little miss austin

hostess.

The word sounds good.

She slowly leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "Ollie, you have changed a lot."

"It's not that I've changed, it's that you haven't seen me before." He touched her face and flicked her face.

This is quite sad to say.

"Is that so?" She vaguely remembered that he was indeed right.When she was a child, she preferred to play with Ivo, and if Ivo wasn't around, she didn't want to go out to play.Oliver, the big brother boy who always wanted to please her, would call Ivo as long as he lived in Faraday Manor.

She was used to his care and company, like the air, so instead she ignored him.

The water is getting a little cold.

"Jessie, hot water." Oliver yelled while lying in the bathtub.

"I'll be right there." Jessie outside the door agreed, and the footsteps went away.

After a while, Jesse came back.

Jess scooped out some water, poured the hot water into the tub, and went out to stay outside.

A pair of soft little hands suddenly pressed on his shoulders.

He was startled at first, his muscles tightened, he sat up suddenly, and then relaxed, "Alice, why didn't I hear you come in?"

"I don't have shoes on." She picked up the sponge next to the bathtub, "Shall I help you take a bath?"

"You should see that I have no clothes on."

"Why do you still wear clothes when you take a shower?" This person is so strange!

He laughed, "It's not fair, you've seen my body, I haven't seen yours yet."

"When you're cured—" she sighed, "what's the name of the Belgian doctor?"

"Kostesko."

"When is the next inspection?"

"Five more days."

"I've made an appointment with the best ophthalmologist in London, and I'll take you to his clinic tomorrow."

"Don't be too impatient. Dr. Kerstest said that my eyeballs and corneas are not damaged, and I just need to wait for the body to repair itself."

"I'm not in a rush. There's a theory that women have a 'maternity' in them, that they want to take care of someone they love, like—care for their children." The sponge was full, warm water dripping on his shoulders , back. "Actually, it's a matter of the concentration of chemical molecules in the human body. It's hormones. The more two people come into contact with each other, the higher the concentration of this chemical molecule. That's it—"

The sponge fell into the bathtub, and soft hands stroked his shoulders and gently stroked his back.

It was itchy, and from his shoulders and back, there seemed to be a series of small sparks crackling and burning all the way to his heart.Suddenly a sour and sweet feeling surged in his heart, he wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

Those warm and soft little hands left his body, and immediately, the string of small sparks was interrupted.He shouted in dissatisfaction: "Alice!"

She didn't speak.Soon, the water in the bathtub overflowed, with a splashing sound, and the water fell on the wooden floor.

The origin of the little sparks was now on his chest, on his lips.

Larger and more violent small sparks spread from their pressed lips, burning him hot and shaking him.He touched the back of her hand, her arm, and hugged her tightly.

She was wearing a muslin nightdress, which was already half wet. He touched the belt and hurriedly untied it.

The water is freezing.

Fortunately, it's summer, so it won't feel too cold.

Alice leaned in Oliver's arms, splashing water with her palms.

There was water all over the floor in half the room.

"Are you getting up?" he whispered in her ear.

"Get up now."

"The floor is full of water, be careful, don't fall."

"You have to buy me a new nightdress." She stepped out of the bathtub.

"I can buy you 100 nightdresses."

She giggled and stepped on the wet carpet.

Oliver's clothes were on the rack next to the bath, and hers, Kate had sent them in, were on the chair by the door.She changed into dry pajamas, walked back to the bathtub, and handed him the towel.

He didn't take the towel and stood up from the bathtub.

She muttered, "You're not ashamed."

"Baby, you are my closest person now, you have to learn to be familiar with my body." He took the bath towel to dry off the water on his body, touched the shelf again, and picked up the pajamas. "Come to my room, will you?"

"No, I have to get used to it slowly."

"Going back to Wokingham tomorrow?"

"Well, go to the clinic first in the morning. If you don't need to stay, then we'll go back at noon tomorrow."

"I want to take a short detour and visit Mrs. Austin. We can stay at your house for one night."

Alice was a little awkward, "After seeing you, my mother has to ask why we are not engaged yet."

"Don't worry, I'll make it clear to her—Alice, you want to be with me, don't you?"

She nodded, and then remembered that he couldn't see, so she could only say, "I thought about it."

"Thinking about what?"

"Want to be with you."

He said this sweetly in his heart, "I also want to be with you, my blue-eyed little oriole."

