairs into the dining room where Mr. Bell awaited her. "It's not true," Margaret blurted out, "You must believe me."
She needed to know immediately that Mr. Bell would be her ally in this, perhaps her only ally.
"My dear Margaret if you are worried that I believe any of the ridiculous rumors about your misconduct do not fret. But what did happen? Was this that scoundrel Henry's doing?"
"Oh yes Mr. Bell. You would not believe the way he spoke to me. And then Edith and Aunt Shaw...well they certainly do not believe it. I'm not sure they know what to believe about the matter."
She was becoming hysterical as she began to explain. "Calm down Margaret. I am here now. I know you could not utter a false word unless your family's life depended on it. We will get this all sorted. Please sit down. We'll have some breakfast and be off before the family returns from church."
Margaret only nodded in agreement. She was thankful that Mr. Bell understood her need to escape the company at Harley Street. Although she loved her Aunt Shaw and Edith, it was too much knowing that her closest family suspected her of misconduct. To be fair they could not do otherwise. To believe either story would be to betray a family member. Their rationalization that everything was simply a misunderstanding suited them well, but it left Margaret alone and abandoned.
Dixon brought in some tea and bread. It was a light breakfast in food, but heavy in conversation. While Mr. Bell and Margaret talked Dixon packed her things, well aware that Mr. Bell's arrival signaled a move. She wondered where they would be going. Margaret explained what had passed between herself and Mr. Lennox while Mr. Bell contemplated a solution.
"It seems that my meddlesome foolishness has put you in a terrible position, but here we are none the less. The natural course of action in a situation of this nature is that you should marry one of the gentlemen connected to the rumors. Now Frederick is clearly not an appropriate choice, and from what you have just told me Mr. Lennox is completely out of the question. I would rather see you publicly shamed than married to that vile man."
Margaret looked alarmed at the idea of being forever branded a harlot, but nodded in agreement none the less. The idea of being forever Henry's wife was much more horrifying. Mr. Bell sighed and looked at Margaret, searching for some hint of emotion in her blank stare. This would be the difficult part.
"We must go to Milton," he finally said.
"Mr. Thornton..." Margaret whispered as she looked down in shame. Of course. It was a fitting punishment for her rash judgment of him that she should now have to beg for salvation from the man she had rejected.
Mr. Bell looked at her with a sad expression on his face. "Margaret I hate that you are in this situation but Mr. Thornton is a gentleman who respected your father and will understand the situation. If you would prefer I could send you to Spain to live with Frederick but that would mean abandoning the world you know, and everyone you left behind would be certain that the rumors against your virtue are true."
Margaret thought it over in her mind. She could live with the fact that Edith and Aunt Shaw might think badly of her, but it would be torture to know that is where Mr. Thornton's opinion of her rested. Even if he would not have her, she had to explain her actions. She was determined that if she was to go to Spain at least he would know why.
"Mr. Bell if you think that is the best course of action, let us go to Milton."
As Margaret thought about it she also realized that it would be best not to compromise Frederick's position by going to Spain. If anyone had suspected that he was here in England they might be watching her, waiting to be led right to him. She recounted her father's eerie words on the matter.
"The navy spares no expense. They send out ships specifically to hunt the seas for the guilty men. It's as fresh and vivid a crime as if it happened yesterday."
A single tear slid down Margaret's cheek and Mr. Bell, wishing to avoid another scene like the one at Helstone, attempted to console her on what he thought was the source of her sadness.
"Margaret please do not cry. Mr. Thornton is a kind man underneath his hard exterior. I'm sure he will treat you well in marriage. I would not suggest this course otherwise." He then began to berate himself, saying out loud the thoughts that had been in his head for days. "Oh, I should never have interfered. If I had only left for South America weeks ago I could have left you in peace here at Harley Street. It is my insistence that you marry which has caused this whole thing."
