The Happy Life of a Duchess

Adele originally thought that Mr. Duval sent her back because he had something to tell her, but in fact, the two passed the carriage quietly across the carriage.

Except when Adele didn't hold back from teasing him when he first got into the carriage, it was a bit funny that the other party pretended not to know, and they didn't have any more interactions.

Adele sat in the slightly bumpy carriage and thought about rendering.

Miss Sophie Barry's strangeness is obvious, just because most of her behavior can't find a reason to explain, mainly because if the other party came to her, Adele didn't catch any reason.

It seems that she intends to befriend Morgana Duval, and now there is a reason, although it is not the same as she originally thought.

Ms. Sophie Barry actually took a fancy to Mr. Duval instead of Mr. Armand, who was more suitable in age, which was somewhat beyond Adele's expectation.

But when you think about it, it doesn't seem to be surprising. After all, men who are much older than Mr. Duval have remarried, let alone Mr. Duval who looks extraordinarily handsome and charming.

In terms of various conditions, it is not surprising that Mr. Duval will become the more popular one compared to Mr. Armand, who only has an annuity of more than 1 francs and works as a small lawyer.

However, judging from the information so far, the other party has no intention of marrying a wife. On the contrary, Mr. Armand may need to plan a marriage. However, because she knows the original work of La Traviata, Adele will not consider Armand anyway.

But even if she doesn’t know the original work, in all fairness, if Adele is to choose between the mature and more charming Mr. Duval and the younger and more energetic Mr. Armand, she will still choose the former.

Armand's gentleness with a bit of melancholy temperament seems to her to be not very different from the word weak, although at this time people's aesthetic tendency is not to pursue muscles, and men have strong bodies It's just a bonus item, but she still prefers mature, stable, and more charming men. This is her aesthetic.

The carriage stopped, and Adele also stopped being in a daze, and immediately got into the mood.

Mr. Duval got out of the carriage first, and took the initiative to help her down. Adele put her hand on his arm, and the other party supported him, holding her arm in a protective posture. After she stood firmly, she let go .

"...Please don't think too much about it."

After a while, just after Adele thought that the other party would say nothing more, he suddenly said this while the two of them were still close.

Adele was taken aback for a moment, then raised her eyebrows and looked at him with a smile on her face:

"So... see you at the Easter dance?"

"Yes. I wish you sweet dreams."

With his hands behind his back, his posture was tall and straight, and his temperament was excellent. He only nodded politely when he heard the sound.

If she didn't see his lowered eyes trembling for a moment, she would really be deceived by his seemingly nonchalant appearance.

"You too, I wish you a sweet dream."

Adele smiled and waved to him, who watched her enter the room.

Behind him was the voice of him talking to the butler. He just said that he had sent the princess to the mansion, it was getting late, and he would no longer visit and disturb the duke.

The butler politely welcomed him to come again.

The next day, the jewelry was delivered to the door, and because the distinguished customer spent a lot of money, the store also sent a small box of pearl powder.

Adele had told Mrs. Lude earlier that she would have seen the things on the dressing table not long after she woke up.

"Miss, are you going out today?"

Mary is not reconciled to always shrinking aside, especially Jenny made a mistake before.

She often came to hang out in front of Adele to refresh her sense of presence, and Adele didn't mind, and treated her as usual, just asking her not to be too busy, so as not to cause problems with the skin that was so hard to raise.

"No, let's take a rest today."

Adele reviewed her itinerary and decided to go to the piano room to practice the piano for a while after the meal.

In the afternoon, she took out all the letters she had exchanged with her friends.

In Marianne's reply, she re-read the answer she might not have read carefully before about asking about the two sisters of the Desi family. Miss Barry and Miss Bernard were also mentioned in the letter.

Due to previous rumors, Adele consulted her on many matters in this regard.

At the beginning, Marianna was still a little scruples about replying to the letter, probably because she was worried that the form would be unfavorable to her, and she would not be able to get along well with her when she got close to her. Later, it was discovered that the Duke and others had intervened in this matter, and the rumors subsided, so Mariana also spoke a little more, and compared to some flashy consolation, it was a little more "dry".

From the letter, Adele can only see that although the Barry family and the Bernard family are taller than the Bernard family, the Baron Bernard family has always followed the Barry family——

It’s just that the Barry family has no successors. It’s better to say that the only heir, Mr. Bonn Barry, is not very prosperous. Before his wife, Mrs. Barry, became the king’s lover, his career has not improved.

