Love England

When Mr. Thornton received a note from Mr. Lennox by accident, asking him to come to the New Street Cafe to talk about the factory, he never thought that Mr. Henry Lennox would become his savior, he even Did not tell his mother where he was going that afternoon.Although the first conversation between Mr. Thornton and Lawyer Lennox was very long, they were all about the existing conditions of some factories and did not involve specific investment matters.After the two of them finished talking about business for a while, Mr. Thornton invited him to his home. This was the first time he sincerely invited Mr. Lennox. There was no jealousy or hostility towards him at the beginning. It is a natural result to fulfill the good relationship between the lawyer and his sister.Mr. Lawyer cares so much about the Thornton factory that Mr. Thornton thinks it must be because of his admiration for his sister—yes, Mr. Thornton already knows that his sister is actually having an affair with Mr. Lennox This is what Fanny confessed to her mother and brother after Mrs. Thornton drove Mr. Watson away.

Fanny herself admitted that the reason why she accepted Mr. Watson's marriage proposal was because of a little emotional misunderstanding with Mr. Lennox, so she agreed to Mr. Watson's proposal in a fit of anger, but she really regretted it later. It was also the reason why she proposed to postpone the wedding in the first place.Although Mrs. Thornton didn't like the Lennox lawyer, but after experiencing Mr. Watson's lesson, she also began to re-examine the wishes of her children.No matter how rude that pious Mr. Watson was, Mrs. Thornton had to agree with one point he said: Now that the Thornton family is in trouble, who else would marry such a man who has no property, and even his family is burdened? Where is the girl in debt?

"Mom, if Mr. Lennox came to propose to me, would you agree? Even if he is a lawyer?" After Miss Thornton told Mrs. Thornton, she asked tentatively.

"I don't have much to ask for now, Fanny. If Mr. Lennox really doesn't change his mind about you under the circumstances of our family, I should admire his courage!" Mrs. Thornton said with a sigh.But now that Mrs. Thornton saw Mr. Lennox standing in front of her in high spirits, she had unreservedly handed over her daughter to this upright lawyer. She had made up her mind that if the lawyer offered Fanny proposed, and she would agree [-] percent.Mrs. Thornton even left him alone with Fanny, which, in Mr. Thornton's opinion, was a good thing for Fanny, however much the mother might have thought of the accident.When Mr. Lennox is gone, Mrs. Thornton is overjoyed when, as Mr. Thornton bids his mother good night, he reveals to her that Mr. Lennox's presence may turn the mill around.

"It would be great if that was the case!"

"Mother, let's not have too many expectations. Things are not certain now. I don't want to see you and Fanny holding out hope for revitalizing the factory."

"God will bless us, John! Believe in God's arrangements, things will work out! I won't let that American woman see our jokes like today! Let her regret that she shouldn't reject your marriage proposal!"

"What does 'like today' mean? Miss Addams is here today?" Mr Thornton's heart tightened.Mrs. Thornton knew her son's expression, and every time he mentioned that woman, he always had that expression—eager, heartbroken and entangled. She really regretted that she had just been frank for a while, and accidentally slipped her mouth. Wasn't going to tell him about Miss Addams' visit.

"Yes, that Miss Addams came to the factory alone in the afternoon." Mrs. Thornton said reluctantly, "I don't believe her if she hypocritically says that she is also sad about the situation in the factory!"

"Thank you for telling me this, mother! One more thing I want to clarify to you is that Miss Addams never refused my marriage proposal. I should have given you an explanation to explain your misunderstanding about Miss Addams, and I ask you to forgive me for that!" Mr. Thornton bowed slightly to her mother, "Good night, mother!" He turned and left Mrs. Thornton's room. In the living room, lying on the bed thinking about the negotiation with Mr. Lennox, a thought suddenly popped into his mind—is Mr. Lennox's appearance related to Cali?

