Rimbaud's girl

Vitaly's good mood is placed on writing, which also has an impact on her writing style in the recent period.Her style of writing suddenly became brisk, which made the heroine of "A Floating Dream" talk about love.

Gabriel is now her first reader.

She paints in the morning, writes in the afternoon, and after dinner in the evening, walks on the beach with Gabriel, returns to the villa, and chats in front of the fireplace.The nights in Marseille are not cold, but the humidity is high, and Vitaly doesn't like the wet climate.

"Floating Dream" tells the story of a girl from a small town.Teresa Tilcomman was born into a family of fallen aristocrats, the patriarchal family lost its title because there was no legal male heir, Teresa's father spent his life nagging about the title he did not get, Teresa's mother lamented She was supposed to be a lady, but now she can only be an ordinary married woman;

Teresa left the small town at the age of 9 and was taken home by her aunt, Mrs. Zimmer. She was brought up according to the standards of a lady. Teresa's position in the Zimmer family was delicate and embarrassing: she didn't have a good surname , parents have no money, not a Zimmer girl, received a good education beyond her own family background.She is beautiful, but innocent, and Mrs. Zimmer did not teach her too much what a woman of status should learn, but only taught her how to please men; she studied music, dance, singing, painting, all for the sake of Improve your "worth".

Teresa became a blockbuster when she attended her first social ball at the age of 16. She was stunning and successfully attracted the attention of Mrs. Zimmer's potential target. The extremely rich material enjoyment obtained.

After a while, Teresa met the handsome young man Armand in a salon. Armand was the son of a businessman from other provinces, and he fell in love with Teresa fervently.

If it is "autobiographical", of course it is not, but Gabriel can see that part of Teresa's character and experience should still be based on Vitaly's own experience, but the proportion is not large and can be ignored.

Just like "Paris Dream", "Floating Dream" also triggered a wave of discussions, but it was not as great as "Paris Dream".The controversy still lies in the setting of the heroine. Teresa is still not the traditional "true, good and beautiful" female protagonist, but compared to Mia in "Paris Dream", Teresa is not so sharp, and her living environment is also different. Relatively superior.

"A Floating Dream" downplays "class antagonism" and focuses on "gender antagonism". Beautiful girls can only be reduced to men's playthings. Is it moral depravity or reality's helplessness?

Gabriel is now Vitaly's noble life consultant. If there are any details that are not sure, just ask him. He told a lot of stories about the nobles' "chaos in the noble circle", and did not shy away from the biggest theme: all kinds of chaos relationship between men and women.But after finishing speaking, she will criticize first, saying that she wants to look at the problem dialectically.Aristocrats, regardless of gender, are very confused in sexual relations. Husbands don't care if their wives are mistresses of the king or high nobles, and wives don't care how many mistresses their husbands have; the children of nobles who grow up in this environment have nothing to do. The concept of chastity, the actual "chastity" or "chaste concept" was never invented to restrict nobles;

There are various permutations and combinations of men and women, men and women, and women and women. Some of them are speculative, but most of the time, scandals are scandals, cheating is cheating, and there is no wrongdoing.

Vitaly did not dare to ask what happened to the Oran family.Gabriel was saying that Mrs. Oran was just "gossip," but well, that sort of thing never happened.But she was not interested in finding out that his parents were not the same as him, and knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.

He selectively told her what she needed to know and learn in the future.Just a large pile of aristocratic genealogy tables is enough for her to study for several months. The French relatives of the Oran family and the British relatives of the grandfather's family, only heard him say a few family names, and Vitaly would have apnea.

"You have so many relatives!" She murmured dissatisfied.Her own family is much simpler. The grandparents of Rimbaud's family have long passed away, and there are no paternal relatives. In the future, she will only have to deal with a half-brother at most; After the death of the first uncle, there were only Cousin Shire and a few cousins ​​from the grandmother's side in the grandfather's family, and there were no more than 5 families in total. If she didn't go back to Luoshi Village, even these cousins ​​would not need to deal with them.

"Many aristocratic families intermarry with each other, especially when the earls go up. Because the amount is very small, there are very few new earls. Families who are familiar with each other are always related to each other. Everyone is relatives."

"Is that how your Oxford cousin came from?"

"Yes, his name is Charles. Arthur has met him, and you will know him. Charles is not bad, at least not a nasty fellow."

