Chapter 11 Chapter Eight Warm Feelings

"Oh, look at you!" Priest Gandley cried as she helped Meralda into the new gown that Lord Feringal had sent for tonight's dinner.Because when Meralda took off the tunic she'd been wearing all day, her mother saw the bruises, her neck and shoulders covered in purple spots, more visible on her face. The two pieces are much larger. "You can't go to see Lord Feringal like this," Baxter wailed, "What will he think?" "Then I won't go." The unenthusiastic Meralda replied, but this only made Best become more flustered.Meralda's answer brought a new scowl on Pest's pale, weary face, pointing her out poignantly not to forget her mother's illness, and the only cure that could cure her.

The girl lowered her gaze, and kept it like that until Best walked to the cupboard, fumbling for the bottles and jars inside.She found beeswax and lavender, and daisy root and oil, and hurried off to collect some fine earth, which she stirred into a mixture.In no time, Best was back in Meralda's room, with a mortar in hand, vigorously working the mixture of herbs, oil, and earth. "I'll tell him it was an accident," Meralda remarked, when Baxter began to express her satisfaction with the results of the ointment. "If he falls from the stone steps of Castle Oak, Then he's got these bruises too, it's not surprising."

"Is that how your injury really came about?" Poster asked, even though Meralda insisted that she was injured because she accidentally bumped into a tree while running. A sting of panic hit the girl because she didn't want to reveal the truth, to tell her mother that the wounds were from her beloved and adoring father. "What are you talking about?" she asked in self-defense. "Do you think I'd be stupid enough to run into a tree on purpose, Mom?" "No, of course not," said Best, with a measured smile.Meralda also smiled back, she was glad that her defense worked.Best dabbed at her daughter's bruises with a rag from her flannel, and jokingly smacked her on the head a few times: "It doesn't look that bad. Lord Feringal even won't see."

"Lord Feringal is more careful than you think." Meralda replied, causing Best to break into a big smile and give her daughter a hug.This made Meralda feel that her mother seemed to be stronger today. "The housekeeper Temigest said you could take a walk in the garden tonight," said Best, "oh, the moon will be very big and bright. My daughter, I never even thought of that before." I dare not think about it!" Meralda replied with another smile, for she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would pour out all her anger at the injustice and rush her mother back to the hospital bed.

Best took Meralda's hand and led her to the living room at home, where the table and dinner were already set.Torrey sat there, writhing impatiently.At this moment Denis Gandley came in through the front door and caught sight of the two ladies. "She ran into a tree," said Pest. "Can you believe how stupid the kid is? Running into a tree, just as Lord Feringal sent his—invitation!" She Laughing again, Meralda laughed too, but she didn't blink when she looked at her father. For a split second, Denis and Tori looked at each other uncomfortably.Then the Gundles sat down together for a silent supper.It would have been quiet, at least, for the fervor of a visibly trembling Bester Gandrey shattered the silence.

Soon, not long after the sun had touched the western horizon, the Gundles were all standing outside the door, watching Meralda climb into the gilded carriage.The efforts at this time seemed to have exhausted all her strength, and if it hadn't been for Deni's support, she would have almost fainted and fell to the ground. "Now you go to bed," Denis said to Pest, and he ordered Torrey to help his mother back into the house. Denis waited outside the house, watching the receding carriage and the dusty road.The man's heart and soul were weeping.It wasn't that he regretted the lesson he had taught Meralda—the girl needed to learn what to prioritize—he was bitter about what Meralda had done to Deni Gandley herself. The harm done is like the harm he did to his daughter.

"Why does Mom look like she's about to fall, Dad?" Torrey asked back a moment later, the girl's voice startling a distraught Deni. "Didn't she look good just now? She was smiling all the time." "She's tired herself out," Denis explained without much concern.He understood the real cause of Bester's condition, which was commonly called "the malaise," and he knew that it would take a great deal of mental strength to heal her.Good spirits could hold her up temporarily, but pain would eventually overwhelm her.Only through Lord Feringal's connections and sleight of hand can she be truly healed.

He looked down at Torrey, only to see the genuine terror on her face. "She just needs to rest," Denis explained, wrapping an arm around his daughter's shoulders. "Meralda told Mama she hit a tree," Torrey saw Denis frown as he said boldly. "Well." Denis agreed softly, and said sadly, "Why did she resist?" He impulsively asked his young daughter, "She has already made the lord fascinated by her. The road ahead must Brighter than she'd hoped for." Torrey looked away, which told Deni that his little girl knew more than she let on.He moved to Torrey, and she continued to look away, Denis grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes: "What do you know?"

