Love England

"I'm sorry, but I should tell you—I'm engaged to Mr. Bell, Mr. Thornton!"

Hearing what Cali said, Mr. Thornton restrained his emotions and congratulated her with a stiff expression.

"Goodbye, Mr. Thornton!" Cali said, holding out his hand.

But Mr Thornton only gave Cali a slight bow as he bid farewell, rather than accepting her handshake.Maybe the next time I saw her, she would be Mrs. Bell instead of Miss Addams, and she would really be someone else's person now.If Miss Watson wasn't around, he really wanted to ask her if Mr. Bell knew the same secrets about her as he did—in fact, even if Miss Watson wasn't here, he couldn't question her and Mr. Bell. Thornton knew I am too cowardly, so cowardly that I dare not admit my cowardice, dare not say things like "You can't marry Mr. Bell".

"Mr. Thornton, come and have lunch." Miss Watson urged, but he really didn't have any appetite right now. He politely said "Thank you" and pretended to come to the table. In fact, he wanted to stand here I saw Cali through the window—at this moment, Cali's back was slowly walking towards the gate of the factory. Her slender figure was set off by the black dress, so graceful and beautiful.

"Turn around! Look back at me! Even if it's just a glance!" He called silently in his heart, hoping that his voice could reach her ears and hear his last request.But everything was false, she didn't look back, but gradually disappeared from his sight, she really didn't belong to him anymore.

"Mr. Thornton! Mr. Thornton? Did you hear what I said just now?" Miss Watson patted his arm lightly at this time, which woke him up like a dream. "What are you looking at, so intently? Is there anything in the yard?"

"Sorry, I'm just a little tired! Thank you for the lunch, but I really have things to do and I don't have much appetite. You leave the lunch basket here, and I will ask my assistant to take you back." Miss Watson said nothing, but left obediently and politely.Mr. Thornton pushed his lunch basket aside, continued to take out his ledgers, and buried himself in the affairs of the factory. He wanted to use his work to occupy his mind, so as to forget that he was a person with emotions and desires. He had to make himself a factory worker. A machine that is precise, tireless, emotionless, and efficient. This is what he needs most now.

The economic situation of the factory is even worse than a few months ago. The money his mother borrowed from Mr. Bell has been used to pay the wages of the workers and the interest on the bank loan during this period, and the situation of the factory's accounts receivable has not progressed at all. On the contrary, the loan that Mr. Thornton borrowed from the bank is about to expire at the end of the year, and the bank will not provide new loans to his factory until the original loan is paid off—the above problems are just the tip of the iceberg, except In addition, the price of cotton has risen sharply due to the influence of the season, and all the textile mills in Milton are in a state of slow sales, and the rent of the factory buildings will have to be paid next year. These external factors have made the factory's problems worse, Mr. Thornton Now on the brink of bankruptcy.He had to discuss the current situation of the factory with his mother in private, and he had to tell his mother the situation they were facing: if he could not pay off the loan after the New Year, the Thornton mansion would be used as mortgage, and they would not only face bankruptcy, but also the The situation of being homeless, let alone planning a wedding for Miss Thornton.

"Looks like it's time to get Mr. Watson here right away, maybe even marry Fanny right away, so maybe he can help us—of course it would be even better if you married Miss Watson, John! You know, Now everyone is looking forward to you proposing to Miss Watson, and you know the benefits!" Mrs. Thornton straight to the point clarified her thoughts to Mr. Thornton.

"You said that I should propose to Miss Watson, I need to think about it..."

"What else do you need to think about!" Mrs. Thornton interrupted him. "I know that Miss Addams went to your office today. Miss Watson came back and told me. What's the matter with her?"

"She came to tell me the news of Mr. Hale's death. Besides, she is engaged to Mr. Bell, mother! You don't have to worry about my relationship with her anymore. She will be Mrs. Bell from now on!" Mrs. Thornton heard this The news looked surprised. Seeing that his mother was silent, Mr. Thornton continued, "Mother, I can agree with you asking Mr. Watson, but whether he is willing to help me is another matter." Yes. Mr. Watson is still worried about my reluctance to speculate with him in the past few months, and this time he will even sneer at me. If we tell him the whole situation of the factory, will he still agree? Marrying Fanny is an unknown, and Fanny has postponed the wedding..."

