Chapter 22 Chapter 21

Paul Chancellor had fought the Army bureaucracy all day, threatening, pleading, coaxing, and calling out Monty's name before finally securing a plane for the training group to practice skydiving the next day. As he boarded the train back to Hampshire, he found himself longing to see Flick again.There are many things about her that he likes.She was smart, strong, and good-looking, and he was anxious to know if she was single. On the train he read the war news in the newspapers.The long period of calm on the Eastern Front has been broken. Yesterday, Germany launched a storm in Romania with ferocious momentum.The stamina of the Germans remained undiminished, and despite retreating everywhere, they were still able to hold out.

The train was late, and he missed the finishing school dinner at six o'clock sharp.After dinner, it is usually arranged to take another class. At 9 o'clock in the evening, students can move freely and go to bed an hour later.Paul saw most of the trainees gathered in the living room of the house.The living room contained a bookcase, a chest of various board games, a radio, and a half-sized pool table.He sat down on the sofa beside Flick and asked calmly, "How was your day?" "It's better than we expected," she said, "but all the lessons are too tight. I can't guarantee how much they will remember in the field."

"I think it's better to learn something than nothing at all." Percy Sweet was playing poker with Jelly, winning and losing by change.Paul felt that "Jelly" was indeed a character.A person who is a professional safe picker feels that he is a British lady and should be respected. "How's 'Jelly' doing?" he asked Flickr. "That's right. Physical training is more difficult for her than others, but thank God, she gritted her teeth and persisted, and finally passed the test like those young people." Flick paused here, frowning. Paul said, "Anything else?"

"She was hostile to Greta, which was problematic." "It's not surprising that an English woman hates Germans." "But it doesn't make sense, Greta was persecuted by the Nazis more than 'Jelly'." "'Jelly' doesn't know that." "She knew Greta was going to fight the Nazis." "No one cares whether these things are reasonable or not." "exactly." Greta was talking to Denise, Paul felt, more precisely Denise was talking and Greta was listening. "My half-brother, Lord Fowles, is a fighter-bomber pilot," Paul heard her say in that aristocratic, swallowed voice. "He's been training to fly, and to support the troops when they attack."

Paul frowned. "Did you hear what she was saying?" he asked Flick. "Understood. She's either making something up, or she's not careful, and she's outspoken." He looked at Denise.The girl was thin and always looked like she had just been offended.He didn't think she was making things up. "She doesn't seem like the imaginative type," he said. "I agree, I think she's giving away." "I'd better arrange a little test tomorrow." "OK." Paul wanted to be alone with Flick so they could speak more freely. "Let's walk around the garden," he said.

They were out of the house, and the air outside was mild, with the afterglow of the day not fading for an hour.The house has a large garden with several acres of lawn dotted with various trees.Maud and Diana sat on a bench under a beech tree.Maude teased Paul at first, but Paul ignored her, and it seemed she gave up.Now she was listening intently to Diana's eloquence, watching her with something almost adoring. "I don't know what Diana was telling her," Paul said. "She's blowing Maud's mind." "Maud likes to hear her tell about the places she's been to," Flick said. "Fashions, balls, and ocean liners."

Paul remembered that Maude had asked him if he would go to Paris on a mission, which surprised him at the time. "Maybe she wants to go to America with me," he said. "I noticed, she's showing off to you," Flick said. "She's beautiful." "But she's not my type." "Why not?" "Honestly? She's not smart enough." "Well," said Flick, "I'm glad." He raised his eyebrows and said, "Why?" "If you really liked her, I'd look down on you." It seemed to him a little conceited to say so.

"It's a pleasure to be recognized by you," he said. "Don't be sarcastic," she accuses, "I'm flattering you." He smiled, and couldn't help but fall in love with her even more, even if she acted very strong, he still admired her. "Forget it, I take it back, I was the one who spoke first." He said. As they passed the two women, Diana was heard saying: "Then the countess said, 'Take off your gaudy paws and don't touch my husband,' and poured a glass of champagne on Jennifer's head. , and then Jennifer grabbed the countess's hair and tore it off because it was a wig!"

Maud laughed and said, "I'd love to go there!" Paul said to Flick: "It seems that everyone is making friends with each other." "I'm happy with that, I need them to work together as a collective." The garden gradually disappeared into the distant forest, and the two of them had walked into the forest before they knew it.Only faint light spilled to the ground through the dense foliage. "Why is it called the 'New Forest'?" Paul said. "The woods look old." "Are you really going to make all the place names in England reasonable?"

he laughed. "No, I don't want to." They walked in silence for a while.Paul thought it was romantic, and he wanted to kiss her, but she had a wedding ring on her finger. "When I was four years old, I saw the king with my own eyes," Flick said. "The current king?" "No, it was his father, George V. He came to Somersholm. Of course, I couldn't get close to him. However, on Sunday morning he walked in the kitchen garden, saw me, and said, 'Good morning, Girl, are you ready for church?' He's short, but he has a big voice." "How did you answer?"