Although he wanted to develop in the political arena, and his family used to have such a relationship, but because old Mr. Barry passed away too early, his relevant resources and contacts were not handed over to the eldest son as soon as possible, resulting in some resources being so abrupt. The habitat was consumed.

If Mr. Bonn Barry is a very capable person, then there is no need to worry, but the key point is that his qualifications are relatively mediocre. Mariana commented that he has nothing special about him except that he is more family friendly, even in business. generally.

For this relationship, you need a letter of introduction for everything you do, and you have to look at the society you are born in. Of course, his development in the political arena will not be good. With his qualifications as an ordinary person, it is more than enough to be a priest. It is still difficult for him to gain a firm foothold in a political situation where people gather——

After that incident, his career gradually improved.

Baron Bernard's family had been prosperous in the early years, and the decency earned by the old baron when he was young was not well passed on to his son, the current Baron Bernard.

There seemed to be some accidents in it, and it had something to do with his proud eldest daughter marrying into Barry's family. The specific relationship seemed to be because Mariana was too young and she didn't belong to that circle, so it was not clear.

As for Miss Desi, Mariana was even more unfamiliar.

However, it is generally accepted that, of the two young ladies in the Desi family, the younger sister is the more dignified and stable, and has a better reputation.

"Jenny, warm up the honey water for me. I'll write a letter later, and you can post it for me today."

"Understood." Jenny replied.

Adele swears that in modern times, she would never be free enough to do such things, but in this era when entertainment activities are somewhat scarce, in addition to her daily home study and routine dance entertainment, she I can't think of any other rich entertainment.

Of course, horseback riding, dancing, playing cards, playing ball, watching operas, betting on horses, and playing the piano, reading books, handicrafts, flower arrangement, painting... These kinds of activities are not too many, not too many, really There is quite a lot of content to do, and it won't make you really idle.

It's just that without the Internet, it seems that something is missing. Adele is not a person who can't put down her mobile phone, but if she is really deprived of this aspect of entertainment, she can't help but miss one or two after a long time. For convenient communication, only letters can be used to transmit messages.

Under such circumstances, it didn't seem so surprising that she posted a post to Miss Dana Desi to invite her to come to her house to play.

She may not be very familiar with Dana Desi, but after all, they had a conversation together at the ball at Count Garcia's house before, and it seemed that the two had some affection in the eyes of everyone.The most important thing is that Adele's status is much higher than that of Dana Desi. When she posted her a post, she also made sure that the other party would not refuse due to other scruples, and she would definitely agree in the end.

Bailu Manor has not received foreign guests for a long time. As far as Adele knows, the reputation of the manor is quite good. More than once, someone expressed regret for not being able to see the scenery of Bailu Manor in front of her for a long time. She said After countless times, there will definitely be a few dance parties to invite everyone to come before it will be wiped out.

Adele knew that it was an honor to be able to enter or visit some famous manors, and the potential meaning of climbing the glory was actually to establish a close relationship with the owner of the manor.

Sure enough, the day after the post was posted, she received a reply letter from Miss Dana Desi who was full of joy and no confusion. The letter was full of reserved joy, complimenting her and the Duke, expressing In addition to the joy of being able to see Bailu Manor, I am also very happy to be recognized and invited.

Adele looked it up and down twice, and made sure that apart from these, she didn't mention her sister Ada Desi at all. I have to say that this twin sister is also a genius.

Because of her search, Adele doesn't mind using her identity to give her a little face and a little pomp.

The two agreed on a time in the reply letter, and the words were very sincere, and she asked the other party if they needed to send a carriage to pick her up.

The Desi family is not so rich and wealthy, and they belong to the kind of nobility among the nobles.

Unlike Adele, who is the only child of the duke's family, besides the pair of plastic sisters, their family also has some brothers. It is impossible to take care of her alone, and there is no separate carriage for Dana Desi to enjoy alone.

This is what Adele has known for a long time. No matter how much Dana Desi doesn't like her sister, she still has to bear with sharing a carriage with her. Sometimes she has to wait for a spare carriage at home before going out. The priority of use must be with the men. In her hands, she will not go out as soon as she wants to go out like Adele.

"Miss Desi is coming over today?" Jenny helped her comb her hair, and she became proficient after doing a lot of things. She was not as dexterous as Mary, but she was already capable of general hairdos.

"Yes." Adele replied, "After noon, let the carriage drive to Desi's house, and you will go there on my behalf. You don't need to do anything else. If Mrs. Desi asks questions, you can go back as usual. I guess it's probably a little bit of a greeting and it won't be difficult, you mainly want to go and see..."

