Flowers, Swords and France

It was already August, and the weather was getting hotter. Fortunately, the shutters in the small reception room were open, and the cool breeze blew, so it wasn't particularly hot inside.

Today, Miss Marie de Léoran came to learn chess from Charles again, and Fran was watching beside her.

After playing for a while, Charles looked carefully at the jagged pieces on the chessboard, and suddenly nodded approvingly.

"This is a good move."

"Really?" Miss Léoran looked at Charles in surprise, "Don't lie to me!"

"Of course I didn't lie. From a beginner's perspective, it's not easy to make such rapid progress. I can see that you've been working hard recently, Miss Léoran."

After hearing Charles' praise, Marie seemed particularly happy, and she looked even more charming and lovely because of excitement. "This shows that you are very attentive in teaching me, right? Also, call me Marie, don't call me Miss all the time..."

"Uh... okay."

Just when Charles and Marie were getting heated, the servant suddenly came to announce that there was a visitor.

"Matilda?" Marie exclaimed. "She actually had time to come today!"

Charles was also a little surprised, not only because she came to visit, but also because she visited him directly.

A few days ago, the incident of the Dillion family was widely circulated, and everyone speculated about the inside story, but the Dillion family kept silent, and in the end everyone was in a state of confusion and no gossip could be made out. As the enthusiasm cooled, everyone was now talking about other topics.

Maybe it was related to this matter?

After a while, Matilda came in, and Charles was surprised again.

Compared to the last time they met, the second young lady of the Chancellor's house had almost changed her appearance: she was now wearing a slightly loose black dress and a pair of dark tortoise-shell framed glasses on her face, which almost covered half of her face.

What happened? She was so shocked? Charles was a little curious.

"Matilda, what happened..." Fran was also a little shocked, "Why are you dressed like this today?"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Matilda suddenly sighed, and then found a seat to sit down. "It's not me who has problems."

Charles didn't know what to ask, so he said nothing and waited for the other party to make it clear.

"My visit today didn't disturb you, Mr. Treville?" Matilda was helpless.

"Of course not."

Matilda's expression suddenly changed, and finally turned into a self-deprecating smile. "There must be a lot of rumors about our family outside now?"

"Indeed there are." Charles nodded simply.

"Would you please tell me?"

"There are many rumors. Which one do you want to hear?"

"The more thrilling one." Matilda looked at the chessboard.

"Some people say that your house was robbed that day, and some people say that your grandfather accidentally fired a gun while playing with it and scared your sister." Charles said while paying attention to the other party's reaction, "Some people say that your father caught his daughter having a tryst with her lover..."

Matilda spread her hands and made a helpless gesture. "You have guessed this far..."

"Is it true?!" Mary next to her exclaimed.

"It can't be that serious, right?" Fran was also shocked.

"It's worse than that." Matilda answered gloomily, "It's an attempted elopement."

"Ha!" Fran and Mary took a deep breath at the same time.

Even Charles was a little shocked.

But from all the signs, it is indeed...it should be like this.

So the man who stared at me that day was the lover of the young lady who sneaked in? And the absent-minded look of Miss Dillion that day can be easily explained.

It seems that because she found someone to talk to, Matilda was more relaxed.

"My sister met a man for some reason before, and then fell in love with him and wanted to marry him, but my father refused. So they planned to elope. The man you noticed that day seemed to be my sister's lover. My sister secretly intercepted an invitation and gave it to him to let him in..."

"Did they fail?" Charles asked calmly.

"Yes, they failed. Seeing my sister's performance that day, my father was very suspicious and ordered the maid to keep a close eye on her. Finally, he found out..." Matilda shook her head, "My sister is really not a specialist in doing big things..."

Not every girl can do such things without changing her face or heart, Charles thought to himself.

"After discovering that my sister had slipped out of the hall, my father followed her out, and then he happened to see the two of them meeting..." Matilda lowered her head, "My father found an opportunity and shot the man, hitting him in the shoulder and letting him run away. My sister is now in solitary confinement by my father..."

In the last sentence, I don't know if Matilda's tone was filled with fear or regret, or perhaps both.

"Did he actually go this far?" Mary seemed frightened. "And he shot..."

"Too cruel!" Fran's face turned pale with horror. "They are obviously in love!"

"That man's grandfather voted in favor that year and was a regicide." Matilda continued in a low voice. "My father firmly disagrees with my sister's association with him, let alone marriage."

[On January 18, 1793, the French National Assembly voted to sentence Louis XVI to death. On January 21, Louis XVI was guillotined. The French used the term regicide to refer specifically to members of the National Assembly who voted in favor of the execution of the king. 】

"But with all due respect, aren't your family now serving the descendants of the Regicide? And they seem to be doing so wholeheartedly," Charles teased with a hint of malice. "I originally thought that the earl didn't seem to care much about this kind of thing..."

Yes, the father of today's King Louis-Philippe, the former Duke of Orleans who was speculative in the revolution (he also playfully announced that he was a third estate and changed his name to Philippe-Equal), was also a member of the National Assembly at that time. Voted yes on this issue and was an unmistakable regicide. So the current king of France is obviously a descendant of the regicide - if this crime really needs to exist. Because of this incident, the Orleans family, a branch of the Bourbon royal family, has always been unpopular with the direct line and conservative nobles.

