The Happy Life of a Duchess

After some explanations, Adele almost found the key to what Mary was trying to express from this illogical rumor——

The old Baroness Bernard used to like the noble lady she was originally engaged to, but because her husband failed to invest in the pearl business, he was cheated out of the money, and the family almost went bankrupt. This daughter-in-law she was very optimistic about was gone. .

The engaged girl's family disagreed, so they directly negotiated a solution in private and canceled the engagement.

Although Mary is young and doesn't know much about this matter, judging from the rumors of people gossip later, although the marriage was cancelled, there may be a lot of commotion.

After all, this is such an astonishing incident, and for the baron's family who are struggling to maintain and want to retain the last trace of decency, it is tantamount to worsening the situation.

Although the voices of those discussions later became much smaller due to the silence of the two families, everyone was still very curious about it. Mary didn't understand the reaction of the old Baroness Bernard at the time, but the old lady was almost silent afterwards. To put it bluntly, it is because of some reasons that I have withdrawn from the social circle little by little.

What caused some rumors was that the newly appointed merchant's daughter brought a large sum of money to Baron Bernard's house and became the new baroness.

After that, the situation in the baron's mansion seemed to gradually improve. The onlookers who had been watching the good show had nothing to watch, except for some discussions about the new baroness's inappropriate words and deeds. nothing else.

In this circle, it is correct to say that people have great forgetfulness or excellent memory.

When someone does something or loses the qualification to stay in this circle, even if he was once extremely brilliant, he will naturally gradually get news from people, just like he left the circle without a sound. There will be no sound after that.

Just like the old Baroness Bernard who has become less well-known, if Adele hadn’t asked about it today, it would be difficult for Mary to think of this old lady, even if she is still alive, everyone just has a vague impression that she is still alive , but the specifics are no longer paid attention to because of this weird "fading".

If Baron Bernard's family hadn't left the circle yet, and had remained in the circle relatively steadily, no one would remember such "uncommon" news.

But it is true that everyone has a good memory.

If there is any gossip, it will spread to everyone's ears at the first time, as if if you don't know, you are out of group, or out of date.

At this time, gregariousness is an extremely important trait. All people or things labeled as "foreign race", "foreign country" and "foreign culture" will not be treated well in other groups.

Just like the homosexuals at this time, it is true that people will die. It is not just as simple as being criticized, but it is likely to face death and torture, and they will be pointed out by everyone in front of them or behind their backs. ordered.

Just imagine, the feeling of being unable to move an inch will only make your scalp tingle.

Taking modern times as an example, objectively speaking, whether the public opinion environment is good or not, the acceptance of many things is much greater, although this "progress" is based on the hard work of many people with lofty ideals and some misfortunes. over the blood and carcasses of the dead.

But there are also creepy "cyber violence" in modern times, but if cyber violence is still a more abstract thing that exists on the "Internet", then this kind of thing is now pinned on reality, and people have nowhere to hide, unless It is to avoid the "condemnation" of the whole society. This kind of gossip can also easily drive a person to death, and this kind of "exclusion of dissidents" also implies direct killing and punishment, even by religious laws or laws. covered by the laws of the country.

Adele can clearly say that this is backwardness, oppression, and abnormality, but she has no ability to change it for the time being.

Just like the "Napoleonic Code" stipulates that a woman is not a full "adult", but can only be a permanent minor. Even the ancient Greek wise men had strict prejudices against women, and such wise people also have limitations. Like Newton, he returned to the embrace of theology in the end.

Just like Adele wanted to wear her own trousers countless times, wanted to straddle a horse like a man, wanted to gallop a horse, but the current French and social environment would not allow her Do such presumptuous things.

For the sake of the Juradi family's reputation, she cannot do such "deviant" things until the entire public opinion becomes tolerant and some advanced thinking people are enlightened.

Pants are basically exclusive to men, and so are menswear.

A woman who wears a man's clothes, no matter what the reason is, is a "different dress", and she will be severely condemned only in religion, and she needs to be "pardoned" and "forgiveness".

