aristocratic engagement

The letter was rubbed repeatedly in Anne's hands for a long time.

She didn't open the letter in front of everyone the moment she received it, as if she was too impatient, as if she valued the person who sent the letter...But when there was only one person, Annie felt that she It seems to be deliberately tense again.

This made her a little at a loss.

Maybe it's because of the secret and unresolved engagement, maybe the spring wind in London is too ambiguous, maybe it's the recent conversations with the ladies and wives that made her distracted... After self-condemnation and hesitation for a long time, Anne had to admit that she The focus on this letter and its writer goes beyond cousins ​​and ordinary "friends".

In this spring in London, all the ups and downs she has experienced and experienced are more than the sum of the years of isolation in Rosings.

An impulse and restlessness emerged from the bottom of my heart uncontrollably.

After thinking about it, Annie attributed it to the hormones in the objective body.Otherwise, how to explain all these uncontrollable paranoia and overthinking?

Du Li stayed in the servant's room outside the suite and had already rested; Fitzwilliam's family was busy in their own way, and rarely disturbed her life on this floor; at this time, the Bennet sisters were next door, but because of Excellent sound insulation, she couldn't hear anything.

There was silence, only the roar of the wind outside the window.

Annie sat at the desk, only one lamp was lit.She held the envelope, hesitated for a moment and then put it down. She took out a thick dozen of books and contracts from the drawer, and placed the empty book, pen and ink bottle left by Sir Louis in front of her.Like a movie screening, every day after arriving in London and every change in expenses came to Annie's mind.

The tip of the pen scratched across the paper, and Anne frowned slightly, just like she had done countless times in the big study of Rosings Manor. Everything he thought was recorded.

What she didn't know was that her current demeanor and movements were almost exactly the same as Rosings' deceased master.

"Boom boom boom——"

When the zero o'clock bell rang, Annie suddenly woke up from the dense numbers.She closed the booklet, and when she finally reached for the letter, she realized that her hands had been blackened by the leaking ink.

She casually pulled out a silk handkerchief and wiped her hands, then took out a letter opener from the drawer, and carefully peeled off the wax on the letter.

Familiar, graceful, and elegant fonts appear vividly on the paper, and every tick and every circle bears Darcy's signature personal style.

The words are as they are, Anne pursed her lips and smiled, as if she saw Darcy's frown and restrained and alienated eyes.

[Dear Anne,

I am sitting in a corner of the library of the Royal Albertus University in Koenigsberg, listening to the birdsong outside the window and the debates of the professors - writing to you.

Forgive me for being late with this letter, I did not mean to conceal my itinerary in order to worry my aunt, uncle, Georgiana and you.When I came to France, I followed the contact information provided by my father's old friend... All that awaited me were collapsed ruins.I have to admit that I somewhat regret accepting Lady Catherine's proposal for the bar mitzvah and the ball - I'm sorry, but I'm not blaming your mother, I take full responsibility for it - if I hadn't Arrive, according to the gentleman's old servant, I can see him for the last time. 】

"I'm sorry to hear the news." Anne murmured.She knew that the very important purpose of Darcy's trip to the continent of Europe was to visit old Darcy's old friends... She guessed that it was not just as simple as maintaining personal connections, but more complicated interests might be involved.

[The situation in France is far more serious than we once knew in newspapers and books.The royal family has left the Palace of Versailles, but no one thinks that all this has been settled. 】

Annie nodded. She came from later generations and knew the course of history better than anyone else.

[As you said, turbulence and change are like an eagle taking off on the continent of Obaro.I was in it, but I didn't know which direction to go.

At this time, I remembered the books and magazines you lent me.I am not sure that studying in Germany is a good choice.Stay in France?Or travel to the next stop?I wandered in and out of it.But when I came back to my senses, I had come to Koenigsberg.I did not take the servant with me, nor did I take all my luggage. 】

Anne frowned.Darcy's actions and whereabouts have exceeded her expectations.

No servants, no full luggage?Anne had to worry about his safety.You know, a war just ended last year, and before the next battle breaks out, Europa is full of rain.

"Just in case... No, it can't be just in case." Annie shook her head, trying to get rid of the terrifying idea.

【I don’t want to waste your time by repeating what happened after I came to Koenigsberg. In short, everything is fine.And you?Although you are not able to participate in the social dance in London for the time being, I understand that with your personality and behavior, you must have found your answer in London.You must have seen through the trajectory of fate one step ahead of me when I was still ignorant of the future. 】

"You hit it off!" Annie smiled lightly and shook her head.She cannot be sure of her own future, but she has "predicted" history.