Adele paused for a moment, then chuckled lightly:

"I don't think this Miss Dana will be so ungrateful, and Miss Ida Desi probably won't come up to her by force, but if you have seen her in the past, just observe her attitude a little bit, as for You, take back your emotions, if you don't know how to deal with outsiders, just smile."

It just so happened that Jenny had been practicing her accent and craft during this time, and Adele also wanted to let her out for a try.

Jenny will always marry in the future, and she will be the housekeeper wife of the family at that time. It is impossible to have no social interaction. It is impossible to hide now. It is just a good time to exercise her and see if she has learned from Mrs. Lude for so long. some progress.

"it is good."

Jenny agreed, she knew about this arrangement in advance, and she was already mentally prepared.

Adele changed into a snow-white spun skirt, and the temperature in spring has also risen, making the weather much more comfortable. Adele has also been exercising, and finally feels that she is no longer so weak, so she won't be able to take two steps I feel palpitations, and I no longer need to wear thick clothes.

The skirt of the light long skirt is a layer of the same white lace, the waist is not too tight, it is a high-necked dress, and it is not exposed, but the overall temperament looks good, and it looks very comfortable when dressed properly .

She asked Mary to put the light yellow oriental brocade shawl on her, her wrist and earrings were a set of emeralds, and the necklace around her neck was a single white pearl necklace from the ones in the box. , She picked some of similar size and had them custom-made. On the clasp of the necklace, there were the initials of her name and surname.

When Dana Desi came, she was bored feeding seven or eight fish by the side of the artificial pond.

"Is this here?" Adele handed the grain bag for feeding the fish to Mary, and stood up from the edge of the pool.

Another maid passed the fish food bag, and Adele took a handkerchief from Mary and wiped her hands.

After Mary nodded to indicate that there was no problem with her makeup and clothing, she put on a polite smile and walked towards the door with great enthusiasm.

Jenny picked up Miss Dana Desi, but as expected, her annoying sister did not come.

"Welcome, Miss Dana." She greeted her with a smile.

Although Miss Dai Na was very curious about Bailu Manor, she couldn't hide the envy in her eyes after seeing the scenery all the way in, but when she saw her, she still restrained all her emotions.

"Thank you very much for your invitation."

The two men curtseyed face to face, and exchanged some politeness.

"I'm so bored at home by myself, I'm so glad you could come."

"Of course, it's my pleasure."

The two quickly called each other by name, and their words were very intimate. As for how true it was, Adele herself couldn't tell, and there was no need to care about it so clearly.

Adele first took her to visit the White Dew Manor. In order to show the importance that the host family attaches to her, all the explanations were done by herself. proud of the performance.

Ms. Dai Na is also very face-saving, no matter what, she can find a point of praise, and she complimented her well. The exquisite words and the variety of tricks also made Adele admire in her heart.

"Okay, I hope you don't think I'm annoying, let's go to the garden pavilion to have afternoon tea together."

"Then I'll be disrespectful."

After walking in a big circle and seeing everything that should be seen, Adele guessed that she was going to be tired, so she walked to the garden pavilion very naturally. Miss Dana maintained a decent smile from the beginning to the end.

She is quite a bit shorter than Adele, and slightly shorter than her sister's height, but she does not look much different from her visually, but she is half the height, on the one hand, Adele is wearing Flat shoes, on the other hand, the other party's heels must not be low.

She was able to walk such a large circle in such shoes and visited many places in the manor, and her face did not look tired at all. As a delicate noble lady, she can have such endurance and physical strength, Adele still admires it her.

Adele usually has afternoon tea at home by herself, usually there are only two to three snacks, and it is often enough for Jenny to bring one.

But in order to entertain guests, she asked the kitchen to prepare five different types of afternoon tea snacks, each with three or five flavors, which looked extraordinarily rich. The tea was still the English black tea she always drank.

Naturally, Dana praised it again. Adele was used to eating this snack that was modified to suit her preferences and tastes, but she didn't think it was anything special.

It was only after seeing Dana's sincere and repeated sighs that she gradually tasted it. It seems that this snack is really good, which made her a little bit more confident——

Afterwards, the dinner party needn't be so stressful.

Dana is a girl who studies at any rate, unlike her older sister who doesn't like studying.

As a result, the two have a lot to talk about, and they can still maintain superficial harmony without touching their interests and both parties intend to behave harmoniously, just as if Miss Sophie Barry's character can be restrained a little, Maybe there will be more friends around her.

