Chapter 21 Chapter 17 Forced

"I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until spring," Meralda said sheepishly to Feringo one night after dinner at Castle Oak.Following Meralda's request, the two changed their activities tonight to go for a walk by the seaside, instead of the garden walk they were used to. The young lord stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening like Meralda had never seen before. "The sound of the waves," he said, moving closer to the girl. "I'm afraid I didn't hear exactly what you were saying." "I mean, I'm afraid I can't wait till spring," repeated Meralda. "It means our wedding, I mean."

Feringal gave a wide grin from ear to ear, and he looked as if he was about to do a jig.The young lord took her hand tenderly, raised it to his lips, and kissed it. "I'll wait till the end, if you have to do it on someone's orders," he said gravely.What surprised the girl was—when did this man make her stop being surprised? — Meralda found she believed what he said.In fact he never betrayed her. Still, Meralda was trembling, and she had problems of her own that she had to deal with. "No, my lord, you can't wait so long," she replied, pulling her hand out of his grasp and stroking the man's cheek, "Of course it's in my heart to hear that you are willing to wait." Still very happy, but for some reason on my part, I can't wait until spring." She moved closer and kissed him, feeling him melting under her lips.

However, this was the first time Feringo had voluntarily freed himself from her embrace. "You know we can't do this," he said, though the words clearly pained him. "I've made a promise to Temigos. The time will come, my dear, the time will come." "Then let it be appropriate, and quicker at the same time," Meralda replied, continuing to touch the man's face tenderly.She thinks Feringo might break under her sensual touch, so the girl leans in again and makes herself look blue: "I can't wait." Finally, Feringo threw away his pitifully thin determination, embraced her in his arms, and buried her deeply, aiming at the red lips.

Meralda didn't expect this, but she knew she had to.But then she found that the moment she had been terrified and terrified many times passed in the blink of an eye.The young girl began to pull the man towards the sand behind her, trying to maintain a look of seduction, and in fact Feringo had already started to make a move, but at this moment, the castle's A call came from above the ramparts: it was Priscilla's piercing voice. "Ferry!" "I hate her for calling me that!" The young lord jumped up from Meralda with great effort, cursing his sister through his teeth, "Can't I escape from her completely?" ?”

"Fry, is that you?" Priscilla called again. "Yes, Priscilla." The man's answer contained anger that could not be completely concealed. "Come back to the castle quickly, then," the woman beckoned. "It's beginning to fall, and Temigast says there are reports of burglars nearby. He wants you to stay inside the walls." Feringo looked at Meralda in great frustration and shook his head: "We have to go," he said. "I can't wait until spring," the girl said resolutely. "Won't keep you waiting," replied Lord Feringal, "but we must consummate the wedding in due time, and this is due to protocol. I am going to move the wedding to the Winter Solstice."

"Too long!" Meralda replied. "Then it's the autumnal equinox." Meralda considered the solar terms.The autumnal equinox is six weeks away, and she has been pregnant for more than a month.The girl's expression revealed her inner frustration. "I may not be able to move any further," Lord Feringal explained. "As you know, Priscilla is making corresponding preparations for the wedding. Once she hears that I want to move everything forward, she will definitely go to I uttered the roar I had prepared. And Temigast demanded that we wait at least until next year, but I am now bound to disobey his will."

Rather than saying that he was talking to Meralda, he was talking to himself, so the girl let him maintain this wandering posture, and instead immersed himself in her inner thoughts, and the two of them just looked after themselves. walked towards the castle.She knew that Feringal was afraid of his sister's wrath, which would erupt at the slightest lapse in anything that happened.Besides, Priscilla would definitely object to their rescheduling of the wedding date.Meralda was sure that this woman had wanted the whole marriage to end in a complete failure. And now, as soon as anyone knew that she was carrying another man's child, the whole thing would fall apart before the wedding.

