The Sensory Animals of Ston Hill

After giving his order, the count entered the house, leaving only the door ajar.

Grace sniffed hard as Mrs. Brown passed him, glad she didn't smell the Earl on her.

He ran to the earl's door lightly and silently, and saw the earl standing at the desk and fiddling with something through the opened door.The Earl of Arundel turned his back to the door, and the movements of his hands were blocked by his muscular back, preventing Grace from seeing what he was doing.

Grace didn't knock on the door three times as usual, call out "Sir", and then push the door open, but stood outside the door a little cautiously.

He knew that the men of the family should study or work in the library on the second floor, because that's what William Ston did.

When William Stone was not at home, Alan Stone would move his books back to the bedroom.He chose to study in the bedroom because he was going to tease Grace while reading, and that was his secret.

The Earl is also handling the paperwork in the bedroom. What is his secret?

The Earl of Arundel noticed that he had been standing outside the door, and looked back at him: "Come in." It was just like when he usually called his steed Haimi, or his two alert hounds, the tone was different from that of others. There is a little more gentle affection when speaking.

After saying these two words, the count turned and went to the bathroom.Grace walked into the room and closed the door softly, hearing that the Earl was washing his hands.

Earl loves cleanliness very much. This "love of cleanliness" is not limited to keeping his clothes and body tidy, but has a wider meaning. This is a small habit that Grace discovered after secretly observing Earl for a long time: After touching someone you don't like, you must wash your hands for a long time afterwards.

Where did he touch Mrs. Brown?Grace thought to herself, it should be the hand, just like the way he kissed Mrs. Stone's hand at the wedding.

Grace walked to the desk and precisely pulled out a hand-bound book from the bottom of the stack of books.

There are two types of people in this world. One kind of people picks up what they want at random and puts it where they want to put it;

Although the second type of people are looked down upon by the first type of people, they have a magical ability that the first type of people will never have, that is, they can quickly find something wrong in a room: for example, the table is neatly arranged There is a crack in one of the plates; for example, a silverware in the glass cover is starting to blacken and needs to be polished;

This is actually not a book, but a notebook, not thick, and the cover is blank. Viewed from the side, the first half of the pages has been turned and looks old, while the second half is brand new.

Grace quickly flipped through the dilapidated part at the front. There were many numbers, and some names of people and places.He didn't look at it carefully, and after flipping through it, he put the book back in its original place, took a few steps to the side, and looked in the direction of the bathroom.

The count came out.

Grace noticed that he had also washed his face, and that the front of his hair was wet, and it was no longer tucked back as docilely as usual, but a few locks fell from his forehead like some peasants doing rough work.He had also taken off his coat in the bathroom, and he was only wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows and two buttons unbuttoned at the neckline.

Grace didn't feel that he had become vulgar because of this, but her heart beat faster because of seeing another kind of handsomeness in him.

It was only then that Grace realized that the Earl of Arundel had dark hair, as did his eyebrows.No wonder his light gray eyes always look so cold, pressed by a pair of dark eyebrows, serious, cold, and charming.

"What do you want from me?" The count walked towards Grace, stopped in front of him, and did not touch him directly.

Grace was a little disappointed. He thought that the earl would be more interested in his body after being away for so long, just like the few days when he visited Maple Leaf Forest Villa, or the few days when Grace was not asked to go upstairs after the wedding. sky.

"I have some things I don't understand, and I want to ask you, my lord." Grace asked respectfully.

"Say."

"Why did Madam lock us up?" he asked, but that was not the question he really wanted to ask.He glanced involuntarily at the desk as he spoke.

The count followed his inadvertent gaze, and finally landed on the bottom of the stack of books.Grace was extremely nervous, annoyed that she couldn't control her eyes.

The count took out the notebook and chuckled, "You clever little thing."

In front of Grace, he randomly opened a page of the book, revealing the tables and dense numbers inside, "How did you guess it?"

The Earl trusted him, and there was no secret that was deliberately hidden from him, Grace thought happily.The haze that had been pressing on his heart before dissipated instantly, and he introduced his magical skills as a maid to the count with some shame.

The count raised his eyebrows in surprise, he rarely made such expressions, which made him look more friendly.

"Do you know what this is?" the earl asked again after tapping the paper twice with his fingertips.Grace found that his expressions and movements were more than usual tonight, and he thought it was because the earl was in a good mood tonight.

