[Sense and Sensibility] Fascinated by you

On this day, Colonel Brandon brought Hathaway to a famous French restaurant in Manchester. For more than a week, he and Andrew had been extremely busy. In the first few days, Mr. Joseph took them to meet some famous people in the city. Famous gentlemen, including squires and prosecutors, these people are extremely powerful in the local area, and they are much better at finding people than they are.

But five days ago, a lacquered and sealed envelope was stuffed under the door of Mr. Joseph's house. The letter was discovered after the servants got up in the morning. The man broke into the courtyard of Mr. Joseph's house in the middle of the night and delivered the letter while it was dark, and he must be very agile, because the outer wall of Joseph's house is more than two meters high. He did it so neatly.

The content of the letter was very simple, it only said 'If you want Mr. Butler to come back alive, please prepare [-] pounds within two weeks. 'It didn't even say where the transaction was made. It seemed that the kidnapper was very confident that he could still deliver the second letter to Mr. Joseph's desk on time.As for why this letter was still sent to Joseph's house after Andrew and the others arrived, everyone thought it was because the kidnappers were more familiar with Mr. Joseph. Maybe they didn't know that Mr. Butler's family had arrived in Manchester. Anyway, this question It doesn't seem to matter.

This letter made Sergeant Lauren furious. He felt that it was a provocation to the justice of Manchester. Recently, a lot of manpower patrols were arranged near Joseph's house, and a new round of searches was launched in the slums. He was sure that Those kidnappers were hiding in the slums, and of course he didn't forget to ask the towns near Manchester to step up their search.

But these matters are irrelevant to Andrew and the others. Now that the kidnappers have sent a definite amount, the first thing they need to do now is to raise funds. This is good news for them. As long as the other party asks, it means that Philip is still fine. If you are alive, you can at least let go of half of your hanging heart.

At this time, Mr. Joseph proposed to sell the textile factory first to raise part of the funds. After all, Philip had clearly expressed his intention when he came here. Now it is only natural to use the factory to make up some funds, not to mention if it can be sold at a high price. Maybe the ransom will solve it all.

After Mr. Joseph released the wind, some factory owners expressed their intentions, but they are still waiting and watching. After all, everyone is seeing the downturn in Manchester now.Only the newly appointed district attorney showed strong interest in it. He had clearly expressed his willingness to buy the factory, but his recent cash flow was not smooth, so he could only come up with [-] pounds.

In fact, everyone can understand that he just saw that Butler's family was in urgent need of money, so he severely suppressed the price. According to Mr. Joseph, this factory includes nearly a thousand machines, as well as other equipment, workshops and warehouses. , He can even hand over some clients. If it was worth at least [-] pounds a year ago, [-] pounds is also possible if it is not urgent, but now it has been suppressed by nearly half of the price.

No matter how dissatisfied, they really need the money urgently now, so Mr. Joseph can only negotiate with Mr. Hearst. Unfortunately, Mr. Hearst is very well informed and knows their situation very well. Ten thousand pounds, not a penny more.After three days of delay, it was Andrew who finally made a decision. Anyway, this is not his property, so selling it at a low price is not a psychological burden for him, let alone save Philip's life.

Then things became much easier. Andrew signed a series of documents. After Mr. Hurst paid out [-] pounds, the factory that had earned a large amount of pounds for Butler's family would belong to Hearst. Mr. Sturt.And after finishing this matter, Andrew has to rush back to London non-stop to raise the shortfall of [-] pounds. There is no pressure on the Butler family, and there is no need to use Hathaway's dowry. Too far.Yes, if the time is not too tight, this matter can even be settled with only Hathaway's dowry.

After handing over the follow-up matters to Colonel Brandon and Mr. Joseph, Andrew had already packed his luggage and set off last night. When he left, he only took four knights and a letter from Colonel Brandon to Mo Colonel Lisson's letter, although it took some time to spare, Andrew set off with the letter without saying anything.

After finishing this matter, Colonel Brandon and Hathaway are free, and there is nothing to do next except waiting for them. Hathaway has been eating badly these days, so Colonel Brandon decided to take Hathaway Come out to relax, you must know that they haven't seen the city well after they arrived in Manchester except they were busy looking for people.

This restaurant is just on Oakland Street, not far from Mr. Joseph's house. The fried foie gras and lobster here are very famous. Just half a year ago, if you want to have a meal here, you even need to book a place a week in advance.But now it is much more convenient. After the workers rioted, many rich people left the city. What happened last time left them with lingering fears. It seems that they will not come back in the short term, so Colonel Brandon brought Hathaway over directly. .

It is now lunch time, and the restaurant is about [-]% full of guests. Colonel Brandon asked for a window seat on the second floor. Before the food was served, Colonel Brandon chatted with Hathaway. The two of them didn't have much chance to talk properly for a week. During the day, he and Andrew had to go out to do business, and when they came back too late at night, it was not suitable for him to bother Hathaway.

"After this period of time, have you changed your view on Mr. Joseph?" Colonel Brandon took some bread from the table and ate it.

