The Happy Life of a Duchess

The archdeacon is naturally very easy to talk to. He is an old man with a peaceful personality, and his daily life is very simple and pious.

If the other organizer was not worried that he would not be able to control this big scene, and because of the special time of the event, they would not have asked the elder vicar for assistance.

In fact, today is the Easter public dance, as long as there are no excessive reasons, most things can be accommodated.

It's not a big deal if two girls want to dance together. As long as the master allows them, they can find a place on the dance floor to have fun and talk together. It looks better than sitting on the side talking dryly Some.

Like other social dances, this kind of pas de deux naturally cannot be danced too much, and it cannot be hidden all the time.

Otherwise, they will be suspected of their orientation, and the essence of a social dance is to socialize, and dancing is just a form, just like many people choose to go to the chess and card room to have fun after getting married.

If you stay away all the time, or only associate with regular people, it will be particularly inappropriate in such a large public occasion. Even Mrs. Castellana and others, in addition to playing cards, will also chat with some people from various families. The young lady talks and chats, instead of gossiping with a few fixed "old sisters" of her own.

In fact, they are not at the age where they need to contribute to the family through social interaction in the strict sense. When it comes to contact matters, their sons and daughters-in-law should be in charge. Chatting is more like passing the time, and playing is a simple pastime, but even In this way, they can still do things in an orderly manner.

"So, let's talk about it."

Adele and Leo arrived on the dance floor, and there were a few young girls dancing around, but there were more young girls, and both of them were in a more relaxed state.

Especially after licking that annoying guy just now, I just feel that I can't be in a better mood right now.

"Well, there's actually quite a lot to say." She thought for a while and replied.

"You asked me to say something suddenly, but I don't know where to start?"

"Then let's start with the annoying guy?" Adele didn't mind that much, anyway, she didn't say anything, "That Mr. Prucker?"

"Hey, he is so annoying..." Leo couldn't help curling his lips after being instructed.

"Actually, he is not a guy with much talent and learning, let alone any amazing skills..."

"But you know, the current trend is that those new rich people are eager to obtain some entrusted land or titles, eager to change the composition of themselves and their families, and want to become very outstanding pioneers, so for They can step up to another level faster and realize the transformation of status and class, so the easiest way they choose is to marry a wife with outstanding status... While having money, one side has status, even if the wife's title cannot be inherited For children, you can also let your children make a name for themselves as aristocrats, with a good name, which will be convenient in the future. Under such circumstances, many families are closely married, so that the wealth will not flow to outsiders..."

"Yes, I know." Adele nodded yes, showing a mischievous smile, "But I'm still a little lucky, otherwise, according to this logic, I would marry someone from my father or mother." A relative's child, my brother."

"Yes." Leo understood after a little thought, "You have to be more cautious. Although your family's title is inherited by the Duke's relatives, you can always get a large dowry, plus Parents come from good backgrounds, and your status is good both in name and in substance...you're the meat that's being targeted..."

"You're so sweet..." Adele laughed immediately.

"I don't know whether I should be lucky. After all, my father's title and wealth are still there, but the real power has been lost. Maybe it's not so perfect, or will this be the reason for those people with ulterior motives not to choose me?"

"You are too sweet." Leo gave her a reproachful look.

"We are about the same age, and we are both at the age of talking about marriage. I really hit it off with you, and that's why I'm telling you this..."

"Yes, yes, my sister must guide me." Leo is a little older than her, but the difference of one or two months is not very clear, but the other party stepped into the social circle earlier than her, and he was younger than her when considering marriage. be early.

"My mother left too early, and other things... may not be able to guide me. Even my aunt, I can't believe that they don't have any other ideas such as using me."

"It's true." Leo couldn't hold back, and still sighed, his words were even more sincere.

"With your status, you are really easy to bully... It won't hurt you, but they may recommend or hide the flaws of some young men for various reasons. As long as those people deceive you with good words, What can you, a simple young lady, resist?"

"There are too many people who choose to marry for the dowry of their wives. It may be a year, or it may be a few months. After the freshness of marrying home, the other party can play a disappearance for you. I want to go out to do business, or join the army to fight, of course, this is relatively rare, and more people use such as business trips or busy work as an excuse. Those who are in China can still find people, and those who go abroad, especially those who go to sea, are shadows. It's all gone."

