Margaret of the North (24 page)

To her delight, she found John
particularly keen to hear about them.  While he refreshed himself with some
tea, he spent long minutes listening and asking detailed questions about what
she had read that day.  She suspected that, not having much time lately for
reading, he depended on her recounting to keep him connected to a world apart
from the making of cotton—a world chronicled in those books.  He had
experienced part of that world with much pleasure just a few months ago. 
Consequently, Margaret made her descriptions vivid and detailed.  When she
thought certain passages too meaningful to merely summarize, she marked them
and read them to John.  When the passages were in French, she would read them
first in French before translating them.

After Margaret finished reading
the first of those books, Balzac's Eugenie Grandet, John said, "Thank you
so much!  Merci beaucoup, is it?  That was a wonderful story and your retelling
transported me to the time and place where the story happened."

"I am glad you liked it
although I did not think that you were at all interested in fiction.  You and
Papa seemed to me to always have been talking about the great classical
thinkers."

"That is true but they are
all grappling with truths, possibly universal, about the human condition. 
Only, Balzac couches it in fiction.  In my mind, that makes it no less
true."

Margaret smiled with
satisfaction, "Well, then, what do you want me to read next?"

"Would you mind alternating
one of the books on Spain that we brought home from Cadiz for every French book
you read?"  John replied, referring to the books in English Frederick had
recommended on places, cultural traditions and art in Spain.

"Not at all.  I would be
happy to," Margaret readily acquiesced.  She became thoughtful for a
moment and then added, "Did you know that I have much experience being a
reader and storyteller?  I spent many months reading to my father when he was
inconsolable and listless after Mama died."

He smiled sympathetically and
gathered her into his arms where she was content for some minutes to be silent,
to relish his nearness.

"Tell me about the rest of
your day.  Anything interesting you saw on your walk?"  Listening to
Margaret talk about the books she had read was not enough for John.  He also
asked about many other things—mundane matters, news from London and Cadiz, her
thoughts when she rested or did some needlework.  If he could not be with
Margaret to share her day, he wanted to go through it vicariously with her.

Margaret was equally curious to
know how his day went.  She knew that John was still reluctant to talk about
what he was doing to revitalize the mill so she asked him, instead, about
people he saw and to describe them in detail.  If he seemed inclined to, she
asked him about the chronology of his day at the mill or elsewhere he had
been.  They always found something to talk about.  And yet, the substance of
what passed between them in the evening—what they said to each other as they
talked through tea, through dinner, through their time alone in the sanctuary
of their bedroom—was not what mattered most to them.  Rather, what they
treasured was everything else that did not need words, that was merely sensed
or felt—the little caresses and kisses lavishly bestowed through their
conversations, the brief gestures of tenderness, the sheer delight they had in
each other's immediate presence, the enchantment of moments together after long
hours of being apart.

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

Mrs. Thornton returned at the end
of August as summer began to wane.  She was relieved to be home.  But almost
from her first day back, she began to feel the unease of living in a house she
felt was no longer fully her own and where she must now submit to someone
else's decisions over matters in which her word used to be law.  On the
surface, nothing in the house had physically changed; the furniture and
decorations and their placement were as they had been when she left.  All the
household rituals—meals, shopping, cleaning and washing—were done according to
the schedule and the manner she had set up.  Margaret, only too conscious of
having some adjusting to do in a household with established efficient routines,
was reluctant to interfere, much less make major changes.  But changes were
inevitable and on her first morning back, Mrs. Thornton had to deal with one of
them.  John came down for breakfast later than usual before his marriage and
only had a cup of tea.

"Is that all you will have? 
Won't you need more if you are working at the mill?"

"I had breakfast in our room
with Margaret.  In fact, she won't be coming down for a while."

"Why?  Is she ill?"  In
a slightly mocking tone that she did not bother to hide, she added, "Does
she have low spirits like her mother?"

John, irritated, replied,
"No, mother, she is not ill and her spirits are fine.  Dr. Donaldson
advised breakfast in bed for the next two months to manage nausea.  She is
pregnant."

