little miss austin

He gestured and made a "hanged" gesture.

Alice looked at him and asked in a low voice, "Are you really going?"

He nodded, "I want to go, I'm going."

"I also want to go to the United States, but after the war is over." It's too dangerous for her to go to the battlefield foolishly.

"What if the war goes on for many years?"

"Oh, don't be silly, no, Britain can't stand a war on both sides. And once Napoleon is defeated, the United States doesn't want to fight anymore."

Ivo thought for a while, "Indeed." As long as Napoleon is defeated, Britain will have enough troops to be transferred to the U.S. station. The U.S. has no money and troops to maintain a multi-year war. The government and the people have just recovered.

It's amazing.

Alice was the only girl who could talk to him about the war, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said about Napoleon, the army, and the War of Independence; the girls other than her complained about the war at most about rising prices , so that the money that could buy 10 yards of cloth before can only buy 6 yards of cloth at most, and the result is that I have made a few skirts this year.

His sisters asked him, why can't he fall in love with an ordinary cute and gentle girl?Alice is very cute, but if she doesn't like you, then she is not cute, no matter how beautiful she is.When you fall in love with someone, you want to be happy, but if you are not happy now, you should not continue to love her.

He thought about this "happiness theory".If you just want to find a "wife" like other men, bear children, and accompany him, then it is actually very easy. Some are well-matched, gentle, lovely and beautiful girls with dowry, and some of them will definitely be willing to marry him and have children for him , like countless men in this country, no, in this world, he will have a beautiful and gentle wife and a happy family that everyone envies.When he is old and his hair is gray, when he recalls the girl he loved and broke his heart, he will still remember her youthful appearance, and her soft lips like sweet rose petals. Will remember the tears he shed for her.

ah!How painful!

His rationality is unwilling to immerse himself in the pain of not getting her, but his emotions prevent him from leaving.Perhaps it would be a good idea to travel across the ocean to America, so that, when he came back in a few years, she might be married to Oliver.

With a decisive attitude, he felt really good about his decision to go to the United States when his mind suddenly went numb.

Alice spent two weeks at Stoneleigh Manor, a sometimes pleasant but sometimes depressing little holiday, before returning to London to start pre-production on the magazine.

She read the topic selection plans submitted by 6 editors. Everyone's topic selection is different. Girls are very smart, and they are all things that contemporary women will be interested in. There are food, fashion, jewelry, cosmetics and make-up. Skills, games, drama, well-known figures, etc., basically the material selection is not much different from the fashion magazines of later generations.

Because there is no template for the planning book, it is relatively simple to do, but it basically meets the requirements. Alice picked out a planning book at random and called a meeting of the editors.

The selection of text content is relatively simple. After determining the topic of the content, the editors start to find the content.

The trial version has half the number of pages and half the content. The first issue is about the latest French fashion, the second issue is about popular poetry and poets, and the third issue is about cosmetics and makeup tips.

Now that we talk about poetry, we must talk about the most popular poet-George Byron.

Alice printed calling cards for herself and the editors, and sent a girl named Agnes to interview Byron with a note she had written.

Single girls have so much difficulty becoming professional women that no one takes them seriously, and even Byron is very uncooperative, telling Agnes that he won't give an interview unless Alice comes.

Agnes had no choice but to return to the editorial department in despair.

Well, considering how these "big men" despise and even discriminate against women, it may indeed be too difficult for these young girls to interview celebrities.

They lack the necessary social status, and they have a job, so they are not ladies with a higher social level. Even if Alice takes them to some social gatherings and balls, they will only be regarded as her maids.And Alice's work will not have any impact on her-she is the boss and the one who pays the salary.

She complained to Wesley, "Why is it so difficult for women to have a career? Girls can't interview men at all, and even Byron looks down on them. I thought he would support the work of professional women. Now it seems that he It’s not as progressive as I thought it would be.”

Wesley said gently: "It's inevitable. Men think that women should stay at home. Once you go out to work like men, it will be bad."

"What about you? Aren't you a 'man'?"

