Chapter 9 Chapter nine

Beetui waited until the afternoon service was over before setting off across the large prairie to the parsonage. On the surface, she was going to tell them the news of Bert's return; in fact, she wanted to pour out her inner troubles to Pastor George.When Pastor George withdraws his mind from the classical world and returns to the real world, he is very good at listening to others.He's not overly emotional and doesn't make a fuss easily.Beicui thought to herself, maybe it was because of being a pastor for so many years that he was not surprised by the sophistication of the world.

Neither the crimes of ancient times nor the news of British society today were enough to shock him.Therefore, the first thing she went to look for at this moment was not her good friend Nance, but Reverend George.If she went to tell Nancy, she would definitely protect her with her warm affection and comfort, but this kind of sympathy was not what she needed now, what she needed now was practical support.Besides, if what she wanted was understanding, she would not have gone to Nance, who had almost forgotten Bert; it was still George who she was looking for, and he must remember the child he had taught.

Therefore, Beetui walked across a large lawn in the setting sun, and entered the vicar's garden through the iron gate.In this quiet evening, when passing the church cemetery, although she understood that what was on her mind at this moment would eventually become history and disappear with the passage of time many years later, she really didn't need to be too sad about it; Although he thought so rationally, his heart was still heavy. Beatrice found him where she thought the priest would be staying.The vicar had a habit of being alone in the garden after the afternoon service, gazing intently at something—usually in the distance, something that did not easily remind him of the trivialities of life.This night, he gazed at a lilac.He admired the flowers and smoked his pipe, which smelled like a damp campfire.His wife, Nance, once reproached: "There should be some regulations against smoking pipes like George!"

Seeing George smoking a pipe made Beicui feel even more depressed. Seeing Beetui approaching, George gave her a look, and then continued to stare at the lilac. "What a beautiful color, isn't it?" he said. "It's hard to imagine that it's just an optical illusion. I can't imagine what color lilacs are when you're not looking at it." Beatrice remembered the time when George told the two little twins that the wall clock wouldn't tick if no one was in the house.Once she saw Ruth eavesdropping in the hall on tiptoe.She asked Ruth what the hell she was up to, and she replied that she wanted to "catch it straight" when the hall clock was silent.

Beetui stood silently beside the pastor for a while, admiring the lilac in front of her eyes reluctantly while sorting out the thoughts in her mind.But this group of thoughts is really cutting constantly, and the reason is still chaotic. "George," she said at last, "you remember Bert, don't you?" "Bert Ashby? Of course I do." He turned and looked at her. "It's like this. He didn't die at all. He just ran away. That's what the note he left meant. Now he's coming back. Simon is very unhappy about this." Big tears fell down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away, continuing to look at the lilac.George reached out his bony fingers and patted her shoulder lightly.

"Sit down first." He said to Bitui. She sat down on the stake behind her, and above her head was the sweet-smelling honeysuckle.The priest sat down beside her. "Take your time and tell me what's going on," the pastor said to her, and she told the pastor the whole thing: how Mr. Sandow called, how she arrived in London Went there, what she saw in that low room in the Pink Row, the investigation by the law firm, how Uncle Charlie's telegram unraveled her, how she finally found the courage to announce it to her family, and the reaction of the family, etc. "Eileen's reaction was a bit cold, but she has always been so calm, and she can always accept a fact calmly. Jenny is very protective of Simon, and she feels a little sad that Simon can't inherit the family business, but Well, she'll be all right when she sees her own brother, who's always been a nice, friendly kid."

"Where is Ruth?" "Ruth is packing her clothes for Tuesday." Speaking of this niece, Beatri's tone was a little bitter. The pastor smiled. "Ruth is always so optimistic." "But Simon . . . how should I persuade Simon?" "I don't think that's so difficult to understand. From Simon's point of view, only a saint can happily welcome back the brother who will take the family property from him. Besides, this brother has been arrested since he was thirteen years old. as dead." "But George, they are twins! They have never been distinguished from each other!"