Mrs. Thornton was dumbfounded and
could not help remarking, "So soon?  Even Fanny is not yet pregnant and
she married more than a year ago."

John, somewhat surprised at his
mother's reaction, replied half laughing as he got up, "I thought mothers
were impatient for their married sons to have children.  Cheer up, Mother, I am
preserving the lineage.  Is that not every mother's dream for her sons? 
Besides, I am not getting any younger and I most certainly want to be around to
see my children grow.  Fanny will have hers in due time."

"Well, anyway, I never had
nausea when I was pregnant."

"Everyone is different,
mother.  Dr. Donaldson says Margaret should be able to resume her regular
activities once those spells are over.  In any case, she has them only in the
morning, goes through her household routine, and usually goes out for a walk
later in the day."  He picked up his hat but stopped before he walked out
the door, "I will be back to have luncheon with both of you."

Mrs. Thornton was left staring
thoughtfully at her unfinished cup of tea.  John had always waited for her to
finish breakfast before leaving for work.  She sighed and got up to talk to the
servants about lunch and to check on what needed to be done for the day.  But
she halted in her steps.  She was no longer mistress of this house.  A feeling
of dread overcame her but she gritted her teeth and walked briskly into the
drawing room.  She looked around the room, saw her sewing basket and, without
much enthusiasm, picked up her embroidery.  How was she to occupy herself?  She
understood clearer than ever before, that she, too, had a great deal of
adjustment to do, now that John was married.  She wished mightily then that the
mill were open.  There, at least, she could be useful.  There, she had
important work to do that Margaret could not take away from her.

Mrs. Thornton was puzzled at her
reaction to the news that Margaret was pregnant because she was eager for Fanny
to have children.  Perhaps, she thought, she was merely vexed at having to
adjust to yet another change.  In any case, she would have to wait and see when
the child was born how she would regard it but, for now, such preoccupation was
a waste of her time.

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

Margaret descended from the
bedroom late morning while Mrs. Thornton was absorbed in embroidering a
kerchief.  "Good Morning, Mrs. Thornton.  I am sorry not to see you at
breakfast.  I am sure John explained the situation to you."

"That he certainly did.  I
must say I am happy for both of you so early in your marriage."

Margaret sat down opposite Mrs.
Thornton, "Thank you.  It is true we did not expect a child so soon."

Margaret had caught the sarcasm
in Mrs. Thornton's voice and she sat for some minutes without speaking. 
Neither of them was ready to disturb the silence between them.  Margaret had,
in fact, sought Mrs. Thornton to tell her about changes in the household and
she eventually felt compelled to speak.  "I wanted to tell you that Dixon
has taken over management of the kitchen.  Jane seemed to prefer this
arrangement as well."

Without looking up from her work,
Mrs. Thornton replied, "That she would.  She never liked meal planning and
could only cook a few dishes but we did not mind.  We have simple tastes in
meals."

"Dixon enjoys cooking and
she does get inventive but you can tell her what dishes you prefer."

"Shouldn't you be the one
who tells her what to do?  You are now mistress of this house."

Margaret could not suppress a
smile until she saw Mrs. Thornton looking annoyed at her.  She hastened to
explain, "Ever since I can remember, Dixon managed all my mother's affairs
and when we moved to Milton, she ran our household without much direction from
anyone.  We hardly ever had to tell Dixon what she needed to do.  She is quite
resourceful and alert to the needs of those she serves."

"You might not have had many
servants to deal with."

"No, we did not.  Besides
Dixon, we only had two in Helstone who cooked, washed and cleaned."

"This is a big house that
requires at least two people to clean since it gets dirtier faster from the
dust coming from the mill.  Then, there are all the social obligations of a
well-respected manufacturer.  John has to invite business colleagues for small
dinners.  We also have annual dinner parties for them and other members of the
community.  These are necessary for him to maintain his standing and his
business so managing this household is much more work than is needed in a
parsonage in a small hamlet."

