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Gentlemen’s Manor

Gentlemen’s Manor

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5 Chapters
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This novel tells the story of a landlord in England countryside at the beginning of the 18th century, belonging to the King Georgian era. When is it? For example, it is more than half a century before the era of Pride and Prejudice. The United States is still Great Britain’s colony, the steam engine was not invented, and the train obviously not exist. Everything is still in primitive stage, but after the British constitutional monarchy, the market activity brought by the capitalist system has made all the old traditions change subtly. The male character is a landlord of a manor. The novel mainly revolves a series of stories about the inheritance of a manor. The male protagonist is a landlord, and he does not have any title. The noble title of this era is not easy to get, and the entire UK has no more than 400 noble males who can inherit the title (excluding the Sir). In contrast, landlords of the gentry class occupy more than 60% of the state’s property.

Chapter 1 Back to Quinte Manor

The winter in Kent is very cold. The leaves have start fell off from the branches one after another even at early autumn, and when the cold front arrives with crystal snowflakes in winter, the whole town turns into a grey and frozen land.    I don’t like winter, everything in winter looks so ugly, the cold air makes my hands and feet cold, but I still keep wondering around the town, as going home always makes me feel scared.    The country road is a bit rugged and the grass is high.

A shepherd drove a few sheep across the path, the black-fur sheep bite the turf leisurely, and a mongrel dog drove them around.    The shepherd saw me, and he took off his hat to salute me: "Master Constantine."    "Hello." I nodded to him. No one living in Quinte doesn’t know the Constantines, as this family owns half of the town, and the Quinte Manor is their property. As the most prestigious gentlemen in the area, Mr. Constantine is welly respected by the village people. And I am the second born son of this Mr. Constantine.    A blast of cold wind blew, I shivered, and exhaled a lot of white mist. The tip of my nose was probably red and cold, and I couldn't breathe. This feeling makes me uncomfortable and reminds me of a very similar pain in my memory...    A dying man lay on his luxurious bed, panting hard. His features are exquisite and beautiful, but it is a pity that his face is full of red bumps, and there is a long scar on his cheek, which makes him look very scary. The priest stood by the bed, looking at the man pityingly: "Poor Mr. Constantine." The man was keep panting, and his face turned pale. He looked at the priest with fear, but couldn't make a word from his mouth. The priest broke the silence: "Your wife wants me to start the Eucharist ritual for you, although I firmly believe that you will get better. But... If you would use the opportunity of my visit, for example, contrived confession or something, I believe It definitely will help your condition. Your wife is really a good wife. May the Lord bless you."    There was a long silence, and the man kept panting. He tried so hard to spell a word out, but in the end he was just anxiously sweating.    "Just start the Eucharist for him, don't torture him any more, my poor Adam." A beautiful fair lady pleaded with a sad face, and wiper her tears with her handkerchief. The priest apologized and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, madam." Then he looked at the man on the bed: "God’s mercy is boundless, my child, please repeat after me:'I confess to the Almighty Lord... confess to the Saint Mary ..." The man stared angrily at the tear-stained lady next to the bed. He gathered all his strength and struggled to sit up, but end up fell down like a dried-out leaf. The beautiful lady was startled by the last fierce resistance of the dying man. She back-warded in panic and almost tripped herself down. Unfortunately, the struggle exhausted his last life force. After a twitch, the man stopped breathing. The priest put the cross on the man, prayed for the dead, he turned around and said to the beautiful woman: "Sorry, my condolence ." "Oh, oh, Adam, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) We will burn his life as soon as possible to prevent the spread of the disease."   ……    I feel the cold air penetrate all over my body, and I try to get rid of the memories in my mind. The stepping into cold death seems to be still yesterday. I feel very lost, I don't know if I am still in a dream. I am a lost sheep. I committed a sin. May the Almighty God has mercy on me and forgive my sins. Protect me from trouble wherever I go, and keep evil far from me. No matter where I am, I will look to You as my Protector. Let everything of the past returned to the original point, and the lost sheep returns with memory...……    Under the last daylight in before sunset, I hurried on the road and managed to return to Quintet Manor before dinner.   Quintet Manor is very large, with hundreds of hectares of land and a mansion built in the last century. Looking from afar, on the vast plain, a huge pale yellow building is located in the middle of the land, like a small piece of cheese. But when you get closer, you will discover how luxurious and exquisite the architecture is.  The mansion is surrounded by a square with a three-story building with hundreds of rooms, countless corridors and stairs. The architectural style is very classical, reminding the medieval castle style, but all the windows are inlaid with glass, and the trees surrounding the garden of the mansion are neatly manicured. There is also a new statue of Venus in the center of the garden, which is very eye-catching.    The owner of the manor is Mr. Dean Constantine. He and his two wives have raised 5 children all together.    The first wife was Margaret, and her surname was William before she was married. She was the daughter of a baron. The baron was very generous and gave her a dowry of £5,000 for marriage. Margaret gave birth to three children, the eldest son William Constantine, the second son Adam Constantine, and the youngest daughter Anna Constantine. Margaret died while giving birth to her little daughter.  