Three days later, Lin Zihan received a letter of appointment from the Admiralty Department as a lieutenant officer in the Royal Navy, and reported to Portsmouth Military Port within 15 days. Looking at the letter of appointment in his hand, Lin Zihan had a very complicated mood, on the one hand, he could use this position to take a ride on the Qing Dynasty mission and go to a country that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. On the other hand, Lin Zihan had to serve in the British Royal Navy against his will, and he has always been very reluctant to this matter. Not only because of the anti-French war that will last for more than two decades, but also because as a Chinese, he really has no interest in serving this country that will bring countless hardships to China in the future.

However, these have become established facts, and Lin Zihan can only pinch his nose and admit it, after all, there has never been a good thing in this world that has the best of both worlds, and if you get some, you must lose some, this is the mystery of "willingness".

Little Alice looked at the letter of appointment in Lin Zihan's hand and asked with some curiosity, "Brother Wickham, what is this?" Lin Zihan's expression was complicated, and he didn't know how to talk to Alice. At that time, he agreed to Mrs. Schmidt's request to take good care of this little girl, but in a blink of an eye he was going to China, which was bound to not take Alice with him, which made him feel very guilty.

"Alice, if your brother leaves for a while, will you take care of yourself?" Lin Zihan still opened his mouth, he didn't want to hide this matter from Alice, and he couldn't hide it.

Alice's blue eyes were suddenly filled with moisture, and her voice trembled a little: "Brother, don't you want Alice?" Lin Zihan took Alice into his arms with some guilt: "How could my brother not want Alice, it's just that my brother has to go out to work, so that we can support our little princess Alice." As if to increase the credibility of his words, Lin Zihan raised the letter of appointment in Yang's hand: "It's just that this time it's a long time, and it may take a year to two years." When my brother comes back, my brother will take Alice to the countryside to buy a house and tell Alice stories every day, okay?"

Alice's immature little hand grabbed Lin Zihan's clothes tightly and didn't let go: "Brother, Alice is so scared, I'm afraid that my brother is the same as my parents, and I won't come if I leave." Listening to Alice's fairy tales, Lin Zihan felt a little sad, such a young child, but having to endure life and death that adults can't face calmly, no wonder the little girl is so sensitive in her heart.

In fact, Lin Zihan has asked Robert Berner, a "junior brother", to inquire about him in the past two days, and there is a girls' school called St. Margaret's in the small town of Hemerton near London. This school was founded by a duchess in her spare time, and was dedicated to the daughters of nobles and squires, with the aim of cultivating ladies who conformed to the aesthetics of high society. Moreover, this school adopts a boarding system, and the duration of education is generally two years, which is very suitable for Lin Zihan who needs to leave for two years.

Lin Zihan made up his mind and said, "Alice, my brother has already helped you find a school, where there are many girls of your age to play with, and you can learn to sing, play the piano, and paint with them." When she heard that there were many friends in the school, Alice's eyes were a little shaken: "Are there really many girls?" Lin Zihan couldn't help but wonder, a child is a child after all, and his focus shifted relatively quickly: "Really, when did Brother Wickham lie to you?"

The next morning, Lin Zihan personally sent Alice to St. Margaret's Women's College, after all, he was also curious about the women's college of this era. The director of this school is an Anglican nun named Martha, who is wearing a black robe, and her whole person looks very serious. Alice looked at Sister Martha, who had a straight face, and stood timidly behind Lin Zihan and refused to come out. In this regard, Lin Zihan had no choice but to say apologetically to Sister Martha: "Dean Martha, my sister's personality is more introverted, which makes you laugh."

Mother Martha still had no expression on her face: "Mr. Wickham, with all due respect, your sister has not received a good education. You see her standing posture, there is no such posture that a lady should have, and her introverted personality is also very unfavorable for her to enter the social world in the future. But rest assured, sir, that any girl who walks into our St. Margaret's College will be transformed into a versatile little lady in two years. ”

Wickham looked embarrassed, this Sister Martha's way of speaking was really unpleasant. He can be regarded as having seen what it means to be an old-fashioned Englishman, and he really doesn't save face at all: "Dean Martha, for some unspeakable reason, Alice has not received a systematic ladylike education, which is why I sent her here." I'm in the Royal Navy, so I don't have much time in normal times, so Alice will ask you. ”

Mother Martha crouched on the large oak desk in front of her, and said without raising her head, "Don't worry, Mr. Wickham, every young lady who studies here will be taught and cared for with the utmost care." After handing Alice over to the female teacher next to her, Lin Zihan left the dean's office under Alice's reluctant gaze.

After paying the tuition, Lin Zihan's pocket was also deflated by more than half. This school is outrageously expensive, and the tuition fee for a year is as high as four hundred pounds! It's even faster than robbing a bank. Since he spent a lot of money, Lin Zihan was ready to visit this girls' school, which was famous in later generations. However, Lin Zihan can't stay too long again, because there are some unmarried young ladies here, and ordinary men can't get in after their families.

St. Margaret's College for Women was rebuilt from a quaint castle, with towering towers and battlements that reflect the unpretentious, defensive style of the Norman dynasty. What Lin Zihan looked forward to most in his previous life was to carry a backpack and ride a bicycle through those old villages and towns and manors in the United Kingdom, and this kind of tranquility and peace of mind is becoming more and more difficult to find in later generations.

Lin Zihan raised his head and looked at the spire of the church in the academy, which is said to be more than 400 years old, and he didn't notice the girl on the opposite side who was hurrying with her head down. "Bang......" Lin Zihan felt that his chin was hit hard, and suddenly felt that the world was spinning, your uncle, who walks so long?

