Chapter 24. Waking

Once they were safely inside his office, and the door was shut, Mr. Thornton pulled Meg against him and stared into her face. In the voice of a sleepwalker, he mumbled, as if speaking to himself, "Am I mad, or is she really here? Is she real or a vision? Please God, if she is a dream, I pray that I never wake up!"

She smiled and caressed his cheek, as she softly replied, "I am no dream, my love. It is truly me-I have come back to you." He closed his eyes, relishing the soft touch of her hand, and leaning forward, kissed her hungrily. He refused to let go of her for fear she might disappear as she had before.

"If I let you go," he exclaimed between their frantic kisses, "I might...wake up...to find this ...was all a dream." Meg laughingly objected, and showed him through her enthusiastic response that she was very real and had no intention of going anywhere. She clung to him, nonetheless, as he continued to kiss and caress her.

At length, he held her away from him for a brief moment, and gazed earnestly into her eyes. "You will marry me, Meg? I hope you realize that if you accept my proposal, I will possess you body and soul-I will never give you another chance to leave me again."

She trembled from head to foot as she nodded, weak from his kisses and overcome with desire for this man. She felt an urgent need to be possessed by him; to have him put his mark upon her with his lips, his hands, and his body. "I promise you that I am yours and yours alone," she responded in a husky voice, and her body thrilled in response to the passion she saw flare in his eyes. They kissed again and again, hot, wet kisses; and fitted their bodies together so that there was no possibility of denying they were meant for each other. Meg pressed herself against him fervently, as if she were trying to meld her flesh with his.

When they reluctantly parted at last, Mr. Thornton took a deep breath in an effort to control his desire for her, and said quietly, "I believe that the sooner we wed, the better it will be for both of us." He smoothed an errant curl and lowered his lips to her ear to whisper, "I want you too much to wait one moment more than I must." Meg melted against him, her love for him so overpowering she was afraid it might rend her in two. Her legs were wobbly from desire, and she felt light headed with her need for him.

"If we obtain a special license and have the banns read, we could wed in three weeks. Is that soon enough for you?" he asked with a hint of a smile upon his face. He recognized that she felt the same desire that he did, and rejoiced in the revelation.

Meg nodded emphatically. "Yes," she said softly, "I have no desire for a large or ornate wedding, new clothes, or wedding breakfasts." The only thing I desire is you, she thought, and glanced up at him to find him regarding her with such an expression of delight that she realized she had spoken her thought aloud. She attempted to turn her blushing face from his, but he would not let her.

Cupping her face in his hands, he forced her to look at him so that he could admire the flush that suffused her beautiful features. "Please, Meg, I beg you to not hide your feelings from me," he asked gently. "Mine are as transparent as water-I am humbled to know that you feel the same way that I do."

"Very well," she replied in a soft voice. "I am without shame where you are concerned. And I do feel the same as you-John, I want to be your wife as soon as we are able to have the ceremony performed."

He smiled warmly and lowered his head to kiss her again, but she stepped away from him, protesting with a laugh, "No, if we are to discuss this clearly, I should stand here and you should remain over there." She untied the strings of the bonnet that hung down her back, and placed it on the desk, smoothing her hair with one hand.

He shrugged, but there was a disturbing light in his eye as he leaned his hip against the desk and crossed his arms on his chest. She watched him warily as she inquired, "John, what will your mother say of our marriage? She knows that I have returned." Seeing his perplexed expression, she hastened to explain, "I met her earlier and asked her where I might find you." Pausing with her hands on her hips, she asked teasingly, "Are you aware that you are a very difficult man to find?"

He said in astonishment, "I-difficult to find? Nonsense-I am predictable in my schedule and movements. Why do you say such a thing?"

Meg pursed her lips, but he saw the dimple emerge in her cheek. "I was on my way to the carding room in search of you earlier today, when I met your mother. She informed me that you were on your way to London, so Nicholas and I rode post haste to the train station, only to be told no one had seen you that day. We returned to Marlborough Mills and asked Mr. Williams when you might return from London, and he informed us that you were on the carding room floor." She tried to look stern, but her eyes danced with amusement. "To think, I might have been with you two hours earlier, if you had but stayed in one place."

He laughed and picked her off her feet once more to clasp her in his arms. "And that is a severe punishment indeed-that I had to wait another few hours to know you had come back to me." He kissed her soundly and set her back down.

"About your mother, John," Meg picked up the thread of her topic after their pleasurable interlude, walking across the room to put a bit of distance between them. "You know quite well that she has never cared for me-not that I have gone to any pains to encourage her to know or like me," she added in an attempt to be perfectly honest. "I would not want to cause problems between you-"

He held up a hand to silence her. "My mother has always wanted what is best for me," he said confidently, "and there is nothing I want more than to make you my wife. Once she knows you as I do, she will love you. For now, I am certain that she will accept you as my wife, and welcome you to our family."

Meg was not as certain as he about that, but held her peace. "When will you tell her?" she asked in some trepidation. Please do not ask me to be there, she thought fervently.

