little miss austin

"You have worn clothes?" Alice looked at him suspiciously.

He laughed, "No."

"But it doesn't matter, you can hire a few bodyguards. If you ask William, he must know where to hire bodyguards."

About eating and drinking, William must know.

"I'll ask him and we'll arrange the security questions."

Alice smiled with satisfaction, "Also, you write to me every time you go to a place, telling me how the scenery and people are like there, I can't travel around like you, I can only read books. But those are beautified words, I want to know how an ordinary person feels, it is very important to me." She couldn't help sighing, "Charlie, I wish I could travel abroad too."

"Why not? When I write to you to tell you some interesting places, you can go there in the future."

"It is impossible for me to go abroad without the company of my father and brother." It is almost impossible for an unmarried woman to go out for a long time without the company of her father and brother.In this era of inconvenient transportation, traveling abroad is a troublesome thing, especially for women.

"There will always be a chance." Wesley said softly.

William Kingsley suddenly pushed the door open, "Hi! You are hiding here! What are you talking about?"

He sat down on the other side of Alice suddenly, "Charlie, you should go to the dance, there are a few cute enough girls here today, I don't think they are locals."

"Where's my brother?" Alice asked.

"He was fascinated by Mrs. Grant." A servant brought a bottle of wine and 4 wine glasses. William asked the servant to put the wine bottle and wine glasses on the table in front of the sofa, gave him 1 shilling, and sent him away.

William uncorked the bottle, poured 3 glasses of wine, and handed them to Wesley and Alice respectively.

Alice gracefully picked up the wine glass with the posture she had learned from a high-class lady, and took a sip gracefully.

"Look, you are really a little lady now." William said with a smile.

"She was a lady."

"Oops! Sorry, I got it wrong. Tell me what you're talking about."

"Talking about Charlie going on a trip, you have to take good care of him."

"Oh! Don't worry about this!" William almost patted his chest for reassurance. "We're sure to have a good time! Father promised me a fortune, and with Charlie's money, we could travel comfortably abroad."

That's not bad.The two young men have a huge sum of tens of thousands of pounds, and can play comfortably abroad for several years.

Alice envied them very much.Men can use the excuse of "travelling" to travel around the mountains and rivers, but it is difficult for women to go out for a long time.Women should only stay at home, whether married or not.

Someone came in, "Alice." It was Cathy.

Both Wesley and William stood up, "Miss Austin."

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Kingsley." Cathy saluted them both. "It's time to go home, Alice."

She frowned slightly when she saw the wine glass that Alice put down, but said nothing.

Alice put down her glass and stood up, "I have to go home, see you next time, Charlie, William." She saluted them both.

Sitting in the carriage, Alice was thinking about traveling abroad.

The meaning of "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles" is to increase knowledge and broaden horizons. The uniqueness of human beings lies in the fact that everyone has different perceptions of the same event in the same place.The reason why we like to listen to other people's stories since the age of ignorance is because we can't experience everything in the world, so we experience joy, anger, sorrow, joy, and life from the experience of others.

To become a knowledgeable person does not necessarily need to travel all over the world, you can do it just by reading a lot of books, but a person who has traveled the world will definitely have a deeper understanding of life.

I told Brother Charles about this issue, and Charles agreed with it, "I also think that every man should see the wider world."

Alice immediately said, "What do you mean by that? Can't we women see the world?"

"Women? Shouldn't it be better to stay at home?" Charles frowned, "You have no idea how dangerous the outside world is! In many places, even men are dangerous. Women are actually troublesome and delicate. There are many places that are not suitable for you to go to."

What he said is indeed the truth, at least a large part of it is the truth. In this era, the range of activities of most women in their lifetime is no more than 100 miles from the place of birth. There are not many who can go out to visit relatives and friends as often as the two Miss Austins. In addition, most of the country girls and peasant women in Steventon have never even been to Basingstoke.

But because Charles clearly divides human beings into "men" and "women", this makes Alice very unhappy. "I can avoid those dangerous places."

