Chapter 16: Jade Rabbit Arrives at the Hot Spring Bath
Alice accepted the olive branch, took a nap, and then decided to visit the old Countess of Camden next door after lunch and see a certain gentleman by the way.
"Welcome, Miss Alice." The old countess received her warmly.
This villa did not have butlers and servants wearing Bath-style uniforms like the one next door.
Following Alice's gaze, the villa owner saw the confusion and explained, "We come here every year for recuperation, so we just bought it. 3,000 pounds isn't expensive for a top-quality villa in a resort like this."
She ordered the maid to serve tea and snacks: "The housekeeper and servants are all hired by the family. On weekdays, we only keep one housekeeper and several gardeners and maids to take care of things. It is enough to bring the servants you usually use with you on vacation." After saying this, she asked another maid to call her son downstairs to entertain the guests.
"It's indeed not expensive." Alice nodded as she looked at the interior furnishings that cleverly blended neoclassical and Italian styles.
"Miss Alice, if you're interested in buying, I can introduce you to the Bass Group, the developer of this property. The property next door is actually quite nice. You have good taste." The old countess placed two sugar cubes in her tea, gently stirred it with a silver spoon, and looked at the young lady sipping her tea in front of her, her eyes full of inquiry and consideration. There seemed to be something deeper in her words.
"Maybe I'll consider it next year, but I'm not sure I'll like it here yet." Alice frankly said that she currently does not have enough cash to buy a vacation property casually, especially since she doesn't like it enough.
The old lady looked up for a few moments without saying anything. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her son coming downstairs and called him over to show Alice around their villa.
After saying that, he turned to look at Alice and said, "I dare say that the view from the second floor is the best in Bath. Even if you don't buy it for now, you should take a look at the villa's decoration. Miss Alice will buy a house in the future, so it won't hurt to learn more about it. Maybe you will like this style."
Then he glared at his son and warned him not to talk nonsense.
The gentleman, who had been silent since they met, finally spoke: "Miss Alice, please."
The downstairs is mainly composed of functional rooms such as the living room, party room, dining room, and kitchen. A small door from the party room leads to a small garden. It is winter now, and most plants have lost their leaves, with only a few still green.
Upstairs is the master bedroom and leisure area. Except for two rooms with closed doors, the rest are open, probably used frequently.
Alice's sharp eyes saw that in the bedroom at the far left, there was a white dressing gown and a black priest's robe thrown on the bed.
Looking at the man in front of him, he was wearing a casual dark brown short-collared tuxedo. His collar was not as meticulously groomed as the previous times we met. It seemed that he had changed in a hurry and went downstairs.
She stretched her neck to try to see more, but her vision was limited, so she simply raised her legs and walked straight over there.
The man noticed her intention and quickly stepped forward to close the door.
mean!
"Miss, you seem to be too curious about me." The man said indifferently.
Alice made no objection, but went on to say, "My curiosity is not casual."
The man paused for a moment before speaking the next sentence.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Alice turned around and pushed open another half-closed door. The room was empty except for a few easels and some finished paintings.
"Miss Alice!" The man was a little impatient, with a hint of condemnation in his tone.
"Mr. Moran didn't close the door, so you can come in and see it." Alice said, looking at the painting slowly.
Most of these paintings depict Bath as seen from this room. There's the green crescent lawn outside the window, leisurely strollers, and realistic buildings...all depicting Bath during the day.
Only one painting, its paint still wet, depicted Bath at night. The view was no longer from the building itself, but rather the entire Royal Crescent, visible from Crescent Lawn. The imposing structure was blurred by the light drizzle, while the partially exposed Crescent Lawn was deserted. Streetlights illuminated only a tiny corner, while the moon overhead was unusually bright.
Alice studied it for a moment. "Is Mr. Moran painting a night scene?"
"It's obvious." The painter concluded without hesitation, with a puzzled look in his eyes, as if he didn't understand why the lady in front of him could ask such a strange question.
She didn't insist and turned to ask about other paintings: "These other paintings look different in age."
"They were all painted by Ed in recent years when he accompanied me on vacation and recuperation. He painted about one a year," the old countess, who had been standing at the door, suddenly said, glancing at the night scene of Bath. "I haven't seen this one either. It must have been painted recently."
The two chatted about vacations and recuperation. Learning that this was Alice and her relatives' first time in Bath, she enthusiastically recommended: "You absolutely must go to the hot springs here. It's the most worthwhile experience in Bath."