"Me? I'm different. I have an open heart and mind." He pointed to his head, "Women have many valuable qualities and are also very capable. They don't recognize women's abilities because they are afraid. Women Once you realize how capable you are, you take away their jobs and make them look stupid and ridiculous."

Alice was surprised: This person's thinking is too progressive, a bit unrealistic, even the young men who grew up with her childhood sweethearts did not have this awareness.She couldn't help thinking that he had been doing a hard-working job all these years, and had contacted all walks of life in society. Perhaps it was because of this that he understood women better.

"Then what shall we do now?"

"You write it yourself."

"Huh? I write it myself?"

"Is it not difficult for you, or is there no way you can do justice to Byron?"

She was taken aback, "It's not—well, maybe a little bit."

"Do you hate him?"

"It's not really annoying, but I don't like him as much as I did when I was a kid. He's grown up, and he's not very interesting."

"That's because he used to be a 'boy', but now he's a 'man'. You know what most men are like. They think it's enough for women to be daughters, wives, and mothers. Other things, you are lovely Don't have it in your little head."

"Yes, it's best to stay at home obediently, don't spend too much money, and have children one after another, and it's best not to read too many books."

"The more you know, the more painful it is. Butchers in the vegetable market don't need much knowledge. They just need to know where is the best place to cut a pig. Their biggest pain is that they can't make more money. Rich people The pain is more illusory, for example, many people don't get the love they want, although they will still marry a lovely girl, but there will still be that pain in the heart that can never be satisfied. A person lying in bed still needs People who worry about tomorrow's dinner don't care if they get love or not."

"Of course I understand the truth. But—what you said is still a bit erratic."

"As for Byron, he didn't really lose anything, so he wouldn't cherish what he got."

She said angrily: "I'm not someone he can 'get'. I hate this kind of man's self-righteousness and regard women as their private property."

"In this respect, men and women are alike. Don't you consider Bundfield your 'proper property'?"

"No, if he falls in love with another girl in Spain, I can immediately cancel the engagement."

Wesley looked at her in surprise, "I see."

"It's like—" She originally wanted to say Jane, but after thinking about it, it might be too cruel to Wesley, so she had to change her words, "I may not really love him, but if his love for me is so simple, it will die , I will not try to save him. If he loves me and I like him very much, then I will work hard to eliminate the obstacles between us."

He thought for a moment, nodded, "It should be like this."

She wanted to ask him why he hadn't met another girl he liked until now, but on second thought, she couldn't gossip too much.Wesley and Byron are two completely different types of men. On the one hand, Byron says he loves her, on the other, he can pursue beautiful women without any psychological barriers. Like Wesley, he silently loved Jane when he was young. There is no comparison to the innocent man who has been in love until now.Byron would feel that the number of mistresses explained his charm, and Wesley was honest and a little pedantic.

But he's really not an idiot.

Jane is really lucky, not counting Tom's time as a libertine before marriage, he has remained faithful to Jane after marriage; Wesley has always loved Jane——

This is exactly the same as she, Oliver, and Ivo. She can already imagine their future: she is with Oliver, and Ivo, who will probably never get married, will choose a boy from his sister's family to inherit the family property in his later years.

Will she be upset?No, even if that is the case, it is Ivo's own choice, and she cannot influence his choice.Just like Jane, she never felt uneasy or sad for Wesley. Jane is also very selfish, but what's wrong with being selfish?No one else can control the choice a person makes, and a person who can be "persuaded" by others is not very strong in his own will.

Just like Cathy, so many years after Foer's death, it's not that she has no suitors, and it's not that she has no chance of getting married, but she has made up her mind and will never change.

Not getting married is nothing serious, who said that being alone will cause pain and loneliness?One can live well too!

Jane doesn't see Wesley once a year now, but when Cathy comes to the city, she occasionally visits Wesley.Mrs. Austin has always liked Wesley, and Cathy feels good about him. After all, Wesley basically has no shortcomings. What happened to Jane back then was because Jane didn't love him, and he didn't do anything wrong.

Because of the limited inheritance, if Wesley wants to adopt a relative's child in the future, he must be married. The reference example is that Edward's brother was adopted by his cousin Knight; like Tom inherited the inheritance of his uncle Langlois, there is no limited inheritance, so No adoption procedures are required, only a will is required.

