Chapter 3 third chapter

Nicole opened her eyes that morning as the sun flooded the room.Her first feeling was dizziness, and the second feeling was surprise—because she suddenly realized that she was completely naked.She tried hard to recall what happened yesterday, but apart from vaguely remembering that Clay brought her back to the farm, the rest was blank. She looked around and found that she was in a spacious blue and white bedroom. The furniture, curtains, and even the large bed she was lying on were all pleasing to the eye and gorgeous.She stretched lazily and felt refreshed, and her dizziness disappeared a lot.

She briskly got out of bed and opened the closet, and found that all the clothes she and Jenny had sewn stitch by thread on the cruise ship were hanging in it. As if she was very welcome, she happily chose a day dress made of soft Indian material and matched it Wearing a light purple headband of the same color system. She was just about to walk out of the room, but was attracted by the south window.She went to the window and looked out, and saw a green countryside scene, which was very different from that of a small house in England.In the nearby walnut grove, there are several buildings of different sizes, two of which are still smoking.Right in front is a beautiful garden, ponds, pavilions, paths, flowing water, which are unique.Beyond the gardens were rows of crops, cotton, wheat, barley, and tobacco, and many, many people were already busy in and out of the fields and barns.There is a bend of river in the distance of the farmland, protecting this piece of green land like a silver belt.She took a deep breath of the fresh summer air and felt refreshed and at ease.

"Nicole!" Someone called her from under the window. When Nicole saw that it was Jenny, she immediately waved her hand happily. "Come down and eat something!" As soon as Nicole reminded her, her stomach started to growl.She hurried out of the bedroom and down the wide stairs briskly.She found the room to be quite tastefully and generously furnished, with beauty everywhere.As soon as she came down the stairs, Jenny came up to meet her, asking all kinds of questions. Nicole laughed and raised her hands. "I'm starving to death! I'll answer you one after another when I'm full."

Jenny also smiled and led her out of the back door.There are three paths outside the door, as Jenny introduced: the path on the right leads to Mr. Ai's office and stable; the path in the middle leads to the garden; the path on the left leads to the kitchen.Nicole followed Jenny into the kitchen with great interest, and immediately met the tall, big, red-haired cook, Mei Yong. "Is your leg better?" Meiyan's blue eyes sparkled, "Of course, after such considerate care last night, I think it's okay!" Nicole stared at Mei Yong blankly, feeling baffled. "Shut up! Beauty!" Jenny reprimanded, and pushed Nicole to sit at the dining table, preventing her from speaking.

Under the supervision of both Jenny and Mimi, Nicole had a hearty meal, and then Jenny led her to visit various facilities on the farm, including dairy farms, weaving farms, washing farms, wineries, and smoking farms, etc. , and even visited the residences of slaves, long-term laborers, and salaried workers.Everywhere Jenny went, she introduced Nicole to Mrs. Ai.Nicole protested twice, but Jenny still held her head high and ignored it. When Nicole walked around behind Jenny for a long time, and Jenny still claimed that Nicole only visited one-third of the farm and met less than half of the workers, Nicole couldn't help begging for mercy, "I think this is like a village, not like a village. family!"

Jenny smiled triumphantly, "That's right! Every family here is far away, and the transportation depends on the river, so every family must be self-sufficient." "Then what is your job?" Nicole asked curiously. "I'm in charge of all the homework in the weaving field," Jenny showed a familiar and competent expression, "Meijin is in charge of all the equipment in the kitchen, you can find her if you have anything to do." Nicole looked at the main building where the Ai family lived from a distance, and felt that the main beauty of this building was its simple design and classic charm. Although it was only 60 feet long, it was extraordinary and outstanding.

"Do you still want to continue visiting?" Jenny asked. "I really want to visit the big house. I only took a look at my bedroom this morning. I wonder if the other rooms are as beautiful as my bedroom?" "It's beautiful, but it hasn't been cleaned up for a long time." Jenny walked to the big house first, "Clay cleaned up the outside of the house very well, but he didn't hire someone to clean up the inside of the house. He is very good at eating and living. Whatever, in order to be too lazy to run, he often falls under a tree and sleeps through the night."

