little miss austin

Alice immediately changed the subject, and casually took another book that Henry handed over. Vathek is a bewildering tale of the Arab court, with supernatural elements and some indescribable descriptions popular among adult readers, not a book for a little girl her age .

Tom smiled, realizing that she really shouldn't have read this kind of book.

Henry and Alice picked out the books to borrow and made an appointment to return them when they came to the dance after Christmas.Mrs. Gresham is the biggest rich man in several dioceses nearby. Every year after Christmas, a New Year's Ball will be held. The squires, priests, and nobles who come to the country house for vacation from several dioceses will come to the ball.

Before leaving, Wesley gave Alice a small purse, an oriental brocade box.He is indeed a bit dull and not outstanding in appearance, but his upbringing is not that he is not good at speech, but he is kind and honest, and he doesn't look as pleasing as Tom.

"Thank you for coming to accompany Mrs. Gresham." He whispered, "I can't go for your birthday in a few days. This is the birthday present I picked for you. I hope you like it." After hesitating for a moment, he finally Ask: "Last time... I asked you to bring Jane a birthday present, did she like it?"

"She likes it very much. At the New Year's ball, I will let her wear it and come to the ball." Alice smiled sweetly.Jane's birthday is December 12, and her birthday just passed a few days ago.

Wesley seemed relieved, "Thank you, Alice."

Tom asked inquiringly, "What did Wesley tell you?"

"This is between me and him, why do you want to know?" Alice rolled her eyes rudely.

Henry raised his forehead, "Alice! Pay attention to your facial expressions."

"What?" This brother, who was spending time and drinking outside by himself, knows how to be a good brother when he comes home, and restrains his sister's words and deeds.

"What did Wesley give you?"

"My birthday present."

Tom whispered: "Oh! So I have to prepare a birthday present for you. When is your birthday?"

"December 12."

"Wow!" Tom exclaimed.The little girl born on Christmas Eve and the youngest in the family is sure to be the one her parents love the most.

"You should come to accompany Mrs. Gresham more, so that your plan to save money will be faster and faster."

Every time she left Gresham Manor, Wesley would give her a small purse containing varying amounts of coins, sometimes half a pound.She thought this was paid companionship, and Wesley was really on the right track.Therefore, Wesley, who is generous and informal, kind and kind, is probably the reason why Jane does not like him because of his appearance.

Wesley looks like an ordinary English boy, tall, thin and shy.According to Cathy, he was not a very good dancer, while Jane was a girl who loved to dance.Tom is a master at the dance floor. According to Lucy, Tom is a man with a lot of experience in London.I don't know how the little eighth woman Lucy knows so many messy things.

Henry sent Tom back to Ash, had dinner at Lefroy's, and didn't come home until nearly nine o'clock in the evening.

After returning home, Alice was so tired that she washed up and went to sleep.

When I got up in the morning, I thought about the birthday present Wesley gave me yesterday, I hadn’t opened it to see what it was, so I hurriedly found the brocade box. After I opened it, there was an enamel butterfly hairpin inside. The size of the butterfly was about the size of an adult’s thumb. Copper wire hairpin needles must be very beautiful when they are placed in the hair when the hair is twisted.

The last birthday gift he gave Jane was a decorative comb the size of her palm, also made of brass, with roses made of mother-of-pearl shells. Pale pink can be said to be quite a delicate work of art.

Jane hadn't had a chance to wear a comb to any social occasion yet.

Alice decides that she will wear a butterfly hairpin for the evening dance.

Mum and sisters had their dresses up yesterday and they looked like new dresses.

Jane was reading in her room, and Cathy was still downstairs helping her mother with the housework.

Henry also just got up and was eating breakfast.

Mother brought Alice breakfast: a quiche and two slices of white bread.

There is a shortage of fruits in winter, and there is no such thing as freshly squeezed juice, so she has no choice but to think about it.

The dance party in the evening was not bad.

Alice and Lucy stood in a corner of the room. Lucy shook her legs excitedly, hoping that next summer, she would be 16 years old and could officially enter the social world.

Jane, Cathy, Henry, Tom, Eliza, Weasley, all attended the ball.

Henry basically only dances with Cousin Eliza.

Wes wanted to dance with Jane, but Tom also wanted to dance with Jane. In the end, the Austin sisters formed two pairs of dance partners with Tom and Wesley. Ballroom dancing at the end of the 18th century was a multi-person dance, with 4 people forming a group and turning around face to face.

This is the first time for Alice to see her sisters dancing. Indeed, the Austins dance very well. Cousin Eliza is also a master. Not to mention Tom Lefroy, he dances very well!Wesley really couldn't do it, he stepped on Cathy and Jane's feet one after another.Cathy has a good temper, and Jane is very impatient without saying anything.

