aristocratic engagement

Madam Catherine didn't realize it, she beckoned to Mrs. Jiang Jinsheng and ordered something in a low voice.Annie noticed that she was looking at her from the corner of her eye, and the corner of her mouth twitched.Annie put down Fenrir and stood up, only to see Darcy looking at her calmly, as if she felt it was right.

Annie muttered in her heart, trying to hypnotize herself, she was only 11 years old, and she was still a "crazy nut", a good night kiss was nothing, let alone her cousin...Damn it!It is precisely because he is a cousin!

Georgiana was a little puzzled, and looked back and forth between Anne and Darcy.

"Annie, don't you like brother?" Georgiana was a little hurt and felt a little strange.Although she was still young three years ago and didn't have a complete memory, she vaguely remembered that Annie and her always followed her brother in and out at that time, and they were very close.

Annie was left speechless by Georgiana's straight ball, and the corner of her mouth twitched, "No." Then she said in a voice only she could hear, "Of course he's not a nasty guy." She took a deep breath quietly Taking a sip, he stepped forward to hug Darcy.

Darcy seemed to see her uneasiness, and only kissed her face-to-face, and when Annie was about to let go of him, he whispered in her ear: "Good night, dear."

Annie has relaxed now: "Good night, Darcy."

Then, Anne and Georgiana said goodnight to Lady Catherine and kissed goodnight respectively, and left the drawing room under the watchful eyes of Lady Catherine and Darcy.

The two came to Anne's room. At this moment, Georgiana was jumping up and down excitedly, and Mary, the personal maid, chased after her and waited for her to wash. Anne was relieved.

"I've put the account book in the big study." Du Li was finally able to talk to the master at this moment, "before Mary comes with Miss Darcy's luggage."

"Good job, Du Li." Annie loosened her brows and looked away from the dressing table by the window.After thinking about it for a moment, she continued to order: "Listen to my mother, Darcy will live here for a longer period of time than I expected. Let someone tidy up the small study and use it for them--Georgianna will be here at Christmas and After the new year, I will start to have lessons with Mrs. Black until my mother finds a new tutor for her, and I dare say that this time, my mother will definitely not be so considerate and find a suitable tutor soon."

Lady Catherine wished her nephew and niece could stay longer.

"The future accounts and reports will be sent directly to the big study." Annie added again.

The large study is the private domain of the owner of the manor.When Sir Louis was around, even Lady Catherine almost never set foot in it.After Sir Louis passed away, Anne, as the only heir, became the only person who could use the big study.Even the servants can't easily enter unless Anne's consent is obtained.

Only then did Annie safely put her clothes and props for "dressing up as a man" in the darkroom of the big study.She rarely goes out in men's clothing, but sometimes she has to show up for her small business.

Annie suddenly felt warm at her feet, and Fenrir followed her at some point, rubbing against her feet and circling around.

"Damn it!" Du Li screamed, and within a second, Annie couldn't laugh or cry.The little black dog "stamped and authenticated" beside Anne in its own way.Du Li yelled in annoyance, at the same time trying to hug Fenrir away at a loss.Fenrir grinned at her, very arrogant.

"Forget it, it's okay." Annie didn't mind, she bent down and hugged Fenrir, and walked outside - her clothes had already been ruined by this naughty dog.At this moment, Fenrir seemed to realize that he had done something bad, sobbing and shrinking obediently, he looked at her with big bright eyes.

Du Li looked at the darkened piece of carpet with a fierce look on her face, and soon came back to her senses, and hurriedly walked outside.After a while, there were footsteps in the corridor, and the servants rushed up with clean carpets in their arms. Behind them was Daniel, who was in charge of all the animal husbandry work in the manor.

"My Fenrir is in great need of teaching."

"Yes, it's best if you realize this. Fenrir is an Elsaziah, not a well-behaved pet dog. He is loyal and sensitive, but sometimes he is not so obedient." Daniel looked The look in Fenrir's eyes is like a cat seeing a mouse, "This is not a local breed in England. It comes from the Holy Roman Empire—maybe Prussia. In short, this is an extremely precious little guy."

After hearing this, Annie confirmed her guess.

"I understand, but, as his master, do I also have to train with him?" Annie knew that dogs are loyal animals, and it is especially important to cultivate a tacit understanding between the two from an early age.

"If you want him to really be your 'partner' instead of a 'pet', yes." Daniel's color brightened, then he thought of something, and then dimmed again, "Your body—I think, You can take Fenrir for a walk, those strenuous exercises..."

Anne also understands this, Fenrir has unlimited energy.And although her body is much better than when she first came to this world three years ago, it is far from enough.

