North and South Part III

Margaret's mother dies and her father dies soon after. She leaves Milton and goes to live with her godfather, who is reasonably well off. She also visits her cousin Edith in London. She has begun to develop feelings for John Thornton. On a visit back to her parents' old home, she realises how hard poverty is for farm labourers and the like and becomes less romantic about the countryside. In London, she goes about socially but she also does social work. She receives a proposal from Henry Lennox, a relative of Edith's but she does not love him. In Milton, John has financial troubles. The strike and variations in trade leaves him losing money. Margaret hears of his troubles and since she has now inherited her godfather's fortune, she offers to buy up the mill and he can rent it from her and manage it. She finds that he has become friendly with Nicholas Higgins, although they disagree about politics. John proposes to her and she accepts him.