Chapter 10 Chapter nine

Evie never knew where her husband slept the first night, but she doubted it would be a comfortable place.Her own sleep was far from peaceful, and bouts of anxiety kept waking her up.She checked on her father a few times, gave him a few sips of water, tucked him back in, and had him up his dose of medication when his cough got worse; every time Jenner woke up, she was surprised by her daughter's presence. "Am I dreaming, Vivi?" he asked her, and she comforted him softly and stroked his hair. At dawn, Evie washed and dressed, braiding her damp hair behind her head.The bell rang for the maid, and she demanded cracked eggs, broth, tea, and whatever sick food she could think of to whet my father's feeble appetite.The club in the morning is quiet, most of the staff who work until the wee hours are still asleep, but there are always some backbone staff who are doing day work; when the chef is away, there is still a maid on duty in the kitchen, who can prepare some simple meals that people need. food.

A painful and short dry cough came from her father's room, and Evie hurried to his bedside, and found that he was coughing into a handkerchief, and heard his chest wheezing violently, which made her own lungs painful Cramp up.After rummaging through the bottle on the bedside table, she picked up the morphine syrup and poured out a spoonful of it, then put her arms around her father's wet and burning nape, helped him to sit up, and was again shocked by his lightness; Feeling his body tense shudderingly, trying to hold back another wave of coughing, she shook the spoon in her hand, and the medicine dripped onto the quilt.

"I'm sorry," Evie whispered, quickly wiping off the sticky syrup and refilling the spoon. "Try again, Dad." He tried his best to swallow the potion, his Adam's apple with exposed veins rolled, and sprayed out a few drops because of coughing, and then waited for her to put the pillow behind him. Evie helped him lean back, stuffing a folded handkerchief into his hand.Gazing at his gray beard and haggard face, she found her father so strange.He had always been plump and ruddy, full of energy... talking with gestures, pumping his fists in the air, as if he were still a boxer.Now he was a pale man, the gray skin of his face drooping from the rapid weight loss; but the blue eyes hadn't changed... round and dark, as dark as the Irish Sea.Seeing the familiar eyes, Evie was relieved and smiled.

"I ordered breakfast," she whispered. "I think it will be delivered soon." Jenner shook his head slightly, meaning he didn't want to eat. "Oh, yes," Evie said, half-sitting next to him. "You must eat something, Dad." Picking up the corner of the towel, she carefully wiped the blood from the corner of his stubbled mouth. Slowly his gray eyebrows came together. "The Mei family." He said hoarsely. "Are they coming for you, Evie?" There was a cruel satisfaction in her smile. "I've left them forever. I eloped to Grena Green a few days ago to get...married, and they have no right to take me away."

Jenner's eyes widened. "With whom?" He asked succinctly. "Viscount St. Vincent." There was a knock on the door, and a maid came in with a large tray full of food.Evie got up to help, clearing a space on the bedside table; she winced sympathetically as she watched her father flinch at the smell of food, even though it wasn't pungent. "I'm sorry, Dad. You need at least some broth." She spread the napkin on his chest, and brought a cup of warm broth to his lips; She looked at her as she wiped his mouth.Knowing that he was waiting for her to explain, Evie smiled sadly.Given past considerations, she had decided that there was no point in faking a romance for his sake; the father was a practical man, and he probably never wanted his daughter to be united by love.In his opinion, if you want to bear the burden of life, you have to do everything necessary to survive, and if you taste a little fun in the process, you should enjoy it and not complain when you pay the price.

"Not many people know I'm married yet," she said. "Actually, it's not too bad, we get along pretty well, and I have no illusions about him." Jenner opened his mouth to let her feed a bit of broken egg, he swallowed, thought, and then spoke bluntly. "His father, the Duke, is just a paper-headed man, so simple that he is almost stupid." "But Lord St. Vincent is very clever." "But very cold." Jenner commented. "Yeah, but it's not always like that, he—" She stopped suddenly, her cheeks turning red, remembering Sebastian teasing her on the bed, his body hard and warm, the muscles in her back flexing and heaving under her fingers.