"Those new-school therapies of drinking hot spring water are nonsense," the old countess scoffed at the new-school treatments with disdain. She added, "Based on my experience, the Cross Baths have the best pools and good service. Let Ed take you there. I need to take a nap first, so I won't be with you young people."
Alice thanked the old lady for her kindness, said goodbye, and took Mr. Moran back to the villa next door to ask Jane and Mr. Bingley for their opinions. Adrian Moran had learned to follow her mother's lead without needing another glance or pressure.
Of the five remaining in the villa, Mr. Hurst remained uninterested in the activity, having played whist late the previous night and fallen asleep after lunch. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley agreed with a reserved air. The betrothed couple readily agreed. Including Alice herself and Adrian Moran, there were six people in total.
It was the peak holiday season in Bath, but in recent years people have become keen on drinking hot spring water in the drinking hall and socializing. The baths in Cross Bath are quite spacious, and the six of them can even each get an independent bath, but they are not connected.
Alice walked into her room. There was a dressing room in the room, but the bath was outside. It was an open-air bath built at the foot of the mountain. Each independent bathing room had a wall about 10 feet high, so there was basically no need to worry about privacy.
The bathtub is large enough for 10 people to sit in a circle around the edge. It looks warm and most people would feel very comfortable soaking in it.
But she didn't like it.
She doesn't like soaking in water except for necessary cleaning.
In heaven, the gods call her Jade Rabbit, and her original form is a pure white rabbit. But she's not a real mortal rabbit. Rather, she's the product of a piece of mutton-fat jade that nurtured for years on a fairy mountain during the dawn of time. The Jade Pestle is her companion artifact, a shared source, accompanying her from birth.
In fact, she and Bi Ma Wen are of the same kind. Both were born and raised naturally, without a father or a mother, and came out of a stone.
Although the rabbit is made of jade, it also has some rabbit habits, just like the stubborn stone monkey head which has the nature of a monkey.
She just doesn't like water getting her hair wet. It's better not to soak in this hot spring.
After a moment's thought, Alice instantly transformed into her original form. If Elizabeth had been there, she would have noticed that this rabbit was exactly the same as the one that had scratched Mr. Collins at Longbourn, but it was much larger than the palm-sized baby rabbit before.
With a single leap, she climbed over the dividing wall and rushed into the next small courtyard where a bathing pool was located.
Along the way, she saw many people, some were enjoying the bath in bathrobes, some were chatting and laughing in the mixed bath, and some were swimming slowly with beer bellies... The latter were so ugly that it really shocked her eyes.
Alice ran and jumped faster, and finally, she found the person she was looking for about ten baths away.
Through the mist, the man's thin but muscular chest was faintly visible, and his deep blue eyes were moistened by the smoke. Compared to his usual appearance of being either cold, hard, arrogant, or taciturn, he had a more dazed and innocent look.
There is a small patch of low grass planted on the side of this small courtyard against the mountain wall. Perhaps because it grows next to the hot spring, it remains lush even in winter and shows no signs of withering.
The snow-white furry rabbit did not hide in the grass to cover its figure, but jumped into the yard in a swagger.
There was not only water in the pool, but also some water stains around the edge, which Alice found very disgusting.
He looked left and right, spotted his target, and quickly ripped the man's bathrobe from the rack next to him. He spread it on the edge of the pool where fruit snacks were placed, and put it under his claws to isolate them from the wet ground.
She rubbed the edge of her bathrobe vigorously to dry her wet paws before stepping on it proudly and nestling comfortably on it.
Raising his head, his ruby-like eyes met a pair of azure eyes. Adrian Moran, who witnessed all this, did not have any anger on his face. Instead, there was only surprise and a faint smile in his eyes.
Alice didn't care about him, and he couldn't beat her.
She continued to eat his fruit snacks openly and admired the man's beauty openly.
Her face, which usually looked a little pale, became rosy and her cheeks were pink under the hot steam from the hot spring.
I don’t know if the hair by her ears got wet when she took the bath. The slightly curled blonde hair stuck to her ears, making her look more fragile and breakable.
The warm steam made her drowsy. Suddenly, she heard the sound of water splashing. She half-opened her eyes and saw the man standing up and walking out of the bathtub.
The author has something to say:
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The rabbit takes good care of itself, but today's rabbit is a rogue rabbit...
Note: 10 feet is approximately equal to 3 meters
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