Paris is still one of the strongholds of Catholicism, and Adele does not deny that she is religious. Although she already knows science, she still has such a habitual sustenance psychologically.

But her attitude is much more inclusive, and there are many differences between modern and current religions.

"Then do you know something about that lady..."

"Which one?" Mary didn't respond.

"It's the young lady who was arranged by her family to retire. No one knows if the divorce was her own idea, but anyway... She married into another family later, right?"

"I don't know," Mary shook her head, "But such a thing happened in Paris, and I haven't heard of it in recent years. Since there are no new rumors, it can be seen that this poor and despicable lady should have faded out. Circle, I believe that if it wasn't for their family's downfall, then this young lady chose to marry elsewhere."

Adele thought about it, and couldn't help pursing her lips:

"Maybe or maybe she didn't want to marry outside..."

"It's also possible. After all, a woman's marriage is still controlled by the family. Generally, it is the father. It must be arranged by a patriarch like her father. If she must marry her away, she has no ability to resist. "

"Unless she deviates from the rules and wants to elope, but that would be too bad and too terrifying. It will shame the whole family and affect everyone in the family. If there are still young girls around, it will inevitably affect their reputation. ..."

Adele understood what Mary said.

She looked at the letter in her hand, with a somewhat inexplicable expression, and finally sighed.

"I just learned something, and then I asked you some news..."

"Combining the news from both sides, I guess that this old lady probably hates girls wearing pink pearls very much."

"Are you trying to say that the lady who retired from her marriage likes pink pearls?" Mary's mind was quick to gossip.

"I wanted to say that, but..." Adele paused, then shook her head again, "But this is groundless, all I know is that the old Baroness Bernard seems to be really not well ..."

"What do you mean?!" Mary's eyes widened.

Suddenly, a shocking gossip was heard, and the gossip antenna on Mary's head seemed to stand up all of a sudden.

But Adele's words were rather vague, and she was unwilling to talk about this matter any more. She thought it was not a good time to announce it, and High-speed Mary must mean this matter, and it would most likely be in various forms spread out.

She can indeed restrict her and prevent Mary from talking to outsiders, but no one can guarantee that she will keep her mouth shut about this kind of gossip about outsiders.

What's more, Adele herself didn't keep this matter a secret, so how could she restrict other people from spreading rumors about it, and Adele felt that she didn't have very reliable gossip.

In fact, the letter she received was from Margaret.

Some time ago, in her correspondence with Margaret a few days ago, Adele casually mentioned that she was very curious about the relationship between Pink Pearl and Baron Bernard's family.

She really just asked casually, and didn't expect any reliable answers.

After all, she has asked a lot of people, and obtained a lot of information by insinuating. Most of them have a high overlap rate, or just some rambling and unreasonable statements.

But unexpectedly, it was Margaret herself who took this matter to heart.

Coincidentally, Marguerite herself didn't know much about the matter, but she had a very gossip neighbor, Prudence.

One size fits all, Prudence's character can only be said to be very ordinary, not noble, and she can't add those beautiful words to her. It can even be said that she is indeed a very obvious snobbish , money-greedy, extravagant middle-aged woman.

But on the other hand, Prudence can also be regarded as a little gossip expert. After all, when people reach middle age and have no other entertainment, they will naturally make greater efforts in self-operated social networking, and gossip is also a way to promote wives and wives. A great way to express your affection.

In order to make herself better in social life, she will naturally put in more effort in gossip, which of course has something to do with her own hobbies.

Speaking of this matter, Margaret herself did not know what role Adele played in this matter, but Prudence was indeed very conscientious and had been working hard to play the role entrusted to her by Adele , After collecting the money, they will carry out this task very strictly——

Although he himself doesn't think this will have any effect, but so far the performance is still good.

Prudence takes money to do things, and she never forgets to warn Margaret in everything she does, telling her that the days of being a courtesan cannot last long, no matter who it is, there will always be an end, no matter what the "hot days" were before "It is still necessary to return to ordinary life, unless she will not grow old and die at a young age.

