Granville's estate

"Aren't you joking, Al? By the Virgin Mary, I thought you were just saying that!"

"Of course it's true, don't you think I'm talking big?"

The face value of a gold louis is twenty francs, that is to say, Alred received an income of [-] francs today, which is already higher than Louis' net income in a year.

Louis couldn't figure out how else he could get such a large amount of money besides the interest income from Allaide and the income from the manor—the annual income from Granville Manor was even higher than this figure. Some, but according to what Earl Fernand said, the estate needs to be paid quarterly, so it is impossible to give it to him all at once!

Perhaps to tease his friends, after telling Louis the shocking news, Allred did not answer his questions immediately, but took the receipt after tucking Louis into a warm bed and left it behind. Louis, full of curiosity, waited in the bedroom.

By the time Alred came back, he had already changed into a cashmere nightgown embroidered with olive branches and off-white cashmere pajamas. He sneaked into the bedroom like an elf, and then suddenly lifted the calico wiper. The bed curtain jumped up, and the whole person fell on Louis and suppressed him, shouting: "Lacapitution!"

Louis was taken aback by the sudden attack, but quickly reacted: "Gypsies will never surrender!"

As he yelled, he tried to fight back with the eiderdown covering him, like the inspector-gypsy game he played as a boy at Saint-Etienne's boarding school, which quickly turned into a two-man game. It made a mess of bedding, sheets, and pillows, and almost tore off the curtains beside the bed; if there is any difference from boarding school, it is probably that no matter how much you want to play, you don’t have to worry about attracting attention. The superintendent's reprimand came.

The battle ended with Louis exhausting his strength and declaring defeat. After Louis raised his hand and said "Lacapitition" to surrender, Alred scratched him wickedly before letting him go, and then fell beside Louis, la After the quilt was covered on the two of them, they were panting, you looked at me, I looked at you, and finally laughed at the same time.

"Your strength has atrophied, my little Louis, and it must be because you ride in a carriage all day!"

"It's as if you don't have one. Based on the conditions of the roads in Paris I saw today, I don't believe it at all if you often walk!"

The two partners, exhausted after their romping, lay so intimately together under the warm eiderdown quilt—another typical Parisian item, with the beautiful English lace A flashy thing in the eyes of outsiders! —shoulder to shoulder chatting.

"You have full control over your family's land now, right? Ever since your father passed away, I've been worried that your character is too gentle to deter those people."

"It's okay now, but sometimes it's a headache. You know my neighbors. They sometimes sneak into my woods to cut illegally, so that I can bear the heating costs for them in winter. They are too good at it." Taking advantage of the loopholes, the tenants are also very embarrassed, especially when harvesting grapes, I really don’t care about those people’s petty actions.”

"Hey, you're just too good-tempered, so they think you're easy to bully! Sometimes you can't be too conniving with the poor, they'll just push their feet. If it were me, I'd raise a few ferocious hounds and hire a few thugs. Let's see who dares to come!"

"That's not necessary. I have to temporarily hire them to help when I'm too busy. Those people work hard, much harder than the hired people from other places. Generally speaking, I don't have much loss. .”

"If my father were to face this kind of person, he would definitely be furious. He couldn't tolerate inferior people offending the Granville family and his dignity."

When talking about Earl Fernand, the two were silent for a while, and Louis touched Alred with his arm.

"Al, I don't want to hide from you. After all, we grew up together at the boarding school in Saint-Etienne. I don't think there is anything we can't say between us." He said, "I went to see you before I came to Paris. father, Count Fernand de Granville."

When hearing these words, Alred was actually quite calm.

"Ah, actually I guessed it when I saw you." He said, "You're not the kind of person who would come to Paris on a whim. Spending money is a trivial matter, and your personality doesn't like this city at all. and you came directly to me, and it must have been my father who told you where I now live."

Louis looked at him in surprise: "So, you know a lot of things."

