little miss austin

Putting aside the business plan, after returning to Steventon, Alice began to go to Gresham Manor three times a week.

Wesley also came back after a few days.

Speaking of this trip, Alice has gained a lot of knowledge, and Wesley has also gained a lot of knowledge, and they are very rewarding.

Mrs. Gresham does not like Alice's company very much, but there are not too many girls who are not low-status and can read and write. She doesn't like Lucy very much. She thinks Lucy's upbringing is a bit problematic. Lefroy The wife doted on her youngest daughter too much, so in comparison, the younger Alice was still within her acceptable range.

Wesley was already preparing to go to Oxford University. Mrs. Gresham didn't agree at first, but Alice told her, how can there be any young man of status who doesn't go to university?Wesley can't stay in the country all the time and doesn't go out. He also made up a story about how the young men from rich families in London play. Wesley should have some friends with status, and whether he has gone to college may be an important admission threshold.

Mrs. Gresham thought she had a good point, and she changed her mind quite happily, and allowed him to go to Oxford.Besides, Oxford is not far away, if there is anything to do, he can send a letter there quickly, and he will be back the next day.

In mid-April Henry returned to Steventon for a few days, while Tom visited his uncle again.

Gresham Manor once again held a spring ball. Most of the guests invited were those from previous years, but there were also some fresh faces who came to the holiday.

Both Cathy and Jane wore new dresses, made of the same material Alice had brought back, and there was no young girl who would not like new dresses, and the sisters were very happy.

Mom had a new dress on, too, and a new headpiece that Henry had bought her: a few dark gray-blue feathers.

Alice finally knew how much Henry's officer's allowance was for a year when she went out this time: 300 pounds!This seemed to her an enormous sum of money.However, Henry’s expenses are also very high. Not to mention the expenses of tobacco and alcohol and the allowance of the orderly, even going out with his colleagues usually requires money; he also likes to gamble for fun, but he didn’t dare to let Pastor George know, otherwise Dad I will definitely scold him severely!

Henry flirts with cousin Eliza, and the Austins have already acquiesced. Although Pastor George feels that he may be accused of trying to get Eliza's property, Henry really likes Eliza, and Eliza also He liked Henry very much, so he let them go.

Alice knew that Eliza had a lot of property. Warren Hastings was not stingy with his goddaughter. He often gave her various amounts of money since she was a child. Eliza mentioned it in front of her intentionally or unintentionally. , her property includes jewelry brought back by her French husband's family - real estate and other real estate were confiscated, but she managed to take most of the family jewelry - and a considerable amount of cash, enough for her Being a happy widow and supporting little Hastings until he finished college was no problem.

Alice thought that in the future she might still receive a bequest from Mr. Hastings, which was also a certain income.

So as far as she and Henry are concerned, it is enough for Henry to have an allowance of 300 pounds for himself, and she doesn't care if she pays to support the family.

It's no wonder that Eliza likes Henry. Henry can be said to be a beautiful young man in the 21st century. He is in line with the public's aesthetics. He is educated, tall and handsome, and wears a military uniform. Who can not love him?

Except for George, Alice rarely saw the other brothers. She didn't dislike George. However, after all, George's intelligence was limited. Of course, she would like Brother Henry the most.

At the ball, not surprisingly, Wesley became Jane's default partner again.

Wesley probably has undergone intensive training, and now he has made great progress in dancing, and he will never step on anyone's feet again.Alice was by Mrs. Gresham's side, and Mrs. Gresham couldn't leave her eyes on her nephew, just like an old hen guarding her chicks.

It was still the combination of the Austin sisters, Wesley and Tom. After two dances, the clumsy Wesley still missed Jane, and Jane and Tom sneaked away again.

After Mrs. Gresham found that Jane was gone, she stood up angrily, "It's outrageous!"

Mom Cassandra asked, "What did you say?"

Mrs. Gresham snorted, and said to Alice, "Go and find Jane."

Alice really wanted to ask her, what if she found Jane?

Poor Wesley!She sighed and looked at the young man at the edge of the dance floor who had become overwhelmed again.After a trip to London, his social skills have improved, but they are also limited. He panics when encountering the most complicated thing in the world, "love", and it is simply too easy to deal with such a country boy.

Alice really wanted to shed a tear for him.

She asked the servant to fetch Wesley.

"Alice." After a while, he came to Alice.

The weather was already hot, and it was even hotter in the crowded ballroom. His forehead was sweating slightly, his face was not sure whether it was heat or embarrassment, and his cheeks were flushed.

"It's too hot here, can you take me for a walk in the garden?"

The pool outside was still not well taken care of. There were two rows of square iron lanterns on both sides of the pool, and candles were lit inside.

On both sides of the pool are equally neglected evergreen trees, very quiet.

"It's very big here." Although Alice came here often, she really didn't notice how big the garden was.

"My aunt doesn't like gardens very much. She thinks it might be too big." Wesley said honestly.

"Is there a greenhouse garden?"