Torrey didn't respond. "Tell me, girl," Denis demanded, shaking Torrey roughly. "What's going on in your sister's head?" "She loves someone else," Torrey said reluctantly. "Jaka Scully?" he called out the answer.Denis Gandrey clenched his fists restrainedly, but his eyes were still narrowed.He had noticed it a long time ago, and had already considered that Meralda's feelings for Jaka Scully might develop more profoundly, or at least Meralda herself took it for granted that it would be more profound.Denis knew Jaka well enough to know that there was more depth and substance to the boy than he seemed.But Denis was not blind enough to ignore the fact that almost every girl in the village was obsessed with this melancholy young boy.

"If she knew I told you, she'd kill me," Torrey argued, but was cut short by another rough shake.The expression on her father's face was something she had never seen before, but she was sure it must be the same as what Meralda had witnessed earlier in the day. "Do you think it's all a game?" Denis scolded. Torrey burst into tears, and Deni let go of her: "Remember to keep your mouth shut in front of your mother and your sister," he ordered. "What are you going to do?" "I'll do everything that needs to be done, and I don't have to tell my daughter," Denis snapped back.He forced Torrey to turn her head and pushed her towards the house.The young girl had long been looking forward to leaving, and ran back to the house quickly, not daring to turn her head.

Denis looked down the open road towards the castle, where his eldest daughter, his beautiful Meralda, was exchanging soul and body for the happiness of her family.For a moment he wanted to rush to Castle Oak and strangle Lord Feringal, but Denny gave up the idea, reminding himself that there was another enthusiastic young man who needed his attention. Standing on the rocky sand below Castle Oak, Jaka Scully watched the magnificent carriage drive over the bridge into Lord Feringal's castle.He knew who was in the carriage before seeing Meralda appear in the young lord's domain.Seeing such a sight made his blood boil and brought a huge gag to his stomach. "Fuck you!" he roared, shaking his fists at the castle, "Damn, damn, damn! I should, I should, find a sword and cut your heart as you cut mine , Fiend Feringal! How happy it would be to see your blood stain the ground beneath my feet, and to hear your dying murmurs, I, not you, and I shall win in the end." "But, bah, I can't help it!" lamented the young man, rolling on the wet rocky floor, his arms slapping his forehead. "Wait," he cried, sitting up straight, pulling his arm away so he could feel the touch of his forehead with his own fingers, "I'm sick. A disease Meralda brought me. .This wicked witch! This is a disease brought to me by Meralda and Feringal, who designed it against me, a righteous man. Reject him, Meralda!" he cried, before collapsing As if, he gnashed his teeth and kicked the stone under his feet.In no time, he regained control, reminding himself that only roaring would give him victory over Lord Feringal, that only using his wits would give him an unfair advantage over his foe, a kind that comes from birth rather than character. Advantage.So Jaka began his planning, thinking about how he could turn the sickness he felt—the festering of his own broken heart—into some advantage over the stubborn girl's willpower. Meralda did not refuse the beautiful fragrance and scenery in the small garden on the south side of Oak Castle.Lush roses, white and pink, together with peonies and lavender formed the main part of the garden, creating countless shapes and colors that attracted Meralda's eyes to look around and be overwhelmed.Pansies fill the lower plots, while apricots hide among the taller plants, peeking out here and there like a secret reward from a cunning floral examiner.Even in Orkney, which seems to be perpetually foggy - and probably most of it is - the garden looks a lot brighter because of the flowers, which are talking about birth and renewal, about the coming of spring with its own vitality. All this enchanted Meralda, and she could not help wishing that it was not Lord Feringal but her Jaka who had accompanied her through the fading afternoon.Why couldn't she be here with the one she loved, kissing him, amidst the fragrance and beauty of these flowers, amidst the joyful hum of these bees? "Priscilla is in charge of the place, as usual," said Lord Feringal, following politely after Meralda as she strolled along the road through the garden. This information surprised Meralda a little, and reminded her of her first impressions of the lady of Castle Oak.Anyone who has cared for this garden to such a degree of beauty should perhaps be rewarded with some character compensation. "Then you don't come here often yourself?" asked the girl, turning to the young lord. Feringal shrugged and smiled timidly, as if embarrassed to admit that he had rarely dared to set foot in this place. "So, do you think it's beautiful here?" Meralda asked. Lord Feringal rushed to the girl and took her by the hand. "Definitely not as beautiful as