The two started from the novel "Smoke" written by the recently popular journalist Alphonse Carr, talked about the creative Mozart's music they both liked, and talked about the recently popular fashion hats and jewelry, and then went on Mention young men and women of various ages or gossip and anecdotes that are harmless.

Dana has never kept it in mind and restrained her words and deeds. Although the scenery here is beautiful and the food is delicious, she will never forget that Miss Adele, a noble lady who has nothing to do with her, will not be innocent. If you send her an invitation letter for no reason, even if she lacks a female companion who can help her relieve boredom, there are other candidates to choose, instead of choosing a young lady from an unfamiliar family whose elder sister has some conflicts with her.

"Speaking of which, Dana, are you familiar with Baron Bernard's family?"

Adele asked seemingly unintentionally, and her eyes fell on her with a half-smile.

Dai Na's heart that had been raised all the time was relieved a little, and she finally said "Come on" secretly.

Compared to just now when she was always worrying about here and there when she was stuck up and down, she was relieved and a little more relaxed after she asked.

"Are you talking about Miss Bernard?" Dana said in a slightly puzzled tone, then shook her head.

"No, actually not very familiar."

When Dana shook her head, she inadvertently realized that at some point, the maids who had been waiting on the sidelines had retreated outside the pavilion, and she didn't even notice when the princess in front of her asked them to leave.

Her impression was still on the time when the maids served tea, refills and desserts for the two of them, and the extremely orderly manner in which they stood respectfully at one side and waited for orders also left a deep impression on her.

This is probably the so-called long-term family heritage that their Desi family can hardly achieve.

Dana couldn't tell what was going on in her heart, but it was a little subtle.

But soon, her attention was completely shifted to Adele's question.

"You mean..." She hesitated, "Yes, of course, Miss Bernard and Miss Barry are relatives, and of course their relationship is very close."

"But..." Seeing Adele's expression still dissatisfied, Dana complained in her heart, and at the same time had to say more.

"Actually, Miss Barry's situation...is similar to ours."

she said vaguely.

Adele paused first, then came to her senses.

"You mean, Miss Barry's mother also...remarried?"

The Desi family has quite a lot of children. Although the twin sisters are very famous, it does not mean that they have no brothers and sisters above and below.

What's subtle is that the mother of the two has passed away, and now Mrs. Desi is another one. She has her own children, so it is impossible for her to care about the two of them. Miss Desi can't rely on her brother, so You can only work harder.

Miss Ida Desi caught the limelight of Miss Sophie Barry, the "No. [-] beauty". Although she was only a small follower, Miss Barry was willing to give her face.

It's like Adele giving Dana Desi a chance today, and the family behind it may also have some connections. That's why Dana is jealous of Miss Barry, and she has an instinctive vigilance against Miss Barry. Coupled with the fact that her position is somewhat opposite to that of her sister, she is of course unwilling to bring up these personal conflicts and problems.

But Adele just asked a few words so casually, and Dana Desi knew it in her heart.

She can't say what's wrong with Miss Sophie Barry, but out of jealousy and some kind of jealousy, she always thinks that the other party is "evil". She doesn't want to mess with Miss Barry and let herself be criticized by her suitors , and Dana felt that her status was lower than hers, so she rashly went to the Barry family's current celebrity lady of the right age and the younger sister whom the Barry family's heir loved quite a lot, then she couldn't take it too hard.

"Yes, but it's a little better than ours... Ever since old Mr. Barry passed away, that lady has basically been avoiding her. I heard that she stays in the monastery all year round to pray for blessings... Anyway, I don't care much, Miss Barry. Her marriage is taken care of by herself and her elder brother."

Dana added something Adele already knew about the Bernards and Barleys.

The other party thought about her expression, and knew that today's trip was not a pie from heaven, and she had to pay something, but Adele didn't show any expression on her face, and Dana was not sure whether she was satisfied or not.

"Then you know..." Adele thought for a while, and touched the pearl on her neck. Dana's eyes naturally followed the movements of her hands, and her eyes were also concentrated on the pearl.

"Is there any other gossip about the Bernard family or the Barry family?"

"pearl?!"

Dana almost blurted out, looking rather shocked.

The author has something to say:

Alphonse Carr (1808-1890): French journalist and writer, "The Smoke" is his work mentioned in the original book.After checking it, there is no way to determine what kind of love novel it is, so let's take it as a popular bestseller that could be read at that time.