Love England

Chapter 26

For the next two days, I tried to forget the harsh words he had said that day when I met Mr. Thornton. Margaret didn't even mention it to her, and just told her against her will that nothing embarrassing happened.Mr. Hale told me that Mr. Thornton had agreed with him that day to have only one class a week. Fortunately, there was still nearly a week before Mr. Thornton came here again, and I didn't need to meet him again immediately.At Hale's, every time I heard Mr. Thornton's name, my anguish seemed to deepen, and a voice within me, which may have been uttered by my pride, always cried out with peculiar venom.

On the third day after Mr. Thornton's visit, after dinner, Mr. Hale invited me to his study for a private talk. This was the first time that Mr. Hale visited me alone Talk in his study.Did Mr. Hale finally learn that the police came here to question me?I walked into the study nervously, and Mr. Hale asked me to sit down politely, but he didn't sit down, and didn't continue to speak. He just paced around the desk, as if finding a suitable sentence in his mind to start , which is very much like Frederick.

"Cali, there is one thing I have to apologize to you!" I didn't expect to apologize as soon as I opened my mouth. I looked at him blankly, waiting for his further explanation.

"Cali, you are like my daughter here, and I am your protector in Milton. I should do my best to take care of you, but I failed to fulfill this responsibility!"

"Mr. Hale, I love you as I love my father, and I have been very happy here, all thanks to your care!"

"My child, I am both happy and ashamed to hear you say this. You are always so kind and always help us when the Hale family is in trouble. It is thanks to you that Frederick can leave England safely." Fu, and it is this matter that drags you down, and I feel very ashamed of the impact it has caused, I think this is also the reason why you have been depressed these days?"

"No, Mr. Hale, you must have misunderstood something! I have nothing to worry about. I am happy as usual. Margaret knows it." I quickly denied it.

"Cali my boy, listen to me. These days, when Mr. Bell and I are out drinking tea or taking walks, some people always talk about some decent American lady having a private meeting with a gentleman at the station in the middle of the night. Yes, Dixon has heard such gossip from the market in the past few days. It was the day you went to deliver the gossip caused by Frederick being seen, and as your protector, I should immediately stand up to prove your innocence and fight back against those who wantonly slander you, but out of respect for Frederick I can’t protect you! I just realized how cowardly I am and how selfish I am! I apologize to you with great guilt, Cali!” Mr. Hale bowed deeply and apologized to me.

I realize now that the reason Dixon had been trying so hard to keep me from going to the market with her these days was to keep me out of the gossip, and Margaret hadn't said a word about it.Coming from the 21st century, I don’t care about these rumors at all. Now facing Mr. Hale’s solemn apology, I quickly stood up to support Mr. Hale and held his hand. I was very moved by his apology.

"Mr. Hale, I can't afford you to do this! I don't care what people say, and I don't feel sad about those gossips. Margaret is my best friend and sister, and Frederick is my best friend." Best brother, you are my best father, what I do is for my family, I don't regret it!"

"You are too righteous and kind, my child!" Mr. Hale looked at me excitedly, stroked my hair like a father, and gave me a loving kiss on the forehead. "I wish you would have accepted Frederick's marriage proposal then, my little Cali, so that you would really be my daughter!" I looked at him slightly surprised, not expecting him to know Frederick Ke proposed to me. "You know about it? Fred told you?"

"He didn't tell me that I know my son, he will propose to you, and Margaret and I can see his admiration for you." Mr. Hale replied with a smile. "Okay, Cali, now let's talk about something else!"

"what is it then?"

Mr. Hale sat me down again, and he, sitting next to me, said: "Bell invites me, you, and Margaret to leave Milton together for a few days at his estate in Oxford, and you how do you feel?"

Although Mr. Hale didn't say so, I knew he was taking me outside to avoid Milton's gossip.Although Mr. Bell once mentioned this idea to Margaret and me, he was afraid that Mr. Hale would be reluctant to leave Milton. Now that Mr. Hale proposed it on his own initiative, it is quite logical.

"What about Dixon? Will she come with us to Oxford?" I asked.

"Dixon will take care of the house until Mrs. Hale returns."

"By the way, Mr. Hale," I asked tentatively, trembling in my heart, "what about your students?"

Mr. Hale thought for a moment and said: "I think they'd be very happy to have a few weeks off, and as for Mr Thornton - he always says he's busy, I think he'll be happy to hear about it too." , after all, he only attended a class recently!"

I recalled again Mr. Thornton's decisive words to me, and perhaps I should really leave Milton for a while. "Okay then! I am very happy to accept Mr. Bell's invitation!"

"That's great, my child! Let's pack up our luggage in these two days, and take the train to Oxford the day after tomorrow." Mr. Hale clapped his hands and planned happily. It seemed that he was also looking forward to this trip.

The whole family is preparing for the trip, and Dixon may be the busiest person. He has to pack everyone's luggage while continuing to take care of the housework. Fortunately, Mary has returned from home these days, which greatly reduces her burden.Knowing that we had accepted his invitation, Mr. Bell happily proposed to go back to Oxford to prepare for us.I'm happy to have this opportunity to get away from Milton, to see the rest of the UK, and try to convince myself that when I return to Milton, everything will be fine.

