Miss Eugenie Grandet

Eugenie did not feel any deep apologies for rejecting James' marriage proposal.She could also see that for James, the rejection of the marriage proposal should not be considered a profound blow.Based on her judgment of him, part of her goodwill, and part of her willingness to follow the trend based on like-mindedness, this is probably the reason why he proposed to her.

Therefore, although a marriage proposal with an accidental process and a regretful ending has just been experienced, when they returned to the guests, whether it was tonight's host or Eugenie, their performances were exactly the same as before.At twelve o'clock, the dance came to an end temporarily. After the guests stood and enjoyed the exquisite buffet, the dance was promoted to a new climax.When it finally came to an end at two o'clock in the morning, everyone still seemed to have more to say.

Eugenie returned to the hotel at nearly three o'clock in the morning. As soon as she entered the room, there was a knock on the door, and Lante appeared at the door holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Miss Grandet, I am very sorry to disturb you. It was delivered tonight. I was ordered to present it to you as soon as you return."

Eugenie took the bouquet.Close the door and turn around, take out the small card inserted in the bouquet, and open it.

At the top are two lines of poetry: "The torch is far less bright than her, she hangs brightly on the blue sea of ​​evening." - as if from Romeo and Juliet.

Below is a message in smaller print: "You must have been radiant tonight. It is a pity that I was not able to go to see you when you appeared like a queen."

Below that, is a line of smaller characters.It seems that when the writer wrote this line, he was not really happy to let her see clearly: "Also, these days I have been deeply introspecting myself, why you never give me a smile. The conclusion reached is, I must have offended you. If so, I hope you can accept my sincere apology when I come back."

At the signature, there is only a simple letter starting with P.

As Napoleon's new favorite, Duke Philip would naturally not be omitted from the invitations sent out for tonight's ball.

But he didn't come tonight.

He should be in Danfonbleau with the mission from Vienna now.

Eugenie stared at the huge letter P, and after a while, she threw it, together with the bouquet of flowers, into the trash can in the corner.

----

The investiture was over, the ball with James was a success, the meeting with Monsieur Curia was pleasant, and the bill for the trip to Paris was settled.Since she has no intention of carrying out social activities here in the future, there is no need to go to one dance after another, let alone stay in this place.In the future, if there are no accidents, she only needs to keep visiting once a month or two.

It's easy to do things when you have money.A few days later, Mr. Bernard's assistant was in place.They were all engineers who had worked with him in the mines before.Bernard's daughter Ellie looked forward to starting a new life in a new place with the young lady who had been at home last time.

On the morning before her departure, Eugenie received a letter from the Duchess of Guastalla.

During these days in Paris, she met quite a few people.The only one who left a good impression on her was the Duchess.The Duchess also seemed to treat her differently, and would send servants to bring her some small gifts from time to time, for example, a box of snacks just baked by the cook at home, or a piece of silk handkerchief from the East.Things are not worth money, it is only in the mind.

Eugenie didn't quite understand why the Duchess took extra care of herself.Perhaps because of her brother Napoleon?She didn't ask why.But she couldn't remain indifferent to the other party's overtures.Just yesterday afternoon, both to say goodbye and to express her thanks, Eugenie called on the Duchess.The Duchess regretted hearing the news that she was leaving Paris.Eugenie promised that when she came next time, she would bring a few bottles of wine from her own winery.The Duchess expressed great anticipation.

"Dear Mademoiselle Grandet, although I said goodbye to you yesterday, I still look forward to enjoying "Orfeo and Eurydice" with you tonight at the Paris Opera House. I have already booked The time is eight o'clock tonight. I hope to give you a pleasant evening, as my last farewell gift to you in Paris."

Eugenie thought for a moment, finally decided to accept the invitation, and sat down to write a reply to the Duchess.

This is Haydn's work, and it's worth a visit.

----

In the evening, after changing her clothes, Eugenie arrived at the opera house on time.

The Duchess' box is the most expensive, on both sides of the middle on the second floor.

No matter in the past or now, in order to show their status, such a box is usually reserved by some guests for a whole year in advance.In fact, the boxes on both sides are not necessarily the best place to watch the stage.The so-called "good position" actually refers to the position that is most suitable for the audience to pay attention to - the people sitting here, their clothes, who is sitting next to them, and who they talk to the most are all clear at a glance.

It can be said that for an outsider who has just arrived in Paris and wants to integrate into the upper class circle of Paris as soon as possible, then the boxes on both sides of the theater are the best windows for him to quickly catch a glimpse of Parisian fashion and powerful figures.

The Duchess was already seated when Eugenie came to the box.

