[Margaret is back at her home]

Mrs. Hale:   Margaret!

[Margaret runs up the stairs.]

Margaret:   What's the matter?  Are you unwell?

[Mrs. Hale is looking out of the window, Margaret joins her.  Below they see Mrs. Thornton & Fanny Thornton stepping down from the carriage.]

Mrs. Hale:   It must be Mr. Thornton's mother.

Margaret:   There's no mistaking that stern brow.  And that must be the sister.  What a deal of starch!  It would take someone all day to iron that petticoat.

[Fanny gives a little wiggle to settle her petticoats.]

Margaret:  Where will we put them, Mama?  I don't think the two of them will fit in here.

[They look around the room and both chuckle.  Margaret turns around so Mrs. Hale can untie her apron.]

[Fanny and Mrs. Thornton are seated, Margaret offers Fanny a small cake.  Fanny has her hand out to take one, but hesitantly puts her hand back down.  Mrs. Thornton sips her tea. Margaret sits back down, Mrs. Hale is seated near her.]

[There is silence in the room.  Margaret takes a sip of her tea.  The women look at each other.]

Mrs. Hale:   How exquisite.

[Mrs. Thornton looks at her questioningly.]

Mrs. Hale:   [looking at Hannah's dress bodice]  I haven't seen English pointwork quite like that for years.

Mrs. Thornton:  [smugly]  Our Milton craftsmanship can compare with the very best.

[Mrs. Hale takes a sip of her tea.]

Fanny:   I suppose you are not musical, as I see no piano.

Margaret:   I am fond of music, but I cannot play well myself.  [After a slight pause.]  As you can see, this house would hardly bear a grand instrument.

[Fanny gives a polite chuckle.]

Margaret:   We sold ours when we moved.

Fanny:   Yes, these rooms are far too small for entertaining.  Our staircases are wider than the whole width of this room.

[Mrs. Thornton looks grim and gives Fanny a stern look.]

[There is a somewhat uncomfortable silence.]

Fanny:   I wonder how you can exist without a piano.  It almost seems to me a necessity of life.

[Margaret and Mrs. Hale look at each other.]

Margaret:   There are concerts here I believe.

Fanny:   Oh, yes.  Rather crowded.  They let in anybody.  But we have whatever is the fashion in London. A little later, unfortunately.  You know London, of course.

Margaret:   Oh yes. I lived there with my aunt and cousin for a while.

[Fanny looks impressed.]

Fanny:   Oh!  London and the Alhambra.  They are the two places I long to see.

Margaret:   The Alhambra?

Fanny:   Yes, ever since I read the "Tales of the Alhambra".  Do you know them?

Margaret:   Oh... I don't... think so. [hesitates]  But it's a very easy journey to London and not half so far.

Fanny:   Yes, but... Mama has never been to London.  She cannot understand why I long to go.  She's very proud of Milton. [lowers her voice]  Dirty, smoky place that it is.  [whispers]  I can't wait to leave.

Mrs. Thornton:   [addressing Mrs. Hale]  May I ask w-why you chose to come and live in Milton?  I mean... why did you leave wherever it was?

Mrs. Hale:   Helstone.

[Mrs. Thornton looks slightly taken aback, but listens on.]

Mrs. Hale:   Well, it... it, it was my husband's decision.  It was a matter of... of conscience.

Mrs. Thornton:   But Mr. Hale is no longer a clergyman, I thought.

[Mrs. Hale looks down, then back at Mrs. Thornton.]

Mrs. Hale:   My husband very much enjoys his lessons with Mr Thornton. [smiling at Margaret]  I think it makes him feel young again.

Mrs. Thornton:   Classics are all very well for men who loiter their lives away in the country or in colleges.  But Milton men ought to have all their energies absorbed by today's work.  They should have one aim only.  [She pauses briefly.]  Which is to hold and maintain an honourable place amongst the merchants of this country.  Go where you will,  [she carries on with much pride in her voice], the name of John Thornton in Milton, manufacturer and magistrate, is known and respected amongst all men of business.  [She adds with even more pride.]  And sought after by all the young women in Milton.

Margaret:   [with a chuckle]  Not all of them, surely.

[Mrs. Hale smiles at Margaret, but becomes solemn when she turns to see Mrs. Thornton looking serious.]

Mrs. Thornton:   If you had a son like mine, Mrs. Hale, you would not be embarrassed to sing his praises.

[Mrs. Hale lowers her head.]

[Mrs. Thornton abruptly stands up, Fanny then stands also.]

Mrs. Thornton:   If you can... bear... to visit our dirty, smoky home  [she looks at Fanny, Fanny gives a tentative smile],  we shall receive you next week.

[Margaret and Mrs. Hale are standing.  Mrs. Thornton inclines her head, turns and makes her way out of the room. Fanny follows her.]

[The mill workers are busy in the yard, moving bales of cotton.  Mr. Hale is making his way through the yard, while Mrs. Thornton watches from the balcony.  Mr. Hale goes up the steps to greet Mrs. Thornton.]

