little miss austin

The carriage drove out of London to Gloucestershire.

It is already spring, and there is spring everywhere, trees with tender leaves on the side of the road, small flowers blooming beside the woodland, and children running and playing in the open space.

Alice thought of the days at Daylesford House.I was happier and carefree when I was a teenager.Mr. Hastings never stopped her from going out with the boys, letting her play as much as she could when she did, and never letting her go riding in boys' clothes.Hastings doted on her, even spoiled her, and she was happiest in Daylesford.

"What are you thinking?" Julian asked.

"Dalesford."

He smiled. "Oliver?"

"No, Mr. Hastings."

"Oh—" he suddenly realized, "You know, at that time we all guessed that you were the daughter of Mr. Hastings, who was fostered at the Austin family."

Alice's eyes widened, "What? What!"

"It's not surprising. He treats you so well, pampers and pampers you. He bullied you for Evan, and even came to talk to his father. Father also likes you very much. Alice, don't reject Oliver because of my stupidity when I was young." , I won't get in the way."

"You always think too highly of yourself. The matter between me and Oliver has never had anything to do with you."

"Huh? Then why do you always reject him?"

"That has nothing to do with you."

Maria looked at them curiously, and Julian said a few words to her in German and then again in English.

She's petite and cute, she won't be 18 in a few months, she's a doll bride to Alice, it's kind of scary when you think about it, such a young girl is going to be a mother in the near future .

There are many brothers and sisters in her family, so when someone proposes, her parents happily agree, and they don't care about her marrying in a foreign country.A young girl lives in a foreign country, and she can only rely on her husband.

Newton Manor.

The butler and the servants lined up on the steps to welcome the young master home.

Julian got out of the carriage first and asked the housekeeper, "Is the baron at home?"

"The baron is at home."

"Is Oliver there?"

The butler hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Master Oliver is also at home."

"how is he?"

"You'll know it when you see him."

Julian helped down Maria, and then Alice. "I'm going to see my father, and the butler will take you to see Oliver. Butler, take Miss Alice to see Oliver."

Oliver in the backyard of Newton Manor.

It is said to be the backyard, but it is actually a large piece of lawn. They used to play cricket here, and it is full of memories of their youth.

Alice slowly approached the wooden wheelchair.

The wind blew her skirt, making a slight "pop" sound.

Oliver didn't look back.

She reached out and pressed lightly on his shoulder.

He put his hand on the back of her hand, took her hand, and then turned his head to kiss the back of her hand.

"How do you know it's me, not your step-sister?" The housekeeper was quick to tell her about Miss Melissa on the way.Speaking of which, the housekeeper Butler also watched her grow up.

"Perfume." He smiled.

She turned in front of him, squatted down, and gently put her hands on his knees, "Why—why didn't you send someone to tell me you were back?"

He forced a smile.

She raised her hand and lightly touched the ribbon covering his eyes, "Does it hurt?"

He nodded.

"You knew I'd come."

"I know, but I don't want you to see me like this."

"What about other injuries?"

"Not very serious."

"stand up."

He obediently stood up.

She gently took off his jacket and shirt for him, revealing his bare upper body and the bandage on his chest.

"You're so thin." But you actually have some muscles, which can be considered strong.The biceps of the arm are also very impressive, she couldn't help reaching out and pinching his arm.

He chuckled lightly.

"Butler didn't make it clear whether your injury was serious or not."

"It's all trauma."

"Chest or back?"

"Chest."

"Does it hurt?"

"I didn't feel any pain at the time, but there was a lot of blood, which almost scared Jimmy to death." Jimmy was his valet orderly.

"You should tell me right away." She raised her hand and wiped away her tears. "It's not that Jimmy can't write letters." As a personal servant of a noble young master, being able to read and write is the most basic.

"I don't want you to worry."

"I thought you were missing arms and legs, so you dared not let me know."

Oliver laughed, "Yeah, I'm really scared."

"Where else was injured?"

"Nothing."

"Are you afraid that I will dislike you and lose sight?"

He sighed, and softly called her name, "Alice, I may not recover, I'm blind."

She lowered her head, thought for a while, and quickly stretched out her arms to wrap around his waist, carefully pressing her face against the bandage on his chest. "It doesn't matter if you can't see it, then you will always remember me as a young 20-year-old, and I don't worry that you will dislike me for not being beautiful in the future."

Oliver wanted to laugh, but quickly held back the throbbing pain from the wound in his chest. "Little fool, you will always be my little blue-eyed oriole."

