Flowers, Swords and France

Near noon, the long-lasting fog finally dissipated.

London, which has been accustomed to this unique climate, is not affected at all. This international metropolis has people coming and going. As the heart of the British Empire, it runs the main functions of the city.

There are shops and high-rise buildings everywhere, and the streets are full of cars, so much so that it gives people the absurd feeling of being in a modern jungle.

Fortunately, the Chelsea District in Xicheng District has always been an area where wealthy people live. Although it is only on the fringe, you can still see the neat order that is different from other places.

In the hazy gap where the fog had just dissipated, two women holding small parasols with silk lace, led by several men in black coats, walked forward slowly, as if they were on a tour. They looked around and talked to each other from time to time.

"Flan, either...or should we go back today?" Mary hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to try harder, "Anyway, Mr. is still in the UK. I will find a way to contact him later. As long as With his consent, can we come over again? "

"Mary... you don't have to ask for permission on everything, right? How tiring is that?" Fran smiled and shook her head, rejecting her friend's suggestion, "Besides, I didn't intend to do anything bad, I just did it out of curiosity. I just plan to come here to see what's new and do nothing else. Will this cause trouble? Hey, you are really worried too much..."

If I worry too much, it's not because of you. If only you would be obedient all the time. Why should I be as tired as I am now... Mary couldn't help but complain in her heart.

However, complaints in my heart are complaints. She hesitated until finally agreed to Fran's request.

She has been around Fran recently, and she believes that she is under her gaze. The other party is not planning any other terrible plans now, at least now she is still really enjoying her trip to the UK.

No matter what, it was a rare trip for her anyway, so just treat it as a way to relax and see more of the outside world. Wouldn't it be nice?

"Okay, then I'll do as you say..." She sighed, "But I must stay next to you. Is that okay?"

"You are really..." Looking at the other party's expression mixed with surprise and hesitation, Fran couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Okay... then I'll do as you say!"

She also understood in her heart that if Mary, who had been entrusted by her brother, refused to cooperate, then she would not be able to do anything. Fortunately, Mary had no intention of embarrassing herself.

At this moment, the men in front of them all stopped in front of a small two-story apartment.

"Is it here?" Fran stopped and asked the person walking in front curiously.

"Yes, Miss. This is right here." The intermediary who accompanied them quickly replied.

Since Dr. Marx arrived here, Kong Ze has always provided sponsorship money to this intermediary, and then conveyed it to Dr. Marx through him.

"What's the annual rent here?" Fran asked the intermediary with some curiosity after looking at this very neat apartment. "Looks good?"

"The annual rent is 90 pounds, miss." The other party quickly replied in a low voice, "A large part of it is paid by your brother. Otherwise, I am afraid that this gentleman will not be able to support such expenditure with his current income... …”

"90 pounds?" Fran frowned, as if she still didn't understand what this number represented.

"It's about equivalent to 2,400 francs a year." Kongze next to him answered Miss Treville's doubts in a rare and considerate way.

"Oh!" Fran blinked in surprise. I finally understood it intuitively.

Fran has managed some family numbers, so she also knows that this is not a small number - although it is not a big number for his family.

"My brother is actually so generous to this person..." While thinking, Fran looked up curiously, "I'm getting more and more curious."

[Historically, when Marx first came to the UK, because his wife brought a lot of money from her natal family, she spent a lot of money and rented a house in a relatively prosperous low-end area of ​​​​the rich area. The annual rent was 72 pounds (at that time An average British worker earns less than 50 pounds a year), but after a few years, because the economic situation deteriorated, he had to move to Soho, where conditions were worse (of course, it was not that bad), and the annual rent was 22 pounds. 】

"Okay, let's stop thinking so much and let's visit quickly!" After pondering for a moment, Fran blinked, determined to take a closer look.

"Okay." The intermediary bowed obligingly, then walked forward and knocked heavily on the apartment door.

Who is it that can get such attention from that person?

At this time, not only Fran, but also Mary was a little curious.

Under their slightly nervous gazes, the door finally opened slowly.

