Chapter 10 Entering the City (2)...
She unconsciously turned her body to the side, and her furry head was pressed into a groove with a perfect arc. It was soft and warm, and there was a faint hot smell, which was very reassuring.
Irene buried half of her face in Leo's neck, her even breathing hitting the boy's thin skin, causing a tremor in white and red.
Leo forced himself to turn his head away, staring at the carport calmly, trying to make out what was painted on the modified carport, but all he could see in his mind were a bunch of meaningless lines.
Warm and soft, with beautiful lines that exude bewitching charm even between the fingertips, and it feels light and soft when held in the arms.
Leo didn't notice at all. Even when he was looking at the car, his attention was all on the person in his arms - the woman who was sleeping defenselessly in his arms.
How stupid, Leo said with a gloomy face. Since he became conscious, he would never fall asleep in front of a stranger. Who knows if there is a human or a ghost under the skin.
He should throw Irene to the ground right now to teach her a lesson: not to sleep in front of strangers or she might get sold out.
But he couldn't do that now. He hugged Irene unconsciously. He had to wait until she fell into a deeper sleep before doing that. The pain she experienced when she was asleep would be deep enough.
This is not the time yet, Leo thought contemptuously, he wanted to teach her a real lesson.
The car jolted twice suddenly, and Leo held Irene tightly in his arms. The woman's soft face was pressed against his neck, as if she was completely and only dependent on him. Her long and thick eyelashes scratched her skin, causing a bone-chilling tingling sensation.
The air was so quiet for a moment that it seemed as if only the sound of Irene's even breathing was left.
It would be nice if she could just sleep forever, this thought suddenly popped into Leo's mind. She was much more obedient when she was asleep than when she was awake.
"We just passed a big bump, I didn't see it, hey, how can this shed still be put--"
Hannah took a break from her busy schedule and lifted the curtain to chat with them, but the first thing she saw was Leo's ear tip, which was so red that it was about to bleed.
Leo looked at her in surprise. Without thinking, he raised his hand to cover Irene's ears, and then used his other hand to tightly wrap around Irene's waist. When the car moved, Irene swayed twice and almost slipped off.
Irene mumbled a few words in a daze, without even opening her eyes, she tilted her head and changed her sleeping position to continue, even snoring, looking extremely tired and trusting of Leo.
The young lady fell asleep. Hannah quickly closed her mouth and lowered the curtains. The wind outside was too strong and it would be bad to catch a cold.
Hannah sat on the edge of the car and sighed deeply.
She was originally somewhat worried that this man was unreliable, but seeing how he insisted on hugging the young lady to sleep despite the discomfort of his sitting posture, she could tell that he cared about the young lady more than herself.
But when he saw that he had no money, he wondered how he could live without money. Little Hannah was very worried.
I hope the lady just treats him as a lover.
The young man in the car slowly exhaled and closed his eyes tightly.
Irene was sleeping restlessly, so Leo had no choice but to hold her waist tightly - he was afraid that if the car shook, Irene would fall down again.
He maintained this stiff posture the entire way, with his back straight, his waist bent backward, his head tilted, and his whole body like Irene's fully-wrapped human cushion - except that he was too thin.
Wait until next time, next time he will definitely throw her out. Leo frowned and grabbed Irene's body that was sliding down and lifted it up.
When Irene woke up in a daze, they had already arrived outside the city and she was the only one left in the carriage.
Their car stopped at the side of a smooth dirt road. Irene opened the car curtain and the first thing that came into view was the dusty reddish-brown dirt road.
She couldn't help but hold her breath and cover her mouth and nose.
To be honest, she really missed modern asphalt roads.
The surroundings are no longer filled with tall trees and low mounds, but an endless plain. There are several houses of different heights on the roadside. The houses are denser in the distance, which should be the city center.
Irene stretched and felt much better after a good night's sleep.
However, she was lucky that she didn't get a stiff neck even though she slept against the wall of the car.
Seeing that Irene had no intention of getting back in the carriage, Leo began to pack up the carriage, put up the tent again, folded the wool felt, and put it neatly back on the carriage.
