The heroine of the healing department is very rigid [Pride and Prejudice]

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the little white horse walked forward with all its strength, but the car seemed to grow on the ground, and it didn't move a centimeter.

Mary had to get out of the car in the torrential rain, trying to get the wheel out of the mud by lightening the load.

She went to the back of the carriage and pushed against the wall with all her strength, but after 10 minutes the efforts were pointless.

Recently, there have been some wandering soldiers around Hertfordshire.They wandered around the village with wine bags during the day, flirting with young girls, and playing cards in cheap hotels at night.

These soldiers are all wearing the uniform of the Royal Navy, and some even wear a few badges, even the magistrate dare not offend them.

Thunder flashed continuously in the sky, raindrops crackled down, and the sky gradually darkened.

Mary was exhausted and shivering from the cold.

It was at least six miles away from Bennet Manor. Even if she was willing to leave the carriage, she would not be able to walk back on foot in such bad weather.What's more, there are no such things as umbrellas and ponchos.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" A strange voice suddenly sounded.

Mary wiped the rain from her eyes, took a closer look, and found that the speaker was a soldier with an umbrella, and she immediately became vigilant.

"Don't be nervous, ma'am. I mean no harm." The soldier took a few steps back after seeing Mary looking at him with wary eyes, "My friends may have caused you some trouble recently, but please believe that this is by no means They mean it. My name is Frank."

This soldier named Frank did look a little different. His uniform was clean and tidy, not as dirty and hard as the others.

"May I push the carriage for you?" Frank asked politely.

Mary hesitated for a while, and finally nodded, "Thank you very much, Mr. Frank."

If she didn't rescue the carriage from the mud puddle again, it would be even darker, and even if Mr. Bennet arrived at that time, it would be a troublesome matter.

After getting permission, Frank came over slowly.He handed the umbrella to Mary and asked her to wait by the side of the road. He braved the heavy rain and walked to the back of the carriage by himself. He spread his legs forward and backward to make a starting posture, and then stretched out his arms to push the carriage with all his strength.

The white horse pulling the cart took a step forward, but it still couldn't save the wheel from the mire.Mary put the umbrella on the seat, rushed out into the rain again, took hold of the bridle, and strode forward.

Finally, the carriage moved.Due to inertia, the white horse took several steps forward in a row, but Mary couldn't stand still and fell into the rain in a panic.

"Are you okay?" Frank held the umbrella with his left hand, and politely supported Mary with his right hand.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Frank." Mary wiped the mud off her face, wondering if she should invite Frank to her house for tea.

"This is what a gentleman should do." Frank showed a friendly smile, "Why don't I take you home, after all, it's five or six miles away from Bennet Manor."

Mary took a step back suddenly, and instantly returned to the alert state just now, "Sir, I don't seem to have told you where I live."

"Uh..." Frank held up the umbrella hesitantly, and unconsciously blocked the door of the carriage, "It's like this, I saw you coming out of Bennet Manor when I went to drink the horses a few days ago."

"Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Frank, but I think I can go home by myself." Mary was still skeptical, and she hadn't gone out except to attend Mr. Bingley's ball in recent days.

Frank suddenly put on a weird smile, as if he heard some joke.

"Go? Miss, it's inappropriate for you to leave like this?"

He took the horsewhip and slammed it heavily on the ground, and the fine sand and gravel instantly flew around.

Mary didn't have time to think about what Frank wanted to do, so she turned around and ran away.

But the ankle-length skirt seriously hindered the pace, and Frank caught up with him in two steps. He reached out and grabbed Mary's hair, dragging her to the ground.

Even though Mary usually does a lot of things like walking horses and riding horses, and she is a little stronger than other girls, but when facing a soldier, she still seems powerless.

"Help!" Mary screamed, but the rain was so loud that it completely drowned out the cry for help.She was pushed to the ground by Frank, and her mouth was full of rainwater and sand.

"boom!"

With a gunshot, Frank uttered a scream of pain and rolled aside with his arms folded.

The little white horse was startled by the gunshots, left its owner, and ran away with the cart alone.

What a shameless guy.

A somewhat familiar man was holding a gun, riding a tall Dutch warm-blooded horse with indifference, looking condescendingly at the two people who fell to the ground.

Mary suddenly remembered that she had seen this man. His name was Heathcliff, and he was one of Mr. Bingley's friends at the banquet that day.

"How dare you attack a soldier!" Frank shouted with trembling lips, half lying in the rain like a stray dog, "You will be sentenced to life imprisonment!"

The rainwater mixed with blood gathered on the ground to form a small dirty stream, and the air was filled with the smell of chlorine produced by the heavy rain washing away the soil.

"boom!"

There was another gunshot, and this time the bullet hit the ground. Several stones jumped up from the ground, and then fell back to the ground crackling.

Frank took a few steps back, clutching his bleeding arm, hunched over, and ran away scrambling.

Heathcliff let out a cold snort from his nose, and before Mary staggered up from the ground, he put the shotgun back on his back, turned his horse and drove towards Netherfield Manor.

What an odd man.Mary stood awkwardly in the rain, and was at a loss for a while.

