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North & South: A Continutation	By : gallygaskins Category: M through R > North and South (BBC) > North and South (BBC) Views: 11128 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Elizabeth Gaskell's or the 2004 BBC adaptation of North and South and I make no money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
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Prologue – A Chance Meeting

“… We have to wait for a North bound train!” Henry Lennox exclaimed, whilst he continued to read his newspaper.

Making a move from her seat and out of the carriage, Margaret Hale stepped onto the platform relieving herself of the confined space and company she had been sat with for what had seemed like days. She had been quiet for most of the journey back from Milton mulling over and reflecting upon what Mrs Thornton had said to her, assuming Margaret’s coming to Milton was only to gloat over her son and to find that even if that had been the case, not that it had been, then John wasn’t there anyway. Mrs Thornton had no idea where he was, what he was doing or when he was to return. Where had he been? She had waited for as long as she could sitting in silence in the Thornton’s living room sipping tea and idly chatting when the need arouse but it had been in vain, all of it, her business proposition, her kindness toward his mother, her intention, everything. She felt so wretched and miserable, nothing had been achieved and now she hadn’t a clue what to do next.

Margaret had been set that morning when she had awoken. She had wrestled with sleep the previous evening but the insomnia had helped her decide upon what she was going to say, how she was going to use Henry to make the idea seem more plausible so as to give John and his mother the right impression of the venture and then she was going to find the opportunity to tell John how she was feeling, about him. Having become such ‘the heiress’ that her cousin described had given her fresh rigour, it meant that she was now in a position to give opinion more readily without the fear of propriety hanging above her head. Yes, she would still be sensible, it wasn’t honourable to be rash or indecent but she could fight her feelings no longer and she so wished to tell John about her brother, about that fateful night when he had seen them embracing before Frederick had embarked his train, about how her feelings for John had grown since the moment she realised that she was in love with him. She absently surveyed the North bound train as it pulled into the station coming to a stop.

It was then that she saw him, John Thornton, mindlessly brushing away the wisps of curled hair that whirled about her face from the rush of air around the platform, her heart nearly exploding just from one glimpse of the man that had spirited himself before her as if in answer to her plea. He was travelling alone on the North bound train. She couldn’t take her eyes from his face wondering at his expression and how downcast he looked to her, that and his general appearance, gone was the cravat and the coat, stubble was growing upon his face; he was the picture of a downtrodden man. How he mirrored her feelings from earlier on when she had been surveying the factory alone, ‘but’ she thought, ‘he does seem to be more relaxed then I think I have ever seen him’. The next thing she knew her feet were taking her across the platform stopping only a few feet away from his carriage.

John moved to open the door. He wasn’t sure why, maybe to get some fresh air or stretch his long legs, he really didn’t care which, he just needed to move around for a while and get out of the stuffy compartment. As he moved to alight the carriage he looked up making sure that he wasn’t about to walk into any of his fellow passengers but all was lost to his mind as he became aware of her presence, firstly unsure of the vision that stood a little way from him then realising that it was actually Margaret. He caught himself smiling as he noticed her eyes watching him; that pair of beautiful bewitching blue eyes he had remembered from his dreams were looking directly at him, he couldn’t believe his luck. His smile turned lazy as he made his way onto the platform and took the few steps that were needed to close the gap between them. Without thinking he asked, “where are you going?”

“To London,” she answered anxiously as she looked behind her toward Henry who was still engrossed in his newspaper, “I’ve been to Milton.” She looked back catching John’s mesmerising smile rendering her more nervous of the situation that she now found was unfolding before them both.

“You might guess where I’ve been,” he said in almost a whisper as he beamed further, pulling the yellow bloom from his waistcoat pocket and handing it over to her.

All nervousness was lost as she took the rose from him and smiled. “To Helstone, I thought it had all gone!”

“Found it in the hedgerow, didn’t have to look hard,” he shook his head still in disbelief that she was stood there in front of him. “Why were you in Milton?” His handsome eyes sparkled with his question.

She looked up at him; “On business,” she answered, “that is, I have a business proposition …” she stared back toward where Henry was still sitting in his carriage, “Oh dear, I need Henry to help me explain.”

