"The Widow" Bertha

After the turmoil, it is time to clean up the mess.

Bertha returned to Mrs. and Mrs. Smith's residence early in the morning, and she was not fully revived until the next morning. She drove to the Thames Office. As soon as she got out of the carriage, she heard the soft but majestic roar of the little accountant Ned Morrison. : "A bunch of shit-eating b*tches give me my fucking money!"

Bertha: "..."

Unexpectedly, the little accountant looks gentle and scholarly, so he can swear.

"What is this?" Bertha smiled and stepped through the door. "Ned, robbery and blackmail have hit one of our own?"

"lady!!"

A few young men who had been "robbed and blackmailed" by Ned ran to Bertha crying for their fathers and mothers, and almost cried while hugging their thighs: "We also have a family to raise, let Mr. Morrison save us some oil and water! "

Ned said angrily, "Don't listen to their nonsense!"

After finishing speaking, he slapped the account book on the table, and adjusted the mirror frame: "The pennies from the pockets of dead bodies should be returned to the family (the money stolen from the fight should be handed in), and they should be hidden in the trouser pockets one by one. Are you still doing this business?"

"Ma'am!!! Please do me a favor!" Several young people howled dryly upon hearing this.

"..."

What kind of Zhou skinning slave labor scene!

After tossing for a long time, Bertha finally realized what had happened: Although it was Mycroft's people who confronted the Truth Society before, Ned and Mrs. Thames' boys were also present at the time, and they still made half of the force.

After knocking down the enemy, the guns, wallets, and gold and silver jewelry on the enemy's body can be retrieved by taking the opportunity.

It stands to reason that these are all gang assets and should be handed over, but there are always people who will hide something privately.

After listening to several young people's complaints, Bertha's feeling about this is: the little accountant knows exactly what rings are hidden in their underwear!

Living in a capitalist society is considered a bad time for you, and you should be a slave owner.

Bertha couldn't help laughing: "Okay, who are you crying for?"

The money still had to be given, otherwise someone would work for her; but Ned did the right thing too, anyone could steal the trick, and the firm could still operate.

As a result, she had no choice but to slap each other with [-] big boards: "Be reasonable, don't watch people order food, I didn't bump into you today, I didn't even know you could swear, what a powerful official, Ned."

Ned: "...sorry, ma'am."

Bertha turned her head to look at the poor fellows again: "Rules are rules, how can we do things without rules? If you want to hand it in, just hand it in."

Several young people said one after another, "Madam..."

Bertha: "Shut up and listen to me."

The big boys in the office fell silent.

"The money that should be distributed still needs to be distributed, and you can't let you work hard for nothing," she then slowed down her tone, "How about giving everyone an extra 10 bonus this time after Ned has finished the calculation?"

This is enough!

The trophies hidden by the young men are not fake, but if they hide too little, they may not have a [-]% bonus at all. It's earned!

Mrs. Thames spoke, and several young people immediately handed over the hidden spoils to Ned.

"Isn't that enough?"

When they had left, Bertha laughed and said, "You've got your brains, Ned."

"Yes."

The little accountant held the account book and said sadly: "Madam, you generously promised a bonus, how will I settle this account?!"

Bertha smiled: "It doesn't matter."

Ned: "..."

Bertha: "You're the accountant and I'm the boss, so why don't you let me worry about how to settle the account?"

Finally, it was the social animal's turn to be the boss, so it was only natural for Bertha to call people up.Besides, the [-]% bonus promised is not a big sum, and the firm will not lose money.

How much money can you make with gang fires?Except for the cost of seeing a doctor to bandage the wound for one's own people, it would be good if they don't pay back.

What really made Mrs. Thames gain something was the territory.

Ned also understood this, so he could only sigh: the office belongs to Mrs. Thames, she is generous, can a younger brother stop her?He also has his share of the [-]% bonus.

After thinking it over, the little accountant looked a lot better: "I just sent someone to do the math, ma'am, I won two whole streets in the residential area, but part of it is your uh...uh..."

"What's his is mine," Bertha understood, of course, what Ned was trying to say. "It's on our own land."

The location of Dr. Bailier's apartment was well chosen, just outside Mrs. Thames's territory, in the residential area adjacent to the White Pigeon Gang's territory.When Mycroft's people arrived, they naturally cleared out the "retail investors" like Sykes who had occupied the block first. Afterwards, when they left, the site was empty. There was no reason not to occupy it.

"That's what we got for nothing." Ned laughed.

"How can it be counted?" Bertha said solemnly, "Our boy has suffered a lot of injuries, at least half of his strength has been lost, and this is what he deserves."

Mycroft Holmes was not going to take ground in Whitechapel, and Bertha could take advantage of it.