"Bai Bai is struggling at home alone, and maybe he looks for a man everywhere if he can think about it, but some wives don't want to be reduced to that kind of pleasure-seeking situation. Of course, the longer the time, the fewer people who can persist like this. It’s still good, after all, it’s good that those women and children outside don’t fall in front of my eyes and hurt my eyes.”

"But I don't want to be like my mother..." She sighed deeply, her words seemed a little tired, when Adele was hesitating and thinking about whether she needed to comfort her friend, she took the initiative He approached her and whispered, "My father's lover, my mother also knows..."

"Mr. Hugo..." Adele paused for a moment, and then remembered that the other party's father, like her father, was a very romantic figure, but her father, the duke, was already old and not as comfortable as he was when he was young. He came here at will, but Mr. Hugo is different. He is in the prime of life, and he has several lovers who will be very famous in later generations.

"She's resentful—but that's not all." Leo didn't want to talk about his mother, but Adele had roughly guessed it based on what she could think of.

Leo didn't resent her father because of this, and understood her mother's unwillingness and sadness. She just felt a little sad about it, but she didn't indulge in self-pity.

Mr. Hugo's love affairs undoubtedly caused great harm to his wife.

His self-proclaimed charm of women will only hurt the heart of his wife who loves him. According to later records, there is a woman who was probably an actress in the early days, who accompanied Hugo for decades. Mrs. Hugo resented him at first Extremely jealous, it wasn't until later that he saw that the other party would accompany Hugo to the end no matter what Hugo's situation was, and finally compromised, and even became good friends with the other party.

Of course, Adele doesn't know if this is a rumor from later generations, but after all, the lovers who exist in this way are not just two people, long-term and short-term, and the women around Mr. Hugo have never been broken.

Miss Leo, the eldest daughter who must have known all this, also had her own thoughts.

Adele guessed that Mrs. Hugo's resentment should not be hidden from this smart girl.

But Leo, like her, has his own thinking. Both of them hate this kind of behavior of finding a lover after having a wife.

It's a pity that in this society, it's not that the two of them have the final say, and it's not that if they say no, they really can't. It can only be said that when making choices, they will be more cautious and avoid such husbands who will lead to misfortune— —

Of course, if you have never expected love with your husband as stipulated by the church and the law from the very beginning, but come with a feeling of freedom, happiness, and doing what you want, it doesn't matter if you cheat for physical pleasure or because of love. Then there is nothing to compare.

"Oh...how did we get to this?"

"Let's talk about Mr. Prucker, he really doesn't have a sense of presence in our conversation."

"Hahahahaha, yes, yes." Leo laughed so hard that he almost took a wrong step, and then said, "Let me think about it."

"It's about his mother. I just remembered this matter. Speaking of it, she's just the prince's illegitimate daughter. Hey... But as a prince, it's probably very different. Sometimes I really don't know whether to choose the one with a lower status or the one with a lower status." It’s better to be taller, like those who hold power or are distinguished or have a wealthy family, there always seem to be many such bad things... But let me really manage the daily necessities, rice, oil and salt. Willing."

"In short, this annoying guy probably got up after looking at his mother's natal family. The main reason is that his princess aunt seemed to have given birth to a son of an heir, so he became more and more arrogant..."

"You can see that he is not young anymore, but he is picky... When he was younger, the girls picked him, but now he is old, he is almost [-], but he hasn't married a wife yet, it must be Is it reminiscent... In the end, he was still picking and choosing more and more strictly by himself, I didn't say it, just like him..."

Leo snorted and almost couldn't hold back, but he had to turn his face to snicker.

Because her hand was on her partner's side, she couldn't take out a handkerchief to cover it up.

"Calm down, he saw it." Adele had to remind her not to be too complacent.

"It's okay, let him see it." Leo secretly rolled his eyes, and when he looked at him again, he had already looked away.

"As for Miss Barry..." Leo finally talked about what Adele was most curious about.

"To be honest with you, I don't like her very much, not because of her aggressive personality, who thinks she is the best in the world... Oh, this is quite similar to Pluke, but the two of them have the same temperament It is impossible to get the right people, because the maximum benefit cannot be achieved."

"...I agree with that."

Adele had to admit that although the two of them danced together, she didn't think in this direction at all.

