A Heart for Milton

A Heart for Milton - Chapter 10

A Heart for Milton - Chapter 10

It was a pleasant Sunday morning in London. In Richmond and Hampstead, gentlemen and their families were donning their spring finery to be seen at church. In Bethnal Green, the working classes were enjoying their day of respite from their drudgery, as the womenfolk began early to prepare for the anticipated evening meal.

At the Harley Street residence, all was not as usual. The occupants within were busily preparing for their departure to Helstone. Dixon assisted Margaret as the young mistress made her final selection of the garments that she would take with her and those that would be packed and sent to Milton during her absence. Edith and Aunt Shaw finished packing their overnight bags, and Maxwell sent for a carriage to arrive after luncheon.

The family arrived at the station early in the afternoon and boarded the Portsmouth train at Waterloo.

Having, at last, nothing to do but sit and reflect, Margaret took a deep breath as she contemplated the reason for all this hectic activity - she was to be married tomorrow, to the cotton manufacturer she had once thought of as thoughtless and contemptible. She had never been so wrong, for she had discovered that beneath the exterior of his stern bearing, he was truly gentle and kind - the most selfless and upright man she had ever had the privilege of knowing.

Tomorrow, he would be her husband. She felt a shudder of anticipation deep within her. She had never felt such powerful feelings before; though she was honestly and fervently drawn to his good character, there was something about his physical presence that electrified her. She had not wanted to admit it before, but she now realized that she had always felt so.

She had been enthralled at the first sight of him at the mill - hauntingly handsome and vibrant with power, he had seemed to be the master of his own destiny. She had felt a tingling shock at his first touch, when his finger had brushed hers as she had served him tea at her home in Crampton. Her insides quivered to think that as his wife, she would forever more be the recipient of his amorous attentions.

She would see him today at dinner. She was apprehensive and exhilarated at the thought of seeing him after being apart these past weeks. Margaret wondered how it would feel to be with him again - to hear his voice and look into his piercing blue eyes. She hoped that they would quickly resume the comfortable familiarity they had attained during his London visit, so that her nervousness might cease.

Edith recalled her to her present surroundings, meekly asking if she would hold Sholto for a few moments. Margaret smiled at the boy and settled him on her lap before she began to encourage him to notice the various scenes passing by their window. It would not be long until they arrived, she thought with exaltation, and she would see her beloved once more.

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Mr. Thornton awoke at dawn and eagerly rose to begin the day. He had slept well, knowing that this day would be unlike the rest - that all the preparations and purchases, all the arrangements and endless waiting that had gone on since she had first named the date would be past. Every plan would be set in motion the moment he set foot on the southbound train.

His trunk was already packed, and he knew his mother would be ready to leave on schedule. He only hoped that Fanny and Watson would be punctual in meeting them at the station.

As he finished buttoning his shirt and began to tie his cravat, he gazed absentmindedly at himself in the mirror, amazed and grateful that this day had finally arrived. He was content: anxious to be on his way, but profoundly satisfied that his arduous patience would be rewarded - he would see her today, and tomorrow she would be his wife.