Miss Eugenie Grandet

In such a sudden and subtle way, he brought the conversation back to a topic that he had been rejected once before.

Eugenie was slightly taken aback.

"Perhaps you still remember the last time I expressed my heart to you at the ball? My heart has not changed, even..."

He paused for a moment, those dark gray eyes that usually looked too deep and calm, seemed to be injected with fresh energy at this moment, shining brightly, and even bringing his face to life .

As if he had made up his mind, he finally continued: "Even after these months of careful thinking, I think I may have truly fallen in love with you! If we say that the last marriage proposal was more out of If you are the woman who is suitable to be my wife, then this time, it is different. Because I found that I already have a different kind of feeling for you, which is a kind of thinking of you , or the thought of being able to live with you in the future will fill my heart with anticipation and happiness."

"Miss Grandet, once we combine, we will not only become the most successful couple in business, but, please believe me, I will dedicate my unreserved loyalty and love to you. At the same time, I I also eagerly look forward to the new touch and happiness you can bring to me."

"But James..."

Eugenie interrupted him hastily, suppressing the astonishment she felt at hearing his confession.

"I was surprised, very surprised to hear what you said just now..." She looked at him and explained with some difficulty, "I don't know why you have such feelings for me... I am also very moved, I am moved by your sincerity... But frankly speaking, apart from being moved, I feel more panic. James, we can be best partners and good friends, but when it comes to being able to bring you touch and Happy wife, I'm very sorry, I probably really don't have the ability..."

"Holy Mother! What a sincere confession! What a touching scene!"

At this moment, a voice sounded behind him.

Eugenie was startled, turned her head, and saw Nanon coming out of the grape clumps that hadn't completely shed leaves from the ridges of the grape fields by the river, with tears in her eyes and a full expression. It is moving.

"Oh, madam! How can you not accept such a sincere proposal of marriage from such a noble gentleman? Nanon was almost overwhelmed with emotion..."

Eugenie seemed not at all to notice the untimely and indecent exclamation of the housemaid who suddenly appeared, and her eyes rested on a person behind Nanon.

Philippe Larner, with his hands casually in his trouser pockets, was slowly following Nanon out of the grape field, with a casual smile on his face, as if he was really just passing by temporarily, and then he didn't intend to listen It came to the content of the conversation between her and James just now.

"Why are you here?"

Eugenie stared at him, her tone was no longer questioning, but questioning.

Philip shrugged, looking relaxed.

"Just now, I begged Mademoiselle Nanon to take me around, and the enthusiastic Mademoiselle Nanon graciously agreed to my request. Then, that's it, I met you all by chance."

After he finished speaking, he looked at James and greeted him politely.James has also quickly recovered from the astonishment just now, and replied his greetings.

"Sir! You are proposing to our lady, are you?"

Nanon, who hadn't recovered from the emotion just now, wiped her tears and continued to shout at James, "Your decision is so wise! Our lady is beautiful, rich, and kind-hearted! Nanon often The wife said, whoever can marry our old lady is really a great blessing! Although you are difficult to get close to, you are not as flattering as Mr. Lana..."

She turned her head and glanced admiringly at Philip Larner, who had the honor of being named by her, and the latter immediately smiled back, expressing his great honor.

"...but you are also a very honorable gentleman," she continued, turning her head, "so I think you are a good match for our young lady! I was so moved to hear you propose to her just now! Honestly Said, I think that Mr. Crochet and Mr. Grassan, who used to pursue Miss, are not very good, and they are not worthy of our Miss..."

When Nanon was expressing her feelings incessantly, one can imagine how embarrassed James was.He barely kept his smile, and he didn't know how to deal with the overzealous maid who appeared in front of him suddenly, and who obviously violated her duty—in fact, this was the first time he had encountered such a servant.

Fortunately, Eugenie stopped the situation that was on the verge of getting out of control in time.

"Nanon, since this gentleman has asked you to show him the estate, why not go ahead?"