After Alice returned to London this time, she asked Tom to make a will, but because she wanted to leave the inheritance to Jane and Tom's daughters, Tom recommended his Lincoln Law School classmate to her.

The will is more complicated. Her book collection will be donated to the unfinished Austin Women’s College, and the school’s land and nearby land will also be donated to the college; the cash will be divided into several parts, and the beneficiaries are mother Mrs. Austin, sister Cathy and Jane, Jane's two daughters, Helena and Diana, if the recipient dies before her, the gift cash will be distributed to several other recipients on a head-to-head basis; jewelry will be distributed equally to all nieces and nieces according to current prices some estates to the family trust; some estates to sisters Cathy and Jane, Jane's two daughters Helena and Diana, and nieces Fanny and Anna; her royalties to sisters Cathy and Jane; The girls' school in London was left to Cathy; the Austin Girls' College was left to sister Jane, brother James, Henry, Edward, Francis, and Charles; the Austin house in the suburbs of London was left to mother Mrs. Austin, and one of the small villas was left to brother George , my mother took brother George over from Steventon a few years ago;

The shares in several companies were also donated one by one, a large part of which went into the family trust fund. For this part, she studied the current law with lawyers for a long time, and tried her best to ensure that the descendants of Pastor George could maintain the economy for 100 years.

She also discussed with Henry, saying that the children of her brothers' families should be allowed to participate in the family business. Little William will inherit most of the company's shares in the future, but the children of other brothers should learn to manage the business. Big is the last word.

Henry had just lost a large sum of money at this time and was worrying about it.

Several of his colleagues in the Oxfordshire Militia had retired and, like himself, had set up business.Because of the Industrial Revolution, the British economy has been thriving in the past 60 years. Private banks have bloomed everywhere. If a brick is thrown on the streets of London, two nobles and six bankers will be hit among the 10 people hit.

Henry originally wanted to open a private bank as well, but then he started a typewriter company and just invested in a friend's bank.The main business is to issue loans to small businesses and small handicraftsmen and collect interest profits.However, due to the Napoleonic War in recent years, all walks of life have been affected. The price of raw materials has risen, and the price of goods has risen. Many small businesses, small shops, and small craftsmen have gone bankrupt.

Henry's friend's bank was already in trouble at the beginning of this year. After struggling for several months, it finally went bankrupt.

Henry's investment has only been partially recovered, and he has lost tens of thousands of pounds - exactly how much, Henry refuses to say - so he has been feeling very irritable recently.

He felt that there was no need for other descendants of the Austin family to participate in the company's construction, and rejected Alice's proposal.Unable to convince him, Alice had to shelve the idea for the time being.Henry still has a sense of small farmers, and his vision is not wide enough. He thinks that the family business is his family's business.

Alice's idea is to let other Austins realize that their wealth is created by these companies. They participate in the company's construction, making the company bigger and stronger, and it is not impossible to form a group in the future. In this way , the Austin family will become one of the largest and richest families in England.Whether the smooth transition to the 21st century depends on the ability of the future generations, she can't control so much, as long as it goes through 50 years smoothly-there are so many children in Austin's family, there must be a few people with business acumen, right?

Of course, there may also be selfish idiots who only care about taking money from their own pockets, so she can't control so much, there will always be a few bad seedlings in an acre of land, this is the law of nature.

The next day, Alice took Agnes to Byron's apartment again.

"Alice," said Byron, who was a little fatter, with puffy cheeks, holding a very small baby in his arms, "Come, look, this is my little Wanda."

Alice panicked, "Don't hug me! I don't know how to hug a baby."

"You're so childish." He called to Lucy and told her to take the child away.

"How old is she?" She vaguely remembered Lucy being sent back to Newstead last spring, when Lucy was just pregnant.

"A half-year-old—about half a year old." He wasn't very sure, and he didn't care too much, "Isn't she pretty?"

"She's too young to tell." But Lucy and Byron are both beauties, and little Wanda should be a beautiful child too.