One night before we left, Higgins paid us a visit and said he wanted to say goodbye.This is the first time I have met Higgins since he went to work in Mr. Thornton's factory.This time, he not only took the initiative to mention Mr. Thornton, but even asked Mr. Hale for leave for Mary, saying that Mr. Thornton opened a canteen for the workers in the factory, which was managed by the workers themselves to solve the daily meal problems of the workers. He especially recommended his daughter Mary to be a cook there.After Mr. Hale heard the news, he admired Mr. Thornton for being so considerate of the workers, and agreed to allow Mary to work as a cook in the workers' canteen.Although Mr. Hale's decision aroused some protests from Dixon, considering that she was the only one staying in the house during this period and did not have much work to do, and with the persuasion of me and Margaret, she reluctantly Accept Mary's decision to leave.

"Mary has been treated very well here, my respected lady, she will be a good cook!" Higgins said as he bowed respectfully to Dixon, and Dixon was embarrassed to say He nodded, and told Mary who was on the side to ask her for help if she encountered any problems.

"It seems that your opinion of Mr. Thornton has changed a lot!" Margaret asked curiously.

"After working in his factory, I found out that he is a very conscientious factory owner. He works more hours than the workers every day. Although he looks serious on the outside, he really cares about his workers. I have worked in many factories, and Mr. Thornton’s factory workers’ benefits and working conditions are undoubtedly the best, and he can put down the airs of the factory owner, always work with the workers, and do his best He can put himself in the shoes of the workers—for example, he proposed to me the construction of the cafeteria. Now, I have indeed changed my view of him to a certain extent.” Higgins explained to Margaret Then he turned his eyes to me, looking concerned, for I had not spoken while they were talking about Mr. Thornton.In a short while he was going to get up and say goodbye, telling Mary to work hard at the Hale family these two days, to live up to the kindness of the Hale family, and to wish us all a pleasant journey.Mr. Hale shook hands with Higgins and asked me to see him out.

"Cali, I hope you can visit me and Mary as soon as possible when you come back!" Higgins said to me as we walked.

"I will, Nicholas!"

"That's great!" He looked very happy, and then he said, "I saw you didn't talk just now, because too many things happened recently, you should go and relax."

"I suppose you mean the rumors about me?"

"That's what annoys me, people who always believe what they want to believe and don't care about the truth. I know you went to the station to see off Margaret's brother that day and that made it happen."

"Maybe it's better this way, at least the focus of the rumors is on me, not Frederick. In Frederick's situation, we can't let everyone know his identity. Don't worry about me, Nicholas, I don't care about those rumors at all. "

"Cali!" I opened the door for him, and he called my name in a soft voice, with a kind of compassionate admiration in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Nicholas! I'm so glad I've got someone to fight for me!"

"I don't think it's enough, but there's nothing I can do - take care and have fun in Oxford! Goodbye, Cali!" said Higgins, putting on his old felt hat and leaving.

I'm glad that Higgins didn't bring up Mr. Thornton again, but I'm also paradoxically glad that Higgins has now cleared up the misunderstanding about Mr. Thornton - stop thinking about Mr. Thornton!I'm leaving for Oxford tomorrow morning, so I'd better go back to my room and organize the things I need to bring again!

A few dresses and lingerie sets I brought from Hyundai, a gown Margaret gave me that she barely had time to wear, and a few everyday clothes she and Dixon altered for me were packed in a package Nice little case.The cosmetics I brought with me from modern times, and the pocket book of the South and the North novel I carefully hid are all in my little handbag. This beautiful little handbag was given to me by Edith when I was in London.Three pairs of shoes have also been packed into the box, one of which was given to me by Mr. Bell, and Marguerite also has a pair.

"Cali, can I come in?" Margaret asked outside the door following the knock on the door.

"Of course! Come in!" I opened the door for her, and she walked in, looked at the things I was arranging and said with a smile: "It seems that everything is almost ready!"

"Yes."

"Cali, I have something to tell you."

"whats the matter?"

"I can't go to Oxford with you..."

"Why? Are you staying in Milton?"

"No, it's not. I want to go back to Campbell's Orphanage to continue working. I have been away for a long time. I miss your life in that era very much. To be precise, I miss those children."

"Does Mr. Hale agree with you not to go to Oxford?" I asked slightly disappointed.

"I told my father that I would continue to write my novel. I made an excuse to go to your family's villa near Bath to live alone for a while, and he reluctantly agreed."

"But what will Mr. Thornton do if you go away? You should be together!"

"No, Cali—you're wrong!" Her smile narrowed, "I said before that I would give Mr. Thornton a chance. During this period of time, through contact with Mr. Thornton, I have realized that he is a very honest man. That's all for me - just as I rejected Henry's marriage proposal, he is not the man I want. At the same time, I also realize that there is no other woman in Mr. Thornton's eyes now, I think he's always had feelings for you, he just won't admit it."

"Margaret, Mr. Thornton doesn't think anything of me anymore. There's one thing I haven't told you..." I told her what Mr. Thornton had said to me the day he came to teach here, and she heard After that, he didn't make any comments, just sighed.

"Let's not talk about this!" I cheered up and said, "Margaret, when you go back to Campbell, don't forget to say hello to Ginger and Lester for me!"

"Of course! You too, and if anything happens here, write to me in time, and this time I won't fail to notice the letter you stuffed in through that door! I'll take you to the station tomorrow, Then I'll go again!" Margaret and I hugged each other and told each other again and again.

The next day I followed Mr. Hale to Oxford.