Mrs. Austen received a letter from her servant early in the morning, saying that Alice and Oliver would arrive in the afternoon.She happily said to Cathy: "It seems that our little Alice has finally figured it out."

Cathy said very cooperatively: "That's why I keep saying, don't worry, she is still young, when she grows up, she will always understand who loves her the most."

"Think about it, Oliver! I've always liked Oliver better, and I'm so excited! They must be the loveliest newlyweds in England! By the way, did Alice tell you, and did Oliver propose to her? Ah, I remember, he actually proposed to her when he was in Madeira."

"She didn't say anything. Mom, when she comes home in the afternoon, don't rush to ask her about the proposal or engagement."

"Oh, I know I know." Mrs. Austen has long admitted, "This child has been a little troublemaker since she was a child, and she is too independent. I can't make her angry, can I? But I can't ask, can you ask?" Remember, find an opportunity to ask her in the future. They can live together now, but they can't stay engaged forever. I don't know how to answer when relatives ask. "

Cathy also felt that this was a problem, so she agreed, "I'll ask her after a while. Maybe Oliver doesn't want to get engaged now, after all, he still can't see."

Speaking of Oliver's eyes, Mrs. Austen was also very worried, "Oliver is a good boy, but—" But thinking about it again, if Oliver was not injured and he was still in Spain, it was impossible for Alice to be with him. Therefore, his injury this time can be said to be a good thing, at least in terms of their love, it is a test and an opportunity.

The day and night passed comfortably at home, and Mrs. Austen made no mention of engagement or marriage.Oliver talked with Mrs. Austen in the study for less than twenty minutes.

Alice wanted to follow in, but Cathy held her back.

"Oliver has something to say to his mother, what are you doing in there?"

"I have a right to know."

"Then ask Oliver yourself."

"Forget it, I know what he will say if you don't ask me. He must be talking about the engagement. He thinks that he is still a sick person. He will not propose marriage until his eyes are cured. Cathy, do you think he is a bit too Stupid?"

Cathy picked up the comb and combed her hair slowly. Her hair had grown very long again, and it was still so thick. "A man, if he falls in love, he will become stupid. This shows that he really loves you. He was very good at taking care of you when you were young. He has always been gentle. With him taking care of you, my mother and I will be very happy." rest assured."

"I'll take care of myself, I've got money, I've got servants, I've got Jacob—"

"Can you have one more person who loves you to take care of you, isn't it good? Mom will die, and I will die too, and I will definitely die before you. You know what mom thinks, you are the youngest child, she doesn't Don't worry, she hopes to have someone who loves you wholeheartedly, takes care of you, lives with you, and of course, it's best to get married. You said you won't get married, and you really scared my mother."

"There are many girls who are not married, and my mother is always worrying."

"I will help you persuade your mother. Don't always talk back to her and be angry with her. Mom is getting old and her temper is not very good. You little monkey, pretend to be in front of her, follow her, and wait for you to go Now, why don't you just do what you want? She can't really control you. "

"I know, I will behave better in front of her."

"If you're with Oliver, you two can live anywhere as long as it's not in London, but if you're pregnant, get married right away, you know?"

It was a bit embarrassing to frankly talk about this kind of problem with my sister, she was a little uncomfortable. "I've thought about this question too. I..." She sighed, "Women are really troublesome. They have to bleed for several days every month, and they have to bear the risk of pregnancy alone. Sigh!"

"So we have to be more careful. We must make sure that he loves you and you love him, otherwise we should not get married."

Alice nodded.

"Is Oliver nice to you?"

"as usual."

"Then how are you treating him?"

"It's good. He lost the money bag I sent him last time in the Badajoz camp. I didn't blame him, and I made him a new money bag. But I can't live Taking care of him too much, really treating him as a blind man, he is very proud, he will not let others do for him what he can do by himself, for fear that others will treat him as a waste."

Cathy thought for a while, um, indeed, as the son of the baron, Oliver was a very proud person since he was a child.So, he couldn't see, he must be in pain and anxiety, right?He didn't propose now. He must have wanted to wait until his eyes were all healed before proposing, so that others would not say that Alice married a blind man.Needless to say, my mother will definitely agree with his approach.

Oliver found them and knocked on the door of the family room, "Alice, Mrs. Austin told you to take me out."