"A person who can be said to be 'not bad' by you must be really good."

"Of course!" Gabriel said complacently, "Don't worry, I know what you are afraid of. If you think you are not from a noble family, they will laugh at you. If I say that they will never laugh at you, it must be a lie Not everyone is eligible to come to our engagement banquet and wedding, I will let my mother choose those guests who will not be too mean."

She smiled, "I'm a little worried, but not scared. People laugh at me, but I'm still me, and I won't suddenly become ugly, or something. My father said, as long as I'm famous, there are plenty of people To know me, to admire me, to speak well of me; if I were a famous writer and a wife of a nobleman, I could do whatever I wanted."

Gabriel couldn't help laughing, "He's right!" He curled up her temple hair with his fingers, tangling it around his knuckles, "I really want to get to Christmas sooner!"

"Summer isn't over yet."

"Yeah, summer hasn't passed yet."

He glanced quickly at Arthur, who was sitting on the sofa on the other side, looking down at a book.While Arthur was not looking at them, he quickly kissed Vitaly.

well!It's so hard to fall in love under the eyes of my brother-in-law!He couldn't help but secretly resent why Arthur didn't go farther.He knew that Arthur was worried about what indescribable things they would do now, he had thought about it, but of course not now, after all they got engaged, right?He wondered if he hadn't discussed the matter with Vitaly yet.

It's really hard to speak, and there is no chance, Arthur hardly allows him and Vitaly to have alone time. They can only have less than an hour of alone time every day when they walk on the beach, but this time is too short. Even kisses are not enough, there is no time to think about anything else.

After a few days, he finally talked about it carefully during a walk.

"You know what a man thinks—no, I mean, you don't know what's going on in a man's head. You read a lot of books, and many of them will write about...things between men and women. I think you only know part of it, and you don't know the specific details. Mrs. Rimbaud is very serious, and she probably won't tell you about those things until you get married." He was a little embarrassed, his face was slightly red , Thinking about telling my fiancée these things, I really don't know how to speak.

Vitaly found that she couldn't say "Hey! I already know what you want to say", which might frighten him, so she bowed her head silently in a show of coyness. "Don't tell me that." She whispered.

"I was going to tell you after I got engaged, but I was afraid that my mother would tell you first, she would be very serious, and you would be frightened."

"What will she tell me?" she asked curiously.

"My mother loves me very much, so maybe... she won't be very satisfied with you, she will be very strict with you, you have to be careful, even if you learn some etiquette, it's not that you don't know it, it's just the so-called 'court etiquette' It's really complicated." He hesitated for a moment, "She may also ask for your chastity, although I don't know what she will do, but if you find it unpleasant or her words make you uncomfortable, you must do it for your own sake. I, bear with her."

At this moment, Vitaly began to worry, "What will she do to me?" Oops!worry!She had thought that she might encounter problems with mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but she had no idea about it.No matter how strict Mrs. Rimbaud is, she is still her own mother. If she acts coquettishly or sheds a few tears, Mrs. Rimbaud will soften her heart; since ancient times, the issue of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has been a big problem, even the Austrian queen in Vienna has always been serious. Will encounter mother-in-law and daughter-in-law problems!

"If she makes it difficult for you, you can bear it for a while, and when I get home, you tell me, and then I will talk to her, okay?"

She thought for a while, then nodded, "Okay. But she can't scold me, and she can't scold my mother either."

He smiled, "Mother doesn't scold people."

Vitaly just wanted to roll her eyes: That's your own mother, of course she wouldn't scold you, even scolding others, you have never heard of it.well!Boys are so naive!

"As long as she doesn't scold me and my family with harsh words, I can accept her strict requirements. That is, you have to remember that I will marry you in the future and accompany you for decades. Me, I'm fine, I won't be vexatious, and I'll listen to Mrs. Orlan very well."

He really had a relaxed expression on his face, "I knew you were a good girl. Don't worry, of course I know this. My mother loves me very much, but you must be the one I love the most." He said with a smile on her lips. kissed.Then he whispered in her ear: "Do you want me to tell you about those things on the bed?"

"Don't listen."

"Do you know what two people do in bed?"

"know a little."

"Tell me."

"It's just... two people will take off their clothes, and then - I don't want to talk about this."

"Take it off, then what?"