"The servants of the neighbor's house next door told me that they have seen another Koop carriage with the same family crest as mine." Alred said, turning over and turning half sideways. Looking at Louis' posture, he put his head on his arms: "It's just that the carriage is too plain, he couldn't be sure if it was related to me, so he said it vaguely, but I knew it must be my father's carriage as soon as I heard it." .”

"Then you know why the Earl came to Paris, right?"

"What else is there? I must have alarmed him when I wanted to use the money. I know that Viscount Barbey de Portandue must have corresponded with him." Alred said, waving his hand. With one hand, it was like trying to chase away an invisible fly that bothered him: "I don't trust that cunning old man very much, but my father always thinks that after the same storm decades ago, Barbe de The Viscount Potentueil must understand his difficulties better than I do—really! He has always been stubbornly holding on to the glory of his family, and he cannot see that the times have changed. No matter how brilliant the so-called history is, without money Your support is nothing!"

"My lord Earl is really worried about you wanting to use the principal of the deposit. What's going on, Al? I can't figure out why you have to use the principal. Is your annuity not enough for your expenses? ? Among other things, the annual rent of this place can eat up more than a quarter of your income, right?"

"Oh, Louis, this is Paris! To be honest, I am quite satisfied with this place. There are yards and stables, and there is no need to face the prying eyes of neighbors. Privacy is a very luxurious thing in Paris, 1500 francs a year. I think the rent is still affordable. If you want to talk about luxury, you have never seen a real gold-selling cave. The rent for houses in some places in the 16th district and No.[-] district costs tens of thousands of francs just for a quarter. !"

As Alred said, he lay down again and pulled up the quilt a little.

"But accounts can't be calculated like this, Al, besides the rent, you have to spend more money!" Louis stretched out his hand to adjust his pillow, and then began to wring his fingers: "Your income is only 6500 francs a year. , the rent is 1500 francs, how can the carriage cost 2000 francs? The three servants have to pay a salary of 1400 francs. Besides, what about your food expenses? According to what Mary said, you have to pay 2000 francs. The cost is very high, I count you four francs a day, and you need 1000 francs in a year, and you have gone to 100 francs, and you are only left with [-] francs; how can such a small amount of money support you for heating, clothing, and communication? What about your beautiful Miss Marguerite? She costs you over [-] francs a night."

Alred was stunned for a moment, then poked Louis' cheek with his finger in surprise.

"Did I hear you right?" he said, "My little Louis, who has always been frugal, didn't accuse me of spending too much money, nor advised me to stay away from Marguerite, but was very serious about helping me count my money. Do my expenses exceed my income?"

Louis glared at him angrily.

"My income is not as good as yours, but it doesn't mean that I don't know that the expenses in Paris are much higher than those in other provinces." He muttered, "The more I calculate, the more anxious I become for you. You have to pay for such a big hole in expenses. How to fill it? You are good, and you still make fun of me!"

"Oh, if only my father could understand my situation half as well as you!"

Alred sighed heavily, and put his wrists behind his head: "I once told him that I spent fifty francs to treat my classmates to a simple meal at Chevet's restaurant when I was writing, and it turned out Guess what? He wrote back and lashed out at me, saying I was too wasteful to spend so much money on such pleasures—which, by the Virgin Mary, are nothing at all in Paris! After that, I didn't dare to tell him how much I actually spent in Paris."

Louis thought for a while, propped himself up halfway up, and looked at Alred.

"Although I am on your side emotionally, it is reasonable for the earl to be worried. Although food, clothing, housing and transportation require money, people with different identities can enjoy different grades. Your income simply cannot support this. The cost! You are planning to use the principal of the deposit, isn't this too much?"

"The money I want to use has nothing to do with my daily expenses-well, let me tell you, I have invested in a little business, although it is not very stable, but the income it has brought me in the past few months has It is almost more than the annuity my father gave me when I was a man. As I told you at the beginning, it has brought me two hundred louis d'or today, but I will have to pay it in two installments. "

Louis raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What kind of business is this? With such a generous return, I am tempted."

"The tea business, with a classmate of mine at the University of Paris, he took care of it, and I was responsible for providing part of the capital for the operation."