Love England

Chapter 11 Overwhelming Emotions

Bright red blood flowed down her white forehead, and a sharp blood-stained stone lay beside her, indicating a terrible crime. It was like a small tombstone, marking the death of the fallen The woman on the earth no longer has the breath of life.At the moment when an unarmed and innocent lady was knocked unconscious by stones, the workers who were already boiling stood dumbfounded. They were ashamed of what their companions had done. Looking around to find the murderer who threw stones, some lamented that the sudden bloodshed showed that the strike had failed, and some were worried about the woman who didn't know if she was dead or alive.

Cali fell at Mr. Thornton's feet as if he was dead. Against the ashes of his face, the blood dripping from his forehead was particularly bright red. "She blocked the stone for me!" Mr. Thornton couldn't help thinking, how he wished it was himself who had been hit by the stone.He leaned down in a panic and felt for Cali's pulse with a trembling hand - thank God, although the pulse was weak, she was still alive!Immediately, an unprecedented anger hit Mr. Thornton's heart. He stood up like a wounded but unyielding lion, with contempt for the enemy in his eyes. Satisfied? You came here for me, then come and kill me!"

As soon as Mr. Thornton finished speaking, there was a burst of long whistles from behind the assembled workers. A group of military police in red uniforms rode on horses, blowing whistles and waving batons towards the crowd. , driving the gathered workers.The workers panicked like frightened birds, and the sound of exclamations, beatings, and the whistle of the military police and the police who came later could be heard endlessly.Mr. Thornton watched the fleeing workers and the gendarmes chasing ferociously disappear from the factory like a howling wind, leaving only a mess on the ground, like a nightmare.But the nightmare was not over. Cali fell on the cold ground and did not move. Mr. Thornton called her name softly, but there was no response as before.His assistant rushed over from the other side of the factory at this time, and he saw everything that happened just now, and asked worriedly: "How is Miss Addams? She is such a brave girl!"

"Hurry up and get someone to come!" Thornton ordered the assistant, carefully picked up Cali, and quickly walked into the house, while the assistant called the servants in his house to help.When he gently carried Cali to the sofa in the living room, Miss Thornton walked in with a personal maid, saw Cali lying lifeless on the sofa, and she exclaimed: "What happened to her?" ?”

Mr. Thornton stood up with a serious expression, looking really scary. Before he could speak, the assistant ran in and reported that Mrs. Thornton had gone to ask for a doctor, and she asked him to wait for orders at the house.As soon as Mr. Assistant finished his report, a police officer in black uniform came in again and said respectfully: "Mr. Sander, I am Officer Black. The disturbance that happened in your factory just now has basically subsided. The director sent me to invite you Go to the police station and help us deal with the follow-up of this incident."

Mr. Thornton looked at Cali, hesitated, and finally replied with a sigh: "Well, as the local sheriff, I have a duty!" Then he said to his sister and assistant: "Fanny, you take care of me here. Miss Addams, wait for Mommy to ask the doctor back. Jack, you go to reassure the Irish workers first and tell them that the danger is over. If there is anything wrong with Mrs. Thornton, please help me, please! I will be back as soon as possible !"

"I am willing to serve you, sir!" The assistant nodded and readily agreed.

Mr. Thornton rode a carriage with the black police officer to the police station. Along the way, he saw military police and policemen blowing whistles to arrest the escaped workers. When he came to the police chief's office, he saw not only There was the Commissioner of Police, and several factory owners, such as Hamper and Slickson.These factory owners were all informed of the violence at Thornton's factory, and they were happy that this incident could bring the strike to a complete and successful conclusion.Everyone was talking about how to deal with the workers who participated in the strike, whether to appeal them, whether to allow the workers who participated in the riots at the Marlborough factory to return to work, whether to track down the stone-throwers, and a series of issues.

Mr. Thornton said very little in this discussion, being a party to the incident, he did not think of these things like the other mill owners.From time to time in his mind, the image of Cali being hit by a stone to protect him and fell to the ground - she is so delicate and slender, but she is so brave, so strong and rich vision.She had warned him more than once that hiring Irish workers would arouse the anger of Milton workers and develop into violence, but his own stubbornness and pride blinded his eyes and insisted on going his own way. Let the strike escalate according to your own ideas.If she hadn't stood up for herself, if she hadn't encouraged herself to face the workers, the workers' strike might have ended in a more horrific way.Perhaps the strike would not have ended in bloodshed if he had seized the opportunity to talk to the workers instead of throwing tantrums at them impulsively.Mr Thornton realizes now that there were too many opportunities to fix it himself, too many times when Cali helped him fix it, but in the end he screwed up.

