little miss austin

The August sun shone in through the glass windows, bringing a touch of warmth.

His palms were also warm.

She looked up at him.

His gray-blue eyes were so bright that they seemed to be shining, and he was also staring at her intently.His fingers touched her small chin, and then lightly touched her lips.

Pale pink soft lips.

The pads of his fingers gently rubbed her lips, imagining what it would be like to kiss her lips.

Without exception, students in Cambridge will talk about women and what it's like to kiss. Some people like experienced older women, and some people like young girls.It would be unrealistic to say that he is almost 23 years old and has no experience in kissing, but that's about it.

He has always believed that as long as he waits patiently, he will get the best love. Waiting may be very painful, and he may lose confidence, but once he gets the result he wants, it will be very sweet.

For example, now.

Alice.

Julian is right, it's kind of weird that he's in love with the girl he grew up watching, but not weird.

At the age of 16 or 7, when he first fell in love, he fell in love with a girl from a relative's family. That girl went to the countryside with her mother for vacation.Girls are two years older than him. When boys first know what "love" is, they tend to like girls who are a little older than him. They look mature, but they have not yet left the stage of girls. The middle stage, fresh and sweet and alluring.

He also knows a lot, and knows all the little tricks a woman should know.

Cousin flirts with him, laughs at his shyness, at his changing voice, at the pimple on his chin.

They hid in the hayloft and kissed, but were caught by Alice and Byron, who, though they were little children at the time, embarrassed him.

Alice probably doesn't remember what happened at that time, after all-it was many years ago.

He whispered, "Alice, I've wanted to kiss you, I've always wanted to."

There was a blush on her cheeks, and she looked at the collar of his shirt, thinking that he came to Madeira Island this time, probably planning to live there for at least two years, with a lot of luggage, and the shirt alone There are nearly 100 pieces, each in a variety of styles and materials, to ensure that no matter the occasion, there is a suitable shirt to wear——

Wait, stop!Stop thinking about these weird little details.

She stretched out her fingers and touched his collar lightly: it was all cotton, with a hard lining, and a flat collar.

Then there's his Adam's apple.

She touched him itchy and dodged for a while.

"Don't move," she whispered.

His fingers touched his chin again, and he stroked it lightly a few times.

The touch of a little stubble, it's—strange.He is a man now.

He took her hand and pressed her palm to her face.Her palm was slightly cold, her fingers were slender and soft.She has lost a lot of weight, and even her hands are not as soft as when she was a child.

He kissed her palm lightly.

Little by little, from the lines of the palm to the fingertips, slowly kissing one fingertip after another.

Someone entered the bookstore, and the copper bell at the door rang.

Byron did not follow to Madeira, he had to go back to Cambridge for school.He wrote letters almost every week, to Alice and Oliver respectively, and the mail from the British island came along with the passenger ships that arrived every week.

He wrote to Oliver that he still hadn't seen Ivo, and he even made a trip to Winchester, Faraday Manor and Oxford University, and even Grant didn't know where Ivo had gone.

The letter to Alice did not mention Ivo, but said that he and Grant became friends. Grant was very good at playing, and they even made an appointment to travel to Europe together after graduation. , will also graduate in the same year.

Grant learned of Alice's illness from William, and he also went to see Alice, but Alice would certainly not see him either.Mrs. Temple has returned to the United States, and no one can restrain him. Alice can't see him, so he moves the long wooden ladder used by the workers to repair the outer wall of the house, trying to climb to the window of her bedroom on the second floor .Mrs. Austin was terrified, thinking that this American brat was really skinny!Quickly ask the servant to help him hold the ladder-he will certainly not listen to him being told to come down.

Alice said a few words to him through the window, and told him to be honest, or Mrs. Austen would forbid him to visit in the future.

After Grant got off the ladder, he obediently apologized to Mrs. Austin.Mrs. Austen really had no choice but to write to William Kingsley, asking him to restrain her brother-in-law, so Grant was immediately sent to a certain place in Scotland, and was not sent back until Oxford University started.

The frequency of letters from girlfriends is also once a week.Lucinda asked what she had seen on the Isle of Wight and Madeira, and Susan Beckford asked if she had known any interesting people on the Isle of Wight and Madeira.