Even asking her to guess that Miss Barry would also become the king's mistress is a little more credible than Miss Barry's choice of Pruc, a trash man. This number one beauty is really doing everything she can to climb up.

And Pruc just won't be this ladder of success. He himself needs a wife with a stable background to give birth to a child of good blood, and Miss Barry will not be such a role for her.

After all, Miss Barry's identity is a little embarrassing, and it's almost too high to be inferior. If it weren't for Mrs. Barry's mistress and the fact that Miss Barry's own sister had been divorced, Miss Barry's family wouldn't have It's so difficult, but there are really not many ways out for her right now——

Miss Barry is not young anymore, she is several years older than Adele. She needs to pick out a gentleman with sufficient status and affluent family as soon as possible, so as to clear herself of the troubles of reputation that the family may bring to her. , and her attractiveness caused by men's pursuit cannot last long, at least a qualified and decent headed wife cannot continue to be like this after marriage, unless she is a courtesan lady in the nobility, the kind with many lovers.

Therefore, her reputation based on such "popularity" will not last long, and there is not much time left. She can't go on like this so that her reputation as a "social butterfly" will be confirmed instead, but Miss Barry should be the same. Extremely picky, high-sighted and easy candidates look down on.

"That's right, I think so too. The most important thing is that this kind of thing has happened before, you remember the lieutenant's wife I told you just now." Leo gave her a news that surprised her .

"Another princess?" Adele reacted.

"Yes, that's right, the situation is similar to yours, but they have two daughters, the older one is married, and the younger one is the lieutenant's wife in front of me. She was too... naive when she was young, so she was deceived? Anyway It’s because Haoxuan was close, everyone thought that the two of them were close, but suddenly one day the Duke’s house held a ball and announced that his daughter was engaged to the lieutenant.”

"I was not very big at the time, but this gossip left a deep impression on me. Although I don't want to admit it, maybe it has something to do with me being pursued by him at the beginning? Of course, I have never been attracted to him, but a The person who was pursuing me suddenly pursued another simple lady with great interest, but the family of that lady avoided her, how could I not inquire about it?"

"Don't worry, I won't talk nonsense." Adele gave her a reliable guarantee.

I haven't heard similar rumors before. It can be seen that neither Pruc nor Leo's family has made a statement. In order to protect Leo's reputation, there may even be no clear exchange of tokens between the two young people. A verbal hint or an ambiguous confession.

In short, there is no sign, and no outsiders can see or know about this matter, but Leo said it on his own initiative, which is not good for her reputation, especially since she seems to have candidates who are interested in talking about marriage, At this time, if some similar news came out and the man's family found out, then the marriage would definitely be blown up, and of course Adele would not be such a vicious person.

She was very grateful for Leo's sincerity and unleashed kindness towards her.

This kind of heart-to-heart communication is not available with other girls, and the two of them really talk from the bottom of their hearts.

For some people who are close-eyed, it is true that they can let go of their hearts, stop those polite words, and speak sincerely.

"Of course I believe you." Leo and her nodded solemnly, "I said before, the first time I saw you, I thought we were compatible. We have the same ideas in many places, and we can learn from each other. It can be seen that our cooperation It should be the best and most congenial friend."

"...I only found out after doing some research that the Lieutenant's Madam and the Duchess were also friends with Miss Barry, the kind who would invite each other to tea parties or salons every month..."

"At a certain ball, it seemed that the young Miss Barry introduced Mr. Prucker to the young Mrs. Lieutenant. Coincidentally, the excuse she used was the 'son of the princess' who fell in love with Mrs. Lieutenant at first sight. She hoped to give a couple who might have Young people in perfect love, a chance to get to know each other... Yes, at that time, as now, he used to use the son of the princess to give himself gold, but when he first met, he didn't dare to boast casually, so he had to say the son of the baron, but in In the subsequent self-boasting, he will definitely repeat and boast."

"Madam Lieutenant is too simple, so..." Adele immediately imagined the whole story.

"Isn't it? It's not that a man can write two love poems, say a few good words, and spend a little money on flowers to become a very good man..." Leo paused again when he said this, and couldn't help sighing , "But some young ladies are raised too innocently, and few people see them. Maybe they will be shown like this or be deceived just by their appearance."

Adele only felt a pain in her knee, but after thinking about it quickly, she felt it was okay again.

As far as I know, Mr. Duval is a reliable person, not the kind of guy who looks good on the surface but is actually a scum, but if she really wants to choose...

