Chapter 3 Escape (3)
It's a pity that the time and place are not right, otherwise she would have produced twenty manuscripts in anger.
Irene licked her back teeth and felt the rare urge to create surging in her chest. She hadn't felt this feeling for a long time since she started her doctoral studies.
Unfortunately, now is not the time.
She took a deep breath, pinched the brooch, and scratched the padlock a few times. The heavy padlock slipped off the boy's ankle, which was covered with scratches and blood, revealing a bit of gray cloth.
Only then did she realize that the trousers he was wearing were not black, but were soaked with blood, which made them appear particularly dark in color.
The boy had a thin figure, and his arms were so skinny that she could break them with one hand. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. He had no reaction to her invitation, but only kept his eyes on her.
Even though she had helped him remove the shackles on his feet.
The same gaze from the day fell heavily on her again, sizing her up.
It was like he was observing something new that he had never seen before.
At the same time, she was also looking at him - cold, quiet, and silent, not like a living person. His face was extremely pale, with a kind of dead air caused by not seeing the sunlight for a long time.
She simply squatted down, her cotton and linen skirt dragging on the dusty and lint-covered ground. She opened the package of medicine and, in the dim moonlight, took out a bottle of liquor.
Irene excitedly raised the bottle in her hand and was about to look up and say something.
When he raised his eyes, the black muzzle of a gun was reflected in his pupils.
The woman's face turned pale instantly.
The mahogany gun handle had faded, as if it had been held in the hand for a long time. The bronze barrel was against her forehead, and Irene could clearly see the six metal bullets filled in the flip-up cylinder.
He had six chances to shoot her.
In extreme fear, her mind went blank and her nerves were like rusted and stuck together wires, making it difficult for her to move.
But the touch from the skin is extremely clear.
The place where the muzzle of the gun touched her skin was scorching hot, as if the bullet would explode in her brain at any second, and metal fragments would embed into the milky white skull.
Irene's teeth were chattering, her curly hair was wet with cold sweat and stuck to her temples. It felt like there was a hard ball stuck in her throat. She opened her lips, but no sound came out.
Growing up in a peaceful era, she had only seen guns on television and in news reports.
But this isn’t a TV show, and she isn’t an actor—when the curtain falls she can still turn over and laugh at the blood plasma on her friend’s face.
This is reality, this is her body, one shot and she will be completely silent in this era.
I can almost smell the strong smell of gunpowder brought by the wind.
She rolled her eyes with great effort, looking at the young man holding the gun in one hand. His finger was loosely on the trigger, and the expression on his face was as cold as ever, as if pointing a gun to someone's head was a very common thing.
Maybe this is indeed a common thing for him.
Irene realized with near despair the consequences of her recklessness.
Why did she think Leo would agree to her plan? How could she take it for granted that Leo would trust her - the daughter of a farmer who abused him.
Even if he only had six bullets, he could have shot the whole family to death. His disheveled appearance during the day might have been a disguise. Perhaps even being sent to the southern United States by his brother was part of his plan.
Otherwise, how do we explain that a prisoner had a gun?
Her eye sockets were dry and sore from having been open for too long. Irene's whole body was stiff and she didn't even have the strength to blink.
She watched as Leo's bent legs straightened and he thrust them in front of her. The gun that was originally against her forehead moved to a new position and pointed at her from a distance.
The black muzzle of the gun was still pointed at her, but at least it looked much better than if it was pressed against her. Her sluggish nerves started working again, and she belatedly realized -
If he really wanted her to die, she would have been a corpse by now.
He was just threatening her with the gun.
As soon as this thought came to mind, her adrenaline quickly dropped, and Irene's legs went limp. She knelt on the ground, holding onto the cage, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Things have come to this point. If she can't convince Leo to get on board her pirate ship, regardless of her wasted efforts, the fact that Leo has the leverage over her is enough to keep Irene awake all night.
After all, who knows whether Leo would tell someone in the manor that he had seen him before he died.
And Leo has a gun.
Irene took a deep breath. She had to try to win over Leo again.
But how to gain his trust?
The pungent smell of blood suddenly rushed to her nose.
After seeing the girl sitting on the ground in a mess, Leo felt inexplicably much better, especially after seeing the pure white nightgown stained with blood and dust.