But for a courtesan, when they get old, they may barely have a hiding place in the worst and cheapest corner of the cemetery, let alone a better grave mound, and no one may even be willing to buy a coffin for her. One franc.

So to be honest, even death doesn't necessarily have a good ending, which is definitely not a good ending.

So when she knew about this matter, Prudence felt that it was a place that could be operated, and immediately regarded it as a real case that could warn Margaret. In fact, she shared a little "educational" gossip.

According to Margaret's report, the incident went like this:

The protagonist of the story is Baron Bernard's lover.

This lover is not young anymore. According to Prudence's report, his appearance was about three or five points when he was young, but he is very ordinary when he is old.

She gave birth to a son and a daughter for Baron Bernard, but the son was too young to be considered a success, and the daughter died early and was unable to support her. If you really want to say, your life is pretty average.

Baron Bernard himself has always been rumored that he relied on his wife's dowry to slow down his life. I don't know if it is a reliable proof. He himself is not as generous as he imagined in terms of money for his lover. , although he boasted quite "exaggeratedly" for the sake of a man's face.

However, because this lover has already given him a son and a daughter, he should have some feelings. Even if this lover is not as outstanding as when he was young, it is not good for him to just abandon her like this.

Maybe because this lover has been following him wholeheartedly for seven or eight years, he has become one of the few who can bear Baron Brad's son, and the illegitimate son has also been approved by himself.

That is to say, the short-sighted Baron recognized the child outside, but he was still not very well off in terms of money, and did not give the mother and child a good life.

Of course, Prudence also said that she did this by herself, and she was not very peaceful when she had a child. She was always thinking about herself, and she did not give her any love. That's all there is.

Even some seemingly ruthless courtesans are actually kinder to their children because of their mother's love and mother's nature, some are even kind to their hearts, but she is not. She treats children very badly, beats and scolds frequently, Vent anger mercilessly, don't care about children crying - this is something everyone knows.

But for many people, it is understandable not to give their lover too much money.

Just look at how rich the duke's father was, he didn't give a lot of money to the illegitimate son outside, and he didn't even recognize his identity in many things. Even Alexander, he only treated him a little better.

Of course, if these lovers were given some money to buy jewelry, most of them would still be willing to pay, after all, it was also about their men's face.

Speaking of this lover, what must be said, she also took a lot of money back and forth from Baron Bernard——

She has devoted herself to following the baron, so there is no other man to support her.

It is no exaggeration to say that life is not a luxury with few courtesans.

Because they need all kinds of ways to show their charm, embellishing themselves will inevitably require expensive jewelry and clothes, coupled with the psychology of comparison between each other, each of them was almost spending money when they were young, and rarely Some people have the consciousness of saving money.

Prudence hurriedly completed the task given by Adele, and took this opportunity to give Margaret a good lecture.Margaret was also troubled in the letter, but she was not disgusted. After all, Margaret was also a sensible girl, and she knew that what she said was actually true, and it was for her own good.

According to this lover's habit, before and after Baron Bernard's birthday, because she was unable to attend such a grand banquet, and Baron Bernard, who was the host of the banquet, could not leave, it was tantamount to putting herself in the The little lover outside stood aside, so the lover consciously and logically asked him for money.

I don't know if everything went too smoothly before, making this lover think that he is a great person. After Baron Bernard didn't give the money readily for the first time, this arrogant woman actually dressed up. Fan, took the initiative to find Baron Bernard——

She used the excuse that her son was sick and needed money. In the later rumors, it was another theory. In fact, she had taken a fancy to many new things and boasted that she would definitely be able to buy them. Essentially, she was showing off and buying clothes and jewelry for herself. But in the name of his son.

No matter what she said nicely outside, everyone knew that it was actually for money.

She didn't completely lose her mind, she went to an outside property of Baron Bernard when he was young, and didn't go directly to the manor of Bernard's family, sometimes she was called to serve at the apartment.