Hathaway shook her head, "No, not at all, I'm not someone who will change my mind casually. Although you must say that he is enthusiastic and capable, even without you, he can definitely do this well alone, You've praised him more than once, but I must say I still find him suspicious."

At this time the waiter brought up the salad, Colonel Brandon raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I don't think it's strange, if you have a bad first impression of a person, unless you have a deeper understanding of him , or know him for a year or so, or you won't change your mind easily, you stubborn girl."

Hathaway also laughed, knowing that he was referring to Marianne, "If I really have a bad impression on people, even after a year or so, I can't change my point of view. I can put A mediocre person as a friend, but unable to communicate with those I don’t like normally, you can call it stubborn, but I would rather call it normal.” Speaking of this, she became a little unhappy again, "Since you talked about my stubbornness, shouldn't we also talk about your attitude towards some people? I don't know if it is too tolerant or should it be called partiality?"

Colonel Brandon coughed and felt that the topic had become a bit dangerous. "We should be more tolerant towards young people. Of course, sometimes their character flaws are really unbearable."

The corners of Hathaway's lips curled up into a smile, and she gave Colonel Brandon a white look, "Young man? Then who do you think you are? Hmph, I think your tolerance is only aimed at a specific target, Can you say you can forgive a man like Mr Willoughby?"

Colonel Brandon was distracted by the coquettish expression, but he quickly came to his senses, "I don't deny that I am extra tolerant to some people, I think people with rich feelings are easily deceived and easily hurt. Still less can I deny that I cannot forgive Mr. Willoughby." He set his jaw gravely, "I saw him once when I was in London."

Hathaway's eyes flashed. She remembered that Colonel Brandon had a duel with Willoughby in the book. Neither of them was injured, so they didn't make it public.But she still pretended to be surprised and said, "Have you seen him? Why didn't I know."

Now the muscles of Colonel Brandon's face are almost stiff. "You were in a bad mood and worried about Philip, so I didn't tell you about it. I saw Mr. Willoughby, and A duel is inevitable."

Hathaway's eyes widened, and she stopped what she was doing. At this moment, the waiter had brought up the lobster, "Duel? Are you and Mr. Willoughby so injured?"

The expression on Colonel Brandon's face changed. He took the lobster from Hathaway's hand and helped her cook. Although he tried his best to make an expression that was not worth mentioning, Hathaway could still see Expressing the pride in his heart, "Yes, although Mr. Willoughby can be called flexible, he doesn't seem to be proficient in it, so he suffered some minor injuries in the duel."

This time Hathaway was really surprised, it was different from what she knew, "A small injury? What kind of small injury?"

Colonel Brandon handed the plate back and nodded slightly, "I stabbed him in the right arm, so it's not a serious injury, but I'm afraid he won't be able to pick up a shotgun anymore. Knives and forks shouldn't be a problem. It's a small punishment compared to what he did to other girls, at least I didn't kill him."

Hathaway stared blankly at the colonel for a while, and did not come back to her senses until the colonel reminded her to eat. She hurriedly asked, "You mean Mr. Willoughby's right hand...was abolished?"

Colonel Brandon nodded as a matter of course, and Hathaway has been unable to concentrate during the meal since then. Is this also the butterfly effect caused by her?But she didn't seem to have played any role in this matter, except that Mr. Willoughby was beaten. Could it be that the injuries he suffered at that time affected his performance in the duel?Thinking of this, she thought again, can a crippled Mr. Willoughby marry a rich lady?How would he live without a rich lady to marry him?For some time she went on thinking wildly in this way, and finally came to the conclusion that Mr. Willoughby had nothing to do with her in any way, and that she cared about his life.

Then she began to enjoy the food with peace of mind, especially the delicious fried foie gras, which was so delicious that people wanted to swallow their tongues. The meal didn't end until three o'clock in the afternoon, and they were here by the way Solved the afternoon tea.

On the way back, the two were sitting in the carriage. Hathaway was still reminiscing about the lobster and foie gras that she ate just now, and the mille-feuille was also delicious. Colonel Brandon couldn't stop laughing at the smug look.

When passing by an alley, Hathaway noticed a slender figure talking to a man evasively.And she happened to have seen these two people before, so she quickly stopped the carriage and tugged at Colonel Brandon's sleeve, "Do you still remember that lady?"

Colonel Brandon leaned over, frowned and recalled, "Is that Miss Esther?"

Hathaway nodded, "Look carefully at the man talking to her, isn't he familiar?"

Colonel Brandon looked at it carefully for a while, and asked uncertainly: "It looks familiar, have we seen him there?"

"Of course it looks familiar. You can see him at least three or four times a day outside the hotel." Hathaway rolled his eyes at him. She had said that someone was watching them outside. The colonel and Andrew always refused to believe it, thinking that she was nervous. allergy.

Colonel Brandon was surprised, "Are you serious? How did the two of them get together..."

Hathaway spread her hands, indicating that she didn't know anymore, but this matter did leave a shadow in the hearts of the two of them, and the carriage fell into silence on the entire way back.

The author has something to say: I have been in Kawen for the past two days, so this chapter is a bit late,