Less than half a year after her death, Mr. Dean Constantine couldn't wait to marry another woman into the Manor. Her name is Jenny. She is a delicate and frail beauty with blond hair and blue eyes. She was very beautiful. Her father was a entry level military officer and did not leave her any dowry. Instead marry a clerk or a farmer, she became Mr. Dean's mistress. The two had already given birth to an illegitimate aughter named Elizabeth outside the manor. And when Margaret had a dystocia, Jenny was also pregnant. In order to prevent the birth of another illegitimate child, they got married in a hurry and gave birth to a son in their happy marriage. I don’t like stay in Quintet Manor, because I was killed by my 'good' father, stepmother, sister and brother in my previous life, let alone living with them, sometimes I am scared to look at them. trembling with fear.    I walked into the mansion through the back door of the manor, and a doorman opened the door for me.    Butler Simon was already waiting there. He bowed to me and said, "Welcome home, Master Adam, I hope the cold air outside doesn’t make your toes freeze."   I know that Simon is angry. He is a good man. He cares about me and my brother very much. He has always opposed my father's marriage with a mistress who has no money and power.    "I don't want to see my father arguing with my brother endlessly every day, you have to be understand it." I smiled and replied to him. "My little master, escape is not what a gentleman’s response." Simon shook his head dissatisfiedly. He sent me to the small living room with a fireplace on, and ordered a maid to bring me warm black tea: "Please stay here. Let’s keep warm here for a while. Don’t go for a walk tomorrow. The weather is too cold and it will freeze you."   Quintet Manor, under the careful management of the butler, has a net worth of 800 pounds a year. This is a lot of money, enough to make all the country squires envy my father for having such a resourceful butler. You know that some noble masters who have run the manor for generations can't make that amount of money, and people respect Mr. Constantine, because he is as rich as a noble Sir. Simon has served in Quintet Manor for nearly forty years. From a young boy to gray-haired, it is said that since his grandfather’s generation, his family has been the butler of the Manor. Now his son is studying at school, waiting for graduation. Who will also become the butler of a manor. Time flies, but only leaves a trace on his face, but his life routine has been the same for decades, managing everything in the manor every day, like a spinning wheel.    After a while, a maid wearing a black tutu and a white long apron came to inform me: "Master Adam, it's time to go downstairs for dinner." There are more than a dozen servants in total in Quintet Manor, three male servants, one master's valet, four cook maids, one cook, four female servants, one lady's maid, one groom, one night watchman, a porter, and a gardener. These people are all low-class servants, living on physical labor, and living in the manor.    The so-called senior servant refers to the housekeeper and butler. Simon is a butler. He can read books, spell words, calculate numbers, speak Latin, and assist the landlord manage all the affairs of the manor. His annual salary is as high as 15 pounds. There is also a housekeeper named Selena, daughter of an unsuccessful businessman, works in Quintet Manor. She graduated from a girls’ school and earns 4 pounds a year.    When I stepped into the restaurant, the servants were still hustling serving food.  The long wooden dining table is covered with a large white tablecloth, and the edges and corners of the tablecloth are embroidered with patterns. Two silver triangle candlesticks were placed in the center, and the white candles swayed, leaving long shadows on the table. Life in Quintet Manor is very luxurious. Even if the landlord has no guest to entertain guests, formal dinner is served every day. Different from the exquisite French cuisine, for the British, having bacon, eggs, ham, and buttered toast is completely a sumptuous meal. My older brother William has already taken the seat first. He is 16 years old, and he is very handsome with a red-brown curly hair. He doesn't like the color of his hair though, so he always wears a long wig with dark blue. The ribbon is tied into a small braid at the back. At this time, he was flirting with a maid named Sara, and he didn't stop when he saw me walking in, and still flirted with the maid. My brother is a very rebellious person, and synonymous with dandy, but now these features are not showing out much. In a few years, when he inherits the asset left to him by his mother, he will completely become a playboy, gambling, alcoholic, hanging out with courtesans, and doesn’t care whether I and Anna still alive or die. Even so, when he died that year, I was still sad. Having a big brother is like a big umbrella in the sky. Even if he is in tatters, it will bring me a sense of security.    It has been seven years since my mother passed away. My sister Anna and brother Joseph are both seven years old. They were carried to the dining table by the maid and dine with the adults. Father and his beautiful new wife, Mrs. Jeanne, appeared in the restaurant. Mrs. Jeanne was wearing a beautiful white cotton gauze dress, with her plump and white breasts exposed, and a pearl necklace draped over it, making her noble and elegant. If those things are not my mother's relics, I would feel better and appreciate her beauty. Their illegitimate daughter Elizabeth also walked in. Elizabeth was two years older than me, and she was as blond and blue-eyed as her mother. Although she is only 14 years old, she is already very beautiful, but she is always covered in jewels and gemstones, dressed like a nouveau riche. After all, she has been living outside since she was a child and has no experience of living in the upper class. Even though she is now a young lady, she is always shivering in her gestures.    After all the people are seated, we began to eat in quiet.  Different from the warm atmosphere at dinner in other people's homes, I guess my father would like to cancel the dinner, because there are always someone makes him very uncomfortable.   Here is William started again.    "How surprisingly shameless this inferior woman is to sit up here again." William made no secret of his disgust to Mrs. Jenny and her children.

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Latest Release: Chapter 5 First impression   11-10 17:04
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