He moved toward her and lifted one of her hands to his lips to tenderly kiss the soft underside of her wrist. His lips lingered so that his breath caused sweet chills along her sensitive skin. He softly replied, "I shall tell her this afternoon-but for now, I would like to keep you to myself for a while longer." He pulled her back into his arms, still not convinced that she was with him once more.

"You have caused me many sleepless nights, Meg," he said in a bemused tone of voice. "The past few weeks without you have seemed as if someone erased all of the color from my life-all was drab and drear." His face sobered as he remembered the aching pain of his existence when he believed he faced a lifetime without any hope of ever seeing her again.

Meg's eyes welled with tears. She remembered that less than twenty-four hours before, she had wandered the streets of Milton, lost and alone, mourning her loss of him. She had read his journal and seen his gravestone, and believed that he was well and truly lost to her. At the time, she never really grasped how intense his pain must have been. Hearing his words now, the full reality of the loss he had felt hit her, and made her feel ashamed.

"I am sorry, my love-I should never have left you," she said in a choked voice. "Without you, there was nothing for me on the other side of that mirror." She hugged him tightly. "I promise I will make it up to you from this day forward." He held her firmly pressed to his chest, and she leaned against him, reveling in the strength and power of his lean body. She was quiet for a moment before she added thoughtfully, "However, if I hadn't gone, I might not have met Clotho again...."

He pulled back and stared into her face. "Clotho?" he asked in confusion.

Meg smiled slightly. "Hard as it may be to believe, the woman I referred to as Clothilde revealed to me that she was one of the Fates-do you remember the story my father told us about the Morae at tea? Oh, it seems so long ago!"

He smiled at her. "That was the night that you came hurrying into the parlor with your hair damp from your bath."

She stared at him. "You remember that?"

His smile faded, and he said in his deep, hypnotic voice, "I remember everything. That night, I longed to unbraid your hair and run my fingers through it, and to kiss that sweet, soft spot where your shoulder slopes up to your neck."

She was caught off balance by this confession. "You loved me as early as that?" she asked in a shaken tone.

He pinned her with his gaze. "I believe I loved you the first moment I saw you standing on the floor of my mill. You have no idea how beautiful you look when you are full of righteous indignation."

She blushed and lowered her eyes from his penetrating glance. She was silent for several moments, losing the thread of their conversation until he prompted her, "What about the Fates?"

She said lightly, "Will you walk out with me? That way, I can tell you what happened to me-and you can gauge whether you believe me or not."

He tilted her chin up and gazed at her hungrily. "If you told me you were a genie from a bottle, I would believe you. After all, I did watch as you passed through that looking glass and disappeared. One moment you stood there, looking at me with tears streaming down your face, and the next, you were gone, as if you had never existed. And when you had gone, I found you had taken my whole world with you!"

She grasped the hand that held her chin between her hands and kissed it fervently as tears fell from her eyes once more. "I am so terribly sorry," she whispered. "Please forgive me."

His eyes grew dark. "Forgive you? Dear God, Meg, having you back is the answer to every prayer I have ever prayed. I will gladly listen to your story, since what transpired has brought you home to me. And I will send a prayer of thanks each evening to your Fate, if she had aught to do with your return." He lowered his head and kissed her again, and they were lost.

Eventually, they meandered out of the office and strolled along the streets of Milton until they reached the green outskirts of town. She told him little of what she found in the Milton of the future, with Clotho's warning still ringing in her ears; however, she managed to convey that life there was what she had hoped it would be-with the exception of her own life and the emptiness she felt without him. She explained that she missed him beyond bearing, and realized she had made a mistake as soon as she had passed through the mirror. He was pleased beyond measure, and was much moved to hear her describe her frenzied attempt to return to him.

When she explained that she was actually Margaret Hale, and what had happened to her, he was amazed, but listened carefully and asked many probing questions. His greatest fear seemed to devolve around the concern that she might be taken away again, but Meg strove to calm that fear, telling him that Clotho was well pleased with her "second" life, and had told her she had fulfilled her mission and that they would not meet again. When he still looked anxious, she told him emphatically that this time, she knew she was where she truly belonged-with him. His sweet smile rewarded her for her efforts.

When Meg finished, Mr. Thornton asked in a curious tone, "How were you able to return if the mirror was broken, and you did not have my gloves?"

She smiled lovingly at him. "I had my own gloves, which you had left for me-they came into my possession. It was your love for me that pulled me through time and back to you, just as it was my love for you that helped propel me through the mirror once more."

He reached into his breast pocket and extracted a pair of gloves identical to the ones she had worn through the mirror. "Do you mean these?" he asked solemnly, and she gasped. "I have kept them by my heart ever since you disappeared, in the hopes that they would keep you close to me. And now you tell me they helped to bring you back to me." He raised the gloves to his lips, kissed them reverently, and returned them to his pocket before gathering her into his arms and burying his face in her hair. "I will thank God the rest of my life that you came home to me," he murmured, and she realized that his cheeks were wet with tears.