After entering the house, Jenny asked Nicole to visit by herself, and she rushed back to the weaving field to supervise the work.Nicole leisurely began to visit each room.She found that there are four very spacious rooms downstairs, namely the library, dining room, main hall and living room. Each room is as simple and chic as the house itself, with meticulous craftsmanship and ingenious design everywhere.But as Jenny said, since it hasn't been cleaned for a long time, there is a thick layer of dust everywhere, which makes people feel distressed and unbearable. She didn't continue to visit the upstairs, because she suddenly found that she had something to do.She was going to borrow an apron from Mei Yong to clean up all the dusty places.She also had the thought that she had just seen an ice cream machine at the dairy that seemed like it hadn't been used in a long time.Since Clay doesn't pay much attention to food, she is going to make something new for Clay to change his taste.

That night, Nicole was changing into a royal blue silk long-sleeved dress and was about to go downstairs for dinner when a knock on the door startled her. "Nicole, would you please come to the library?" Clay's voice came from outside the door.Nicole didn't answer, and heard Clay's boots go away again. Nicole tied her hair tie with a hint of bewilderment.This was the first official conversation between her and Clay. She didn't know what Clay was going to tell her?When she calmly descended the stairs and entered the half-covered library, Clay was waiting for her behind the desk, reading a book in his hand.

"Good night." Nicole greeted quietly. Clay stared at her for a while before putting the book on the desk, "Please sit down, I think we should discuss the current... situation. Hmm... Would you like some pre-dinner drinks? How is Shirley?" "No, thank you, I can't drink, I'll get drunk!" Nicole said, sitting on a leather chair.She didn't know what was wrong with what she said, because Clay raised his eyebrows after hearing it, as if it meant something.Under the bright candlelight, she looked at Clay in detail, and felt that Clay was really a serious man; especially the small mountain between his eyebrows made his dark brown eyes look particularly melancholy and puzzled.