"After all, there is a big gap between the age of thirteen and the age of twenty-one. For eight years, Simon has always regarded the Reichett family business as his own, and his memories before the age of thirteen, apart from feelings, are actually It doesn't make much sense anymore. Now, without any notice, he was suddenly asked to accept this unexpected news. Of course, it was not easy for the always strong Simon. " "I guess I didn't handle it well enough," Beatrix said, "I mean, I told them the wrong way. I should have told Simon privately first.But I was trying not to make them feel that Simon should react in any way.I pretended they would all be equally happy.If I had singled out Simon specifically to break the news to him alone, it would—it would—”

"As if expecting something to happen." "That's it. I think I know Simon well enough to know that his reaction to the news will be—will be different from other people. I just try to minimize the difference. But I It never occurred to him that his reaction would be so violent—he didn't even believe Bert was alive." "That's just an excuse for him not wanting to welcome Bert back." "He's not welcome back..." Bitui mused. "Yes, Simon doesn't welcome Bert back, and it's natural. If you can't accept that basic fact, it's hard to accept his reaction. You're remembering Bert now with your grown-up mentality. So it's nice to know that he's still alive." He turned his head to look at Beetui: "Or——you're not happy either?"

"Of course I'm happy!" she replied, a little too emphatically.But the pastor did not pursue this further. "But Simon didn't remember his brother with an adult mentality or emotion. To Simon, Bert was just a part of the past, and it didn't mean anything to him in the present. As soon as he heard that Bert was coming back , I naturally hate him very much, but I didn't store enough love in the past to offset this hatred." "See what you said." "It's not wrong. We'd better face the fact. To counteract the hatred in Simon's heart, I'm afraid it takes a love as great as God, but there is no such love in Simon. Poor Simon, when you meet It's a real test for him."

