Mistakes
- Mr. Thornton goes back into the house after Margaret is gone. He's annoyed with his mother for letting her go, but his mother reminds him that Margaret insisted on it.
- Mr. Thornton mentions Margaret's act of bravery—stepping in front of the crowd and taking a rock in the head for him—to his mother. Mrs. Thornton is convinced that this gesture means Margaret is in love with John. This claim sends John into a deep passion.
- After making arrangements for the police to protect his house, Mr. Thornton decides to visit the Hale house to see if Margaret is okay. His mother knows that he has other reasons for going, though. She gets him to spend the night with the promise that he'll go to the Hales' tomorrow.
- She also tells John that she knows that the real reason he's going there is to ask Margaret to marry him. She doesn't like it one bit, but she knows she can't do anything about it.
- Once she goes to her bedroom, Mrs. Thornton starts crying.
- Meanwhile, Margaret Hale returns home to find her mother and father sitting together. They tell her that Bessy Higgins wants her to visit, but she says she's too tired and that she'll go the next day.
- Once she's alone again, Margaret thinks about what a fool she just made of herself by hugging John Thornton in front of the mob. She knows that everyone will now think she loves him. Then again, she knows that she would do it again if given the chance. She detests violence and will do anything to prevent it.
- Margaret goes to bed and dreams about hundreds of workers staring at her and thinking that she loves Mr. Thornton. She burns with shame.