under the field

Scarlett

When the thought of taking a bath came up, I was squatting by the river to wash my face, carefully washing the filth mixed under my fingernails.

We've been gone for almost a week.It only took one day to leave Warwick. To be on the safe side, we didn't stay here on purpose for the past few days, and finally walked out of all the county towns under Reggie's jurisdiction after five days.To be sure of being unrecognizable (although Otis always felt it was too abstract to connect me to the man in the portrait), I had to dress as a man.

The process of driving was still full of travel and dust, and the fatigue of the carriages and horses almost emptied me.If we insist on comparison, it would be more comfortable to have a carriage, but it will inevitably make us the object of attention of others.

Almost every night when I arrived at the small hotel where I stayed, I threw myself into the bed and fell asleep, and then Colin and Otis knocked on the door tirelessly the next morning to wake me from my dream woke up.

"Are you not getting a good night's sleep?" Otis would often ask, staring at me, who was yawning.In their eyes, it is reasonable and reasonable for a delicate noble lady to be unable to adapt to a rough life, but my resignation and resignation often make them look at it with admiration.For example, the meat soup for breakfast was unpalatable, Colin put down the spoon with an ugly face after a few mouthfuls, and Otis rushed up to find something else to eat like scolding his father.Then they gape at the empty plate in front of me, and Colin silently pushes his and Otis' share over.

I think, I am better off than these two rough-skinned and thick-skinned men.

Looking at the disheveled man in the water, let alone the girl on the missing person notice, no one would recognize Scarlett Hastings from Orlando.The hair, which had been coiled for several days, was completely greasy and knotted under the hat, so I took the hat off.

I take good care of my hair. When I was young, Claire would take care of it carefully. After washing my hair, I would apply hair oil made of herbs and massage it to moisturize it.We like to study new and beautiful braided hair styles together. With exquisite hair clips and simple decorations, it can become a hairstyle benchmark that many girls in Orlando strive to imitate.

I washed my hair and neck with the river water over and over again, convincing myself that I only want to be clean and tidy now, and no longer pursue the sophistication of the past.There is a whole verdant forest beside the river. From the bustling towns for many days to the secluded Xiaolin Village in the wilderness, there is a rare relaxation and tranquility.I couldn't help breathing in the reassuring air, stretched out my hands and feet, and lay down on the wet grass by the river, closed my eyes, and let my soul go out of my body.

"I thought you were taken away by wild beasts." When he opened his eyes, he saw that pretty face.Although the tone of the voice is very flat, unfortunately, the man above is still a very handsome man.I put my hands behind my head, and I just woke up with a fuzzy mind, but this didn't prevent me from continuing to look at him.He moved slowly and was tall, with soft black hair and a sombre but more alluring demeanor.

"I'm not afraid of wild animals. I can hunt. Give me a shotgun and I'll catch you a rabbit for dinner."

I thought he was going to laugh at me, but Colin sat back. "You know how to hunt?"

"I can ride horses and hunt." I replied, my grades in the equestrian class were indeed excellent. "My father used to take us to hunt in the woods in the outskirts." Robert's burly and tall figure appeared in front of my eyes, and I sighed slightly: "He is really powerful. It's a pity that he didn't accompany us for a long time. "

"How did he die?"

"Had a serious illness."

He seemed to understand and nodded. "sorry."

I laughed, "It's okay." When I met those eyes, I couldn't help turning my head away.I got up from the ground, "Where's Otis?"

"Go catch the rabbit."

……

It's cold and damp, and the wood can't start a big fire at all.Not to mention barely roasting the rabbit, I'm afraid I'll freeze to death if I sleep out at night.

There wasn't much wood that had been rummaged all afternoon, and now we sat hopelessly around the poor little fire, silently waiting for the fire to grow.

"How about..." I stood up and walked to the horse's back, picked up my suitcase, and fiddled with those dresses. "Use these!"

"If I can't wear them, they will notice me, and if I throw them away at will, they will find my whereabouts." After observing these days, I have already understood the clothes of women in the market. In my eyes, these petticoats seem to be ordinary, Wearing it is still enough to make people notice me.

Watching those fabrics turn to ashes like a stream of wood, I feel more and more that the old days are getting farther and farther away from me.But fortunately, these clothes provided the warmth for the cold at night, allowing us to spend the night sleeping in the woods. Not only did we have a good meal, but I found that I actually slept soundly.

The next day we hit the road again, and I was in a better mood, probably because I didn't have to hide my hair anymore and could hang it comfortably in a braid.

We came to a quiet small village, maybe because of our prejudice against Reggie, I think the places under his jurisdiction are full of the smell of cow dung, which seems to be there, of course, this is also the consensus reached by the three of us.

Colin and Otis didn't seem to be passing through the village simply. I felt that they had something important to do. Since they helped me settle down, I should consciously not ask what they were doing.Even though I had a vague sense that they were doing things they didn't want to be known about, and that they might even be dangerous, I convinced myself not to meddle in their own business.For me, they are all good people, but they can be called rare friends on this journey.