"Maybe I can learn to ride a horse." She could ride while Fenrir ran with her.

"Good idea!" Daniel agreed, taking Fenrir from Annie.Under his skillful scratching, Fenrir unexpectedly let down his guard slowly and let out a snoring sound.At this time, the servants had already changed the carpet in the bedroom and filed out. After saluting Annie, Daniel also left with Fenrir in his arms.

Fenrir poked his head out from Daniel's elbow, looking straight at Anne.

"What a good dog." Annie said with a smile.

Early the next morning, Anne woke up early due to her habit. When she turned her head, Georgiana was still sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking up.Anne can finally take a closer look at her appearance at this moment——like her elder brother, Georgiana has dark chestnut hair, a high nose bridge, deep-set eye sockets, and between the brows and eyes is the tough and ancestral Darcy family. With a melancholic temperament, his brows are slightly frowned.On waking, the vivaciousness and playfulness in her nature from her mother would smooth out that wrinkle.

But Anne had never seen such a relaxed look on Darcy's face.

Presumably, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy passed away many years ago, when Georgiana was still waiting to be fed, and her elder brother was only one child, so he had to shoulder the great business of Darcy's family.He lost his childhood and innocence early, and Georgiana was able to grow up under such protection, all in exchange for his forced growth.

Annie sighed, and gently flicked out Georgiana's thumb that had been stuffed in her mouth unconsciously.Annie carefully lifted the velvet quilt on one side, and the cold air hit her instantly, making her shiver.Turning his head, he saw that the fire in the fireplace had been extinguished long ago, only the red charcoal fire was still burning weakly.

Anne added some firewood to rekindle the fire, and then she opened the window a crack to let in fresh air.After finishing all this, she quickly finished washing in the bathroom in the bedroom compartment, and changed into a dark velvet skirt. When she turned her head and saw that Georgiana was sleeping soundly, she tiptoed out of the room.

In the dim light of the sky, Anne walked through the long dark corridor, the carpet sucking the sound of her footsteps.Just arrived downstairs, Du Li was already holding her cloak tacitly and waiting at the stairs.

"It's very cold today." Du Li said as he put a thick fur cloak on her, "It looks like it's going to snow."

"Christmas is coming, I don't know if mother will prepare a dance for Darcy before or after the holiday."

"Maybe in the spring? Wait until after the New Year."

"It's also possible. I was too flustered before the festival."

They gossip without saying a word.Neither of them felt that Darcy came here just for Christmas. Although Mrs. Catherine didn't say anything last night, she might have already thought about the next arrangement.

Annie and Du Li left the manor through the side door as usual. In front of the iron gate near the house, there was a vigorous barking sound behind them.Fenrir jolted towards Annie, his fur had become completely clean, Annie didn't bend down to hug him anymore, and let him circle around her feet, under Du Li's gaze Get down, get down obediently.

Annie laughed loudly: "It seems that he already knew he was wrong."

Du Li muttered, but said nothing more.

The two of them and the dog walked quickly around the border of the manor along the usual route until they were out of breath.In fact, Rosings Manor is very large. Except for the gorgeous and majestic main building in the middle, the surrounding open space is almost endless. If you stand in Anne's room and look out, the fence of the land boundary can hardly be seen clearly.

It's mid-winter now, and the lawn has long been covered with frost, and the lawn is covered with white flowers.In another two or three months, this place will become a prosperous scene where the grass grows and the warblers fly.

This vast lawn became Fenrir's amusement park, he ran and jumped excitedly, and after a while his figure disappeared into the withered bushes.But he would always run towards Annie cleverly when she wanted to find him.But after such a toss, his body was covered with dusty needles and soil.Du Li was devastated, but there was nothing he could do about it.

For the first time, Anne felt that this path of daily exercise was so full of life.

On the way back, Anne still had a smile on her face, and Fenrir was bouncing forward, and after a while, she showed her tail again, seeming to "seduce" her.

But this time, until Annie reached the iron gate, Fenrir was not seen.Just as she was feeling strange, she turned the corner, only to see Fenrir lying at the feet of a person, rolling and acting cute, his stomach being scratched and whimpering.

"You have come back from a walk?" The man stood up in surprise, and patted the dust that was not there on the hem of his clothes.Fenrir also rolled and stood up.

"Yes." Anne stopped at a distance between the two of him and curtseyed, "Good morning, Darcy."

Darcy also bowed slightly to her, and then he fell silent.Annie felt strange, thinking that he still had something to do, so she didn't talk to him, and walked towards the manor.After walking a few steps, Fenrir followed silently, but turned his head to look from time to time.

"You have changed a lot." Darcy's voice came from behind, and Anne stopped.

TBC.