Charles shook his head, "If you want to travel far away, I don't have to worry about it just in England, but abroad, the language problem alone is enough, especially in some Asian countries, white girls like you are very popular. I used to participate in In a rescue operation, the daughter of a local administrator was taken away while she was out playing. Those people didn’t know that the girl was the daughter of the administrator and sold her to a sultan in a neighboring country—in short, you have to You know, we white people rely on rifles and artillery to get privileges abroad, but we can't protect every citizen of the civilized world. If you want to go abroad to play, I hope there will be a regiment of soldiers to protect you, otherwise I will not rest assured."

Alice was discouraged: the kidnapping and trafficking incident that Charles mentioned was just an accidental incident, and it could happen to one in 1 people, but once this kind of thing happened, it would be [-]% unfortunate for the person involved.She can't guarantee that this kind of thing won't happen to her.The chief executive's daughter must be served by maids and menservants when she goes out, so she can be kidnapped-oh my god!this is too scary!

Depressed, she temporarily gave up the idea of ​​traveling abroad.

A few days later the young Lefroys returned to Steventon from London.

The parsonage became crowded.

The family now lived with Cathy, Charles, Alice, and now Jane and Tom, almost as it had been when the family had the largest number of children.

Henry and Eliza also came back, but fortunately they did not live at home. They lived in the Lagrange Garden that Eliza rented before. They came during the day and returned at night. They bought their own carriage and brought a lot of fodder. In the stables of the Vicarage.

Malamese has grown up and is now a very beautiful full grown horse.Henry brought back his war horse, and told Charles and Tom about the bloodline, stamina, coat color, and age of the horse; he also bought two rifles and brought them back. Although it is not the hunting season, it is okay to carry Going to the woods to practice marksmanship is also a pastime.

William enthusiastically participated in the men's activities in Austin's house, and wrote a letter asking the servants at home to send his rifle, so there were 5 members in the shooting team, and he had to drag Wesley to join in.

"I know you don't like hunting, but you don't have to practice marksmanship just to be able to participate in some hunting activities." William asked the servant to carry two rifles on his back, with hand-rolled cigarettes between his fingers, "just like the other hundred It’s the same skill that a man should learn, you don’t have to like it, but you can’t not.”

"I can refuse any invitation to hunt."

"Oh, you can say no, but to keep those nasty guys shut up, I'm willing to take a little longer to learn a craft and say 'I don't know, I just don't want to hang out with you mortals'. See , that's interesting!" He raised his eyebrows childishly.

Wesley smiled and shook his head, "Does that mean that you think Henry is still 'interesting'?"

"He's interesting, interesting than that little Austin." And, that Tom Lefroy is interesting too!Tom didn't think much of Wesley at first, which is the kind of pride that belongs to smart people, not to mention that they are rivals in love, but since Tom and Jane got engaged, he put away that pride, and his attitude towards Wesley changed, just like a Ordinary "acquaintances" have a generous attitude, probably because they have become the winners in this love war, and there is a faint sense of generosity of the winners.

As for Wesley, he was still very forbearing, or dull.There was no change in his attitude. Of course he was not close to Tom, but he was not disgusted. He was polite and courteous, that's all.

Henry Austin is a highly educated man who knows how to play before marriage and is loyal after marriage. This is not surprising. Many men with small assets and status have come here. William himself will also be like this to a large extent. This routine.But he didn't dislike being despised by others for doing business, and the business was doing quite well, which surprised William very much.

As for Charles Austen, he was so ordinary that he would not have looked at him were it not for the fact that he was Alice and Jane's brother.

The Austin brothers and Tom walked in front of them, William looked at Tom's back, and Wesley looked at Tom.

Jane became a married woman, and Wesley saw her less often.Speaking of which, they have known each other since they were teenagers, and it has been 10 years now. Jane has grown from that lively and lovely girl to a woman, and he has also grown from a country boy to a reliable gentleman. Both of them have changed very much. big.

Breaking up a relationship is actually not as sad as he imagined, and being rejected a marriage proposal is not as embarrassing and desperate as he imagined, probably because before proposing marriage, he knew in his heart that he would definitely be rejected by her.But he must hear her refusal with his own mouth, then he will completely give up and let her go.

"Letting go" was a tough thing, and it took him a long time to calm down.But occasionally thinking about his doomed teenage love is still sad.But he didn't quite know whether he was sad because Jane didn't love him, or because his love was not reciprocated.