"I agree with my mother's approach!"

"Fanny!" Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Thornton did not expect someone to break into the study.

"I've heard it outside, and I can't stand idly by! I agree to marry Mr. Watson right away, and talk to him about the factory after we're married. He can't just sit and watch his wife's family go bankrupt, and it's going to damage his reputation." Decent." The expression on Miss Thornton's face was determined.

"My good boy!" Mrs. Thornton hurried over to hug her daughter, and gave her a kiss. Mrs. Thornton's face showed a rare excited expression, "Maybe this factory will have a turnaround, which makes me so happy Now! I can go to bed with peace of mind! I will write to Mr. Watson early tomorrow morning to let him come over!" Fanny nodded, forced a smile, said goodnight to her brother and mother, and went upstairs At this time, Mr. Thornton caught up with her sister alone in the corridor and thanked her.

"Nothing to thank, John."

"But are you happy, Fanny? Actually, ever since you told me that you wanted to postpone your wedding to Mr. Watson, I thought you would re-examine your engagement to Mr. Watson."

"My brother, it doesn't matter now that I am destined to marry Mr. Watson. Miss Addams prophesied to me very early on that I would marry a very rich speculator, and I was only half-hearted at the time. , now I have completely resigned to my fate. Besides, I should really do something for my family. My marriage can solve the family's situation, and I can only do this. Aren't you the same? Good night, brother , if I continue, I’m afraid it will wake up Miss Watson who has already gone to bed—now everyone doesn’t want Miss Watson to know something, don’t they?” Miss Thornton curtseyed and went back to her bedroom.

Two days later, Mr. Watson was invited to visit the Thornton mansion. Mrs. Thornton warmly received the prospective son-in-law. She had specially prepared a sumptuous dinner according to the taste of the prospective son-in-law.During the dinner, Mrs. Thornton tried her best as a hostess to please Mr. Watson and Miss Watson, and urged her son and daughter to be more affectionate to the Watson brothers and sisters, but the effect was not satisfactory .What made her feel strange was that although Miss Thornton hoped to marry Mr. Watson as soon as possible according to her own statement, she did not show the urgency she should have in her actions, but a melancholy silence and extreme perfunctory Strong smile.The mischievousness and innocence of Fanny in the past have almost disappeared in the past two months. Mrs. Thornton used to have a headache for her overly lively character, but now she feels that the traits in her daughter have become Strange to her, she blamed the change in her daughter on the effects of poor factory management.

As for Mr. Thornton, Mrs. Thornton was even more dissatisfied.Judging from the conversation between her and her son about Miss Watson two days ago, Mr. Thornton's performance in the past two days did not meet Mrs. Thornton's expectations. More precisely, there should be no progress.The survival of the factory is imminent, but Mr. Thornton is still indifferent to Miss Watson as usual, and he has no sign of proposing to Miss Watson.Although Mr. Thornton said he would think about it, how long would he think about it?

"I should let him set a deadline for consideration!" Mrs. Thornton was secretly anxious, not only for the factory, but also for her children.

In addition, Mr. Thornton received a letter from Mr. Bell yesterday, inviting him to Oxford to attend Mr. Hale's funeral.If Mrs. Thornton hadn't tried to stop Mr. Watson on the grounds that he would visit soon, Mr. Thornton would have gone long ago—it is a life-and-death moment for the factory, and all the hopes of the factory rest on Mr. Watson. Mrs. Thornton cannot let anyone Things get in the way.

Now that the dreary supper was over, Mrs. Thornton knew she would have to do all she could to keep the sitting-room free, to encourage Miss Thornton and Mr. Watson to be alone, and to leave Mr. Thornton alone. Accompany Miss Watson for coffee in the restaurant.

In fact, Miss Thornton had already understood her mother's intentions tonight. She knew that she had to take this step, and it would never be possible for her and Henry.She was now alone with Mr. Watson, watching him closely, as if for the first time she had seriously looked at him—Mr. Flushed from a few glasses of wine, he was sitting on the sofa enjoying a steaming cup of coffee, looking like an old walrus basking in the sun.As soon as his fiancée came in, Mr. Watson got up and came to her, kissed her hand, asked her good morning, and asked her to take a place near the fire.