William had a letter every two weeks, and Wesley had a letter every week.

Mr. Beckford's letters are not too many, and sometimes he just appends a few words to Susan's letter.

Mr. Hastings doesn't have too many letters, two or three a month, and most of the time they are asking about her condition and asking her to report a summary of her condition at any time.

There are also letters from brothers, sisters, sisters, brothers, husbands, nephews and nieces. Alice and Mrs. Austin spend at least half an hour writing letters almost every day.

Oliver also wrote letters to his father, and some letters from relatives and friends.

Because of Alice's illness, the Austin family did not receive guests in Madeira, nor did they invite any guests.Only Mrs. Austen was occasionally invited to balls and ladies' teas.

Oliver was very popular, and invitations were sent to the hotel where he was staying every day.

Madeira Island has a pleasant climate and is an emerging overseas tourist resort in the United Kingdom. Many people come to "rehabilitation" even if they have no real illness. Among them are young women with money and status, or "patients", or accompany parents.

The young and handsome heir to the baron was, of course, a very welcome guest.

Sidney would gossip with the little master every night before going to bed, who was the guest today, invited Master Oliver, what kind of family is it, where is it from, family situation, and any distinguished relatives.

Alice is in awe of Sidney's ability to gossip.

"You shouldn't be my personal maid, you should go to MI[-] as a female spy, and you are guaranteed to be able to kill all directions."

"What MI[-]?" Sidney held the little master's long hair in her arms, and was combing it carefully from head to tail with a wooden comb.

"Maybe you are the female version of 007."

"What is 007?"

"A super powerful spy. He was born in a noble family, and dedicated his youth and blood to the British Empire." Alice began to make up, correcting the historical background of James Bond, and putting it during the Seven Years War between Britain and France.This war lasted from 1756 to 1763, not far from now; coupled with the ongoing Napoleonic War, Britain and France have always been rivals, and the British people have always been very patriotic.

Sidney listened so engrossed that she forgot to gossip with the little master.

Most of the time, Oliver will have dinner with Austin mother and daughter in the villa. The dinner is usually eaten at 6:[-], and sometimes he will accompany Alice for a walk on the lawn outside after eating.If you don't stay for dinner, you usually have to go to some banquet or dance in the evening.

Alice had no problem with that.He can't be with her all day long.The relationship between the two of them has not been confirmed. Even if it is confirmed and engaged, he can still choose whether to accept the invitation at will. After all, it is impossible for the other party to state on the invitation that the family has a daughter to be married, and this is a blind date show.

Men need to socialize.

Mrs. Austen no longer mentioned Ivo to her younger daughter.She had complained to Cathy and Jane when she was at home, but she didn't expect Ivo to be so heartless that he didn't even want to write a breakup letter. Alice was still looking forward to his coming, it was really pitiful.She was so angry that she swore that she would not give him a good face when she saw Ivo again.

Cathy thinks that Ivo must have been persuaded by his parents. Ivo does not make money or save money, and he depends entirely on his parents. Once he is threatened with not giving money, Ivo will probably compromise; Ivo was probably locked up by his parents-Oxford University started, but Ivo did not return to school.

Mrs. Austen received the letter and also thought that Ivo was most likely locked up at home by his parents, or simply sent far away to Ireland-the boy without money stayed on another island, and it was not so easy to come back.

She was very happy to talk to Alice about Oliver now.

They also grew up together from a young age, and grew up from a cute boy to a handsome young man. Mrs. Austin has no dissatisfaction with him. Besides, Ivo scared away, but Oliver was able to stay with Alice all the time. The emotion can be said to be very touching.

"Mom, do you think Oliver will inherit the title of baron in the future, so you like him more?"

"Nonsense! As long as his family background is similar to yours, I will like him even without a title."

"Is he all right? He's bored to death!"

"Where is the boredom? He is not very good at making you happy, but as long as he can talk to you, he will be a good husband. I think Oliver is more calm, and he will know how to take good care of you. In this way, I can rest assured."

"mom!"

"When I see your father in heaven, I can tell him that I handed you over to a man I can trust. If your father hasn't met any other women in heaven by then."

"—Mom!" Mom's sense of humor is also very weird!

