gentleman's manor

I bought a small house in a small town on the outskirts of London. It was two stories high, with four bedrooms, two servant rooms, two living rooms, a kitchen, a small garden, and a total cost of not much for the furniture. to £300.

Anna seemed to like the place very much, walking around the house.

"Are we going to live here from now on? Just the two of us?" she said excitedly.

"Yes, this is our new home, although it's a bit small and shabby." I said.

Anna ran over and threw herself into my arms: "No, not at all, I like this place, I like it so much."

I paid for a maid named Martha, 30 years old, unmarried, used to work on a large estate, left because the original owner went bankrupt, she had good references, and she seemed like a neat woman.

I looked for a governess for Anna, and education was a secondary consideration, the point being that I should have someone with her when I went to school.

I soon received letters of recommendation from educational institutions, and they recommended me three young ladies.One of the teachers, Daisy Pan, got my attention. She was only 20 years old, she had just left a church school, and she knew basic painting, music, embroidery, and French, so I wrote to her.

A few days later, she showed up at my door with simple luggage.

Miss Daisy is a fair-skinned, beautiful girl with a pointed chin. I invited her to sit in the living room. She was so nervous that she couldn't even smile.

"Has Miss Pan worked as a tutor before?" I asked her.

"No, sir, I have no experience, but I will teach my students patiently," she said hastily.

"Oh, it doesn't matter if you don't have experience. Your student is named Anna, she is my younger sister. She has a quiet and cautious personality. I hope she can become cheerful with your company, and you don't need to restrain her too much." Then I told Martha Said: "Take Miss Pan upstairs to settle down, and then let her meet Anna."

She curtsied to me, and quietly followed the maid upstairs.

The tutor is the helpless choice of educated but penniless women. It is said that a tutor is actually no worse than a maid. It needs to help the head household with housework and is often despised.Even in high society there was a saying that it was a tradition for governesses to sleep with their masters.

I can't tell what character is from just a letter of introduction, so I had to choose the youngest one, hoping to bring Anna a sense of freshness. Anna is too reserved, as if speaking loudly to her can scare her.

When Anna took my arm for a walk in the nearby trails at night, I asked her what she thought of Miss Pan.

"She's fine." Anna said simply.

"Dear Anna, you know that I can't live with you at home. I'm going to college in a few days, so I hope someone reliable can take care of you. If she's not suitable, then we'll change it." I explained.

"She looks pretty good." Anna said, "It's similar to a nun in a church school. She speaks very softly and is very careful in class. I hope she can stay with me."

The next morning, I was reading the newspaper at the dinner table when Miss Daisy came up, looking hesitant.

"Sir, may I speak to you about Mademoiselle Anna?" she said.

"Of course, you can sit anytime, please." I pointed to the seat in front of me.

She looked a little tangled, her eyes flickered, but she didn't speak.

"You don't have to restrain yourself, Anna, what's wrong with her?" I asked.

"Last night, when I was changing clothes with her, I found that Miss Your Mansion has many old scars on her body. I don't know..." She looked extremely embarrassed, and she didn't dare to look me in the eyes, as if she was doubting me. Is it the one who abused Anna.

I instantly felt my blood turn cold. I threw the newspaper on the table and rushed upstairs to Anna's room.

"What's wrong, brother?" Anna made up the bed and was changing clothes.

I couldn't help but unbutton her sleeves, rolled up the sleeves, and then a large intertwined old scars appeared in front of me, which made my scalp tingle.I grabbed Anna's shoulder angrily and asked her loudly: "What's going on? Who did it! Mrs. Jenny is still the father, tell me!"

Anna's face was pale, and mist gushed out of her emerald green eyes.

Miss Daisy also came upstairs, and she put her arms around Anna and said to me: "There are still many on the back and legs, as if they were whipped by someone."

"Father?" I said in shock.

"No..." Anna shook her head, and suddenly burst into tears: "It was Joseph, he beat me with a whip, and Elizabeth also kicked me, woo woo woo... Once I was beaten so hard that I passed out and fell ill After recovering from illness, my father sent me to school..."

Seeing the crying and trembling little girl, I was so angry that I was going crazy.

That group of people was simply inhumane. Anna was less than ten years old at the time, and she was usually timid and quiet. Why would she do such a thing to a poor child!