"John Thornton, how stupid you are! You are the real murderer, not the one who threw the stone! And how can you have the heart to hurt such a lovely, beautiful and kind person?" Cali's forehead flowed The blood flashed more and more in Mr. Thornton's mind, and he fell into deep self-blame.After nearly two hours, the factory owners and the police chief had not reached a final result on the strike, and Mr. Thornton could sit still no longer.

"Gentlemen, let's talk about these issues tomorrow! I still have things to deal with, so I'm leaving!" He walked out of the office alone under the eyes of everyone, left the Milton police station, called a taxi, and ordered The coachman drove on as fast as he could to Marlborough Street.When he got out of the car and walked into the factory compound, he saw his assistant walking towards him.

"Sir, I didn't expect you to come back so long!"

"How's Miss Addams?"

"Mrs. Thornton invited the doctor. After treating Miss Addams, I hired a carriage to take her home."

"Going home? Didn't Mrs. Thornton stop her?" Mr. Thornton was surprised that her mother didn't keep Cali after she was seriously injured. "Okay, I'll ask Mrs. Thornton myself!"

"Sir, there is one more thing I want to tell you!" When Mr. Thornton was about to enter the house, he was stopped by his assistant again. He turned his head to look at the serious assistant and asked: "Anything else, Jack?"

"Although I shouldn't say it, I think you should know that this is also for Miss Addams!" The assistant also seemed nervous, but when he mentioned Cali, Mr. Thornton motioned for him to continue, "You know, she is in front of everyone. She is a very brave lady, even a man like me can't do it. I have seen everything, of course not only me, but the servant hiding in this house People saw it through the windows too. They didn't know what a fine lady Miss Addams was like I did, and a lady like that would gossip about a man who stood up to protect a man, you know that's scary, Sir—I mean, sir, I mean, you will protect Miss Addams' honor, you know how important it is to an unmarried lady! Miss Addams is so kind to me, I don't want her I was gossiped by people I don’t know, but I can’t stop others’ mouths. If my words offend you, Mr. Thornton, I hope you can forgive me, but these are my sincere words!”

Mr. Thornton watched his assistant blushing and said these words, with mixed feelings in his heart, "Jack, you are tired today, go back and spend time with your wife! See you tomorrow, Jack!"

"Okay, sir! Okay!" The assistant shook his head, obviously he couldn't understand the effect of Mr. Thornton's hearing his words, but he tried his best, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Thornton!"

"Goodbye, Jack!"

When Mr. Thornton entered the living room of the mansion, he saw his sister lying on the sofa where Cali used to lie, and the personal maid was fanning her. Fanny always had a pretentious selfishness, which sometimes made the elder brother extremely disgusted. .

"Where's Miss Addams?" asked Mr Thornton.

"She's home." Mrs. Thornton came over with a nonchalant look.

"Go home? How is this possible?"

"Of course it's possible, John, and there's nothing wrong with her." Mrs. Thornton's reply was crisp and powerful, as if Cali just fell and got up again, which made her feel indifferent.Mr. Thornton was displeased with her mother's reaction. Although he knew that her mother was usually stern on the outside, she was always full of compassion in her heart, and her attitude today really disappointed him. "She was seriously injured! What do you think, just let her go back like this?"

"I have arranged everything, and I went to ask Dr. Donaldson to go in person. No one seems to want to go when the workers are making trouble." Mrs. Thornton bit the word "in person" very hard, she Remind her son of the sacrifices he made.Mr. Thornton approached his mother, and whispered to her, "Thank your mother for calling the doctor when the streets are such a mess. But she..."

Mrs. Thornton didn't want the quarrel between mother and son because of another woman to make the servants gossip. She also lowered her voice and said hastily: "She is so stubborn, she wants to leave, and no one can keep her." She is so sloppy, this is the American style, free and unrestrained!" She glanced at the maid who was listening to their mother and son's little dispute and fanned Miss Thornton, and Mr. Thornton also noticed this. Maid, he remembered what the assistant said to him just now.