Seeing Wesley bowing his head in shame and apologizing, Alice felt really sorry for him!

Men don't judge their true temperament by whether they can dance or not!

Looking at it this way, Jane is really a good-looking dog, and the good-looking Tom can win her favor. Well, although the two of them still hardly speak now, this does not hinder Jane's good mood.

After the ball is Christmas Eve.

Austin's family had what could be considered a sumptuous Christmas dinner.

Goethe Musham Manor sent someone to bring some food, including a basket of apples, and my mother made apple pie, and everyone ate some apple pie.

Christmas Eve is also Alice's birthday. The Austins celebrated the little girl's 6th birthday. Everyone gave her gifts, and the Austins who were not at home also sent gifts home.So every Christmas Alice can open two presents, very happy.

The ball at Gresham Manor before the New Year will be bigger and more grand.

For the annual New Year's Ball, my mother will make new dance dresses for her two older daughters, which is very important.This year, I took Alice to the prom for the first time.Alice cannot dance, but she can accompany Lady Gresham.

Jane was surprised to find that as soon as she arrived at Gresham Manor, she seemed to be automatically assigned a dancing partner—Mr. Wesley.

Still like the last ball, the Austen sisters were a group of dance partners with Tom Lefroy and Wesley.

Wesley's dance steps seem to have improved, at least he didn't step on anyone's feet today.

After a dance, Wesley took Jane's arm and introduced her to some guests.But after another dance, Wesley couldn't find Jane.

Mrs. Gresham has been paying close attention to her nephew, seeing him looking for his dance partner at a loss, she was very dissatisfied, and tapped the armrest of the chair with a lace fan, "It's outrageous!"

Alice sat on a chair beside her and asked the servant to call Wesley over.

Mrs. Gresham looked at her. "What do you think of Wesley?"

"He's fine."

Mrs. Gresham sighed. "I know he's very nice, but he—he just doesn't know how to please girls."

Alice smiled: Mrs. Gresham didn't understand at all, the problem was with her, not with Wesley.

The lost Wesley came over quickly, "Aunt."

Mrs. Gresham pointed to Alice, "She is looking for you."

Alice stood up, "Mr. Wesley, please introduce me to some collections in your home."

"I guess you don't really want to know what's in Gresham's collection."

"Do not want to."

"Then you—Jane, do you have anything to say to me?" Wesley asked anxiously.

Alice smiled, "No." Poor Wesley, Jane doesn't have you in her heart at all.

There were no electric lights in this era, so candlesticks had to be used for lighting. Therefore, in addition to having a big house and a big ballroom, a family who could hold a dance party also meant that they had money and could light a lot of candles for lighting.Wesley took a candlestick from the servant, and took Alice with the other hand, "Have you visited Gresham?"

"Only seen some of the rooms."

"Do you like Gresham?"

"I don't like it very much, it's too spooky."

Wesley smiled, "That's because there are not many rooms that need to be used now."

This is similar to the situation in Edward's Goldmusham Manor. Because the owner's family has a small population, many rooms are unused, and the annual maintenance cost of the building is also high.

"They said, all of this will be yours in the future."

"Yeah, you also know? My aunt has no children, and the Gresham family has no other relatives. My aunt can leave them all to me."

"Did she adopt you?" Alice had studied the laws of succession in England because of Edward.In such cases, formal adoption procedures are generally required.

"Yes, just 5 years ago, when I was 15."

Alice nodded: So, he is the same age as Jane, but Jane was born in December, and Wesley should be a few months older than her.According to the current law, a person becomes an adult at the age of 12, and the general adoption requires the adoptee to be a minor.There are also adult adoptees, but that's not too many.

After being adopted, some people changed their address, and some did not. For example, Edward always called Mr. Knight "uncle" and did not add Knight's surname to his own.Wesley also always referred to Mrs. Gresham as "Aunt".

"You are rich now, have you thought about what you will do in the future?"

"--What do you mean?" Wesley was a little surprised: this really doesn't seem like something a 6-year-old girl would care about.

So Alice explained, "Jane has her own ideas, her own future. If you can't understand her, she can't see you."

Wesley suddenly realized.But I felt shy again, "Did she say anything about me?"

Alice looked up at him, "She really wanted to mention you, even if she laughed at you, that's a good thing, but she didn't mention you at all."

The author has something to say:

*After watching the 05 version of "Pride and Prejudice", I want to go back and give "Becoming Jane" a 100 points...Although I have never thought that Anne Hathaway is so good-looking, but with Keira Knightley Bi, Keira was instantly killed.and!One beauty is too much!

* "History of the Vasak Caliphate" has a Chinese translation, authored by William Beckford.This Beckford will say later, is a very distinctive character.