"No no, the manor is charming, but—"

Philip pulled his hands out of his pockets, changed into an upright standing posture in the army, and stared straight at James.The casual smile on his face just now has disappeared and changed into a serious expression.

"... Mr. Luo Qierde, can you allow me to have a few words with Miss Grandet alone? I suddenly remembered that I also have an important matter, and I need to talk to her. It is very urgent."

James' light gray pupils met the opponent's pair of green eyes that were almost black.

Both pairs of eyes were motionless, not even the eyelashes fluttered.

The atmosphere suddenly became delicate, and even Nanon felt that something was wrong, looked at this, looked at that, and finally looked at Eugenie blankly.

Eugenie frowned.

"Mr. Lana, I don't seem to have anything to talk to you about..."

"No, you have."

Philip stared at James on the opposite side, and after uttering these words, he suddenly turned around and came to Eugenie's side. Amid Nanon's exclamation, he took Eugenie's hand and led her forward. walk.

Eugenie, who was led forward involuntarily by him, felt a deep resentment. She struggled to shake her hand that was tightly held by him, but he held it tightly and could not break free. .

James, who came back to his senses, quickly caught up and blocked his way.

"Monsieur Laner, Mademoiselle Grandet doesn't seem to want to go with you."

He stared at Eugenie's hand, which was tightly held by Philip, and reminded her in a restrained tone.

Philip turned his face away, and lowered his head to Eugenie's ear.

"I do have something to say to you. If this gentleman hinders me, I don't mind taking you to a place where we can talk alone in front of them."

Eugenie felt as if her lungs were about to burst.

But he does, and she knows him.

She took a few deep breaths, and after the feeling that was boiling in her chest that prevented her from breathing freely finally subsided, she looked at James.

"Thank you, James, I'm fine."

After finishing speaking, she looked at Philip's hand that was still holding her hand tightly, and said in a cold tone with disgust, "Can you let go?"

Philip let go of her hand.

She nodded to James and stepped forward.

Her steps were big and fast, and the hem of her skirt rubbed against the weeds on the ground, making a slight rustling sound.It seemed to show the restlessness in her heart at the moment.

Philip followed behind her all the time.Compared with the strength he showed just now, he is now very silent, looking at her back with even a little docile tenderness.He neither made a sound nor tried to get close to her, but kept a few steps behind her, walking slowly.

Eugenie stopped suddenly and turned sharply.

"Mr. Lanner, I think we have all said and done in Paris."

Philip stopped in front of her and looked at her.

The wind from the field blew from the river bank, blowing the few strands of hair that had fallen out of her braided hair.

Her hair is brown and black, as is her eyes.

He didn't know when he felt that only a woman with hair and eyes of this color could be called a charming beauty.

A smile appeared on his face, which made the lines of his face much gentler, and diluted the extra ferocious aura caused by the scar at the corner of his eye.

"But in my opinion, it is far from over. In other words, there will never be a day when it will be finished."

The old Grandet called James "the Jew among the Jews", and in the same way, in Eugenie's view, the man in front of him is the rogue among the rogues.

For a moment Eugenie felt a sense of powerlessness against such a scoundrel who could not be driven away.

Her expression was even more indifferent.

"What else do you have to say?"

"Look, my injury has healed."

He didn't seem to care about her attitude at all, pointing to the scar at the corner of his eye, "I always remember what you said at the beginning, so I cooperated with the doctor very much, it's all right now, you don't have to worry about me. In fact At that time, it was the corner of the eye that was injured, but everyone spread rumors, so I didn’t bother to correct it—but now that such a scar is left, I hope you don’t feel terrible.”

"You seem to be mistaken. I never worried about you."

"But you are my savior after all. So I think it is necessary for me to let you know about my latest situation."

"Congratulations then, if that's what you're going to say." She looked around impatiently, "Now I'm leaving."

"Miss Grandet," he called to her, with a cautious tone, "did your father tell you something last night?"

Eugenie glanced at him.