This is a feeling that cannot be explained clearly.

To Tom Lefroy, he didn't actually have much hostility. Tom's attitude towards him can be said to be quite polite. Both men understand that the important thing is Jane's choice, and Jane's choice is almost from one There is already a bias from the beginning.

How sad, he thought, that I lost the battle before it even started.

Tom gets along well with his brother-in-law and brother-in-law. Even William can talk, laugh and talk without worrying about being cold. For Wesley, well, it's a little awkward, but as long as we forget that Wesley once loved Jane, there is nothing difficult to get along with of.The advantage of Wesley is that he is tolerant enough and doesn't speak harsh words to each other, so it is not difficult at all to coexist peacefully.

A small group of five men improvised and practiced shooting in the winter woods of Steventon.

Sometimes they will target a certain tree, and sometimes they will ask the servants of Gresham Manor to set up a target somewhere. If they are lucky, they can scare a litter of rabbits, which will be a surprise.Except for Wesley, the other men didn't mind taking a few rabbits back for extra meals.

William even expressed regret that Austin's domestic pigeons can't fly, otherwise it would be a good target!It's fun to shoot living things.

Henry smiled and warned him, "Don't think about those pigeons, they are raised by Alice. Jane had a serious illness before, and her health was not very good. Alice said that the pigeons are very nutritious, so mother every Yuedu stewed a pigeon for Jane to eat."

Tom glanced at Henry in a little surprise: he didn't know this yet, and no one would tell him about it specially.

"I didn't know about it, and Jane didn't say anything about it." He knew that the family hadn't eaten any pigeons in the past few months.

"You've got to take good care of her, she's your wife now, Tom." Henry glanced at him.

William quickly brought up the topic, "Then I want to eat pigeons for dinner today. Henry, what kind of food will your servants cook? Why don't you eat roasted rabbits and roasted pigeons today." The servant carried the dead rabbit, and William looked through it A gunshot wound to the rabbit.

William, who is very particular about food, discusses with Alice what spices to use to roast rabbits and pigeons. Alice thinks that roasting rabbits might as well use some strong spices, while roasting pigeons should be lighter and use honey. It can preserve the tenderness of pigeon meat to the greatest extent.

William agreed.

They also discussed desserts. They both love pudding, and there are many flavors of pudding. William likes cheese pudding, while Alice prefers sweeter fruit pudding for children.

William couldn't stop talking about the delicious pastry shops in London, and he also told Alice how to taste good wine. Every wine tastes different. One of the strengths of a gourmet expert is to drink all the good wines in the world , Alice really wanted to ask him, "How is your liver?"Alcohol can do a lot of damage to the liver.It's okay to drink a little bit. A guy like him who has at least half a bottle of wine every day is still in good health and can handle it without dying of drunkenness.

Because William wanted to stay for dinner, Wesley had no choice but to stay. If he had to leave, it would be too deliberate and suspicious.The restaurant in Austin's house is not big, and the ten-seater table is full. Eliza didn't come today, and Alice has a seat to eat together.

To prepare a dinner for 10 people, it is impossible to rely on the maids of Austin’s house. Before Wesley sent a servant to deliver a letter to Gresham Manor and called the cook to come over to help. Although the cook disliked the kitchen of Austin’s house. Finished the work responsibly.

Alice was deeply troubled by the small size of the house. After dinner, the men moved to the study, and she told her mother that the house at home seemed too small now.

"If the brothers all go home, there will be no room to sit in the restaurant." This is one of the reasons why the brothers seldom come back together.Cathy and Jane used to often go out to visit relatives and stayed for several months. Part of the reason was that there were several brothers living in the family at that time. Pastor George also took in several students, some of whom would be boarders, and there were always not enough rooms in the house. "Dad should have retired a long time ago and moved to a bigger house with a few more servants."

"Dad should really retire," Kathy echoed. "He's old enough to take it easy and enjoy retirement."

"Yeah, Dad thought about it too. But I'm kind of reluctant to leave the house." Mom put away the silverware and put them in a basket for the maid to wash.

People are creatures of "habit". Once they get used to a place, they are reluctant to move. Especially for a housewife who has worked hard for decades, home is her world, and she spends her energy and time here. , there are countless memories of her here, and it is difficult to give up emotionally.