"The guy who played the flowers, he was," Jenner said in a matter-of-fact tone. "That doesn't make sense to me," Evie replied with equal candor. "I will never ask him to be faithful. I have already got what I want from this marriage. As for what he wants..." "Ah, I'll fix the side dishes," said her father kindly, expressing in East End vernacular that he would pay him what he was due. "Where is he now?" She fed him another mouthful of broken eggs. "He must be still asleep." The maid who was about to leave the room stopped at the door. "I'm sorry, but he's out of bed, miss... er, madam. Lord St. Vincent called Mr. Rohan up at dawn, dragged him into his office, asked him questions, and gave him another list. He put Mr. Rohan in a bad mood, that's all."

"Lord St. Vincent has influence on people." Evie said dryly. "What list?" Jenner asked. Evie was afraid to admit that Sebastian had ushered in the affairs of the club, which might upset her father.He can handle his daughter's loveless marriage with ease, but anything related to business will make him extremely worried. "Oh." She said vaguely. "I believe he saw that some of the rugs needed to be replaced, or that he wanted to improve the sideboard. Something like that." "Hmm." Jenner frowned as she brought the broth to her again. "Tell him not to touch anything without Egan's permission."

"Yes, Dad." Evie secretly exchanged glances with the maid, and squinted her eyes to warn the girl not to leak the news.Comprehending the wordless order, the maid nodded. "You're not stuck like you used to be," Jenner noted. "What's the matter, little carrot head?" Evie thought about it carefully, and found that her stuttering had really improved a lot in the past week. "I'm not sure. I think maybe it's being away from May's house, which makes me feel... a lot calmer. I found out not long after I left London..." She briefly described their journey to and from Grena Green, let him He burst out laughing, even coughing into his handkerchief.As they chatted, she could see his face relax, the pain relieved by the morphine; she ate a piece of his untouched toast, drank a cup of tea, and put the breakfast tray by the door. (I can't help but want to interject, the brief narration, in fact, the original text is She gave him an expurgated version of their journey, that is, the abridged version, clean version, think of these two blazing flames in Scotland... 啐, even flashed...)

"Dad." She said quietly. "Before you go to bed, I want to help you wash and shave." "No need," he said, his eyes glazed over by the morphine. "Let me take care of you," she insisted, and went to the washstand, where the maid kept the pitcher of hot water. "You'll sleep better later, I suppose." He seemed too tired to argue, just sighed, coughed, and watched her bring the porcelain basin and his shaving tools to the bedside.She folded a long towel and spread it over his chest, around the base of his neck; having never shaved a man before, Evie dipped the shaving brush in some water, then tentatively reached into the cup of soap.