"I love you and hope you can become my wife. I don't know why you keep ignoring my emotions, but I guess it's probably because I didn't express to you the full sincerity of my proposal to you, so I Expressed in this way, I hope to let you know that I love you deeply, as long as you agree to become my wife, I am willing to dedicate everything I have to you."

"Mr. Lana! I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you." Eugenie looked at him calmly, "This decision of yours not only fails to move me in the slightest, but on the contrary, it makes me doubt your sinister intentions. Even if you explain your behavior in front of me with a more eloquent reason, in my opinion, this is nothing more than you using my father to impose on me after fully knowing the weakness of my father's love of money. A premeditation of pressure. I have no interest in your fief, nor can my father influence my decision. If this is why you came here on purpose this time, then you can go back now. To be honest, you are not welcome."

The smile on his face faded as she spoke.When he heard her say the last word, and then immediately turned to leave, his dark green eyes stared at her unhesitating back, and for a moment, he felt that his breathing seemed a little difficult.

"Yes! I admit, it's really selfish. On the premise that you are so ruthless to me, I want to get approval from your father first! Is there anything wrong with that?"

When she walked more than ten steps away, there was his shouting from behind in the wind.

"You completely ignore my sincerity, only stubbornly affirming the truth you want to affirm, and making such judgments against me mercilessly, are you absolutely fair to me?"

Eugenie walked slowly, but quickly, and continued on.

There was the sound of striding riding boots trampling over the weeds behind him, and he quickly caught up, grabbed one of her arms from behind, and turned her almost roughly, making her face him .

"You are ridiculous!"

Eugenie met his pair of dark green eyes that had lost their composure, as if faintly starting to flicker, and the anger that she had been holding back for a long time also surged up.

"Philip Rana, what is fairness? What qualifications do you have to accuse me of being unfair to you? Have I ever promised you anything? No! All along, you have ignored my refusal, over and over again You provoked me and forced me to accept your so-called affection for me! I would like to ask you, is this fair to me?"

Eugenie shouted angrily at him.

His hand holding her arm was getting stronger and stronger, she had already started to feel the pain, but she didn't struggle or move, she let him hold her, only raised her chin slightly, and looked angrily at the face that was close at hand .

During the brief silence, under her angry gaze, his aura just now seemed to have gradually diminished again.

He slowly released her arm.

"Eugenie—"

He suddenly called her name, his voice trembling a bit, his protruding Adam's apple rose and fell slightly in the vertical collar of his military uniform.

"Eugenie—"

He called her again, and this time, the eyes that were always full of determination and arrogance showed an unconcealable decadence and frustration.

"Please tell me, swear to God you won't lie, my feelings are really so annoying to you?"

Eugenie looked at him.

After a while of silence.

"Yes."

A ruthless voice came from her throat.

He exhaled.

"Then please tell me again why you hate me so much?"

"Hate is the same as like. There is no reason. If you insist on asking, I can tell you a reason. You only emphasize your own feelings, but never respect other people's ideas. Mr. Lana, if you know a little bit To respect others, maybe I can still retain the last bit of goodwill for you."

Philip was silent for a moment, then suddenly curled his lips with his usual sneer.

"This is really not a convincing reason. Naturally, there is a reason for liking someone. When I was at my worst, you saved me. At that time, I had a premonition that my whole life would be I have an inseparable connection with you. Now my life is not only yours, but I know that I am in love with you too, deeply and irresistibly. I hope for your mercy and even love me, this is who I am The starting point for everything. You accused me of disrespecting you just now. Yes, I admit that in many cases, I am indeed too arrogant. But if the so-called respect means that I have to accept your rejection and completely extinguish the anger in my heart. Feelings, let me and you become two unrelated strangers from now on, I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I’m a person who never gives up easily. Other things like this, about my feelings, it’s not easy Give up! From the moment you saved me, you couldn't get rid of me! And--my feeling has been telling me that you don't have feelings for me at all! Otherwise, you wouldn't have helped me several times I remember clearly that you were unwilling at first, but in the end, you still did not refuse my request. Tell me, why are you always so cruel to me?"

