gentleman's manor

Dickon was scolded by his father for resigning and returning home.

His father was a blacksmith with a fierce appearance and a bad temper. Dickon was afraid of him, so he didn't dare to stay at home, but ran to a nearby pier to find a job as a porter.

Although Dickon is tall, he is not physically strong at all.It was a kind of torture for the people who dealt with flowers and plants all day to carry the goods, and within two days Dickon was tossed out of shape.

One day, Dickon was carrying a sack of flour to the deck, when a boatman came up behind him, pushed Dickon, and shouted cursingly, "What are you doing, dawdling! Good dogs don't get in the way!"

The shoving did not matter, and Dickon slipped and fell to the ground, and the whole sack of flour was poured on the muddy and black deck.Dickon looked at the flour all over the floor, his face turned pale with fright, and then he heard the manager's scolding: "Damn it, look at what you've done!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir." Dickon bowed his head shyly, feeling very annoyed in his heart. He only came to work for two days, and he earned a total of four pennies, but this big bag of white flour cost three shillings.

"I'm sorry for the shit! Can you afford to pay for this sack of flour? Give me three shillings, and then get the hell out of here. There's no use for your trash!" Guantou said angrily.

"I'll work hard, please don't fire me," begged Dickon.

"Listen up, pay the money now and get out!"

"But . . . I have no money . . . I have no three shillings . . . "

"You fucking looking for a beating!" Guantou snorted heavily, picked up a piece of wood and hit Dickon.

Dickon took two slaps and was stopped.

A well-dressed gentleman with a wig stood in front of Dickon and said, "It's really rude, don't stop now."

The head of the pipe was stunned, and said with a dry smile: "Sir, I just want to teach my buddy a lesson. He is so clumsy that he ruined a bag of precious white flour. If he doesn't compensate me for the loss, I will I will lose a lot, please don't hinder me."

"How much does this sack of flour cost?" the man turned to Dickon.

Dickon found that the person who helped him was an acquaintance, who was with Mr. Lewis all day long and was his personal servant.

"It's three shillings, sir," interposed the pipe head hastily, noticing that someone wanted to help wipe their bottoms.

"Here are three shillings for you." The valet took out the money and handed it to the butler, then looked at Dickon, "Mr. Lewis asked me to help you."

Dickon followed his line of sight, and found Mr. Lewis, well-dressed, standing on the shore away from the pier.

Dickon blushed instantly, and he felt embarrassed because the embarrassing thing just now had been seen.At the same time, he wondered why Mr. Louis came to such a place and sent servants to help him out.

Louis was standing in a sunny square, his blond hair was blowing slightly in the wind, and he was holding a black metal cane in his hand, making him look out of place here.

When Dickon walked over, the gentleman was covering his mouth and nose with a white handkerchief, frowning slightly, complaining in a low voice: "This place really stinks."

Dickon took off his hat, clutched it in his hand, and said, with his head bowed, "Sir..."

But after a long time, Dickon didn't hear Mr. Lewis' response. He raised his head cautiously, but saw the other party's displeased face.

"Thank... thank you for helping me out." Dickon said with a flushed face, "I will return the money to you as soon as possible."

Mr. Louis sneered contemptuously, raised his chin and said, "It's over after you pay back the money? Look at your virtue just now, and you were treated like an animal. If I hadn't sent someone to help you, what would you have done?"

Dickon felt sour in his heart. He didn't want Mr. Lewis to see him in a mess, let alone laugh at him, but he still fell into this situation. He wished he could turn around and run away, and never see the man in front of him again.

"Why don't you answer?" Louis said angrily, "Aren't you quite capable? You left the manor without saying a word, and after doing so many outrageous things, you slapped your ass and ran away. It's simply amazing."

"I thought... Mister wouldn't send me to the Public Security Bureau..." Dickon thought that Mr. Louis would pursue his responsibility, and said anxiously: "You said you don't want to see me again."

"You!" Mr. Lewis glared at Dickon as if choking, and said, "I didn't allow you to leave, so you are not allowed to leave. Do you think that after doing that to me, it can be easily settled?"

Dickon was so sad that he thought that Mr. Lewis wanted to revenge him with his own hands, so he couldn't control his tears, "Papa Papa" fell, and said while sobbing: "I was wrong, I was really wrong, please forgive me."

"Why are you crying?" Louis couldn't help feeling flustered when he saw Dickon crying.

"I swear that I will never confide a word to outsiders in my life, and I will repent for it in the days to come, and I will never appear in front of you again, please don't punish me." Dickon cried.

