Author's Notes: Fanny is an interesting character in North and South because she is the complete opposite of John, both in looks and in character. But….how could she not be? She had been sheltered from the hardships of poverty, and she was over indulged with material things. Fanny, in this story, has matured a great deal after her marriage to Watson.

A Sister's Love

Chapter One: An Invitation

Fanny Watson had never been close to her brother, John Thornton. He was eleven years older than her, and he spent every waking hour at his cotton mill. When he was home, anytime there was something of consequence to discuss, her mother had dismissed Fanny to go to her room.

John had never shown interest in any woman other than Margaret Hale, and she had removed to London a year ago after the death of her father. Despite all of her mother's efforts to make a match for John with Anne Latimer, John had never called on Anne. Still, they spent time together because the two families had dinner together often.

Recently, Fanny had asked him why he had not asked for Anne's hand, and he said to her, "I will love only one woman in this life, Fanny. However, she does not return my love."

Fanny said, "You can try and win her love, John. It is not like you to give up."

John told his sister, "She no longer lives in Milton, so that is not possible. I cannot even write her a letter."

Fanny was moved that her brother, who rarely showed emotion at all, would tell her something so personal.

Fanny replied, "Miss Hale's reputation was ruined when she lived here, John."

"When she threw her arms around you the day of the riots, I said to Jane, Miss Hale has set her cap for my brother and now he must ask for her hand."

John said, "You had that conversation with Jane while Miss Hale was lying on the couch?"

Fanny replied, "Yes, John, but she was still unconscious, or at least, I thought she was."

John got up and walked to look at the window.

Now, what she said the day of his failed proposal almost eighteen months ago made sense. Miss Hale thought he had asked her only out of duty. When he told her he loved her, she must have thought him insincere.

Then, after seeing her at Outwood Station in the arms of another man, he told her that he had withdrawn his foolish passions for her. He had not, he could not, ever get over his deep love for Miss Hale. He had lied to her, but also to himself, when he had lashed out with those harsh words.

Hannah Thornton returned from an errand in town, and John returned to the mill. He had no interest in listening to his mother and his sister gossip.

John sat down at his desk, and waves of pain washed over him. He was lonelier than he had ever been. The day that Miss Hale's carriage had left the mill yard on a snowy day slightly over a year ago, had closed a chapter in his life, but had not changed his deep love for her. The ache in his heart did not abate as the months had gone by. The realization of all he had lost was clearer by the day. His life was an endless existence of work.

He smiled to himself even though it hurt to think of her. She was a remarkable woman. Not because she was the most beautiful woman on earth, but she was extraordinary for her compassion and for her strong sense of justice. Because of her, John had taken on Nicholas Higgins, a master weaver, and he was the closest thing to a friend that John had in this world.

John tried to get back to work. He had the monthly bills to pay and his ledgers to update. Miss Hale now owned Marlborough Mills, as well as many other properties in Milton. She was a very wealthy woman and beyond his reach socially now.

Higgins knocked on the door.

John called out, "Enter!"

Higgins asked him to come and eat lunch in the canteen. He knew that the master rarely ate during the day.

John stood up to go with him.

Nicholas said, "Before we go to eat, I wanted to ask you about Miss Hale. We do get letters from her from time to time. A month or so ago, she mentioned that she might be going to Spain soon, and I wondered if you knew if she had gone yet?"

John said, "All of my correspondence about the mill is done through her barrister, Mr. Henry Lennox. I do not communicate with Miss Hale directly."

Nicholas said, "I think she is unhappy in London, from what I gather from her letters, and if she goes to her brother in Spain, she might be happier. That dear girl has known more than her share of pain."

John was confused. "Her brother?"

Higgins explained, "He was the man at Outwood Station, right after her mother died. His presence in Milton had to be kept a secret because he was in some trouble with the law."

John smiled, and said, "He was her brother."

For well over a year, he had thought that man was her lover even though she had tried to explain to him that things were not as they appeared. Now, all the things she had said to him made sense.

Nicholas watched Thornton's face as realization dawned on him, and he wished that Margaret was still in town. He knew she cared for Thornton, and Thornton certainly cared for her.

John and Higgins went to the canteen to eat.

From the window at the mill house, Mrs. Thornton had taken up her usual perch and had, with disapproving eyes, watched her son go to the canteen with that firebrand, Higgins. She disliked him enormously, and knew that John had hired him for Margaret Hale's sake.

Hannah was glad they had seen the last of that haughty girl.

When Fanny arrived back at her home in a suburb of Milton, she was surprised to find her husband already at home.

"Watson, you are home early today."

He came over and kissed his wife's cheek. "I felt a bit under the weather, and decided that I needed to get away from the cotton fluff."

"Will you ring for tea and sit with me, Fanny?"

"Of course, I would be glad to, and besides there is something I want to talk over with you."

Fanny rang for tea and noticed that Watson did not seem himself. After they had their tea, she would be sure to send him up to bed to rest. They did not share a great love, but she did feel affection for him, and she did appreciate the security he provided for her.

After they both had a steaming cup of tea in their hands, Fanny told Watson about the conversation she had with John this morning.

"Fanny, all the other mill masters have long known that he loves her. He has never looked at another woman, and God knows, enough of them have noticed him. He could have his pick among several women, but there is only one woman he wants, and she is no longer in Milton.

Fanny belonged to the Mill Master's Wives Society, and the ladies were hosting a ball to raise money for the new library in town.