"Why are you so brazen?" Eugenie blushed and yelled angrily, "every time I help you, in my opinion, it is a potential profit-making transaction, that's all! Your self-indulgence is ridiculous! Let me tell you, I don't believe in love, and I don't want love, and leave Floafont at once with your ridiculous idea! If you don't want to be kicked out!"

"You finally said it!"

He suddenly grabbed her hand firmly, and under her horrified gaze, he knelt down on one knee.

"Eugenie!" He looked up at her with an extremely sincere expression, "Why don't you believe in love? Is it because you have been hurt by love? So you are afraid of my enthusiasm, you reject my feelings, and feel In this way, you can put yourself in a safe cage that you will never get hurt again? I am sorry that my behavior in the past did not let you find trust. I swear to you, I have more feelings for you than I really want , it is like this now, and it will never change in the future. If I betray you..."

He reached out and pulled out a dagger from the secret pocket of his boot shaft—the dagger he had left for her before but she rejected, and slashed across his left hand in a way that was too fast to guard against.

When Eugenie saw what was going on, the blade of the dagger was stained with blood, and a knuckle of his left little finger was cut off and fell into the grass.

He put the blood-stained dagger back into his boot pocket, pressed his finger that was bleeding out constantly, with a pale face, but with a smiling and calm expression, he continued to finish the sentence just now.

"My fate is the same as this amputated finger."

Eugenie opened her eyes wide, fixedly staring at his left hand whose knuckles had been snapped off suddenly, her face became paler and paler, and in the end, even her teeth trembled slightly.

"You... are too scary!"

Finally, she gritted her teeth, said this sentence, turned her head and ran away.

----

At night, the living room of Grandet's house was still as lively as last night.The guests are all here again.But compared to last night, it was a little different.

First of all, the old Grandet sitting in the corner looked even more unpredictable. He looked almost indifferently at the group of guests who were talking on their own in the living room, and looked up at the ceiling from time to time, as if there was any truth there that could be revealed at any time. It fell on his head.Secondly, compared with last night, Mr. James Rochelle seemed to be in a much lower mood.But both Crochet and Grashan knew that he would leave early tomorrow morning, so contrary to him, they were in a very happy mood, and began to face up to the benefits of making friends with this famous big banker, and began to circle around him courteously , speaking flattery.Of course, the most abnormal is Philip Larner.This young general, who has risen rapidly due to his outstanding performance on the battlefield in the past year, now has gauze wrapped around the little finger of his left hand.It is said that he was accidentally injured by a knife during the day.

Everyone expressed condolences for his physical injuries.He smiled and kept looking at the entrance of the living room, looking a little absent-minded.

In fact, not only him, but the rest of the guests are also absent-minded now-because Miss Grandet did not show up.According to Mrs. Grandet, she has a headache, so she can't come to accompany the guests, but can only treat everyone slowly.

This evening without Mademoiselle Grandet was doomed to be dull and meaningless.Who is interested in facing old Grandet's dull old face?

After playing a few games of lottery carelessly, when the clock on the wall reached 08:30 and everyone decided to get up and leave, there was a sudden sound of footsteps.

Everyone stopped.

It was Mademoiselle Eugenie Grandet's footsteps, and as she approached, the rustling of the folds of her dress became more and more distinct.

She soon appeared at the door of the living room.

Everyone was used to her not smiling much, so they didn't find anything unusual about her indifferent expression at the moment.

The president and Madame de Grassin immediately went up to meet him.

"Eugenie, your mother said you had a headache, so you shouldn't have come down. I don't think anyone will think you are rude on that account."

After the president expressed his concern about the heiress, Mrs. Grassin also said with a smile on her face.

"Thank you."

Eugenie said, her indifferent eyes gazing round the guests in the drawing room, and when they fell on Philippe Laner, she paused for a moment on his wounded hand.

As if sensing an ominous omen, Philip Laner slowly stood up from his chair, held his breath, and looked at her without blinking.

She withdrew her gaze from looking at him, and finally fell on the chief judge indifferently.

"Monsieur de Bonfont, please stay, I have something to say to you."