Rimbaud's girl

Arthur's letter arrived in London after Christmas.

"Dear sister:

I was actually relieved to learn that our father had passed away, and I think you should too.Some people may say that we are too indifferent, but who cares!

I do sometimes wonder what kind of a home it would be if he was around us and watched us grow up - but, things that have passed can't be 'what if'.As you once said, you will reap the fruits of what you plant. If he fails to be a good father, don't blame us for not being his good children.

Now for something fun!

I got an invitation to go to New Orleans with the Girardins, where they were going to spend Christmas, and I was invited to spend Christmas with them.I think his family wanted me to marry their eldest daughter, Melanie.

Melanie is very cute, the same age as you, 4 months older than you, but not as beautiful as you.If I look for a wife according to your appearance, there is a high probability that I will not be able to find one.I wasn't sure if I wanted to marry, and if I proposed, I had to be pretty sure I wanted to marry her.

……

The Girardin family has some shops and a small estate. They have no sons but three daughters. Mr. Girardin means that I am afraid I will be very happy to marry any of his daughters.If I decide to marry a Miss Girardin, I may stay in America.

I don't like staying in one place all the time, being a manor is not the life I want, and Melanie is not beautiful enough to make me stay.

I must go, the carriage is parked outside, I am going to the station.

I'll write to you when I get to New Orleans.

Love you, Arthur. "

oops!Arthur was thinking of getting married!

It's a bit unbelievable to think about it, but it's not surprising. He just turned 24 years old, just in time for youth. He graduated from Oxford University. He is a famous French poet and writer. He is handsome and has a small fortune. He will definitely be the ideal son-in-law in the eyes of many parents.Girardin's name is a French surname, and he is not considered an ordinary civilian if he has a manor.According to Arthur, Melanie must be a gentle but uncharacteristic traditional girl, so he didn't mention her temperament.

She also doesn't need to worry about Arthur's future, he is no longer the confused boy he was back then, as long as he knows what kind of life he wants.

She had a good Christmas, with the Orans.Mrs. Orland was so caring and caring, and she didn't make her feel that her mother-in-law cared so much only because of the child in her womb.

The Oran and his wife were very happy, and they also expressed their reassurance that whether they are male or female, they are all babies. His family needs an heir, but they are still young, and they will always give birth to a boy in the future.

Vitaly felt her scalp go numb when she heard this.

well!She understands their way of thinking, but doesn't mean she will silently accept it.Fortunately, Gabriel was very understanding, and immediately said: "I don't want to let Wei Wei have too many children, two are just right, any more would be too noisy."

He was serious and serious, and Mrs. Orland said hurriedly: "Two are just right, two are just right. My God! I can't wait to see the baby! How many months is the due date? End of March? Very good, London will not be at the end of March It’s too cold, and when he’s 3 months old, he can be pushed out to bask in the sun more. Oh, have you decided where to give birth? It’s also fine here, don’t worry, I’ll definitely take good care of you.”

"I haven't figured it out yet. My mother will come to take care of me in advance. I haven't asked her yet."

"Oh, she should take care of you, but she doesn't live in London after all, she doesn't know what is best for you. I have made an appointment with the best obstetrician in London, and I will definitely help you give birth smoothly Baby, well, it's decided, you can live here in March."

Vitaly suddenly found that Mrs. Orlan's desire to control was quite strong.

It's not good for her to always refuse this kind of thing, and Gabriel stepped forward again, "Mother, you don't have to worry about it all the time, we all want our child to be born in our own home—"

"Silly boy, I only have you as a child, and this place will be yours in the future."

"I know, mother."

Mrs. Orland sighed, "If you were in France, you would live in Orland Manor. Your grandfather was born there, I was born there, you were born there, and your child should have been born there—"

"Good lady, you don't have to think about it all the time. In my opinion, you should relax a bit. Gabriel is not a child anymore. You should let him do things. It's their own child, and they will be very careful."

"Oh! When I think about the little kid back then who is going to have a kid of his own now, I always feel that he is still a kid, and I can't rest assured."

Gabriel smiled secretly at Vitaly.

"Are we—are we really going to have a baby at your parents' house?" Vitaly asked after getting into the carriage.

"No, you don't have to go if you don't want to. You want to be in our own house, don't you?"

"Hmm." She nodded.

"Okay." He stroked her hair.

Her belly was getting bigger and bigger, like a ball.Pregnant women seldom go out to socialize, probably by default, pregnant women with a big belly are "unsightly", but giving birth is a happy event, which is really contradictory.

She didn't plan to go out often in the cold winter, but stayed at home obediently, and occasionally went to the bookstore to buy books with Gabriel.

The library at home originally only contained some books she brought from Crosswa Manor, but long-distance transportation was troublesome and the books were heavy. She only brought more than 200 books, and even one wall was not filled.

Gabriel-->>

I went to several auctions, some of which were property owners who sold their properties to pay off their debts after their death, and some of which were heirs who felt that there were too many books and were eager to sell them for money. He found some good old books.

I also planned to buy some books on politics, military history, geography and biology, and gradually filled the bookshelves.