Said to send him out, but actually sent him from the main house to the cottage next to the woods, which is less than a mile away.Jacob took Jesse, lighting the lantern one after the other.

"Don't you want to know what I told your mother?" Oliver said without her asking.

"Are you talking about the engagement?"

"Yes. Mrs. Austin agreed." He said vaguely.

She did not continue to ask.

He had no choice but to continue, "Maybe because I proposed to you before, if I propose to you again, you won't have too many surprises. Alice, I don't know if my eyes will be good, let's start Make a promise, you will stay with me until my eyes are healed, if I still don't recover after a year, maybe...then, let's make a new promise in a year, you say, okay?"

This requirement is not high, it can be said that it is very objective. "Okay." He may still have a little low self-esteem. Blindness will make him feel that he is an "incomplete" and "imperfect" person. He has not changed his temperament so far, and he has already adapted well and has a strong psychological quality.

She hasn't had time to change the concentration of chemical molecules in her body, but she will also feel sorry for him.

People feel vulnerable when they are sick, and others are more likely to sympathize with them. She knew very well that his blindness gave him a good reason, and he also knew how to pretend to be weak, but she knew that he had She was pretending all the time, and she never thought of exposing him.

They went to the clinic in the morning, and the ophthalmologist checked his eyes and said the same thing. The eyeball and cornea are not damaged, just wait for the body to repair itself. The time required is not certain, maybe a few weeks, maybe several years.Knowing that he survived the siege of Badajoz, the doctor sighed, saying that he was lucky, much better than those soldiers who lost their arms and legs and even lost their lives.

The next time Alice went to London, she went by herself again.She walked for less than an hour, and the servant came to report to Oliver, and Lord Byron came to visit him.

Oliver frowned, "Please come up."

A few minutes later, someone entered the room and called him briskly, "Oliver."

"George."

Byron stood in front of him and sized him up carefully, "Your injuries... Are your injuries healed?"

"The wound on my body has healed." He said lightly.

"What about the eyes?"

He raised his hand and touched the ribbon on the eye bandage, "You see, it's still not good."

"If you can't see all the time, will Alice stay with you?"

Really heartbroken.

"That's a matter between me and Alice. You don't need to take care of it, and you can't do it."

"Alice may be able to bear you now, it is because she is kind-hearted, she sympathizes with you, pities you, but her patience will always be exhausted one day. You can't be too selfish, you trap her by your side, she uses It won't be long before I hate you and hate you, can you accept it?"

Byron didn't give Oliver a chance to fight back, dropped these words, turned around and left.

He passed Elizabeth Devereux, who was restless outside the door, and glanced at her with great indifference.

"What did he—Lord Byron tell you?" Elizabeth looked at Oliver worriedly.

"Nothing." He forced a smile, "Liz, don't worry about me."

"He was a strange man. He was handsome, as they say, but he gave me a chill in my heart when he looked at me. He didn't come for you, he came for Alice, yes ?"

"Yes."

"What does he want?" Elizabeth said dissatisfiedly, "Is he here to show off to you?"

"No." He sighed softly, "He just stated the facts to me. He... knows Alice better than I do."

"That's not it! She said she liked you better."

He smiled wryly, "Liz, you are my cousin, don't comfort me with lies. She wouldn't say that."

Alice returned to Archimedes Manor the next morning and knew immediately that Byron had been there yesterday.

Men, in fact, it is very easy to understand. Byron came to see Oliver and picked a time when she was not there.The purpose of coming is not to show off, but to attack.

Oliver is far behind Byron when it comes to harsh words or precise language strikes.

She didn't bother to go upstairs to change, so she went to Oliver.The servant said he was outside in the garden.

He is sitting on a wooden chair in the garden, and in front of the wooden chair is a flower bed with a bush of roses in it.

He looked a little lonely, and sat there quietly, not moving for a long time.

Hearing the slight sound of her skirt rustling, he turned his face away. "Alice." Her perfume is easy to distinguish, lemony, very fresh.

She sat down next to him and reached out to take his hand.

They did not speak, and sat quietly for a long time.

There was a kind of empty daze in his heart, like the fog that never dissipated in a nightmare.He couldn't see front, back, left, and right, he couldn't see anything, he ran desperately, but he couldn't get out no matter what.He was exhausted and full of panic.