"Don't Father and William know? What did they say?"

"Brother William quarreled with Mrs. Jenny at the beginning, but he didn't care about it after a lot of times. Father, father knew, told Joseph several times, but he still beat me, and he didn't care what father said at all." Anna said sobbing.

I pulled the girl over and held her in my arms: "I'm sorry, it's all brother's fault. If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have picked you up earlier."

The girl shook her head and said: "It's not brother Adam's fault, I am very happy with Brother Adam now, we will never go back to Quint, okay, I don't like that place, nor do I like Mrs. Jenny and her children .”

"Okay, let's stay away from them," I said.

After this incident, I have gained some trust in Miss Daisy. Seeing this situation, many tutors may be slick and say nothing, but Miss Daisy has shown unusual integrity.

A few days later, I packed my things and got on the carriage to Oxford.

A few of my best friends also came to Oxford to study, because Locke School is biased towards church schools, so everyone likes the calm and atmospheric Oxford, not the lively and lively Cambridge.

John is studying at Oxford Law School, and his father seems to want him to be in politics instead of inheriting his business company, but I worry about whether John, who is pure and timid, is qualified for such a career, and his personality is more suitable for studying history and art. suject.

What surprised me the most was that Mike actually showed up at our seminary.

"Holy Mother, you actually let a playboy like you enter a seminary. If you really become a priest in the future, the nuns will cry." I smiled and shook my fist with Mike and said.

"Where have you been these days? Our graduates from Locke School had a party a few days ago, but you and Edward were missing." Mike said.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Oh, God, you don't know!" When Mike mentioned Edward's name, his face changed, and he said to me seriously: "Adam, something happened to Edward."

"What happened!" I tensed up.

Mike told me that just a few days ago a big event happened there in London.

A gentleman's son was beaten to death in a certain clubhouse. At that time, only Earl Femont and his two sons were present. Earl Fermont and his eldest son testified that it was his younger son Edward who accidentally killed someone.

Edward pleaded guilty without any excuse, and the court sentenced him to 30 lashes, and he was exiled to the colony, and he was not allowed to return to the country for five years.

After hearing the news, I slumped on the chair, my heart was cold, and I couldn't breathe for a long time.

That vague memory once passed away in a flash. I didn't think that the Femont in my memory was Edward. How could this be possible!

I hurriedly asked Mike Edward about the situation: "Is he okay? Is the injury serious?"

But Mike said: "You know that he committed murder and is still in prison. Outsiders are not eligible to visit the prison, and I heard that he will be sent to the colony soon."

After hearing this, I rushed out desperately, stopped a carriage, and ordered him to drive to London.

The carriage drove all night without sleep, and finally arrived at the local justice court in the early morning of the next day.

"I want to know where is Mr. Edward Fairmont? He is the one who was tried just a few days ago." I grabbed a magistrate and asked.

"He was escorted to port this morning," the sheriff informed me.

I hurried to the port again.

The port is crowded with people, bustling with people.

Markets are gathered here, the port is full of various stalls, vendors shout loudly, porters coming and going unload goods from the pier, they push carts or drive mule carts to send a large amount of goods up and down.The smell here is terrible, the smell of human and livestock dung, all kinds of rotten vegetables and meat condense together, which can directly suffocate people.

I grabbed someone like a headless chicken and asked, "When is the ship going to the colony here?"

The man replied, "Sir, there is a ship going to the colonies every week. Are you going to the New World, India, Africa or the Southern Continent (Australia)?"

"I... I don't know..." I found to my annoyance that I forgot to ask where he was going to be sent.

"Then there is nothing I can do to help you." The man pointed to some ships in the distance.

I said thank you and hurried to the boat.But the ship had already sailed, and I stood under the huge ship, powerless like an ant, and could only shout at the ship from the shore: "Edward, Edward, are you on board? Are you on board? Answer me! "

Only the huge oars of the ship answered me. They parted the sea and sailed towards the vast sea.

I could only stand on the shore blankly, watching the big ship go farther and farther away. In a trance, I saw a familiar figure among the many people at the stern of the window. I didn't know if it was him, but I was just stunned. stared at the shadow until the ship disappeared into the blue sea.