"Jane, are you free?" Mr. Thornton asked the maid solemnly.

"Sir...Miss Fanny...she..." The maid hesitated to find a reason to stay, she didn't want to miss this good show, she looked at the young lady lying on the sofa, and Miss Thornton also embraced Curious about the quarrel between her mother and her brother, she hoped that someone could accompany her to witness, and she didn't care what the servant said.She hastened to cover for the maid, and of course part of it was her real thoughts. She exaggeratedly said: "I was scared to death, I was about to pass out! I thought they would break in and drive us all out! I need someone to take care of me." !"

"Oh, Fanny! Don't exaggerate!" Mrs. Thornton could not help reproaching her daughter's hypocrisy.

"You're safe, Fanny!" interposed Mr. Thornton, ashamed to see his sister compared with Miss Addams, and he had to do something.

"Where are you going?" asked Mrs. Thornton hastily, seeing that her son was leaving.

"Go and see if Miss Addams is up."

"I personally sent her and Dr. Donaldson into the carriage! Everything is in order, John!" Mrs. Thornton strongly said. She had already anticipated the decision his son would make, and she did not want it to happen, nor did she want the future life What's changed.

"John!" the mother told his son to stay, "I beg you not to go!"

Mr. Thornton glanced at his haggard mother. This was the first time that the most important woman in his life looked at him beggingly and let him stay.He didn't answer her, just nodded and walked out of the house resolutely.

Now that he has nodded and promised his mother not to go to Hale's house, Mr. Thornton will keep his promise.He didn't care if Mrs. Thornton noticed his nodding in agreement, because he deliberately blurred his promise to express his dissatisfaction with his mother's treatment of Miss Addams.In fact, he himself also felt that there would be a lot of inappropriateness in rushing to Hale's house now. He wanted to find a quiet place to think about himself, about Cali, and about everything that happened between the two of them these days. .

He left New Street on foot and came to the hill where he could see the roof of Milton Church. Here was a quiet cemetery, which looked peaceful and peaceful.He also came to this place especially because he heard from his sister that Cali often came here for a walk, and it was the only place in Milton that was not polluted by smoke. "Although Cali told me it was a good place, I don't want to go there at all! Just thinking of a cemetery there makes me shudder! Think about it, a cemetery!" Fanny suddenly lowered her voice and said to him , as if this is a place of terror.

Mr. Thornton was standing on the hill at this time, looking at the sky, because after the strike, the factory no longer emitted black smoke that could cover the sky, so the sky also showed its proper color, and the sunset red halo spread in the sky, so This is a really good place. For the first time, he realized that the evening sky in Milton was so beautiful, which formed a huge contrast with the gray image in his mind. "It's so beautiful here, Cali!" Mr. Thornton sighed in his heart, he dared to call her Cali secretly only in his heart.He was busy writing a letter when Fanny mentioned the place to him, but his writing slowed down noticeably at the mention of Miss Addams' name.Mr. Thornton didn't know when, every time someone mentioned Miss Addams, he always paid special attention to it. When did he start?

When he saw her for the first time, he had never seen such a beautiful woman. Of course, he was deeply impressed by her stubbornness and assertiveness. She always had that prejudice against him and pointed out some of his shortcomings. appropriate.And when he reflected on those "improper" with prejudice, he felt that those accusations were not groundless, just like the strike of workers this time.He couldn't even hold his head up in front of her for a while, because everything he did always caused her to contradict him-no woman had ever contradicted him before, not even his mother.He even wondered if he irritated her, and he was really flattered when she took his arm to visit the factory with him and said she was his friend. After that, Duoduo stayed with Miss Addams.