"Oli, I'm so afraid you're dead, I don't want you to die."

"I didn't see you, I wouldn't just die like this." He lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair, "Don't cry, I just can't see, I don't have any missing arms or legs yet."

Not far away, the second floor of the manor.

A window was slammed shut, and a young woman in her 20s said angrily, "You're not ashamed! She just took his clothes off when she came in!"

"That's because you have no means to take off his clothes." Another woman in her 30s said coldly.

"Mother!"

"Forget it, he only thinks about that girl. Even if you really slept in his bed and got pregnant with his child, if he refuses to marry you, there is nothing you can do."

"Why can't it be helped? Didn't Austin run away in anger because Lrod Byron has a new lover? I just need to tell her that I am Oliver's fiancee, and she will also run away in anger."

"You can try it."

Behind another window.

"How is he?" Julian asked.

"is acceptable."

"Will he—will he be all right?"

"do not know."

"what did the doctor say?"

"It's hard to say, maybe it will be cured tomorrow, but maybe it won't be cured in a lifetime."

Julian scratched his head in annoyance, "Has his temper changed? I heard that someone's temper changed drastically after being injured."

"You know what kind of person your brother is. It's not you or me that can change his temperament, nor is it hurt, but Alice."

Julian was surprised, "You don't like Alice?"

"No, I like her, but it would be better if she stopped torturing Oliver." Baron Bondfield sighed. "Look, did she come here as soon as she knew Oliver was injured?"

"Yes. As soon as she got the news, she ran to ask me. Father, I understand that he didn't want to tell Alice, but why didn't you send someone to tell me?" Wronged, am I still your son?

"I'll tell you when it's time to let you know."

Oliver had already put on his coat when the footman came.

The servant pushed the wooden wheelchair, and Alice took Oliver's right hand with her left hand, and walked slowly back to the manor.

"Will you live here, or at Daylesford House?"

"Stay here. Butler has asked the maid to tidy up the guest room for me. I will go to see Mr. Hastings tomorrow morning."

"I will go with you."

"it is good."

After a while Oliver said, "Melissa, the Baroness's daughter, don't believe anything she says."

Alice was slightly surprised, "Okay, got it."

"You know I won't lie to you."

"Well, if you don't dare, I will whip you too."

He laughed, "I dare not."

How does a blind man eat?

Well, it's a little difficult.

He doesn't eat much, and he can't eat too much food, and he can barely drink soup.He refused to let him be fed, the cook specially roasted two quails for him, the maid who served the meal tore off the quail meat, served it with bread, vegetables, a plate of steamed scallops with toothpicks, and a bowl of pigeon soup. You can eat with a fork and spoon by yourself.

During dinner, the baron and the baroness sit at the head of the table, Alice sits on the left of the baron, Oliver and Julian sit on the right, Maria sits next to Julian, Alice faces Oliver, and Melissa sits On the mother's right seat, two seats away from Alice.

Melissa seemed very quiet, except for the initial introduction, she behaved like a dignified lady.

Alice didn't care about Melissa.

Oliver's injury was not as serious as she imagined, and she couldn't help thinking wildly on the way here. Even during the two nights in the hotel on the way, she was busy thinking about Oliver's injury—he might have really broken his leg, or Lost an arm.However, logical reasoning told her that the siege of Badajoz had only been three and a half weeks past, and Oliver could go home to recuperate, indicating that his trauma was not very serious.

She didn't expect it to be an eye problem.

This also explains why his injuries were not serious but he was sent home.

After dinner, the baron chatted with his two sons, Maria, and Alice in the living room for a while. The baroness didn't participate in the conversation, and went upstairs after dinner.Although Melissa was in the living room, she was unable to break into the conversation and left quietly after a while.

It seems that the new baroness and her daughter are not very integrated into the daily life of Newton Park.

Maria already speaks English very well, only a few German words are inserted from time to time.The baron seemed to like Maria very much, and was very pleasant to her.

It was the same to Alice as before, asking her what she had gained from traveling abroad for more than two years, how was Portugal, and did not mention Byron or Ivo.

Alice said that when they left Lisbon for the first time, they unfortunately missed General Wesley's troops who had just arrived and did not see Oliver; the second time they went to Lisbon was because Oliver was injured, and she and Julian rushed to Lisbon. to visit him.

The baron asked her to stay longer until Oliver's chest wound healed.It is very sad to say that Oliver's eyes may not get better.

