The reputation of Dr. Edward Cullen was evidently quite high; the moment he spoke, the crowd fell into a hushed silence. Isabella looked at him in surprise, wondering why he had come to her defense after accusing her of having an ailment in her head.
"Dr. Cullen, they are speaking the truth!" Scarlett OHara said indignantly, glaring at Edward who was defending Isabella.
"Gossiping about others is the behavior of petty individuals," he replied, his voice steady and firm.
Upon hearing this, the crowd lowered their heads in shame. Dr. Cullen glanced at Isabella before turning and walking away. She, in turn, called out to his retreating figure, "Dr. Cullen, I will definitely repay your kindness!" His stride hitched for a moment, and Isabella could have sworn she saw the word "disdain" written all over his back.
"Daughter, are you trying to humiliate me completely?" The voice of Atticus Finch, Isabellas father, rang out from behind her. She turned around, and the crowd that had been tightly packed around them dispersed in an instant.
"Father?" Isabella was taken aback, then remembered she had sneaked out and immediately felt guilty, trying to hide half her face as if that would make her invisible.
"Get back home and kneel in the family temple!" Atticus commanded, his anger palpable.
In the Swan family temple, Isabella kneaded her sore knees and stared at the rows of ancestral tablets that did not belong to her true ancestors, lamenting, "The evil feudalism, the evil patriarchal ethics, suppressing my nature, destroying my body and mind, taking away my freedom—where is the future of this country? Where is the hope of this nation?"
"What are you muttering about?" Atticuss voice sounded dangerously from behind her.
Isabella straightened her back instantly, kneeling as if she were a paragon of virtue.
He snorted, then sat down beside her, his tone serious, "Do you know youre wrong?"
Isabellas expression turned solemn, and she replied with a heavy heart, "I know Im wrong. I should not have climbed over the wall. As a woman, I was too forward, not demure enough..."
Atticus interrupted her excitedly, "No, youre wrong because youre not bold enough!"
"Huh?" Isabella was confused by her fathers unexpected response.
Atticus took a deep breath and sat cross-legged, looking at her, "Love, you must pursue it boldly, dont be timid! The Swan family cannot have an unmarried old maid at home eating us out of house and home! I think that Dr. Cullen is a good choice; you go and win him over, and get yourself married before the years end!"
By the time Isabella realized what was happening, she found herself standing at the entrance of Dr. Cullens home...
"Father, isnt this a bit inappropriate?" she hesitated.
"Timid about what? Go on!" Her father hid behind a large tree outside the door, issuing orders.
Isabella swallowed hard and cautiously pushed open the gate of Dr. Cullens home. To her surprise, there was no one in sight.
"Dr. Cullen? Are you home?" she whispered nervously, feeling quite guilty.
"Whos there?" A loud voice startled her, and she turned to see Jamie Fraser, Dr. Cullens young apprentice.
"Thief! Stop the thief!" Jamie, a boy of few words and quick action, grabbed a weapon and rushed towards her.
"Heaven and earth! Its a misunderstanding, Im not a thief!" Isabella threw her hands up in surrender, running and clarifying herself at the same time, causing a commotion in the courtyard.
In the chaos, she bumped into a room and heard a splash of water, followed by a piercing scream from Jamie, "Ah!"
Isabella stood dumbfounded at the sight before her, with only one thought in her mind, she was doomed...