And so the greatest scandal in Milton history ended in a funeral, a wedding and a birth. John recovered quickly after his incident, and was present when they finally sentenced James Slickson and buried Sydney Hamper. The sentence for James was overthrown in order to apply new charges and Kal Painter was released after six months jail time and a small fine. As for James, he was tried and convicted of the assaults on both Mary and Georgia and condemned to Transportation. When asked where to, Judge Darin could hardly contain his glee. "Australia," was said with a barely concealed smile. The Slickson family cried out and exclaimed their disgust, but were quieted by other members of the crowd. Finally some measure of justice had been served, thought it might have been more effective at the end of a rope in John's opinion… But Australia would be just as bad with no money and a possibly fatal voyage, so the prosecution rested.

As for Sydney Hamper, his family were good people and deeply apologetic to both Mary and the Thorntons. They allowed John and Margaret's attendance at their sons wake, and explained that they had not heard from Sydney in a long while, presuming his attendance in a London hospital. They had been paying for the stay, and did not know of his descent into madness, nor of his still close relationship with James. Where he could have come by the disease was never openly discussed, but fears for Mary's health were allayed, and Georgia's confirmed. What would happen to her one could suppose, but a small settlement had been made to her family and she had gone away.

As expected, there was much pain and tears in those months, but also rays of hope, breaking through the dull Milton sky like assurances from heaven. Nicholas finally wed his adoring bride at the village chapel, and Mary had her baby. She asked Margaret to find a placement for the child who she called Olivia Betsy after her sister, and Margaret did the only thing she thought she could. After manufacturing an origin story for the child (John was instrumental in this,) and after falling inescapably in love with the little thing, she adopted her. They had always wanted a girl, and as John put it, "God gave us sons, and Mary has given us a daughter."

It was more than that, though. John like his little wife, had also been trapped by the child, and in his mind he would never give her up. She was vibrant in a way her mother was not, and so helpless with those pink cheeks and sweet eyes. Offers to adopt her out were rejected, and carefully the baby was reintroduced to the world as Olivia Hale, the child of a dead cousin to Margaret. Nicholas was not fooled of course and came to visit weekly, but with his new wife and duties at the now-roaring mill it left little time for grandfathering. He saw it as a good place for the girl, and wholeheartedly supported Mary's move to college where she was now taking her studies. She too sometimes visited Little Olivia, but it seemed to strain her, and Margaret suggested she come less often and try to move on with her life. Looking at the baby reminded Mary of the violence put upon her, and the recollection was too painful to bear for long. She had moved on with a young man from a good family, and it was Margaret's hope that she would be happy.

As for the child itself, she became the jewel of the Thornton family and her new brothers took her in as willingly as their parents. She was indeed the single good thing that had come of all that violence, and everyone loved her. Of course Dixon got to clucking about the bairn's dubious origins, but after a while she too succumbed. Olivia Hale would be raised as the Thornton's own children, and she would grow up strong and beautiful beside her brothers, a testament to redemption in a world north of London.

AN: FINITO! E GRAZIE MILLE for reading! Hope you all enjoyed my sprawling "drabble" and that I brought a little sunshine to your day! R&R and thank you for your amazing support! Love you all! Cheers! : )