A Woman of Substance

Emma became pregnant by Edwin Fairley, the younger son of the household. When Edwin refused to marry her, Emma faced social ruin and a uncertain future as an unwed mother. With advice from Blackie O'Neill, an Irish navvy working at the hall, she decided to relocate and invent a new life for herself, telling others she was married to a sailor at sea. This fresh start allowed her to pursue her ambitions without the stigma attached to her situation.

Gerald Fairley, Edwin's brother, arrived threatening to expose Emma's illegitimate daughter and destroy her emerging position in the community. Fearing for her child's safety and her own future, Emma married her landlord Joe Lowther for protection. The marriage provided her with legal security and stability during this dangerous confrontation.

Emma discovered that her two sons, Kit and Robin, were plotting to force her into retirement and dissolve the business empire she had built from nothing. In response, she rewrote her will to remove any doubt about who controlled the family fortune, ultimately deciding to pass her wealth to her grandchildren instead of her children. This dramatic shift ensured her legacy would be protected from her children's scheming.

Emma named her granddaughter Paula McGill Amory as the heir to her department store empire because Paula had remained loyal and devoted to her throughout her life. Unlike Emma's own children, who had deceived her and tried to force her into retirement, Paula demonstrated the loyalty and commitment Emma valued. This choice reflected Emma's lifelong belief in rewarding faithfulness.

After building her fortune, Emma purchased the Fairley family's holdings, including Fairley Hall, the very estate where she had once worked as a servant. She planned to demolish it and build a public park on the site. This act represented her ultimate victory over the Fairley family who had dismissed her and refused to help her when she was pregnant with Edwin's child.

In February 1939, Paul McGill traveled to Australia to request a divorce so he could be with Emma. He was nearly killed in a car crash but survived the accident. However, he died within a year and left a revised will granting Emma and Daisy the bulk of his assets in the Sitex oil company. He ultimately committed suicide following these events.

Emma disinherited her children because they had deceived her and attempted to force her into retirement to gain control of her business empire. In her 1970 will, she awarded everything to her grandchildren instead, with each child receiving one million pounds in exchange for signing agreements not to contest the will. This final act ensured her legacy would pass to those she deemed more worthy.

Emma gave her blessing to Paula's engagement to Jim Fairley, the grandson of Edwin Fairley who had originally abandoned her. By approving this union, Emma symbolically ended the decades-long feud between the Harte and Fairley families. This act of reconciliation represented a dramatic closure to her lifelong rivalry with the Fairley side.

Emma started by renting a small shop in Armley, Leeds, selling fabrics, clothing, and luxury foods. Through hard work and shrewd business sense, she expanded to three stores, marking her transition from employee to business owner. She later formed a partnership with the Kallinski family in the textile industry and eventually diversified into property and oil, creating a vast empire.

Emma married three times for different reasons. She married Joe Lowther for protection when Gerald Fairley threatened her. After Paul McGill returned to his wife, Emma married Arthur Ainsley for companionship, and they had twins Robin and Elizabeth. Her deepest love was for Paul McGill, with whom she had her daughter Daisy, ultimately divorcing Arthur to be with Paul.

Emma took in Bryan after Laura O'Neill died in childbirth. Laura had been Emma's closest friend and confidante, welcoming her into her home when Emma first moved to Armley. When Laura died, Emma felt responsibility to raise the child she had helped bring into the world, adding Bryan to her growing family.

Emma decided to end the generations-long feud by the time of her 80th birthday because she had achieved everything she set out to do. She had built a massive fortune, bought the Fairley holdings, and proven herself superior to those who had looked down on her. By blessing Paula's engagement to Jim Fairley, she chose to close that chapter and allow the next generation to move forward without resentment.