The Happy Life of a Duchess

Adele sat in front of the window of the room, with unconcealable irritability in her eyes.

Amidst this anxiety, there was still a bit of confusion and sighing. She was indeed extremely astonished by the current development.

The matter of the curtains is really not a big deal——

According to the original arrangement of the house.

The owner of the duke's mansion, Duke Juradi, lived a very wealthy life. Like many nobles, he had relatively less luxurious living habits.

In fact, these curtains, tablecloths and other decorations in the mansion, especially the layout of the common dining room, will be slightly revised and changed almost every few years. In the past, when the Duke was younger, he would socialize almost every year Less frequent winter renovations to manors.

It wasn't until Adele became seriously ill that she couldn't bear the sound of the renovations, and she didn't like it, and it was inconvenient to move to another manor for recuperation, that this kind of continuous renovation gradually stopped.

In a way, the Duke's father is a very interesting demolition spirit and vigorous creativity.

Speaking of what happened this time, it was really just a small matter.

According to the habit of the Duke's Mansion in previous years, several new sets of curtains, tablecloths, etc. are basically replaced every year, not only to meet the needs of the season and room layout.

Basically, each set of things will only be used for one season, not more than two years. That is to say, even if it is a set of velvet curtains, it will only be used at most twice, and a total of three five months.

Unless it is a set that the host family likes very much, for example, there is a set of rose red velvet curtains that are hung in the bedroom. Because it was a set that the former duchess liked very much, it is still used cautiously in the master bedroom. , will be carefully disassembled and cleaned every quarter, and then hung up again.

There are also many rooms that do not hang curtains for various reasons. After all, a well-furnished room where no one stays is so well-furnished that it is still dusty.

It's just that the Duke's father doesn't live in the master bedroom with rose-colored velvet curtains, just like Adele has three bedrooms with different positions. The Duke's father also sleeps wherever he wants. There are many The room can sleep.

Perhaps because of seeing things and thinking about people, he didn't really live in the room where he lived with his wife for many years. Instead, he re-arranged a master bedroom on the other corner of the first floor, which is a short distance away from the study office on the first floor. not far.

Judging from the extravagant expenses of the Duke's Mansion, if it's just a broken curtain, it's really not a big deal.

After all, the number of times of use is limited, and most of the time, it is simply discarded, and it is no different from throwing it away. It is not too much to be bitten by mice or eaten by small insects.

However, it happened to be this set, which Adele valued very much. It needed to be arranged before the dinner party, and there was no substitute for a set that matched the tableware.

This is a large cotton curtain. The cotton material is selected to ensure that the patterns of flying birds and flying fish can be embroidered in the most convenient way. Yes, these patterns are hand-embroidered by tailors, not machine-sewn.

There is still some fabric left, which also has a pattern on it, but...

Leftover fabric is not suitable as a replacement for a broken drapery.

Large fabrics are required to make curtains, and the most important thing is to match the patterns of other curtains to ensure that the exquisite double-sided flying fish and bird patterns are displayed on the largest area.

There are six such curtain fabrics in a set, and there is no second identical spare, and the remaining fabric is not enough to make six at the same time and directly replace the original, not to mention that the pattern is not good enough, only the laurel stripes are too monotonous or The pattern of flying fish and birds in the center is incomplete and not beautiful enough.

Adele almost thought for a moment that this was some kind of conspiracy against her.

To fail her dinner party, to throw some blemishes into her preparations—

Of course, without this curtain, it is not impossible to replace them all with new curtains of other styles, but there is no such a complete and suitable set of curtains that can match the tablecloth, let alone the tableware.

Adele is really stuck in her throat, especially because of the small gatherings during this period. Many of her friends already know that the house has prepared Greek-style decorations for the dinner party. Although this problem with the curtains is not enough to make them suspicious of her, Ah Dale still felt a little uncomfortable, just felt that it was not perfect.

But later, she was shocked to learn from the housekeeper——

This is actually a normal loss.

