Lockwoods III

Oliver is visiting the Hunters, when he gets a headache and Mrs Hunter, who is a doctors' daughter, offers him a headache powder to cure it. He tells her that he was surprised to find it was very good and really worked. He suggests that he could market it, and he's sure it would sell well and as the owner of the recipe, she would get a small percentage of the takings. Mrs Hunter is taken aback, but agrees to the idea. Oliver starts off having it made up and packaged and offers Thea a job as his secretary, helping to write the letters and do the paperwork. Thea is pleased to have work to do, even if its not as well paid as teaching. It is interesting and she and Oliver work well together and she is growing to like him more. Martin continues to go about with the Lockwood girls which feels like a betrayal to Thea, when the Lockwoods have never been very nice and Mrs Lockwood has snubbed his mother. Molly is happy with her shop, and is making good money and the Hunters begin to think that they might be able to move into a better house soon. Martin tells Clare that he can't bear to go on hiding his feelings for her, and he's going to ask her father for permission to marry her. Mr Lockwood however reacts angrily, at the idea that a young man who is not earning much, should want to marry his darling youngest daughter and should ask him for help in getting a better job so that he could support her. Lockwood is a rather heavy overweight man, and lives a high stress life, so when he falls down after this angry outburst he decides to make use of this to make Clare feel guilty. He gets his doctor to suggest that he has almost had a heart attack and that on doctor's orders, he should take a break and go abroad for a holiday with his family. Martin is very upset when Clare tells him she has promised her father she wont get in touch with him while they are away on holiday, and he is sunk in gloom when the Lockwoods go away. Mr Lockwood has been hard working all his life, trying to make as much money as possible for himself and his family. He has acted dishonestly quite often and at times he worries about what would happen if his behaviour came out. He has mortgaged property, borrowed funds from his clients and taken the paddock from Mrs Hunter. He and his wife and daughters decide to go to Switzerland and find it a very pleasant place and enjoy simple pleasures like walking and seeing spring flowers. Mr Lockwood toys with the idea that when he comes back he will sort out his business and clear up all the dishonesty. While they are away, Oliver persuades Martin to give up his job at the bank andto get away from the North before Clare comes back. He offers him a job in his organisation and Martin decides to take up the chance to escape and get on with his life while she is away. Edith Reade gets married and Oliver after the wedding offers to look at the Hunters' legal papers. When he does so, he and Thea find that there is a receipt for the money that Mr Hunter borrowed and repaid, so the fraud of stealing the paddock comes out. She had found a receipt for repayment in a bag she had been using a year earlier.. They are confused but it becomes clear that Mr Hunter did borrow the money and paid it back soon afterwards.