Granville's estate

For Mrs. Busha's behavior that seemed inappropriate to Louis, Alred could see it very clearly.

"Madame Busa helped me pursue Margaret, but she just hoped to get benefits from people like me who want to get close to Margaret." Alred said, "It's not just me, if it is someone else Young people, she would have hinted at them too—she was so dependent on Marguerite that if Margaret ever drove her away from her, she would not even be able to pay for a ride in a stagecoach. "

Louis recalled that when they met for the first time in the gazebo, Madam Bousha's attitude towards him and Alred was completely different from Marguerite's, and suddenly realized that she probably also treated him with the same attitude. A playboy of Galbien's.

"I see that Miss Margaret seems to trust her very much. Doesn't Miss Margaret know her girlfriend's thoughts?" Louis frowned, although he was very interested in Alred's pursuit of Margaret. He didn't quite agree with this move, but he also didn't want to see a girl living in misfortune who took advantage of her depravity: "I guess Miss Margaret is not happy to see Mrs. Bushar's little tricks right?"

Alred sighed.

"She must know, but what can I do, Louis, Marguerite has no one who can protect her, so she can only rely on girlfriends like Mrs. Buscha to take care of her, and can only rely on them to do things that cannot be handed over to outsiders. things to do."

"Things that can't be handed over to outsiders? What would that be?"

"Like dealing with the police spies who were watching her house."

Alred squeezed out such a sentence from between his teeth, then he clenched his teeth tightly and turned his head away.

Louis was stunned for a moment, and then thought about the attitude of the officials in his hometown to those who had been "red hats" in the Napoleon era, and he immediately understood that in Paris, high-level courtesans like Marguerite Like the Liberals, they are probably being monitored as "potentially harmful elements who hinder morality".Facing this painful fact, he didn't know how to comfort his friend, so he kept silent.

Alred walked silently for a while, and then heaved a long sigh. It seemed that he was no longer in the mood to continue walking: "Louis, let's take a carriage to dinner, and I'll take you to my favorite Riser Coffee It is just to make up for the regret that I was not able to greet you at the first time when you came to Paris yesterday."

"Are you okay, Al?" Louis felt a little guilty, "It's my fault, obviously we went out for a walk to relax, but now you're getting unhappy."

"It's none of your business, Louis, you don't need to blame yourself." Alred turned around and waved to the carriage behind them, "Let's go, I haven't had any gin from Rischer's for a long time, I'm starting to miss the taste of it, and I'm definitely going to have a drink tonight."

Their carriage left earlier than anyone else's. After driving out of the path of the Bois de Boulogne, they drove along another road through the most prosperous center of Paris, and finally stopped at an elegantly decorated Rue Richelieu. In front of the cafe.

Along the way, Louis watched in amazement the bustling No.16 and Eighth arrondissements of Paris they passed by. These two areas of Paris are next to each other and next to the Bois de Boulogne in the suburbs. It also fulfills the good name of that forest.Louis saw all kinds of shops here, from print shops to famous clothing shops, from pocket watch shops for gentlemen to hat shops for ladies and ladies. Every shop has bright and very bright glass windows, proudly Displaying their own products displayed under crystal lamps, as if emitting light-it is absolutely impossible to see such a spectacle in other provinces!All the people coming and going here are more luxurious private carriages, even the people on foot seem to be well-dressed, and there is no tramp or beggar in sight, as if all the rich people in the world are concentrated here An area.

Seeing Louis so curiously observing the grand scene in this area, Alred was in high spirits, and after getting rid of his boredom, he began to introduce to his friends one by one the famous shops he passed along the way: "That is Vidier's cane shop, where my cane is custom-made; that Ubigan sells perfume, and Marguerite likes their rose perfume very much, as well as flowers from their neighbor Morris's; It is the most famous tailor shop of Bisson on Rue Richelieu. Many rich families come to their homes to order clothes according to the styles in "Vogue Illustrated"-ah, speaking of this, Louis, I will take you to the tailor tomorrow Shop, let them measure the materials for you and prepare some new clothes for you?"

"I don't think it's necessary," said Louis. "I still can't get used to the fashions of your Parisian clothes, and besides, I'm going back to Magon in maybe two weeks. Why waste time and money?" Where's the money!"

"But I want to take you to balls and other occasions where new tailor-made clothes are a must - while you're here, I want you to just enjoy what Paris has to offer you. said Alred, "after all, when you come to Paris next time, you never know when it will be!"

While talking, their carriage stopped in front of a cafe. The signboard of this cafe said "Rishel" in fancy fonts, just like all the restaurants, cafes and theaters in the bustling neighborhood they passed along the way, The jewelry stores, high-end clothing stores and boutique bookstores I saw had a kind of delicacy and beauty that would never be seen in other provinces.Before the carriage came to a complete stop, well-dressed envoys graciously stepped forward to lower the steps of the carriage for them, and then led them into a well-decorated box in the cafe with a kind of neither humble nor humble respect.