"You'd better not go out of the castle at night without a guard," Priscilla scolded the couple as soon as they stepped into the lounge, "There are thieves." She stared at Meralda, and the girl knew the real reason for Priscilla's anger.Feringal's sister wasn't worried about some thieves marking his brother's wallet.In fact, what she was really afraid of was what might happen between Feringal and Meralda, and it almost happened tonight on the beach. "Rogues?" replied Feringal, with a chuckle. "There are no burglars in Orkney. We haven't had trouble here for years, since I haven't been called lord."

"Then in other words these crimes are long-awaited," Priscilla replied dryly, "and don't you expect the first attack in Orkney this year to be on its lord and the lord's future young wife On your body? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility for the girl you once swore to love and protect?” These words made Feringal hesitate.Priscilla always seemed able to get her way with a few words.When there is some force behind her that concerns her own interests and impels her, this woman can find an ingenious way to save the crisis. "It's all my fault," Meralda cut in, moving between the siblings, "I often take walks at night, and this is my favorite time."

"You can no longer be an ordinary farmer," Priscilla blamed frankly, "You must understand that the establishment of a sense of responsibility will lead to the improvement of your status and prestige in this family." "Yes, Ms. Priscilla," Meralda replied, curtseying gracefully, her face almost reaching her knees. "If you want to go for a walk in the evening, you can come into the garden," Priscilla added, the harshness of her tone lessened in this one sentence. Meralda's face remained in a neutral position so that Priscilla couldn't see her expression, that knowing smile.As for how to approach the hostess, she began to have some clues.Priscilla prefers an irritable, quick-tempered target to someone humble and pleasant.