I'll have to buy a thicker blanket when I get to the city, he thought to himself.
Seeing the young man busy packing his things, Irene swallowed the words that she was about to say to go her separate ways.
We haven’t had our farewell dinner yet. It won’t be too late to talk about it after we have it.
At this moment, Hannah's suppressed and hurried voice came from behind.
"Miss—they're looking for us—"
Hannah was gasping for breath, looking terrified.
"Who?" Irene raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Us," Hannah pointed to herself and Irene.
Irene: ?
The wanted warrant was launched so soon, and they haven’t even entered the city yet.
As expected, she was the unlucky one chosen by God. Irene closed her eyes with despair.
However, it's not a complete dead end. Irene glanced at Leo.
Mostly due to malnutrition, Leo was thin and only slightly taller than her, at most five centimeters. As long as he washed his face, put on a hat and put on her long skirt, he could pretend to be a little girl.
In this way, their team of three became two noble ladies and a black maid, whom no one could associate with the wanted poster.
At the same time, it also avoided another potential possibility - Tina was actually wanted for three people, but the news only released two of them to confuse their sight.
However, if they did this, the three of them would have to travel together. Thinking of the gun that Leo had hidden somewhere and his unpredictable personality, Irene frowned.
To be honest, who would be willing to live with a violent person for a long time?
Otherwise, she could think of other ways, such as paying to ride on someone else's farm truck. She had just seen several such horse-drawn carts loaded with vegetables heading towards the city.
But her and Hannah's identities were too obvious. A white lady and a black maid wanted to spend money to hide in the dishes. They would definitely be discovered.
Erin shot down the idea immediately.
Another option would be for her and Hannah to go separately and then reunite on the boat.
It doesn't seem to work.
Irene frowned and thought for a moment before coming to the conclusion that Hannah did not have an officially issued freedom certificate, and Mobile had some restrictions on the activities of black people. If Hannah traveled alone, there was a high probability that she would be arrested.
Being defined as a fugitive slave these days would not lead to a good ending.
Irene weighed the pros and cons, gritted her teeth, and finally decided to persuade Leo to go on the journey with them.
At worst they could separate again after leaving the South.
The only problem now is how to convince Leo to go on the journey with them.
And, she had to convince Leo to wear a skirt into town now.
This was harder than climbing to the sky. Irene took a deep breath and felt that the future was dark.
However, Irene thought to herself with a smile - she swore that the gun would be pointed at her again in a moment.
If you are held at gunpoint by the same person three times in a row and survive, it is considered a good fortune.
"Is there a river over there?" Irene suddenly said, "Let's go take a shower. Leo and I are so disheveled that we will definitely be noticed if we go into the city."
By the way, Irene silently added in her heart that she should persuade Leo to wear a skirt on the way.
Hannah was fine, her clothes were neatly arranged, unlike Irene and Leo. One of them had tattered clothes, her skirt and top torn in two and wrapped around her waist, and the other was covered in blood and dust, her pants were so dirty that you couldn't tell their original color, and they didn't look like decent people.
Maybe you will be caught and tortured by the police when you enter the city.
So, Hannah was left there to watch things, while Irene and Leo went to the river to quickly clean up, and then the three of them went into the city together.
But when they were almost at the river, Irene still didn't dare to ask Leo to change into women's clothes.
This was too difficult to say. Irene glanced at Leo's back quietly, feeling very troubled.
*
Leo, who was walking in front of her, was almost at a loss for words. The burning gazes that fell on his back from time to time felt like frying his body in oil and fire.
Why was she always looking at him? Her gaze on him was always bold and uninhibited, with a clear hint of temptation, and was simply arrogant to the extreme.
No one had ever looked at him like that before.
Will and the servants always looked at him with avoidance and disgust, as if breathing the air with him would be poisonous.
His mother would always look at him with resentful eyes, and she attributed her tragic experience to giving birth to him.
She drugged the Duke, trying to find a new support for herself, but she didn't expect that the Duke was not as gentle and kind as the rumors said. After she gave birth to the child, he didn't give her a penny.