But she also understood that if Pastor George didn't retire, he would have been in good health until the day he died of old age, and then the mother and daughter would have to move out.The parish cannot live without a vicar, and even if the successor vicar is her eldest son, they will only live temporarily for a few months at most, and they will have to move out. It is impossible to live with the James family all the time.

Jane was a little dazed and helpless by the possibility of her parents moving away, "Do you want to move?"

"Now that we have money, we can rent a bigger house." This year, she took home nearly 8000 pounds, all of which were handed over to Pastor George for collection. With such a sum of money, they could indeed move a long time ago. .

"Rent house——" Mom sighed, "I want to buy a suitable house, the size doesn't matter, but it has to be our own. In the future, Cathy can continue to live, instead of staying with relatives all the time. "

She looked at her eldest daughter sadly.The relatives were very sympathetic to Cathy, but they also thought that since Tom Fall had passed away for several years, Cathy didn't have to think about him all the time, and it was time for her to think about herself.Since Cathy has the 1000 pounds left by Fore, she is considered a small asset, and it is not difficult to find a suitable husband.But Cathy seems to have made up her mind not to think about getting married. In the past few years, she has voluntarily chosen to wear dark-colored dresses, dressing herself in an old-fashioned way, not like a young woman under 27 years old.

Alice didn't understand what Cathy was thinking.Cathy doesn't need to keep festivals for Fore, and she doesn't need to be afraid of getting married at all. As long as the other party really loves her, of course, she can still try a new relationship.However, Alice will not persuade her sister's decision. There are many happiness that women can get, and they don't have to have a man. What Alice objected to was that Cathy dressed herself as a middle-aged woman prematurely appearance.

Mom can't change Cathy's decision, she can only plan for her future. Indeed, for Cathy, they should also buy a house of their own, so that Cathy will have a home, and they will not be in the future. The family was removed temporarily.Several married brothers said that in the future, Cathy could come and live in their house for as long as she wanted.But after all, it's not my own home, it's my brother's home. It's okay to be a relative who lives temporarily for a few months. After living for several years, the sister-in-laws will be unhappy no matter how good-tempered they are.

As for Alice who brought up this topic today, my mother never thought that she might follow in her sister's footsteps and not get married.

Pastor George resigned from his teaching position, left Steventon, and purchased his own real estate. A consensus was quickly reached in the Austin family, but there was a disagreement on where to move after retirement.

Alice likes London. After all, it is the capital, a big city, and everything is very convenient. The family company is also in London. She can buy a house near the Austin factory, or simply buy a piece of land and build a house by herself.If Dad is free, he can go to the factory to play, he can also visit the company, or go on a trip with his mother.

Pastor George wants to go to Bath in Somerset, which is west of Wiltshire. Bath is a famous spa resort. Doctors in this era have limited medical skills. One of the methods used is bloodletting, and the other is soaking in hot springs, so Bath has become a very popular health resort.Reverend George thinks hot springs are good for his body, so he wants to move to Bath.

Henry also thinks London is good, and he plans to move to London in the near future.This spring, he was promoted to a captain in the Oxfordshire militia, and his allowance was increased, but if he went up, he would be a major at most. If he did not participate in the war, he would not be promoted to a higher official position, plus the company's business Well done, he thought it was time to resign next year.

Finally Alice made a decision, "When I go to Daylesford next summer, Dad can resign and live in Bath for a year, or two years. During this period, Henry will buy a piece of land near our factory , draw blueprints and build a house, so that Dad can live in the new house when he comes back from Bath to recuperate."

Mom was the first to agree and thought the arrangement was very good.Pastor George also agreed to this arrangement.It doesn't matter to Cathy, anyway, she must follow her parents.Jane also felt very good, her new home was just outside London, so if she wanted to go home to see her parents, she could go there anytime.

Alice once again lamented that having money means doing things well. If there was no money, Pastor George would not have made up his mind to retire so early, and her mother would worry about Cathy's future. 8000 pounds is not much for buying land and building a house, but Henry has said that he can provide part of the expenses, and Edward must be willing to give a sum of money. Charles also said that his parents can first borrow the money he and Francis have saved at home.Cathy also said that her £1000 could also be used to build a house.