By the way, the former Duke of Orleans was also guillotined by the Jacobins in November 1793, but nothing was gained.

Matilda was a little embarrassed. "The then Duke of Orleans was not forced..." Seeing that Charles wanted to say something treasonous again, she made a gesture to stop him, and then continued, "Okay, let's not dwell on this issue. Not only was his grandfather a regicide, but he also had little property and He has no status... My father checked and found out that he was an army officer before and had served in North Africa. He was quite brave in combat and had won several medals and the rank of captain. However, he often published some things because he was reported. Radical Republican rhetoric, he had retired from the military a year ago..."

"That is to say, he has no money and status now, so your father is determined not to marry your sister to him, right?" Charles concluded.

Matilda moved her lips, as if she wanted to say something to defend herself, but in the end she simply nodded. "Yes, that's it, and I don't see how his attitude will loosen now."

"Your sister must have pleaded many times, otherwise she wouldn't have taken this step directly."

"Yes, my sister begged her father many times, but he flatly rejected her." Matilda's face was very gloomy, and her tone even trembled. "Once they had a big fight, and my father said angrily. I would rather marry my sister to a fool than let her marry that person. I was really stunned that day, my father had never been so angry, and my sister had never cried so hard..."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"It's my pleasure, Miss Dillion," Charles said suddenly.

"Um?"

"In your eyes, I am better than a fool. I am very grateful for your evaluation of me." Charles solemnly thanked him.

Matilda suddenly laughed, and the gloom on her face dissipated a lot.

"As expected, you found out. Yes, I plan to bring you and your sister together. If your sister changes her mind and falls in love with you, wouldn't all the problems be solved directly? Unfortunately..." She shook her head sadly again, "It's too late. . I really didn’t expect that my sister had planned to do something like this that day!”

"It seems that they are indeed deeply in love." Ciel commented calmly.

"Now, what are your family planning to do now?" Mary asked.

"It's a mess," Matilda lowered her head. "My sister has been crying since she was arrested, asking how her lover was doing and whether his life was in danger. She even refused to eat; and her father also He ignored her and seemed to be planning to marry her off to anyone...or send her to a convent."

"It's too cruel..." Fran looked at her brother. "Would your sister accept this fate?"

"I don't know, maybe... not..." Matilda frowned, "Maybe... maybe... God, maybe she will really die!"

"Oh God!" Mary exclaimed.

"Then what are you going to do?" Charles remained calm, "You certainly didn't come here today just to tell us about these—with all due respect—scandals in your family, right?"

"Scandal?" Matilda smiled bitterly again, "Yes, it is indeed a scandal. But..."

Her expression suddenly became solemn, filled with great determination. "I value my sister's life more than the scandal! My father seems to be planning to ignore this daughter now, but...but I want to care, I want to save my sister!"

"Yes, rescue me!" Fran and Mary responded at the same time.

Girls always have little resistance in front of such romantic stories.

Ciel stopped the two girls from making noise with his eyes. "Then how do you plan to save it?"

Matilda took a breath, then answered solemnly.

"In harmony with the outside, I will let my sister run out of the solitary room first, and then you will take her away."

"How to let her run out? She should be watched closely now, right?" Charles questioned.

"Of course I have to be honest for a few days first and paralyze the servant who is responsible for guarding her at home. Then..." Matilda suddenly raised her head and looked at Charles, "Mr. Treville, what do you think of my glasses?" ?”

"Well, it's pretty good. The black tortoise-shell frame matches your fair skin and gives you a mysterious and beautiful appearance. Every reflection of the lens can make people sway. Compared with the elegance brought by your previous thin gold wire frame, the current glasses give you a different charm... But I suggest you change your glasses every few days, and don't always use the same one. In this way, your temperament and charm will be unstoppable. Please don't question my judgment. I am a professional glasses girl assessment expert, and I am right..." Charles said the last sentence in a low voice.

Matilda's face was suddenly full of blushes, and then she almost shouted.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I mean, can you see my face clearly under such heavy glasses!"

Charles came back to his senses from the excitement and found that his sister was looking at him with the familiar eyes of looking at a piece of torn canvas. Even Mary, who had been looking at him with admiration, had a strange look in her eyes.

"Uh... Don't mind me, I just..." Charles' face was a little embarrassed, and suddenly he thought of something, "You mean... change clothes?!"

"Yes, I will use this pair of glasses these days, and then visit my sister every day to let my family get familiar with my dress and behavior. Then, in a few days, I will go in and change clothes with my sister, so that my sister can run out! My sister and I don't look much different, and our heights are about the same. If we change clothes, we shouldn't be discovered immediately." Matilda clenched her small fists. "When the time comes, you will be responsible for the outside support. There are several walls and iron fences in my house that are outside the blind spots of the mansion. On the day of the operation, you will cut one or two fences at the designated locations, and my sister will be able to run out..."

Charles listened quietly to Matilda's orderly presentation of her plan, and was amazed in his heart.

So, in fact, Matilda's plan had already been implemented before coming here? This girl is really not simple!

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