Seeing her being led by the servants at the door of the box, she had a smile on her face and got up to greet her in person.

"Honey, you are so beautiful. You are still so young, so you should be so beautifully dressed every day." After the two sat down, the Duchess looked at Eugenie with a smile, "You probably don't know, These days, I don't know how many enthusiastic hosts I have killed who wanted to invite you to the party through me. Every time I see a young lady like you, I can't help but think of the time when I was young. At that time It's beautiful, every day you have to think about what to wear to the next ball, oh, yes, and handsome and affectionate young officers."

Although the Duchess sounded like she was just sighing casually, for some reason, Eugenie always felt that she was a little different tonight than usual.Moreover, when she said the last sentence "handsome and sentimental young officer", I always felt as if she meant something.

So she smiled, looked at the hall downstairs that was already full of people, and changed the subject calmly, "There are quite a lot of people here at night. Thank you very much for your invitation. I believe it will be a very exciting event." show."

"Yes," the Duchess looked enthusiastic, "I personally like Haydn's operas very much. Every time his play is put on, I will definitely go to enjoy it. I have already seen Orfeo and Eurydice." No less than four or five times. But when I heard it was on again tonight, I couldn't help but come again. I'm sure you will love it as much as I do."

There is nothing suspicious about what the Duchess said now.Eugenie quickly dispelled her doubts and began to laugh secretly at her own suspicion.

The curtain opened, and with the accompaniment of the orchestra, the actors began to appear one by one.

"Honey, I'm going to touch up my makeup."

After the first act, when the performance on the stage entered the second act, the Duchess whispered something in Eugenie's ear, and then took the maid out of the box, leaving Eugenie to sit alone.

From the first moment she was seated, Eugenie noticed the constant attention from all directions.Just a few minutes ago, when the Duchess got up to leave, there were even guests in the box opposite them using small binoculars to observe the movement here.But she still ignored it.

Since this is an opera house, enjoy the opera well.Moreover, the performance on the stage is really worth admiring.Both the aria and the performances of the actors and actresses are fascinating.

Just when Eugenie was concentrating on the stage performance, there was the sound of the box door being opened behind her.

She thought it was the Duchess who had returned, and paid no attention.After waiting for a person to sit in the seat next to him, he felt something was wrong.Turning his face slightly to look at it, he was taken aback.

Sitting next to her was Philip Larner.

He is looking at her.Noticing that she turned her face away, he immediately grinned at her.

Contrary to his expression.

Eugenie's expression of joy, which was unconsciously revealed because of the stage performance, instantly froze.

Soon, the smile on her face disappeared, and there was a hint of displeasure in her expression.

"Good evening, Mademoiselle Grandet!"

He immediately greeted her softly, and leaned slightly towards her, "Please don't be angry. Everyone is watching here. If you don't want to be the focus of everyone's discussion tomorrow."

Eugenie knew without his reminder.Because of the sudden appearance of the person next to him, at least one-third of the audience in the theater has now turned their attention to this box.

At this moment, she suddenly understood.Why did the Duchess suddenly invite her to come here to watch the opera on a whim.

Presumably, her abnormal behavior and her excuse to leave just now are all at his request, right?

As if guessing what she was thinking, he went on to explain, "Please don't blame the Duchess. It was my repeated request that she had no choice but to agree to help me."

Eugenie remained motionless, her eyes fixed on the actress who was singing with all her might on the stage.

"Mr. Lana, what's the matter with you?" She lowered her voice and said the sentence almost word by word.

"I'm very sorry. I know this will surprise you. Well, I just came back today, knowing that you will leave Paris tomorrow. Apart from this, I don't seem to have any other chance to see you..."

"What's the matter with you." She interrupted his explanation and repeated what she had just said.

"I don't know if you have seen the flowers and the note I gave you before? As I said, I am reflecting on myself. If I have offended you, I hope you can forgive me. Please believe..."

"You have misunderstood." Eugenie interrupted him again, "You have not offended me, and I am not dissatisfied with you in the slightest."

"Then can you tell me why you are always so indifferent to me? I am very puzzled by it."

Eugenie frowned, and finally turned her face to stare at the young man opposite.His expression looked very serious, as if he would never give up until he figured it out.

"Mr. Rana, this is not the first time I've tried to express my thoughts to you, but I hope this will be the last. You listen. Like I told you before, we're clean. Neither An enemy is not a friend. If you are not a friend, there is no need to greet you with a smile. I hope you will stop your meaningless and childish behavior. I hope you will put all your thoughts on how to protect the land of France Come up safely. The French government still owes me money! I don't want the money I borrowed to end up in vain..."