Hearing Charles' question, Diana Rogers, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt her eyes well up again.
"My father must be in England by now!" Diana lowered her head.
"He's already in England!" Charles's voice was a bit loud. "How could he leave you alone on the continent and go back to England by himself?"
The girl, Diana, did not answer, but continued to hang her head, letting out a slight sob that pained Charles to see. He stepped forward again, put his arm around her shoulder, and asked gently:
"Tell me what exactly happened!"
The girl nestled obediently in Charles's arms, recounting her tragic experiences to him word by word.
As a pampered earl's daughter, Diana Rogers had always been a playful person. Even after retreating with earl Rogers to Boston, she couldn't completely change this habit despite the difficult circumstances. The problem arose during the British army's grand retreat. As the British army withdrew from the front, the Continental army moved in from behind.
Diana Rogers, having been constantly fed stories by her Loyalist father about how terrifying and dreadful the Independence Party was, was extremely curious to see what these 'terrible people' looked like.
While her entire family was busy finding things to load onto the ship amidst the chaos, she, with audacious courage, secretly took a servant and snuck out onto the street to watch the Continental army.
She didn't expect the Continental army's entry to be so swift, and the British army's retreat even faster. Just as she caught a glimpse of the real Continental army and was about to turn back, she found that the British army, which had been behind her, had already vanished.
By the time the girl stumbled and rushed towards the ship bound for home, it was too late. When she reached the port again, the Continental army was already collecting war spoils on the dock.
And the girl's servant was particularly cunning; he found a discarded dirty garment for her to change into, telling her that if she wore noble clothes, she would be captured by the Continental army, and only old clothes were safe. Boston was full of Independent Party members, and there were no nobles left, nor would any be allowed to survive.
The only way to live now was to return to her old home in Philadelphia. However, after taking the jewels from the girl, the servant went to join the Independent Party. "Joining the Independent Party" was, of course, the girl's own words; Charles, however, thought it more likely that the servant had taken the money and run off to another place.
The girl, who had never experienced hardship, simply could not accept this reality. She even tried to find a prominent Boston merchant who had done business with the earl, but because of her tattered clothes, she was unable to even meet him and was driven away by his snobbish servants. After witnessing the treachery and coldness of human nature, Diana simply dared not trust anyone around her anymore.
Seeing that the streets of Boston were indeed filled with people who supported independence, she wandered in the city for a while and then, following the servant's advice, tried every possible way to return to her home in Philadelphia. Along the way, she didn't know how to beg; she only knew how to pick up discarded food and forage for crops left in the fields.
Fortunately, from Boston to Philadelphia, the coastal areas were densely populated with towns and villages, so she could always find something. She endured hunger and walked all the way to Philadelphia. If someone chased her, she ran for her life; if someone offered her something, she picked it up and ran.
The girl cried as she recounted her story, soaking a large part of Charles' clothes and making his sympathy overflow. He gently patted Diana's shoulder, comforting her in a low voice.
The poor girl, Diana, had not only endured the torments of hunger and cold, but also the psychological torment of fearing harm, due to the servant's misrepresentation of the Independent Party's terror.
She dared not speak to anyone. It was truly God's blessing that she hadn't died of illness, starvation, or exposure. Now, having finally met someone she could trust, someone willing to listen to her pain, she poured out everything without reservation.
She had initially believed that everything would be fine once she reached Philadelphia, but upon arriving home, she found the butler startled to see her. He then pretended not to recognize her and hastily ordered the other servants to drive her out of the castle, refusing to acknowledge her as their mistress.
She initially thought it was just her drastically changed appearance, and that the servants most familiar with her had been taken to Boston. These current servants, who rarely saw her, simply hadn't recognized her.
It was only when the butler, to bolster his credibility with the other servants, declared that the earl and young lady had returned to England, and that the earl had specifically written to him, instructing him to fully manage the Philadelphia properties—and that he had already partnered with the Biddle family to prepare for the sale of the castle and other assets—that she realized this previously most trusted butler had betrayed her family.