A woman dressed simply but with a good bearing looked at them with slight surprise.

"Mrs. Marx! We have guests visiting today!" The intermediary smiled broadly and pointed to the three people next to him. "They are here to visit the doctor. Is the doctor at home today?"

After hearing the intermediary's introduction, the woman was still a little surprised and even forgot to answer.

She really didn't understand what was going on when two young women suddenly came to visit her husband uninvited.

It wasn't until she saw Kong Ze that her eyes lit up slightly.

"Oh, I'm glad you still remember me," Kongze greeted her in French, his tone flat but gentle.

"Of course I remember you, sir." The woman replied in a gentle and educated tone, but she still glanced at Fran and the two curiously, as if waiting for his explanation.

"They are relatives of my employer. It is rare for them to come to the UK this time, so I would like to pay a visit to the doctor." Kong Ze quickly introduced. "I'm sorry, we didn't make a reservation in advance..."

After hearing Kong Ze's introduction, the woman's eyes lit up. Then she opened the door and quickly waved to the three of them, "Oh?! Please come in!"

It was obvious that she was truly happy to have the opportunity to entertain the relatives of the kindhearted person who had been so generous to their family.

"Hello, madam." Fran saluted the woman respectfully.

Then they followed him inside.

But Kong Ze stood outside the door and did not go in.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

It was different from Fran's expectation. The furnishings in the house were not luxurious, but they were very neat.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't make any preparations in advance, so I can only entertain you like this now." After Fran and Mary sat at the coffee table for a while, the lady came over with a smile on her face and carried three cups of steaming coffee. , "You French people should all like to drink this..."

However, when she saw that there were only two people sitting on the coffee table, a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Huh? Why didn't Mr. Kongze come in? Did he go out for something?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I asked him to stay outside, because there were some things I wanted to say when only a few people knew about it..." Fran bowed towards the other party apologetically.

"Oh, is that so?" Perhaps because both ladies were very charming, the lady quickly calmed down and smiled curiously. "I'm sorry... I don't know how to call you yet. I have always known this kind man as Mr. T..."

Fran hesitated for a moment.

"Sir, did you use a pseudonym? I'm very sorry. We don't have to hide it now. You can just call me Madame Dantès... I'm sorry that I kept hiding it from you."

"Madam?" Mrs. Marx asked sharply.

"Yes, he is mine...my..." Fran paused several times, and finally said it in a strange tone, "My husband passed away recently."

"Oh... God!" The lady opened her eyes wide in surprise, "How could this happen!"

Unlike the 21st century, which is accustomed to late marriage, in today's era, it is common for girls to get married at the age of sixteen or seventeen, so although Fran looks only eighteen or nineteen years old, after hearing the news that she was married , she was not particularly surprised.

What really surprised her was something else.

"You mean... you mean... that gentleman has... passed away?"

Although she already felt some bad premonitions from the woman's demeanor, she was still shocked after hearing the news.

Since the last time he met the gentleman in Paris, his family had come to England due to the deportation of the French government at that time. What he didn't expect was that the young man really fulfilled his promise and settled in his house. After coming down, I sent him a lot of sponsorship money through the manager.

Although she had expressed some gratitude on her lips, she felt much more grateful in her heart. She had always planned to find an opportunity to repay this kind kindness, but she didn't expect that instead of an opportunity to repay, what she was waiting for was a shocking piece of bad news.

For a moment, she suddenly felt a little absent-minded, as if she didn't know what to say.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" After a moment, she finally came to her senses and nodded to the woman to apologize, "Madam, I'm really sorry, I...I don't know anything yet..."

"It doesn't matter, we didn't notify you, so what's wrong if you don't know?" Fran shook her head with a sad face, "Madam, I'm very happy, except for me, at least you... you are still sincere I feel sad for him... It seems that he did not help the wrong person..."

As if she was sincerely involved, Fran's expression was full of sadness when she talked about this.

The reason why she said this was to gain the trust of this lady, but the main purpose was to vent her anger towards her brother in this way. (To be continued...)