She turned to her husband and said, "I have an idea! I will invite Miss Hale to the ball as our special guest. She is now a very wealthy woman, and an important landowner in Milton."

"It will give them a chance to see each other again."

Fanny continued, "I think she may have come to care for him before she left Milton. I had seen the way she looked at him from time to time, and if there is any chance at all that she returns his feelings, then I must do all I can to help."

'I just wish there had not been that dreadful business with her at Outwood Station, but she has been gone long enough for that to be forgotten, or at least I hope so."

Watson smiled at his wife, in her childlike glee to have thought of some way of helping her brother.

"I think it is a fine idea, Fanny."

After having their tea, Fanny made sure her husband was tucked in his bed and getting some rest.

In London, a few days later, Aunt Shaw handed Margaret a letter. It was from Fanny Watson.

Margaret went up to her room to open the unexpected letter and found an invitation to a ball in less than two weeks.

Her thoughts immediately went to John. She would see him again! Her heart started racing at the thought of seeing his handsome face once more. The invitation was an answer to a prayer, one she said every night. How she missed him!

Nobody else knew that Margaret Hale was in love with John Thornton. She had never spoken of it to anyone. She had lost her chance with him when she refused him, and now, she would never marry.

She put the invitation in her top drawer and wrote out her reply to Fanny Watson.

Margaret went downstairs, and she gave the letter to a servant to be posted, then went to find Edith.

"Cousin! I need you to go to the draper's with me today. I need a new ball gown."

Edith and Mrs. Shaw looked up at her in shock. Since returning to London a year ago, Margaret had worn nothing but black and had not attended a single social event.

Aunt Shaw said, "Margaret, how irregular that you should receive an invitation to a ball, and we did not receive the same invitation. Who is giving the ball?"

Margaret said, "It is being given by the Mill Master's Wives Society in Milton. As an owner of a mill, I am being invited as an honored guest, and I have already written my reply to accept the invitation, Aunt."

Margaret turned to Edith and said, "We really must be going. I need many new things made. I have been in mourning for so long, and I am afraid everything I have is outdated."

Edith smiled and said, "Let me get my things, and I will be right with you."

Edith and Aunt Shaw exchanged looks, and Edith whispered to her mother, "Please invite Henry to dinner tonight, Mother."

The ladies left for their shopping expedition and Edith was delighted with all Margaret ordered.

Edith said, Margaret, "I am glad your period of mourning is over. You are too young to be hidden away at the house and wearing black. It is time for you to move forward with your life."

Margaret said to her beloved cousin, "I believe Mama and Papa would want me to start living my life again, and I am finally ready."

She would be leaving for the ball in only ten days, but the modiste assured Margaret that her gowns would be ready. Margaret preferred simpler styles, so the five gowns she ordered, plus the ball gown, could all be made fairly quickly. Two of the gowns were to be worn during the day, but the other three were dinner gowns.

Edith had helped Margaret choose the best colors for all of the gowns and the trims.

For the ball gown, Margaret chose a rich teal silk, and the design was elegant in its simplicity, with only a simple trim of rosettes around the neckline. Margaret had an ample bust line with a tiny waist, and simpler gowns flattered her figure. The ball gown required a new chemise and corset, along with new stockings and a new pair of dancing slippers to match. A matching cape was also ordered.

Edith was so surprised at Margaret and all of the many purchases she made. Usually, Margaret was very frugal, even though she was in fact, a very wealthy woman.

Tired from their busy day, the ladies returned to Harley Street.

Margaret handed her packages to Dixon who would put them away. Dinner would be in an hour, so Margaret went up to her room to change out of her black day dress into something else.

Margaret said, "Dixon, what do I have in my wardrobe to wear to dinner tonight? I am retiring my black dresses."

Dixon smiled and said, "Miss Margaret, I will be so glad to see you wear color again. There is a pearl-gray gown that would be appropriate to wear. Your Aunt had it made for you six months ago, along with several other gowns that have never been out of your wardrobe."

"I had forgotten about those gowns, Dixon, and the gray one would be perfect."

When Margaret appeared at dinner that night, there was something different in her countenance, and everyone noticed it.

Henry stood when she entered the drawing room and could not take his eyes from her. She was so beautiful, and the lovely gray gown complimented her figure.

"You look well, Margaret."

Margaret smiled at her friend and said, "Thank you, Henry."

At dinner, Margaret was quiet, but she was more engaged in the conversation around her than she had been. She smiled more, and she even laughed once. It caught Edith so off-guard that she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. How unhappy Margaret had been for far too long.

After dinner, Margaret did not want to talk to any of them about going to Milton for the ball, so she excused herself to go to her room.

After Dixon helped her undress and left her for the night, Margaret sat on her window sill on Harley Street, and wondered what Mr. Thornton was doing at this very hour. Was he still toiling away at the mill, or had he gone home to that cold and austere house to have dinner with his mother?

She hoped he was well, and he was happy.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that he may have formed an attachment to Miss Latimer or worse yet, gotten married.

She had no way of knowing until she got to Milton. She and Mary Higgins exchanged letters from time to time, and no mention of a marriage between Mr. Thornton had been made, but still, it was a possibility. One she needed to prepare herself for.

The highs and lows of her emotions got the better of her, so she climbed into bed and it was only a few minutes until sleep claimed her. Her last thoughts were of a tall, dark, and handsome man with the piercing blue eyes.