"What a villain you are!" She glared at him.

"Am I bad?" He smiled and hugged her waist with one hand, and pressed it tightly to himself. He touched her neck with the other hand, tapped her collarbone with his fingers, and then tapped down to curl up the neckline.

She was startled, "Hi!"

"I haven't even seen it." He said with an aggrieved tone.

She was nervous, "It will be seen."

- >>

"No, there's no one around."

"Arthur will see."

"He's on the balcony, so he can't see here." He very thoughtfully chose a rock next to it.There are not many villas nearby, and the villas are far apart, which can be regarded as a high-end villa area.The rocks can indeed block the view of people on the balcony, and will not be seen by people in other villas.

There is a sneaky excitement and thrill.

Speaking of which, because of Arthur, their intimate contact was limited to kissing.Gabriel is a healthy young man who is about to turn 19 years old. It is not strange to have sexual urges, it is normal.He is already a very restrained man.

He was a little nervous and excited, blushing, and pressed his hand on her chest.

She was so nervous that her heart beat faster and her face felt hot.

He didn't speak, but he pushed her, and made her take a few steps back, leaning her back against the rock.

The rock is hard and cold.

She closed her eyes.

After a while, she whispered, "You, have you ever touched another woman before?"

"Well... touched it. Don't be angry." Meticulously kissed her lips, "That's the kind of woman, there will be that kind of woman in Oxford's tavern. But don't worry, I swear to you , you will be my first woman, I am not that kind of fool."

"Okay, I'm not angry, anyway, you remember, you swore to me."

"You have to believe me."

"I believe you."

After a while, he touched the tie on her chest and untied it.

The skin was exposed to the air, and there was a strange coolness.

She dared not open her eyes anymore.

The warm palm pressed against her skin was amazing.

She was shaking.

A few minutes later, he pulled up her neckline, sighed, and said in a very low voice next to her ear: "I really hope that you will become mine sooner, completely and unreservedly, and become mine."

Gabriel's birthday is August 8 and they celebrated his 10th birthday in Marseille.

It took Vitaly two weeks to paint a portrait of her fiancé, which Gabriel was going to take back to Oxford and hang above the bed in his bedroom, next to Vitaly's portrait.

Happy vacations always fly by so quickly, and the time the two of you spend together is so good that you can't think of anything else.

On the day of parting, the two were reluctant to leave, and Gabriel almost wanted to take Vitaly away at the Rouen train station.

Vitaly went back to the Cruzwa Manor in a sad mood.

Caroline said: "You will be together for a long time in the future, and you are not engaged yet, so you can't follow him to England now."

She was listless, "I know."

"After you get engaged and before you get married, you have to obediently stay at home and wait to be married. There are countless things to do in arranging a wedding, and don't think that you can just do nothing and just wait for a beautiful bride."

She was ignorant: "Mrs. Oran will prepare everything for the wedding, and I have nothing to do."

Caroline laughed, "You really don't understand. Well, I can't blame you. Mrs. Rimbaud's wedding must have been very simple back then, and there is no need to do anything."

"Well, yes, it seems that they went to the church to hold a very simple wedding." Common people, invite some relatives and friends to the church to watch the wedding. Mrs. Rimbaud didn't even buy a wedding dress, but she bought a pair, which is not bad. With a new dress and a veil, the wedding was completed simply and crudely.

"You are married to the heir of the baron. I heard that Oran's grandfather's family has a higher title? Earl? That will be even more troublesome. There will be a lot of noble etiquette waiting for you to learn. You don't need to think about this now. However, I am now I have to tell you some things you need to do before the wedding. You need to prepare the wedding dress, Orlan's may prepare it for you, or pay the bill for you, you have to go to the Champs Elysees in Paris to find a good women's clothing Shop to order a wedding dress."

"Isn't it enough to have money?"

"There are other clothes, you have to make a lot of skirts, divided into home skirts, going out skirts, dance skirts, banquet dress skirts; plus matching hats, matching underwear, underwear needs a hundred sets, petticoats and panties also need One hundred of each."

Vitaly was stunned before she finished speaking, "So many! How many wardrobes will it take to fit it!"

Caroline glanced at her: innocent!