The next morning, when Mr. Thornton met with Mr. Lennox again, the lawyer had already drafted an investment agreement before him.He read the agreement carefully, and the investment plan proposed to him by the lawyer was like "timely rain", which could completely revive the already dead factory.The real estate leased from Mr. Bell and the money borrowed from him have become part of the factory investment; there is also cash investment, which can pay off the bank loan immediately, and there is even a surplus of working capital reserved for the factory.All the investment conditions are too generous, and even investors basically do not ask for dividends and management rights of the factory, but only ask for the establishment of a fund for the dividends of the factory to help poor workers live.Mr. Thornton put down the draft agreement after reading it. Seeing his frowning, Mr. Lenox quickly said: "Mr. Thornton, this agreement is only a draft. If you have any objections, we can discuss it together and finally reach a conclusion." unanimous."

"Mr. Lennox, this agreement is very favorable to my terms. I don't have too many objections, but you have to tell me frankly, are these really Mr. Bell's ideas?"

"Of course, you have seen the agreement, and these are indeed Mr. Bell's wishes. You know that Mr. Bell has always appreciated you, and I am not surprised that he wants to help you through this difficult time. I am not only the executor of his will , if this investment can go smoothly, I will still be his investment shareholder agent in the future—of course, as written in the agreement, I will never interfere with the management of the factory, you can rest assured!"

Mr. Thornton wanted to see through this Mr. Lennox sitting in front of him. He was always smiling and well-behaved. Woolen cloth?The most important thing is that the factory is saved. His mother and sister will not live on the streets because of his bankruptcy, and he will not leave his hometown to start from scratch. There is work, there is food to eat, and even Mr. Bell established a security fund for them to help them improve their lives. All people will benefit. Maybe it is God's arrangement as his mother said, and it was Mr. Bell who brought him His new year's miracle may also be, why should he bother with other things?Subsequent things went smoothly. After Thornton withdrew the application for bankruptcy protection, the investment agreement was officially signed on the morning before the New Year.According to the agreement, on the second day after the new year, the due bank loan will be repaid by the new investor. On the third day of the new year, Mr. Thornton will recall the workers to continue working. Visit Higgins and tell him he can come back to work.

On New Year's Eve, the Thornton family hadn't been this happy for a long time. Mrs. Thornton invited Lawyer Lennox to have dinner with them to celebrate the New Year with them. Mr. Thornton also invited his assistant's family to let them Knowing that the workers can start working again, he can come back to work again, and Mrs. Thornton also called back the resigned servant the day before.After enjoying the feast prepared by Mrs. Thornton, everyone gathered in the living room to drink steaming coffee and chat.Mrs. Thornton was chatting with the assistant couple. On the other side, Fanny was having a friendly conversation with Mr. Lennox. Fanny blushed and smiled, looking at Mr. Lennox intently, immersed in the In the infinite love, and Mr. Lennox has been by her side all the time, just talking to her, and also enjoying the joy of this love. The two of them seem so happy, which is really enviable.This scene made Mr. Thornton suddenly feel a little lonely. He felt strange that the worst was over. Why did he feel this lonely feeling?He quietly left the living room, wanting to temporarily escape the suffocating sweetness in the living room, at this time a servant came to him and reported respectfully: "Sir, a person just sent a note to To Mr. Lennox, who Miss Hale sent him."

"Okay, you give it to me, and I'll give it to Mr. Lennox." The valet handed a small note to Mr. Thornton and withdrew.There was no envelope or wax on this note, and it was just a small piece of paper with one sentence written on it. Mr. Thornton didn't intend to read what was written on the note, but the appearance of Cali's name on it stopped him in his tracks , quickly skimming through this note:

Don't forget to pick Cali up from the dance at midnight!

Margaret Hale

prom?Mr. Thornton remembered that the assistant said at the dinner table just now that the factory owners are going to hold a grand New Year's Eve party today, but those factory owners did not invite him, and the reason is self-evident. "She must be beautiful at the ball!" Mr. Thornton kicked the note into his pocket and thought, "Maybe now is not the time to disturb Mr. Lennox!" He took out his arms and looked, and it was almost 11 :30, "Maybe I should do him a favor and bring Miss Addams back!" Thinking of this, Mr. Thornton put on his coat, walked out of the Thornton mansion, called a taxi, and headed for the ball.