"Monsieur de Granville, what would you like to eat today?"

The waiter who served them brought them menus and asked in a familiar tone, it seemed that Alred was a regular customer here.

Alred handed the menu to Louis, and then casually asked the waiter, "John, what is the chef's recommendation today?"

The waiter became angry, as if greatly offended.

"Oysters, of course, sir!" he exclaimed. "The freshest oysters from Ostend up north, just in season and taste!"

"Then have a plate of oysters from Ostend, and Papa Boare's specialty dish, fried mushrooms with butter." Alred said, looking at Louis who was flipping through the menu: "Louis, what do you want to eat? of?"

Louis shook his head and put the exquisite menu on the table.

"I'm not familiar with the dishes here, Al, you decide." Louis said, making a little joke: "Even if you order the worst dish here, I will eat it without changing my face .”

"Then have another piece of wild rice root stuffed with meat, a piece of Normandy sole, and pasta for two." Alred watched the waiter write down one by one, hesitated, "Wine... give me some A gin bar."

"Al, the gin is too strong, why don't you change it to wine? After all, if you get drunk here, I don't know how to take you to where Miss Margaret is."

Perhaps because of the possibility of making a fool of himself in the theater if drunk, Allred finally gave up on the idea of ​​drinking strong gin.

"Then have a bottle of Bordeaux," he said.

"Okay, gentlemen, please wait a moment!"

The dishes they ordered were delivered quickly. I have to say that Allaide loves this cafe for a reason. Not only are the waiters very attentive, but the taste of each dish is also perfect!The Ostend oysters are so fresh that you can't wait to suck all the juice. The noodles are completely unmatched by restaurants in other provinces. The chef's best butter fried mushrooms are very appetizing; cut into pieces The stuffed wild rice root stuffed with meat and the Normandy sole served in its full shape were both cooked to perfection, and poured with a well-preserved vintage wine, even the pickiest Lao Tie couldn’t fault it.

After the whole dinner, except for the bottle of Bordeaux wine, everything else was delicacy that Louis had never tasted, and maybe it was a delicacy that could only be tasted in Paris!As for the bottle of wine, maybe it was because Louis grew up in a wine region, and he didn't feel that it could compare with the best wine in his hometown, but since his goal of keeping Alred from drinking spirits had been achieved Well, he didn't make any comments.

It was a dinner for the host and the guest. While eating, the two happily talked about their respective experiences in the past few years. Allred told Louis about the various daring adventures he had taken while studying for a degree, and Louis talked about his When he just took over the family business left by his father, he encountered all kinds of troubles from neighbors and officials.

After a meal, both of them were a little drunk, so they pushed the wine glasses aside and chatted relaxedly.At this time, the door of the box was opened, and the waiter named John, who had been running around courteously, came in. Very tempting fruit juice ice cream.

The waiter John put two cups of fruit ice cream in front of Alred and Louis with the standard smile typical of servants, and Alred gave him a puzzled look.

"John, did you make a mistake? We didn't order cold drinks after dinner."

"Sir, you are questioning my ability, how could I make a mistake in what you ordered?" John said, "It is clearly written on the list, you ordered two cups of ice cream and asked to be delivered after the meal. "

"Ah, damn it, your accountants must have mistaken our menu and someone else's menu." Alred said, standing up, "I'll go and see, Louis, you are waiting for me here."

Louis pushed away the ice cream in front of him, and nodded to Alred: "Go, I'll wait for you here."

"Did I really make a mistake?" The waiter John muttered, "Mr. de Granville, please this way, I will take you to check."

This is really a low-level mistake that shouldn't happen!

Louis thought so, and after watching the two walk out, he fiddled with the silver tableware in his hand in boredom.

Then he heard a woman's voice.

"Mr. Louis du Farentin, good evening."

At some point, there was a ghostly woman in a headscarf at the door of the box. She appeared so silently that Louis was shocked.

"Who are you?" Louis asked subconsciously, "I don't remember ever seeing you, how do you know my name?"

From stepping into the cafe until now, all the cafe waiters he saw were men, where did such a person dressed as a maid come from?

The woman who appeared suddenly stopped at the door without any intention of coming in, but pointed to the cup of ice cream in front of him.

"There is my business card under the cup, you can take a closer look at it later." She said, "Mr. Farentin, I am here to convey a message for someone. There is a gentleman who likes you very much and very much hopes to make friends with you through us." A pleasant friendship."

What do you mean?

The woman spoke very fast, and Louis didn't understand what she said at all. When he was in a daze, Alred's voice full of anger accompanied by heavy footsteps came from outside the box.

"I knew there was a problem—who are you? Who sent you here?!"