"I'm sorry, Miss Thornton. I've been too busy these days, and I haven't had time to see you. You don't blame me, do you?" Mr. Watson said first.

"Of course not, Mr. Watson. I know you have been very busy. You have always had such an investment eye. You wrote that the investment in the gold mine was a success. I haven't congratulated you yet. You have always been a successful investor. investors!"

"It's nothing!" Mr. Watson looked very pleased with himself.

"As you said just now, you haven't come to Milton to see me for a while. Since our wedding was postponed, I found that this practice did more harm than good. I also tasted the bitter fruit, so I think the wedding should be done as soon as possible. It will be held. After all, mother has almost prepared everything for the wedding, we don't need a big wedding, we can get married in the church in Milton, just before Christmas, don't you think?"

"Oh? Do you really think so?" Mr. Watson's expression has changed obviously, but this change is not the kind of surprised expression, but a sarcastic taste with knowingly asking, "Why did you become like that?" All of a sudden?" Miss Thornton's attitude when she saw Mr. Watson was not what she expected, but instead she became flustered from the composure just now, could it be that he discovered something?

"Mr. Watson, as I said a month ago about postponing my wedding, it is now a wrong decision for me. After this time, I find that I need more of what marriage can bring me. everything - that's why!"

Mr. Watson smiled slightly, nodded, and then said: "Miss Thornton, you know that I like you very much, you can also say that I love you. I proposed to you, and you accepted it without hesitation. , and then the wedding that should have been planned in March next year. I am very satisfied with all of this, and I also consider myself very happy-I defeated my rival in love, Mr. Henry Lennox, and won the most famous factory in Milton She was favored by my lord sister, who was not only rich in dowry, but also beautiful and lively. But it wasn’t long before I became more aware of Mr. Thornton’s stubbornness and arrogance. He repeatedly rejected my optimistic investment proposals, and even showed contempt for me. Those stubborn insistences put the entire Thornton family in a very embarrassing situation. So I gradually felt that I had to reconsider whether my marriage proposal to the Thornton family was rash. It happened that I received a letter from Mrs. Thornton at that time, Said that I want to postpone the wedding, I accepted this decision without hesitation, because this is also a good opportunity for me to reconsider this marriage, I even agreed to let Miss Watson come to Milton as a guest to show my sincerity , but the current situation has changed. Miss Thornton, you just said that I am an investor. I admit that I am worthy of this title. I am very good at investment. I pay attention to various markets and companies, and found that Opportunities for investment. I have been receiving economic reports on Milton for the past two days, which focused on the situation of Mr. Thornton’s factory. I can say bluntly that there is no investment in Mr. Thornton’s factory now. Worth, I think you know more about the situation in your family now than I do. Therefore, with a hundred thousand regrets, I want to tell you that I am very sorry, Miss Thornton (I originally wanted to see Mrs. Thornton For the sake of hospitality to me tonight, I will tell you tomorrow), I want to break my engagement with you, and I hope you will forgive me!" After finishing speaking, Mr. Watson got up and bowed to Miss Thornton in apology, which seemed so artificial.

Miss Thornton raised her head excitedly at this moment, and sat there with her eyes wide open looking at this Mr. Watson. He had always been submissive to himself before, and even seemed a little cowardly, but now he was arrogant, There was condescending contempt in his tone, and there was no so-called apology on his face.

"No, Mr. Watson! I don't accept it! Please reconsider!" Miss Thornton suddenly felt that everything was over, and the Thornton family was really hopeless. She excitedly held Mr. Watson's hand, hoping that he would What I said was just a joke.Mr. Watson was amused at her reaction. "I didn't expect that I could be so attached to you. I just want to ask you a word, Miss Thornton, do you really love me?"

"I...I..." Miss Thornton was at a loss for words. The person she really loved was Henry. She couldn't say anything against her will. She didn't have the slightest love for Mr. Watson, but she needed Mr. Watson to marry her.

"You don't love me, do you?"

"No...it's not like that..."

"It doesn't matter now if you don't love me, Miss Thornton! I know you have always had a soft spot for that lawyer, and you still do. You only agreed to marry me because of my money, didn't you? Just like when I proposed to you The purpose is the same, of course the only difference is that I really like you."