If she really went to the manor, she would really lose her head. She was so presumptuous that she would die. If she really did this, the Baroness, who is not very smart and not very kind, the merchant's daughter, Absolutely will not let her go.

The baroness is not ignorant of her husband's "expenses" outside, but like most women, it is useless after making a fuss, so she can only bear it, and reluctantly turn a blind eye.

But if this lover doesn't know what is good or bad, and really comes to stab someone's eyes in front of him, then things will become terrifying.

As a result, it never occurred to him that it was not the Baron himself who was in the apartment at the time, but his mother, the old Baroness Bernard.

The old lady hadn't appeared in the circle for a long time. At that time, the lover hadn't recognized the other party. The other party was too low-key, so low-key that it was almost "social death". Big, according to the lover himself, this old lady who used to look quite rich has become haggard and thinner, and now she looks like a cruel old woman.

As a result, I didn't expect that something so shocking and even life-threatening happened later.

Originally, the old woman was just sitting by the window, and she didn't react too much. If I had to say, she was just an old man who seemed to be slow to react, and there was nothing abnormal about it.

But it never occurred to her that when she saw this lover, the old lady changed her fragility and rushed up with an astonishing gesture, trying to grab her.

As a lover, she was scratched in the face without noticing for a while, of course she refused. Most of the tough courtesans have no face and skin when they reach middle age, and those who rely on their faces for food are scratched by their carefully cared for skin. How can I bear it, but I didn't expect that the seemingly incompetent old lady has amazing fighting power, probably because she is short and dainty?

As expected, the two wrestled together, and the commotion was so loud that everyone around them seemed to hear the commotion, but Baron Bernard, who arrived later, pulled them away, and warned the people around them, were they conservative? The secret is not clear, most of the following rumors and content at that time were said by the lover himself.

The lover was very angry at the loss, and may not have reached an agreement on compensation and medical treatment.

According to Prudence, she opened her mouth like a lion and asked for [-] francs in compensation. I don’t know if it’s because she can’t ask for it from the baron after she knows it, or it’s because the face of the "eating guy" is really real. The damage is very serious, and it will take a long time to recover from the injury, or it will leave scars.

But anyway, the result was that the baron refused to give the money, so the woman spread bad news about the baron and his mother in the circle.

Margaret didn't convey those messy and ugly words to her in her heart, and Prudence went to join in the fun to see the situation. She came back and relayed them to Margaret. Gretel suddenly noticed something she hadn't noticed before.

To put it simply, the lover publicized that the old witch couldn't understand her and wanted to kill her, and almost strangled her to death. He also said that the nail scratches on his neck were still there.

Marguerite was relaying the woman's words in Prudence, saying, "Her new pearl necklace was torn to pieces, and the pearls had not been retrieved from the house, and the old woman was pulling her neck and pulling The necklace rope was torn again and then strangled her neck, so she didn't kill her, but she didn't make it easy for her..." After that, Margaret suddenly realized something was wrong.

She questioned Prudence a few times, but Prudence was not very sure, because it was a small detail that she didn't care about at the time, and the answer she gave was also very vague.

But Margaret wrote in the letter. She instinctively felt that something was wrong. Maybe the old lady didn't want to kill the lover. Something was wrong as the rumors said, that's why he "suddenly went crazy" as the woman said——

The target was actually the necklace around her neck.

Margaret asked Prudence to take another look at the lover, mainly to ask her about the color and style of the pearl. Although there are only a few kinds of pearls, there are quite a lot of popular styles on the market recently, but they are relatively rare. All black pearls are available.

Some courtesans—as one of them, Margaret knew very well how lavish they are on jewelry. Another meaning is that there are really courtesans who use men's money to spend a lot of money on what some ladies may have. Precious pearl necklaces that are not necessarily affordable.

Because the lover howled so much, Margaret didn't know whether the other person was really living a very bad life as Prudence said. There is also a possibility that she might actually be a very extravagant and daring A woman who spends money on herself.

She may indeed have a string of rarer pearls as well—

What Adele is curious about now is this matter, whether the string of pearls she was ripped off was pink.