"I...who said that I would punish you!" Louis said weakly, and then put a white handkerchief into Dickon's hand: "Wipe your tears."

Dickon's hands were dirty, and the white handkerchief was stained with black marks. Instead of wiping away his tears, he looked at Louis and said, "I dirty your handkerchief, sir."

"It's okay," Louis said softly.

"You...you really won't punish me?" Dickon asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I won't punish you. If I wanted to punish you, I would have already done so," Louis said.

"Thank you, sir." Dickon wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, "You are so kind. I did such a heinous thing, but you forgive me. I pray for you."

For a while, the two fell silent and looked at each other for a while in the noisy environment.

At last, Deacon whispered: "I will never forget you, I love you, Mr. Constantine."

After speaking, he turned around and ran away, running fast, leaving Mr. Louis stunned in place.He maintained an awkward posture of leaning forward, as if he hadn't expected the other party to run away suddenly. Why was he running?What do you mean he won't forget him?After saying 'I love you', shouldn't you be begging yourself to reply to his confession?How can escape?

At this moment, the male servant waiting in the distance came over to him and asked, "Sir, have you finished your explanation?"

"What?" Louis asked, frowning.

"Uh... didn't you say you wanted Dickon to grow you a flower?" asked the valet.

"Oh, yes, yes." Louis coughed and said, "Go to Dickon's house and tell his father that I want to hire Dickon."

Then he took out a check for 20 pounds, handed it to the valet and said, "Take someone to his house and write a contract saying that I will employ him for a long time. This is a deposit."

The servant was a little embarrassed holding the £20 check. He took a careful look at Louis and said, "A deposit of £20? How many years do you plan to sign? The junior servants in our manor are only £2 a year."

"Ten years then," Louis said.

"Of order, sir." Although the servant didn't understand, he went anyway.

Dickon did not come home after his escape, but walked a long time down the street, and wept a long time.He had already said goodbye to Mr. Louis once before. He thought he would never see him again, but unexpectedly, Mr. Louis not only helped him generously, but also forgave him.But he himself always behaved like a clown, and Dickon was secretly sad. He must be a vulgar, despicable and ridiculous person in Mr. Lewis' mind.

He was sad for a while, and he didn't go home until dark, still worrying about how to explain to his father that he lost his job.

However, as soon as he got home, a shocking news hit him.

"I have already signed an agreement with the servant of the viscount's house, and you will go to work in their house from tomorrow." Dickon's father smiled happily, patted Dickon on the arm and said: "Unexpectedly, you serve Flowers and plants are also very promising. He paid 20 pounds to hire you for ten years, and he was still in such a respectable family as the Viscount’s mansion. Where can you find such a good job, it’s really pie in the sky.”

"Viscount Constantine? But... why did they hire me? I can't go!" Dickon was in a hurry, and opened his mouth to refuse.

Dickon's father didn't care what he said, he slapped the table and said, "I've already signed the agreement for you, you can go tomorrow."

"How can you sign it for me? It's my business," said Dickon.

"Stinky boy, are you looking for a beating? If you're told to go, go, there's so much nonsense!" The rough man slapped Dickon on the face as soon as he came up, causing Dickon to almost fall to the ground.

The life of the poor is very difficult, and the poor often have no food to eat.Dickon's parents did not sell their children, or killed them quietly at birth, so beatings were commonplace, and there was no brother or sister in the family who did not fear their father.

After being beaten, Dickon also knew that he couldn't resist this matter, so he had no choice but to accept it. Twenty pounds was a lot of money, a lot of money for a family like theirs, and it was impossible to get it out of my father's pocket.In the past, he gave all the money he earned to his mother. Because his father was an alcoholic, he rarely brought money home, and his younger siblings were still very young.Dickon was considerate of his mother, so he didn't run away as an adult like his brother, but took on the responsibility of supporting the family, so he couldn't even give three shillings.

Afterwards, the mother wept quietly in Dickon's arms: "Ten years, he is really cruel, even the child laborers in those textile factories will not sign such a long-term contract, you should run away, it is not signed by you yourself, you can talk to them explain."

"Father has gone out, how much money do you think he can get back? If I don't go, our family will become fraudsters, and my father and I will be sent overseas." Dickon touched his swollen face and said .

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The mother said sadly.

"Don't worry, the manor should have food and shelter. It doesn't matter if you don't have money, but I can't give you money." Dickon said.

"You just need to take care of yourself, woo hoo..." the mother cried while hugging Dickon.

Dickon stroked his mother's back, but he thought about Mr. Lewis, did he hire him?Didn't he say he won't retaliate?Why do you still have to do this?