North and South

Mrs. Thornton visits Maria upon her request though only at Thornton’s insistence. Maria asks Mrs. Thornton to be a friend to Margaret once she is gone. Mrs. Thornton says she can be a friend but cannot be like a mother to her. She states she will correct Miss Hale when she is in the wrong and Maria says to call her Margaret. With Frederick’s arrival imminent, Margaret and Dixon prepare while sadness consumes Richard. Frederick arrives that evening with no notice, and Margaret is instantly taken with him, thinking she would like to be his friend if he was not her brother. Margaret is hopeful Frederick’s arrival will lighten her father’s spirits, but he only weeps harder when she tells him. Frederick tenderly helps Dixon care for his mother and does not leave her side even to eat. Maria dies just a few days later. Both Richard and Frederick are inconsolable, and Margaret finds herself taking control of the situation and becoming “a strong angel of comfort to her father and brother” (340). She reads passages from the book of Thornton to soothe them.

Margaret assumes all the responsibilities of planning her mother’s funeral. She grieves in private and only Dixon sees the depth of her sorrow and exhaustion. Richard is despondent and spends many hours laying in the bed with Maria’s corpse. He gives no direction to Margaret for the funeral except to bring Bell from Oxford. Dixon feels Frederick must leave soon. She had an encounter in town with a Leonards who was present for the mutiny and has been on the hunt for Frederick so he can collect the bounty reward money. He suggests Dixon could help him and share in the reward. Margaret tells Frederick about Leonards, and he agrees he must not stay longer. He acknowledges the heavy load Margaret carries. Frederick met Thornton and mistook him for a shopman. Margaret remembers her misjudgments of him the first time they met. Richard agrees to remind Frederick he has committed a crime and laments the corruption in systems of power. Frederick tells them he is engaged to a young Roman Catholic woman called Dolores Barbour. Frederick carries a lock of her hair. He wants Richard and Margaret to move to Spain, however, Richard refuses to say the last time he moved it killed his wife. Richard is concerned about Frederick marrying with a price on his head. Margaret will inquire with Lennox about aid in appealing the court-martial.

Father, son, and daughter spend the next day together in mourning. Margaret escorts Frederick to the train station. She is not afraid to go alone saying, “I am getting very brave and very hard” (355). They spot Thornton, who looks angry. The siblings exchange tearful goodbyes. Suddenly a rough-looking man pushes Margaret out of the way and grabs Frederick by the collar identifying him as “Hale.” Frederick acts quickly tripping the man. He falls to the side of the railroad. Frederick hurries to board the train. Margaret hides in the restroom to gather herself. When she returns the man is gone. She overhears the porters discussing how Leonards was in pursuit of Frederick.

Margaret does not tell her father about the incident at the train station. Frederick is set to meet Lennox in London, but he was delayed. Frederick considers returning to Milton but decides against it with Bell arriving. Margaret argues with her father, begging him to attend the funeral with him. He reminds her that women do not usually attend because they are too emotional. Bell is ill and cannot attend, so Thornton will accompany Richard. Margaret once again must comfort her father, overcome with grief, as the undertaker removes the body for burial. Nicholas and Mary Higgins attend the funeral. Thornton inquires of Dixon about Richard and Margaret. She tells him they are managing under the circumstances. Thornton presumes the man he saw at the train station is Margaret’s suitor. He is angry at the thought of another man having her love and devotion. Dixon never tells Margaret about the conversation.

Margaret struggles under the weight of her grief and her anxiety over Frederick. They have still not heard from him confirming his safe passage. Richard’s mental health continues to deteriorate. Thornton pays a visit and shows compassion toward them, but Margaret does not say much to him. He thinks her sadness has only magnified her beauty. An inspector arrives to question Margaret about the incident at the train station. Leonards has died from his injuries and another witness identified Miss Hale as the female accompanying the man who pushed him off the platform. Margaret lies saying she was not there. The inspector says he may have to return for more questioning. As soon as Margaret escorts the inspector out, she faints on the floor.

Thornton stays on to converse with Richard, and Margaret is awed that his presence comforts her father in a way she cannot. They have a deep conversation about religion. Margaret feels guilty for her lie but knows she has potentially saved Frederick’s life. As Thornton leaves, he meets the inspector Watson who is a former acquaintance of his. Thornton is a magistrate and heard Leonards’s testimony before his death. The inspector tells him of Margaret’s denial of being at the station. Thornton tells the inspector to come to his warehouse in an hour. Thornton knows Margaret is lying and is angry that she would do something so shameful. However, he decides to act on her behalf and tells the inspector to cancel the inquest citing a lack of medical evidence. Watson is relieved as he did not want to pursue it further. Watson returns to tell Margaret the matter is ended, and Thornton stopped the inquest. His involvement shocks Margaret, and she realizes he saw her at Outwood Station and has acted to save her. She feels shameful about how he must think of her: “She was a liar. But she had no thought of penitence before God; nothing but chaos and night surrounded the one lurid fact that, in Thornton’s eyes, she was degraded” (385). A letter arrives from Frederick with good news. Lennox is hopeful for a chance at acquittal. Frederick has safely left England. The guilt of lying weighs heavily on Margaret and she considers confessing to her father but concedes to bearing the burden alone. She suggests they visit Frederick in Spain, but Richard says he will not leave Milton. The plan is to visit the Higgins the following day. Thornton sends a book for Richard. Margaret worries about how Thornton views her.