Another thing is that Adele also knew that the lover passed away in the evening when it was close to evening. Who can be sure, whether it was the old lady who saw the orange, red, pink and white colors of the twilight because of her poor eyesight? above the pearls around her neck.

Adele has no doubt that the old man will look at pearls with blind eyes, and if it is the wrong color, then no one can say for sure.

It's just that now Mary has provided her with a brand new way of thinking.

Adele continued to think about this condition, and it became more and more possible.

Maybe it was the "run away" daughter-in-law who was once very liked by the old lady. In fact, she also liked pearls very much in the past, or she may have a preference for pink and white pearls.

Isn't it also rumored that the ex-married old lady of their family was so angry that she lost her mind?Coupled with the failure of her husband's pearl business, maybe the old lady has hated pearls since then, especially if the two reasons add up, she hates the pink pearls that the ex-married lady liked even more.

Of course, there is no real evidence for this speculation.

It's just that Adele has silently affirmed this answer in her heart, or the truth should not be too far apart.

Thinking about it from another angle, if Pearl really has a "problem" for this reason, then...

Baron Bernard took the old lady back. The old lady who had been in the Parisian social circle without any movement, silence, or even passive disappearance finally came back. He did not place her in the baron's mansion, but outside. In the apartment, it may be because of the other party's mental state problems, but she doesn't want to speculate on the specifics, but if it is really a mental illness, then according to the way people dealt with it at the time, most of the time, it is really will lock the other party up.

Those methods of treatment, care, and care that are sure to have certain effects in the future are completely absent now.

Not to mention the cruel treatment of mental illness, most of them will be chained and shackled when they are locked up...

Thinking about it this way, the other party's "invisibility" and "disappearance" in the social circle seemed to have an explanation.

An old lady who is mentally unstable and may often "get sick" can easily cause trouble, and it is impossible for them to restrict others from wearing pearls.

Therefore, Baron Bernard's family probably "disposed" the old lady in such a secret way, and most likely arranged for her to recuperate elsewhere.

But I don't know whether it was Baron Bernard's own thoughts or the help and approval of other people in the family, or it was true that the condition of the old baroness had improved.

After all, many mental illnesses are far away from stimulation. In a relatively peaceful environment, it is really possible to look normal, even the same as ordinary people. If she just looks at the pearls, she will become abnormal. Maybe she will recover from her illness. ...

Anyway, the old lady came back.

Adele estimated that it might have something to do with his birthday party.

If the baron still has some feelings for his biological mother, or if he himself disapproves of sending his mother away, let's boldly assume that he is a dutiful son——

Then when she came back, it might be that the son wanted to express his filial piety to his old mother at the birthday party.

Adele doesn't think that the old lady will come back for no reason. It doesn't matter if she says that she has a dark heart and hopes that she won't recover from her illness. It doesn't matter if she says other things. The mother picked her up and kept her in her apartment for an unknown amount of time.

After all, that lover also said that she didn't always go to the apartment to have fun with the Baron every time, and most of the time she just stayed at the place she rented, waiting for the Baron to come over.

It's just that she didn't expect this accident to happen as soon as she left.

If the baron has placed his mother there for a long time, it is possible to pick him up only a few days before his birthday party.

Adele guessed so in her heart.

Then there is another key point, the affairs of Baron Bernard's family, but Miss Sophie Barry knows about it.

Adele pondered for a while, and felt that this matter was not difficult to deduce.

After all, the relationship between the two families can be regarded as very good. Maybe Miss Barry is smart or well-connected and has noticed something, or this is a secret that both families have kept from the beginning, but outsiders don't know, but they The people of the two families actually knew about it.

After all, Miss Sophie Barry's sister-in-law, Mrs. Barry, who became the king's lover, is the old lady's own daughter.

Perhaps Mrs. Barry knew about this matter, knowing that her brother brought her mother back from other places, and wanted her to reappear as an old lady at his birthday party, and appear in the social circle inside.

