Have you no explanation for your behaviour that night? You must imagine what I must think. Mr. Thornton, please… I'm aware of what you must think of me. I know how it must have appeared, being with a stranger so late at night. The man you saw me with, he… The… the secret is another person's and I cannot explain it without doing him harm.
John Thornton North and South (2004)
"Mr Thornton has been admiring our newly redecorated rooms, Maria." "Oh. Yes, Mr Thornton. Well, there wasn't a great deal of choice, but these papers are of a similar shade to our drawing room in Helston. But not quite." "Well, on behalf of Milton taste, I'm glad we've almost passed muster."
"They're coming! They're coming! They'll kill us all!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Hale. I would like to play the overbearing master but I'll answer your questions as honestly as I'm sure you ask them."
- I don't apologise to anyone about the wages I pay or how I run Marlborough Mills. It's in plain sight for all to see. - What about how they spend their money? - That would be none of my business.
- A gentleman would not use his fists on such a... pathetic creature or shout at children. - I dare say a gentleman has not had to see 300 corpses laid out on a hillside as I dis last May. Many were children. And that was an accidental flame. The whole mill destroyed in 20 minutes. I should go.
- I dismissed a worker for smoking in the sorting room. - You beat a defenceless man who was not your equal. - Margaret. - No, she's right. I have a temper. Fire is the greatest danger in my mill. I have to be strict.
- Margaret! Come in, Margaret. Come in. Meet my new friend and first proper pupil, Mr Thornton. This is my daughter, Margaret. - I believe we have already met. - Ah. Now, Mr Thornton can't decide between Aristotle and Plato. I sggest we start with Plato and then move on. What do you think? - I'm afraid Miss Hale and I met under unpleasant circumstances.
"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 tell them how things are and they take it or leave it."
- Did I tell you, Thornton, about the price of raw cotton in Le Havre? - I believe you did. - Come on, Thornton. Even you can spot a bargain. Cotton's a great deal cheaper from the Caribbean. - I'll bet you Egyptian is still cheaper. - They can't offer those prices for long. They'll be bankrupt in a year and our supply'll be interrupted. I'd rather pay more for a steady supply through Liverpool. We'll all lose in the end. - Thornton's as straight as they come. He won't risk Malborough Mill, even if it means not speculating.