Upon finishing their tea the party broke up in the same fashion as before. This time John and Margaret's group went to tour the French and United States exhibits.
Taking John's arm, Margaret whispered in his ear, "My aunt has warned me not to look at any of the statues we will see along the way as many of them are indecent." She emphasized this last word and affecting a wide eyed look, she giggled.
"Ah," John replied, "Yes, I believe I read somewhere that before the opening ceremony for the Great Exhibition several of the local bishops wrote a letter to the Royal Commission refusing to take part in the ceremony unless the risqué exhibits were covered up. Therefore, strategic fig leaves were temporarily introduced." They both chuckled at this. John continued with a broad grin, "So my dear, whilst you must avert your eyes I will be sure to take in the complete view of each piece."
Margaret playfully smacked his arm saying, "You will do no such thing, Mr. Thornton. If I cannot look at the statues neither can you!" and she lifted her chin haughtily in the air with a teasing glint in her eye.
"Come now," John said leaning down to whisper in her ear, "the Margaret Hale I know would never let an antiquated old woman, or," he said furrowing his brow, "anyone for that matter, dictate to her what she can and cannot do." Straightening himself he added, "My mother can testify to that." He smirked.
"Oh, don't bring up your mother," Margaret complained, "I don't want to think about her right now," she squeezed his arm playfully, "But you are right. I fully intend to appreciate ALL of the art on exhibit, only some pieces we will not linger over for very long." Now it was her turn to smirk.
The first of such works of art they encountered was Clesinger's 'Drunken Faun' within the French exhibit. John's desire to witness Margaret's reaction to the male form was at war with his nearly equal wish not to share that experience with anyone else, including the statue. Luckily for him, Margaret's own innocent sense of propriety bade her to only glance sidelong at the sculpture before blushing becomingly and moving on.
They next came upon what Mr. Thornton, cotton manufacturer, really wished to see – the technological advancements the French had made in textiles. At this point Margaret had joined Edith and Fanny, exclaiming over the beautiful and exquisite French tapestries, printed fabrics, and woolen goods. Their raptures did not go unnoticed by Mr. Thornton. The quality of these products ranked much higher than those of British manufacture and were obviously quite appealing to the consumer. So while his country could produce textiles much more economically than France, the French placed their emphasis on quality and artistry in their manufactured goods. The machinery included in the French exhibit was a testament to this. For example, on display was a machine for applying chemistry to textile production that was superior to anything of the like in Britain.
Mr. Thornton filed this revelation in the back of his mind to contemplate later. Right now he needed to get Marlborough Mills back on her feet and producing a good profit again before he could consider investing in anymore new machinery.
From France they proceeded to the United States Exhibit. Mr. Thornton and Captain Lennox found a common interest in admiring the new firearms America was producing. Colt's revolvers and Robbins & Lawrence's rifles made with interchangeable parts could be produced efficiently and economically and made repairs extremely easy.
While the men were busy admiring the guns the ladies took this opportunity to view the sculpture 'Greek Slave' by American artist Hiram Powers. This was another one of those statues Mrs. Shaw meant to caution the young ladies against. However, the three women reasoned it would not be improper for them to view it especially without the gentlemen. And once they had seen it they could then steer the gentlemen clear of it later. Margaret was quite interested in the articles she had read in the newspapers drawing parallels between this piece of American artwork and the movement to abolish slavery in that country. While she stood there looking up at the statue, contemplating this humanitarian topic, the other two ladies had moved on and John had come up behind her.
Placing his mouth close to her ear he asked, "What do you think?"
Margaret jumped, surprised by his presence, "John! You shouldn't be here!"
"Why not?" he straightened up and asked laughingly. "Am I not allowed to admire the beauty of the feminine form?" he said, as he let his eyes roam over her own lovely figure.
Turning red and playfully swiping at him she replied, "This sculpture is indecent for a gentleman to view."
John bent down to whisper in her ear again, "Now you are sounding like your aunt. And have you forgotten? According to you I am not a gentleman." He smiled mischievously and winked at her.
Margaret blushed anew and relented. However, she grabbed John's arm in an attempt to pull him away.
He resisted with another chuckle. He was enjoying her discomfiture.
Raising his eyes then to get a full view of the statue and gesturing with his hand he said, "I wanted to see this sculpture because I read that Powers had made multiple copies of it. To do so he used an innovative tool called a 'pointing machine'. It uses a pointing needle and a series of adjustable rods to allow the artist to accurately copy every curve and dip to a new piece of stone or wood or whatnot."
During this speech John used his hands to demonstrate what he was talking about. Margaret, again in her innocent propriety, had decided to focus on her fiancé rather than the sculpture. Unfortunately, John's hand gestures made Margaret's embarrassment worse causing her to blush from head to toe, drop her gaze to the floor, and her breathing to become ragged. When he looked back down at her he paused and his heart caught in his throat as he realized what sort of affect he'd had on her. He then stifled a laugh, bit his tongue, and reckoned it would be best to drop the subject and usher her off to some other exhibit. He smiled roguishly to himself thinking of what this might portend for their future intimacy.
Pursuing a means of distraction, for both of them, John ventured to ask Margaret, "Do you remember our conversation earlier comparing the British machinery with the Indian exhibits?"
Shaking herself out of her illicit reverie, Margaret replied enthusiastically, "I do."
"What say you of the French exhibit along that line of thinking?" he inquired.
Margaret paused for a few minutes. "Well," she said thoughtfully, "we had agreed that Britain had prowess in efficiency and affordability through mass production and that while India produced exquisite pieces of workmanship, that production was expensive and labor intensive."
"An accurate summary," John encouraged.
Smiling, Margaret went on, "The French seem to have struck somewhat of a balance between the two. They are able to mass produce efficiently and economically like Britain, while also incorporating a certain level of quality and artistry into their products similar to India."
"Exactly," he replied. "Now, Miss Hale," he said, then he lowered his voice, "soon to be Mrs. Thornton, prominent Milton businesswoman," and raising his voice again, "what does that analysis mean to you?"
Margaret became contemplative for a few moments and then started nodding her head. She grabbed John's arm with some urgency and looked up into his eyes saying, "We need to do what the French are doing!"
John smiled, "Very good. That is precisely the conclusion I came to. Once we get Marlborough Mills back to its pre-strike status I plan to consider investing in some of those new French chemical dying machines. And I will expect my new partner," he said, giving her hand a squeeze, "to help me determine what colors and patterns would be most appealing to the consumer."
Margaret smiled and looked down. This man truly appreciated her understanding and valued her opinions. How did she ever miss that about him before?
By now it was time for the entire party to meet up again at the fountain. It was rather late and since the Miltonians would be returning home on the early train the next morning they decided that they would all return to their own lodgings to rest for the evening. John turned to Margaret and reminded her that they would be picking her up at five the next morning to catch the six o'clock train to Milton. She told him how much she had enjoyed their day together. He kissed her hand and bade her goodnight.
….oOo….
A/N: Sources for my information were Infogalactic, and "The Great Exhibition" by John R. Davis, 1999 Sutton Publishing.