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. A cowardly voice kept apologizing, and his soft voice and sincere attitude made Lin Zihan's anger drop a lot. It doesn't matter, I'm also responsible, and if I'm not looking at the church bell tower, I won't bump into you. By the way, may I ask...... Hey...... Georgiana! ”

Georgiana Darcy, who had been apologizing in a low voice, raised her head, her brain buzzed for a moment, and the handsome face in front of her with surprise and shock was the person who had been thinking about her day and night for all this time!

Lying between family and love, between truth and deception, she really doesn't know what is real and what she needs. For this reason, when her brother took her away, she was silent, allowing him to take her home and kick Wickham out of Bloombury. It's not that she doesn't have that person in her heart, but she is still too young, and when she encounters such a complex and entangled thing, she completely panics, and just subconsciously wraps herself in a thick shell and becomes an escapist ostrich. All the past and all the flavors of life came to my heart, and I couldn't help but blur Georgiana's eyes.

At this time, Lin Zihan's heart can be described as extremely complicated, it may be that some of the emotions in Wickham's body have not completely dissipated, and this inexplicable affection makes him have a different good impression of Georgiana. And in the book "Pride and Prejudice", although Georgiana does not appear many times, it is not difficult to find that this seemingly weak girl has a kind and strong heart. So when he was a reader, Lin Zihan felt sincere appreciation and admiration for the protagonist Elizabeth, but he felt sincere appreciation and admiration for Miss Darcy, who was not a supporting role. But on the other hand, Gao Yuanyuan's figure in his previous life had already occupied his love life, so after meeting Georgiana in this parallel world, that throbbing made him instinctively want to reject it.

Lush oak trees rustle in the summer breeze, dappled sunlight flows quietly through the gaps in the leaves, and the bell tower of the church rings in the distance. Neither of them spoke, just staring at each other silently, as if there were only two of them in the world. Georgiana lowered her head slightly, her hands unnaturally swayed the lilac skirt, and after a while, she said, "George, you...... Are you alright?" The thousand words I wanted to say in my heart turned into a sentence of "are you okay?" in the end.

Lin Zihan finally suppressed the unforgettable heart that belonged to Wickham, and his reason returned to his feverish brain: "I'm fine, Miss Darcy." ”

Georgiana felt sour and just wanted to find a place where no one was around. Miss Darcy? What a polite and distant salutation, wouldn't he even call himself Georgiana now, "Mr. Wickham, I'm fine too." My brother has quit his tutor since the last incident, and as you can see, I'm doing well in this school now. Georgiana also bluntly changed to a polite address, which was the first time in so many years that she politely addressed each other as "sir".

Lin Zihan instinctively ignored the subtlety, he now had something he wanted to ask Miss Darcy. To be honest, Lin Zihan is not sure what kind of grievances Alice will suffer in the two years since he left, and Georgiana is now in this school, so things will be easy to do. Lin Zihan softened his tone and said, "Miss Darcy, my sister Alice Smith is also studying here, and I hope you can help me take care of her in the next two years." ”

Georgiana's eyelids jumped: "Sister? ”

Lin Zihan had no choice but to explain: "Yes, Alice is my adopted sister, and her parents have died, do you understand?"

After all, Georgiana was a kind girl, and after knowing that Alice was an orphan, she said with some sympathy: "Mr. Wickham, I promise to help you with this." Can you tell me why you didn't take care of her personally, though? ”

"The warship I serve on will escort Lord Magalny's mission to China, which may take a year or more, so there is no way to take care of Alice personally." Lin Zihan hesitated, but decided to tell Georgiana about joining the army.

"You joined the Royal Navy?" Georgiana said in surprise. Although she didn't know much about the outside world, she also knew how dangerous the route to the East was, especially the scurvy that made people talk about it, which made Georgiana a little worried.

Lin Zihan didn't expect the beautiful girl in front of her to react so much, so she added: "Yes, not long ago, I will go to Portsmouth Port tomorrow." The military order has arrived, even if Lin Zihan repents, it is useless.

Georgiana grabbed the lace of her dress with both hands, and said eagerly: "George, I will beg my brother to let you go back to Bloomberly, you don't go to the East, okay?"

Before, Lin Zihan felt that in this world, except for Alice who really cared about herself, basically no one really cared about herself! Although it was almost impossible to return to Bloomberly, the concern in Georgiana's tone still moved him: "Actually, it's nothing, Georgiana." This time the voyage was the Royal Navy's newest battleship, the Lion, and the sailors and captains were very experienced and there was no danger. "The whole route is full of British colonies, so Lin Zihan won't worry too much about this.

"Well, but you have to be careful." Georgiana heard that Wickham had reverted to her old nickname, and her heart was sweet, and the gloom of these days seemed to be swept away.

At that moment, a girl in a pale yellow tunic beckoned from a distance and shouted, "Miss Darcy, what are you doing there?" Miss Albert's piano lesson is fifteen minutes away, so you shouldn't hurry. Georgiana was startled when she heard this, and then reluctantly said to Lin Zihan: "George, I will definitely help you take care of Alice." In two years' time, you will come back to me safely!" After speaking, as if to increase the persuasiveness, he raised his little fist like bread, and then ran towards the girl.

The beauty is gone, leaving the fragrance behind. After Georgiana's figure disappeared around the corner, Lin Zihan turned around helplessly, and he didn't know if this reluctance came from Wickham's original body or from himself. He was already in a mess, and he was not in the mood to visit the school, so he left here early.