her past and curtains now permanently drawn to the sides so that
light streamed in through much of the day, the room felt less forbidding and
asserted the presence of a vibrant occupant who lived day-to-day with things
that she needed or that amused her. These small changes made the strangeness
of her new home a little more bearable and, in her room at least, Margaret
could do as she pleased in more familiar comfort.
Dixon was grateful that she had
to get busy doing alterations to the dress which she had seen the young Miss
Beresford wear the first time when she married the handsome and educated but
penniless Mr. Hale. Mrs. Lennox's instructions had been very specific and
because Dixon needed to lay the dress out on a large surface like a bed and
occasionally check how well it fitted, Margaret decided it was best for Dixon
to work on the dress in her bedroom. There, she could also help with some of
the sewing. Working in Margaret's bedroom allowed Dixon to adjust slowly to
this new household which she found stranger than Margaret did. She had made
the choice to stay in Milton and she must find some ways to lessen her
uneasiness in the Thornton house.
Mrs. Thornton was as different as
fire and water from the kind and refined Mrs. Hale who spoke gently and often
left many decisions about housekeeping to her. Dixon learned on her first
couple of days that the formidable Mrs. Thornton held full control of her
household and the servants were all careful not to incur her displeasure. They
allowed, however, that she was always fair, never took anyone to task unless
they were really amiss in their duties, and was known to have been generous
when one of them was in serious need. She ran a tight and tidy household that
tolerated neither a speck of dust nor tardy dinners. Dixon, used to a gentle
and permissive mistress and still afflicted with the snobbishness of one who
thought of herself a lady's maid, doubted her capacity to fit well into a
household that she thought was run without grace, natural ease, or unstudied
refinement. So, this period in which she only needed to cater to Miss Margaret
was also a time she could use to observe the workings of the household and find
some way of becoming a part of it with the least pain and aggravation.
Dixon knew enough to realize that
she could not be Miss Margaret's personal maid the way she had been with Mrs.
Hale in Helstone where she devoted her services to Mrs. Hale and rarely did any
of the other house work. Margaret, independent and capable, hardly ever needed
the attendance of a maid. Dixon could not, however, imagine Margaret being the
mistress of this big house and assume its management in the same cold,
efficient manner. In Dixon's mind, her young mistress, who she knew better
than anybody else in the Thornton household, was as unlike the massive grey
surroundings as one could be and would reject the formality and regimentation
its current mistress imposed. "Well," Dixon thought, "it is
Mrs. Margaret I serve and I would do it the best way I know how!"
**************
John began to spend a little more
time planning and working on reopening the mill. He resumed going to the club
where he and his colleagues in the cotton manufacturing business met to
socialize and hold meetings, discuss business, and resolve their common
problems. At the first such meeting he attended since Marlborough Mills closed
down, he announced he was getting married on the Sunday after the coming one.
"I know this marriage is
news to you and this invitation is rather sudden and informal and not the usual
way these things are done but we do not have the luxury for formalities. So
please forgive me and tell me at the meeting next week if you can come. This
invitation is for all of you and your wives, of course."
The news was naturally a surprise
to his colleagues but not for too long. Many of them had guessed that the
elusive Mr. Thornton might finally marry to recoup
light streamed in through much of the day, the room felt less forbidding and
asserted the presence of a vibrant occupant who lived day-to-day with things
that she needed or that amused her. These small changes made the strangeness
of her new home a little more bearable and, in her room at least, Margaret
could do as she pleased in more familiar comfort.
Dixon was grateful that she had
to get busy doing alterations to the dress which she had seen the young Miss
Beresford wear the first time when she married the handsome and educated but
penniless Mr. Hale. Mrs. Lennox's instructions had been very specific and
because Dixon needed to lay the dress out on a large surface like a bed and
occasionally check how well it fitted, Margaret decided it was best for Dixon
to work on the dress in her bedroom. There, she could also help with some of
the sewing. Working in Margaret's bedroom allowed Dixon to adjust slowly to
this new household which she found stranger than Margaret did. She had made
the choice to stay in Milton and she must find some ways to lessen her
uneasiness in the Thornton house.
Mrs. Thornton was as different as
fire and water from the kind and refined Mrs. Hale who spoke gently and often
left many decisions about housekeeping to her. Dixon learned on her first
couple of days that the formidable Mrs. Thornton held full control of her
household and the servants were all careful not to incur her displeasure. They
allowed, however, that she was always fair, never took anyone to task unless
they were really amiss in their duties, and was known to have been generous
when one of them was in serious need. She ran a tight and tidy household that
tolerated neither a speck of dust nor tardy dinners. Dixon, used to a gentle
and permissive mistress and still afflicted with the snobbishness of one who
thought of herself a lady's maid, doubted her capacity to fit well into a
household that she thought was run without grace, natural ease, or unstudied
refinement. So, this period in which she only needed to cater to Miss Margaret
was also a time she could use to observe the workings of the household and find
some way of becoming a part of it with the least pain and aggravation.
Dixon knew enough to realize that
she could not be Miss Margaret's personal maid the way she had been with Mrs.
Hale in Helstone where she devoted her services to Mrs. Hale and rarely did any
of the other house work. Margaret, independent and capable, hardly ever needed
the attendance of a maid. Dixon could not, however, imagine Margaret being the
mistress of this big house and assume its management in the same cold,
efficient manner. In Dixon's mind, her young mistress, who she knew better
than anybody else in the Thornton household, was as unlike the massive grey
surroundings as one could be and would reject the formality and regimentation
its current mistress imposed. "Well," Dixon thought, "it is
Mrs. Margaret I serve and I would do it the best way I know how!"
**************
John began to spend a little more
time planning and working on reopening the mill. He resumed going to the club
where he and his colleagues in the cotton manufacturing business met to
socialize and hold meetings, discuss business, and resolve their common
problems. At the first such meeting he attended since Marlborough Mills closed
down, he announced he was getting married on the Sunday after the coming one.
"I know this marriage is
news to you and this invitation is rather sudden and informal and not the usual
way these things are done but we do not have the luxury for formalities. So
please forgive me and tell me at the meeting next week if you can come. This
invitation is for all of you and your wives, of course."
The news was naturally a surprise
to his colleagues but not for too long. Many of them had guessed that the
elusive Mr. Thornton might finally marry to recoup
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