Shortly after Cali said she was his friend, Mr Thornton had his first taste of both the pride and jealousy of Miss Addams' "friendship".When he held a banquet at home, when she sang songs he had never heard with a beautiful voice to entertain the guests, when he was attracted by her singing and left Mr. Somehow, he thought that she sang that song for him, he felt how honored he was, how proud he was, her beauty was more sublimated in his heart at that moment, but soon In the end, it was because of this woman, but it made him feel more tormented.After the song was sung, a group of men surrounded her, courting her.Little Mr. Hamper, little Mr. Slickson, and the Lester brothers talked to her and amuse her as if against him, and their father had the audacity to ask him about her and her life. Family background, as if she were a beautiful vase full of gems, waiting for their son to take her in his arms.Inwardly he cursed their audacity for refusing any of them to ask him about Miss Addams, while they turned to his sister Fanny and his mother.His sister was like a chirping parrot, embellishing her rich family affairs, which made the factory owners salivate even more. For the first time, he felt that his sister was a hopelessly troubled woman, but compared to his sister and The manufacturers, his distaste for Mr. Lennox from London was nothing at all.The personable Mr. Lennox defended Cali decently at the dinner table. This practice made Mr. Thornton feel ashamed. Although he himself did not agree with Cali's statement, when she was questioned by everyone At that time, as a friend, he should have done justice to her, and judging from what happened now, Cali's prediction at that time was completely correct.The handsome Mr. Lennox was neither dull like little Hamper, nor weak like little Slickson, nor childish like the Lester brothers. She obviously had a crush on this gentleman. Only then did I realize how clumsy and cowardly I was, so I could only watch her secretly from a distance, not daring to go up and say a few words to her, and was also afraid that I would become the same as Little Hamper and Little Slick in her eyes. He was as vulgar as he was, or the Lester brothers, or even the factory owners, and he almost felt for a moment hopeless in Mr. Lennox's presence.

But what happened today, Cali came to his house alone, encouraged him to bravely face the irrational workers, and finally used his own body to protect him from harm, how incredible it is ah!Now Mr. Thornton is recalling what happened at that moment, she wrapped her arms around herself, hugged herself in the public, and he remembered what his assistant had said to him-she really had something for herself Unusual feelings?He couldn't even imagine it before. Does this mean he still has a chance?

Mr. Thornton really didn't dare to think about it any further, because when he thought of it, he would have a mixed feeling of joy, excitement, gratitude, excitement, etc. that he couldn't restrain, which made his heart beat faster and fidget.He is not an excitable person. In order to calm down this feeling that he had never had before, he walked down the hill and found a tavern where no one knew him. He ordered a large glass of beer and drank a little to fill his stomach. Use this way to calm down the cranky thoughts in your mind.

By the time he left the tavern and came home, it was late at night, when his mother and sister would have gone to bed.However, when he entered the house, he found that the living room light was still on.

"Aren't you asleep, mother!" Mr. Thornton walked into the living room and saw his mother sewing something under the light. "I thought you were exhausted and needed a rest."

"Should I go to rest?" Mrs. Thornton didn't raise her eyes to look at her son, her tone was cold and trembling, "Where did you go?"

"Just a walk," said Mr. Thornton, undoing his tie.

"Where did you go for a walk?" He found that his mother finally looked up at him, and some kindness returned to her face.

"I promise you I won't go if you don't..."

"But?" Mrs. Thornton prompted first.

"But..." Mr. Thornton walked up to his mother and knelt down beside her, just like he would come to his mother's lap to tell her his thoughts when he was a child, "but, you know I have to go tomorrow, you Know what I'm going to say."

"Yes!" Mrs. Thornton said with a helpless expression, she sighed, "You have to do the same!"

"What?" Mr. Thornton was stunned by his mother's words. On the one hand, his mother's attitude towards what he was about to do had changed a lot, and on the other hand, he didn't know why her mother had changed so much.

"I mean you value your reputation and she made her feelings public..."

"Her feelings?"

"She stood up to save you in front of the strikers! Or is it my hallucination, do you think the servant didn't see it? Do you think this won't be the talk of Milton after dinner?"

"She did save me! But, Mom, I can't believe that such a woman really likes me."

"Don't be stupid! What more evidence do you need? She has already acted so thick-skinned!" Mrs. Thornton touched his cheek tenderly when she saw her son's lack of confidence and said, "I'm sure she will It was taken away from me, so I don't want you to see her today, I just want to enjoy the last night as the person you love the most." After Madam Thornton finished speaking, some sadness welled up in her heart, and her position was about to To be replaced by another woman, "I think I'll have to change our initials on our clothes, and it'll be hers—hers and yours."

"I don't know if she really likes me, but I can't keep silent, I have to ask her!"

"Don't be afraid, John! She's confessed to the world, and for that I'll try to like the American girl, and her fortune will do you good! She must have had a hard time keeping her down." Don't worry about your arrogance!" His mother's words gave Mr. Thornton the last courage and strength to sleep peacefully on this extraordinary night, although he did not agree with his mother's views on Miss Adams.