Miss Eugenie Grandet

"Son... son?"

Philip's face froze instantly.

"'If'. You don't seem to hear me clearly." Eugenie blinked.

silent.

After the two continued on the dance floor for another two full laps, just in time, James and a partner spun past them.

"Okay... let's talk about something else."

He seemed to have finally adjusted his emotions.The smile returned to his face.

"I heard that you came tonight as Mr. Rochelle's companion?" He stared at her with the remaining eye.The tone is very casual, and the attitude is a little tentative.

"Miss Grandet, I know you have business cooperation. I would like to ask, what do you think of him?"

Eugenie glanced at him.

"It doesn't seem to have anything to do with you."

Philip raised his eyebrows, "Then let's talk about me. We have known each other for a short time, right? In your heart, what do you think of me? For example, do you hate me? Frankly Say, I'm very curious about this. Could you, in your usual generous style, satisfy my curiosity?"

Eugenie looked at him.

"Do you want to hear the truth?"

"of course."

His tone was calm.But the Adam's apple hidden in the erected collar of the military uniform was a little tight.

"Okay, since you made this explicit request."

Eugenie smiled.

"Honestly, I don't hate you."

His Adam's apple, which was blocked by the collar, moved slightly.

"Is that all?"

He stared at her expectantly.

"Well... let's put it this way. If my future son can be as good as you, I will be very pleased. Of course, if you are willing to correct some of the small shortcomings that hinder you from becoming a better person, that would be even better. "

Philip's face darkened completely.

a long time.

"Thank you for your praise, you are really too kind."

He finally squeezed out such a sentence through the gap between his teeth, almost word by word.

Just at this time, the symphony orchestra hidden in the corner of the second floor put away its last trembling note.

The dance is over.

"I think I need to ask more clearly."

Just as the male partners on the dance floor bowed to their female partners to thank them and took charge of sending them back to their seats, Philip suddenly leaned over to her and said this quickly in her ear.Then, he didn't let go of her hand, but held it tightly, and forcibly led her across the crowded and noisy dance floor, and quickly went out through a small door next to the fountain on one side of the hall, and entered a room. Small rooms with thick silver-red velvet curtains hanging here and there.

After entering the extravagantly decorated small room, he finally let go of Eugenie's hand.

As if his emotions hadn't calmed down yet, he paced back and forth in the room.The heels of leather boots stepped on the waxed and oily floor, making heavy and clear footsteps.

Eugenie rubbed her hand that hurt a little from his grasp just now, and said coldly: "What else do you want to ask? Ask."

Her answer was still the sound of footsteps.

She snorted.Turn around and go to the door.After taking two steps, he strode over with a few strides.

With a slight click, the door was locked.

Eugenie smiled instead of anger.

"Very well—Mr. Philip. I will answer all your questions."

She walked towards the smooth semi-reclining rococo style recliner closest to her.The chair was upholstered with ornate tassels.Just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly approached and kicked the chair away.

Amidst an ear-piercing weird sound, the heavy recliner flew out.The chair legs rubbed against the floor, scratching a few long scratches on the waxed floor, and finally fell to the ground and fell in the middle of the room.

"What do you mean?"

Unable to bear it, Eugenie finally became angry.

He frowned and looked at her darkly.

"Nothing interesting. You probably don't know that this house was once the residence of the Earl of Westphalia before His Majesty came back. The Earl's favorite hobby is to take his fancy while the guests are in the hall outside. I don’t know how many mistresses he’s slept on in the chair you’re going to sit on. Don’t you think it’s dirty?”

Eugenie looked around.It was found that the furnishings in the room did not seem to have been replaced recently-that is to say, the Duchess of Guastalla retained almost all the furniture and decorations in the house from the previous owner.

His words made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Looking at this small room now, I don't know if it is a psychological effect.Whether it's the golden ceiling, the huge mirror on the wall, the hanging thick tent, or even the chair that he kicked away just now, there is indeed a sense of ambiguity and desire everywhere.

"Since you know, you shouldn't be here."

She stared at him, her voice more indifferent.Standing straight, shoulders stretched almost into a straight line.

"It's the closest here." He said impatiently.

"Now let's turn our attention back to the topic just now, shall we? Miss, what do you mean by what you just said? You shocked me so much. Listen, I don't lack great motherly love, and you are better than me. Little. You have to explain your words clearly."

Eugenie shrugged her shoulders, "I think this is a compliment to you. Of course, if it makes you think it's an insult, then I take back my words and sincerely apologize to you. That's all my explanation. Now I have to go."

She walked towards the door again, when her hand touched the lock, the footsteps suddenly approached, her hand was tightly grasped by a hand stretched out from behind, she turned her head in displeasure, and found that his face had turned towards him I suppressed myself.

The two were so close that she could even clearly feel the temperature from his body and his slightly rapid breath at the moment.The naked, exposed nape of the neck, large shoulders, and even the skin on the chest immediately tightened, and goose bumps appeared one by one.

"What are you doing?"

Eugenie did not dodge, she still maintained her posture and asked coldly.

"Are you cold? Or nervous?"

A chuckle came from behind her.

If it felt right, there seemed to be a little smugness in his laugh.

"Can a son do this to his mother?"