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll live long enough to see you walk up to the wedding altar. You have to have a grand wedding, find a bishop to officiate your wedding, and wear the most beautiful wedding dress in the world. "

Alice thought for a while, and decided to drop the topic.

In fact, think about it, she is very dangerous now: it is impossible for Cathy to get married and have children, and Jane has decided not to have children in the future, so that the mother will have too much leisure time. As we all know, mothers with too much leisure time are either addicted to Elderly girlfriends gossip, or they are obsessed with finding wives or husbands for unmarried children at home.

This is very bad.

The past few years have been better, because she was ill. Before she recovered, her mother would not focus on her marriage, but if she recovered——

And Oliver, although she said that she didn't want to get married, but because no one discussed it in depth, he may not have taken her words seriously, or thought she would change her mind in the future.

If she was still determined not to marry, she really should have made it clear to him, so at least he could look for a girl who would marry.

When she thought about it, she felt annoyed: couldn't there be a way to have the best of both worlds?

She wrote to Jane, saying that she did not want to marry, but that if Oliver proposed and she refused, he would be sad; Oliver was a very good man, and she would not make him sad; You have to face the problem of taking contraceptive measures; it is hard to say whether Oliver will agree, even if he agrees, there is still a possibility of failure, then she may become pregnant out of wedlock, and my mother will definitely be furious and scold her to death; And if she gets pregnant by accident, she will not be willing to give up the child as an illegitimate child, so she has to marry Oliver; so this kind of thing is too annoying, should she break up with Oliver now, and then let him leave Madeira Island and go back U.K?

Jane's reply arrived in early October.She said the question was too complicated for her to understand; if you loved Oliver, why didn't you want to marry?If it is because of pre-marital property issues, Tom can write a pre-marital property agreement that is very beneficial to you to ensure that your property will not be taken away by people other than your children, not even your husband; if it is Because he is afraid of having children, so as long as Oliver is willing, it is not a problem. After all, there are many couples without children. You can choose a child you like from your nephews to adopt. Brother Edward and Brother Francis will let you choose whatever you want.You see, there will be a solution to all your troubles, so the question is, do you love Oliver?Or, you still love Ivo and you can't forget him, so you don't want to love Oliver sincerely?

Distraught by the letter, Alice put it aside, and did not rush to answer it.

After staying on Madeira Island for 3 months, she checked her body once a month, listened to her lung murmurs with a wooden stethoscope, and checked her sputum. Alice was still not healed, but she didn't get worse, and her condition was good.Pulmonary tuberculosis will cough up blood in the middle stage, and because Alice's condition was discovered early, she has never coughed up blood, so it is very timely and has a good chance of being cured.

There is no winter in Madeira, and the temperature only drops slightly after entering October.

The island has the latest Parisian-style dance skirts and everyday dresses. Alice doesn't need dance skirts now, and Mrs. Austin and Kate have been making her new home skirts and go-out skirts.Alice also took Sidney and Kate to do some handicrafts together, using ribbons to make bows sewn on the waist and skirt of the skirt, layered ribbon hair accessories; to order fine gold wire at the goldsmith, winding it into multiple circles Bracelets, strung with large seawater pearls, are very fashionable and elegant; for more complicated jewelry, I drew drawings and took them to goldsmiths to order.

He picked up painting again, and took his easel and painting equipment to sketch everywhere every other day, mainly painting flowers and plants, and occasionally painting the distant scenery of the outskirts of Funchal or the seascape on the edge of the cliff.

On this day, Oliver took her to the beach to paint.

Watching her set up the easel, Jacob moved a chair in front of the easel and asked her to sit down.Oliver asked, "Why don't you draw portraits?"

"That's more difficult."

"Really?" He stood behind her, looking down at the headband on top of her head, "You...you have painted portraits for others, didn't you find it difficult at that time?"

"To whom?" Alice asked in surprise, having forgotten such a thing.

Oliver pursed his lips, "You forgot? Then forget it."

She thought for a while, then remembered—she had only painted Ivo's portrait.

This guy!Why don't you just say it directly?So he is not as good as Ivo in this regard, or in other words, he is not as thick-skinned as Ivo. What Ivo wants, he will ask for it without thinking.

"You can just say, let me draw a portrait of you." She turned her head and glanced at him, seeing that his face was a little cramped and tangled.

