Granville's estate

"Al, what are you thinking? We can't let that woman live here, it's too dangerous!"

While Mary, the maid, was bringing bread and wine to Mary of Moore Street—we shall now call her “Moina,” which means “fortune”—by Alred’s order, Louis took Aledra went outside 79 St. George Street. He couldn't imagine what kind of gypsy drug the witch had given his friend: "How can you promise her? If she is at night when we are asleep , opening the door to her fellows like Robin Hood, aren't we in danger?"

"If Sologne wants her to get along with him, that's great, I'll wait for him with a gun." Alred said, he glanced into the room and saw Moina Biting her bread carelessly, the woman didn't seem to have taken her own situation to heart since he'd known her: "Don't worry, Louis, she has to stay in the innermost storage room at night, and I'll Locked the door from the outside—I'd like to see what she's up to."

It took Louis a moment to understand what Alrede meant: his friend was probably trying to use Moina's presence to lure Sologne out.

"It's too dangerous, it's too dangerous, Al, and you're trying to put gunpowder next to the fireplace and bet the will of God that it won't go off."

That didn't sound like a good idea, and Louie was pacing up and down the steps outside the house anxiously, looking past them at the end of the street, just in time to see a patrolman walking by: "Al, we can't take her away." To the police in Paris?"

"That will only bring more trouble, Louis, I don't want to work on that Mr. Viscount to help us clean up the mess."

Alred followed Louis' line of sight and glanced at the figure of the patrolman going away. He hesitated for a while, then shook his head: "And I don't want her to be sent to the madhouse for the time being. Once in that kind of place, only Dead end... She said she didn't do anything, which is probably true, she's always been like this, she looks crazy, but that's exactly what she is: she knows everything, but she doesn't say anything. In fact, I always thought she was actually sober, even more sober than most people."

"Even if she really didn't do anything, to keep silent about the crime is a crime in itself."

"You don't understand, Louis... Forget it, I'll tell Mary to keep an eye on her. Whether she's conspiring with Sologne, it only takes a few days to find out, and the fox's tail can't be hidden."

"Al! Mary is too simple, she is no match for that woman at all!"

"We have a whole six men in this house, Louie, and if she can get away with it, it's only the providence of God. I'm going to put everyone on their toes tonight, but to Mary No need to say, yes, our little girl is easy to soft heart, if Moina makes an excuse to her tonight that she has a stomachache and asks Mary to open the door for her, we should be ready to point the gun at the door Sologne."

So that night, the men at 79 St. George Street stayed up almost all night. Whether it was the master or the servants, they all pricked up their ears to listen to the movement inside and outside the house, waiting for the liar who deceived Alred. When will it come.They had candles, shotguns, and ammunition at hand, but they were of no use in the end: Moina accepted Alred's request that she live in the windowless storage room, even with only a straw bunk. All the beds made didn't stop her from getting a good night's sleep.

"Could it be that she wants us to let our guard down before launching a surprise attack?"

Waiting in the dark night is a very tormenting thing. When it was around six o'clock and the sky began to light up, Alred asked Louis to take a rest, and he fell asleep until eleven o'clock. come over.

Fortunately, nothing happened during this period. When Louis went to the first floor to find Alred, he actually saw the maid Mary staying with Moina, and Moina was humming a song Braiding Mary's hair, they look like a pair of close sisters - and, today, she's wearing a new blue dress, which, if Louis remembers correctly, is Mary's favorite, The one he had worn only on Joseph's birthday since he had come to Paris; and next to them, Papa Peter sat on a little stool like a prison guard, his eyes fixed on Moy. Na's every move seemed to be afraid that she would do something unfavorable to Mary.

"Mary!"

Louis couldn't help but stop in his tracks. The scene in front of him gave him a strange sense of unreality—think about it, Moina, who was acting crazy yesterday, was intimate with Alred's maid today. stay together!He couldn't help calling the maid's name, and the two women (after all, Moina's previous name was Mary) both looked over at him.

"Sir," said old Peter to his master, "Mr. Allred has taken Joseph out, and he wants us not to wake you."

Needless to say, he was instructed by Allred to stay here before he left.