"Is it the ledger?" Grace asked uncertainly.

The Earl raised his eyebrows again, and Grace looked at him shyly and expectantly.The count put his hand on the top of his head as he wished, and rubbed it gently, "very smart."

"More than ten years ago, Oldston's merchant ship encountered pirates. Oldston and his main crew were buried in the sea, and the business of the caravan was terminated. However, in addition to the business of the caravan, Oldston also purchased in the colonies of the New World The coffee beans and tobacco leaves were smuggled to Europe, exchanged for pounds and secretly deposited in the Bank of Geneva..."

The earl touched Grace's surprised lips, and said with a smile: "After the death of Old Ston, Mr. Wharton has been taking care of these businesses for his wife. No one knows how much property Old Ston has in the colony. And who will handle those businesses—” He slowly closed the book, and looked at Grace with a smile: “The ledger sent by Mrs. Brown is only a small part of it, but it is enough, I can Find all through it."

Grace didn't dare to look at him, she lowered her head and asked, "How much money?"

"Not less than sixty thousand pounds a year."

Grace looked up at him in shock.

The count caressed his cheeks, wandering up and down his face and neck, "If I were Old Ston, I would be reluctant to go to sea myself, with so much property, and such a lovely...'daughter'... ..."

Grace was obediently pushed onto the bed, and the Earl ran his fingers through his long hair.He had praised Grace's hair before. It has elegant waves and healthy luster. The top of the hair is light brown, and it turns into light golden at the ends. After it is loosened, you can clearly see the color change, just like the sunrise The gradation of light is so beautiful.

A tear rolled down from the corner of Grace's eye, he felt ashamed, turned his head and hid his face in the sheet.

The count pinched his chin to make him turn his head, "Why are you crying?"

Grace closed her eyes and didn't look at him.

"Tell me, Grace, I know you are a good boy." The earl bent his index finger and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Is it for the sixty thousand pounds?" Grace choked up.That's why he came back in such a hurry to save him...and many other things.

The earl's voice showed that he was laughing, and he squeezed Grace's chin a little harder, "What are you thinking, silly boy?"

Grace opened her eyes and saw his smiling pale gray eyes.

"Isn't it..." Grace looked into the earl's eyes and quickly gave herself the answer: no.

He looked a little silly, his eyes were wet, but he smiled at the corner of his mouth, holding the earl's hand resting on his chin with both hands, "Then why...Mr. Wales must..."

"Because that man can no longer speak. If he survives, every word he utters will hurt you and even kill you. Haven't you figured out such a simple truth?" The earl's fingers slowly sank into his thick In his hair, smoothing his hair as Sophie used to comb his hair with her hands instead of a comb.The smile in his eyes has not disappeared, and his voice is also cheerful, "Such a smart brain should not be unable to understand this matter."

A woman who showed up to a man's room in the middle of the night and stabbed him, for whatever reason, committed a felony.

This is indeed a simple truth, and Grace should have figured it out long ago.He was ashamed of his dullness, and even more ashamed of his base speculations.

The maid's questioning of the master should stop here, no matter from which point of view, he should not continue to ask questions.

But Grace couldn't help holding the Earl's hand, as if she was going to put that hand to her lips for a kiss, and asked his last question: "Then why...Mr. Wilson wants to hold my hand...let me I personally..." Just mentioning that word made him tremble.

Earl of Arundel encouraged him with his eyes, and Grace said the word tremblingly: "Kill... him?"

The earl pulled his hand out from between his hair and gently stroked his forehead, "Don't blame Wales, he just fulfilled the orders I gave him with the loyalty a servant should have."

"...your order?"

The Earl bent down, the distance between the eyes and Grace's was less than ten centimeters, and the tips of their noses almost touched.Grace smelled the nice scent of shaving soap on his face.

"You are a bold child, but I hope you are bolder. Only a brave person can get what he wants from others." The hot air from the earl's lips gently brushed the tip of Grace's nose and lips superior.Grace felt dizzy, he almost couldn't feel his body, and his soul seemed to float out of the body and fall into the earl's pale gray vision.

"In anyone's eyes, an income of sixty thousand pounds a year is a great fortune, but, Grace, in my opinion, you are far more valuable than sixty thousand pounds."