[Pride and Prejudice] Dear Lydia

Mr. Pete covered his face with frost, "You actually stayed here last night!!! Mr. Wickham, as far as I know, your residence should be at your friend's house in London. It is inappropriate to stay here suddenly!!!"

Mr. Wickham was surprised, "Dear sir, maybe you have forgotten that Mrs. Wickham also lives here."

Mr. Pete was so angry that he almost lost his temper immediately, and asked in a blunt tone, "Didn't you guys separate a long time ago?"

"what??!!"

Watching Mr. Wickham open his beautiful mouth into an O-shape, Mr. Pitt woke up suddenly. Knowing that what he said was unreasonable, he coughed and explained, "My cousin Lois Mallard is still An unmarried lady, I am worried that living with a strange man will affect her reputation."

"Ah?!" Mr. Wickham knew that the image with his mouth open was a bit silly, but he still couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear. He only complained in his heart: What kind of shabby reason is this? Although Miss Mallard has a free and easy personality, which he likes, Given the age and image, to be honest—even if he and Miss Mallard spend a night together, he should be the one who should be worried, right?

Besides, there is his wife in this room. Isn't it normal for a husband and wife to live in a friend's house together?

"Mr. Wickham, did you just say you were leaving?" Mr. Pitt returned to his usual reserved and indifferent look in a blink of an eye.

"Oh, that's right." Mr. Wickham replied subconsciously, unable to keep up with his speed of changing the subject, "Then, goodbye."

After walking a few steps, I felt that it was unreasonable for me to leave like this, so I turned back and said very seriously, "Please rest assured, cousin Ling is indeed a very amiable, intelligent and elegant woman, but I have a family and my wife and Miss Mallard are very good friends, so I have nothing but respect for my cousin."

Mr. Pitt nodded stiffly.

Neither Lydia nor Miss Mallard knew what had happened at the door, and they were trying to make sense of what Mr. Darcy had said.

It's a pity that Mr. Darcy, adhering to the standards of a gentleman, refused to tell them in detail what information Senator Morris had revealed to him, and only vaguely mentioned that Baroness Moran had frequently visited Senator Morris and Mrs. Several powerful officials seem to be doing something related to Mr. Pete, and they can understand from Mr. Darcy's vague meaning that it may not be a good thing.

After Mr. Darcy figured out the doubts in his heart, he didn't stay any longer. He was going to visit Mr. and Mrs. Gardner again when he was free today.

After exchanging greetings with Mr. Peter who had just entered the door, Mr. Darcy left. In fact, he wanted to take Lydia with him. In his opinion, Mr. Peter should minimize the time spent with his sister-in-law.

But Lydia had something in mind, and was eager to discuss it with Miss Mallard and Mr. Pitt, so she declined his invitation and told her brother-in-law that she and Wickham had visited her aunt yesterday and would not go today.

Mr. Darcy knew that he could not do everything in his power.Even if Lydia was taken away today, she might still meet Mr. Pete tomorrow, so seeing that she didn't want to go with her, he let her go.

"George, what's the matter with you coming so early?" Miss Mallard asked as soon as the guests had left.

Mr. Pete replied, "It's nothing. I was worried that Fiona might question Mrs. Wickham last night because I rejected the French businessman she introduced. Fiona usually looks pleasant and always smiles, as if she is very happy. Kind, in fact, her temper has long been spoiled by men, and she is merciless to anyone when she really encounters something that makes her anxious. I was afraid that Mrs. Wickham would be wronged because of this, so I rushed over to ask."

"Oh—" Miss Mallard drew her voice, "You are right to worry, the Baroness did come here to accuse Lydia out of righteous indignation."

Mr. Pete immediately looked at Lydia apologetically, "I'm really sorry, General Walter was there when I told Fiona that the deal with the French businessman hadn't been concluded, and it's inconvenient for me to say more in front of him, Fiona must have misunderstood What, she didn't say anything excessive to offend you, did she? If so, I'd be too guilty. "

Lydia shook her head, asking him not to mind, "It's okay, I'm not an ignorant girl, if someone is rude to me in front of me, I will naturally refute it back, and I won't just listen to it, so I didn't suffer too much. .It's just that I think there's something wrong with the Baroness's attitude."

"What's wrong? What are you referring to?" Mr. Pete turned his head sideways with deep eyes.