you." He said without thinking. Meralda made a somewhat bolder move than when they first met, and pulled her hand back from Feringal. "This garden," she persisted, "these flowers—their appearance and their scent. Don't you find it beautiful?" "Of course." Lord Feringal replied quickly and submissively - Meralda thought so. "Come on, look at this!" Meralda called to him, "don't just stare at me. Look at these flowers, thanks to your sister's hard work. See how they fit together Huh? How does one make room for the other, how do they come together without blocking each other's sunlight?" Lord Feringal really turned his gaze from Meralda to the countless flowers around him, and a strange expression gradually appeared on his face. "You should see it," Meralda said after a long silence.During this time, Lord Feringal has been studying the colorful surrounding them. He turned to Meralda, a look of surprise in his eyes. "I've lived here since I was born," he said, "and in those years—no, decades—the garden was there, even before I first saw it. But It was you who showed its beauty to me until today." He moved closer to Meralda, took her hand, then leaned over and kissed her tenderly, not acting like they did last time It was so urgent and hungry when we met, but it was full of gentlemanly demeanor and gratitude. "Thank you," he said as he pulled himself back. Meralda replied with a faint smile. "Well, you should be thanking your sister, actually," she said, "it's no easy job to make this place so pretty." "I will." Lord Feringal replied in an unconvincing tone. Meralda smiled knowingly and turned her attention back to the garden, imagining how wonderful it would be to walk alongside Jaka in this place.The amorous young lord approached her again, so close that his hands touched her that her distracted thoughts stopped.To make up for this loss of beautiful imagination, Meralda turned her attention back to the flowers, imagining that if she could get herself lost in these beautiful flowers, just staring at them until the sun went down, or even later, In that soft moonlight, then it seemed likely that she would escape all misfortune tonight. Out of his own identity and credit, Lord Feringal allowed her to stare while standing quietly for a long time.The sun has disappeared and the moon has climbed up. Although the moon in the sky is very round tonight, the garden under the moonlight still loses some of its luster and charm compared with the daytime-except for the persistent aroma, which mixes the sweetness to the salty in the smelly air. "Can't you just look at me all night?" Feringal asked, gently turning the girl towards him. "I was just thinking about something," Meralda replied. "Tell me what's on your mind," he encouraged eagerly. The girl shrugged. "Just—stupid ideas," she replied. A wide smile shone across Lord Feringal's face. "I bet you're wondering how nice it would be to be able to walk among these flowers every day," he boldly suggested, "come when you want, day or night, even in winter, to enjoy the winter seas and icebergs drifting from the north." Of course, Meralda was not foolish enough to deny such speculation openly, or to add that she was indeed thinking about these things-but the hero beside her was someone else, her Jaka, not Lord Feringal. "Because you're going to have it all," said Feringal excitedly. "You will, you know. All of it, and more." "You barely know me!" the girl exclaimed, her voice bordering on panic, unable to believe what she had just heard. "Oh, but I do, my Meralda," said Feringal openly, kneeling on one knee, taking her hand and tenderly stroking it, "I have known you since birth I've been looking for you since the beginning." "That's stupid," Meralda murmured, but Feringal continued on his own. "I don't think I've ever found a woman who stole my heart so completely," he said, as if he thought Meralda would say the same to him. "Of course there were plenty of other girls. They've all flaunted themselves to me. The merchants wanted their daughters to be my wives in exchange for a safe haven in Orkney, but none of them caught my eye." He purposefully theatrically He stood up and walked to the wall next to the sea. "None," repeated Feringal, turning, his eyes fixed on the girl's eyes, "until I met a dream girl named Meralda. I testify , I know that there is no other woman in this world who is more suitable to be my wife than you." Meralda stammered at him with words she didn't know, she was already stunned by this man's passion, this pure speed of courtship.As she stood there thinking about how to respond, Feringal sealed her mouth and kissed her again and again, not so tenderly, he pressed her lips heavily, and wrapped his hands around her back. "I must have you," he said, pushing her almost off balance. Meralda put her arm between the two of them, pressed her palm to Lord Feringal's face, and pushed him away.She got away, but the lord hugged her again. "Please, Meralda!" he yelled, "my blood boils inside me!" "You said you wanted me as a wife, but you're treating me like a whore now!" she cried. "No one would treat a wife like that before