"It's a bad timing too. Right around the time we're celebrating his bar mitzvah." "But at least his appearance gave me an answer to my question for eight years." "What question?" "The fact that Bert would commit suicide. I've never been able to relate it to the Bert I knew. Bert was a very emotional kid, but he was also very sensible. His younger brother Simon, though wiser, But his feelings towards people are not sincere enough. Burt also has a sense of responsibility. When he thinks that the entire Reichett family business will be in his hands, he may feel that the responsibility is too heavy to bear, and he will run away to escape, but he should not As for suicide." "Why did we then accept without a doubt the hypothesis that he killed himself?" "The coat that was left on the clifftop? And the note - it really read like a suicide note at the time. And that afternoon when Abel looked at the After he arrived, no one saw him again. Besides, many people have committed suicide on that cliff in the past-all kinds of reasons make us think that he committed suicide.It seemed natural to think so at the time, and no one questioned it.But there was something wrong with me all the time. Not in the way Bert did, but that a kid like him would commit suicide, which was so unlike the Bert I knew.Now we can finally know that he didn't do this kind of thing in the first place. " "If I close my eyes, the lilac in front of me will lose its color, and as soon as I open it, it will become purple," Bitui said to herself, which seemed to temporarily stop her tears. flow out.It's as if she would count one, two, three if she wanted to cry while watching a play. "Tell me, are you glad he's back?" "Of course, it's too late for me to be happy. He is very similar to Bert when he left in many ways. He is very quiet, restrained, and considerate. Do you remember that when Bert was about to do something when he was a child, he often turned around He was always thinking about other people's feelings. He didn't push me to accept the fact that he was back. He still doesn't easily talk about the hard times he has been through. Bert has always Solve your own problems by yourself. And now Bert is doing the same." "Do you think he's having a bad time out there?" "I don't think it will be too comfortable at least. I forgot to tell you he's limping." "Lame?!" "Yes, but nothing serious. It was a riding accident. He's out there looking after horses for a living." "That's good news for you." George said this a little shyly, because he knew nothing about horses himself. "That's true." Bitui admitted with a smile. "The Reichett family business should be inherited by someone who truly loves horses." "You think Simon doesn't like horses enough?" "It's not enough, it can be said to be indifferent. In Simon's eyes, horses only provide him with excitement and stimulation, and are only a source of wealth and prestige. I even think the situation can be pushed down. He is similar to people and horses. If You don't blame me, I'll say it, he has no feelings at all. He's bored when one or two of the horses are sick. Eileen always stays up all night, taking care of the sick horses, and sharing the burden with Gray. The only time he sacrificed sleep was with a horse he wanted to ride to a prize race or to hunt." "Poor Simon," said the vicar thoughtfully, "he has no character to overcome envy. Well, jealousy is a destructive emotion indeed." Just before Bicui didn't know how to answer, Nancy came over. "Hi, Beatrix!" Nance called cheerfully. "It's a pleasure to see you at this afternoon's service. Any news?" "Beetui really has good news for you," said the pastor. "Don't tell me Simon is engaged!" "It's not about Simon, it's about Bert." "What? Bert?" Nancy asked uncertainly. "He's alive." Then the pastor gave Nance an overview of the matter. "Oh, my God, Beetui," Nan Si sighed softly, and put her arm around Beetui: "this is really great, the stone in your heart will fall to the ground at this moment." Then Nansi seemed to remember something, and turned her head to Bitui and said, "You have to drink something. Come on, let's drink up the sherry left in the bottle." So Bitui drank the sherry and Listening to the pastor recount how Bert left home and how she came back she just told him, the burden on her heart seems to be relieved a lot. No matter how many difficulties she will encounter in the future, at least George and Nance can support her and comfort. "When is Bert coming back?" Nance asked.The pastor also turned his head to look at Beetui. "Tuesday," Beatrice told them, "I don't know how to tell the neighbors right now." "That's easy," said Nancy, "just tell Mrs. Gut." Mrs. Ge is the proprietress of a grocery store in the village, and she can also be said to be the "radio station" in the village. Anything that is wrong between the east and the west, big or small, cannot escape her ears and mouth. "Or you can send a postcard to yourself. The post office is also quite efficient. Xiaobao in the village does that. He deliberately writes the news of his marriage on a postcard and sends it to his mother. After a while, The whole village knows the news." "I'm just afraid of becoming the object of attention." Bitui said worriedly. "But it's good news after all!" said Nance comfortingly. "But—but—the whole thing is so unpredictable, it's like—like—" "I see," Nance said sympathetically, "it's like walking on a pile of jelly." "I was going to say finding my way in the swamp, but I think jelly might be a better word." "Or it's very similar to the uneven floor in an amusement park." Bitui was about to leave, but the pastor answered unexpectedly. "How do you know about playground stuff?" "A year or two ago, I saw it in the market in Xishi Town once. This thing is the product of masochism." "You know why I'm so obsessed with George." Nansi walked out of the door with Beatrice, and said to Beatrice, "I've been married to him for thirteen years, and I still have new feelings for him. Discovery. I can't believe he knows anything about amusement parks. Can you imagine George not knowing what to play in an amusement park?" But when Beatri walked home across the churchyard, it wasn't Nance's George that Beetui had in mind, but what George called the uneven floor.In the following days, she was destined to step on these floors with one foot high and one foot low. When she reached the church, she turned into the south corridor of the church and found that the oak door of the church had not been locked.The entire church building is bathed in the light of the setting sun, exuding incomparable tranquility.She felt herself sharing the peace with the dead in the church grave, with the flags flying, the names carved on the walls, and the old clock.Those graves belonged to the Reddingham family: from members of the Crusaders to modern politicians, they were all famous and prominent people.But the Asyby family is a little different: there are no crusaders or prominent figures, only the stone tablet on the church wall reads "Asyby's house in Recht Manor in this parish".Beetui has gazed at this stone tablet countless times—"The Asybe House of Recht Manor in this parish" are all well-off operators of farms or horse farms. Now Recht was going to be run by a boy who had returned from halfway around the world, a boy she didn't know very well. "He is a very responsible child." The pastor once described Bert in his impression.In fact she thought so too.But why didn't this responsible child ever write a letter home? Her mind kept thinking.The Bert she knew would not be the Bert who hadn't written a word in eight years. "Maybe it's a psychological factor." Mr. Sandu once speculated.He ran away from home anyway, and even that wasn't something Burt could have done.Maybe when he calmed down, he was so overwhelmed with shame that he didn't know what to say to his family. But...but... Would that be the work of a kid who keeps running back to you and asking "how are you?"? Would that be the work of a "responsible kid"?