Clay poured himself a glass of sherry. "You don't have a strong French accent." "Thank you, but I still often think in French before translating." "Sometimes you forget to translate?" Nicole was a little surprised, "Yes, but only when I'm tired or... angry." Clay sat down and took out a letter, "When Jenny told me the real situation, I immediately wrote a letter to a judge friend of mine, asking him how to deal with our situation." Nicole nodded. It seemed that Clay had started to cancel the marriage before returning home.For the first time, she understood the depth of his affection for Bi'an. "Today, my judge friend wrote a reply letter and sent me a copy of the Marriage Law. The only thing we can do now is to prove that you were married under coercion." "Prove it? How to prove it? Is what I said unreliable? Besides, I am Gunnicker, not Meibian, and you can prove it too!" "If Maybian's name is written on the marriage certificate, then we only need the testimony of the two of us." Clay took a sip of his wine, but his eyes fixed on Nicole's sunken collar. Nicole almost covered her neckline like a child, "Then... how about the ship doctor? Can I get him to prove it?" She began to regret that she was stubborn and refused to fake Maybian's name on the ship. "Yes, yes, but he took another ship back to England after arriving in the United States. I have sent someone to chase him, and it may be several months before he can come to court to testify for us." Clay will He drank the wine in the glass and watched her silently. Nicole looked down at her hands, "Then we'll have to wait for him!... I'm so sorry I didn't use Bi'an's name!" "You don't need to apologize to me. It's all my fault. I just hope you can accept my apology." Nicole stood up, "I accept, but there is something I want to ask you." "No problem, tell me!" "I thought, since I can't leave America for a while, can you help me find a job? I'm educated, I speak four languages, and I'm sure I could make a good governess." Clay stood up abruptly and walked away, "No!" He flatly refused, "Whether our marriage is in compliance with the law or not, you are still my wife in name. I don't want my wife to serve you like a slave." Someone else's young master. I can't promise you, you stay here, and after we find the ship's doctor, I will discuss the future with you." Nicole expressed surprise, "Do you want to plan the future for me?" A smile flashed across Clay's eyes, "Yes! Because you are under my care now!" Nicole raised her chin proudly, "I didn't come under your care voluntarily, I hope you can help me find an errand, because I still have bills to pay!" "Bills? Do you need anything else? I'll send someone to Boston to buy it for you," Clay realized when he saw Nicole fiddling with her clothes awkwardly. "Oh, you mean clothes." Huh? I'm sorry to accuse you of stealing! Consider these clothes a gift from me. I hope you can accept them." "I can't accept it because the materials are too expensive!" "Aren't you worthless for the humiliation you suffered and the time you wasted? I give you the clothes only represent a small part of my apology! Besides, what do I want these clothes for? It's better to wear them on you !" Nicole smiled happily, her eyes glowed, and she curtsied to Clay, "Thank you for the compliment!" Clay stared at Nicole, and when she slowly got up, he reached out and held Nicole's soft little hand, "I'm glad your leg injury has recovered." Nicole looked at Clay in surprise, her leg was hurt deep in her thigh, she wondered how Clay would know?Had Jenny told Clay after cleaning her?Clay couldn't have cleaned it for her, could he?She suddenly felt uneasy, "Did I say or do anything unusual last night?" "Do not you remember?" "I think I'm probably too tired. I just remember that you helped me chase away two wild dogs and then took me back on horseback. I don't remember anything after that." Clay stared at her for a while, his eyes lingering on her alluring lips, "You were so cute last night!" Clay finally said, "Come on, I'm starving," and he inserted Nicole's hand into her mouth. In his arms, "I haven't had dinner with a pretty girl in ages." When they entered the dining room, the table was already filled with all kinds of dishes, as if there were guests.However, Clay acted like he was used to it, and Nicole knew that this kind of feast was not surprising in Ada Farm.They had just sat down when the dining room door was rushed open. "Uncle Clay, Uncle Clay." Two children, a boy and a girl, ran in shouting. Clay immediately threw down the napkin, went to meet them, and half knelt on the ground, holding the two children in his arms, and the three of them kissed and kissed. Nicole watched their actions with a smile, but felt a little unbelievable in her heart.For when Clay heard the cries of the children his seriousness vanished, and in its place was a smile, though not an uncommon one, but one of supreme joy.She stood up quietly and walked behind them. "Are you guys obedient at Bei's house? Is it fun?" Clay stood up holding one in each hand. "Fun!" The little girl in his right arm looked at her uncle adoringly, "Miss Ellen let me ride her horse! When can I have my own horse?" "When your legs are long enough to reach the stirrups," Clay turned to the boy in his left arm. "What about you, Alex? Did Miss Ellen let you ride?" The little boy shrugged, as if he was not very interested in riding a horse, "Rogi taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow!" "Really? When I'm free that day, I'll make a bow and arrow for you, how about you? Mandy, do you want a pair?" Mandy didn't answer, because her bright eyes were busy looking at Nicole behind Clay.She whispered to Clay in a sweet voice, "Who is she?" Her whisper could probably be