"I..." He didn't seem to know what to say.

"You're definitely not like this in front of others."

"Huh? How do you say it?"

"I thought that men should all ask directly. If you don't know how to ask in Eton, you will definitely be bullied."

He smiled, "How do you know? I don't seem to have told you about the situation at Eton College."

"Where there are only boys, that must be the case. Every class will have one or a few boys who bully, but the bullies don't necessarily become the seniors. The seniors are usually the guys who push the show. You should be able to You're not too good at Eton, you're not too good to be bullied. Francis and Charles have said what boys are like at the Naval Academy, and I think Eton and Harrow are about the same. "

Oliver was surprised, "How do you know?"

"Your temperament is like this. You are too kind to bully others, but you don't want to be bullied. And you don't want to perform too well, and you don't want to worry about other students. Being a senior has nothing but rights. In addition, there are countless trivial things that need to be dealt with.” She put down the paint box she had just opened, put down the palette and brushes, and went to sit on the picnic blanket where Kate had just placed the bread basket and water bottle.

"Come on, sit down." She patted the picnic blanket.

Oliver sat beside her, "Tell me, have you been to Eaton secretly?"

"I don't." She smiled. "You are not difficult to understand. I have known you for so many years, and I already know you quite well. Come on, did I guess right?"

"That's right."

"I haven't asked you yet, how was your time at Eaton?"

"It's good, I mean, it's good most of the time, some classmates who have fun, some you've met."

Alice nodded.

"And some classmates who annoy me so much I don't want to see them anymore, but those are the little things."

"Did you ever get into a fight at school?"

"Fighting?" He laughed. "Of course—no. Fighting can't solve the problem, and the school doesn't allow it."

She expressed doubts, "I don't believe it. What else? Will you secretly smoke in the toilet?"

He raised his eyebrows, "How do you even know this?"

"Boys always want to look more mature." Boys all over the world have a virtue, no matter what age they are.

"What about in Cambridge? I think it's a mess in Cambridge. There's a lot of—well, I don't know what it's called. When I went to the pub to find George, they were surrounded by women, obviously not nice women. "

"You don't need to know that."

"Didn't you know any pretty girls at Cambridge?"

"No." Oliver answered very simply.

"No?" The answer was so blunt that Alice expressed doubts.

"Hey, you have to know that my father will never allow me to mess around. As for George," he blushed slightly, "George has no father, and Lady Catherine can't restrain him, so—"

"Are you afraid that you will elope with some low-status girl?"

Oliver coughed several times in embarrassment.

"Why did you suddenly cough?" Alice panicked, "Let's go back quickly and find Dr. Edward to check you up."

"No, don't panic." He said hastily, "I'm not sick. I'm—do you know a little too much?" How could she understand everything!

"There was a lot of it, and they used to talk about it when we lived in Steventon, about a son who'd run off with a maid, or a daughter who'd been swindled away by a petty officer in the militia. "

He smiled. "You should tell me about your life in Steventon. I don't know what you were like when you were a kid. Do you like Steventon?"

"I was born in the vicarage in Steventon. If you have time, you can go and see it. My oldest brother James' family lives there now. Steventon is very good, but it is too small. It's too remote, I like London better." She sighed suddenly, remembering that Ivo had asked her where she wanted to live, London or Winchester.It seemed like a conversation that just happened yesterday.

At that time, she didn't think there was anything wrong, and thought that she could think about it later, maybe after she fell in love with Ivo, she would change her mind and maybe she was willing to get married.

Oliver didn't know why she sighed, thinking that she missed the place where she grew up.

"If you like Steventon, we can rent a cottage near there, and you can go there every day."

"I'm not—I'm thinking, Ivo."

His heart tightened: Sure enough, I still can't forget him, can I?

"Forget it, there's nothing to say, if he wants to get out, let him get out." She lost interest.

"No, if you are angry with him, just say it, don't always be stuffy."

"I'm angry with him—I'm not dead yet! Let's talk about it when I cough up blood?!" Alice said angrily. I won’t forgive him, not only won’t I forgive him, but I want to whip him hard with a horsewhip!”

The author has something to say:

*Men from rich families definitely have 100 shirts.