Granville's estate

Without the obstruction of the Viscount, the procedures for Louis to leave Paris went very smoothly.

He took Joseph and went to see Count Fernand at the Granville mansion in Chablis—because he had to stay to deal with the old furniture at No. 79 St. George Street and other things, Alred had to delay for a few days Only then can he go back to his father; this was originally just an ordinary arrangement, who would have thought of doing this, but there was a ridiculous misunderstanding.

Joseph was unwilling to leave Paris, where his sister was buried. In order to get him into the carriage, Louis and Arred tried their best, and even had to assure him that this was only a temporary departure, waiting for him to come out of great sorrow Afterwards he was able to return to Paris again; even so, Joseph was overwhelmed with grief, and sat beside Louis weeping all the way.

So when Count Fernand de Granville saw his young guests again, he saw Louis with a sad look, Father Peter and Joseph with red eyes from crying. This old man probably misunderstood What, he fainted almost immediately; and when people woke him up with smelling salts, Count Fernand didn't even care about the restraint and calm that he valued so much, and he grabbed Louis tremblingly. His hand was so strong that Louis was surprised: "Oh, my child! How is my Alred? Is he dead, or is something wrong?"

"My lord," Louis replied, he was both surprised and puzzled by the old man's thoughts: "My lord, Al has nothing to do, he just stays in Paris, and it will take a few days before he can return to your side."

Earl Fernand didn't believe his words at all.

"If he is fine, why does his servant follow you? My child, don't lie to me. Something must have happened to him. You must tell me the truth."

Only then did Louis realize that the earl knew Joseph and knew that he was his son's valet—for a father who refused to enter his son's residence without an invitation, and for a nobleman who stubbornly followed the old rules, it was condescending. It is an incredible thing to remember what a servant looks like in this expensive place. This only shows that Earl Fernand's love and concern for Alred is by no means as he appears on the surface, just obsessed with Father's authority.

"My lord, Alred is all right, and he will return to you in a few days."

Louis repeatedly assured the earl that his child would come back to him in a few days, and the earl no longer had to worry about the Granville family's inheritance being squandered by Alred, or the family's reputation being ruined because of an injustice. I was ashamed of a proper marriage, because after many things, Alrede had woken up from that excessive and extravagant life, and he would be a well-behaved and good young man in the future.

After learning that his son was all right, Earl Fernand finally let go of his suspense. He invited Louis to stay in Chablis for a few days, but soon, he felt that he was already "Louis's son." Servant" Joseph was very dissatisfied.

"I have never seen a servant hide and cry all day, doing nothing!"

After Alred came back, Earl Fernand complained to his son: "This is really outrageous, how can you recommend such a servant to your friends? You should send him away and let the child Also hire a diligent and honest servant."

What else could Allred say?He could neither tell the truth to Earl Fernan nor really drive Joseph away, so he could only find some excuses to get his father off the hook.

Louis returned to Magon after a few days at Chablis, and his steward almost burst into tears when he saw him.

"My Monsieur, you have not come back for so long, and everyone is rumoring that you will probably stay in Paris forever!"

Life in the provinces is boring and silent, and every day is a repetition of yesterday, so when there is any new news, people will speculate excitedly like a shark smelling blood, and these guesses can always become unrecognizable in the circulation : M. Louis du Farentin went to Paris for a time; he had the friendship of a count's son; he brought back a valet from Paris, and taught him to read; And often passed the day on just water and bread, as if each day he was atoning for some wrong of his own.

Therefore, the residents of Magon have rumors that after Mr. Louis du Farentin went to Paris, he was shocked by the depravity of the people there, and made up his mind to pursue the hardest and most pious way of life for life, so as to warn himself not to be like Paris. The Parisians have fallen into the hell of sin and thus saved their souls; these provincial residents who admired the glitz of Paris and despised its decadence deprecated the crimes of Paris, as if satisfied with it. I felt the envy and jealousy of that city that I couldn't express, so I turned my attention to the next amazing thing with satisfaction.

Louis didn't pay too much attention to what the residents of Magon had guessed about him. Just like everyone else knew, he had already abandoned all worldly glitz and enjoyment, and was more willing to kneel before the Virgin and the Son to pray—— For himself, for Mary, and for a person who disregarded the teachings of the Lord; he even wanted to buy a small priory and live in it, but in the end, this idea was rejected because of the insufficient savings of the Farentin family. Had to cancel.

The only thing that troubled Louis was that Joseph, who followed him to Magon, could not adapt to the boring life in the provinces. Because he missed his sister too much, he became in a daze, and often hid in the corner crying, unwilling to even take a step Stepping out of the house; even if the passage of time had calmed him down a bit, when Louis taught him to write, Joseph would suddenly hold a pen and burst into tears.

"Sir, I don't want to learn how to read and write here, I want to go back to my sister!"

Joseph said this to Louis more than once, and later he even ran to the post station in Magong, intending to take the station's carriage to Paris, which caused Louis a lot of trouble; finally Louis had to make an appointment with him. , when he could write a letter fluently, they would go to Paris again, and put a bouquet of her favorite flowers on Marie's grave.

In the boring and peaceful life day after day, time passed slowly. On the night before Easter, there was a light rain in Magon. In the middle of the night, Louis suddenly woke up from his sleep. Waking up with a start, he quickly realized what he heard, so he got up and put on a robe, and pushed open the door of Joseph's room.

Joseph was not in his own bed, he was huddled in the corner of the room, wrapped himself in a quilt, biting his wrist so that the sound of crying would not wake the rest of the house; Joseph didn't even look up at him.

"Sir, I miss my sister."

Joseph cried for a long time. He choked up and said to Louis who was sitting silently beside him: "I miss her, sir. I don't want to learn to write, and I don't want to learn those maths. I just want to stay with her. She is so afraid of the dark." And afraid of the cold, sir, it's raining today, she will feel cold."

A few days later, Joseph left Magon without telling anyone, taking only his identity passport and leaving Louis with a crooked note.

"Sir, I want to go back to my sister, goodbye."

After getting this note, Louis couldn't hold it anymore, he sent away the concerned Father Peter, returned to his room, and then knelt down before the cross where Jesus suffered.

"Lord, Lord."

Louis pressed his forehead to the cold ground, murmuring in a low voice, he could only feel his tears flow down uncontrollably.

"My Lord, I am guilty."

"I witnessed a tragedy unfold in front of me and couldn't expose him."

"That man, he's arbitrary, arrogant, unscrupulous, he's a jerk."

"But I... love him."

"I dare not ask you to forgive my sinful soul, but only to you, to grant forgiveness to his soul."