It was almost midnight when the carriage arrived at the meeting place. Mr. Thornton asked the coachman to wait for him for a while, and then got out of the carriage.He walked straight towards the gate of the ballroom. Guests were coming in and out of the gate. There were several servants at the gate handing out coats and belongings to the guests, and some calling carriages for some guests who were about to leave.Before Mr. Thornton walked to the door, he had already attracted the attention of various people. These people all speculated why Mr. Thornton, who was in the quagmire because the factory was about to go bankrupt, appeared at such a luxurious ball.Mr. Thornton, aware of the curious looks cast upon him by those around him, realized how inappropriate it was for him to appear suddenly at such a ball. As he hesitated at the door whether to enter the ball, old Hampton The gentleman greeted him slightly unexpectedly and walked towards him.

"Mr. Thornton! It is an accident to meet you here! Good evening!"

"Mr. Hamper, good evening! It seems that the ball is well held, and there are so many people here!"

"The dance party is good." He picked up his pocket watch and glanced at it, "It will be twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, but I am old, and I have already gone to bed at this time, I really can't survive young people like you, I plan to Let’s leave first, of course my kid is having a lot of fun inside.” At this moment, the old Mr. Hamper stopped talking and looked at the well-dressed Mr. Thornton, “Mr. Thornton, the crisis is over, right?”

"Yes, my old friend, so to speak! The factory will reopen three days after the New Year." Mr. Thornton replied respectfully, without showing too much joy.

"That's great news! Really good news! What a good boy!" Mr. Hamper patted him on the shoulder and said with admiring eyes, "If my boy is half as capable as you, I will Don't worry! You should go to the prom now and have a good dance. It's time to relax. If you put a smile on your face, I think every lady at the prom will be looking forward to your invitation They danced—that's right! Speaking of ladies, you still remember that Miss Addams from the United States, she really shined at today's ball, like the beautiful Helen reborn, even an old guy like me can't help but be surprised to see her. I feel young for several years! If the two of you dance together, it will definitely be pleasing to the eye..."

"Thank you, Mr. Hamper, for your compliment!" interrupted Mr. Thornton, who was now distraught at the sound of "Miss Addams" being called "Miss Addams," "but I didn't come to the ball, I just... "Suddenly, the bell of Milton Cathedral struck midnight, and people listened to the New Year's bell and counted the number of times the bell rang.When the bell struck the fourth time, Mr. Thornton saw a bright woman in a light blue dress with beautiful white roses coming out, as if waiting and looking for something, Her eyes fell on him at the same time.

"Cali!" Mr. Thornton couldn't help calling out, leaving the nagging old Hamper, and walked up quickly to tell her that he was going to pick her up, but her expression changed from surprise to pain in an instant , showing infinite sadness, she immediately turned around and ran away with her dress in hand, and ran into the crowd at the ball as the bell rang.

"Miss Addams, your handbag and cloak! Miss Addams?" A servant of the depository looked for her just like Mr. Thornton.

"Give it to me, I'll bring it to Miss Addams!" Mr. Thornton said to the servant. The servant hesitated, but handed it to him, and then he continued to chase the crowd that Cali ran into.The men and women at the ball were saying "Happy New Year" to each other, hugging and laughing to the new bells.He made his way through the crowd with difficulty and saw that Cali had already crossed the hall.

"Seven, eight, nine—"

Mr. Thornton counted the bells in his mind, as if they were urging him, "Cali, why are you running away?" He was thinking, when he saw her open the door and enter a room, and he ran after her.

"Ten, eleven—"

Mr. Thornton opened the door, and to his surprise the room was empty.

"Happy New Year everyone!" New Year greetings came from men and women in the ballroom again.

"Twelve!" He muttered to himself in a slow and low voice, looking at the white drawstring bag in his hand and the lady's shawl on his arm, he spent another half an hour searching in this room, He had to tell himself - Cali is gone!