Oliver immediately interrupted his father, "Don't speak too seriously."

"Should she know the truth?" The baron sighed, "I don't want your eyes to heal. If you recover, you will definitely want to go back to Spain. I don't want you to go to the battlefield again. Damn! I obviously let people Transferred you away, why did you go to Wesley's unit?"

"That's because the military sent officers and reinforcements from Gibraltar."

"Compared to being sent back lying in a coffin, I would rather you be blind, at least you can still be alive."

"Father!"

The baron glanced at Alice, "You persuade him to give up his idea of ​​returning to the battlefield."

Alice was a little at a loss, "But that's his ambition."

"Would you rather wait to receive his death notice at home?" asked the baron reproachfully.

Alice wanted to say, it's not my turn to collect the death notice, right?

But she still said: "Oliver is an adult, he has the right to decide what kind of life path he should take."

"He joined the army for you!"

Alice was speechless, and after a while, "He didn't join the army for me, he joined the army for himself."

"Father, don't blame Alice."

The guest room that the butler arranged for her was still the room she lived in when she was a child. The room had been redecorated, and the wallpaper and lighting had been changed.

Kate has already opened the suitcase and put away her clothes and frequently used items.She left in such a hurry that she didn't have time to bring her typewriter and manuscripts, but what about Austin typewriters? There are at least a dozen of them in Newton Manor, and the butler ordered someone to bring a new typewriter to her.

The servant brought hot water, Kate waited on her to wash, she changed her nightgown, and was lazily ready to go to bed.

Someone knocked on the door, "Alice."

It's Oliver.

He did not ask the servant to help him, and held a cane in his hand.

Kate opened the door and let him in.

Alice hurriedly got out of bed, came out and helped him sit down on the sofa. "You don't sleep, do you have to tell me something important right now?"

"Don't take what father said today seriously."

"What did he say?"

"Say—oh, you're so naughty!" He smiled happily, "He has always refused to allow me to join the army."

"He loves you very much, and is worried that you will die on the battlefield."

"Well, I know." He groped to touch her hand, gently touched her hand along the arm, and touched her face, "What about you? Are you also worried that I will die on the battlefield?"

"I'm very worried. You can't die, you're still young, you still have a lot of delicious food you haven't eaten, and a lot of fun things you haven't played—"

"I haven't kissed you yet." He continued abruptly.

She smiled, "Yes, you haven't kissed me yet."

His eyes were originally covered with bandages, but he thought the bandages were ugly-in fact, he couldn't see at all-so he asked the maid to sew some ribbon blindfolds to cover the bandages.He has a fair face, small face and big eyes, almost a third of his face is covered by the ribbon blindfold, making his face even smaller, looking very pitiful, with a strange fragility and slenderness The delicate beauty of a teenager.

She had never seen him so close before.

"Ollie," she whispered.

He turned to her.

"You... Do you want to kiss me?" After finishing speaking, before he could answer, she hurriedly kissed him on the lips.

Kissed lightly, then parted immediately, lowered his eyes a little nervously, and stared at his lips: delicate thin lips, natural light pink - oops!I can't remember what it was like to kiss his lips at all, I just feel that my brain suddenly goes blank.

He said with a smile, "I thought you should kiss better than this." His hand touched her arm again, then her shoulder, her neck, and then pressed the thumb of his right hand on her lips, and then Kiss her lips.

It was a wonderful sweet kiss, with the taste of mint in his mouth.

She wanted to open her eyes, but she couldn't.You mean, you can experience a kiss better with your eyes closed, right?He was obviously not as jerky as Ivo, he was an experienced man, and he kissed so well that she almost couldn't breathe.

She didn't know when she hugged his waist tightly, he supported the back of her head with one hand, and hugged her tightly with the other arm, eager and a little - nervous.

A little salty liquid slipped between their lips.

He released her slightly, "Why are you crying?"

"I didn't—" She wiped her face.Why am I crying?

But unexpectedly, she couldn't stop the tears.

"What's wrong with you?" He couldn't help rubbing her face with his fingers, wiping away her tears. "Don't cry, if you cry for the years you wasted, I will allow you to cry."

"I'm not--"

"Are you worried about me?"

"Well. But I can't say, don't go to the front line. If you want to go, then I will accompany you to the Iberian Peninsula. I can stay in Lisbon. I like Lisbon quite a bit. Ollie, military achievements are not as good as your life Important, and not as important as me."

