In Consequence

In Consequence - Chapter 4

Margaret stood in a daze. The silence of the hallway reverberated with the words he had earlier spoken - I wish to marry you because I love you. She had not wanted to believe him, certain that she had never done anything to earn his admiration.

She recalled in a flash when Henry had surprised her with an offer of marriage. Was this how it always was with men – springing upon unsuspecting women their hidden adoration? How was it that she was never aware of their interest or intentions until it was too late, she mused in breathless confusion? How was a girl to know when a man’s attentions were fraught with the hope of making a match?

 Could the man whom she had sent to face the riotous mob truly be in love with her, she wondered? 

 She remembered again that, although he had been disconcerted by her abrupt dismissal, Henry had spoken with even composure.

  Mr. Thornton’s voice had held no such measure of tepid detachment. On the contrary, he had frightened her with his passionate words and fevered tone. No one had ever spoken to her in such a way!

She shivered and hugged her arms about her. She should have stopped him, but she had been powerless to refute his urgent timbre. His declarations had mesmerized her. His promises had enveloped her in a comforting embrace, coaxing her to abandon all resistance with his ardent honesty.

He had been in earnest. She did not understand it. Nor could she divine how it was that she now stood here as his intended. His intended!

It was too overwhelming. She roused herself to move at last. She would go to see Bessy, she decided, as she headed upstairs to tell her parents of her intention.

“Margaret,” Mr. Hale called out as he slipped out of his wife’s quarters, “your mother is eager to see you.” He summoned her with a knowing smile.

Margaret returned his smile weakly, feeling very much averse to discussing her situation any further. She longed for some time alone, so that she might have the opportunity to digest all that had occurred since the tumultuous events of yesterday. She did not know whether to rejoice or to recoil in trepidation at what lay ahead of her.

Entering the room her father had just vacated, she found her mother very much alert, sitting in her preferred cushioned chair with Dixon standing at the ready nearby.

“Margaret!” her mother enthused at the sight of her. There was an energy in her voice that Margaret had not heard in months. “It’s quite a surprise, isn’t it - Mr. Thornton offering for you?” she remarked with a measure of disbelief.

“It is,” Margaret responded with amazing calm, not wishing to reveal anything of the flood of doubts and uncertainties that threatened to undo her.

“You have done very well, I believe. Although he is not a proper gentleman, he is very well respected in Milton,” she reasoned thoughtfully. At this, a huff of disparagement was heard from the loyal servant who felt it was a tragedy that her mistress had been brought to live in Milton. The brief censure was ignored.

“And to think I had once thought of pairing you with Edward Gorman,” her mother continued. “Do you remember the Gormans of Southampton, Margaret? They were carriage manufacturers, but I don’t think they were quite so wealthy or powerful as Mr. Thornton,” she remarked, thinking out loud as she contemplated her daughter’s level of success.

“In any case, it is very pleasing for me to think that you shall be well cared for, my dear,” she confided, her eyes revealing a melancholy at the thought of a future she may not see. “Of course it also means that you will be making a permanent home here in Milton,” she added, searching her daughter’s face for any sign of regret. She remembered well how Margaret had disparaged this city in front of Mr. Thornton at tea months ago.