"George, apart from the problem with the gold mining business, have you encountered any troubles recently? If I'm not wrong, you may not be going well recently, right?" Miss Mallard asked.

Mr. Pete raised his eyebrows, "How do you know? I do have a little trouble recently."

Miss Mallard stared at Mr. Pitt with sparkling eyes, the same way she did when she was studying anything she was interested in, "Don't ask me how I know, tell me what trouble you have, I I think I have roughly guessed what is going on, and now I just need your final confirmation."

Lydia looked at her friend with some embarrassment, thinking that Lois is really a person who lives with interests, can devote a high degree of enthusiasm to anything that can arouse her interest, and is also smart, as long as she If she is willing to study, she can produce some results, but this way of making her look full of interest even in her cousin's misfortune... is really shocking.

"I'm also in trouble with another business that imports bulk spices from the East Indies. Two cargo ships were detained when they entered the port. A few days ago, there was news that there was a traitor on board. Someone used sewage The goods are being destroyed, and they are being rescued now, if all the goods are really wet, all the goods can only be dumped into the sea, and I will lose at least [-] pounds for this." Mr. Pete knew his cousin's temper, so he looked at her brightly His eyes didn't express any dissatisfaction, and he happily said another troublesome thing he encountered recently.

"Another thirty thousand pounds! Or at least!" Miss Mallard gasped. "George, you are so calm. Is this not going well at all?"

Mr. Pete shrugged, "This is not all the trouble. I just got the news yesterday that my father will come to London suddenly for some reason. He will probably arrive tomorrow. I don't have time to do any remedial work in such a short period of time. If he learns that I have caused such a large loss to the family business in a short period of time, I am afraid that he will take back most of the property control in my hands and hand it over to my cousin, (additional, that Sir has been waiting for this job for a long time and will be more than happy to take it over!) And I will become a 'poor man' with no status in the future, and have to live under the control of my father and his old man until he completely calms down Or until I inherit the family business."

Miss Mallard's eyes widened, "You've long been used to living freely, how could you bear it!"

Mr. Pete spread his hands, smiled self-deprecatingly, and his tone was still calm and composed, "This is the worst result I guessed, maybe there is a turning point..." In a blink of an eye, he suddenly bumped into a pair of clear and flexible eyes. The eyes are warm and soft, full of kindness and comfort, as if a pair of delicate hands are gently caressing the heart.

Mr. Pete was stunned and even forgot to speak for a while, silently feeling the wonderful feeling that suddenly surged up in his heart. The warm sunny breeze dissipated slowly.

…………

"Ahem," Mr. Pete said halfway, and Miss Mallard finally couldn't help coughing twice after waiting for a long time, "Dear cousin, I hope you can understand that what we are talking about now is more important. This is related to whether you can still gain the trust of your father, the Earl of Chatham. If you can continue to maintain this trust, then there will be people who are willing to cooperate with any woman you want to flirt with in the future. So there is no need You have to practice this with Lydia now, with all due respect, it is really useless for you to do this to her, if you have the energy, you should do something serious!"

Mr. Pete was embarrassed, "Lois, what nonsense are you talking about!" He asked Lydia a little unnaturally, "Mrs. Wickham, why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I have fallen to the point where I need sympathy and become a A downright unlucky fellow?"

"Of course not." Lydia didn't have a mirror in front of her. She didn't know that she didn't control her eyes very well just now, and she showed too much emotion.

Lydia just admired Mr. Pete's attitude in the face of difficulties—calm and calm, not in a hurry, and still remembered to care about whether his friends and cousin had suffered any misunderstandings and grievances.

Some people usually look elegant and personable, but when they encounter major events or setbacks, their demeanor will be swept away.

On the contrary, Mr. Pete is usually proud and indifferent, even a little reserved, but he is very patient when dealing with good friends and close people, and nothing will destroy his demeanor and patience.

Everyone will encounter more or less setbacks in their life. Few people will have smooth sailing. They can maintain a consistent style in the face of adversity, and they will not vent their anger or be irritable. In the back of the head, is a rare character.

"Even if you really lose [-] pounds, you are still the only son and heir of the Earl of Chatham, the future owner of the huge family business of the Pitt family, and you are far from the unlucky guy who needs sympathy. The most enviable object of anyone who doesn't have it is almost the same." Lydia teased Mr. Pete, and the atmosphere suddenly relaxed a lot.