"Oh, Mr. Louis, you're awake."

The maid also said very happily, she turned her head and said to Moina, "I will go to the kitchen to prepare bread for Mr. Louis", so Moina wove the Bohemian bread for her very deftly and quickly. Ya's brown hair was braided - to tell the truth, with her hair braiding skills, she could actually be a maid in a rich man's house who was in charge of helping the mistress to dress up.

"Father Peter, go and get me some hot water for washing, that wooden basin is too heavy, and Mary can't move it."

"I promise to do it to you at once, my sir."

Father Peter answered loudly, he signaled Moina's existence to his master with his eyes, and Louis nodded to show that he knew, and then Father Peter walked away in peace.

"For the sake of the Virgin Mary, you should stay away from Mary."

After dismissing Papa Peter and Mary, Louis told Moina that he still had great mistrust of the woman who had hurt his friend: "She's not married yet, but I think she's going to be engaged soon, For the sake of her reputation, you can't get too close to her."

"Ah, I know." Moina said nonchalantly, she was still holding a comb with missing teeth in her hand: "A man came to her this morning, and the little girl was so happy, she said that The man gave her fifty francs, and told her that he had got a good job and that he would marry her in a very respectable position."

She should be referring to Mary's lover Villiers du Turner, but Louis was very surprised that Villiers would give Mary money, he thought that the gentleman would not take a penny out of his pocket. The person who took it out: "So that's it. No wonder I saw her so happy today. It turns out that the matter has been resolved... In this case, why do you still stay with her? If you let Villiers know your identity, he will definitely won't be happy."

This time, Moina just tilted her head, and the way she looked at Louis made Louis think of the eyes of the Virgin Mary in the painting "The Son and the Virgin" he once saw: calm, compassionate and graceful, this It doesn't seem to be the look she should have with her status.

"Mr. Louis, I like this girl." Moina said, "Seeing this girl is like seeing me in the past. Why, because of my identity, don't I even have the right to like her?"

"I-I didn't mean that, but..."

Moina's rhetorical question made Louis a little speechless for a while, but the woman didn't really care about his reaction, and she then expressed her opinion: "However, I don't like the man this morning. He doesn't look like a steady man. For a decent person, Mary, someone with your personality is more suitable for her."

"That's a student from the University of Paris." Louis said, he couldn't imagine standing in front of the priest with Mary: "In any case, his status must be worthy of Mary's status, although she Now she works as a maid, but she used to be the spoiled and good daughter of a wealthy businessman's family in the past."

Moina smiled, stretching her arms gracefully while still holding the toothless comb.

"I don't think so, it's not about status, it's just about a woman's intuition - let's just say, I don't think the man loves her, but Mary loves him deeply, she's in for it, Mr Louis, I have seen many such infatuated girls, and finally...forget it, why bother to say such disappointing things. "

She put the comb away, and began humming a folk tune, but if you listen carefully, one of the lyrics seems to be "My beloved, hold your head in my arms and kiss deeply", the beat and other The fragment is still a bit out of place, it should be the lyrics she changed herself-it seems that Moina's crazy problem has committed again.

Mary didn't know what Moina had said. Papa Peter brought Louis hot water, and she prepared breakfast. Not long after, Allred returned with Joseph, holding a There was an open letter, and because he was walking, he almost bumped into the door frame when he came in.

"Ah, Louis, you're awake!" Alred said to Louis. He looked at Mary and Moina who were sitting by the window in the living room doing needlework, and waved the letter in his hand to Louis: "I'll wait for you." I have to go out for a while, you stay at home, Mr. Dumont asked me to meet in the afternoon."

"Where are you going to find Mr. Dumont?" Louis asked. He glanced at the two women who were sitting together whispering girls' whispers, and understood that Alred meant to let him stay. Watching Moina at home, lest this woman make a big mess while they're away.

This was just an ordinary question, but after thinking about it for a while, Alred seemed a little uncertain whether to tell Louis.

"Mr. Dumont asked me to meet at the Durand Bank on Boulevard Angdan." Alred said, and when he mentioned Durand Bank, he became a little unhappy: "He also invited you in the letter, but I will not bring You go—one of the two of us must stay at home."