Chapter 28: 26

The twists and turns of the Lawrence family’s matter made the whole town boil. Mr Lawrence was sentenced to be hanged but Mrs Lawrence was the first to die. On the morning of Mr Lawrence’s execution, Mrs Lawrence committed suicide by taking medicine at home alone.

Delanlier went crazy all of a sudden. Newspaper headlines were full of reports about the tragedy of the Lawrence family for more than ten days. Sheriff Chandler was chased and blocked by newspaper reporters. In the end, he was so annoyed that he could only run to the church to hide in peace.

Evan was wearing a white priest’s robe, standing solemnly in front of the crucifix and praying, while Sheriff Chandler leaned lazily on the chair and spoke in a low voice, “Reverend, this is really a tragedy.”

Evan looked at the crucifix, there was a touch of compassion in the solemnity.

“Sheriff, this is all arranged by the Lord, don’t blame yourself.” Evan’s tone was unusually soft.

Sheriff Chandler buried his face in his hands, looking very tired.

“I don’t blame myself, I just can’t figure it out.” His voice was dull, “I can’t understand why a person as good as Mr Lawrence would do such a terrible thing.”

Evan sighed. He turned his back to Sheriff Chandler and narrowed his eyes but he didn’t say a word in the end.

Sheriff Chandler didn’t expect to get an answer from Evan, he only wanted someone to listen to him.

Later, Sheriff Chandler left the church, the church was not his sanctuary. He had to face the disaster himself.

After Sheriff Chandler left, Evan stepped down from the altar, lit the Holy water in the Holy grail and made a sign of the cross. Originally, he didn’t believe in ghosts and gods but at this moment, he desperately hoped that God could really bless him. This world has changed so much.

Mrs Sanders came in and saw Evan standing there. She was stunned, his handsome profile looked psychedelic and golden in the sunlight reflected from the colourful glass of the church’s windows. His curly hair shone strangely, such a handsome young man that Mrs Sanders hadn’t seen for a long time.

“Madam?” Evan turned his head and looked at Mrs Sanders with surprise.

“Oh.” She suddenly came back to her senses, “Reverend, Duke Wilson just sent a letter.” Mrs Sanders handed him the envelope in her hand.

Evan nodded and took the letter.

Since the last time he took the initiative to invite the duke to the church, Duke Wilson has never missed a service and their relationship has quickly become closer. Usually, Duke Wilson would take the initiative to invite Evan to Cornwall Manor and Evan would also invite the duke to his parsonage as a guest.

With such a relationship, in the view of the people of Delanlier, the two have undoubtedly become the closest friends, and as a result, Evan has a much higher status in Delanlier.

Evan swept a glance through the duke’s letter, elegant and beautiful swishes, rigorous and gentle wording. The main reason for the letter was to invite Evan to participate in the autumn hunt of Cornwall Manor.

As he read the letter, Evan paused and Mrs Sanders was puzzled when she saw this, “Reverend, what’s wrong?”

Evan looked at Mrs Sanders with some hesitation, “The duke has invited me to participate in the autumn hunt.”

“What?” Mrs Sanders was overjoyed, “The duke actually invited you to participate in the autumn hunt! Oh, what a great honor! Reverend Bruce, you’re really the duke’s closest friend!”

Evan looked at Mrs Sanders, “Does this have any special meaning?” He thought that religious believers would not encourage such behaviour.

“Oh, look at my memory.” Mrs Sanders smiled and sighed, “I forgot that you didn’t know.”

Mrs Sanders happily took the letter from Evan and smiled, “The duke’s autumn hunt is held once a year, he invites people of status from Delanlier and sometimes, nobles from London. This is Delanlier’s annual prosperous event. Reverend Ross served in Delanlier for over 20 years and he received an invitation only once. This is a real honor for you this time.”

Evan raised his eyebrows when he heard this, it seemed that his efforts were not in vain.

“Really? It seems that I must pass.” Evan’s tone was very calm, not wavering.

Mrs Sanders realised that Evan’s mood was not right and she looked at Evan with some doubt, “Reverend, what’s wrong? Don’t you want to go?”

Evan lowered his head and his expression couldn’t be seen clearly, “Of course, I want to go but I have no hunting experience before. I’m afraid that I’ll make a fool of myself.”

Mrs Sanders felt relieved when she heard this, “This will not happen, you can rest assured. You’re a priest and they won’t force you to hunt. Most priests just follow the hunters to pray for God’s blessings. That’s how it was for Priest Ross.”

Evan nodded, “That’s good.”