Tears wet the bandage, and he couldn't hide his sobs, "George said, you only stayed by my side because you pity me and sympathize with me—"

"Don't listen to his nonsense."

"I'm terribly afraid that you'll suddenly get bored of me and leave."

"I won't. Don't think too much about it. You already know what kind of person George is. He still hates me for leaving him. Of course, he will use the most painful words to hurt you."

After saying this, she just felt sore in her heart.

"Don't cry, your eyes can't cry, it will wet the dressing."

"I-I couldn't help it. No, if you weren't here, I'd pretend nothing happened. But when you came back, I couldn't help it. Alice, don't laugh at me. In Badajoz I I didn't cry, physical pain is nothing, but now I'm actually crying—"

"Who says men can't cry? You look good when you cry, but I'm worried about the dressing—forget it, let me take the bandage off for you."

She gently unwrapped the bandage for him.

The Belgian doctor visits once a week, and will leave a week of herbal ointment dressings, which will be changed every two days.All other things are done by servants, except for changing the dressing. When Alice is not here, Elizabeth does it. When Alice comes, he is only willing to let her change the bandage for her.

Alice is still very accommodating to such a little willfulness.

The herbal ointment was black and left dark marks on his eyelids, which were carefully wiped off with a bandage.

He was a handsome young man, and it was no wonder Mrs. Austen and Cathy liked him a lot.The first thing you need to do to be happy with each other is to look at the face, and if you can't get past the stage of looking at the face, then there is no "then".Human beings are so superficial, so simple and rude.She admitted that he looked in line with her aesthetics, otherwise he would have been bombarded with broken legs, and she would at most send him a few more letters, not more.

She stroked his face and whispered in his ear to comfort him; she took him back to the main house and reapplied herbal dressings and bandages.

The next night, it was almost midnight.

Alice went to Oliver's room through the door between the two bedrooms.Holding a small candlestick with only one candle in her hand, without shoes, she walked to his bedside almost silently.

He fell asleep, but someone got into bed, hugged him gently, and woke him up instantly.

She had taken a bath, and there was no smell of perfume anymore, but he knew instinctively that it was her.

She didn't speak, and her breathing became short of breath.

He touched her arm, turned around, touched her shoulder along his arm, and touched her thick hair.

He touched her face and chin again, and quickly kissed her lips.

The soft lips with the taste of mint are so soft that people want to eat her.

The morning breeze blows in from the window.

The "swish" sound of the curtain being blown by the wind, the chirping of the birds on the tree outside the window, and the "swish" sound of the leaves swaying with the wind;

The count went out to ride, the hooves of the horses, the voices of the servants;

The maid was fetching water from the well in the backyard, with the sound of pouring water;

The footsteps of servants in the corridor;

Her breathing, her heartbeat.

What a beautiful day.

Life in the manor was very peaceful, and they did almost everything together. When Alice went to London, she always took Oliver with her to prevent Byron from getting close to him.Byron refused to visit her when she was in the Archimedes manor, so it was safe for a while.

Oliver has become more and more content with the status quo, and has almost accepted the fact that he is blind.I will still go to the clinic to see a doctor, but I have no hope.

Alice was worried that he would not be able to accept it, and would comfort him after each visit, and he would also comfort her, saying that it was nothing and he could accept it.

His well-behaved Earl Devroll felt distressed, and he sighed at home, saying that Gemma had never expected Gemma to suffer such a miserable life, not to mention her early death, and now her son would also end up blind.Elizabeth comforted her father, saying that at least Oliver got the girl he loved, which was also a compensation for him.

Earl Devroll was still upset, "They should get engaged, and get engaged now."

"You are not Lord Bundfield, so don't worry about it."

"That idiot!" Earl Devereux was very disdainful: "He married a stupid woman and brought home a stupid stepdaughter, almost ruining Oliver, don't mention him to me!"

"But he's Aunt Gemma's husband."

"Gemma was too young to be dazed at his face. I tell you, if someone came to propose to you, it would be too stupid for me to say yes."

Elizabeth wanted to raise her forehead, "Father! Well, why are you talking about my marriage again?"

"The most important thing for a girl is to choose a reliable husband. Luckily, your sisters are all well married, so I don't worry about it. It's just you. You really annoy me." The count sighed, "Now girls are all married. What are you thinking about?"

"You find me annoying? Well, I'll go to Aunt Catherine's for a few years at once,"