The rain was still pattering, and the carriage didn't know where it went. She could only hold her arms tightly and continue to brave the rainstorm, and prayed in her heart that her father would arrive as soon as possible, otherwise she might have to freeze to death. on the way.

A few flashes of lightning flashed across the sky again, illuminating the dim sky like day, and a vague figure appeared in the distance.

Very good!Father finally came.Mary took her wet skirt and ran happily towards the figure, "Father, I'm here!" she shouted.

But as the figure became clearer and clearer, Mary realized that she had identified the wrong person.

"Perhaps you should go to London to see an ophthalmologist, Miss Bennet." Heathcliff was still riding on the tall Dutch warmblood horse, followed by Mary's little white horse and carriage.

Standing in the rain with her arms folded, Mary was a little at a loss. She didn't expect this Heathcliff to be so kind, so she couldn't help wondering if he had some ulterior motive, and she froze for a moment.

"I think you are an able-bodied man who can get into a carriage by yourself." Heathcliff urged impatiently.

"When...Of course." Mary came back to her senses and hurriedly climbed onto the carriage.

The little white horse is probably feeling guilty for abandoning its owner and "escaping" alone, and has become extra obedient.Therefore, although Mary was dragged down by the heavy skirt, she didn't waste much effort and sat in the car, gradually regaining her composure.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Heathcliff. Why don't you come back to my house and have a cup of coffee. I believe my father will also extend his sincere thanks to you."

"Not all are as idle as you, Miss Bennet."

Heathcliff still looked indifferent, his mouth was drawn into a straight line, his shoulders were broad, his skin was light brown, and he looked a bit like a gypsy.

"Send the carriage back" probably exhausted the last bit of kindness in Heathcliff's life, so as soon as he saw Mary climbed into the carriage, he immediately chose to leave without looking back.

At the same time, he cursed something viciously. Mary didn't catch it, but she knew that he was probably talking about the delay.

Fortunately, Mr. Bennet came with a poncho shortly after Heathcliff left. He let Mary hide in the car, and he sat in the driver's seat. With a light flick of the whip, the little white horse went "da Da da" walked forward.

"Thanks to Mr. Heathcliff." Mr. Bennet said gratefully while driving.

"He asked a child playing with water on the side of the road to call the police, and I didn't know where you were. The rain came as soon as it came. I thought there would be something like an umbrella on the carriage."

It seems that Heathcliff did not tell about Frank, and it is more appropriate for Mary to say this kind of thing herself.

It wasn't very warm in the carriage, but at least it was much better than being watered in the rain.

Mary has been tossing around for a long time, and now she just feels tired and sleepy. She leans her head against the car wall, wraps the blanket tightly, and falls asleep unconsciously.

It wasn't until a familiar shrill voice woke her up from her sleep.

"Thank God you're back at last! My nerves ache like hell. I told you to carry an umbrella with you, Mary, but you never listened."

Mrs. Bennet stood at the door, holding an umbrella in her left hand, and kept crossing herself with her right hand.

"Last year, Mrs. Lang's uncle was killed by a boulder that fell in the rain. I heard that when they found his body... oh, no, it was terrible... my nerves..."

"We're fine, ma'am. Neither Mary nor I were hurt. Now, will you let us in?"

Mr. Bennet wiped the rain from his forehead, and looked helplessly at Mrs. Bennet who was blocking the door. She kept talking about her nerves.

"Mom, let's let father and Mary come in, they must be freezing." Elizabeth calmly supported Mrs. Bennet to get out of the way.

The fireplace in the house was burning brightly, and a large tin teapot stood on top of the orange-red flame, with white mist coming out of the spout and the sound of "whooping".

The teapot was a little too full today, and the boiling tea was now overflowing from the lid, dripping onto the fire, and then crackling again.

Elizabeth quickly picked up the kettle, poured two cups of hot tea, and served them to her father and sister who had changed their clothes.

After drinking a cup of hot tea, Mary felt comfortable all over her body, and it was as if a small flame had been lit in her stomach, which was so hot.

"It was Mr. Heathcliff who sent to tell us where you were trapped," Jane came in with a plate of tea. "May God bless him—you didn't meet those stragglers?"

"Unfortunately, I met." Mary shrugged, deliberately did not mention the details of meeting Frank, but the gesture of shrugging aroused Mrs. Bennet's dissatisfaction again, "but Mr. Heathcliff drove him away."

"The law and order here is really getting worse and worse. Those sheriffs take money but don't do anything." Mrs. Bennet yelled, "You'd better stay away from Heathcliff, Mrs. Long said he was a reckless husband."

"I'll have to thank him in two days. And Mrs. Long has always been a bad judge of people. She used to say I was a witch." Mary replied, feeling a little uncomfortable with the prejudice of her mother and Mrs. Long against Heathcliff.

"Just let your father go," said Mrs. Bennet firmly.

Mr. Bennet had planned to call on Heathcliff on Saturday morning, who had also been staying at Netherfield recently on business.

But an unexpected visitor arrives early this morning to disrupt his plans.The sheriff reappeared at the gate of Bennet Manor wearing a well-pressed black uniform, holding a small notebook for recording statements in his hand.