Continuation of "Gone with the Wind"

Chapter 120 Five

Disson's sudden appearance saved him: "Scarlett, so you are here."

Paul watched Scarlett and Deason enter the lounge, and then secretly heaved a sigh of relief.Knowing that Scarlett would come back later, he couldn't help but slip away.There were a lot of people in the hall, but Paul didn't know any of them, and wasn't interested in what they were discussing in their respective circles. He wanted to go back to his room, but that seemed difficult, because he saw that he He is the youngest among this group of people, and his disproportionate height makes him quite eye-catching.It is estimated that most of these guests have seen him, the young man next to the commander, when the showers first came in the afternoon, but no one knows his details.According to the rules of high society, Scarlett should be responsible for introducing him to everyone, but she is not here now, and it is considered impolite to greet a stranger casually, so even if they are very curious about Paul's identity, they don't know. He only paid attention to him.

Walking under the gaze of a group of people is no easy task, and even though he was only watched for a second, Paul felt that all eyes were on him the whole time.He tried to remember the manners Scarlett had taught him, to make his gait more graceful and his movements more powerful, but the rigidity of his posture slowed him considerably.

Naturally, Paul failed to escape. It was not someone who stopped him, but the music that descended like an oracle.The crowd who stood gracefully like ripples that were aroused and solidified gradually merged into a quiet stream with the soothing melody.Slowly, the melody turned cheerful, and the stream flowed quietly.At this time, the rain outside the window gradually stopped.

No one invited Paul to dance, which just gave him the opportunity to appreciate all kinds of dancing.Look at that bald fat man, his clothes were stretched to the point of exploding, and he still has to do stretching movements with his arms around his partner. He really doesn't worry about the safety of his buttons; With his two strong, if it's from the back, you can't see where he is except for a hand on his waist; plus that idiot who always misses the beat, it's really unlucky to be his dancing partner .He began to sympathize with the ladies present. It was fine if there were no knights. Could it be that they couldn't even find their mounts, so they had to use grooms to make up for it?

At the end of the song, Paul didn't see Scarlett come back, he was surprised.What surprised him even more was yet to come. The brilliant lights in front of him were silently extinguished, leaving only the huge crystal ceiling above his head still shining, blooming grandly like a flower urged by rain. Come.At this time, the music sounded again, not as soft as before, full of movement and passion, rising along the warm air due to the enthusiasm of the crowd, hovering under the light of the crystal ceiling, easily lighting up everyone face, or mask.

At first, Paul was startled by the Halloween ghosts and ghosts distorted by the ordinary human facial features before him. After he calmed down, he realized that they were all wearing masks.When the familiar things are disguised, the original desire hidden deep in people's hearts is released so naturally.The world changed in front of Paul. It began to cheer, leap, shout, and show all expressions and movements that were impossible and dare not be possible in broad daylight.Paul was bumped several times by the nearly crazy crowd. He tried his best to maintain his balance, but he was almost engulfed by this rotating object.

In a trance, he felt that he had grabbed a hand, or was caught by a hand. In any case, with this force, he was out of the danger of being dizzy.The kind-hearted man who helped him didn't intend to stop to accept his thanks, but quickly dodged into the dangerous circle.Paul's eyes followed him closely, but he still couldn't see his appearance clearly, which made him more or less frustrated.

The rising moon outside the window just rightly sprinkled soft and gentle light on people's faces. Although it was a moment short, it was enough for Paul to recognize those unique eyes, which made his heart sink suddenly.They were shining with the vigilance he was familiar with, but there was no trace of heat inside, like a desolate ice field frozen all year round.

It was very late at night, and most of the guests had already left happily, but the lights in the hall were turned on again.

Paul managed to pull himself together, resisted the urge to yawn, and carefully sat on the sofa in the living room, his eyes almost closed, but he turned his head from time to time to peek at the movement in the room behind: Mr. Butler and Mrs. Butler How long have the two been in.Why don't you come out?

Until now, Paul didn’t know how Mr. Butler escaped from the prison—or other places he couldn’t think of for the time being—and sneaked in again (only this word fits his feeling, otherwise he would Can't convince himself how Mr. Butler got here) Among the dancing crowd just now—he didn't count himself and Scarlett.It’s not difficult to say where the City Defense Commander lives, just ask someone casually, but Paul still has other doubts in his heart, and this tricky reasoning is not enough to make him feel relieved.

