The Journey Home

Chapter 33 - A Journey Begins

John awoke in the cold dark of predawn London. It was his normal practice to rise just before dawn, dress and have breakfast before the early shift began at the Mill. His routine was not limited to the work week, so on that particular day, he found himself awake far in advance of his first appointment at eight o'clock at the house on Harley Street, where he would retrieve Margaret, her niece and the girl's nurse, in time to meet the train to Milton from King's Cross at nine o'clock.

He felt unusually groggy and chilled, as though the London damp had found its way beneath the bed clothes. Thinking of his activities over the past few days, relatively little sleep and at least two soakings from the rain, John deducted that he had developed a cold. As he sat on the edge of the bed and tried to draw in a deep breath, he began to cough as he struggled to fill his lungs. It had been years since he had any symptoms such as these. No matter, he thought to himself. Today was the day that he brought his Margaret home. Ah, Margaret! His foggy head only added to the sensation that he was in a dream. He smiled at the thought of her and every beautiful feature of her face, the way her hands moved and her habit of gently nodding her head when she was listening to someone. In only a few short days, her presence in his life had centered him. He had learned that her gentle caresses, even those stolen beneath the table, were a panacea to his quick temper. She had provided him such respite the night before during dinner at the Lennoxs'. He sighed to himself as he stared into the near distance. Knowing that Margaret Hale would be his forever was enough to cause light headedness, even in full health.

He stood up and went to the small shaving mirror on the table that was also littered with his toiletries. Bending to peer into it, he saw that his eyes were puffy with pinkish rims and his cheeks were flushed from a slight fever. As he stood to full height, he groaned slightly with the exertion. Wrapping himself in his dressing gown, he pulled the chord by the bed signaling for a porter. He would have a hot bath and take his breakfast in his room.

*****

The copper tub was too short to comfortably contain his long limbs, so John quickly bathed, dressed and settled himself for a light breakfast at a small round table in his room. The porter had brought copies of two London papers, which he set aside for the long train ride home. He was anxious to be home in Milton and to take Margaret away from the influences of her family. It was only in Milton that he could completely possess her as he desired. The game of civility that he was forced to play with her family had tried his patience, and he saw little reason to waste the effort to please those who had no desire to be pleased.

He reflected on the activities of the prior evening at the Lennoxs' home. As always, he entered the home with some trepidation; but upon seeing Margaret he momentarily set aside his feelings of incivility toward her aunt and cousin. She was breath taking in a blue sapphire gown, and her eyes seemed to be set afire by the light and the color of her gown. Immediately upon receiving him, Margaret gently took his arm and took every opportunity to continue her touch as the evening wore on. She seated herself next to him during dinner, and discretely reached for his hand several times when her flighty cousin spoke of converting cotton mills to silk spinning shops and keeping the poor busy by bringing them all to London to work on the underground railway construction. Captain Lennox had thought that his wife's idea for the unemployed was capital and lovingly praised her genius. Henry Lennox, who also come to dinner, rolled his eyes and enjoyed some intelligent banter regarding alternative occupations for the unemployed, and listened intently to Margaret's ideas for potential uses of her unlet commercial properties.

With the family intent upon discussing wedding plans, there was little opportunity for the couple to be alone. John's frustration was placated only by the purposeful touches that Margaret bestowed upon him. He smiled to himself recalling the number of times she held on to his arm when he stood, or purposefully brushed her dainty slipper against his boot from beneath her full skirt. When they had a few moments alone before saying goodnight, she apologized for her cousin's rudeness, blushed to full color and touched his cheek. He had held her hand in place, drawing her palm to his mouth and kissed it. She was visibly uncomfortable with the Lennoxs, and her need to apologize only made him more resentful of the her family's lack of support. He had gently shushed her nervous apology and told her that it was only a matter of hours before they would leave this all behind. Margaret remained quiet, but he could see the pain in her eyes as they lost the sparkle that had greeted him a few hours earlier.