We still need to do more research and have people investigate.

"It seems that Miss Barry is still..." Adele didn't know how to describe it.

"Yeah, you say she is malicious. People say that they want to fulfill a man who is in love with each other bitterly. They just give a chance to get to know each other, and they don't force her to become a young couple, and they don't ask her to accept the love letter." ... If there is anything else, I haven't found it anyway. Now the princess has become the lieutenant's wife, and her social circle has become like that of an officer on her husband's side. It seems that the relationship with Miss Barry has also weakened. But if there are any other grievances similar to instigation and provocation, I'm afraid we can only ask the people at that time..."

"But if you said there was no malice, that would be too much of a coincidence. After all, the lady who was a little higher than her at the time was the lieutenant's wife. However, she was married, and Miss Barry has dragged on until now, and has not heard anything about it. "

"What did you say later?" Adele blinked, slightly puzzled.

"This is my wild guess. There is no basis. You can just listen to it and I will talk about it. At that time, there were only so many good-looking people in the circle, so I had to give a 'number one beauty'. She was better, but there were only a few of them, and the one who was single and young at the time was Miss Lieutenant..."

"You know, in fact, many young ladies have marriage partners such as 'bamboo horses' that have been arranged and considered by their families, or they are looking for half of them who are also in close families or marriages..."

"That is to say, many high-status noble ladies have limited choices of candidates. They can be judged from the movements of their families, and many of them even have marriage contracts at birth."

"For example, the Lieutenant's wife at that time, and you now," Leo widened his eyes when he remembered something, "it's just blank."

"What's blank?" Adele blinked, as if she understood something but didn't.

"Tell me the truth, isn't it...Miss Barry has already looked for you?"

Leo's hand on her body tightened slightly.

"Yes." Adele nodded, which is nothing surprising.

"In my opinion, she's not something everyone fears... Could it be that she can kick all the single noble ladies in Paris out of the 'battlefield'?"

"From another standpoint, if I were Miss Barry, the one I would choose to 'deal with' must be the one with the most competitiveness. If this is not the first time I do this kind of thing, then I will definitely keep an eye on every one of them all the time. possible opponents."

"Like those 'opponents' who are getting older in the circle, they will be the most nervous objects for me."

"But many of their outlets will be arranged by the family, such as marriage or internal digestion, after all, they will not go to a larger outside circle to find a husband..."

"In this case, the scope of screening will be narrower at once. Once the circle is divided, the status class will be divided again, and then according to the size of their own competitiveness, such as appearance, reputation... Do another screening in this way, and the rest will be reduced at once. A lot."

"In this case, there will be some more 'whiteboard' or 'blank' places, such as Miss Eugenie and her sister, a Spanish aristocratic girl who stayed in Paris before, I know that their relationship is not very warm …I didn’t think much about it at the time, but now that I think about it, it may be that the other party is young and not competitive enough, and that they are Spanish, so they are not as good as those in France.”

"But you are different..." Leo looked at her seriously.

"You are from our native country, and you are also from the duke's family, and you are the only lady in the family. You are destined to have a rich dowry. Anyone with a brain knows that there is no way that no one will not be greedy."

"As a result, when you came back, you came of age. Since you came, everyone knows that Princess Jurady is amazingly beautiful and has a good temper. She is not as competitive as you in many aspects, such as identity, status, age, wealth, reputation, and personality. ...And your biggest goal in entering the social circle is to find a husband-in-law... You have been sick before and even thought that you would not be successful. It's like a courtesan's muddled thing, and everyone has no doubt that the Duke will only be more careful in choosing better candidates for you..."

"That is to say, she is no match for you."

"Her age can't be delayed for long, at most two years, and after a while, she will be a real old girl."

"But in the past two years, she met you."

The author has something to say:

The lover mentioned in the article is Juliet Drouet. Juliet loves Hugo so much that she writes more than 8000 letters to him every day. After following Hugo, she seldom shows her face in public and is very loyal.The love between the two has moved countless French people, and the letters are still preserved in the French National Library.She actually assumed the status of Hugo's official consort on her deathbed, but died shortly afterwards.

The concept at that time was different from what it is now. In addition, there were metaphysical factors such as love, and lovers were also a common phenomenon, so everyone should understand it as popular science, and do not make specific comments.