He had asked Mrs. Butler before if Mr. Butler would come. At that time, she looked very embarrassed and hesitated for a long time before telling himself that she would not.At that time, Paul could see that Mr. Butler might be in danger, and because he didn't want to add a psychological burden to her, he didn't continue to ask.

Now Mr. Butler's sudden appearance made him very surprised, and he was worried that his worries would come true, but he didn't have much joy to speak of.He could only pray that Scarlett could explain things clearly, but given the glorious tradition he had seen and heard of these two people quarreling within three sentences, things might not be optimistic.

But then again, it's been such a long time, why hasn't he heard the sound of quarreling and throwing things, is it because he is embarrassed at someone else's house?But to be honest, the dull thunder is more confusing than the thunderbolt in the clear sky.

Mr. Walmont sitting on the opposite sofa looked much calmer, and his sitting posture was more relaxed than his. Paul remembered Mrs. Butler was suddenly called away by him when Mrs. Butler was admonishing him before the ball, so he should have known but Mrs. Walmont looked a little disturbed, perhaps worried about Mrs. Butler.

"Paul, it's already so late, why don't you go up to rest first?" Mrs. Walmont probably couldn't bear to see him stay up late, and said to him.

Paul shook his head and said nothing.Neither Angela nor Andrew knew what had happened until after the ball, and must have slept soundly now; he had asked to stay (though he did not know why he had done so), and Mrs. Butler immediately agreed, Perhaps he thought it would not be too embarrassing to have a child present; but the strange thing is that Mr. Butler didn't raise any objection, just looked at him with that silent look, and walked into the next room without saying hello.Paul thought hard for a long time, and he didn't feel that he had offended him in any way. It should be more accurate to throw this kind of look at his wife and even Angela's parents.

He didn't know if Mrs. Butler's behavior was considered normal.Although he could see that she tried her best to look calm when she walked into the room, he could also see the panic she couldn't hide no matter how hard she tried, she was really a person who was born with everything written on her face.It is reasonable to say that she was a little surprised when she first saw the person she was thinking about day and night. After all, she had no preparations, or the direction of the preparations was wrong, but there was no joy of reunion after a long absence, so it made people feel murmured up.

Paul didn't hear footsteps, but he saw the Walmonts get up from the couch, so he rose with them.When he turned around, he deliberately slowed down a bit, and while Mr. Butler was taking off his hat to them (where did he get the hat, why didn't he see it just now), he quietly moved his position from the front to the two of them Behind—actually, it’s completely unnecessary, they are all so familiar, adults are trouble—he can only follow, but when he bends halfway, he finds Mrs. Butler is still poking there, ignoring the three A self-inflicted person who just looked at him expressionlessly (this time she really managed to have a calm expression, but it made him feel bad, like a pool of stagnant water suddenly frozen).He had no choice but to pull his body back stiffly, feeling an ominous premonition in his heart—he had always felt that this word was pretentious before, but now he could only say so.

"Thank you very much for taking good care of my wife during my absence." Sure enough, the first sentence hit the mark. Although Mrs. Butler's expression did not change significantly, the expressions of the Walmonts changed immediately. .He had been trying to figure out where Mr. Butler had got that gift, which no one else had, to make a commonplace polite remark look like a slap in the face.

However, Mr. Walmont is not someone who has not experienced this kind of verbal dispute. He immediately adjusted his expression and said with a smile: "It's an honor." It was a simple two words, and there was no weird tone added on purpose. It bypasses the other party's sarcasm by not showing the mountain or leaking the water.It was only then that Paul discovered that it was not the content of the speech that affected the listener's feelings, but the tone of the speaker.

"Now that I'm blessed by God, I'm fine now, so I don't want to bother you any more. I've already discussed with my wife about the return date, and I plan to set off on the road tomorrow." This farewell is too fast, even if you want to Let's go, at least you have to prepare your luggage or something, and is it so difficult to say "Welcome to the humble house in the future" to others?

"Your Excellency will do as you please." Mr. Walmont quietly stopped his wife who was about to speak, with no fluctuations in his tone.

Mr. Butler seemed to want to say something, but Mrs. Butler preempted him: "Sorry, everyone. I feel very tired tonight, and I want to go upstairs to rest first." After she finished speaking, she neither said good night nor watched Anyone, ran straight to the stairs, under the huge hem of the skirt could not hide the chaotic footsteps - maybe she didn't want to hide it at all.