In Consequence

In Consequence - Chapter 2

Margaret glanced warily about her before turning onto the narrow street that would lead circuitously toward her home. She walked briskly, her limbs shaking uncontrollably as she fled the confusion and commotion behind her. She feared that he might pursue her upon discovering her absence, and quickened her pace. Each step bore her safely away, but she could not evade the torrent of images that flashed before her.

She glanced down and noticed with a start that her pale skirts were smudged with dirt. Instantly, she remembered the fall she had willingly taken and how she had knelt at his side. Even now, she recalled with a flash of terror, the handkerchief in her pocket was stained with his blood.

 Her mind raced to make sense of all that had happened - everything had unraveled so quickly! How unfortunate it was that she had been caught up in such a dreadful event. What had possessed her to take part in the great drama of if all? She, who prided herself on her self-control, scorning any display of unbridled emotion!

 She recalled the frightening furor of the throng and how she had tried to send them home. It was not just that he should stand there and let the soldiers come upon those poor creatures without a word!

 But it was not the crowd alone that she had wished to save from danger.

 ‘I could not allow them to inflict harm on one who was so grossly outnumbered! I only wished to forestall any violence. Did I do any good? I am not certain, but I feel justified in my attempt.’ Her eyes flickered to a man clambering up the steps across the way, no doubt in haste to relay the news of the day. 

A flush of shame colored her face as she recalled how she had clung to the man whom she had sent into danger. The vision of all those nameless, angry faces bore into her consciousness, so that she felt quite faint in mortification at the remembrance of who had witnessed what she had done. ‘But I was duty-bound as a woman to protect him. If I had not been there...’ A shiver ran up her spine at the thought.

The returning image of his still, serene face unnerved her, for she had never believed she would see him rendered so powerless. A moment later, she swiftly pushed away the vision of how tenderly his eyes had gazed into hers; she was frightened that such an image might coil adroitly about her and strangle all ability to reason rightly.

‘He must know that my aid was compulsory. I should have tended to any one in the same manner,’ she resolved, sweeping away all other feelings with her willful logic. Her resolutions settled uncomfortably within her, and she could not subdue the feeling that some strange impulsion was bearing down upon her. She found that she could not quell the trembling elation that coursed through her every nerve.

Upon arriving home, she stole away to her room unseen and changed out of her soiled dress. When she finally joined her parents, she poured tea for them and entered their pleasant conversation when directed with a calm countenance. Gratified to see her mother sitting comfortably in the drawing room, she endeavored to sweep aside the swirling thoughts that plagued her and enjoy her parents’ company.

*************

Mr. Thornton’s heart lurched as he stood at the window, gazing down at the path she had certainly taken only moments before. Every sinew ached with the impulse to go after her; his pulse raced with the desire to feel her touch once more, but he was compelled to stay at the mill and manage the repercussions of the riot. He turned with decision from the window and crossed the room to depart.

His mother watched him anxiously. “Where are you going?” she called out after him, a tremor of urgency straining her voice.

His eyes met hers steadily. “The constable still awaits me, and I must help settle the Irish,” he answered forthrightly. “If there’s time, I will go to Crampton to ensure that Miss Hale has returned safely,” he added, evading her worried gaze.

“Surely you are not well enough to go all about town after suffering such a blow. I will have the water mattress sent to Crampton and Mr. Williams can ask after her. You must rest when your business is done.”

He hesitated, his eyes flickering with a smoldering intensity.

“John...I’m asking you not to go tonight. You will come home for supper this evening?” she pleaded in thinly veiled desperation.

He let out his breath and released the tension in his shoulders. He shot a penetrating look at her, then gave a swift nod before quitting the room.

As Fanny lay on the sofa to calm her nerves while Jane fanned her, both watched this peculiar exchange with great interest. Mrs. Thornton gave them a cursory glance in discomfiture. “Jane, you will attend to your duties now,” she curtly ordered as she sat to take up her sewing. She could not abide Fanny’s exaggerated antics and frailties.

“But, mother, I was so frightened! They were going to break down the door and murder us all!” she cried out, her eyes wide in horror as her blond ringlets bobbed with the movement of her head.

“Oh, Fanny! They would have done no such thing!” Mrs. Thornton chastised her daughter in exasperation.

Fanny huffed at her mother’s dismissal and observed her mother’s expert fingers dart and pull her needle with uncommon brusqueness. Eventually sitting up, she shunned her mother’s silent company to find calming distraction in playing her favorite piano pieces.

Hannah Thornton let out a small sigh. She felt that the proud, predictable life she had led up to this time was fast slipping away. She had always known, of course, that John would marry, but he had never taken an interest in the fairer sex before, so consumed by his work had he been. She had grown accustomed to being the most important figure in his life and had not been prepared for the abrupt change in her son’s behavior since this young southern woman had arrived in Milton.