"Got a hot towel first, Vivi," Jenner muttered. "Soften beard." Following his instructions, Evie soaked another towel and wrung it dry, placing it lightly over his chin and throat; after a while, she removed the towel and brushed a shaving brush soaped over his side. jaw.Deciding to shave only part of her face at a time, she opened the razor and looked suspiciously before approaching her father cautiously; before she could touch his face, mocking words came from the door. "Jesus." Evie caught a glimpse of Sebastian over her shoulder.He was speaking to her father, not to her. "I don't know whether to praise your courage or ask you if you have lost your judgment and allowed her to approach you with a knife." He took a few strides to the bedside calmly and stretched out his hand. "Give me that, kiss. One more cough from your father and you'll cut his nose off." Evie immediately handed the razor to her husband, who seemed refreshed today despite the lack of sleep.He had been thoroughly shaved, his hair washed and trimmed; his slender frame was dressed in impeccably tailored clothes, his dark gray coat accentuating his beautiful blond hair.As she'd noticed last night, there was a certain powerful energy around him, as if just being in the club energized him.The contrast between the two men—the one old and sickly, the other tall and strong—was striking.As Sebastian leaned over her father, Evie had an instinctive urge to get between them. Her husband was no different than a predator looking to finish its helpless prey. "Bring me the leash, kitty," Sebastian said, a half-smile curled up at the corners of his mouth. She walked away to do so, and by the time she returned from the sink, he had taken her place by the bed. "Always sharpen the razor before and after shaving," Sebastian whispered, the open knife sharpening back and forth on the belt. "Looks like it's sharp enough." Evie said skeptically. "Not too sharp, sweetheart. Lather up your entire face before you start, it will soften the beard." He stepped back and let her soap up his father, then pushed her aside, half-sat on the mattress.Razor in hand, he asked Jenner, "Is that okay?" To Evie's surprise, her father nodded, seemingly unafraid of having Sebastian shave him.She went around to the other side of the bed, trying to take a closer look. "Let the razor do the work," Sebastian said, "and don't apply pressure with your hand. Shave along the grain, along the length of the beard... like this. Be careful not to raise the blade. Start with the face. Start on one side...then the cheek...then the neck on the other side, so..." He said, shaving off the gray beard deftly with the razor in his hand. "Clean the blade frequently." His slender fingers moved gently on her father's face, adjusting the angle, stretching part of the skin.His movements were light and deft, skilful and never sloppy; Evie shook her head slightly, unable to believe she was watching Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, shaving her father like a seasoned and professional valet. Finishing his man's routine, Sebastian wiped off the soap scum left on Jenner's face, which was smooth except for a small nick at the chin.Pressing the towel on it, Sebastian said: "There should be more glycerin in the soap. The shaving foam my manservant makes is much better...I'll ask him to bring some over today." "Thank you." Evie looked at him with an itchy warmth in her chest. Sebastian's eyes stopped on her face, and he didn't know what to see from her expression, which seemed to fascinate him. "The sheets need to be changed," he said. "I'm here to help." Evie shook her head, not wanting him to see her father's emaciated body.She knew that her father would definitely feel at a disadvantage in the future. "Thanks, but no need," she said firmly. "I'll ring the bell for the maid." "Fine." He looked at Jenner. "With your permission, sir, I will visit you later, after you have rested." "Okay." Her father agreed, but his eyes were loose.He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Evie cleaned up the room, and after Sebastian cleaned the blade, sharpened it with a belt again, and folded it into a leather sheath, they walked to the door of the room together.Evie turned to face him, leaning her back against the door frame, her worried eyes meeting him. "Have you fired Mr. Egan?" Sebastian nodded, leaning towards her with one arm propped on the doorjamb beside her head; despite his laid-back and relaxed posture, Evie felt acutely threatened; and, perplexingly, it wasn't A totally unpleasant experience. "At first he was very hostile," Sebastian replied. "But I told him I had looked at some of the books and he became tame as a lamb and knew he was lucky because we decided not to charge him. Lohan was helping to pack and supervised his immediate departure." "Why don't you wish to sue Mr. Egan?" "It's bad publicity. Any hint of financial trouble will make people nervous about the stability of the club. We'll just have to learn from our mistakes and start over." She was a little scared. "Turn around." Her eyes widened. "What... what? Why?" "Turn around," Sebastian repeated, patiently waiting for her to slowly obey.Her heart seemed to be pounded hard, he embraced her, held her