heard at the dairy. Clay turned around, and Nicole could finally take a good look at the two treasures in his arms.I saw that this pair of children also had dark brown hair and blue eyes, and they looked exactly alike, so they must be twins.In terms of age, he is about seven years old, and at a glance, he has a naughty and lively personality, and he is probably a troublemaker. "Come on, let me introduce you, this is Miss Nicole, Nicole, these two lovely twins are my nephews; Aiyali and Emmandy. Go down and salute Miss Nicole." Just as Alex and Mandy were saluting, a crisp female voice came from the door, "I tell you to wait a moment, but you want to run away by yourself!" The four of them looked at the door at the same time, and saw a tall, beautiful woman in her forties standing at the door. Although her mouth was scolding, her eyes were full of smiles. "Clay, why haven't I heard that you have a guest? Hello! This is Ellen," she held out her hand to greet Nicole. "My husband Harlow and I live on the farm next door, about five miles down the river." miles away." "Hello!" Nicole also held out her hand, "I'm Nicole...um..." She looked at Clay hesitantly. "Nicole is my wife." Clay added without hesitation. Ellen froze for a moment before holding Nicole's hand.But then she let go of Nicole's hand and hugged Nicole passionately, "I'm so happy, so happy, Clay is a great man, the only one who can compare to him is my husband," she let go of Nicole again , turned around and hugged Clay, "Why didn't you tell us when you got married? We haven't had a party for a long time around here. Especially here, the last time we had a party was when Jem and Beth were alive!" Nicole cared about Clay's reaction.When she saw that Clay seemed to tremble after hearing it, she also felt an inexplicable chill in her heart. When Ellen left like a whirlwind, the atmosphere between Nicole and Clay also became somewhat stalemate.Fortunately, Mandy and Alex kept chirping like birds, and the dinner finally ended in a harmonious atmosphere. When Nicole lay in bed that night, she couldn't help feeling that her ice cream hadn't had the desired effect, because Clay still had a poor appetite and a dull look.Fortunately, Mandy and Alex responded enthusiastically, falling in love with her as soon as they saw her serving the ice cream.This may also be regarded as the east corner of the loss and the mulberry elm of the harvest! The next morning Nicole woke up amidst the childish noise, and when she saw the beautiful bedroom in the sun, she first burst into a smile.With a happy mood, she cleaned up a bit, then opened the other door of the bedroom to find the twins.To her surprise, however, the other room adjoining hers was not the twins' bedroom, but Clay's bedroom.It was especially embarrassing to her that Clay was dressing when she broke in. "Good morning!" Clay greeted naturally, ignoring her embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't know...I thought twins..." Clay picked up the shirt from the back of the chair. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" He pointed his chin at the coffee pot on the coffee table. "I should buy you tea, but we Americans don't like tea so much now." Nicole walked to the coffee table with a touch of shame and sat down.From the aftermath in the corner of her eyes, she realized that this was a very masculine bedroom, especially a big bed took up most of the space in the bedroom.She started pouring coffee.When she noticed the two coffee mugs next to the coffee pot, she knew Mi-young must have mistaken her for sharing the same bed with Clay.She handed Clay a cup of coffee, her eyes glanced intentionally or unintentionally at the bronzed skin and strong tendons under the open shirt of Clay. "Thank you." Clay took the coffee and looked at her immediately retreating figure, "Are you still afraid of me?" "Of course I'm not afraid." Nicole poured herself a cup of coffee, her eyes not daring to meet Clay's gaze, "I've never been afraid of you." "I think you should be afraid of me. I like the way your hair hangs down. Also, what are you wearing? I like it too." Nicole finally couldn't help looking at him with a bright smile, "I'm wearing pajamas." She was very happy that she didn't put on a nightgown just now, but instead covered her high collar, sleeveless, slightly transparent clothes. "I got up late today, here, here you are." Clay handed the coffee cup to Nicole, with a hint of command in his expression. Nicole stepped forward to take it without hesitation, with a smile still on her face.She didn't retreat to the coffee table immediately, but stood next to Clay to watch him put on his boots, "Why is there a scar next to your eye?" Clay was about to answer, but stopped again.He looked at Nicole, his eyes were shining, and his lips were not as serious as usual. "It was scratched by a bayonet during the Revolutionary War." "Why do I feel like you're making fun of me?" Clay said seriously, "I will never in my life make fun of a beautiful woman standing next to my bed in only a pajamas." He brushed his finger over Nicole's lips, "Go and put the coffee cup away, come back." Let's go to the room!" Nicole smiled and followed his instructions.But when she was about to open the door, Clay stopped her again, and her heart skipped a beat. "Nicole! I've got a two-hour job to do, and I'll have breakfast in the kitchen around nine o'clock." Nicole nodded, walked through the door without looking back, and walked back to her bedroom. She felt as happy as a child, because Clay called her name affectionately for the first time and praised her beauty.After thinking about it for a long time, she changed her clothes and went downstairs. She spent the next two hours making peach pancakes with Mimi while