Yes, that's right, it is unfortunate that the drapes are damaged, especially if they are needed by the owner.

But the daily wear and tear of fabric cracking and curtains is indeed a big expense for the family.

Adele didn't know about this before, she just looked at the income and expenditure table, and knew that the Duke's mansion had exaggerated expenses for this project, but thought that it was renewed every year, and it was proposed by the Duke's father himself If she had to change the style of the furniture frequently, she didn't interfere too much.

How long has it been since she came back, and the spring has not even been over until now, and it is not until the first quarterly report is sorted out, even if it is time for the report, as a noble lady who manages such a large manor, she will not do one thing Xiangdi went to personally inspect the eliminated curtain cloth.

It is precisely because of the renewal of the curtains that misled her thinking, and the extravagant atmosphere of the aristocrats will try to avoid using old things as much as possible. If people recognize them, they will wonder if the family's economic level is not good, and it may be bankruptcy. To use previously used things to fill the scene, so she did not carefully investigate the results and status of those discarded curtains.

She really thought that those were just stored in the storage room, and maybe some of them were damaged, such as common sharp objects snagging, candles burned holes, thread ends loosened or other problems, but most of them should just be discarded as old things. .

The disposal of these discarded things is also very skillful, which is a part that Adele has not had time to touch.

Most of the time, these old things will not be sold at second-hand prices, they will only be given away or donated. In short, things that have been bought for a lot of money and only used once or twice cannot be used in a way that "there will be money back" If it is not dealt with, it will also be suspected that there is a problem with the economy.

After all, according to the thinking of the people at the time, only those who lacked money would want to pawn and sell things for turnover.

But now, Adele knows that some of the curtains that were supposed to be eliminated by the family were "eliminated" because they were "unusable", not to adapt to the new style. So it was "replaced".

"how can that be?"

When Adele heard it, she was shocked.

She almost thought she heard it wrong, after all, who would have thought that the curtains she bought would be used for less than a few months due to various quality problems——

Of course, this time it was even worse, it just cracked without being used once.

Because this is a very serious and serious matter, the steward's investigation is faster than before.

But in fact, the matter itself is not as complicated as imagined. Simply put, this is normal damage.

Yes, the quality of the fabric is not good, it was torn directly.

Because these curtains and tablecloths are so important that every servant attaches great importance to them.

These are cleaned by an experienced old maid and a young novice maid.

Neither of them had made any mistakes in their previous work in charge of this type of cleaning.

If something special had to be pursued or someone else to be blamed, the young maid who washed the curtain had some immediate responsibility.

Then these fabrics were washed twice before and after, both times for the sake of caution, with strong irritating detergents. Adele doesn't know much about this, but according to Mrs. Lude, in order to ensure cleanliness, they are A strong lotion was used, and then a heavy fragrance was sprayed on it.

Since Adele doesn't like the smell of too much spice, they had to hang him outside after they did the job, which presumably left them in the sun for a few more days.

I have done this before, and there have been no problems. Of course, I have not been so serious that I cleaned it twice, washed it hard, sprayed it with fragrance, and dried it to remove the smell.

Everyone is really nervous--

Not only is Adele nervous as the host of the princess, but every servant is slightly anxious because it has been too long or has never done such a solemn reception of guests, and because they are not familiar with the rules of the new owner.

The servants who were kicked out or punished for making mistakes before are still vivid in their minds. Usually they dare not resent, even if they resent, it is useless, so they only dare to do things with more dedication.

Fortunately, neither the Duke nor the Duchess are cruel masters, and they will not abuse or beat servants or slaves. This is probably not much relief, but it does not prevent everyone from testing Adele's new Rules and bottom line.

Originally, I wanted to finish this new job well.

Everyone believed that the two maids who did the laundry were kind, and that they were careful in their work.

As a result, when I closed it today, maybe it was because I moved too much. When closing the curtains, there may have been a little "pull" behavior, so that the place without embroidery suddenly split.