She felt the tip of his nose gently rubbing against her hair, as if trying to smell the fragrance in her hair.

"And don't you find it shameful and sinful to have such a reaction to a man you consider your son?"

When he said this, his tail trembled a little, as if he was in an indescribable excitement.

After a short silence, Eugenie suddenly laughed.

"My lord, have you encountered any financial difficulties recently?" Her tone was very relaxed, as if she was chatting.

"I heard that you have been subsidizing the sanatorium for disabled soldiers run by Eugène Bonnard, and you have even made yourself unable to make ends meet. If I guessed correctly, why did you refuse the Elysee Palace that His Majesty bestowed on you? I'm afraid you can't afford the maintenance and repair costs of at least [-] francs a year?"

The man behind him seemed to freeze.

Before he could answer, Eugenie snorted, and easily shook off his hand that was tightly gripping her just now. Then, she raised her hand and used one of her index fingers to tap him, who was leaning on the door and surrounded her tightly. Hold your other arm.

After holding on for a while, that arm finally hung down obediently.

The complacency just now was no longer visible on his face.Just staring at her, frowning tightly.

"How did you know?"

"I know more than that," Eugenie leaned leisurely against the door, laughing even more cheerfully, "in fact, I also know that you still owe Madeleine Jewelry [-] francs—because you were there You have paid only half of a set of ruby ​​and diamond jewellery, worth fifty thousand francs in total. Given your position and reputation, the jeweler will naturally agree to your request to pay the debt in a month's time."

"Am I right, Your Excellency the Duke?"

Looking at the changed face of the man opposite, Eugenie asked with a smile.

During the extremely embarrassing silence, the smile on Eugenie's face became even brighter.

"Mr. Philip, I haven't had time to ask Mrs. Xiangli for clarification. But if the guess is correct, she came to me as you ordered, right?"

"...Ge...Miss Grandet," the duke's voice has become stuttering, "I... I'm very sorry, I just wanted to give you a surprise... After all, you have helped me a lot before ..."

Eugenie snorted.

She finally understood why Mrs. Xiangli showed such an ambiguous expression when she found that the size of the clothes, especially the size of the shoes, perfectly matched her.

At present, upper class society has a very tolerant attitude towards the nudity of women's upper body.Even the most jealous husband has to put up with his wife appearing almost half-naked in the eyes of others.But on the contrary, there are strict covering requirements for the lower limbs.If any woman dared to show up in leg pants, it would be regarded as a great moral failure.Since the legs are covered by layers of long skirts and cannot be shown, the occasional pair of slender feet that may be revealed has become the focus of men's eyes. This is why the shoes are designed so luxuriously and beautifully. .Sometimes, it is also a magic weapon for a lady to flirt, pretending to show her feet in beautiful shoes to the man she likes unintentionally.

Based on such social customs, it is not difficult to understand what Mrs. Xiangli would think when she found that her feet actually matched the size of the shoes.

"Now, my lord duke, can you show your benevolent character and tell me how you know the size of my clothes and shoes?"

The smile on Eugenie's face disappeared suddenly.Asked again coldly.

As if a drowning man had finally caught a life-saving straw, our Mr. Philip hurriedly explained: "Don't get me wrong! It's not what you imagine. In fact, I am good at calculation, and I am very good at calculating everything I see. can measure its size to within a few millimetres. You may consider it a gift..."

Seeing Eugenie pouted, he hurriedly pointed to the chair that he kicked over just now, "It is 1.5 meters long and 80 centimeters wide. If you don't believe it, you can measure it yourself with a ruler."

Eugenie stared at him, and he did not seem to be lying.Finally, his complexion gradually calmed down a bit.

"Do you trust me now?" He looked at her almost pitifully, "I really don't have any malice towards you. Everything I do is to win you..."

"You needn't say it!" Eugenie interrupted him, standing up straight. "Let me put it this way, Monsieur Philippe. I am very grateful for your thoughtfulness. After all, it has saved me a lot of trouble. But... She stared at him with a serious tone, "I really don't agree with your blind behavior that doesn't consider your actual situation. Compared with the money spent on me, your actions to support the welfare of disabled soldiers make me think valuable."

Philip raised his forehead, "I assure you that the difficulties I encountered are only temporary. I have a fief, and when everything stabilizes, it will be resolved soon..."

Eugenie smiled.

"My lord duke, I accept your wish. In order to protect your face in front of outsiders, I will not advance the payment for you from the jewelry store or Mrs. Xiangli."

She took out a check she had prepared in distress from a hidden pocket of her skirt.

"Here's a check that the Merchant Bank will issue shortly. I've filled out all your expenses for you. You can call for cash anytime."

She handed him the check.

Philip froze with a strange expression on his face.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Eugenie slipped the check into a pocket of his military jacket, and went to open the door.

A servant in the duchess's house.

"My lord, someone is looking for you."

"Then I'll go first, goodbye, Your Excellency the Duke."

She floats away.

Mr. Philip turned at last. "Who? What is it?"

The servant was taken aback by his gloomy expression.Glancing at the overturned recliner in the room behind him, he bowed in fear, "The person sent by the Bastille Warden seems to have something wrong there. Please go there as soon as possible."

The author has something to say: How should the general get back on the field... Well, that's a big problem