At this moment she was leaving the room with a kind of frustrated anger. "We have something to announce." Lord Feringal said suddenly, which made Priscilla stop.Meralda raised her head, her face was full of surprise, and even a little bit of anger.At that moment she wanted to take back all the words she had said about the early wedding: now was not the time to announce it. "We've decided we can't wait until the spring to get married," continued the foolish Feringal. "The wedding will be on the day of the autumnal equinox." As expected, Priscilla's face began to turn bright red.Evidently the hostess had done her best to recover from the shock. "Really?" she said through gritted teeth. "Did you not share your news with Steward Temigast?" "You were the first," replied Lord Feringal, "out of courtesy, and you were the one who prepared for this wedding." "Indeed," Priscilla returned to her icy voice again. "Go and tell him, Free," she ordered. "He's in the library. I'm going now to see Meralda sent home." Those words made Lord Feringal rush back to Meralda. "Good-bye, my dear," he said.After tenderly kissing her knuckles, the young man went to the housekeeper with great enthusiasm. "What have you been doing to him out there?" Priscilla asked Meralda sharply as soon as her brother disappeared. Meralda parted her lips slightly to express her confusion: "What are you doing?" "You, uh, put your charms on him, don't you?" Meralda laughed out loud at Priscilla's questioning style, which tried so hard to avoid using vulgar language; and such an impressive reaction from the girl must have been beyond Priscilla's expectations. "Perhaps I ought to," she replied, "that's the way beasts court, we country people say. But I didn't. I did love him, you know, but my mother didn't raise a beast .Your brother said he would marry me, so we'll wait. In his own words, until the autumnal equinox." Priscilla narrowed her eyes menacingly. "You hate me for that," Meralda told her frankly.The hostess was not prepared for this.Her eyes opened wide again for a moment, and she took a small step back subconsciously. "You hate me because I took your brother and interrupted the life you've designed for yourself, but I find it a little selfish of you to do it, I think it's fair to say. Your brotherly love Me, and I love him, so we'll get married, with or without your blessing in it, it doesn't matter." "how dare you--" "What I dare to do is tell the truth," Meralda interrupted, and the girl herself was surprised by the recklessness, but she knew she couldn't back down. "My mom won't get through the winter in my freezing house, and I'm not going to watch her die. I don't think about when it's more appropriate, or No matter what troubles you have yourself. I understand you're in charge of the whole wedding planning, and I'm grateful for that, but you've got to be quick." "So, that's all the reason?" asked Priscilla, who thought she had found a weakness in her opponent here. "Your mother?" "That's something I should discuss with your brother," Meralda replied, standing up straight with her shoulders firmly hunched, "I'm marrying Feringo, not you Priscilla, which That's why you have to step aside." Priscilla was so nervous and surprised that she forgot a rebuttal to come out of her mouth.She turned and ran away in a panic, leaving Meralda alone in the middle of the lounge hall. The young girl spent a little while thinking about what she said just now, and could hardly believe that she could have a showdown with Priscilla in such a down-to-earth manner just now.She cautiously left the room as she pondered what to do next.The girl had seen Lane driving the carriage that she and Feringal had come to the castle, so she went up to tell the coachman to take her home. He watched the carriage winding down the path from the castle, as Meralda had seen every time, as Meralda ended another appointment with the Lord of Orkney. Jaka Scully didn't know how to describe how he felt right now.He kept thinking about the moment Meralda told him about the child, his child.He had turned the girl back, allowing his guard and pretense to slip off the ground in that split second, making the real feelings clearly show on his face.And now, that was his punishment: watching the girl go all the way home from Castle Oak, from the man. What choice did Jaka have?He was pretty sure he wouldn't want the kind of life Meralda offered.Absolutely not!The idea of ​​marrying this woman and seeing her grow fat and ugly with a crying baby beside him terrified him, but the thought that Lord Feringal was going to have her was all that terrified him. Fear no longer counts. That's it, Jaka now understands that even though his inner thoughts haven't changed at all due to economic reasons, he can't stand Meralda lying next to that man, can't bear Lord Feringal seeing his Jaka's child as a child. As if raised by oneself.It felt like he was stealing his power, like every lord in every town did to the peasants - only in a more subtle way.Yes, they always take things from farmers, especially honest ones like Jaka.They lived comfortably, surrounded by luxury, while the honest jakas sat in the mud, gnawing their fingernails and eating rotten and dirty food.They pick the women they like, not on a person's character, but on the sheer wealth that Jaka can't match.Feringal had taken his woman, and now he was taking Jaka's child. Shaking with rage, Jaka charged down the road, waving his arms, motioning for the carriage to stop. "Go away!" Ryan Mumen yelled on the roof of the car, but still slowed down a bit. "I must speak to Meralda," Jaka cried, "about her mother." This remark forced Lion to slow the carriage enough so that he could glance down for Meralda's opinion.The young girl poked her head out of the carriage window to find out the source of the commotion.When she saw Jaka who was visibly agitated in front of the car, her face turned pale, but she didn't retreat into the car. "He wanted me to stop so I could talk to you. Something about your mother," explained the driver. Meralda's eyes watched Jaka warily. "I can talk to him," she agreed. "You can stop and let me get off here, Lane." "It's still a mile from your house," said the dwarf coachman, who was not at all happy about the interruption. "I can take you two back together," he suggested. Meralda expressed her