They tied the horses behind a shop.Otis approached me mysteriously and told me, "You can go as you like, but don't go too far, we will be back soon."

Then, the two tall figures quickly disappeared around the corner.

I wandered around idly, intending to buy some clothes, but I didn't see any shops.There was only one sign that said "Newton Printing", but the shop was not open.I asked the man who was blacksmithing outside the house where I could find a place to sell women's clothes. Without raising his eyes, he told me to turn in the alley next to the printing shop, and when I walked to the end, I found a conspicuous shop.

Indeed... conspicuous.Because this is a brothel, I stared speechlessly at the sign above the "Margaery Dress".

"What do you want?" The women standing outside were obviously annoyed at me because I didn't look like someone who came to patronize them.But the younger woman next to her happily spoke to me, "Your hair is so beautiful!"

I stared at the exaggerated eyeliner on her face and asked, "Do you... have any clothes you can sell me?"

Her eyes lit up when she heard the opportunity to make money, "A few days ago, an adult left some sets of clothes for us. Mrs. Margery refused to let us wear them. They are still in the house now. Would you like to come in and take a look?"

After a while, I stood in the "Margerie Dress" and heard Cartier (she introduced herself) enthusiastically introduce these clothes: "He said that it was left by his ex-wife. He thought it was a pity to lose it, so he brought it to us. , but these dresses looked too gorgeous, and Mrs. Margery felt that they did not fit our usual attire at all, so we never had a chance to wear them."

I think Margaery should be the procuress here, she is right, these clothes are really too gorgeous, which is exactly what I don't want.

"But I think your temperament is very suitable for these." Cartier curled her lips, seeing that I was not interested in these clothes, she continued to sell them unwillingly, trying to seize this opportunity to earn extra money, "Look again..." As he spoke, as if he was afraid that I would miss the clothes that had a chance to catch his eyes, his pale hands scooped up the pile of clothes, picking them up from time to time and showing them in front of me.

I was dizzy from her shaking, and stopped her after seeing a touch of wine red, "This one."

She quickly pulled the whole thing out of the pile of clothes and shook it out in front of me. "It's a cloak!"

"Don't you want the rest?" she asked regretfully as she watched me pull money out of my boots like a magic trick.

"Just this one." I handed her the money, and she became happy again.

Very soft and thick fabric, I believe the previous owner should be very satisfied with this dress, because I can't put it down.

I put on the cloak and stood in front of the mirror, covered in red cloth, I reached out and brushed my hair out.

"It's so beautiful..." Cartier murmured as she stood beside her.She is really cute.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside the room, at least I think it was a very abrupt commotion in a brothel, someone had a dispute.Accompanied by the exclamation of the women on the corridor, I followed Cartier and ran out the door to find out.

It was actually Otis and Colin running towards him.Otis had a look of disbelief, and before I could think about it and ask him more questions, he yelled for me to run with him, pulling Colin beside him with one hand.

"He was injured?!" The scream did not come from me, but from Cartier behind me. I looked down and found a bloodstain on the corridor.

I pressed on the culprit's bleeding spot, and Colin cursed and cried out, feebly. "Be gentle!" Someone behind him was about to catch up.

I turned my head and asked Cartier, "Where is the small door here?" She hurriedly stepped forward to lead us there.

Although panicked, she still kindly brought us to the small gate of the side courtyard, "Going out from here leads to the entrance of the village!"

As we ran out, I tossed her the money bag in my underwear, "Thank you!"

Otis and I helped Colin all the way to the place where the horse was hitched. Fortunately, although Colin was injured, he got on the horse quickly, which made me feel incredible.Then soon, the two horses galloped out like lightning.

I don't know how far we ran, but suddenly it began to rain.Otis found a leaky wooden shed and simply bandaged Colin to stop the bleeding.No one mentioned what had just happened.I was full of doubts, and finally put the cloak on Colin silently.

"The new clothes are really nice." He still had the leisure to tease me, but I saw his teeth chattering with pain.The horrific knife wound was on his left side, spreading from his shoulder to his chest, continuously spitting out new blood, which had completely soaked his clothes just now.

"We've got to keep going. We're almost at New Sierre." Otis lifted Colin onto the horse and pushed me up. "Take care of him, please." He pointed to Colin.

The rain was not too heavy, and we could barely see the road ahead, and we were running fast.There are pursuers behind, and no one has the leisure to talk again.

Colin handed over the flagon from behind, I shook my head and refused, but was still bewitched by his hoarse voice: "You can't get over it like this." I obediently took it and took a big sip, and the spicy and warm mouthful reached my mouth. throat, and soon spread to the stomach.He put the cloak partly on me from the back, and the cloth was enough to cover both of us, and I realized that I was also shivering from the cold.

When Colin couldn't even control the rein anymore, his body was also pressed down, he was feverish, his burning chest was pressed against my back with the rain, and his unconsciously drooping head fell on my shoulder and neck On the ground, even the exhaled breath was scalding hot and scary.

"Otis!" I yelled to the leader in front of me, feeling that I could no longer support Colin's weight, and then I found that his body tilted and fell off the horse.