The two streets in the residential area, where there are eight or nine shops alone, not to mention the thieves, prostitutes and other low-class people hidden in them, compared with these businesses merged into Thames Office, the [-]% bonus promised, but It's just fur.

"It's just that, ma'am," Ned smiled after the good news, "our territory is directly bordered by the White Pigeon Gang."

"Ah."

This means more dealings in the future.

It would be all right if Bertha's ambitions stopped at Whitechapel.but……

"Katie has helped a lot this time," Bertha said indifferently, "Send something to her and her roommate, the girl's family, just a set of clothes and jewelry, don't be too shabby."

"Yes."

If you don't help, it's fine if you don't help. During the Jack the Ripper case, Lambert Byrne, the leader of the White Pigeon Gang, was plotting against himself with his madam lover, Mrs. Latton. This is unbearable.

Obviously helping the prostitutes to catch the murderer, Mrs. Latton not only did not thank her, but also tried to gain benefits from Bertha under the banner of the deceased Martha Garrison.Such a person is like a pimple on the body, which only picks when you are weakest to break out.

Bertha knew it well, and Ned knew it too.

He adjusted the mirror frame: "What about Mrs. Raton?"

Bertha: "Don't worry."

Mrs. Raton didn't know that her girls had betrayed her, and she thought that she and Lambert Byrne had a perfect collusion.This is a great opportunity.

With ready-made "commercial" spies, is Bertha afraid that she won't get the details of Lambert?

Therefore, Bertha curled her lips and said casually: "When giving gifts to Katie, please pay more attention to other girls, especially ask her what kind of good family she wants to find in the future."

Ned nodded: "Okay, then I'll let Thomas go."

Bertha: "..." She even used the seduction technique, you are ruthless.

The fire incident is over, and then there is the Jack the Ripper case.

Ned, who is also a secretary, has long practiced the ability to keep all the arrangements in mind by staring at the income and expenditure of the ledger. He turned over a page of the ledger and continued: "Pastor White... and Victim No. 2's The funeral will be held the day after tomorrow, madam. Do you want to attend in person?"

"Ah."

"That--"

Ned hesitated for a moment, choosing not to talk about it.

He was not at the scene and did not know what happened inside the church.Anyway, Reverend White was dead. As for who did it, and what kind of conversation he had with Mrs. Thames, Ned naturally dared not ask if Mrs. Thames didn't tell her.

Don't ask, let this matter pass.

The strong desire to survive made Ned avoid Bertha's burning gaze. He coughed a few times: "Then I will make arrangements, and then there is Nancy, madam. She is a great hero this time."

"I know, didn't I agree to meet her, where's the person?"

"upstairs."

Ned pointed to the ceiling on the first floor of the office with a pen: "Miss Jane Eyre is entertaining her."

Bertha nodded: "I'll go and have a look."

***

Because of a symbol of the bar on South Bank Street, Miss Jane Eyre moved into Thames Office with a coachman and two servants of Bertha.

Fortunately, the office is large enough, and the staircase in the center just divides the second floor into east and west sides. Thomas lives with a few children in the east end, and Jane lives in the west end. They hardly see each other every day, but it will not affect its fame and life.

When Bertha went upstairs and touched Miss Jane Eyre's pale and delicate face, she felt that her heart that had been holding her back for the past few days was completely relieved.

Because of the Jack the Ripper case, they haven't seen each other for a long time, and Bertha is afraid that she will cause trouble for Miss Jane Eyre.

In the past at Thornfield Manor, Bertha lived in the attic, hiding in the dark and unable to see the light, while Miss Jane Eyre walked in the daytime, dignified and full of curiosity about the mysterious manor.

Today in London, Miss Jane Eyre, who teaches in a private girls' school and is Mrs. Fisher's secretary, still walks on the bright road; while Bertha devotes herself to the back of London and occupies a corner in the slums.

They were always in stark contrast, even in appearance.

But for Bertha, the existence of Jane Eyre is an anchor after passing through the slums and shadows. She is firmly fixed here. Once she sees her, Bertha knows that she has returned to a normal and decent life. , Bright life.

Even if Miss Jane Eyre sat in the Thames Office and helped her entertain Nancy.

Catching Jane's eyes, Mrs. Thames became a decent Miss Marple again.

"Bertha," Jane raised her head when she heard footsteps, and greeted the tall woman, "Miss Nancy has been waiting for you for a long time."

"...just call me Nancy, Miss Eyre."

The young girl sitting on the other side of the sofa was dressed plainly and kept her head down. When Bertha came, she reluctantly said, "Ma'am."

Bertha lifted her skirt and sat beside Jane.

She glanced at the teacup in Miss Jane Eyre's hand: "Do you have mine?"

Jane paused slightly, and said with a smile: "If I say no, what will happen?"

