"As she realized what might have been, she grew to be thankful for what was."
― Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South

Cadiz, Spain

It had been almost three weeks since Margaret had sent her letter, and even though she knew that it could take up to two weeks for her letter to arrive in Milton and a few weeks more before a reply could be sent from Mr. Thornton, if indeed he did reply. Perhaps he chose to leave their acquaintance in the past.

Margaret knew she had been bold in what she wrote, but her letter might have been her one and only chance to clear up the misunderstandings between them. She wondered if Mr. Thornton had formed an attachment to Miss Latimer in the months since she had gone from Milton. Mrs. Watson had made it clear to Margaret that Mr. Thornton's family approved of the match and an alliance between the Latimers and the Thorntons would be advantageous for both families in Milton society.

She had done all she could, and she would do well to put the matter out of her mind.

But…It was hard not to think of him. Margaret thought him terribly handsome and when he smiled, he was simply devastating. Mr. Thornton's piercing blue eyes were his most remarkable feature, and she had seen them dark and stormy when he was angry, but also clear and bright when he was speaking to her without rancor.

What attracted her most to him was his tender heart. She had seen glimpses of it when he paid visits to her mother. He was also keenly intelligent, and Margaret found it endearing that he wanted to improve his mind by taking lessons with her dear papa. She disagreed with his thinking more often than not, but she admired his logic as he presented his thoughts.

He was the best of men in every possible way. If all she could have of him now were her memories, she would be grateful to have known John Thornton and to have loved him.

oooOOOooo

Ten days later, Fred was sitting at his desk going over invoices when his clerk brought the mail to him. Fred looked through the letters and was pleasantly surprised to find an envelope from Milton with two letters inside.

He broke the seal on the letter addressed to him.

Mr. Dickenson,

I wish we had met in person while you were in Milton, but I understand that circumstances were not favorable for introductions. Please accept my condolences for the deaths of your relatives. Mr. Hale was not only my tutor, but he was much like a second father to me, as well as a good friend. Mrs. Hale always treated me kindly and was a gentle soul. I have many happy memories of evenings spent in their home.

As far as the legal matter you spoke of, I would have helped in any way I could have had I been apprised of the situation, but I understand why I was not told.

Seeing you and Miss Hale embrace that evening at Outwood Station caused such angst in my life. I love her most ardently, and even though she had refused me some months before, I still held out some small hope that in time, we might find our way eventually. However, that tiny flame was extinguished that night, and I am afraid I did not handle it well. I must admit that I behaved badly toward Miss Hale at times, and in my letter to her, I apologized. You can well imagine how the jealousy I felt tormented me.

There is no other woman to compare to Miss Hale, nor has there ever been. My family has made their wishes known that I form an attachment to my banker's daughter, but I will not acquiesce on the matter.

A year ago, the biggest mistake I made when I offered my heart to Miss Hale was that I had not given her any indications of my feelings for her prior to that day. My proposal was seen as one of duty, not of love. I regret that I did not ask for a courtship instead, and now, I must ask you for the opportunity to show Miss Hale what I feel for her through our letters. I believe it proper given that all our correspondence will be done with your knowledge.

In my reply to Miss Hale, I addressed all the misunderstandings she spoke of. I believe she will understand that she is unequivocally forgiven. With your permission, it is my intention to offer for her again when the time is right. Nothing in this world would make me happier than to call her my own.

Time, we just need time to turn all our misunderstandings into understandings.

I am in your debt for initiating this correspondence.

Sincerely, John Thornton

Fred came home for lunch and the afternoon siesta. Before they went to join the family, he asked Margaret to meet him in the study for a moment.

Fred handed her Mr. Thornton's letter and said, "I will leave you to read this in private. I hope his words give you peace, and you will finally be able to let all this regret go."

Margaret's heart was racing in anticipation of reading Mr. Thornton's words to her. She carefully broke the seal and held the letter close to her heart before reading it.

Dear Miss Hale,

I was pleasantly surprised to receive your letter. After all the time that has passed since you left Milton-Northern almost seven months ago, I thought I would never hear from you again.

I accept your apologies if you will forgive me for my churlish and petulant behavior. To be honest, I have been ashamed of how I behaved toward you after the riot. When you needed a friend the most after Bessie Higgins and your mother died, I was not there for you. When you were mired in scandal over the Outwood Station incident, I was too consumed by jealousy to put my own feelings aside to be a friend to you and your father.

I was prejudiced against Southern ways just as you did not understand our ways in the North. It is understandable that two people from such different backgrounds could not appreciate the differences in our cultures. Certainly, I am not a gentleman in the way society defines one, but I endeavor to behave as one.

I am a man of commerce, and my responsibilities are to keep the mill running at a profit, so my employees have jobs. You see the very human aspect of industry, and your focus is on the well-being of the people who work at the mills. I admire that in you. I know I have said that your baskets did more harm than good, but I no longer believe that. You follow the tenets of your faith, and I wish I had understood that while you were still living in Milton.