finding time to find the twins.But no matter which one she asked, that one person just shrugged or shook his head. When Clay came back from the farm and began to eat, Nicole asked again, "Where are the twins?" Clay shrugged again.Nicole pointed at him with a fork angrily, "Aike Lei! You dare say you don't know, I will... I will..." Clay chewed, and easily removed the fork from Nicole's hand with one hand. "They're around, and when they're hungry, they'll come back." "You mean no one cares about them? Are they running around like wild children? What if they get hurt? You can't even find them!" "I know where they often hide. What is this? Why have I never eaten it? Did you make it?" "Yes!" Nicole replied impatiently. "Why didn't they go to school?" Clay was too busy stuffing something into his mouth to answer her at all. Nicole cursed in French and moved the pancake from Clay's face. "Can you concentrate on talking to me? I've had enough of asking questions." Clay jumped to sit on the table, wrapped his arms around Nicole's waist from behind, and pressed tightly against his chest.Clay finally managed to get his food when Nicole couldn't get any air into her lungs, "You shouldn't bother a man eating." He teased, his arm still holding on until Nicole was weak , he was startled, "Nicole!" He turned Nicole around and gently hugged his chest, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." Nicole rested on his chest, and his breath finally recovered.She's still attached though, hoping that Clay will never let her go. Clay gently pushed her away, pushed her on the chair, and sat down again, "You must be hungry! Come, eat something!" He also put a plate of pancakes for Nicole and placed it in front of her . Nicole sighed heavily and picked up the fork. After breakfast, Clay and Nicole asked around, and finally found the twins on a walnut tree.Nicole tried nicely to call them down, but they climbed higher, laughing and laughing.She turned to Clay resignedly. "Would you tell them to come down? They might listen to you." Clay shrugged, "It's not that I'm looking for them, I still have something to do!" Nicole gave him a disgusted look and ordered the twins down again.But the twins still didn't respond, seeming to challenge her authority. "What would you do if you were looking for them? Order them?" She turned to Clay again. "They won't listen to me either," Clay said, looking at the twins with an air of complicity on his face. "If I'm looking for them, I'm going to go get them!" Nicole knew immediately that Clay was lying to her.She didn't believe the twins would defy Clay's orders.She knew that Clay also meant to challenge her.Without hesitation, she took off her shoes and prepared to climb the tree. "Can you lend me a step?" she asked Clay. Clay's eyes lit up. "No problem." He folded his hands and helped Nicole climb up the lowest tree trunk. Nicole had just stabilized her body when she noticed a ladder standing on the other side of the tree trunk, and she gave Clay a hard look.She wasn't afraid to climb trees, as she spent much of her childhood peeing on an apple tree at home.She hugged her skirt and crawled around, first successfully caught Alex and delivered it to Clay.But when she chased Mandy up a twig, the branch couldn't bear it. Mandy yelled, "You're too heavy!" She looked down and saw her Uncle Clay standing under her, "I'm going to jump!" She laughed and jumped into her uncle's bed. arms. Nicole wanted to retreat, but the twig snapped again, which made her too frightened to act rashly, "Jump down!" Clay's voice reached her ears, and she let go of the twig without thinking twice, and landed on the ground. In Clay's arms. "You saved her life, Uncle Clay!" Alex exclaimed happily. Nicole looked at Clay with lingering fear, but unexpectedly found that Clay was actually smiling.She had never seen such a charming smile, and she couldn't help but smile brightly in return. "Let's do it again!" Mandy ran to the ladder excitedly. "No! Do you hear me?" Clay showed his authority, "Miss Nicole has caught you, you must obey her obediently in the future. If she tells me who is disobedient..." He narrowed his eyes, The twins actually looked a little scared. "You should put me down!" Nicole said quietly. Clay's smile had disappeared and was replaced by a look of confusion, "I'm really curious, have you always been a troublesome person? Or have you changed since you met me?" Nicole still had a smile on her lips, "Of course it was for you. I kidnapped myself and forced myself to marry you." Clay ignored the sarcasm in her tone, admiring her bare legs for climbing trees instead.When Nicole pulled for a long time, but still couldn't cover her legs, Clay smiled again, "I don't know if I like you better like this, or the way you were wearing pajamas earlier." Nicole felt extremely shy and blushed. Clay put her down, "Although I really want to see how you deal with the twins, I really have something to do and I have to go." After he finished speaking, he walked to the field. That night, Nicole made a decision that she couldn't sink any further.She admits that she has fallen in love with Eckley; also that she is very happy to come to the farm.But if this situation continues, once Bi'an comes, how will she let go?She loved her parents deeply, but her parents were dragged away by the mob; she loved her grandfather deeply, but her grandfather also...  She didn't know how she would deal with herself if she fell in love with Clay deeply again, and Clay left her again and returned to Bi'an's arms? In order to protect herself and save herself, Nicole decided to keep a distance from Clay from the next day.She knew that this was a difficult move against her own will, but she had to try no matter how difficult it was.