"Then I'm sorry," said Bertha, drawling her tone exaggeratedly. "I'm not really out of my place?"

"of course not."

The younger unmarried lady readily accepted Bertha's blatant coquetry. Jane poured a cup of tea for Bertha and pushed her to her side: "I heard that Nancy stopped the murderer, is that true?"

Naturally so.

If Nancy hadn't stalled for time, Dr. Lear's pretended Jack the Ripper would have slit Annie Poole's throat long ago.She was a great contributor to solving the Whitechapel massacre.

"You came forward to save someone, and I won't treat you badly," Bertha took the teacup from Jane as a matter of course, "When you go home later, get your money from Ned."

"Thank you."

"How about the hand injury?"

"I'm afraid it will scab over in a few days, madam, please take care of me."

Bertha's gaze rested for a moment on Nancy's palm at her side.

Perhaps her movement was too obvious, Nancy immediately picked up the teacup with the other hand, but she did not expect that this movement made Bertha slightly frown: "Can't move yet?"

"Do not……"

"If you can move, why don't you hold the teacup with your dominant hand," Bertha said leisurely, "You can raise your left hand to block the knife, which proves that you are used to using your left hand."

Her almost aggressive words fell to the ground, in exchange for Nancy's silence for a moment.

Even Miss Jane Eyre showed a bit of surprise: Although Bertha has always spoken bluntly, her attitude towards the same sex, especially young girls, is much better.It was the first time for Jane to directly expose the other party's affairs like this.

"Could it be that Sikes kept you from going to the doctor?" she asked coldly.

Nancy quickly retorted: "I think, this, this is not a big deal, madam. It's just a knife wound, and you don't need to spend money to see a doctor."

The incision made by a scalpel, and the murderer never showed mercy, how could it be considered "just a knife wound"?

"Nancy."

Bertha put down her teacup, a trace of emotion flashed in her dark golden eyes: "I don't care about you and Sykes. But you were injured because of my entrustment, so Thames must take care of your hand injury. Tomorrow I will ask Thomas to come to my door and take you to the doctor myself."

"Not Thomas!"

"..."

Nancy's sudden voice made Bertha and Jane fall silent.

Knowing that she had lost her composure, she raised her head suddenly and lowered it again: "Sorry, ma'am, please don't come to Thomas. Thank you for your kindness."

Bertha probably understood.

"To be honest," she said calmly, "did Sikes hit you because of Thomas?"

Jane was shocked when she heard this: "Wh-what?!"

Although Sikes was rude and domineering, he was Bertha's man, so he was naturally classified as non-threatening by Miss Jane Eyre.

And this person who didn't threaten actually hit his lover, which was completely beyond Jane Eyre's expectation.

But Nancy didn't answer.

Her silence had given Bertha the answer.

"I see."

In the end, Bertha just put away her casual expression, and said with a cold and beautiful face: "I will ask my maid Grace Poole to accompany you to the doctor tomorrow, is that okay?"

"Thank you, ma'am." Nancy's yellow face showed a grateful expression.

She didn't appreciate Bertha when she promised to give her money, and she didn't express her gratitude when she was allowed to go to the doctor. Instead, after Bertha took the initiative to back down, Nancy accepted Bertha's kindness with a faint smile.

"Go, it's none of your business."

Such a situation made Bertha suddenly lose the idea of ​​continuing the conversation: "Please go there yourself."

Nancy: "It's all right, ma'am."

After receiving Bertha's words, Nancy secretly let out a long sigh of relief, got up and left.

All the while she didn't dare to look Bertha in the eyes.

This made Jane couldn't help turning her head to look at Bertha carefully.

Bertha raised her eyebrows: "What?"

Today's Miss Jane Eyre is not what it used to be. She runs around for women's magazines, and even speaks on stage in person.After moving into the office, she met with different young people every day, and she was no longer a thin girl who hid behind the curtains and suppressed her nature.

So she said bluntly: "Nancy treats you as if you are facing a monster, Bertha. She is the one who faces the murderer."

"Oh?"

Bertha picked up her teacup again, and deliberately put on a look of interest: "According to what you say, my dear Jane, I am even scarier than the Ripper in Whitechapel."

simple:"……"

Bertha: "She is not afraid of death, but of her man."

An indifferent sentence made Miss Jane Eyre's expression sink.

She clenched her fingers, hesitated to speak several times, and finally made up her mind after meeting Bertha's frank gaze.

"You say Sikes beat her," asked Jane softly, "is it true?"

"You have the answer in your own heart."

If not, why did Bertha bring it up?

Miss Jane Eyre frowned: "Why?"

Bertha: "You'll have to ask Sikes about that."

Jane shook her head slowly: "What I want to ask is Nancy."

Ask Nancy what?Naturally, he was obviously beaten, so why didn't he leave Sykes.

