Granville's estate

Perhaps in Paris, people deposit money more in the bank to earn an interest of three to four percent per year, but for traditional people in the provinces, they prefer to use their accumulated savings to buy a small house. A piece of land, and then earn an annual income by taking care of the land, but no matter what kind of people, selling the ancestral land will be regarded as a worthless prodigal.

Obviously, Louis was overwhelmed by the terrible fact that Earl Fernand said that Alred wanted to sell the manor under his name—for an unspeakable reason like a courtesan.

"My lord, I think there may be some misunderstanding here." It was about the character of his good friend, Louis had to defend his friend: "I ate and lived with Allaide in the boarding school in St. Etienne. After 11 years, I know his character very well, he is definitely not a person who can do such a thing."

"I know that Parisians value luxury and pleasure, and that they behave differently from our provincials, but I don't think my friend will be corrupted by that pomp. When he first went to Paris for his studies, you Give him 1000 francs a year for living expenses, but he wrote to me that, considering your good intentions and the difficult future of the Granville family, he restrained his expenses every month, like those of his. Living like poor friends with a monthly living cost of only 30 francs, in order to restrain and hone their perseverance. Hasn’t it only been a year since he graduated? How could such an Alred Bewitched by beauty, why do such a rebellious thing?"

Facing Louis' justification, Earl Fernand heaved a long sigh.

"My boy, I hope more than anyone that this is not true."

He turned over the ledgers on the card table.

"As for how I learned about Alred's actions, I need to start from last year. My child, you don't mind listening to an old man's nagging?"

"My parents are dead, and I have no brothers or sisters, and Alrede has meant more to me than a fellow student. If I may venture to say so, my lord, I do not care for him as much as you do for him, I am eager to know the ins and outs of this matter."

"That's why after much consideration, I think you may be the most suitable person to come forward." The earl said, pondering for a while.

"As we all know, since Napoleon promulgated the abominable "Civil Code", the tradition of passing all family property to the eldest son has been destroyed. In order to avoid that code, in Arles When De just graduated, I transferred a deposit of 15 francs and a manor worth 2100 francs to his name; the interest on the deposit is 4500 francs per year, which can be withdrawn at the beginning of each year, and the production of the manor It is about 5000 francs to [-] francs per year, drawn on a quarterly basis, and part of the vines in that manor have not yet grown, and as time goes by, the income of the manor will increase.”

"My child, I do not say this to show off to you, and I believe that with your character you will never feel jealous. In fact, before the great /revolution, such income was nothing more than Granville The fraction of the family’s annual income has now become a pillar—ah, to get back to the point, in this way, Allaide’s annual income of about 6500 francs is already comparable to my annual expenditure in Chablis. No maintenance, no renovations, no taxes to sustain the Granville mansion."

"You know, the remaining property in my hands is only two deposits totaling 25 francs. The interest on this part of the money needs to be used to pay various expenses; in addition, there is a deposit of 60 francs that not only needs time The interest on the output cannot be used easily-if I still want to fight for my daughter who is in the convent to get married, the money must be left to her as a dowry. For a lady of the earl family, The dowry of only 30 francs is very miserable. I think that when their mother married into the Granville family, she brought a dowry of [-] francs, not including other dowry gold and silverware! Today's world , even if it is the daughter of an unfounded cloth merchant, she can have a dowry of [-] to [-] francs when she gets married, but the Granville family has fallen to this point."

While the count was talking, he carefully observed the expression of the young man in front of him. When he said that Alred’s annual income was 6500 francs, Louis’s expression clearly knew about it, but after learning that When Earl Fernand's remaining property that could be used was almost the same as that owned by Alred, he was still shocked.

"My lord, your love for Alred is touching. I did not expect that the money you transferred to him would occupy such a large part of the property of the Granville family. What is received there is one-fifth of the annual income of the Farentin family, and I always thought that all fathers handled it this way."

"Everything I do is for the revitalization of the Granville family." The count said with a long sigh, looking up at the intertwined G and H logo on the crossbar above the living room, falling into a kind of reminiscence In the downturn of the family's past glory: "Now it seems that this is a very irrational decision. We should not suddenly hand over such a huge property to a young man who could only control a thousand francs a year before. If I Slowly increase the amount of money at Alrede's disposal, as Monsieur Lucien has done with you, and perhaps he will be more sensible about his position and responsibilities."

