Granville's estate

When Monsieur du Dubois entered the living room of the Countess de Lopez with his two new lodgers, the Vicomte Calliste de Durand was sitting quietly beside the old countess, Holding a "Bible", he recited the above passage to the countess: "After Adam gave birth to Seth, he lived for another 800 years, and gave birth to sons and daughters..."

Perhaps it was for the sake of the old lady who is over 70 years old to be able to hear clearly, Callister's voice was very gentle and slow when he was studying, and he was clearly a well-behaved, gentle and easy-going gentleman. He couldn't show his usual haughty look; however, when the four guests walked into the living room, he stopped reading and turned to look at the people who came to visit—or, in other words, looked at the people in the group Louis.

"Ah, ma'am," said Calliste, who watched with a half-smile as Arlaide took a step forward as soon as he saw him, keeping Louis behind: "Mr. Dubois and the other gentlemen to visit you."

On Massillon Street in the marsh area far away from Boulevard Angdan and Durand Bank, it was so coincidental to meet Callister—at the moment when he saw the other party, Louis thought he was dazzled and recognized the wrong person; however, the Viscount As soon as he spoke, the familiar tone that made people want to grind their teeth unconsciously told Louis: This is not a dream, and Callisto is indeed right in front of him.

"Ah, Monsieur Vicomte de Durand, so you are here with Madame!"

M. du Dubois walked in front of Louis and Allred, so this gentleman did not notice that one of the guests he brought had a strange expression, while the other had a gloomy face. He very naturally He greeted the Viscount, and seemed not at all surprised that Callister appeared beside the Countess de Lopez: "Are you here to visit the lady alone today?"

"I really hope to bring another person to visit Madam, Mr. Dubois, but unfortunately he is always unwilling to give me this opportunity."

When Callister said this, he deliberately glanced at Louis. In Alred's eyes, this small move annoyed him faster than the bullfighter's provocation to the bull. Fortunately, Mr. du Dubois was ignorant of the undercurrent between them, and he laughed: "So, Mr. Galbien has encountered some things that prevent him from coming with you?"

The word "again" sounds strange no matter how it sounds, but Callister just nodded slightly: "He told me that his toothache was so bad that he couldn't get up, let alone take a carriage."

"It's really unfortunate, but I'll bet M. Galbien's toothache will be gone by the time you get back," said M. Dubois, turning to his two new lodgers with a very serious look. Proudly introduced to the Countess de Lopez sitting in front of the fireplace: "Madame, please allow me to introduce you to two young people who will come to live in our neighborhood, they are Alred de Lopez from Chablis. M. Granville and M. Louis du Farentin from Magon will come to me about Christmas."

The Countess de Lopez is in her 70s, with silver hair. She has an impressive and peaceful temperament, which can make people who see her think of the kind old grandmother at home.The lady's husband was once quite powerful, but the sudden revolution not only took the life of Count de Lopez, but also took away her magnificent residence and most of her property; now, even if the time has advanced to 1823 However, the deep marks of the old days still appeared on this lady: the skirt she wore was still the style popular in the autocratic era, and the material was good but old satin, without expensive lace decoration or other fancy decorations (unthinkable for a Parisian aristocratic woman!); and the place where she lived, although not as luxurious and spacious as a noble mansion, was clean and well-furnished, There is a kind of elegance unique to the old aristocrats-an elegance that cannot be defeated even if it is down-to-earth.

Madame is obviously no stranger to this kind of visit from the new members of Rue Massillon. After hearing Mr. Dubois's introduction, she picked up a pair of tortoiseshell glasses from the blanket covering her knees, put them on, and carefully Watched Louie and Alred for a while.

"Two delightful and beautiful children," said the Countess de Lopez, who looked very happy: "Gentlemen, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I sincerely wish you good health forever under the blessing of the Lord." healthy."

"It was an honor to meet you, ma'am."

Even though he didn't like to see Calliste de Durand sitting next to his lady, Alred still showed the good upbringing that a noble youth should have, but when he walked in front of his lady, he deliberately stood beside the viscount. On the one hand, he tried his best to keep his friend away from the Mr. Banker.

"Nice to meet you, madam, and God bless you with good health."

Naturally, Louis also noticed Alred's subtle movement, which made his face suddenly heat up when he faced the Viscount's half-smile look, so he could only quickly greet the Countess de Lopez demeanor to conceal the rapid beating of his heart.

Mr. Dubois did not notice Alred's small movements. After the two young men greeted the countess, he enthusiastically introduced Calliste who was sitting there to Louis and Alred: "Gentlemen, this It is Mr. Viscount Callister de Durand, and the mother of his cousin Mr. Galbien de Durand is the only granddaughter of the lady, but Mr. Galbien lives too far away from the swamp area, so Mr. Viscount often visits his wife instead of his cousin."

The place where I live is too far away from the swamp area - this reason does not sound convincing. Galbien has his own carriage and does not need to walk by himself. How could he not visit his great-grandmother because the distance is too far away? ?Combined with the conversation between Dubois and Calliste at the beginning, Louis guessed that the truth should be that the fun-loving son did not like the strong religious atmosphere in the swamp area, so he always found excuses and refused to talk to him. Brother came together.

"Ah, Monsieur Dubois, I do not trouble you to introduce me, I know these two young men," said Callister, rising gracefully from his chair, and condescendingly stretched out his hand to Alred. Hand: "I know that Mr. Alred de Granville's father, Count Fernand, is a nobleman whose virtue is very respectable, and his son is just like him, a man who is both intelligent and kind-hearted." .”

This—this must be a satire on how he was deceived by Sologne Grostedt because of his credulity in the tea business!

Alred gritted his teeth in anger. He held Callister's outstretched hand very hard, secretly trying to teach him a lesson, but the words on his mouth were very beautiful: "I'm surprised It is really incredible that Yi can get your approval, sir, but to be honest, compared with your intelligence and ability, my advantages are actually insignificant."

Facing the "enthusiasm" in Alred's hand and the seemingly humble but provocative words, Callister just frowned slightly, and fought back without changing his face.

"I'm very glad that you have a clear understanding of your abilities, Mr. de Granville, but you don't have to be too depressed because of this, after all, the aptitudes God bestows on each of us are different."

"...?"