"Mr. Watson, what I just want to tell you is that the person I really want to marry now is you. I really want to be Mrs. Watson, not Mrs. Lennox!" Miss Thornton said With tears in her eyes, she kept telling herself that everything was her own fault.She looked into Mr. Watson's eyes imploringly, with a look of desperation which had a peculiar beauty against the fire which could not be ignored even by Mr. Watson's megalomaniac, who relished the condescension. , greedily enjoying her desperate beauty.

"Well, Miss Thornton! I can marry you, and we can have our wedding in Milton before Christmas, and I don't even expect to get the dowry your mother promised you, because I know you are now a penny None, but you have to promise me a few conditions!"

Miss Thornton nodded silently.

"Because we will move to London after we get married. First of all, you must promise not to contact Lennox's lawyer or have any form of meeting."

Miss Thornton nodded with difficulty and said: "I will never have anything to do with him!" Mr. Watson said all over the floor: "I have always disliked your brother's self-willedness and arrogance, even now he is about to When you are down and down, you still have a superior attitude. Even if your mother didn't ask me, she would be as high as a queen, with a look of contempt for anyone. After marriage, I want you to sever all contact with them, I Don't want my wife to have anything to do with a bankrupt family, don't even mention it, because it will give me a bad name for my investing business!"

"So you won't help my brother's factory?"

Suddenly, Mr. Watson grabbed Miss Thornton's wrist with wide eyes, and said viciously: "Miss Thornton, do you know your situation? You are a penniless girl now, and I agreed to marry you out of mercy." For you, so that you can continue to live a decent and wealthy life, and you will not be left on the streets, you should be grateful to Dade, what do you dare to ask me for? Am I a charity?"

"That's enough, Mr. Watson!" At this moment, Mrs. Thornton broke in and snapped. "Fanny will not marry someone like you. Your engagement with Fanny is now broken! The Thornton family does not want to have anything to do with you! As the master, I request you to leave the Thornton mansion immediately, and there will be no more You are welcome, even welcome!"

"Mother!" Miss Thornton watched her mother appear, and reprimanded Mr. Watson so firmly that she threw herself into her mother's arms and wept.Mr. Watson blushed, and he took Miss Watson out of the Thornton mansion without saying a word.In fact, Mrs. Thornton has been eavesdropping on the conversation between her daughter and Mr. Watson outside the living room. She heard everything. She can't stand such a shameless man marrying her daughter. This will undoubtedly ruin her daughter's lifelong happiness. She pays more attention to the happiness of her children than wealth.Mrs. Thornton told Mr. Thornton what had just happened, and Mr. Thornton was in complete agreement with his mother.

"And what are we going to do from now on, mother? We're really going broke, aren't we?" asked Miss Thornton, sobbing.

"Fanny, don't worry! Our family has gone through the hardest time when your father died. You and your brother were children, and now you and your brother have grown up. The hardest time is over. , the situation at this time is not worse than then. Even if there is no factory, no house, but we can have each other happily, this is the most important thing! Are you right, John?" Mrs. Thornton cast her eyes on own son.

"Yes, Mom, you're right!"

"And Fanny, Mr. Watson has been telling you about Lawyer Lennox just now, and you will tell me later." Fanny stopped her sobs and nodded nervously. Mrs. Thornton said to Thornton again. Mr. Ton said jokingly: "Now I'm glad you didn't propose to Miss Watson."

"Yes, Mom!" Mr. Thornton smiled bitterly. He didn't tell her that he had no intention of proposing to Miss Watson. Of course, it doesn't matter now, because everything is over for the factory.

It is self-evident what Mr. Thornton has to do next. He has to stop production, dismiss all workers, count all inventories, raw materials and machines, check the books, and plan to apply for bankruptcy to the relevant authorities after the new year.As Christmas approaches, people are busy for Christmas and New Year, and the Thornton family is also very busy, but they are only preparing for the bankruptcy liquidation, and things like Christmas are irrelevant.Of course, the news that the Thornton factory was on the verge of bankruptcy spread throughout Milton, and those factory owners just watched the failure of a colleague with cold eyes. After all, it is everyone’s heart to see that there is one less strong competitor in Milton. of.The factory owner who had a little sympathy and knew Mr. Thornton only lamented how beautiful Mr. Thornton was on Badler Street at that time, but in a blink of an eye, he was cast aside by his peers because of bankruptcy, and then put The matter was forgotten, and Mr. Thornton's failure was the talk of all Milton at Christmas.