"Gentlemen, let's get back to business," Miss Mallard brought the topic back impatiently, "George, have you investigated why the two shipments of spices were detained when they entered the port? The main messengers behind the incident should be the officials Morris and Mr. House."

"Lois, you really surprised me today!" Mr. Pete leaned back in his chair and stared at Miss Mallard, "The cargo ship was detained for a very high-sounding reason, but I found a few groups of people to go to After investigation, the news they sent back is similar, and the mastermind behind the scenes is probably Morris and the others. Then, don’t you want to tell me that this matter is actually related to Fiona?”

"You're very clever, and I'm proud to have a cousin as clever as you." By saying this, Miss Mallard was acknowledging that what she was about to say next was that the Baroness had something to do with it.

"Why?" Mr. Pete asked simply, without moving his expression.

"There are two reasons: first, Lydia tested her last night, and deliberately said that the French businessman was taking advantage of the fire, and he was not a sincere businessman. At that time, Baroness Moran acted a little guilty. And after learning After you didn't plan to sell the gold mines, she reacted a little too aggressively. It didn't seem like she was worried about you suffering a heavy loss, but more like she was eager to facilitate the deal between you and the French businessman she introduced; second, there are reliable people watching Go to her to have a secret conversation with Senator Morris, and discuss a matter that is not in your favor." Miss Mallard replied happily.

"Lois, who is the reliable person you are talking about?" Mr. Pete asked.

"Mr. Darcy."

After finishing speaking, Miss Mallard glanced at Lydia, and added, "Mr. Darcy and Mr. Morris used to be classmates, so you can hear some special news from Mr. Morris. You just need to know about it. Please don't tell anyone else."

Mr. Pitt let out a sigh of relief.

Although the baroness is shrewd, it is the first time she has been involved in such a large-scale trade, and she still can't do everything. It is incomparable with the power of the Pitt family who have been engaged in maritime trade for many years. After some investigation, Mr. Pitt also vaguely found something suspicious. There are many clues that show that she is behind the scenes.

But Baroness Moran has been his good friend for many years, and the two have maintained a very close relationship. He originally thought that such a relationship would last forever.But I didn't expect to suddenly find out that the baroness had betrayed the friendship between the two, and that feeling was really terrible.

"It seems that the Earl of Chatham will come to London suddenly, and it is probably the Baroness who informed me. I just don't understand why Baroness Moran would do this? Let you lose all the funds in your hands. , what good will it do her to turn you into a 'poor' with no status?" Lydia rubbed her forehead and asked, she really didn't want to understand this question.

"It's very simple. George is used to having a lot of property in his hands and doing whatever he wants. He must not be able to bear the financial stress under his father's control. The only way to get out of this predicament is to wait patiently for the Earl of Chatham to completely There is actually another way besides calming down or inheriting the family business." Miss Mallard talked eloquently.

"What else can I do?" Lydia and Mr. Pete asked together.

"That is to marry a very rich woman as soon as possible, and everything will be solved. Who do you think is more suitable for this woman than Baroness Moran?"

"So that's how it is." Lydia suddenly realized, "Lois, your brain turns so fast!"

Miss Mallard didn't take her compliment seriously, and explained, "That's because I lived in Netherfield with George and the Baroness some time ago, so I understand her mind better."

"Understood." Thinking of Miss Mallard's character of observing all kinds of things, Lydia understood.

After finishing speaking, the two turned their heads to look at Mr. Pete, who had already stood up, "I suddenly remembered that there is something else to do, so I'm leaving first. By the way, Lois, can you please take me to the door? "

"of course."

Miss Mallard followed Mr. Pitt to the door of her house, "George, I'm sorry, I tend to get excited and talk a lot when everyone is analyzing something together. I shouldn't have said that the Baroness was right in front of Lydia. Don't mind your thoughts."

"It's okay, Lois," Mr. Pete bit his lower lip, as if hesitating for a moment, and then asked, "Did Mr. Wickham live here last night? Can you tell me about your room in detail? How was it arranged?"

The author has something to say: Happy New Year everyone! (0^◇^0)//

Speaking of which, this year is really a warm winter. When I came to Hainan to celebrate the New Year, I found that the temperature in Shanghai was almost the same as that in Haikou.