It might surprise you to know that with Higgins's help, we have formed a committee to listen to the workers' grievances. Besides Williams and me, there are three weavers, including Higgins and two other workers as well. We listen to their complaints, and then try to come up with solutions together.

Mary is still cooking for the canteen, and the workers are well fed. She is going to marry one of the weavers, a young man called Matthew Adams. He is a fine lad, and I think they will be happy. Both she and Nicholas miss you, and we all speak of you fondly sometimes when I visit their home each Wednesday evening.

As far as the day I came to ask you to be my wife is concerned, I will agree that we both could have treated each other better. For my part in the disaster of it all, I ask for your forgiveness. I am intrigued by how the day I came to Crampton to offer my heart to you might have gone if we both had been kinder to each other. Would you mind elaborating by what you meant in your letter to me? We have misunderstood each other so often in the past. I lack the confidence I once had that I know your heart at all.

You owe me no apology for the lie you told. I do not know the particulars, but I do know you were protecting the relative you are living with now. I do hope in time you will trust me enough to tell me more. I do not need to know the details to forgive you, but I want to know all I can about you, and clearly, something happened to this relative of yours that has caused great angst in your family.

I am glad to know you are with your family in Cadiz. I would very much like to know more about your life there. Do you take baskets to the poor? How do you fill your days?

If you have the time, would you mind painting a watercolor for me of the area in which you live? I remember that you like to paint. I always admired the painting you did of the vicarage in Helstone that your parents displayed in the drawing room. When I went to Helstone on a trip back to Milton from Le Havre, I was enchanted by the beauty of the place you once called home.

The mill is struggling financially, but I have hope we will recover.

Thank you for your letter, Miss Hale. It meant a great deal to me. Dare I hope to receive a reply?

Yours always, John Thornton

Margaret felt so relieved. He forgave her! His reply was much more than she expected or deserved. She was surprised that he had gone to Helstone and saddened that the mill had yet to recover from the strike.

Margaret knew the family was waiting on her for luncheon, so she tucked Mr. Thornton's letter in her pocket and went to join the family.

When she got to the dining room, her eyes met Frederick's and she smiled. He smiled back at her.

After a delicious lunch of redfish, beans and rice, fried plantains, and several other spicy and savory dishes, Fred asked Margaret to meet him in the drawing room before he joined his wife for their afternoon siesta.

"Margaret, did Mr. Thornton's words give you the closure you needed to move on? Are you forgiven?"

"Fred, I am forgiven, but as far as closure, it is a new beginning for us, at least as friends. I plan to write him back this afternoon."

"Margaret, I want you to be happy, but what do you want? Do you want him to offer for you again?"

"Frederick, I love him, but we have been apart for all these months, and when I left Milton, he had a low opinion of me. While our letters have addressed some of what came between us, we still are the same John Thornton from the North and Margaret Hale from the South. We need to know each other better than we do now. All of the love in the world cannot make for a happy marriage if you do not share the same values and you cannot communicate. We need time to learn more about each other."

"Margaret, a man's heart can be fragile, especially when it has been shattered once before. What I asked of you is to write your letters through the lens of truth. You must treat his heart with tender care. Mr. Thornton made up his mind long ago about what he wants between the two of you, and you must be very sure of what you want as well."

"I hurt him terribly once, Frederick; I am well-aware of it, and I will never intentionally ever do anything again to break his heart."

Fred pulled her into his embrace and said, "I do like seeing the old Margaret reappear. You seem happier than you have in some time."

oooOOOooo

Milton-Northern, England

John took out his wallet to retrieve the yellow rose that he plucked from the hedgerow on the grounds of the vicarage in Helstone where Margaret and her family had once lived. He lifted the rose to his nose to inhale the faint scent that reminded him so much of her. Margaret. In his thoughts, she was not Miss Hale. She was his Margaret, and he was her John.

John thought back on the day that he had gone to Helstone to see the place that had shaped the woman Margaret Hale had become. Had it only been a month ago since he visited the place she formerly called home?

The tiny village was set among the lush green New Forest. John was only there a few hours, and during that time, he felt compassion for Miss Hale. How hard it must have been to have been ripped from such a beautiful and peaceful place where she was known and loved to find herself in dirty, smokey, industrial Milton where society was quite harsh. Money determined social status and little else seemed to matter other than a man or a woman's reputation.

He had gone inside the lovely church where Richard Hale must have given countless sermons. He sat on an oak pew and prayed for Margaret's parents and his father. In this solemn place, he felt his friend's presence.

On the train ride home to Milton after his trip to Helstone, he determined that while he would always love Margaret, he had to look toward the future. But…how did one look forward when everything in his heart was tethered to the past?

Now, the woman whom he loved so dearly, had opened a door between them with her letter, and he had stepped through it with a willing heart to put their past behind them. He wanted his future to be with her, and he would do all he could to win her heart.