********

Mrs. Thornton stared out the window, watching her son and Miss Hale talking outside the door to the mill. She felt a leaden weight in her heart, and had done so since she first met Miss Hale on her way from the weaving room that morning. She had seen them leave the mill yard several hours before and had been watching surreptitiously for their return.

Anyone observing her son and Miss Hale, even from a distance, could discern the powerful attraction between them. Their bodies leaned toward one another, and John never took his eyes from Miss Hale's face. It was obvious that she was preparing to depart, but each time she took a step away, he moved toward her again in a dance of pursuit. Watching his face, she thought he looked happier and more carefree than he had in weeks-in fact, since Miss Hale left Milton. She watched as Miss Hale extended her hand to John, and her heart dropped as John took the proffered hand and raised it to his lips for an extended kiss. Her eyes widened as she watched Miss Hale raise her other hand and caress John's cheek and her normally undemonstrative son turn his mouth into her palm before she turned away and walked briskly from the mill yard. He stood and gazed after her, as if nothing else were to be done on a work day but watch her leave the premises.

She sighed and resumed her seat, her embroidery forgotten. Her deepest fears were realized-John would offer for Miss Hale again, and this time his proposal would be accepted. Miss Hale would become his wife. I will have to learn to accept her, Mrs. Thornton thought stoically. If only I could be certain she loved my son. The entire affair of the girl being seen at the train station with a strange man still rankled, and Mrs. Thornton was uneasy at the effect such a modern-leaning and headstrong wife would have on her son's place in society. But she knew how obstinate John could be once he had his mind set upon something.

When she heard his footsteps run lightly up the stairs, she reached quickly for her sewing so that she would appear busily occupied when he entered the room. As he came up to her, a quick glance showed her his countenance was smiling and relaxed, and she felt herself soften a bit towards the young woman who had the power to effect such a change in him.

"Well, John?" she asked expectantly.

"Miss Hale has returned to Milton," he replied in a satisfied tone.

"Yes, I know. I saw her earlier," she replied briefly.

"She told me. Mother," he said resolutely, "I have asked Miss Hale to marry me, and she has accepted my proposal. We intend to wed within the month."

Mrs. Thornton looked up in surprise, and said in dismay, "That soon?"

He nodded emphatically. "Neither of us wants to wait-we have waited ages already." A small smile flitted across his face, softening his usually harsh mien.

His mother laid her embroidery aside and folded her hands in her lap. "People will talk, John-they will say such a hurried, patched up affair was necessitated by-by circumstances." She saw his lips tighten, and hastened on, "After that incident at the railway station, her reputation is questionable-you know I only say what has been spoken by many others in this town."

He moved to stand before her. "Mother, the man with whom she was seen at the Outwood Station that night was her brother-she was seeing him off at the station."

Mrs. Thornton gazed at him in amazement. "Her brother!" she exclaimed. "I did not know she had a brother."

"Nor did I at first, but she does. He ran afoul of the Navy and lives overseas, in Spain. The family never spoke of it for fear of his safety, and Miss Hale did not want to tell anyone of his presence in Milton in order to keep him safe. He came here to see his mother before she died-it was her last wish to see him again."

Mrs. Thornton's face softened at the thought of Mrs. Hale's desire to see her beloved son; she could well understand such a wish. She reached up to take one of John's hands, and looked at him earnestly. "Are you certain that this is what you want? She is not a malleable girl-she is quite hard headed, from what I have seen. You will not be able to bend her to your will."

He laughed exuberantly. "I have no wish to bend her to my will, Mother. I love her exactly as she is. No doubt we shall have some lively rows, but I will never be bored." He looked at her and his expression became serious. "I love her more than my life, Mother. I do not think I can go on without her-she is a part of me now. I would do anything for her, and I know that she feels the same way. In fact, it was not Adam Bell who gave me the deed to the mill, as you believed-it was Miss Hale. She wanted me to have it because she loved me and could think of no one who deserved it more." Remembering her words brought a tender smile to his face.

His mother exclaimed in wonder at such a gesture, and both were silent for several moments, contemplating the woman who would do such a thing. It staggered Mrs. Thornton to think that Meg would hand over the deed, given the value of the mill. She must recognize John's worth at last, she thought with grudging satisfaction.

"Well," she said with some decision, rising from her chair to face her son, "if you have decided that she is the wife for you, I accept your decision. I shall send a note around to Crampton and ask her to dine with us tomorrow night, if that is acceptable to you." She pursed her lips and a glint came into her eye as she looked up at him. "Unless," she added shrewdly, "you wish to carry the invitation around to her yourself?"

********

Mrs. Thornton had no sooner written her note of invitation to Meg when a note was delivered to the mill for Mr. Thornton, inviting him to dinner at Crampton. She wrote, I have invited Nicholas and Mary and the children, and do so hope you will join us. Mr. Thornton smiled as he read this-as if he would have anything better to do this evening than spend it with her! He sent his response directly, and looked forward with high anticipation to a pleasant evening with friends and the woman he loved.