wrist, and lifted her hand to the door frame. "Hold on, sweetheart." Inexplicably, she waited, wondering with some unease what he would do.Closing her eyes, she tensed her body, and felt his big hand perched on her shoulder, his fingers gently gliding across the upper back, as if looking for something... Then he began to gently pinch her back, with smooth movements, making her Her convulsed muscles relaxed; deft fingers searched for the source of the pain, causing her to inhale sharply, and he increased the pressure on his hands, palms circling across her back, thumbs digging deep into the sides of her spine.To Evie's shame, she found herself arched like a cat; the massage was slowly and gradually upward, and Sebastian found the knotted muscles at the junction of her neck and shoulders. He concentrated his fingers, She squeezed and pressed until a soft moan rose from her throat. Women are willing to surrender under the experienced hands.His touch was intensely sensual, stirring keen pleasure in her aching body.Leaning most of her weight on the door frame, Evie felt her breathing become slow and deep, her back softened, and she stretched under this seductive manipulation; it felt so good that she was afraid that he would The moment you stop. When Sebastian's hands finally moved away from her, Evie was surprised that she wasn't slumped.She turned and glanced at him hastily, expecting to see a mocking sneer or a look of sarcasm.But she only saw that his face became thicker and his expression became indifferent. "I have something to tell you," he whispered. "Privately." Taking her arm, Sebastian led her out of her father's room to the vacant room next door, which happened to be the one she had used last night.He closed the door, approached her, and spoke indifferently. "Rohan was right," he said flatly. "Your father is out of time. It would be a miracle if he made it through another day." "Yes... I... I think everyone can see it." "I talked to Luohan about your father's situation in detail this morning, and he showed me a leaflet that the doctor left behind on the medical certificate." Sebastian took out a folded piece of paper from his coat Handed her a piece of paper, with small print all over it. Evie read the line on the top of the leaflet: A New Essay on Consumption.There was only one small window in the room, and her eyes were so tired that she shook her head. "Can I watch it later?" "Of course. But I'm going to tell you the point - tuberculosis is caused by living bacteria - too small to be seen with the naked eye. They hide in diseased lungs, and as long as a healthy person inhales a portion of the air a sick person exhales, the disease It's contagious." "Bacteria in the lungs?" Evie repeated blankly. "It's absurd. Consumption is caused by a lack of fitness...or from staying too long in a cold and wet place..." "None of us are doctors or scientists, and there's no point in debating the issue. But, just to be on the safe side... I'm afraid I'll have to put some limits on how much time you spend with your father." Shocked as the slip of paper falls from her hand, Evie feels her pulse beating wildly; after all, she is already with her father, and Sebastian is trying to rob them of their last few days together — just because of an unproven medical theory printed on a leaflet? "No!" She said fiercely, her throat tightened, and the words she wanted to say rolled out like a cannonball, but her mouth couldn't sort them out. "Never...never...absolutely not! I can stay as long as I like, and you don't...don't...care about me, or him...you just want to brutally show me that you have the right...power—" "I've seen the sheets," Sebastian said curtly. "He's coughing up blood, and mucus, and what the devil knows... the longer you're with him, the better the chances you'll inhale that damn deadly gas." "I don't believe your stupid theory. I could find a… a dozen doctors and they'd laugh it off—" "I can't give you a chance. What the hell, six months from now, do you want to lie in bed and watch your lungs rot away?" "Even if it's...really...really so, it's none of your business." They faced each other in a dazed, angry silence, and for a moment Evie felt her sharp words hurt more than she could have imagined. "You're right," Sebastian said savagely. "If you want to get yourself into tuberculosis, go for it. But don't be surprised if I stand by, I won't help you with anything. I'll fucking love it when you lie there coughing your lungs out Mind you, this is all your own idiot-plus-three fault, you stubborn fool!" He ended his speech with a furious waving of his arms. Unfortunately, Evie had been conditioned by too many encounters with Uncle Perey to be able to tell the difference between an angry gesture and a signal that physical punishment was imminent.She curled up instinctively and quickly raised her arms to protect her head; when the expected pain from the beating did not come, she exhaled and lowered her arms tentatively, only to find Sebastian looking at her in amazement. Then his face fell. "Evie," he said, and there was a razor-sharp ferocity in his voice that frightened her. "You thought I was going to... God. Somebody hit you. Someone hit you before—who the hell?" He came towards her