"Nothing can compare to you. In my heart, there is always a place for you, you know."

She nestled against his chest and cried for a long time before gradually stopping her tears.

The next day Oliver accompanied her to visit Warren Hastings at nearby Daylesford House.

Mr. Hastings regretted Oliver's eye injury and asked how he was doing.In fact, his eyes were not really injured. He was burned by the hot air after the powder keg exploded. His chest injury was caused by masonry impact. His back was also impacted by the shock wave and fell to the ground. However, the injury was not serious, even his ribs were damaged. There is no break, it can be said that if it is not for the eye injury, it will not be the turn to be sent back to the country.

But an eye injury is a very serious injury, and the doctor has no better way to treat an eye injury than to apply some herbal ointment and hope that it will slowly repair.

The last time he was injured, he was awarded the Companion Medal of the Bath Knight. Most of this medal is awarded to soldiers, and there are also a small number of civilians. The Companion Medal is the lowest level of the Bath Medal.Injured this time, he was promoted to one level, and was awarded the Order of the Commander of the Bath Knights. There is only a quota of 180 people for this order, and it can only be awarded if there is a vacancy.

In addition to medals, there are also bonuses, plus the bonuses saved in the past few years, Oliver has 1 pounds in war bonuses alone.As we all know, war money is the best way to make money. When fighting in a foreign country, you can't survive on a few hundred pounds of allowances. Low-level officers get some money for drinks, and high-level commanders rush for medals and titles. The easiest to get rich is the school officer, Oliver counts Not being greedy, I also bought several boxes of oil paintings, antiques, and several boxes of jewelry, with less than 2 pounds in cash.

On his return from Daylesford, Oliver asked Jimmy, the valet, to bring Alice his personal ledger.

"Jimmy helped me keep the accounts, and asked him to take you to the warehouse to have a look. If you like it, keep it, and sell the rest."

"I don't like to look at the ledger." She pretended to mutter.

"I can't see it now, please help me see it." He smiled gently, "And Jimmy, I'm going to give him 1000 pounds and buy him a house. He has reached the age of marriage." He carried it down from the smoking ruins of the city wall. He has made great contributions and should be rewarded.

Alice nodded, "Okay, let me do it."

She looked at the ledger first, and Jimmy's accounting was pretty clear. Allowances, bonuses, and gray income were recorded one by one by category.There are also lists for paintings, antiques, and jewelry.

She took Jimmy, Kate, and Jacob to Oliver's private warehouse, which was full of boxes.

"How come there are so many boxes?" She was surprised, "There are not so many things in the ledger."

Jimmy said: "Most of this is left by the young master's mother."

Alice suddenly asked, "Where is this part of the account book?" It is said that the husband can possess the wife's property, cash is good, and the former baroness has other items, which must be left to her son.

Jimmy added: "A lot of furnishings were placed in the room. Before the master married Mrs. Caroline, he put away most of Mrs. Gemma's things."

Eh, Lord Baron's work is also very interesting.This means that he clearly knows that his current wife is not very good in character, so what he covets is beauty.Indeed, Lady Caroline was very beautiful, the kind of mature and charming woman that a man would be charmed by.Melissa is not as beautiful as her mother, but she seems to have a lot of eyes.

"Mrs. Gemma's things don't move until I look at the account book. Jimmy, you are credited for protecting Master Oliver. You can choose an oil painting or an antique."

Jimmy didn't hold back, and picked out a mahogany and ivory cross with gemstones that could be hung on the wall.

Alice wanted nothing but a few oil paintings.Jewelry also picked out a turquoise necklace and a gold ring with emeralds for Jimmy, and said that if they were going to get married, they would have an engagement ring and a gift for the fiancée.

After leaving the warehouse, he wrote another cashier's check for 1000 pounds to Jimmy.

"Don't gamble with it. Better buy some fields. Master Oliver will buy the house for you."

"Thank you, Master, thank you Miss Austin." Jimmy carefully collected the promissory note.

Oliver kept smiling and listening to her deal with things.

When Jimmy left, he said, "Come here."

He patted his thigh, meaning he wanted her to sit on his lap.

She walked over, but instead of sitting on his lap, she "slapped" the account book on his lap.

He yelled "It hurts so much".

The next morning, Alice saw Melissa tiptoing out of Oliver's room in her nightgown.

Melissa made a gesture of closing the door, walked over quickly, and passed Alice at the top of the stairs.