And because the curtain itself is relatively heavy, when it is taken off the shelf, it is no longer balanced. With gravity, it slides down, and now there is a tear. Under the two forces, the crack was a little bigger, and it was pulled directly to the place where the embroidery was, tearing most of the flying bird and flying fish patterns apart.

It was difficult to mend, because the gap was too large to be repaired by sewing, and no nobleman would be willing to install the mended curtains.

Everyone's eyes are very good, especially don't underestimate the sharp eyes of those noble ladies. It can be said that since the ball, they have been observing everyone and everything with very scrutiny, from top to bottom, from the inside to the bottom. In addition, they will make a judgment with a critical eye.

It is not easy to get the approval of the ladies smoothly. To put it simply, there must be no mistakes.

It is better to have no new ideas, and not to be too independent, and of course not to have such a stall that will be laughed at by others. Don’t think that no one can see it. In fact, there are too many sharp-eyed people.

The most important thing is that if they want to judge this dinner party, they must start from some objective conditions and environments. The atmosphere is very important, and the style is also very important. You can't imagine where they will criticize, so they must at least Fill in all the details you can think of.

Ladies are likely to focus on the distinctive curtains, which is the first impression they see. After seeing the tablecloths and tableware, they will definitely think that this is a style. If they find that the curtains are mended, then would be a terrible disaster.

"But why did it break?"

Adele was still very confused. Immediately, she had already found someone to repurchase the cloth and asked a tailor to sew it, but the time was very tight, and I am afraid that in a short time, only the only person who could be troublesome at the moment It is far from enough to have a tailor at home.

"Miss?" Mary knocked on the door and entered the room, and saw her staring at the window in a daze.

"What's wrong?" Adele turned to look at her, and Mary seemed a little hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but dared not say it.

"Are you still worried about the curtains?" she asked in a low voice.

Adele just smiled and didn't answer directly, but in fact, this expression is very telling.

In fact, she knew in her heart that even if the Duke went out to find a tailor, he might not be able to find it. It is still the social season, everyone is very busy, and so is the tailor. Too much fanfare, otherwise everyone would know that something went wrong before the dinner at the Duke's Mansion.

And there is only one tailor who is free in the house now, and she alone cannot finish the embroidery work for a whole piece of curtain cloth.

Fortunately, Mrs. Lude said that it is not difficult to find fabrics of the same quality. Even if this heavy navy blue cotton fabric is re-spun, it can be produced quickly. According to the size of the workshop in the Duke's mansion, three or four workers will be able to work overnight. Do it overnight to get new drapes.

Mary hesitated for a long time, and Adele saw that she had something to say, so she didn't rush to ask, and just waited patiently.

After a while, Mary hesitated and said, "About that fabric, don't you think it's a bit strange?"

Adele has seen the broken place, but also the whole curtain.

Before it broke, Mrs. Lude and the housekeeper both went to inspect the finished product. They didn't hang the window directly because it hadn't been cleaned yet, but several reliable housekeepers who she and the Duke's father trust very much have seen it, Explain that the original thing seems to be no problem.

At least when the fabric is unfolded, looking at the embroidery or the fabric, there are no obvious mistakes.

"Do you know what those fabrics looked like when they first arrived?" Mary looked cautiously at the closed door, and said after a while, "I saw it with Mrs. Lude, and at that time...actually...not all The fabrics are so good."

"What do you mean?" Adele frowned.

The color of the curtains was chosen by her, and the fabric was also the one she finally settled on after looking at the few pieces that Mrs. Lu De had brought over.

She didn't know what cryptic news it was, but it seemed that Mary knew something Mrs. Rudder was reluctant to tell her directly.

"Can you tell me, Mary, you know I'm having trouble sleeping over this."

This is true, Adele was indeed so anxious that she didn't sleep well last night, because her skin was very fair, and the dark circles under her eyes were particularly obvious.

Mary noticed it when she was dressing Adele in the morning, and Jenny also ran errands for her during this time, and Mary finally started to take over part of the care work again.