suddenly—so suddenly—and she staggered back, hitting the wall hard.Sebastian stopped immediately. "Damn it," he whispered, staring at her intently, as if struggling with some intense emotion.After a long time, he said softly: "I will never hit a woman, I will never hurt you. You know that, don't you?" Shocked by his bright and shining eyes, Evie couldn't move or make a sound, and could only stare at him as he slowly approached. "It's okay," he said softly, "let me hug you, it's okay, relax." He hugged her into his arms, and stroked her hair with his free hand, she took a deep breath, sighed, and the soothing feeling flowed through whole body.Sebastian held her closer, brushing his lips against her temples. "Who is it?" he asked. "I...my relative." She tried to speak.He paused when he heard her stuttering. "Mabrick?" he asked patiently. "No, it's the other...the other one." "Stubbins." "Yes." His other arm also hugged her, and Evie closed her eyes comfortably, snuggling into Sebastian's strong arms, her cheek resting on his shoulder, and she breathed the male's skin was refreshing scent, and the subtle white sandalwood of cologne water. "Do you hit often?" she heard him ask. "More than once?" "Now that... that... that doesn't matter." "Hit often, Evie?" Knowing he wouldn't let it go until he asked, Evie grumbled, "Not very... very often, but... sometimes if I upset him or F... Aunt Florence, he'd throw a tantrum .Last...last time I tried...to escape, he swollen my eyes and my lips were...broken." "Really?" Sebastian was silent for a long time, and when he spoke again, his tone was soft and cold. "I'm going to tear him to pieces." "I don't want that," Evie said seriously. "I...I just want to stay away from him, away from them all." Sebastian looked up at her blushing face. "You'll be fine." He said in a low voice, raised his hand to caress her face, slid across her cheekbones, and ran his fingertips along the pale golden freckles on the bridge of her nose; when she lowered her eyelashes, he drew Caressing the arc of her eyebrows, he held her face in his palm. "Evie," he murmured. "I swear on my life that these hands of mine will never cause you pain. I may have behaved like a poor husband in other ways... but I will not hurt you like that, you have to believe it ” (Thanks again to yata for the literary translation, goodbye...) Every fiber of her skin was eager to feel that feeling... His touch, the hot breath on her lips.Evie dared not open her eyes, or make any movement that might interrupt the moment. "Yes," she managed to whisper. "I believe... I—" A probing kiss fell on her lips, bringing a sweet shock... Another... She opened it for him panting lightly, his mouth was like hot silk satin, and like a soft flame, with gentle and inquiring The strength attacked her.His fingers caressed her face, gently adjusting the angle of the two of them. Feeling that she was about to wobble off balance, Sebastian slowly raised one hand to rest on the nape of her neck; she did the same, wrapping one hand around his firm neck, responding to his wonderful rubs and kisses.His breathing quickened, his chest rising and falling intoxicated against her breasts.Suddenly his kiss became deeper and more powerful, and the rush of enthusiasm made her twist, desperately snuggling closer to his masculine body. A low moan escaped Sebastian's throat, laced with painful longing, and he moved his lips away. "No," he whispered hoarsely. "No, wait...love...I didn't intend to do this. I just...hell." Evie's fingers gripped the fabric of his coat, her face buried in the smooth gray silk scarf.Sebastian held her head in his cup, supporting her unsteady weight. "I'm still going to implement what I said first." He buried his head in her hair. "If you want to take care of your father, you have to follow my rules. Keep the room well ventilated—I want the doors and windows open all day, and don't sit too close to him. Also, whenever you're with him Together, I want you to wear a handkerchief to cover your mouth and nose." (You are trying to extricate yourself from intimacy, just to say this, Xiaosheng, you have fallen in love with Weiwei, you don't know it yet...) "What?" Evie returned suspicious eyes, squirming and trying to stay away from him. "So those live bacteria don't fly into my lungs?" she asked sarcastically. His eyes narrowed. "Don't test me, Evie. I almost banned you from seeing him altogether." "I find it ridiculous to cover my face with a handkerchief," she protested. "That would hurt my father's feelings." "I don't care. Remember, if you don't, you won't see him again." With a surge of new anger, Evie jerked away from his arms. "You're almost like the Mei family," she said fiercely. "I married you to be free, and it turned out that I just changed the jailer." "None of us is completely free, the little girl, not even me." Clenching her hands into fists, she glared at him. "At least you still have the power to make choices for yourself." "For you too," he teased, seeming to enjoy the outburst he'd provoked on her. "God, it's amazing. Such an angry resistance... makes me want to sleep with you." (Xiao Sheng, you BT!) "Don't touch me again," she snapped. "forever!" And annoyingly, he laughed and walked to the door.