Mrs Sanders happily went out to prepare hunting things for Evan, but Evan sat down in the front row of the church seats with a complicated expression.

It’s a good thing that Duke Wilson invited him for the autumn hunt but this matter is a difficult one to deal with. The hunt would last for about a week. And if Evan’s memory isn’t wrong, a big event will happen during the hunt.

An assassination attempt would be made on the duke’s life.

This is not an impulsive act but a long planned conspiracy. Duke Wilson is the King’s cousin and the relationship between the king and the duke is a very close one so the duke has a great influence on the king. Now, the king is seriously ill but no heir has been chosen. According to the law governing the succession of the throne, it should be inherited by Prince George. Duke Wilson and Prince George also have a close relationship, not to mention the army that the duke has which plays a huge role in the entire kingdom. So those who hide in the dark and covet the throne naturally cannot sit still.

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They planned this assassination and it was an almost perfect plan. The duke loves hunting and it’s only when he is hunting that he is alone. So, this is an opportunity for these people.

Unfortunately, this opportunity was broken by the heroine, the first halo character in the book. She blocked a shot for the duke and naturally, she survived. This led to the duke falling for her more and more.

This result made Evan understand clearly that, if he wants to completely grasp onto the duke, he must pay the price for this assassination.

Evan lowered his head as his hands shook and he struggled in his heart. The heroine had a halo around her so she could survive even though she blocked a bullet, but he didn’t have such skills. He was just trying his best to catch the duke’s line of sight. If he really died because of this matter, would the loss not outweigh the gain?

This letter has caused a big dilemma for Evan.

He thought about it over and over again. The book is written with the heroine and the duke as the protagonists. If he doesn’t make trouble this time, things will inevitably develop as described in the book. The heroine saved the duke and even if the duke does not want to have a good impression of her, he did in the book. This result is like a time bomb so he can’t take risks.

Evan thought about it over and over again, and he finally decided to fight this time. It was an incredible risk that he came to this place, what if he took another risk?

There was a dangerous light in Evan’s eyes and the corners of his mouth were raised. This time, he’ll take a good look at how the gloomy but affectionate duke in the book would react.

When Mrs Sanders came out, she felt anxious when she saw Evan still in one place.

“Reverend, why are you still here? The town’s people will be here in an hour for mass.”

Evan came to his senses and he slowly stood up from his seat. He must plan things well.

Like always, people from the whole town came for mass, the parishioners in Delanlier seemed to be very devout. Since Evan became the priest, almost none of them has missed a service.

Evan stood on the altar and saw Duke Wilson coming in. He was still wearing a black coat and suit with a hat. His face was cold and his whole person looked very solemn. Alia and Dr. Hester also came together. What made it unacceptable for Evan was that Alia was sitting next to Duke Wilson.

Looking at the blush on Alia’s face, Evan became more determined. He must not let it go this time, he must take risks.

After the service, Evan sent the parishioners out one by one. Only the duke was left. Evan watched the reluctant Alia leave with Dr. Hester and turned to look at the duke, whose face was stiff.

“Sir, thank you for your attendance today.” Evan was so polite that no shortcomings could be pointed out.

Duke Wilson had a strange look, “Have your feelings for Miss Alia still not changed?”

Evan was first shocked, then happy, but he had a melancholic look, “How can a person’s feelings be controlled? Miss Alia is sincere and kind. I’m just a priest and I’m afraid I’m not worthy of her.”

There was anger in Duke Wilson’s eyes, “Why are you not worthy of her! It’s her…”

Under Evan’s burning look, Duke Wilson couldn’t continue. He licked his dry lips and looked at Evan’s blue eyes, which were as clear as the water of a lake, he just wanted to find a place to get in.

Evan just smiled as if he didn’t care about Duke Wilson’s gaffe, “I am very honored that you think so highly of me but it is a pity that I’m just an ordinary mortal and even the Lord cannot change a person’s feelings for another.”

Duke Wilson pursed his lips tightly and looked at Evan, who looked a little lost. For some reason, the feelings in his heart condensed. He didn’t like Alia very much, really, really does not like her.

“Have you received the invitation I sent to you?” The duke suddenly changed the topic.

Smiling, Evan nodded, “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Then, will you come?” Duke Wilson pursued.

Evan was surprised, even though he had already answered this question with his previous words.

“You don’t have to worry, I will definitely be there.” Evan silently made up his mind. This time, he had already made a conscious decision to risk his life.

Duke Wilson’s face softened when he heard this.

 

 

 

 

 

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