"No, Mr. Bell," Margaret replied, "It is unfortunate to find out in this manner but you were right. My dear friends here at Harley Street are hardly enough to secure my happiness. I'm afraid that despite how much they love me, they can never really understand me. I'm so much changed since I lived in Milton and I miss..." she paused, and Mr. Bell hung on the unsaid words, hoping that his blunder might yet lead her in the right direction. "I miss my friends in Milton, and the busyness of the people there, and the charge I had over my own life from day to day."
Mr. Bell was disappointed yet again at her failure to mention Mr. Thornton by name, but they were going to Milton and perhaps that was enough.
Margaret looked away and took in a deep breath collecting her thoughts.
"What is it Margaret?" asked Mr. Bell, still searching her thoughts, trying to decipher if he was doing the right thing.
"It's just..." Margaret started, but then paused.
"It's just what my dear?"
"Well, we must be prepared...It's just that...Mr. Thornton will not have me." Margaret finally blurted out the certainty that lay deep in her heart. She wanted to go to Milton, to chance the possibility that he might forgive her, but she was certain the best she could hope for was a chance to confide in him the real reason for her lie about Outwood Station, and to convince him that when she left the country it was not for the reason everyone would insinuate.
"I hope you realize that any foolish passion for you on my part is entirely over."
"Margaret I think you are mistaken in that point. Anyway, there are circumstances in this matter that you are not aware of..." he trailed off, suddenly unsure that he should reveal the dire nature of Mr. Thornton's financial situation. Surely it would be no consolation to Margaret, who clearly harbored a deep secret love for the man, that he might marry her out of necessity.
She took no notice of his blunder, as she continued repeating Mr. Thornton's words to herself over and over again. Finally Dixon came to the dining room to inform them that she had packed Margaret's trunk.
Mr. Bell and Margaret arrived at the train station within the hour. Dixon would stay behind to make excuses to the family, and send the rest of Margaret's things when her permanent address was arranged.
Mr. Bell and Margaret spent the train ride in silence. He sat wondering where this tangled web would lead them. She passed the time in a day dream. It was not usual for Margaret to dwell on what was not. She more often thought on what had been. On her way to Milton though, she needed a release.
Margaret often remembered that day in Crampton when he had confessed his love for her in anger and stormed off in a fiery passion. What she would not give to go back to that day and recognize Mr. Thornton's offer for what it was, a chance at true happiness. If in heaven Bessie was freed from her cough Margaret would find a place there where she was freed from her mistake.
She entered the room in Crampton and saw Mr. Thornton standing there in his pressed jacket and perfectly tied cravat. He turned around suddenly at the sound of the door and looked at her, all of the fear of what he was about to ask evident in his face. He crossed the room with purpose and shut the door behind her, standing so near to her that she could feel his breath on her neck. He walked away, giving her a chance to remember to breath after being so taken in by his close proximity. He, in turn, steadied himself by grabbing a chair and making some inconsequential comment about the color of fruit. Finally he turned to her, ready to begin what he had come for.
"Miss Hale I'm afraid I was very ungrateful yesterday," Mr. Thornton began.
"You have nothing to be grateful for," Margaret replied thinking to herself that saving him from the mob was truly a selfish act. She simply could not bear the thought of a world without him.
"I think that I do," he replied. His voice was thick with emotion.
"Well I did only the least that anyone would have," she answered, looking innocently at him.
"That can't be true." He looked at her, hurt by the thought that her actions were out of no special concern for him.
"I ought rather to apologize to you for saying thoughtless words which sent you down into the danger." This time she left out the biting lie, that she would have done the same for any man. She avoided the bitter exchange and simply looked up at him with inviting eyes.
"Miss Hale I didn't just come here to thank you. I came, because…I've never found myself in this position before…it's difficult to find the words…Miss Hale my feelings for you are very strong…"
This time instead of an expression of growing horror on her face, she looked at him with eager eyes. He paused for a while, dwelling in his own uncertainty.
"Please…continue," she encouraged.
"Miss Hale, I choose to believe that I owe my very life to you because it adds a value to that life to think…to think that I owe it to one whom I love, as I do not believe man ever loved a woman."