It was as if she had become the same kind as himself - people with blood on their hands, struggling desperately to stay alive, but could only live in a narrow and dark hell - people abandoned by the gods.
The woman was shaking with fear, her inner thoughts all revealed in her expression.
There was a clear trace of regret mixed with the intense fear and dread.
What are you upset about?
Leo wondered absentmindedly, was Regret trying to save him?
Is it too late to regret now?
The fading tinnitus and the woman's voice echoed in his ears.
Irene held the bottle tightly, trying to make her tone sound gentler, and said:
"Can I help you with your wound?"
Leo was stunned. He gripped the handle of the gun, and the surprise on his face was clearly visible.
Irene's heart moved slightly. Why not snatch his gun now?
no!
The thought of snatching the gun flashed through her mind, and Irene closed her eyes tightly, reminding herself - if the gun was not his only backup, she would be doomed tonight.
The biggest lesson she learned from today's incident was not to act rashly.
Not long after, Leo tapped her hand with the barrel of his gun.
The iron barrel felt cold to the touch, and Irene shuddered. She understood what he meant and dragged all the medicines over.
Once she's done treating her wounds, will Leo just kill her?
No, it wouldn't. Guns in the late 19th century didn't have silencers. If he shot her now, everyone in the manor would hear the gunshot, and he would naturally be exposed.
They are now in the same boat.
A sudden thought came to my mind.
Nowadays, a gun without a silencer is her get-out-of-jail-free card.
The validity period lasts until dawn.
She had to get back to her room before tomorrow morning, otherwise the fate that awaited her would be no better than being shot to death right now.
And convinces Leo to run away with her.
Irene swallowed, calmed herself down, and said succinctly, "I plan to run away from my marriage. I want to escape to the north. I have money. If we escape together, I can also be your cover."
She also kept a little secret and did not tell Leo that her destination was Rochester.
Taking advantage of the fact that Leo didn't know the situation of her family, Irene boldly lied:
"My spouse's family is a well-off family in our area. That boy likes me very much. If they knew that I ran away from the marriage, his family and my family would definitely try their best to find me. They can help divert my father's attention from you."
She asked tentatively, "My name is Irene, what's yours?"
As the girl spoke, her hands moved swiftly, carefully cleaning the cloth that was stuck to the wound - except for the places that could not be removed.
He even had the guts to aim at his gun. The man who was trembling with fear just now now dared to ask him questions and even coveted his gun.
Leo looked at her, his expression unreadable.
This was the first time he had seen a woman like this.
Smart but timid, reckless and soft-hearted.
She came into contact with strangers without any precautions, but the person who was pointed at by him with a gun would subconsciously be gentle when treating the wound.
Is this a spy hired by Will? I heard that women are very good at playing the pig and eating the tiger.
Use some insignificant warmth to gain his trust, and then get what his mother left him - Will has coveted the gypsy's alchemy formula for many years.
It is said that Will had witnessed with his own eyes that his mother even had the ability to turn stone into gold.
The boy remained silent. Irene's hand holding the scissors became colder and colder, and her stomach was aching slightly as it was twisted together with fear and regret.
The sound of the iron muzzle hitting the ground rang in her ears. Irene was attracted by the sound and lowered her head reflexively.
There were a few crooked dark red letters on the ground, and there was blood on Leo's index finger that was holding the trigger of the gun.
"LEONORDO," she spelled out.
It was Leo's name, and he wrote it with his finger dipped in his own blood.
Is he a mute?
Irene was stunned and raised her head suddenly. She accidentally used too much force with her hands and tore off a piece of cloth covered with blood and flesh from the scissors.
Blood gushed out of the wound, and you could tell it hurt without even thinking about it.
But Leo didn't even move his eyebrows, and looked at her coldly, as if he felt no pain.
Irene felt a slight chill on her back. If this child wasn't born insensitive to pain, what on earth could this child have gone through to be able to endure the pain so well?
And he was still conscious even after losing so much blood.
She closed her eyes tightly, and inexplicably felt a sense of urgency as if she was trying to get the skin of a tiger.
Now she has a golden ticket to avoid death, but what about the future? How can she bargain with Leo?
How can we take the initiative into our own hands?
The little information she knew now was not enough for her to strangle Leo's life.
In other words, Leo can kill her at any time after escaping from here.