So she vented her hatred for the Duke on her son, the only one she could control, and beating, scolding and insulting him became commonplace.
Leo gradually got used to this kind of life, being insulted, rejected, despised and cursed. His senses seemed to be covered with a layer of cloth. He listened numbly to the vicious curses without any ripples in his chest, even if the person was his so-called mother or father.
And his body had learned to recover quickly after being injured time and time again - now even severe pain wouldn't hurt him.
On the eve of his 18th birthday, Leo stole Will's hidden revolver and blew his father's head off - he fired six shots in a row, aiming at one place, and the fat head was hit like a bursting watermelon.
He wanted to kill more people - Will, the servants who assisted him...
But there were only five bullets left in the gun, and two fists were no match for four hands. He understood this principle after being beaten many times.
Even a lone wolf is no match for a pack of hyenas.
So Leo disguised his father's death scene as a robbery, and Will successfully inherited the title as the only heir.
The day after the funeral, Will stuffed Leo into a cage and sent him onto a slave ship - he was a devout Catholic and strictly followed the precept of not killing, but if Leo died on the ship or in America, it would have nothing to do with him.
Leo deposited the property stolen from his father in the bank and went to America alone.
The boy's face was pale to the point of bluish purple, but his eyes were shining with excitement. He gasped for breath, his cheeks clenched, his fingers trembled, and he missed that moment -
The moment he pulled the trigger - his heart was beating violently, his spine was tingling, and his whole body was trembling. He still remembers that thrilling and exciting feeling clearly.
The smell of gunpowder left on his hands was so wonderful, mixed with a slight smell of blood, it was simply the most effective stimulant in the world, exuding a rich aroma.
It was clearly his first time killing someone, but he acted like a seasoned criminal, which was very unpleasant.
The feeling at that time overlapped with the feeling transmitted by the nerves when Irene touched him and stared at him now.
Excitement, tension, irritability, and perhaps inexplicable desire.
Once thirsty for blood, now thirsty for...
Leo didn't even dare to think about what he was craving right now - like a pet dog, craving for his owner's gaze or touch?
What a joke! He clenched his teeth tightly.
Cold sweat flowed down from his forehead, across his cheekbones, and into the collar of his neck. Leo breathed hard, trying to get more oxygen, but his chest was still unusually stuffy, as if his throat was being strangled.
He was extremely aware of the difference between the two, and when he killed someone he controlled life.
But when he came into contact with Irene, he was no longer the one in power, but instead became a fish on the chopping board, struggling helplessly.
How to change this situation?
The buzzing voice in my head gradually changed to the same tone.
Just kill her.
Kill her—
Killing this frail woman was no different to him than strangling an ant.
Instinct urged him to take action, determined to take back control of his own life.
He heard the poisonous snake in his mind bewitching him - if you don't kill her, do you want to go back to your old life? A life of being controlled and bound?
The charming smell of gunpowder seems to fill the tip of the nose.
He never wanted to go back to the past and become someone else's plaything——
Leo stood still and raised his hand to grasp the gun handle.
*
Or should I just say it? Say that Leo's clothes were covered in blood, and going into the city would arouse suspicion, and I just happened to bring an extra set of clothes.
But it's so strange, between wearing women's clothes and wearing dirty men's clothes, a normal man would not choose women's clothes.
Irene was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that Leo, who was walking in front of her, suddenly stopped.
She bumped into Leo without noticing, and her nose hit the man's shoulder blade, making her nose feel sore and bitter, and tears came out.
Leo turned around and met Irene's beautiful eyes, which were misty and full of condemnation.
It sounds like an accusation, but also like a show of coquettishness.
Looking at him with wet eyes, the boy's fingers on the gun tightened unconsciously, and his whole body felt numb and itchy, as if ants were crawling in his blood vessels.
"You didn't even tell me you were not leaving. Now my nose must be bleeding," Irene complained in a muffled voice, covering her nose. "And your clothes are covered in blood. They are so dirty."
Leo heard the woman mutter a few words about him, then wipe the stains off her skin, looking like she was disgusted with him.
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