His voice as he spoke these words was lowered to such a tender intensity of passion that she shivered and trembled before him. He reached out for her hand and held it tight in his, drawing close to her as he waited for what was to come.
But before she could carry her day dream to its logical conclusion the train stopped in Milton. Margaret shook her head and awoke from the silly fantasy. In truth she could not have accepted him that day even had she known all that would pass between them. In reality she only wished that she had chosen gentler words. Perhaps words that would have filled him with hope instead of anger giving her something deep in his heart that she could appeal to today.
At the station Mr. Bell was astonished at Margaret's insistence on walking to Marlborough Mills, but walk they did. He was afraid she would find offense in the way people on the streets stared at her. They heard her name whispered more than once by the more audacious gossips in the crowd. Margaret was not fazed. In fact, Mr. Bell thought he could detect that familiar sense of defiance rising up in her.
In fact he was right. Margaret gained strength from that smoky Milton air. She recognized the sense of purpose in everyone bustling through the streets around her, and was strengthened by a sense of purpose in herself. She was no longer passing days lost in thought among London society. Today she had a task to drive her forward. Despite the rejection she was sure awaited her, there was a sense of peace in knowing that she was finally going to confess what she had long harbored in her heart.
More than one passerby remarked on the way Margaret Hale held her head high and marched forward with the same haughty pride she had when she first came to Milton. Some thought it was indecent that she should act so when the whole world knew of her fall from grace. Others were so convinced by her confident stride that they began to wonder if they were mistaken in believing the tittle-tattle about this virtuous lady's conduct.
On the way to the mill Margaret almost ran into a young woman leading 4 children by the hand out for a walk. Mary recognized her first.
"Miss Margaret! What brings you to Milton? Surely it is not the weather that calls you here."
Margaret smiled, and took in a deep breath of the dirty Milton air. In reality it was a strange comfort to her.
"I came with Mr. Bell on business." Margaret explained, not wishing to reveal to the extent of her purpose there.
"Oh, well of course. With Marlborough Mills closed I suppose there is a lot of bustle and exchanges to find someone new to start it up again."
"Excuse me?" Margaret looked from Mary to Mr. Bell, waiting for an explanation of what she had just heard.
"Well surely you knew Miss Margaret…" Mary began but Mr. Bell interrupted her.
"Margaret, when I left London on business I came here to Milton. Mr. Thornton was put in a difficult situation after the strike and I'm afraid he never really recovered from it. The mill has been closed for two days."
Margaret was stunned. She knew that Mr. Thornton was in a difficult situation but it had never occurred to her that circumstances were this dire.
"But Mr. Bell, surely…?" she looked to him searching for some solution to the news she had just heard. Everything she knew of Milton hung around that mill master, overlooking a factory of white cotton floating through the air.
"I'm afraid it would take a great sum, possibly more than 15,000 pounds, to see that mill up and running again." Mr. Bell answered.
Margaret looked at him knowingly. 18,000 pounds was the sum of her dowry, and that did not factor in the property she would inherit when she married.
Margaret looked at Mary who was struggling to keep some of the Bowker children in line.
"Mary I shall pay you and Nicholas a visit before I leave Milton. Mr. Bell and I must be on our way to the mill."
Mary responded with a girlish smile and whisked the children out of the way, filled with her own suspicions of what would become of the mill now that Miss Margaret was back in town.
They found Thornton at the mill, despite the fact that it was eerily silent and empty. He was gathering the last of his personal effects and preparing to shut the doors for the last time when Margaret arrived as if a phantom from his dreams. Mr. Bell pretended not to notice the color draining from Thornton's face as he was thus confronted. The gentlemen retired to his office, with Margaret as a silent accessory, walking beside Mr. Bell with no explanation as to her presence. For a few moments Mr. Thornton almost thought he was imagining her there, but the conversation quickly turned to her.