John gently took her left arm and looked at her wearing his best business expression, “You don’t need Henry to explain.” He said, remorsefully letting her go before leading the way up the platform to take possession of one of the wooden seats that was placed there.

Momentarily Margaret looked back toward Henry again, who had by this time noticed that she was talking to a man he knew as Mr Thornton from Milton. He scowled at them as he folded his paper.

“I have to get this right,” she started as she sat down beside John on the bench. John’s left arm found its way along the back of the seat they now occupied, stretching along the top rung hoping that the act would put Margaret more at ease. But nothing could stop the torment that was going on inside of her at that moment; she tried to keep her head as she summoned up the courage to begin her explanation. “It’s a business proposition,” she looked up at him and his ever watchful eyes as they danced with delight and happiness. The feelings they invoked within her making her shift her gaze quickly back down to the floor. She continued, “I have some fifteen thousand pounds; it is lying in a bank earning very little interest. Now, my financial advisors tell me that if you were to take this money and use it to run Marlborough Mills, you could give me a much better rate of interest.” She slowed her speech as she looked up at him. His smile continued to beam as he watched her struggling with her words of commerce, catching her glances as she looked up at him and then back at her hands again as she became nervous once more under his loving gaze. “So you see,” she continued, “it is only a business matter, you would not be obliged to me in any way, it is you who would be doing …” She stopped as John took his arm from its resting place behind her right shoulder and gently took hold of her right hand as it sat with its partner nervously feeling the yellow rose petals between her fingers. “… me this service,” she finished.

Margaret could no longer fight the urge, she had to touch him, kiss him even. Her left thumb, as if with a mind of its own, began to caress the skin of John’s right hand before clamping both of her hands around his, lifting it to her rosy red lips and kissing the back of his fingers. John could hardly contain himself; her slightest touch had given him so much joy. He reached up with his right hand cupping her cheek, caressing the rosy skin that now lay beneath it moving around to touch her ear above and neck below. She looked up at him a worried expression set upon her face not knowing what to expect but hoping that what would come would be good.

Tentatively they brought their heads closer to one another. Further anticipation brought them closer still as they began their first kiss, none of this being lost on the ever watchful Henry. They kissed again and again, John bringing his left hand to join the right upon her cheeks, his long fingers now revelling in the touch of Margaret’s face beneath. Their eyes closed, both lost to all of the tenderness they were sharing with their continued embrace.

They broke apart to the sound of the South bound train conductor’s voice, “London train now departing, London train now departing.”

Margaret suddenly got up from her seat without looking at John, her determined action leaving him stricken. Could he possibly have done the most stupid thing in his life, going too quickly with the first kiss and having to let her walk out on him again because of that first shameless exchange. After all, he’d allowed her to make the first move, she had kissed his hand and that was all the encouragement he had needed to let her know that ‘any foolish passion on his part’ had never been entirely given up, had never been given up at all. He couldn’t look, couldn’t watch her return to her carriage and leave him desolate. After all she had only wanted to talk business, he had encouraged the rest with his Northern ways, he was sure that Mr Henry Lennox would never have acted in such a way. He made his way back toward his empty compartment.

Margaret had retraced her earlier steps back to her carriage only to find Henry waiting there, her small bag in his hand. “Henry, I …” she started to explain. Henry held her bag out for her to take, still sullen and hurt by the events that had played out before him. “Goodbye, Margaret.” He stated, stepping back into the carriage and closing the door behind him, finalising their relationship. Bewildered but nevertheless truly happy she realised that she was now truly able to do as she wished. Carrying her bag she made her way back toward John, toward her new life.

John caught her reflection in the window of the carriage as she made her way back over to him, not quite believing that any of what had transpired was actually happening, he turned around to make sure that she was in fact standing next to him. He smiled his realisation that she was indeed there. “You’re coming home with me?” He asked of her. She smiled sweetly back at him, answering his question by giving him her bag and stepping into John’s carriage. He followed her in, shut the door and took his seat next to her once more, this time it would be forever.

As soon as the train was away from the station he had his arm around her, realising that this was where it was meant to be for all eternity. Again they tenderly kissed, enriching the experience with each new embrace, enjoying the moment, enjoying their moment. For soon they would be in Milton with all of the troubles that their ultimate union was going to cause.
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North & South: A Continutation