Mr. Thornton ultimately failed to go to Mr. Hale's funeral, and spent almost all his time in the factory except when he slept.On the morning before Christmas, he asked his assistant to pay the workers the last wages. He deliberately gave the workers an extra week of wages, because he knew how difficult it would be for workers without jobs, even more than he did after bankruptcy. Life is more difficult.In the afternoon, Mr. Thornton and his assistant Jack had to say goodbye, the last employees in his factory.Jack held his hand reluctantly, and cried out sadly. Mr. Thornton patted his shoulder to express his comfort, trust and gratitude to him.When Jack walked out of the lonely and quiet factory gate, he stopped, turned around and bowed to the factory, and then left with infinite melancholy.

In the office, or in the whole factory, Mr. Thornton was alone now. After sorting out all the accounts on his desk, he looked at his watch, and it was 15 o'clock in the evening in [-] minutes.As usual, five o'clock in the evening is the time to get off work. At this time, the assistant Jack will ring the bell, and the tired workers will rush to the yard of the factory in an orderly manner with the joy of going home. , accompanied by the sound of laughter and talking, everything is so lively.Now, when Mr. Thornton came to the workshop, there was no one, and the roar of the loom disappeared. There were no workers, no cotton wadding as beautiful as white snow, and no bell for leaving get off work. Everything was so empty, like that. Quiet.He is so reluctant to part with his factory, the hard-working workers shuttling beside the textile machines, the male and female workers are working enthusiastically, watching the operation of each machine with full attention, Jack always pays attention to the situation and needs of each worker , and he himself will help the repairman to fix the faulty textile machine - by the way, he still clearly remembers that Jack brought Cali to the workshop one day, because she was wearing clothes that did not meet the safety standards of the workshop and made a big fuss about her and Jack There was a temper tantrum, and the end result was that all three apologized to each other.Thinking of this, the corners of Mr. Thornton's mouth could not help but rise slightly.He continued to walk to the depths of the factory, and vaguely heard the sound of someone playing with the machine.

"Higgins? Why are you still here?" Seeing that Higgins was overhauling the machine, Mr. Thornton asked a little puzzled.

"Mr. Thornton! Today is my last shift here, which doesn't mean I can be lazy." Higgins had already finished his work at this time and replied after tidying up his clothes.

"I'm no longer the factory owner, Higgins!"

"Of course, I understand." Higgins took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to him while talking, "If you plan to regroup the workers, there will be many workers who are willing to come back, and we are all happy to work for you. It's our petition." Mr. Thornton took the petition, which was filled with the names of the workers, and he felt an indescribable emotion in his heart at this moment, and he smiled again.

Higgins noticed the look on his face and said, "Perhaps I'm a little out of character when I say that - although you're not a factory owner now, you're smiling more than ever, which is a good sign." Mr. Thornton put away the petition, and looked up at him, shaking his head and smiling. "At any rate—Mr. Thornton, have you heard from Miss Addams lately?"

Seeing that Mr. Thornton immediately fell into a state of contemplation and returned to that serious expression, Higgins replied: "As far as I know, Miss Addams should be doing well. She is already engaged to Mr. Bell." Now, I think she should be Mrs. Bell soon. I think she will live in Oxford with Mr. Bell in the future, and will not go back to Milton."

"I don't think Miss Addams will marry Mr Bell."

"What do you mean?"

"My daughter Mary received a letter yesterday from Miss Addams—you know she is my daughter's friend—that Mr. Bell has died and that Mr. Bell's funeral is to be held today."

"Mr. Bell is dead?"

"It is said in the letter that Mr. Bell died of sudden ventilation, shortly after Mr. Hale's funeral." Higgins could see that Mr. Thornton was thinking, "Okay, it's past five o'clock, I Time to get off work too. Goodbye! Good luck, Thornton!"

"Goodbye! Good luck to you too, Higgins!"

The two smiled at each other at this time, shook hands and said goodbye like friends.