Granville's estate

Boulevard d'Andan - the central area in the central area of ​​Paris, the essence of the essence, where countless high-end jewelry stores, restaurants, newspaper offices, cafes and opera houses gather. There will be various carriages on the street from early morning to late night Driving by, the lights in the shop windows and theaters will not go out until the early morning; since this place is so prosperous, there will naturally be many powerful big banks - such as 51 Boulevard Angdan Bank of Durand on .

Even though it was past nine o'clock in the evening, the Durand Bank was still brightly lit, and quite a few employees were still coming in and out.The clerks were dressed as drably as their English counterparts, each in white collared shirts and black coats, with an old-fashioned pinned neck tie of the same width, and of different types. Trousers with hems and leather shoes without buckles, and even the same oak canes with silver inlaid handles and curved ends in their hands - 80.00% of the credit for the easy identification of Parisian bank clerks It is due to this rigid and distinctive attire; only higher-ranking executives have the power to get rid of this rigid impression, but even if they have the freedom to determine their taste in clothing, they often choose to obey this kind of ignorance. Which far-sighted gentleman stipulated the dress code, at most he changed his cane to a gold-plated eagle-shaped cane head to show that he is different from others.

Galbien's carriage was parked at the steps of the Durand Bank, and as he entered the grand hall, all the clerks who recognized him nodded to him, but Galbien paid no attention to them; When he reached the second floor, an attendant wearing a livery embroidered with the Durand family crest immediately greeted him and led him to the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor.

It wasn't until he approached the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor that the door was painted with a gorgeous pattern of golden irises, that the arrogance on Galbien's face gradually subsided, and replaced it with a lighthearted look.

"Mr. Galbien, please wait a moment." The attendant at the door said to him, "Your Excellency is receiving Mr. Nelson and Mr. Dumont."

"I see."

After waiting for more than half an hour, until Galbien felt that his feet were about to stand numb, the door of the room painted with golden irises was opened. The serious-looking Mr. Nelson and the elegant The easy-going Mr. Du Dumont came out together.

These two gentlemen are quite senior executives in the Durand Bank. Mr. Nelson is a British man with a beard, but his belief and nationality do not affect his obtaining a place in the Durand Bank.This serious Englishman always disliked such an ignorant and ignorant swinger like Galbien, but because of his special status, he had nothing to do. Nodded; Mr. Dumont was much more amiable. This gentleman has always been a proper person, and he greeted Galbien in a friendly manner.

Galbien smiled and chatted with the two gentlemen, watched them leave, and then stepped into the place where Viscount Callister de Durand was.

This room is the Viscount's special office in Durand Bank. The first thing anyone who walks into this room will definitely notice is the huge mahogany bookcase that occupies the entire wall, leaving a deep impression on his memory. impression.This bookcase extends almost all the way to the ceiling, and the highest point even requires a special small ladder to reach it; half of the shelves on the bookcase are filled with books in French, German, Latin and Italian, including Different bookmarks in different places for noble genealogies, travel biographies, and legal classics indicate that these books are indeed taken seriously, and not just placed here as decorations; the other half of the grid is filled with labels for marking strips of files, account books with yellowed corners, and countless large paper clips each one inch thick. Everything was neatly organized without any clutter.

Except for this huge bookcase, this room is no different from the office of any senior executive of Durand Bank. When you look out of the window glass, you can see the street shrouded in night, and the dark red light of wind lamps swaying in front of private carriages passing by; there is no fireplace in the room, but the heating with a suitable temperature is skillfully hidden in the room by the designer Copper pipes are distributed everywhere, so that Viscount Calliste de Durand, who is sitting at the table and looking at the file with a frown, can not be affected by the cold climate, and avoid the heat from burning firewood that will flood the room. Worries about yellowing and brittle paper of precious books.

"grown ups."

Galbien walked a few steps away from the table and bowed to the person sitting at the table.

"How about it?"

Viscount de Durand was writing something on the file at hand, and he didn't even raise his head after Galbien came in, he just asked this question.

"As you ordered, in the name of the Vicomtesse de Bourgogne, I sent the pie you ordered at the Chevert to M. Louis du Farentin."

Galbien was standing when he said this, and although there was a reclining chair for guests to rest on his left, he never thought about sitting down on the chair—whether it is now In front of his cousin or in front of his uncle before, he never had this choice: "Although Mr. Farentin is ill, he is still in good spirits. Mr. de Granville invited a doctor for him, and he was very careful. take care of him."

When he heard his last words, Viscount Calliste de Durand paused his writing hand, he raised his head from the file, and looked through the monocle on his right eye in a vague way. Galbien glanced.

Galbien's heart skipped a beat when his cousin saw him, but since the viscount didn't let him stop, he could only bite the bullet and continue reporting: "Mr. Farentin ate two pieces of pie you sent, and said He likes it very much, but they say to thank the Vicomtesse de Bourgogne in person; so you may have to say hello to Madame."

"Ah."

The Viscount replied flatly, with a tone that was completely devoid of emotion or anger.

Anyone who is familiar with the Viscount's character will know that this means dissatisfaction. At this moment, although the room is warm as spring, Galbien feels that his back is about to break out in cold sweat.

Just as Mr. Galbien de Durand was racking his brains to figure out what had gone wrong, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if blessed by the Virgin Mary.

"Because of Mr. Farentin's illness, Mr. de Granville and Mr. Farentin are now living in different living rooms." Galbien tried his best to maintain that calm tone, "This should be their doctor In order not to disturb the rest of M. Louis du Farentin."

This time, after a long silence - at least for Galbien, it seemed like a century - the Vicomte de Durand spoke.

"You did okay this time." The Viscount said, "You can go to Mr. Dumont tomorrow, but at least for the past few months, you have restrained me a bit, and I don't have time to clean up your mess every day."

The tone of the viscount was harsh, but for Galbien, this kind of lesson was not unacceptable—after all, a large sum of francs can be obtained just by being lectured, no matter how you calculate this kind of business, it is not worth it. Very cost-effective!

"Follow your instruction, my lord," said Galbien, and he began to think of what he would do with the money he had received from M. the money owed to Buzon's and Staub's has to be settled, at least half, they've been urged several times; Ubigon's has a new perfume, ah, and because The debt owed by those flower-like beauties to Mrs. Lessing...

Callister knew at a glance that he probably didn't heed his warning at all, but as long as Galbien didn't go too far, he didn't bother to heed it for the time being.

"Go out."

"Yes, my lord."

Galbien bowed to the viscount, and took a few steps backwards before turning around; when he exited the room, and happened to look back at the door painted with golden irises being slowly closed by the attendants, he happened to see the viscount walking He picked up a paper clip that looked very old on the desk and began to open the sealed case file, and there were already several account books spread out in front of him.

——Tsk, the favor of His Royal Highness, the Earl of Artois, is really not easy to get...