"I said, 'Who are you?' He replied, 'I'm the king.' Then, according to family accounts, I said, 'You're not a king, you're not big enough.' Luckily, he laughed." "It seems that you have disrespected the rich and powerful since you were a child." "It seems so." Paul heard a low groan.Paul frowned, looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Ruby Roman was with the weapons coach Jim Cardwell.Ruby was leaning against the tree, and Jim was holding her tightly, and they were kissing furiously.Ruby groaned again. Paul found that they were not only kissing, but also doing other things.It made him a little embarrassed, but at the same time he felt an impulse.Jim's hands were busy under Ruby's smock, her skirt pulled up to her waist, and Paul could see her brown thighs and the bushy hair on her groin.Ruby lifted the other leg, bent the knee, and put the foot high on Jim's ass.The forward and backward movements of the two people are clear at a glance. Paul looked at Flick, and she saw this scene clearly.She stared at it for a moment, her expression mixed with shock and something else.Then she turned quickly and walked away, Paul followed her, and the two of them retraced their steps, making as little noise as possible. When they were a little further away, he said, "I'm so sorry." "It's not your fault," she said. "But I still feel sorry, I shouldn't have taken you this way." "I don't mind at all. I've never seen anyone... do that. It's sweet." "Sweet?" he wouldn't have picked that word if he had to say it. "You know, you're really elusive." "Have you only just discovered this?" "Don't be sarcastic, I'm flattering you," he said, imitating what she had said. she laughed. "Then, I take it back, I speak first." As they walked out of the woods, the daylight quickly dimmed, and the curtains were drawn in the house for blackout.The chairs under the beeches were empty, and Maud and Diana had left. "Let's sit here for a while," said Paul, "I don't want to come in right away." Flick sat down obediently and did not speak.He sat beside her and looked at her.She just let him look at it like this, without saying a word, but she was thinking about something.He took one of her hands and stroked her fingers.She looked at him with an incomprehensible expression on her face, but she didn't withdraw her hand.He said, "I know I shouldn't, but I really want to kiss you." She didn't answer, but still looked at him with that enigmatic expression, half joyful, half sad.He felt that her silence was tacit consent, so he kissed her. Her lips are soft and moist.Paul closed his eyes, savoring the tenderness.To his surprise, her lips parted, he felt the tip of her tongue, and he opened his mouth. He put his arms around her and pulled her into his arms, but she slipped out of his arms and stood up. "Enough," she said, and turned and walked across the house. He watched her leave in the darkened sky.Her small, graceful body was suddenly the most desirable thing in the world. After she disappeared into the room, he followed her in.In the living room, Diana was sitting alone, smoking a cigarette, as if thinking about something.On the spur of the moment, Paul sat down close to her and asked, "You and Flick have known each other since childhood?" Diana was surprised, but smiled gently and said: "She's lovely, isn't she?" Paul didn't want to give away too much of what was in his heart. "I like her a lot and want to know her better." "She was always hungry for adventure," said Diana. "She loved our long trip to Paris every February, where we would spend a night in Paris and take the blue train all the way to Nice. One winter, my father decided to go Morocco. I think it was the best time of Flick's life. She learned a few words of Arabic and talked to the merchants in the souks. We read the memoirs of some brave Victorian explorers back then, and they Travel the Middle East in men's clothing." "Does she get on well with your father?" "better than me." "How is her husband?" "The men Flick dated were a little foreign. At Oxford, her best friend was a Nepalese boy named Rajendra who caused quite a panic in the senior common room at St. Hilda's College. .I can tell you that, but I don't know if she's doing anything wrong with him myself. There's a boy named Charlie Standish who's madly in love with her, but he's so boring that she suffers No. She's in love with Michelle because he's charming and foreign and very smart. That's what she likes." "Exotic," Paul repeated. Diana smiled: "Don't worry, you can do it. You are an American, although you only have half an ear, but you are smart and quick-witted, at least you have a chance." Paul stood up.The conversation shifted to private topics, which made him uncomfortable. "You put it that way, I'll just accept the compliment," he said with a smile, "good night." As he went upstairs he passed Flick's room, its light peeking from under the door. He put on his pajamas and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep in bed.He was so excited, so happy, how could he fall asleep.He thought of that kiss again and again, and wished that he and Flick had indulged their desires as shamelessly as Ruby and Jim had.why not?He thought, why can't I? The whole house fell silent. Just after midnight, Paul got out of bed.He walked down the corridor to Flick's door, knocked lightly, and entered the house. "Hello," she said softly. "it's me." "I know." She was lying on her back on a single bed with two pillows resting her head.The curtains were drawn back, and the moonlight shone into the small room.He could clearly see the straight line of her nose and chin. He thought the chiseled chin was unattractive, but now it looked like an angel's chin. He knelt down beside her bed. "The answer is—no," she said. He took her hand and kissed her palm. "Please," he said. "No." He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head away. "Can't it just be a kiss?" "If I kissed you, I'd get carried away." He was satisfied to hear this.This means that she feels the same as he does.He kissed her hair, then her forehead and neck, but her face kept avoiding him.He kissed her shoulder through her pajamas, and then wiped his lips back and forth on her chest. "You do too," he said. "Get out," she ordered. "do not do that." Flick turned to face Paul.He leaned over to kiss her, but she put her fingers to her lips as if to stop him from speaking. "Go," she said, "I mean it." He looked at her lovely face in the moonlight.There was a determination in her expression.Although he doesn't know much about her, he understands that her will is not to be taken lightly.He stood up reluctantly. He wanted to try again. "Look, we're just—" "Say no more. Let's go." He turned and left the room.