Mr. Hale:  [smiling warmly]  Mrs. Thornton.

[Mrs. Thornton smiles back.]

Mr. Hale:   Well, what a splendid house.  Erm... but, er... do you not find the proximity to the mill a little, erm... well, noisy?

Mrs. Thornton:  [proudly]  Never.  I've not become so fine as to forget the source of my son's power and wealth.  [She looks out at the yard.]  The mill is everything.  There is no other factory like it in Milton.

[Mr. Hale looks out at the yard.]

Mrs. Thornton:   This house is my son's achievement.

[The mill masters and Mr. Hale are seated around the dinner table.  They are laughing.]

Slickson:   Did I tell you, Thornton, about the price of raw cotton I found in Le Havre?

Thornton:   I believe you did.

Slickson:   Come on, Thornton.  Even you can spot a bargain when you see it.  Cotton's a great deal cheaper from the Caribbean than from America.

Henderson:  I bet you Egyptian cotton is still much cheaper.

Thornton:   I don't believe they can offer those prices for long.  They'll be bankrupt in a year and we'll have our supply interrupted.  I'd rather pay more and have a steady supply through Liverpool.  The others can do as they wish, we'll all lose in the end.

Hamper:   [turning to Mr. Hale]  Thornton's as straight as they come.  He won't risk Marlborough Mill in any risky enterprise, even if it means passing up the chance to speculate.

Mr. Hale:   But that's the best way surely, with so many lives depending on the factory's continued success? Well, erm... that would be the Christian way.

[There is some suppressed laughter around the table.]

Watson:   By the way everyone, hear the latest over clamouring for a new wheel?

Henderson:   I thought you'd agreed to the wheel.

Watson:   Yeah, well, I had.  [He smirks.]  First the men threatened to turn out if I didn't install the infernal wheel.  Yeah, which would've cost me six hundred pound.

Hamper:   [turning to Mr. Hale again]  The wheel blows away the strands of cotton that flies off in the sorting rooms.  It helps keep the fluff off the workers lungs.  It doesn't stop it, but it does help.

[Mr. Hale smiles at Hamper.]

Henderson:   So, what was the problem?

Watson:   Well, some of the workers started claiming they'd need more money to work in a place with a wheel.

Slickson:   What?!

Watson:   Yes, believe me.  They'd heard it'd make 'em hungry.  Even hungrier than they claim they always are!

Henderson:   The wheel would make them hungry?

Watson:   Yes, I swear!  Some of them said that if I put the wheel in, there wouldn't be so much fluff to swallow, so their bellies'd be emptier.  [There is a few chortles around the table.]  Oh yes, so... oh, and this is the beautiful part... they were saying I'd have to pay 'em more.  And now the men are split amongst themselves and can't agree to what they want, so, I've been spared six hundred pound.  And the men have only themselves to thank for the carding rooms being like Christmas every day with all that sneezing.

[There is laughter around the table, apart from Mr. Thornton and Mr. Hale, who looks concerned.]

Slickson:   Oh come on Thornton.  Surely you wouldn't approve of your workers telling you what to pay 'em?

Thornton:   I've had a wheel in all my sheds for these past two years.

Watson:   More fool you, I can't see profit in it.

Thornton:   There is no immediate profit.  None that you can count in pounds, shillings and pence.

Watson:   But... [he smirks again]... well, there is a 'but,' in't there?

Thornton:   But... [he gives a slight shake of his head]... my workers are healthier.  Their lungs don't clog so easily.  They work for me longer.  Their children work for me longer.  Even you can see the profit in that.

Mr. Hale:  But surely, erm... it's the right path, also.

Thornton:   Sound business sense, Mr. Hale, and I cannot operate under any other moral law. I do not run a charitable institution.  My workers expect me to be hard, but truthful.  I always tell them how things are and they either take it or they leave it.

Henderson:  Harkness 's always tryin' little tricks with his workers.

Harkness:   You've got to keep them on their toes.  It's a war, and we masters have to win it or go under.

[There is laughter around the table, apart from Mr Thornton and Mr. Hale.]

Watson:   Hear, hear!

[Mrs. Hale is sitting doing needlework. Margaret enters the room holding a letter.]

Margaret:  [smiling]  Mama, I have a letter from Edith.  Would you like me to read it to you?  She sends love from Aunt Shaw.

Mrs. Hale:   I wonder that your father prefers the company of Milton tradesmen.

[Dixon enters the room, quite flustered.  She starts putting cloth away in a drawer in a very agitated manner.]

Dixon:   As if there wasn't enough to do already!  We've got no help to speak of.  I have to do everything! It's all the master's fault.

[Mrs. Hale looks taken aback.]

Dixon:   He took leave of his senses when he brought us here.  He is not the vicar of Helstone anymore.

[Margaret looks at Dixon, then at Mrs. Hale.]