Because in Boston, her father had only thought of returning to England quickly, intending to come back once the British army defeated the Continental army, and had no intention of selling the castle. Much less would he have written a letter to notify them of a house sale.
But when she subsequently went to the Pennsylvania Court to complain, she was turned away by the Independent Party receptionists because she claimed to be an earl's daughter of the British king. If it weren't for her extreme youth, she might even have been beaten by those hot-blooded youths.
Already distraught and heartbroken, she wandered in Philadelphia for a few more days, eventually even pleading with the butler.
"I begged him to take me in. I couldn't bear the days of hunger and suffering anymore. Even if I had to be a maid in the castle, it would be fine. I pleaded with the butler to be kind and give me something to eat.
And I swore that as long as someone treated me well and didn't let me starve, I would do anything for him. But that hateful butler still threw me out of the castle again. Woo woo…" Diana recounted her pain in a hoarse voice.
"I collapsed on the ground, and I thought I was surely going to die. God bless you, Charles, at that moment I actually saw you. God bless me for meeting you, thank you so much for your help." The girl hugged Charles's neck, thanking him sweetly.
Charles listened to the girl narrate her tragic experiences in a mournful tone. As a grown man, he had to suppress his tears. For Diana in his arms, there was nothing but pity.
When the girl collapsed on the ground, she was fortunate to encounter Charles, whom she had secretly seen once while wandering in Boston. Because she had also seen Charles trading tea with several nobles at that time, Diana Rogers, knowing that the Independent Party boycotted tea, immediately felt that Charles might not be an Independent Party member, or at least not one who hated nobles. Holding onto this glimmer of hope, she then clung to Charles like a drowning person grasping at a final straw, refusing to let go.
And this time, she was truly very lucky; she truly grasped the last straw.
After she finished speaking, Charles no longer had any doubts about whether to help or not.
"This situation is quite clear. The butler must have deliberately forged your father's letter to deceive Biddle of the Biddle family. And the judge, because of your family's British noble status, is unwilling to verify your identity. In fact, now, as long as I step forward to confirm your identity, your butler can go to jail. However, we don't know the butler's background yet, and we still need to consider the interests represented by the Biddle family.
If the butler is connected to other Independent Party members, then we also need to consider the reactions of those other Independent Party members. So, for now, we can't directly do anything to the butler. Regardless, you can rest assured, I will absolutely protect you!" By the end, Charles was cupping the girl's small face, looking earnestly into her eyes.
The girl also bravely looked at Charles, listening intently to him, sometimes smiling, sometimes worried. As soon Bai finished his last sentence, "I will absolutely protect you," a shy smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Don't you believe me?" Charles asked, smiling and lowering his head.
"I believe you!" the girl immediately said.
And then she repeated it in a low murmur:
"I believe you!"
After speaking, she slowly closed her eyes, and her pink lips pouted slightly.
Charles's smile immediately froze.
What is this girl planning to do? Is she trying to get me to kiss her?
Such a precocious teenager!
He absolutely adored her, but after everything she had just said, his feelings for her were more of pity. He couldn't bear to hurt her, and he had no intention of taking advantage of such a young girl. He genuinely wanted to help Rogers, not for any other sinister purpose.
However, at this moment, he couldn't just push the girl away, as that would surely make the sensitive young lady jump.
He gently stroked the girl's hair, then leaned down and kissed her forehead, whispering:
"Don't worry, Diana! You are safe now, I've got everything handled."
Charles hadn't yet decided how to deal with the butler when his home welcomed its third guest of the day, Thomas Jefferson.
"Charles! Charles! Weren't you taking George? Why are you back home again? The Continental Congress is still in session, and everyone has countless things to do. How can you take advantage of this to slack off and rest?" Jefferson began to jokingly scold as soon as he entered, "Fortunately, your house is really too close to the State House. We knew as soon as you came home. I specifically came to drag you back this time."