their wedding night!" Meralda argued. Lord Feringal came to a screeching halt. "But why?" asked the naive young lord, "after all, it's love, and I'm telling the truth. My blood boils and my heart bursts out of my chest to get you. " Meralda looked around desperately for escape, only to spot an unexpected opportunity. "May you forgive me, my lord," a voice came from the door, and when the two turned their heads, they saw the butler Temigast slowly stepping into the small garden from the castle, "I heard the shout I wonder if one of you stumbled and slipped over the railing." "Okay, look, this kind of thing didn't happen here, so disappear quickly." The enraged Lord Feringal replied, waved his hand contemptuously, and then turned back to Meralda. The Temigast steward stared at him in astonishment, and gave him a long, sympathetic stare from his pale face. "My lord," he said calmly and boldly, "if you are really so anxious to marry this lady, you will treat her as a lady. Time has passed," he knew , "The Gandle family should already be looking forward to their daughter's return. I'll call for a carriage right now." "It's not time yet," Lord Feringal replied quickly, before Temigast turned around. "I beg you," he said, in a calmer, gentler tone than Temigast. Saying that she begged Meralda, "In a little while?" Temigest looked to Meralda, who nodded reluctantly in agreement. "I'll come to fetch you right away," Temigest said, and walked back to the castle. "I don't want to see you act so stupid again." Meralda warned her enthusiastic suitor, because Feringo's pleading tone just now gave her some confidence. "It is difficult for me, Meralda," he explained, trying to be as sincere as possible, "and it is beyond your comprehension. I think of you day and night. I look forward to the day when we will be married, You will give me your all that day." Meralda didn't answer, but she had to fight hard to keep any expression of anger from showing on her beautiful face.At this point she thought of her mother, recalling a conversation she overheard between her father and a woman, a dear friend of the family, who lamented that if they couldn't find a better priest or better tech If the healer of the best heals Best, she may not be able to survive this winter. "I won't be waiting long, I assure you," Lord Feringal continued, "I will let Priscilla make arrangements for this exciting evening." "I haven't even said I'd like to marry you!" Meralda screamed in a final resistance. "But you will marry me, of course," Feringal said confidently. "Everyone in the village will be invited to attend, and these witnesses will remember this wonderful moment deeply in their hearts." .On that day, Meralda, you will be the center of their joy and admiration," he said, and he came to take her hand again—but this time softly and respectfully, "From now until a few years —No, the women of the village will still be impressed by the beauty of Lord Feringal's bride decades from now." Meralda couldn't deny that she had been moved by this man's sincerity, and her body was trembling slightly at the great moment in the prospect Feringo described, a wedding that would be celebrated in Orkney for years, which woman would not Desire for such a thing? And while Meralda couldn't refuse such an eminent and attractive wedding, her heart was longing for something else.Now she was beginning to notice another side of Lord Feringal, perhaps, beneath his finery and protected upbringing, a decent and compassionate personality.Still, Meralda could not forget, not even for a moment, that it was Lord Feringal, not her Jaka. When Steward Temigest returned to inform them that the carriage was ready, Meralda made a beeline for him, but was not quick enough to avoid the young man's last furtive kiss. It doesn't matter anymore, Meralda thought.Now she is beginning to gradually see all the facts, understand her responsibility to the family, and understand that this responsibility is above all else.The drive across the bridge to the road was still so long and painful, with so many conflicting thoughts and emotions swirling in the young girl's mind. Again, she told the dwarf coachman to drop her off some distance from her house.After taking off the uncomfortable shoes that Temigast sent along with her clothes, Meralda walked barefoot on the moonlit country road.These things are all so confusing--thinking of her getting married! ——As a result, Meralda hardly paid attention to the surrounding environment, nor did she look forward to meeting Jaka on the road like she did after the first meeting.So when the young man appeared in front of her, the girl was completely taken aback. "What has he done to you?" Jaka asked before Meralda called his name. "What?" she repeated incomprehensibly. "What have you been doing?" Jaka asked. "You've been there so long." "We are walking in the garden," answered the girl. "Just for a walk?" Jaka's voice was already on the verge of something terrifying, and Meralda backed away in fright. "What are you thinking?" she asked bravely. Jaka sighed loudly and turned away. "I'm not thinking, that's the problem," he