[Georgianna is a jumping child, a little too sensitive.I entrust her to Lady Catherine and you, and she may be angry with me.If possible, please condemn my "unfeeling" in front of her a lot, so that she will not feel sad alone.

I promise to bring you and her a gift when I come home, please be sure to let me know your wishes.If not, my carelessness and self-righteousness may have exposed myself to more anger and complaints. 】

"Ha! Are you Bibell's father? Don't bring us a rose. Georgiana won't be bought by a flower." So did I.

【I may stay in Prussia for some time, maybe a year, maybe two years, maybe I will change to another place in the next month.So, instead of sending me a letter, I will write to you regularly to report on my condition.If there is an urgent matter that needs to be discussed with me, Mr. Rommel will have a way to contact me.

Hope all is well in the UK.

Fitzwilliam Darcy. "]

Darcy was pressing down on his thick hat and overcoat, wrapped in the damp cold wind, spiraling into the room through the slammed open door.His eyelashes were drizzled with drizzle and frost, his teeth were clenched, and his eyes were so calm and cold that they were almost completely unrecognizable to old Englishmen.

This is no longer a fashionably youthful manor owner who has just grown up, but a mature and calm man—he just celebrated his 25th birthday.

Darcy pushed hard against the door panel, and then put the door back which was crumbling in the strong wind.He quickly walked to the only small window in the room, and unfolded the letter in his hand by the afterglow.The more I read, the deeper the frown becomes.

The scribbled handwriting came from Rommel. When Darcy saw the messy handwriting on the cover, his heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad premonition.

After reading the short letter at a glance, Darcy immediately turned around and skillfully packed up the clothes, messy papers, dip pens and other objects on the table and bed, followed by the "snap" of his suitcase for seven years. It was opened and laid flat on the ground.

The letter stated that on Christmas three months ago, despite dissuasion, Earl Fitzwilliam insisted on riding a horse to compete with his friends in the club, but he accidentally fell off the horse and was sent back by the club members. When he was in the mansion, he fell into a coma.At first, doctors found only a broken leg, which he covered with bandages and wood.But it took a long time to see him wake up, and then he realized that the problem was not small.

Three days later, the Count woke up coughing up blood, but could not speak because of a wounded tongue.The entire Fitzwilliam House fell into panic and an unspeakable depression. Lady Catherine rushed to London with Anne and Georgiana on the first day of the new year.Rommel deliberately used vague words to remind him that this incident was not an accident, but...

At last Darcy packed his luggage--just a suitcase.He looked at the piece of paper on the desk and didn't move for a long time.These are the No.20 five letters he wrote to England.As he had said in his first letter to Anne, he would write quarterly to inform them of his itinerary (albeit half true).

This is the seventh year of his tour in Europa.

He concealed too much in the letter.

The flames of war will not burn to the wealthy villages on the British Isles, and the aftermath will only shake in London and its surroundings.And he shuttled between Prussia, Austria and France, saw all kinds of different scenery, heard all kinds of shocking cries, experienced wars and parting, conspiracy and conspiracy, and also touched a huge secret - about Catherine Lady's Secret.

Darcy's eyes suddenly became dark.Rommel almost made it clear in his letter that Earl Fitzwilliam was seriously injured and time was numbered.As for Lady Catherine's... secret, perhaps he knows best, Earl Fitzwilliam and Rommel are both participants in it.

Whatever the reason, hurry back to London without delay!

Darcy struck a match, and brought the unfinished family letter close to the scattered flames.In an instant, the letter paper ignited, and the flame gradually climbed from the bottom to his fingertips.

He let go, and the ashes fell to the ground.

Darcy had a hunch that the "battlefield" in London was no easier than the "battlefield" in Europa.The life and death of Earl Fitzwilliam is uncertain, no matter who the culprit behind it is, no matter what his position is, Darcy is determined to find him out.

Earls Court, Pemberley Manor and Rosings Manor had been firmly screwed together as early as that Christmas.

I haven't seen him for seven years, and I'm afraid Georgiana will angrily refuse to recognize him.Where's Annie?She is so smart and wise, she should have already guessed about her own experience?

He did not go missing on purpose to make them worry after he was far away from England—on the first Christmas, he met robbers at sea and had a fierce battle; On the third Christmas, he was injured in the war and couldn't move... When he missed three Christmases, he didn't even dare to bring his true self back to England.

Darcy glanced back at the empty hut, picked up the box, and his silent back disappeared into the twilight.

The author has something to say: this time jump 484 is a bit exciting, and the progress is directly full~