Bertha also wanted to ask this question when she read Oliver Twist.The girl who just sat on the sofa and dared not look up is kind-hearted and kind. She betrayed her lover for the innocent little Oliver, but when the gentlemen and ladies offered their help, she pushed him away and returned to the slums without looking back. .

What awaits her is the price of betrayal, death.

Obviously there is a chance to get out of the sea of ​​suffering, why not do it?

"Do you still remember when you were at Thornfield Manor?" Bertha asked without answering, "Why did you think Edward was different?"

"..."

Bertha asked tactfully, but Miss Jane Eyre understood: she asked Jane why she liked Rochester.

Is it a young girl? Hearing this question, Jane lowered her head uncomfortably. After a moment of hesitation, she still answered Bertha: "Mr. Rochester did not ignore my thoughts just because I am a governess."

"Because he respects you."

Bertha concluded: "It's not like other men."

In fact, Miss Jane Eyre didn't see many "other men" at that time, but even when he came to London, Edward Rochester was still the man who rarely listened to Jane Eyre's opinions and thoughts.

She vaguely understood what Bertha meant, but she didn't seem to understand: "Then Nancy and Sykes..."

"Men in this world probably don't respect women," Bertha said calmly, leaning lazily on the arm of the sofa, "Edward is barely an exception, dear."

Although Rochester never respected Bertha, it was a helpless move—the crazy Bertha didn't respect Rochester either.At least because of love, Edward respects Jane Eyre's ideas.

In the final analysis, this is still the reason why there is no economic independence and no political power.That's why Ibsen wrote "A Doll's House". Nora's happy and happy family is just her husband and a bird in a cage. A woman has no qualifications to be an independent human being.

The upper class has moral decency as a fig leaf, but the slums have nothing.

"Sikes is fond of Nancy, I assure you of that."

Nancy doesn't have a job, she eats and uses Sykes's, and is therefore regarded by Sykes as a property rather than a "person."It is also a matter of course.

"It's just that she can't do without Sykes. Even if you kick this man away, how can you guarantee that the next one will be better than him," Bertha explained succinctly, "This is the Whitechapel district, Jane."

A few words are enough to make Miss Jane Eyre fall into deep thought.

Bertha was actually very angry.

As a woman, of course she would be angry with him.In the 21st century, the girl around her would not break up with a domestic violence man, which would make Bertha jump up in anger.

But now Bertha was in the Victorian era.

Is this Nancy's problem?If she hadn't compromised, how could she have survived to this day.Even Bertha thought that Nancy liked Sikes.

"I'll bang and bang Sikes, don't worry," she said, "that fellow has some respect for me."

At least Bertha sends money to Sikes.Hope this restrains that guy's behavior somewhat.

"Then, Bertha," Jane looked up again after pondering, "do you accept Mr. Holmes because he respects you?"

Bertha suddenly realized.

"That guy is different," she said.

"……you like him."

"Huh? I've lived with him for a long time."

"no."

Jane negated Bertha's words in a low voice, and then the young girl chuckled.

"You didn't look like that when you mentioned Mr. Holmes earlier, Bertha," she said. "Perhaps you didn't notice it yourself."

is it?

The kiss at dawn yesterday is still fresh in my memory.

His lips were hot, his palms were hot, even the curled palms were hot when he grabbed her hair.Mycroft Holmes used the model of a gentleman to disguise himself to the point of tight-fitting, always with an impeccable friendly smile, and always an easy-going and polite posture. The more perfect, the more he seems to refuse to be thousands of miles away.

But such a man also has the same body temperature as ordinary people.

Bertha curled her lips.

"Maybe."

She seemed to have casually brought up this topic: "Don't worry about me, my dear, what about yourself? Now that you have a full mind and a busy life, do you still think that Miss Jane Eyre is of humble origin and is not worthy of the rich Mr. Rochester?

Bertha teased Jane on purpose, hoping to see her blushing and embarrassed, but she didn't expect her words to fall to the ground, but in exchange for Miss Jane Eyre's slightly complicated expression.

"There is something I have been wanting to discuss with you, Bertha."

Jane said: "It's just that the case was tense before. I don't think it's necessary to disturb you because of personal affairs. Now I finally have a chance."

Bertha; "What?"

Jane: "Wait a minute."

Then she got up and walked to her room on the west side. After a while, Jane Eyre came over with a clean envelope.She handed the envelope to Bertha.

The envelope had been opened, but it was neatly folded.

After Bertha took the envelope, the first thing she saw was that the sender's name was "Briggs".

This... sounds familiar.

She raised her head in surprise, and met Jane's clear gaze, and then Bertha slowly remembered where she had seen this strange but familiar name.

——Naturally in the original "Jane Eyre".

The £[-] inheritance belonging to Jane seems to have come to her.