[Pride and Prejudice] Liz's Little Vest

Chapter 48 The Bust of Napoleon

After leaving Jimmy's house, Elizabeth said to her sisters: "You said something wrong, you know?"

Kitty and Mary shook their heads, while Darcy looked at Elizabeth's "teaching" with a smile.

"Do you know how often a family like little Jimmy gets meat?"

Kitty and Mary shook their heads again.

"For them, twice a year is not a small amount. The goose eaten on Michaelmas Day is leftovers that others don't want, and the ham at Christmas is also leftovers from ordinary people's food. Most of the time, only donated It is an opportunity to taste the deliciousness of some meat."

Elizabeth gradually became bitter as she spoke, and she thought of the days when she was adrift in London before becoming a governess.While it wasn't as miserable as little Jimmy's family, it was by no means a memorable time.

"So, when you have to marinate the meat to ensure that the pork does not deteriorate, and you can eat it for half a year or even longer, you proudly introduce these delicacies, although the purpose is for their own good, so that they can enjoy them in the best way Good food. But to them - if you're not naive kids - it might be a show, a condescending handout."

Kitty and Mary were both stunned, then bowed their heads in silence.

"We've been doing this for the past few weeks. I didn't expect to make someone feel so sad. I was wrong." Mary reflected, "It's a good thing you came with us, Liz, otherwise We may have to embarrass many more families."

Elizabeth patted Mary's head: "You will understand one day, I just made this day earlier."

But Kitty bypassed Mary and Elizabeth, and walked to Mr. Darcy: "Mr. Darcy, how did Liz become so good at educating others. You will be together in the future—I can't imagine—it's really painful! "

Kitty's unrestrained childish run made the faces of Elizabeth and Darcy flushed at the same time.

Elizabeth made a gesture to slap her on the head, but Darcy said, "If you say that, don't you have to thank me when it happens?"

"Why?" Kitty shook her head.

"Because I have been taught by Miss Elizabeth—of course, it is my honor." Darcy coaxed her sisters half-jokingly, which reminded Elizabeth suddenly of Miss Georgiana.

I only saw Miss Georgiana once in my previous life, and I can't remember her face clearly.But recalling the scene of the exchange at that time, she always sighed that Mr. Darcy was the best brother in the world...maybe he would also be the best husband, and in the future he would be the best father.

Elizabeth had wild imaginations, but Kitty and Mary were amused by Mr. Darcy's humor.They felt that the friendly Mr. Darcy they saw today was not at all like the indifferent Mr. Darcy in Meryton.

Undoubtedly they liked the kind Mr. Darcy all the more so—it seemed all thanks to their dear sister.

It's a 10-minute walk from the end of the alley to the intersection.Even though the rain had stopped, the grass was muddier.During the half-hour period of the visit, many new footprints were added to the ground, which was in a mess.

The four of them walked slowly, and Kitty couldn't relax, so she opened the little present that Jimmy's mother gave them.

"This is—" She was stunned, quickly wrapped the package, and then handed it to Elizabeth, "Liz, look—just take a look, and be careful not to take it out."

At first they refused repeatedly, but little Jimmy's mother said that little Jimmy picked up this one in the corner of the toy store.It doesn't cost any money, it just represents your heart.So Elizabeth accepted it on behalf of her sisters.She thought it was a rag doll, but looking at Kitty's expression, something seemed wrong.

She glanced at it, also startled.

This alley is very close to the place where the French people gather. The toy store that Jimmy's mother visited must be opened by a Frenchman.

This is a plaster bust of Napoleon. It is not exquisitely made, but it is also very clean and tidy.The streets and alleys of France should be full of these things, worth only a few shillings at most.

The statue itself is not scary.But the thing is, this is England.Now the arrogant monarch of the neighboring country is approaching London, and the militia is still stationed in Meryton, which is only 24 miles from London.If Napoleon attacked London, the Corps would arrive in no time.

So under such circumstances, if they held up the bust of Napoleon in front of the crowd, they would definitely be cast aside by everyone.

Little Jimmy's mother probably didn't know much—maybe she didn't even know what their regent looked like—so she mistakenly thought it was an ordinary toy and gave it to them.

Elizabeth closed the box and calmed down slightly, only to realize that Darcy seemed to be thinking about something.

"Mr. Darcy, are you thinking about the purpose of Little Jimmy's mother giving this statue? I think this should be a misunderstanding. She may not know the appearance of Emperor Napoleon, so she did something bad with good intentions."

"At first I thought the same as you, Miss Elizabeth." Darcy's face was a little serious, "but I suddenly thought of the report in The Times some time ago."

"About policing in the slums? I really can't think of any connection."

"Some time back. The first case was reported a week ago. It happened in Moss Hudson's shop, a picture and figurine shop in Kennington High Street. The clerk left There was only a short time at the counter, and when I came back, I found that a plaster bust of Napoleon, which was placed with several other works of art, had been smashed to the ground[1].”

"I think at this special moment, everyone hates Napoleon very much, right? So it is reasonable to smash his statue." Elizabeth thought for a moment and replied.

"I think most people thought that until the second incident happened."

"The second incident?" asked Elizabeth, and Kitty and Mary listened with bated breath, staring at the box in Elizabeth's hand as if at something terrible, yet curious.

Darcy continued: "The second incident was much more serious, and it also made the public think that this was not an ordinary patriotic incident. It happened four nights ago, and there was a doctor living on Kennington Street, a distance from Moss. Hudson's store is not far away. He is a Frenchman who admires Emperor Napoleon very much, and his home is full of his portraits and reports. Not long ago, he bought two Napoleons from Moss Hudson's store Two of the plaster busts of Napoleon were on the mantelpiece. The next morning, he discovered that the home had apparently been broken into. Nothing else was missing, but one of the Napoleon busts was smashed and the other was intact. [1]."

"It's a bit strange." Elizabeth murmured, "But it can also be called a prank. Maybe the man smashed one statue to relieve his anger, so he didn't touch the other one. Or maybe it wasn't a person's act at all. You know, there are so many people in the British Empire who hate Napoleon. If everyone smashed a statue of Napoleon, the total must exceed the total that France can produce."

"Of course you can think so," Darcy said, "but I think there is something strange about it. The newspapers published portraits of the two broken statues, and asked the two owners. Only one conclusion can be drawn, that is, the two The statue was made from the same mold."

"What does this mean?" Elizabeth was puzzled.

"It's just speculation so far." Darcy took the box from Elizabeth, opened it and looked at the bust of Napoleon carefully, "If I remember correctly, this one should be exactly the same as the two broken ones Moss Hudson said in the paper that he received six of these statues when he bought them."

"So this is one of these?"

"I guess so."

"So," Elizabeth paused, and suddenly felt a chill behind her, "Do you doubt that the security problems in the slums in the past two days, or the incidents of outsiders breaking into the houses reported by many families, are To find and smash this bust of Napoleon?"

The author has something to say:

Suddenly want to transform into a nagging author TT watched 1Q84 today (didn’t finish it), and I feel that Haruki Murakami’s writing style is really my goal~

Note:

[1] Adapted from "Six Busts of Napoleon" by Sherlock Holmes.