gentleman's manor

I am very busy with work in the church, and I hardly have time to attend all kinds of banquets, but I received a letter from Mr. Irwin a few days ago.His sons and daughters have grown up and they need to go back to England to study and get married. He wanted to sell his property in India, so he gathered his friends here for a dinner, and I accepted his invitation.

The banquet was held at Mr. Aiwen's house. His house is a traditional European style, very spacious and comfortable.After dinner we gathered for tea in the small drawing room, which was sumptuously furnished, with velvet carpets all over the floor and orange-patterned wall coverings.The seats in the room are of different sizes and shapes, and they are placed randomly.A piano with a black casing is placed by the window, next to a bookshelf made of expensive wood.The guests sat together in twos and threes, the women shook their fans and chatted in low voices, the men talked loudly, complained loudly, and were full of complaints.

"That man controls the fleet, travels between European countries and colonies every year, and lowers the price of agricultural products by partnering with other fleets. He is simply a gang of robbers!" A businessman said indignantly.

"Last year, they partnered to lower the price of jute, and then sold it at a high price in Rotterdam, making a lot of money. Pity me for planting jute for a whole year, but I only got a small change in the end."

"I heard they bribed the governor's house."

I found that many men were cursing someone angrily, so I asked Mr. Aiwen, "Who are they talking about?"

"I'm talking about the captain of a fleet. His name is Edward Gary. He's a speculator." Mr. Aiwen whispered to me: "But the fleet is sailing around, and it is supposed to earn the difference by transporting goods. After all, maritime trade is dangerous. , It is a life-threatening business. Countless boats disappear in the vast sea every year, and it is all over if there is an accident. People who live on land and guard the land have no right to blame others. They have the ability to go to sea by themselves. "

"We should unite to boycott him!" A businessman jumped up and shouted, "Complain to the government!"

"He should have connections above, otherwise he wouldn't dare to be so rampant." Someone said.

"Those people in the government are getting more and more corrupt, and now even an ugly devil is supporting them. I'll see what else they can do!"

The men yelled at the captain, and a lady interjected, "I saw him last time. The scars on his face are terrible, and his body is as tall and big as a bear. It is the first time for me to be such a vicious and ugly man." See you for the first time."

scar?My heart suddenly moved, and I hurriedly asked Ivan: "Is he British?"

"I don't know. He speaks fluent Latin and French, but his fleet never enters the treaty ports of England."

"He has a scar on his face? Is it a whiplash?"

"Yes, have you seen him? From the center of the eyebrows along the nose to the corner of the mouth, it's very scary." Ivan shook his head and said.

My heart skipped a beat: "Do you know where he lives?"

"The foothold of their fleet is in Calcutta, and they come back several times a year..."

……

I have never visited any place with such apprehension, and I think that Mr. Garry is probably Edward.

The fleet's foothold is close to the port, and many ships come and go here every day. I have been here many times, but I never thought that Edward might be on these ships.

It was a place like a barracks, where strong crews walked around, huge warships lined up in the bay, and goods were piled up on the docks like hills.With the sea breeze blowing the salty, humid and hot tide, the waves in the distance hit the beach on the shore wave after wave, bringing a lot of brown kelp or seaweed, and the high wooden supports of the pier are covered with hard shell sea Creatures, they are densely packed and look a little disgusting.

I went to the crew's quarters and asked the gatekeeper to see the captain, but was refused.

"Our captain is very busy, and we cannot meet guests without an invitation in advance," he said.

"Please let me see him, or you can inform me that my name is Adam Constantine, and he may meet me."

"Many guests come to see our captain every day. Wouldn't it be too busy to meet everyone? Please don't embarrass me." The gatekeeper said bluntly.

I had to say: "You see clearly, I am a gentleman, and now I want to see your captain, how dare you drive me out!"

The gatekeeper was startled and found that I was actually a pastor. He apologized hastily and said, "Please forgive me, sir. I will go find someone now."

Soon a young man came out following the gatekeeper. He was complaining impatiently, "Who has such an arrogant attitude?"

"Mr. Daniel?" I looked at him in surprise.

The other party seemed even more surprised, he stammered and said, "Mr....Mr. Pastor."

Daniel’s fleet goes to sea several times a year, and every time he returns, he donates money to the church. Over the past two years, he has donated nearly [-] pounds, completely solving the urgent needs of the church. I have a very good impression of him, but I Didn't expect to meet him here.

Daniel smiled dryly and led me into a small building.

The small living room on the second floor is very simple, but the blank walls are decorated with a few huge sea fish specimens, and there is a sketch hanging near the window.In the painting is a huge sailing ship, and there is a flamboyant signature in the lower right corner of the sketch. Even after many years have passed, I still remember Edward's habit of drawing, he likes to leave his initials in the lower right corner of the painting.

Daniel stared at the handsome pastor in front of him. He was slender and well-proportioned, with a straight back and a black priest robe with a silver cross hanging on his chest. He was as rigorous as those ancient monks who knew the rules and discipline in the story.