lamented. "What the hell have you bewitched over me, Meralda? Oh, utter obsession! I know that pained Feringal must have had the same Feeling," he added, turning back to face her, "who wouldn't?" A smile of delight erupted like a volcano on the young girl's face, but it lasted only for a moment, just for a moment.Why is Jaka acting so weird all of a sudden, so swayed by love?Why, she wondered, hadn't he expressed that before? "Did he have you?" Jaka asked, leaning very close. "Did you let him?" That question was like hitting Meralda in the face with a wet towel. "How can you ask me such a question?" she protested. Jaka knelt down in front of her, grabbed her hands and pressed them to his chest, "Because I want to die just thinking about you with him," he explained. Meralda felt a weakness in her knees, accompanied by a nausea in her stomach.She was too young, too inexperienced, and she knew she couldn't measure it all: marriage, Lord Feringal's gentlemanly manners and bestiality at its other extreme, and Jaka's sudden transformation into a similar disease. . "I..." she began, "we didn't do anything. Oh, he just kissed me secretly, and I didn't kiss him back." Jaka looked at her, the smile on Meralda's face unnerving for some reason.He moved closer, pressing his lips to hers, and seemed to set her on fire.She felt his hands roaming over her, and she wasn't frightened at all of it—at least not in the way her aristocratic suitor had given her.No, it was an emotional feeling this time, but she pushed the boy away anyway. "Are you rejecting this love we feel for each other?" Jaka asked, devastated. "But it has nothing to do with our feelings." Meralda wanted to explain. "Of course it's related," the young man said quietly, and he approached the girl again, "feeling is the whole thing." He kissed her tenderly again, and Meralda found herself trusting him.The only thing in the world she cared about right now was how Jaka and Jaka felt about each other.She started kissing back, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of happiness. Then he left her side, so suddenly.Meralda opened her eyes and saw Jaka doing somersaults on the ground, and a roaring Deni Gundry standing in front of her. "Are you a fool?" asked the man, raising his arm as if to hit Meralda.But then, as a painful expression flashed across the vicissitudes of life, he quickly put his hand down, but immediately lifted it up again, and slapped Meralda roughly on the shoulder, causing her to turn in the direction of his home. .Deni shoved her there, then turned to face Jaka, and the boy put his hands defensively in front of his face, ready to run away. "Don't hurt him, Dad!" cried the young girl, and the plea finally made Denis stop. "Stay away from my daughter," Denis warned Jaka. "I love—" Jaka answered only half a sentence before being interrupted. "They'll find your body washed up on the beach," Denis said. When Meralda began to cry again, the burly man turned to face her sternly. "Go home!" he ordered.Meralda ran back at full speed, not even thinking about the shoe that Denis had dropped when he pushed her just now. Denis faced Jaka again, his eyes red with rage and the restlessness of the night, a menace the young man had never seen before.Jaka turned his heels and started to run.Anyway, he just started doing it, because before he could run three paces away, Denis swooped down and hit him in the crook of the knee, knocking him face down on the ground. "Meralda please don't hit me!" argued the terrified young man. Denis climbed on top of him and flipped the young man on his side without any respect. "Meralda doesn't know what's best for her," Denis snarled back, knocking Jaka's head out of the way with one blow. The young man started crying and flailing his arms frantically, trying to fend off Deni's attack.But the punch still penetrated the defense one blow after another, washing over Jaka's beautiful eyes like a tide, making his lips swell and a tooth fall out of his perfect smile, And brought patches of blue bruises to his normally rosy cheeks.In the end, Jaka could only subconsciously put his arms on his slapped face, but Deni, his anger was still not exhausted, and doing so only made him aim even lower. Smash, smack Jaka's chest.Every time Jaka lowered an arm to block the attack there, Denis cunningly redirected his fist and hit him in the face again. Finally, he jumped up from the young man, grabbed the front of his clothes, and lifted his feet off the ground with a sudden, malicious movement.Jaka spread his palms forward in surrender.But this cowardly move only got him another punch from Denis, a brutal uppercut to the jaw that knocked the young man to the ground again.Denis pulled him straight up, and the young man raised his hands again.Jaka's sobs made Deni think of Meralda, the face he inevitably saw as he approached with blood on his knuckles.Deni grabbed Jaka with both hands and turned him around several times like whipping him, before letting him go. "Disappear for myself!" the man yelled at Jaka. "Stop smelling my daughter!" Jaka wailed, stumbled and disappeared into the darkness.