"I imagined that if Alrede could get a decent job in Paris, or be able to serve some important person, his sister Madeleine might find a match in his social circle. Husband-in-law may even be able to marry without a dowry; the same is true for Alred's marriage. If you can marry a lady who brings a generous dowry, or the daughter of a justice, the revival of the Granville family is at hand. Yes. He was, so to speak, the Granville family's hope of revitalization, but, ah, my boy, I can hardly think of that dreadful afternoon when my old friend in Paris, Barbe de Portan, The Viscount Douai, a nobleman whom I have entrusted to be my ear in Paris, has sent me a very dreadful letter."

"The viscount said in the letter: 'Although I don't want to worry you, this matter is very urgent. At the beginning of July, your child Alred de Granville asked the bank's broker if he could use The deposit principal of 12 francs, his agent was very vigilant and said that he needed your consent, so the child left. The agent reported this situation to me, thinking that it was just the child's whim , but he must have had money problems; and at the beginning of August I heard a word about him from another banker—that Mr. Allred was said to be interested in selling his estate for I specifically inquired about brokers in this business. After many inquiries, I think the child's change began after meeting that Miss Margaret. Everyone said that he was madly infatuated with the former A beauty from District No. [-] who is willing to spend a lot of money to show off her beautiful singing voice under the spotlight of the opera house.'”

When it came to Alred's desire to sell the manor, Earl Fernand's voice began to tremble. It was obvious that his love for the child and Alred's depravity had dealt a great blow to him, no matter how hard he tried To cover up, the unspeakable pain was conveyed uncontrollably.

No.12 District of Paris——Anyone who only needs to hear about this place will know what Miss Marguerite’s background means. No.12 District is the poorest and most chaotic area in Paris, full of With the hoodlums, criminals, and scum from foundling asylums, workhouses, and police courts, no one of any stature would be happy to set foot there.In this way, Miss Marguerite will definitely not be the marriage partner that Earl Fernand expected for Alred, let alone her past as an actress in the opera house. Everyone knows that the so-called It is absolutely intolerable to old-fashioned prudence to see what the actresses are like.

Louis pondered for a while before slowly expressing his thoughts.

"I didn't question the intention of the entrusted person, but, my lord, aren't the words of the Viscount de Portanduai too exaggerated? I don't think Alred is the kind who squandered all his family property just to keep A prodigal son with a romantic reputation, although I don’t agree with that kind of ethos, but in this era, especially in Paris and London, it is very normal for a wealthy young man with a good background to have one or several beautiful lovers.”

"At one time, before he had completed his law degree, Allred was so eager to be appreciated by a certain noble Marchioness that he wrote to me that he hoped to be able to show his talents through that Marchioness. Unfortunately, the lady rejected his pursuit in the end. I think Alred is very clear about his responsibilities. The so-called depravity to sell the manor for the sake of Miss Margaret may be nothing more than Spreading falsehoods under misunderstanding, you also know that the power of words is very great, it can even turn a villain full of crimes into a saint, and spread rumors about devout believers into devils."

"My child, I may have considered what you said, and I very much hope that Allred is just acting on the occasion as you said, but the fact I have seen with my own eyes is that he has indeed lost his life for that actress. Sensible. He's gone into a frenzy of unnatural passion, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if I got a letter to-morrow telling me that Granville's estate has changed hands."

"Ah! Have you written and discussed with Alred?"

"I went to Paris myself, shortly after I received the vicomte's letter. My child, you will not imagine what I saw, and during those three days I took the house diagonally opposite the residence of Arlede. , and thus witnessed scenes that made me sad, and confirmed that the facts stated by my client in the letter were not only reliable, but even greatly underestimated the seriousness of the matter; but the child did not know that I had been to Paris , he thought he had deceived his father well."

"After returning from Paris, I think this matter can no longer be delayed. Someone must help him to protect the Granville family's property from falling into the hands of usurious Jews. Considering the young man's rebellion Heart and the deep friendship you formed in the boarding school, I think you are the most suitable person to replace me, so I sent you that letter."