Mr. Bell followed Margaret's advice despite his better judgment. She had asked as they continued their walk to the mill to keep the meeting formal and business like. He had calmly laid out the situation, detailing the advantages and disadvantages of the arrangement. In explanation as to Margaret's behavior at Outwood Station and in the gardens in Harley Street he said only that the rumors were false.
"I can assure you Mr. Thornton that the reputation Margaret has acquired of late is completely undeserved. Still you must understand the difficulties that rumors of this nature can place on a lady, innocent as she may be from the accusations. My only option is to see that her dignity is restored through an honorable marriage."
Margaret sat in horrified silence, desperately attempting to look at anything but the expression of disgust on Mr. Thornton's face. It was not as if she had expected him to rush to her side and pull her into his arms confessing his undying love for her. Even when he had feelings for her Mr. Thornton was no romantic. Margaret had prepared herself for the cold indifference she had become accustomed to in the days following the incident at Outwood Station. She had even mentally rehearsed how she might react if he responded with a venomous rage and banished her from his presence. But this was different. He looked ill, repulsed by the idea of having her as his wife. She wanted to escape this embarrassment but could not find the words to gracefully leave the office. Instead she simply looked down to study the deep grooves of the wooden floorboards and listen intently to the soft hum of another mill in the distance.
"I know that tying yourself to Margaret under the present circumstances would mean you are not immune to similar gossip. Especially considering your financial situation people will make accusations as to your motives but it is my hope you will work to convince them otherwise."
Mr. Thornton was overcome with disgust, but not at Margaret. He received every word from his landlord's mouth with increasing disdain. Thornton was not oblivious to the way Margaret shifted uncomfortably in her chair as this despicable man negotiated the terms of her sale.
"If you are patient in claiming her as your wife..." here Mr. Bell paused and looked meaningfully at Mr. Thornton who understood the implication instantly, "I believe both of you will be restored in your reputation with time. Of course you will instantly be restored to your position as mill master by her considerable fortune."
This was too much. The very suggestion that he might rush to take advantage of Margaret in that way drove him over the edge. He rose purposefully from his chair and towered over the desk with all of the authority of a man much beyond his current means.
"Mr. Bell I have too much respect for the late Mr. Hale to entrap his daughter in an unwanted marriage simply to solve my own financial distress. What's more I will not listen to anymore of this insulting proposal."
Mr. Thornton opened a drawer on the left side of his desk and pulled out a stack of papers. He held them out to Mr. Bell and continued.
"Here I believe you will find everything you need concerning my lease at Marlborough Mills. If you have anything further concerning these business matters you know where to find me."
When Mr. Bell did not take the paperwork Mr. Thornton simply laid it on the desktop. He stepped away from the desk and headed for the door but something stopped him as he walked by Margaret. She had panicked as the negotiation came abruptly to an end but despite herself she was not ready to give up hope.
"Wait" she said as she reached out to him. Her hand was on his arm but she did not look up to meet his inquisitive gaze. A strange rush of a thousand feelings washed over him, reminding him in an instant of everything she meant to him. He did not respond. He only stood there watching her, waiting for her next move.
"Mr. Bell," Margaret directed the question at her guardian but looked to Mr. Thornton for the answer. "May I have a moment to speak with Mr. Thornton?"
Mr. Thornton took in her pleading eyes with confusion and disbelief. He had earlier attributed her discomfort to Mr. Bell's insensitive remarks but now he wondered if there was something more.
"Margaret I hardly think that it is appropriate considering what people are saying..."
"Please" Margaret interrupted. Mr. Bell was at a loss. After Thornton's vehement rejection of the proposal he was hesitant to leave Margaret's side. Her insistence won out. It was clear she was not waiting for his approval so he turned his attention to Mr. Thornton who only nodded in response.
Mr. Bell left the room and walked down the stairs where he waited, praying that Thornton had some pity for the girl despite his stoic demeanor and hoping that he had not made a critical mistake by leaving her with him.
A/N: Margaret's imaginary proposal scene was adapted from combining the scene from the BBC with words straight out of Gaskell's novel.