But on the bright side, at least she temporarily had an ally who could use a gun, which might come in handy when escaping the manor.
Irene smiled bitterly. This was the only way she could comfort herself now.
"I'm going to use strong liquor to disinfect you. It's a bit painful, just bear with it."
She had wanted to ask Leo if he needed to bite a handkerchief to prevent him from biting his tongue in too much pain, but she thought of the revolver against her forehead.
——I feel like it’s not a bad thing to let him suffer a little
Irene pulled out the cork and squeezed the bandage, looking even worse than the patient Leo.
The boy remained silent, and she guessed that this must mean he agreed.
So, strong liquor poured out, washing away the sticky blood. Irene quickly used a clean bandage to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. The skin around the wound quickly swelled and turned red, and dirty blood gushed out. She quickly began to sew the large crack with silver thread.
The girl's hands moved the thread through her flesh quickly and steadily, far beyond Leo's expectations.
It is even better than some less professional doctors.
The nerve endings at the wound were burned by alcohol, and it felt like being burned by fire, followed by a brief numbness. The area soaked in alcohol began to turn white and blister.
"Okay." After an unknown amount of time, Irene finally treated the four deep wounds on Leo's legs. She breathed a long sigh of relief, tied the last bow-shaped bandage, and subconsciously wanted to bend over and blow on the wound.
She used to work as a volunteer, stitching wounds every day, and the children kept pestering her to breathe in to make the pain go away.
As a result, she subconsciously wanted to blow on the wound after stitching it.
But Leo is not a kid from an orphanage, he is a thug who will point a gun at her head.
Irene froze suddenly, and the look she gave her back was confused and cold.
What does this woman want to do?
Leo frowned, looking at the woman's messy long curly hair, and felt a slight pulling sensation on the wound.
He watched Irene open her mouth, bite the last piece of bandage, turn her head slightly, and tear it off with force.
She could obviously break it with her hands, why did she use her mouth!
He could even feel her hot, wet breath on his skin.
Leo suddenly propped himself up, took a step back, and looked at Irene as if she were a pervert.
It felt as if he had the words "absolutely ridiculous" carved on his face.
*
Oh, don’t British people use their mouths to bite off tape?
Irene was rarely embarrassed. She rubbed the back of her nose and a blush appeared on her cheeks.
What's the best way to avoid embarrassment?
——Think of something else.
She is now extremely grateful that she was passionate about outdoor activities in her previous life and learned a lot of good things.
Including this vertical mattress suture method suitable for deep wounds.
Isn't this going to come in handy? Erin thought to herself somewhat complacently, now Leo should think she is a useful teammate.
*
Leo calmed down quickly.
The hook-and-loop suture method was not common, and it was not something a girl from the southern United States who had never left home would know.
Unless she was a spy sent by Will, someone had taught her how to treat wounds.
However, as a spy, what she did was a little too stupid.
He had seen the spies around Will - for example, Mr. Xie from the textile factory. If he had not seen with his own eyes that Mr. Xie followed Will's orders and shot his father's cronies, he would never have discovered that Mr. Xie, who was his father's confidant, was actually Will's subordinate behind the scenes.
You can imagine how well Boss Xie hid it.
So what kind of character is this Irene?
Leo was full of doubts.
She doesn't look like a traditional delicate lady, nor does she look like a smart spy.
We still need to observe further.
The young man frowned and finally put down the hand holding the gun.
*
Irene finally felt relieved.
Although there was still no expression on Leo's face, he was clearly able to communicate now.
Irene took out the sausages and potatoes she had secretly hidden during dinner from the side pocket of her petticoat and tentatively handed them to Leo.
Leo didn't answer.
Irene paused, no longer caring about hygiene. She took a bite of the potato and sausage respectively, and after swallowing, she even opened her mouth so that Leo could see clearly that there was nothing hidden in her mouth.
Two rows of neat teeth, white and strong, without any signs of cavities or breakage, her teeth are in good condition - which shows that her family is rich and takes good care of her.
So why did she want to run?
Girls of this age who run away from marriage usually elope with their lovers. Where is her lover? Could he be from another place?
Leo suppressed his doubts for the moment. He took the food and stuffed it into his mouth in big mouthfuls. His movements were quick and urgent, and he looked extremely hungry.