He stood in front of the window, his tea-brown hair was shining in the sun, as soft as fine silk, tied behind his head with a dark blue ribbon.His eyes are light green, his eyelashes are slender and transparent, his facial features are delicate, and his skin is fair, making him extraordinarily handsome and charming.As a man, he does have the capital to make women crazy about him. No wonder he can be seen surrounded by a group of women every time he goes to church. He is really an enviable guy.

At this time, the monk full of abstinence was looking at the captain's painting with tenderness in his eyes.Daniel couldn't help sighing, God bless, the captain is not unrequited love after all.

About two years ago, the captain suddenly asked him to deliver donations to a nearby church, and the amount was five hundred pounds at a time.The extravagance was terrifying, for even the wealthiest businessman would not give more than fifty pounds to the church, and the captain ordered that his name not be spoken.

Daniel felt strange, since he did something good, why did he still hide it.Asked why, the captain said he didn't want to meet the new pastor in the church.

But when I came to the church, I found that the new pastor was simply a moving luminous body standing in the crowd, with a beautiful face like a Greek statue.So much so that when he presided over the mass, the church was full of women, all staring at Mr. Pastor obsessively, without any restraint.After Mass they chattered around the priest as if they were going to eat the mild-mannered monk alive.

Daniel also found that he had seen the pastor in the captain's drawing book, and there were dozens of sketches of him.

It is not common for men to fall in love. Even sailors who have not seen women at sea all year round will not choose to be with men. Two men falling in love sounds like a fairy tale.But after seeing this pastor, Daniel suddenly felt that perhaps it is not impossible for the captain to fall in love with a man. This pastor is too handsome to be a sinner.

"I'm here to ask to see your captain, when can he see me?" Mr. Pastor suddenly asked.

"The captain is out. He has business with several gentlemen." Daniel said hastily.

"Is...is he alright?" the pastor hesitated for a moment, stroking the sketch and asking.

"The captain is very healthy, and he practices fencing every day. We are not rivals." Daniel laughed.

"Did he ask you to donate money to our church?"

"Yes, the captain said to donate in the name of the fleet, so..." Daniel explained, but the other party was obviously not listening.

Today's sunshine is particularly dazzling, and the sultry air drifts in from the window, mixed with the fishy smell of the sea, which makes people feel irritable.I suddenly felt very sad. It seems that Edward knew that I was looking for him everywhere, but he didn't want to see me.

"Ah, the captain is back." Daniel suddenly pointed out the window and shouted.

I hurriedly looked out the window, and a tall figure walked into the door.He looked familiar and strange, he was Edward, but he had changed a lot.He was very tall, much stronger than when he was young, his blond hair was cut short, his cheeks were thin, and the most striking thing was the long scar on his face, which was savagely entrenched on his once handsome face.

After he walked into the gate, he seemed to sense our gaze, so he looked up at us, and I immediately bumped into his ice blue eyes.

He stood there looking at me for a while, then walked quickly towards the small building.

I gripped the edge of the window tightly with my hands, and I couldn't help but panic.

There were heavy footsteps on the stairs, and then the door was pushed open, and Edward really stood in front of me.

I stared blankly at him, with an unreal feeling, his appearance was so clear, so close at hand, I have been worried that he missed him for many years, but when he stood in front of me, my heart couldn't help but flinch up.

"Love, Edward, my friend, how are you?" I stammered.

He stared at me closely, eyes full of oppression, I even involuntarily avoided his sight, just stared at the floor, I don't know how long it took before I heard that familiar tone that belonged to him.

"It's been a long time. Mr. Constantine's articulation is quite slow, because he was too excited to see his old friend, so he stammered?" His voice was cheerful, with a sense of excitement.

Before I could react, he stepped forward and hugged me tightly.

There was an aura mixed with earth and grass on his body, like the smell he carried when he returned from riding a horse in the wild when he was a teenager.I felt emotional for a moment, and raised my hands involuntarily, hugging him back tightly.

We hugged each other, time seemed to stand still, no one moved or spoke.

It wasn't until someone beside me coughed that I pushed Edward away in embarrassment and looked at Daniel who was waiting beside me.

"Uh...I'll go out first...you...you continue..." After he said this, my face instantly became hot as a soldering iron.

After Daniel left, it was just the two of us in the room.A cloud blocked the sun, and the room became dark. Under the stuffy air, I felt hot all over, maybe because of the burning gaze of the other party.

"Seeing that you are well now, I am relieved." I picked up the teacup and took a sip, pretending to be calm, so as to cover up my nervousness at this time.

"Sorry for worrying you." He said simply, without a word of explanation.

We seemed to directly avoid the fact that he knew that I was looking for him, but he avoided seeing him, as if we were really old friends who hadn’t seen each other for many years and met by chance in a foreign country.

"What happened to you back then?" I asked him.

"As you heard, I accidentally killed someone, and now I'm still a murderer sent to the colony." He said with a little self-mockery.

"No, you're not!" I retorted hastily.

"Why do you think I'm not?" Edward said, staring at me.

I didn't know how to answer him, I just shook my head: "In my heart, you are not."