"Yes, of course.  I am quite
aware of my inexperience.  I have neither organized dinners nor managed a large
staff of servants."  Then with an engaging smile at Mrs. Thornton, she
added, "Perhaps, you can teach me."

Margaret had been deliberately
ingratiating and Mrs. Thornton knew it but she was pleased that Margaret was
making an effort to be agreeable.  Mrs. Thornton was ready to reciprocate,
"I don't think I can really teach you but I can show you how I do
it."

"That would suit me fine. 
In many ways, this household runs itself smoothly, no doubt because you have
managed it very well and you have been clear about what you expect of the
staff.  Perhaps, I could observe when you meet with them."

"That may be difficult if
you cannot come down early in the morning in your condition.  I usually meet
with the staff right after breakfast before eight in the morning."

"Yes, that would be a
problem for now.  Would you mind very much if we started doing this, maybe in a
couple of months?  Dr. Donaldson assured me, my morning indisposition should
stop then but, in the meantime, could we go on as before?  That is, could you
continue for a while longer to do as you have done running this household all
these years?"

"No, I would not
mind."  Mrs. Thornton answered but almost immediately, she worried that
she might have agreed a little too hastily and added, "But wouldn't John
object?  It is your responsibility, after all."

"I will talk to him about
it.  It is only for a short time and I am quite sure John will not mind." 
Margaret stood up, "I have some letters to write but I will come down for
lunch.  John should be back about an hour and a half after noon as I am sure he
must have told you."

As she walked away, Margaret was
struck by how easily she stirred Mrs. Thornton into agreeing to resume her role
managing the house, if only temporarily.  But she was also aware that this
short morning conversation, the first she had had alone with Mrs. Thornton
since the latter returned, had not been any easier than those before she and
John got married.  It was obvious to her that they had both taken the effort to
be agreeable and, yet, the strain started from the moment that Margaret came
into the room.  Margaret sighed helplessly as she ascended the stairs to the
bedroom.

That night, Margaret told John
about the talk with his mother.  "You do not mind, do you?   It will give
us more time to adjust and, perhaps, become more companionable with each other,
for the next two months at least."

"No, it is quite all right. 
I am glad, actually.  She would have her usual chores to occupy her until we
reopen the mill."

"I realized as I talked to her
this morning that she had much adjusting to do as well and that it may be
harder for her."

"I know what you mean.  I
rushed out this morning before she finished her breakfast and I caught a
glimpse of her looking a bit let down.  I had always waited for her to finish
but so much has changed and I suppose my mind was elsewhere."

"What would she do if she
did not have this household to run?  Embroider all day?  I just cannot see her
doing that.  All these changes around her—the mill, the house—it must seem as
if she has been uprooted from much that is familiar to her!  I know only too
well how difficult that is."

John put his arms around his
wife, "Come, my love.  Don't upset yourself.  My mother is used to
adversity worse than this and she will ride this one as well.  In any case,
when the mill reopens, she will have that to occupy her.  Sometimes, I think
that is where she is happiest, anyway."

Margaret laid her head on his
shoulder and allowed herself to be comforted, "I merely put myself in her
shoes but you are right, I am sure."  She remained dubious, however,
suspecting that this was somehow a more complicated matter.

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

Mrs. Thornton was relieved to
resume the daily chore of running the house but found that the changes went
beyond Dixon assuming more responsibilities in the kitchen and preparing meals
fancier than she had been used to.  The chatter of servants had intensified,
encouraged by Margaret who engaged them in conversations about themselves and
who went for walks with Mary, the new maid.  Most of the servants could not
help comparing their young mistress to dour old Mrs. Thornton.  They liked Mrs.
Margaret's livelier spirits, the sincere interest she took in them, and she was
extremely pleasing to the eyes, more so than spoiled, lazy Fanny with her
fancier dresses.  With their unabashed fascination with the lives of the more
privileged people they served, they watched this newcomer closely.