Damn it, is she the eunuch who tests poison in the palace?
Irene sat down opposite Leo, and only then did she truly feel that her life was saved.
They can be considered short-term allies now.
Irene almost cried with joy.
Thank goodness, she now has an ally who can wield a gun!
Although he looks a little young, he still looks miserable.
"Wait for you to recover for a few days, then we have to leave," Irene glanced at the whitening sky and said hurriedly, "I will prepare the money, food, and carriage, and we will leave the night before the wedding."
Out of selfishness, Irene did not tell her about the map. All the information except the basic escape supplies could be used as tools for her to negotiate with the boy in the future.
There was the same knocking sound as before, and a line of letters appeared on the ground - identity proof.
Irene was stunned. She almost forgot that Leo was a foreigner and needed proof of identity to go out.
She would go back tonight and give him the whole notebook and pen. She couldn't write with blood on his face whenever something happened.
What if he finds it difficult to obtain his own blood in the future and wants to use hers? He has to write with paper and pen.
Wait, Irene's breathing stagnated, looking at the wound on the boy's naked long leg that had been sutured, John's words came back to her mind, her voice became slightly shrill due to nervousness, she even forgot to call him dad,
"If John and his men come to kill you in the daytime--"
What if you find out that your wound has been treated?
Irene hastily bit back the second half of the sentence that was about to come out of her mouth, which would make her seem like a rubbish person who only cares about herself.
The nanny knew that she had taken the medicine, and if she didn't run away today, she might be exposed.
But Leo definitely can't escape in this state.
The boy ignored her and pulled out a pair of smelly pants stained with blood from under a pile of straw in the corner of the cage. He bent down and tried to put them on his legs, then leaned against the cage. He looked exactly the same as before, half dead.
"That won't work," Irene said anxiously, "Pretending to be dead doesn't mean you're really dead, and what if they bury you?"
Leo frowned. Was she scared silly?
A new line of letters appeared on the ground - Tomorrow is Good Friday
Irene blinked blankly and asked subconsciously, "Good Friday?"
It took her a moment to realize that the boy was talking about the Christian holiday.
Wait, she looks like this...
Irene raised her eyes hurriedly and met Leo's suspicious eyes - as if he was looking at a fugitive criminal.
This is indeed the case. After all, almost everyone in Britain and the United States was a religious person in the late 19th century.
And she is an outlier in the 21st century.
Leo looked at the person in front of him. The indifference and disdain for religion in her eyes brought out the warm experiences hidden in his memory.
Although he had not remembered her for many years, the gypsy woman who gave birth to him, raised him, and was shot dead by his biological father.
Since he was locked in a cage like a dog, he chose to forget.
Otherwise, how can people who have embraced warmth endure the cold equipment around their waists, and how can they endure the terrible loneliness and despair?
There were dull pains in my chest, as if my heart was being gnawed by a rat.
Leo slowly closed his eyes, his expression weary, as if he didn't care who she was.
Irene breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was Leo who noticed that something was wrong with her, not her family, otherwise who knows what they would think.
Thanks to Leo, she wouldn't be exposed in front of her family tomorrow.
She didn't want to be burned at the stake as a heretic.
Still, proceed with caution.
"I'll take some time today to steal the ID, you should recover from your injuries."
"Don't be afraid, I'll come pick you up."
Irene said this in a hurry, without noticing the dazed look on Leo's face after hearing this.
He blinked very slowly, his head was dizzy and his thoughts were confused. The skillful gesture of Irene when she said the last sentence continued to echo in his mind, almost leading him into a sinful trap.
——She told him not to be afraid, she told him to wait for her
Leo leaned his head between the two logs of the cage and touched his ears in disbelief.
The disheveled and frail boy looked dazed, like a drowned stray dog who was suddenly wrapped in a warm coat by a stranger.
The first thing that came to my heart was not warmth, but fear.
Did she mean that—she wanted to protect him?
The corners of Leo's lips twitched weakly a few times. He tried to look sarcastic, but his face looked more confused.
He stood up anxiously and wandered around the empty attic like a ghost.
As if by doing this, the wound that was almost kissed by the woman would no longer burn.
Irene tiptoed back to her room and stuffed her nightgown, which was covered in dust and blood, under the bed. She fell into a deep sleep as soon as she touched the pillow.
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