"It used to be there, but now it's not taken care of much, and it's all abandoned." Taking care of the garden requires a professional gardener, money, and the care of the owner.

This trip, Alice also learned a truth: everything in this world needs money, even though those landlords are rich, but the expenses are not small, such as Daylesford House, the maintenance cost of the house is hundreds of dollars a year. pounds, and the wages of servants.It costs a lot of money to maintain a mansion, and you have to be careful that the servants will steal the furnishings in the house and sell them. After all, the owner cannot remember where and what is placed. If there is no housewife at home, a loyal, reliable and strong housekeeper.

They didn't speak, and walked into the depths of the trees.

There is grass under their feet, which has not been taken care of very much. There is grass in some places, and dirt is exposed in some places.

"It should be taken care of well." Alice commented.

Wesley didn't speak.

Alice tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"Huh?" He stopped and looked down at her.

"Let's go back, the trees are a little dense here, I'm a little scared."

"Don't be afraid, I'm here—" But he frowned quickly: someone was in front, speaking in a low voice.

Later, Alice kept thinking that everything in the world is probably "God's will in the dark", and Jane and Tom's secret love words were smashed by her and Wesley twice, what kind of evil relationship is this!

Probably because they were seen by Alice on the stairs last time, so they chose to go outside this time, but who would have thought that Alice and Wesley would go out to the garden together again?

The scene at that time was embarrassing for a while: Tom kissed Jane, while Wesley held Alice's hand, watching the whole process with a pale face.

Neither of them even heard the voice of Alice talking to Wesley, and they were completely immersed in their little love world.

Alice was not surprised: Tom is an experienced man, and Jane is romantic by nature and a bit willful and uninhibited. They are really at the level of lightning.

That is——Wesley is really pitiful.However, love does not have priority based on who loves more and loves earlier.

The four of them stood face to face in a daze for a while, before Wesley suddenly stumbled and turned around and left.He walked in such a hurry that he even forgot that he was still holding Alice by the hand.

It was a long way, almost out of the woods, before he realized that Alice would have to trot to keep up with him.

Jane was stunned for a long time, until she saw Alice being dragged away by Wesley, she didn't remember to call them.

Tom hurriedly stopped her, "Don't shout!" When she shouted, others might hear him. He is a man, and he left with a slap on his ass. His reputation will hardly be affected, and he doesn't care if there is any impact, but Jane would be pointed at by her neighbors--the kind of thing that bored country folk were most interested in--and Jane would be thought of as a frivolous girl.

At this time, he finally realized that his behavior was the real frivolity, and he should consider her more.

"Are you going back? Let's—go the other way."

Jane panicked, "But, Alice—"

"Alice is fine."

"But, Wesley—"

"Wesley will be fine."

Jane was worried, "I'm afraid Alice will fall—"

"She won't, Alice can take care of herself better than you think. Besides, she won't tell others." Tom said vaguely.

Jane's heart was full of the joy of her first kiss, but she also felt embarrassed to be broken by someone, and she was dragged away by Tom in a daze.

Wesley stopped in his tracks, "Alice, I—"

He suddenly stuck.

He was very tall, Alice thought he was almost 6 feet tall, but in fact he was taller than that, tall and thin, and Alice had to hold her head up to see his face when she was standing on the ground, which was too much. tired.

She tugged on his hem.

Wesley leaned slumped against the tree trunk beside him, feeling extremely sad.

But he didn't know what to do, he was confused and had no clue.

Unknowingly, he let go of Alice's hand, and his body slid down the tree trunk until it reached the roots.

He covered his face with his hands, as if he could forget everything he had seen before.

Alice also felt very sorry to see such a simple young man look so sad and lost his soul.

"Mr. Wesley." She called him softly.

He didn't move, and kept covering his face with his hands.

"Charlie." She called him softly again.

After a while, he put down his hands, turned his face, and wiped away his tears in embarrassment.

Alice didn't know how to comfort a broken-hearted person, and it seemed inappropriate to say anything at this time.What's more, she's just a 6-year-old kid.

Wesley stood up, but stayed there again, as if he didn't know what to do next.

She tugged at the hem of his clothes again, "Shall we go back?"

"—Go back." He managed to calm down and stretched out his hand, "Come on, let's go back."

Alice took his hand again, and the elder and younger slowly returned to the main house.

The dance hall was still very lively, and the dance was in the middle of it.

Jane is dancing with Tom, Henry, and Eliza as partners.Cathy was talking to the vicar's daughter in the parish next door.Mom and Reverend George were talking to the Lefroys.Lady Gresham was still in her seat.

Wesley brought Alice to his aunt, and Mrs. Gresham gave him a dissatisfied glance.

He was embarrassed and depressed.

The author has something to say:

*Wesley's actor Lawrence Fox is 191cm tall. "Becoming Jane" is a 2007 movie. Before that, he played an SS officer in the 2005 movie "The Last Drop". The uniform play is so cool!This film is quite kuso, the hero is the fourth brother Alexander Skarsgard, the fourth brother and Fox play a pair of good friends who have turned against each other.