"You still need a personal maid. Gisela probably won't go to London with you. You need to find a personal maid in London. The other servants will be servants from the Oran family. They will prepare servants for you. You don't need it." Worry. After engagement and before marriage, you are mainly busy with the dowry. Now at least you have the money to order it instead of doing it yourself, which saves a lot of trouble. In the past, when my grandmother got married, the whole family and sisters would do it together Made clothes and skirts for the married sister."

"It's scary! Gabriel didn't say that I have to prepare so many dresses and skirts." She began to worry: it would cost tens of thousands of francs just to make the clothes!She refused, "How can you make so many skirts all at once now! What if it doesn't become popular in a few years?"

"What a fool! Make new clothes and skirts every year! But when the time comes, the Oran family will spend the money."

"No reason to spend so much money on clothes, is there?"

"If your dowry is too shabby, you will be laughed at."

"That's out of my control. I'm sure I'll be laughed at by some of his relatives for being too low-born, whatever." Alas, that's the bad thing about having class differences.If the Oran family was just a family of declining nobles with little money, they wouldn't pay attention to these things.She started worrying about money again: Why does she feel that she has made a lot of money, but she can't even make it through a wedding?

This damn capitalist society!

Gabriel wrote from London, saying that he had talked to his parents once, and asked them to treat her as their own child and not to embarrass her.

Vitaly felt that Gabriel was naive in this regard.

Then he wrote a letter from Oxford, saying that he missed her and hoped that she would have a good time in London. Don't worry about the money. He left her pocket money. If he had time, he would return to London to visit her in early November. she.

Vitaly's life at the Cruzwa Manor was very regular: in the morning, if Flaubert's body allowed, he would take a walk on the lawn with him, and then come back to have breakfast; in the morning Flaubert worked in the study, and Vitaly A writing desk was set up in the library, where he worked; after lunch, he took a nap; in the afternoon, Flaubert continued to work, and Vitaly painted outside.

Caroline used it to handle housework in the morning and played with her daughter Romy in the afternoon. Romy is not yet 5 years old and has already learned the style of a little lady. She sits upright and learns the rules while drinking afternoon tea.

Seeing how Caroline educated her daughter, Vitaly realized that it might not be an easy task for her to learn the "manners" of nobles well.

She has never received this kind of "lady" education since she was a child, so she doesn't have the consciousness of "holding her hand" all the time. First of all, she is unqualified for her sitting posture. There is no need to "sit upright".

You should also pay attention to eating food. There are so many table rules. It doesn't mean that you don't talk at the table. On the contrary, many things of the nobles and rich people are settled at the table.Mrs. Rimbaud's rule of "no talking while eating" can only be implemented in a small rural family with a strong religious atmosphere.

There are also religious issues. Caroline asked Vitaly to find out the religious beliefs of the Oran family, because France is a Catholic country, and Britain is a Protestant country.She hadn't paid attention to religion before because Gabriel almost never talked about it, and they never went to church together.

She hurriedly wrote to ask him, and Gabriel replied quickly, saying that his grandfather's family was Protestant, but his father converted to Catholicism because he wanted to inherit the title of Oran's family. , the Oran family hardly ever went to church.

So, which church will the wedding take place then?Most of them are still Catholic churches, and there are still Catholic churches in London.

Religious issues are quite serious. Rimbaud's family is Catholic, so there will be no religious differences.

Flaubert has been very diligent these past few months. Except for being unable to sit still during the illness and having a headache that made him unable to think, he was quite active in his work at other times.Caroline hired a secretary to sort out the previous manuscripts for him; Flaubert changed the form of writing and gradually became accustomed to dictation, which is also used by many writers, such as Victor Hugo, who lost his eyesight as he grew older In many cases, it can only be dictated, and the secretary writes down the manuscript, transcribes and organizes it into a document.

Vitaly went on vacation, and Flaubert worked with the secretary at the manor.

The secretary's name was Lucien Sulzac, a native of Rouen, aged 23, and Caroline arranged for him to live on the third floor, the room farthest from Vitaly's room.

Vitaly now had two servants, still Mrs. Reval in her sitting room and Gisela in the servants' room.

Lucien rarely saw Vitaly, he was very busy, Flaubert had a lot of manuscripts, but most of them were scattered characters, and because of the change of handwriting after contracting syphilis, it became more and more illegible and difficult to decipher. The strenuous work is to recognize handwriting, copying is not a tiring work.