In this way, everything seemed to be explained.

For various reasons, Miss Sophie Barry knew that the old baroness didn't like pearls, maybe it was because her husband's business failed or maybe it was because the lady who abandoned her son was sick enough to see pink and white pearls, It will go crazy, and even rush to pull the pearls, and even want to kill people.

If Adele really wore this pearl to attend the Baron Bernard's birthday party, and let the old lady of the party's host see it, then she really went crazy and hurt her——

With so many people, Adele feels that the possibility of being directly killed by the old lady is still small. It is more likely that she will be frightened and make a fool of herself in public, or she will be scratched like her lover. And face, besides, it is inevitable that he will be criticized because of this time.

The theory of victim guilt exists at all times.

Moreover, Adele and this old lady have a natural position difference, that is, guests and hosts.

The rules of this circle place restrictions on both sides.

On the one hand, it is natural to talk about how wrong this old lady is, how bad Bernard's house is, and how bad the hospitality etiquette is. The damage to the reputation of the Bernard family will not affect Miss Sophie Barry, an orthodox lady from the Barry family.

On the other hand, Adele has no doubt that someone will question her at that time, why should she wear a pearl necklace?Why did you appear in front of the old lady wearing pink pearls like this?Why can't she keep a low profile, is she the only rich person in the whole world?Could it be that there is something wrong with her character, the girl from another family was not harmed, so why was she arrested by the old lady?

Therefore, whether it is psychologically or physically, Adele will definitely suffer a blow after this incident.

And no matter how big or small it is, the impact on her should be considered fatal.

It may take months or even years for her to dilute the labels of "embarrassment", "unlucky" and "unfortunate", so that people will think of such a thing when her name is no longer mentioned.

if it happens...

It's sure to be the talk of the matter for a few months, and maybe even later.

Adele couldn't imagine such a thing happening to her, and she might be disgusted and crazy by then.

As for Miss Sophie Barry, if she understands it according to her friend Leo's previous thinking, then it is really what she wants...

Miss Sophie, the "No. [-] beauty", suppressed Adele, who she thought was a strong rival, without a trace, and even completely wiped out the possibility of her getting married in a few years, at least let her delay for a while.

If she and Miss Ida Desi, who is likely to be her "knife", manipulate public opinion together, and try their best to pour some dirty water on her, such as combining the previous things, she is a "" A lady who will bring misfortune to the family" or "a lady who has lost her moral character", then her marriage is really over, and there will be various disasters in the future.

When Adele thought of this, a surge of anger suddenly surged in her heart.

At this time, Jenny knocked on the door and came in.

"What's the matter?"

Adele still couldn't hold back the anger in her heart, and couldn't help but bring a little bit of tinge to her words, but she quickly reacted and took the initiative to apologize for her rudeness.

Jenny really didn't think there was anything, maybe it was just that compared to Adele's usual smile, she looked a bit colder now, but she hadn't reached the point of really unforgivable anger, and she hadn't vented her anger on her.

"Are you in a bad mood?" Jenny smiled. "You can't be in a bad mood today. You have to smile to face the guests and show your best state."

"Trust me, you are the most beautiful one!"

"After today, all the ladies and ladies will talk about you."

"They will praise your virtuousness, your beauty, and your many talents..."

Jenny really held back for a long time before she uttered these slightly blunt rainbow farts.

Adele was actually just curious about how much Jenny, who was not very good at this aspect, learned from others, and how many new words and metaphors surprised her.

Because of her silence, Jenny didn't know that Adele had already adjusted her emotions after apologizing, and was even able to watch her struggling to think of words to praise her with a smile in her heart. Jenny could only hold back A few "beautiful" "beautiful" "beautiful than a princess" "the most beautiful in the world"...

Seeing that her forehead was about to sweat, Adele couldn't help laughing.

"Okay, okay, I know, I will try my best to be such a good person as you said."

"Thank you, my pistachio."

Adele smiled and hugged her, Jenny was taken aback for a moment, and then gently hugged her back with a simple smile.