"You came too early. It's past breakfast time, but it's not time for lunch. Do you want to stay for lunch?" He took an apple, peeled a small piece of apple, and gave it to the monkey on the shelf and asked the servant to feed the parrot with water.

"No, I'm going to Jane's house later."

"OK then."

Agnes did the interview for Byron.The interview questions were all prepared in advance, and Byron's answers were sometimes serious and sometimes nonsense, and he asked Agnes "kindly" if she had written it down, so he could speak more slowly.

Poor Agnes had to try to keep up with him, scribbling his answers in her notebook.

Byron answered the question absently, and suddenly asked, "Where is the African lion that Ivo gave you?"

"at home."

"How do you like it?"

"I like it very much. I take him out for a walk every night. It's safe and no one dares to come over. But he needs a bigger place to play, and he can't always be locked in the room."

"Or you should take it to Newstead."

what does it mean?She looked at him puzzled.

"I made a mistake, it's Newton Manor." He changed his words quickly. "Where's Oliver? When will he be back?"

"I don't know, wait until the war is over."

"Poor thing," he sighed. "What will you do if he dies in Spain?"

Alice glared at him angrily, "Can you think of something better?" Both of them thought that Oliver had better die in Spain and not come back.What kind of bad friend is this!

"Some people say that the "Queen of Atlantis" you published this year is nothing new. It just tells a vulgar love story, and the writing technique has not improved. They think that you may not be able to write better and more interesting works. Yes. I will scold you back severely for you."

"I don't care about the nonsense those people say," Alice said "whocare", "as long as the sales of the book are good, I don't even bother to know what those people say."

"The Queen of Atlantis" sold 500 copies a month for 4 months, doubled in the first month, and has sold more than 2000 copies so far. Alice Leigh is now considered one of the most famous female writers in England, and another famous female writer is J.Austen.

Austin Press has never publicly announced the real names of the two most famous female writers in his family, but people have already guessed that J. Austen is Jane Austen, Mrs. Lefroy.As for Alice Leigh, no one has connected with Alice, mainly because Alice is now considered a well-known lady in London, most of her fame comes from Byron, and a small part is because she is recently engaged, and people are keen to discuss her. And the love triangle between Byron and Bundfield.

Especially in June, Byron published "Giaour The Giaour", one of his new poems "Turkish Stories", and privately claimed that the prototype of the heroine is Alice.The poem is 6 lines long and tells of a beautiful girl named Lei who falls in love with Giyar, but she is already one of the wives of her master, Hassan, who, after discovering Lei's infidelity, packs her in a sack He was thrown into the sea and drowned; Giyar killed Hassan in revenge, and then entered the monastery with regret.

Henry Austin initially thought that Lei was Mrs. Frances Webster, whom Byron had recently fallen in love with, so he quickly agreed to publish it. After publication, Byron suddenly said that Lei was Alice, which made him mad.But this poem sold very well, and 3000 copies were sold in the first three days. Because of Byron's popularity, the price of the booklet with dozens of pages is the same as the price of 2, and the printing is also very delicate. There is no four-color overprinting technology, cover bronzing, and four-color printing of illustrations, which are very valuable for collection.

Relying on 3 books of poetry and 1 book of travel notes published by Austin Press, Byron had already repaid Alice's £5000 at the end of last year, and was able to get the manuscript fee this year, and Byron had already spent the manuscript fee that had not yet been received. out.

He loves delicious food, beauties and fancy clothes, he is very good at material enjoyment, and his attitude of spending money is unbelievable.People frantically pursued him, and he had many enthusiastic readers. In later generations, he was a fanatical fan. Even Princess Charlotte, the daughter of the regent Prince George, was also his fan.Princess Charlotte is 17 years old. She is obsessed with Byron's poems. She has collected all editions of "Child Harold's Travels" published by Austin Press, Byron's "Mediterranean Travels", and the latest "Gee Yar.

Princess Charlotte is also a loyal reader of J.Austen and Alice Leigh. She thinks she is like Marianne in "Sense and Sensibility", young and enthusiastic.

The author has something to say: *Byron was a well-known poet, fashion figure, and social star during his lifetime.