thanks, but waved him back anyway. "One mile is easy for me." The girl replied, and before the wheels stopped completely, she jumped out of the car door and came to the dark path, beside Jaka. "You are so stupid to come here," Ryan scolded as soon as he turned the carriage and began to walk slowly away from Meralda, "what's the matter?" "I have no choice," Jaka replied, leaning in to hug her.The girl showed an attitude of wanting to keep her distance. "You know what's going on in me now," the girl went on, "and Lord Feringal will know soon enough. If he ever connects you to my child, he'll put both of us together." kill them all." "I'm not afraid of him," Jaka said, leaning closer to her. "I only know how I feel, Meralda. I have no choice but to come here to see you tonight." "Last time you expressed your feelings clearly enough." The girl replied coldly. "I was terrified at the time," Jaka argued. "You must know how powerful the news is, but I said the wrong thing. Forgive me, Meralda. If my life hadn't You can't live without mercy." Meralda closed her eyes and swayed her body dizzily, trying her best to understand and digest the information. "And yourself, Jaka Scully?" she asked quietly again. "Where is your heart?" "With you," he replied softly, moving closer. "What else?" The girl prompted, opening her eyes and staring at him vigorously.He didn't seem to understand the meaning of the question. "Have you forgotten the little life in my stomach?" "No," he blurted out without thinking, before adding, "Of course, I'd love the kid too." Meralda found herself not believing him, and her expression was telling Jaka that. "Meralda," he said, taking her hands in his, shaking his head, "what I can't bear is the thought that it will be Lord Feringal who will raise my—our children as his own. grow up." wrong answer.All of Meralda's keen senses screamed at her, and she threw the truth before her eyes, her eyes widening, and all that flashed before her was the boy's rejection of her during her last encounter.He didn't love the child, not even her.No, she understood, Jaka was not capable of these emotions.He's eloquently defending his so-called "love" here now because he can't bear the thought that Lord Feringal is happier now than he is. Meralda took a deep, unwavering breath.She used to think that the man standing in front of her was in love with her, and she used to like to listen to everything he said.Recalling what Jaka said at the time, if he succeeded in lobbying now, then he would willingly elope with him halfway to Luskan.But now Meralda Gandley was a wiser girl than she had been, a girl who was thinking of her own happiness and the safety of her child.Jaka cannot provide them with a perfect and happy life.In her heart she knew that this man would soon begin to hate her and her child once the noose of poverty inevitably tightened around their necks.This is a competition, not love, and Meralda should choose a better path. "Go away," she said to Jaka, "go far away and don't come back to me." The boy stood there as if struck by lightning: "But——" "You can't give me a convincing answer," the girl continued. "There is no life between us that will make you happy." "you are wrong." "No, I didn't, and you know that," Meralda said, "we had one little moment of happiness that I will remember vividly all my life. But there was another little moment that will The real situation was laid out in front of us clearly and brutally. You didn't make room for me or the children in your life. You never did." The next thing the girl wanted to tell him was to ask him to leave herself and I hope he can really grow up quickly, but Jaka's next words make it unnecessary for him to hear these polite words. "Don't you want me to just stand there and look at Lord Feringal—" With a slap like a thunderbolt, Meralda interrupted him, "Every word you speak now is gradually taking away my good memories. You have expressed your heart very clearly." "I was stupid again just now," Jaka argued. "And you will always be stupid." Meralda said coldly.She turned and started to leave. Jaka was crying behind her, his cries pierced through the girl's body like a sharp arrow, but she still kept going on the way home without looking back, reminding herself to remember this man every step of the way — the essence of the boy.She started running and didn't stop until she got home. There was only a thin flickering candle waiting for her in the living room.To the little girl's relief, both her parents and Tori were asleep, which was good news for her, because Meralda didn't want to talk to anyone right now.She had made up her mind about her feelings for Jaka, and could accept the pain of this loss.Unforgettable are the passionate memories of that night, and the disappointments that followed, which revealed to her what the boy really was, a reality so raw and so far removed from the dreams and fantasies of young lovers Far.She really wished she didn't have to see him again. Meralda knew she had another, more pressing problem to deal with.The equinox was still too far away, but she knew she would never be able to persuade Lord Feringal to ignore Priscilla and Temigast and move the wedding forward again on his own initiative. Maybe there was no need to do this at all, and she suddenly felt a good idea approaching: If for some reason, a rumor that the two of them had sex before marriage "went away", then they Only if they get married as early as possible before the autumnal equinox, will the people living in the fief consider forgiving them.Orkney will certainly be filled with well-wishes like "advent children of July". Lying in her darkened room, Meralda nodded and thought about what she had to do.She will lure Feringo again, and fast enough.The girl already knows what his heart wants and desires, and all she needs to do now is to blow these love splinters into the flame with a simple kiss or the caress of a small hand. Meralda's smile disappeared almost instantly.She was disgusted with every thought she had just had.If she tempted Feringal so quickly, the lord would think the child was his, and it would be a lie, the worst kind, to both husband and child. She hated the plan, and hated herself for planning it, but then, in another room, her mother coughed.Meralda knew that she was on the verge of death, so she had no choice but to give up.