The Error of Judgement (North and South Fanfic)

Banker and Client

Part 9

Banker and Client.

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I would like to thank a wonderful beta KylieKyotie, whose patience and diligence made this part so much more readable.

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The first thing he became aware of when he woke was a sensation of his face being caressed gently with soft fingers and lips. He lay as still as he could, afraid to breath, savoring this moment and the tender advances of his young wife. For him it was still too new and too strange, that she would be next to him, and that she loved him and wished to express her affections in this shy and gentle way. He felt younger himself, as if years of dutiful toil fell away from him in her presence. Yet, she was so very young! Her skin was smooth like a child's, her hands soft like silk. He felt that he was rough and uncouth in comparison. When she stroked the side of his face he could hear the rasp of morning stubble under her small fingertips. And yet she did not stop, it did not turn her away! He could feel her sigh of contentment as if it was coming from his own chest; their bodies were so closely pressed together. Without opening his eyes, he reached blindly and threaded his hand around her neck. His fingers tangled in her rich hair, as he pulled her face down for a kiss.

He missed. Though there was some compensation for his embarrassment. The giggles that reverberated through the length of their entwined bodies created such an inciting sensation that - upon some consideration - he decided that the nose was probably not a bad choice after all. Ah! He could put up with a lot in the day that started like that.

When they finally got downstairs it was a little later than his usual time, and the tea was already on the table. But their London guest was not yet up and it was decided that the formal breakfast would be postponed for her convenience. When Mrs. Shaw did descend to the dining room she looked more like a chicken than even the day before; she had lost neither her way of gentle fussing nor of self-satisfied benevolence toward Margaret. All in all, Thornton decided, there was no real harm in Mrs. Shaw.  She was a true comfort for his young wife. At the same time, he was less certain that Mrs. Shaw's opinion of him had substantially improved. He distinctly caught her distressed clucking about Margaret marrying someone so much older than herself. From Margaret's mild reply he gathered that Mrs. Shaw attributed all her own personal unhappiness in a loveless marriage to the age difference between herself and late General. Naturally, she was not particularly enjoying the idea that such an excuse was challenged by Margaret who professed her own happiness with a man just as much older.

Saturday breakfast was still a somewhat awkward affair however, and a little rushed, as Mrs. Shaw was determined to leave for London on the early train. Staying another day she dismissed as impossible; her own daughter's delicate state and her desire to avoid Sunday travel were two weighty considerations. It was decided that Dixon would stay in Crampton for a few days to finish packing and then she would join her new mistress in London. Now that her conscience about leaving Margaret was somewhat put to rest, the old servant was anticipating her return to London with some impatience.  Finally, she could leave the soot of Milton behind and return to the city where she served her beloved Maria for so many years.

Thornton called a cab for Mrs. Shaw soon after breakfast was finished. Dixon and Margaret decided to see her off before returning to Crampton to continue their sad work of sorting though Mr. and Mrs. Hale's modest possessions. Thornton watched the cab wheel away along the street for some minutes before turning to his own unpleasant task for the day: seeing Mr. Latimer of the bank. The loan extension could not be postponed, and getting this money was now more important than ever to keep the mill running.