"It's just... Although Mrs. Lude showed you the fabrics, that's only part of it..." She gritted her teeth and said it.

"That's what you saw, it's just a sample, but to make curtains, tablecloths and others...a lot of fabric is needed, and one piece is not enough. Although more than half a piece of curtain is enough, there is always room for cutting. All kinds of needs, plus some need to be complete..."

"You mean, some of those fabrics are inferior?"

Adele frowned a little bit, and looked at her more seriously.

"Are you sure?" She frowned, and Mary hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly.

Adele froze for a moment, skipping a lot of content in her mind, and then asked the housekeeper to gather all the servants concerned without hesitation.

After asking, I found out that Mary was not the only one who knew about this matter. Several others who knew how to embroider, including the young cleaning maid, knew it too.

"I didn't use the same batch to make so many before..." Someone whispered, and Adele immediately understood.

In the past, the fabrics sent were all returned to the curtains according to the curtains, and the tablecloths were bought in a different way. That is to say, although a few pieces were bought, only a part of them were actually used, and the rest was pressed into the bottom of the box.

"What's wrong with that broken curtain fabric?"

She looked at the cleaning maid who hadn't been cleared of suspicion but had actually received everyone's sympathy.

Adele didn't directly put the blame on her. The Duke's father wanted to deal with her, but Adele took the initiative to save her, thinking that the matter should be investigated after the problem was resolved, and the responsibility for it was not ambiguous.

Although Adele vaguely knew that there should be some problems with the way of washing and drying, but the new fabric should not be so fragile.

"Actually... those fabrics that are not of good quality, like..." She hesitated for a while before opening her mouth.

"It's like using inferior cotton, or the amount is missing. The cotton thread made of this kind of cotton is not very reliable. We will use the method of pulling to confirm that the thread foot is not strong enough. If the number of strands is not enough or the degree of winding is not enough , the thread will break... Then the quality of the fabric imitated by hand with this thread will not be very good..."

Hearing that someone finally said this, the dark-skinned maid named Lily that Adele had met before nodded, fearing that Adele would not understand, she took the initiative to explain.

"The things embroidered are good, but not all the fabrics are of high quality. When we got this set of navy blue curtain fabrics, we thought they were all as good as the surface, which is not bad as you can see. Excellent... but the fabric on the back is not as good as the top, and there is a strange smell, but after washing the incense, it has no smell..."

"I took it to a tailor to have it done later. There was no problem with the sewing and embroidery work, so we thought there was no problem."

"But in fact, the tailors in the mansion also said that one batch of fabrics seemed not very strong, and they damaged half of them when they embroidered... At first we thought they took it for their own use, which is... there are some Well, Mrs. Lude and the housekeeper both know."

"Generally speaking, as long as we can do what we want, it doesn't matter to give them the rest of the fabric, but I didn't expect that the damage was really damaged. The fabric is not good, and the thread over there..."

She pointed to the crack. Adele didn't know much about embroidery, and she didn't know how to care about this kind of thread weaving, but she could feel the quality of the fabric. She touched it with her hands and compared it with other places. Just know the part here is a bit weird.

In order to show her more intuitively, she said "offend". After getting a nod of permission, she pulled a part of the thread at the gap in front of Adele, and then the thread broke with force.

She was relatively strong, but it didn't make sense that the thread would break so easily. Adele frowned when she saw it, and she was in a particularly bad mood.

"This part uses inferior thread."

"exactly."

The maid nodded in agreement with her words.

"Actually, the fabrics that have come out of handmade farms in recent years have more or less problems."

"This batch is already made of fabric that looks very tight. We thought it was fine..."

"So..." Adele paused for a moment and finally understood the key point, "This is the cotton grown in our own fields, the tenants under our own name, and the fabrics made by ourselves... and there are always quality problems. "

"It used to be good, but it doesn't seem to be working in the past two years..." Mrs. Lude, who was walking in, justified her, but Adele's face was extremely ugly.