Promises Fulfilled
- The narrator reminds us that Margaret might realize that Mr. Thornton knows she lied to the police. But what she doesn't realize is that he thinks the young man she was walking with to the train station is her lover, instead of her brother.
- This thought, of course, weighs heavily on Thornton's mind and puts him in a grumpy mood.
- One day, while he's storming around the house, his mother sits him down and tells him that they'll need a new cook, since their current one is leaving. On top of that, the cook has told Mrs. Thornton something about Margaret Hale that she (Mrs. Thornton) thinks her son would want to hear. She repeats to her son the story of Margaret being seen at the train station walking alone with a young man in the evening. This is absolutely scandalous to Mrs. Thornton.
- Mr. Thornton tells his mom he's heard the whole story and that there will be no investigation into the death of Leonards.
- Mrs. Thornton stays on the topic of Margaret, though, while Mr. Thornton tries to get her to drop it.
- The reason Mrs. Thornton keeps asking is because she promised Mrs. Hale before she died that she would offer advice to Margaret if she ever saw the young lady going astray. As you can imagine, Mrs. Thornton relishes her chance to go tell Margaret off for being an irresponsible woman.
- Thornton admits that Margaret was probably at the train station with her lover and that some guidance from Mrs. Thornton might do her good. He adds, though, that there must be some sort of secret that's torturing Margaret. Mrs. Thornton wants to know what he's talking about, but he won't say anything more.
- Mrs. Thornton heads over to the Hales' house, where she finds Margaret sitting alone and writing a letter to her cousin.
- Mrs. Thornton announces that she has come as an act of duty to Margaret's dead mother. She tells Margaret everything she knows about the train station and advises her not to do anything more that could damage her reputation as a chaste young woman.
- Margaret is totally mortified to be talked to this way. She says she can't handle the thought of being insulted like this. Mrs. Thornton is totally confused, since she assumes that Margaret won't deny being at the train station.
- Margaret does everything but say that the young man at the station was her brother. But because she never says this directly, Mrs. Thornton doesn't know what to make of her.
- While they talk, Margaret learns that Mr. Thornton has never breathed a word about the train station to his mother. It was rather her cook who told her the rumor. She also says that she understands there might be some special circumstances that make Margaret's actions more forgivable than they appear, but Margaret won't give her any more details. Instead, she leaves the room.
- Meanwhile, we join Mr. Thornton. He's back at home, and when he goes out, he finds Nicholas Higgins waiting to speak with him. Thornton says he doesn't have time and walks past, while Higgins says he'll just wait until he comes back.
- When Thornton finally returns, he's amazed to see Higgins still standing near his doorway. One of Thornton's servants tells him that Higgins is one of the union men who helped organize the recent labor strike. This info doesn't make Thornton a fan. He pretty much laughs in Higgins' face when the guy asks for work.
- Mr. Thornton goes inside to his table and grabs a letter off of it. When he looks up, he sees that Higgins is still there and he tells him he's never going to work in Milton again.
- Higgins keeps at Mr. Thornton and says he (Higgins) is an experienced worker and he'd be happy to offer Thornton advice about his labor relations and to tell him what's what. As you can imagine, this is a really bold thing to say, considering Thornton's pride and the situation they're in.
- Higgins says he also needs the work to help out a widow and her children. He means Mrs. Boucher.
- Finally, Higgins relents and leaves, saying that the only reason he has asked Thornton is because a young woman said Thornton would be generous. Mr. Thornton tells Higgins to tell this woman to mind her own business.
- After Higgins has left, though, Thornton keeps thinking about him. He goes to one of his servants and asks how long Higgins was waiting to speak with him. The guard tells him that Higgins waited for more than five hours. Thornton is impressed by the man's patience and determination.