Dixon:   He has thrown away his position in society and brought us all down with him.  He'll be the death of us all!

[Mrs. Hale looks upset.  Dixon strolls back out of the room.  Margaret pauses, then follows Dixon.]

[Margaret follows Dixon halfway down the stairs.]

Margaret:   Dixon!

[Dixon turns to face her.]

Margaret:   I know you love my mother, but you forget yourself.   Please don't talk about my father in that way. It... it's not for you to question his motives or judgment.  You're a servant in this house.  If you have such thoughts, keep them to yourself or you are free to leave and go back to Helstone whenever you choose.  [She puts her hand on Dixon's arm.]  Like it or not, we are here.

[Dixon nods.]

Margaret:   I will help you.

Dixon:   You, Miss Margaret?  In the kitchen?

Margaret:   Yes.  Me.  I can learn to starch and iron, and I will until we find suitable help. You'll do as I say, Dixon.

[Margaret is in Princeton, with a basket on her arm.  There is a child wailing in the background and a few other people in the street.  Margaret turns to a woman with a baby in one arm and a girl close at her side.]

Margaret:   Excuse me.  I'm looking for Bessy Higgins.  I must have come in the wrong direction.

Woman:   She lives along the way, just round't corner.  [The girl is grizzling into her mother's side.]  It's all right, she's not frightened of you.  She's hungry, that's why she cries.

[Margaret opens her purse to give the woman some money, but the woman interrupts.]

Woman:   Bessy's just round't corner.

[Margaret carries on, looking back at the woman for a moment.  Margaret makes her way down the noisy street. Other people are wandering around and some children are doing the laundry.]

[Margaret reaches the Higgins house and knocks on the door. Margaret waits a few moments, then starts walking away. Mary Higgins opens the door, Margaret turns back.]

Margaret:   Excuse me, I thought Bessy Higgins lived here.

[Mary opens the door wider.]

[Bessy and Margaret are seated at the table.  Mary is taking the food out of the basket on the table.]

Margaret:   I'm sorry I didn't come earlier.  To tell you the truth, I didn't know that I would be welcome.  I thought the groceries would be offensive.  But then if I had come without anything...

Bessy:   If there's a remote possibility of us finding offence, you can be sure we will.  We're very good at that in Milton.

Margaret:   I feel I've lived in Milton for quite some time now, but I still find myself constantly at fault whichever way I turn.  How long do you think it will take for that to change?

Bessy:  [quite seriously]   Oh, a couple of years at least, in your case.

[Margaret looks aghast, Bessy starts laughing and Mary joins in.  Margaret starts smiling.  Bessy's laughter turns to coughs.]

Bessy:   Sorry.  It's just I have a bit of cold, I can't seem to shift.

[The door opens, Nicholas Higgins walks in looking serious.  The girls all look at each other.  Nicholas looks at Margaret.]

Nicholas:   She were right.  She said you'd come.

Bessy:   How was the meeting, father?

[Nicholas hesitates.]

Margaret:   Oh, do not worry on my account.  I have no-one to tell any secrets to.

Nicholas:   [as he sits down]  Well, your father the parson's been seen supping with the bosses.

Margaret:   Mr. Thornton is his pupil.  He's certainly not my friend.

Bessy: [to Nicholas]  And Boucher? [turning to Margaret]  He's our neighbour down the way.

Nicholas:   He's holding up.  Just.  But he'll be with us when the fire goes up right enough, if he knows what's good for him.  Miss Margaret, your father teaches at the Lyceum Hall, doesn't he?

Margaret:   Yes he does.  Sunday afternoons.

[Back at Thornton's house, Mr Thornton walks into the parlour.  Fanny is heard in the background playing the piano and trilling.  Mr. Thornton rolls his eyes at Fanny's singing as he puts his jacket on.]

Thornton:   Mother, remember I go to the Hales this evening.

[Mrs. Thornton is seated, doing needlework.]

Thornton:   I will be home to dress, but then out till late.

Mrs. Thornton:   [sounding surprised]  Dress?  Why should you dress up to take tea with an old parson? Ex-parson!

Thornton:  [smiling]  Mr. Hale is a gentleman and his daughter is an accomplished young lady.

[Mrs. Thornton looks at him with her eyebrows raised.]

Thornton:   Don't worry, Mother. I'm in no danger from Miss Hale.  She's very unlikely to consider me a catch. She's from the South.  She doesn't care for our Northern ways.

Mrs. Thornton:   Huh!  Airs and graces!  [She stands up and starts adjusting Mr Thornton's cravat.]  What business has she?  A renegade clergyman's daughter, who's now only fit to play at giving useless lectures to those who do not wish to hear them!  What right has she to turn up her nose at you?

Thornton:  [warmly]  Board up the windows. There'll be a storm later.

[He kisses his mother's cheek and leaves the room.  Mrs. Thornton sits back down, looking contemplative.]

[Margaret is at the ironing table.  She sprinkles some water onto the cloth and starts ironing.]