August, 3rd

Daniel:

John's business went down the gutter and he went to London to get rid of the corpse, he said referring to the long term lease on the premises. He had mentioned being back before that weekend but he stayed there a bit longer. Having free accommodation gives you some sort of flexibility, although my friend is not known for improvising his way around I hoped he had met with some lady friend of his and was easing the bitter moment.

Well, the lady friend part wasn't too far off. To everyone's astonishment he returned Monday afternoon with money to get his business back afloat and, I'm still trying to get over the shock here, the news that he has a bride. Who is no one but Margaret Hale.

It seems that she's rich now and she was the one to offer him the money (and quite a lot actually) but the thing is that by serendipity they crossed paths and uncrossed stars, and I've never seen my friend in such state of pure bliss before. The biggest wonder, for me at least, is that it has so obviously little to do with the fact that Marlborough Mills came from the undead and a lot, or perhaps everything, to do with this woman.

I still don't like Margaret Hale. She proved to be cold hearted and dangerous but somehow she redeemed herself and, I had already thought this to myself before, John was lonely and I'd be glad someone put and end to it. John doesn't gush about her - he's hardly said a word other than what was strictly necessary, but he checks his phone all the time and smiles, he smiles a lot.

How could I not be happy for him?

Bessy:

I haven't heard much from Margaret in the past few months; I've been so busy with the daycare project and then the shop closing down and looking for a new job that I really haven't had much time. From time to time Phil and I write her letters, old fashioned letters including many drawings from Phil, to which she replies with letters of her own and sometimes sends books and nice things.

Today I receive another letter from her. Isn't it funny that having phones we carry around in our pockets, this is how she and I communicate? In it she tells me that she has found someone, that she is in love, and when I turn around the page to see the name of the fortunate man my jaw almost falls to the floor, because it's Mr. Thornton!

Slowly small glimpses start making new sense. Now I know why he seemed so annoyed that I hadn't mentioned Margaret when I asked him for a job (at the Black Dog, right after he hired me), and why she left something of her father for him. Or so it seems. I'm not sure.

Phil doesn't seem shocked at all by the news, even seems to think of it as normal. He explains me that once he had asked Mr. Thornton why he always took lessons with Margaret's father and not with Margaret herself, to which Mr. Thornton had replied that it was because he, Phil, was the better student so he had the prettier teacher.

How this links to them getting together in Phil's mind, I don't know, but he shrugs a little and then asks if we'll be seeing more of Margaret. So we write her back congratulating her and asking if she's heard Marlborough Mills is in the process of reopening, and if she's moving back to Milton. We really hope so!

Edith:

Henry and Margaret join us for a light dinner in a restaurant after going to the cinema. They seem closer now than ever before, which is quite contradictory I think, but everyone seems alright.

We're sitting and enjoying our drinks when Henry clears his throat lightly.

-"My friends, I have an announcement to make", and he looks down for a moment. "I've met somebody" and he takes a breath, "his name is Peter... this is why I missed your dinner party, Edith. I hope you'll forgive me" he adds with a sly grin. "It's quite worth it".

Henry seems relaxed. He's less sharp in his interventions but not boring, he's just more himself. I'm not sure I like this Henry better but as Ian says, we'll have to live with it.

-"I'm sorry you're the only one still single" I tell Margaret truthfully, to which she smiles playfully.

-"Matter of fact, I'm not single anymore either" says Margaret and laughs to our faces of shock. Well, my face of shock. Henry and Ian keep it to themselves. But Margaret has been seeing someone right under my nose and I didn't notice? Who could that be?

-"John Thornton of Milton" she answers my unspoken question giggling and blushing like a school girl.

-"Mr. Darcy? How nice" Henry says, and it hurts me that Henry knows more about them than I do, but during this evening of revelations it becomes clear that Henry knows only a little bit more. Henry doesn't have much of a plan with Peter, who apparently has been out of the closet for quite long; they'll simply test the waters and play along. Margaret, instead, is going back to Milton and wants to live with this man, wants to live with him before marriage, and the certainty she has that everything will work out fine is just impressive.

At first I confess I have mixed feelings - Margaret, my cousin, my confidante, my roommate of so many years, loves someone I just met once, almost a complete stranger to me. Her life is taking a road that leads her far from my own and I can't be too happy. But at the same time she is glowing with happiness, my brainy cousin Margaret is head over heels with someone who loves her back, and after the hard couple of years she has weathered it would be mean and disgusting of me (not to mention impossible too) not to be happy for her.

I tell her so and she hugs me, and I have mixed feelings no more.

August, 14th

Frederick:

I'm back from a long day out with prospective investors (in August in Cádiz... incredible) when the phone rings and Dolores answers. "For you" she gestures and goes back to having drinks with Mr. West, who came for dinner.

This is a conversation I'll remember to my last day.

-"Frederick Hale" I say, my standard reply when I don't know if the conversation will be in Spanish or English.

-"Mr. Hale, Frederick?" says a male voice in English, "John Thornton here".

-"John!" I exclaim glad to hear him but apprehensive about the reason for this call. "How are you? Everything alright?"

-"Yes... Frederick, I am calling you about Margaret", and he pauses for what it feels like hours, and my stomach contracts in fear something bad has happened, "Look, I am in love with your sister, I want to ask her to marry me, and as her closest relative I want to have your blessing first".

I hadn't seen this coming. Dolores is looking anxiously at me and Mr. West's eyes are on me too.

-"Frederick, are you there?" the voice asks, John's, my future brother-in-law. "I'm sorry if this takes you by surprise, it all happened a little all of a sudden, I know, but let me assure you that my intentions are honorable".

It's truly old fashioned to ask someone for his sister's hand and state their intentions are honourable, then again it strikes me that John, who's probably called my sister "Miss Hale" until maybe yesterday, is kind of formal. Which is not a bad thing in itself, of course, and if my sister approves who am I to say otherwise?

-"John" I finally found my voice back, "yes, I'm a little surprised here. But of course, if she says yes, you have it. You have my blessing" this sounds so strange, Dolores eyes pop and Mr. West grins broadly, "have you asked her already?"

-"No, I haven't, but hopefully it won't be a big surprise for her. I was thinking about doing it in the next few months, after we've figured out some logistics." His tone changes slightly to a more practical approach. "By the way, do you happen to know her ring's size?" He's the same kind of pragmatist my sister is, they'll get along fine.

-"Ahh... no, I don't", darn it, "just let me get back at you with that in a couple of days. Well... good luck and congratulations".

We say goodbye quickly, the whole conversation lasting less than five minutes. Mr. West and Dolores have caught the gist of it but my wife wants details.

-"John Thornton will propose Margaret marriage. He asked for my blessing", I say simply. "I had no idea they had something going on, did you?" I ask them.

-"At long last that man opened his eyes!" Mr. West exclaims. "When I was in Milton with your father it became clear to me that Margaret had feelings for him, but he was always looking elsewhere. Your father thought the opposite, though."

Dolores frowns and smirks, a gesture typical of hers aimed at pointing out that I've missed something obvious.

-"But didn't you see them at Edith's dinner? Whenever they got near each other the air sizzled! Sparkles flew!" Dolores' hands illustrate her words. "Especially from him; he was saying that he had lost his business and he would smile because he was talking to her. Who in his right mind would do that?" I too was there and remember it differently, but I'm not arguing with Dolores over that. "And your sister blushed the moment he arrived, and it wasn't because of the heat!"

Dolores holds her hands together in a moment of theatrical rapture and then turns to Mr. West.

-"So, you met him before. What can you tell us about this mysterious John Thornton?"