He didn't let her read too many books, and would take her to the living room every day after dinner, and let her sit by the fireplace warming the fire while reading to her.His voice is still very young, listening to him reading is a kind of pleasant enjoyment, she is willing to accept his attentive service and earnest care.

Before Christmas, Mr. Alfonso sent her several sample books. "The Queen of the Severed Head" was renamed "The Queen's Wardrobe", and it was published in Paris in early December with an initial printing of 12 copies.

Vitaly Rimbaud is now a very popular young female writer in France, with a high output. In June, her novella "Lotus" sold 6 copies, which is very popular.She had a lot of loyal readers, mostly women, and letters from readers flew to Mr. Alfonso's publishing house, and everyone wanted to know her.

Flaubert felt that she was still young, and that the themes she wrote were relatively limited, not breaking away from the category of "love", not "puncturing reality" enough, and not as good as her earliest "Parisian Dream"; Zola thought her She should go out and see more. It's a pity that she didn't stay in the United States for a while. I think that after becoming a mother, she will have no time to travel and broaden her knowledge;

Turgenev also believed that she did not know enough about the bottom of the society, could not empathize with her, and did not think deeply enough; Hugo also said that her life was too happy, and she might be confined to a peaceful life instead of being willing to improve herself.

Vitaly accepted it humbly.

But of course, it doesn't have to be hard work to write shocking works.For example, Turgenev and Tolstoy were born in aristocratic backgrounds, and they were well-clothed and well-fed since they were young; Musset, Hugo, and Flaubert were well-to-do. They are quite rich, and they are not really struggling from the bottom and poorest classes.

The reason is, of course, that education is only possible if you have money. If you don’t even have the money to go to public schools, there is no such thing as “education”, and of course it is difficult to become a literary youth.

In fact, it's not that she has no stories to write, but that she has too many stories to write.

For example, the black servants they hired in New York, there are a lot of stories to write in the house of the male and female servants, and young pregnant women have no money to see a skilled obstetrician, so they can only give birth at home. After giving birth, I cut the umbilical cord by myself. After giving birth, I only have one day off, and I have to go out to work on the third day, otherwise I will be hungry;

Children have to work early to earn money. Boys start as newsboys and shoe shine boys; girls at the age of 8 or 9 have to go to the streets to sell flowers in baskets; a few years older, boys work as apprentices in shoe stores and blacksmith shops, and girls are smart A little learn to be a maid, a cook, a tailor, and a little stupid can only be a cleaning lady;

Capitalists like to hire women and children, because a man earns a dollar a day, and women and children only need to pay 50 cents; men complain that women take their jobs, and they drink and curse at women who go out to work , but they also understand in their hearts that it is precisely because their salaries cannot support their wives and children that they have to allow their wives and children to go out to work, otherwise some people in the family will not be full and hungry.

The reality is cruel, and this is still a big city like New York, not a rural area or a mining area.

Speaking of the mining area, Vitaly thought of what Theo wrote last time, saying that Vincent was working as an assistant pastor in a certain mining area in the Netherlands—or was it from Belgium?She didn't remember, but she only remembered that Theo was very worried, worried that Vincent would torture himself to death.

She wrote to Theo to inquire about Vincent's recent situation, and Theo wrote back saying that Vincent had left the mining area, and he finally felt relieved; they had a very good relationship as brothers, and Theo respected and loved his brother very much, but sometimes he couldn't stand his stubbornness My brother thinks that he often asks for trouble on purpose, which is simply incomprehensible.

Vitaly couldn't say anything, she could only ask him to visit Vincent as much as possible, don't worry about the money, she will still provide enough funds.

Gabriel is not jealous of Vincent at all now, and asked generously, "Has he had any good works in recent years?"

"I don't know, Theo didn't say it. But Theo is a typical employee of Goupil, and he may think Vincent's painting is too ugly."

"I don't think it's beautiful either, at least not exquisite enough." Gabriel said very politely, "I really like the portrait he drew for you. Tell me, if I invite him to paint for you and your child Painting, will he come?"

Vitaly glanced at him, "Give him 2000 francs, I guess he will still be willing."

"Do you want him to paint you and the baby?"

"Think about it, so when our descendants accidentally become a prodigal son in the future, just selling a painting will be enough for him."

Amused him, "Really? Then how much will his paintings sell in the future?"

"Probably sell for several million."

"Wow!" Gabriel exclaimed. "Millions! Lire?"

"No, pounds."

He hugged her and laughed, "How dare you say it!" The paintings of contemporary painters are very cheap, and you can buy very good paintings for a few hundred pounds.Millions of pounds!He didn't even think about it!

"He is just like that when he paints portraits. He may not always be able to grasp the shape well, but his flowers and landscapes are very good. I can place an order for him and ask him to paint landscapes and flowers according to the size I gave. , I am going to hang it in the corridor, what do you think?"

"Okay, I just think our home is too small for you to hang your paintings."

"Then you have to work hard to make money, and change to a bigger house in the future."

The author has something to say: it's almost over, it can be seen that it is ending, right?I'm lazy and just want to write up to chapter 120.