Granville's estate

"Joseph!"

Mary didn't expect her younger brother to rush in suddenly. Her pretty face flushed red with shame at first, and then turned pale because of Joseph's evaluation of Villiers: "Joseph, you are talking nonsense. What!"

"I'm not talking nonsense!"

Joseph replied angrily, and he turned to Alred and Louis: "Sir, don't give her any money, not a penny! If she got it, she would take it all to that crook in half a day, not a penny." Will give her the rest!"

Mary, who heard what Joseph said, almost burst into tears from her brother's anger.

"Joseph, you, you are simply too much!"

"I just don't want you to be fooled by that man who only knows how to talk! No matter what it is, as long as it has something to do with that Villiers, you will be in a daze!"

Seeing that the conflict between the siblings was about to intensify, Alred made a decisive gesture to signal them to calm down for the time being: "Mary, Joseph, don't quarrel, I need to listen to each of you in detail. reason."

Alred said, and glanced at Mary: "Mary, you want to help Villiers, that's why you want to advance your and Joseph's wages, right?"

"Sir, I've changed my mind. I'll only advance my wages, and I don't want his."

Mary said that her voice was almost crying.

This was obviously an act of anger with Joseph, and Alred shook his head helplessly, feeling that Mary's reason for wanting to advance her wages was very clear, so he turned to Joseph and asked, "Joseph, what's your opinion?"

"I disagree with all, sir, and please don't pay her in advance, neither mine nor my sister's."

"I only advance my own, not yours!"

"Even if you say that, in this family, is there any difference between Joseph Abel's money and Mary Abel's money?!"

The 14-year-old boy raised his voice angrily: "I forbid you to take our money to that Villiers Turner, he is a liar, I saw him kicked out of the noble mansion with my own eyes!"

"Oh?"

Alrede and Louis looked at each other in surprise, and both of them remembered that at the ball held at the Viscount de Bourgogne's mansion not long ago, Villiers du Turner was found out for forging the invitation letter of the ball The thing about the servants of the Viscount's mansion being driven out by his tricks came - that time Joseph went to the appointment with their carriage, although he did not follow the two into the ball hall of the Viscount's mansion in the end, but guarded the carriage outside There.

The two friends looked at each other for a long time before Louis pretended to cough and asked the angry young boy, "Joseph, did you say that Villiers was kicked out of the noble mansion when I went to the ball with Al?" about?"

"Yes, Mr. Louis, so you also know about this." Joseph said a little surprised, but he immediately became complacent as if he had been affirmed by some authority: "Look, sister! Even two Doesn't that prove the fact that he's a liar, since every gentleman knows about his being thrown out?"

To everyone's surprise, Mary immediately refuted Joseph's words: "I know what you are talking about. That time Villiers was kicked out because he had no identity. He told me that if he If he can have a decent reporter status, he, he can also receive invitations from many mansions, and he can visit noble mansions openly!"

Joseph was so dumbfounded to hear his sister justify Villiers in this way that he was about to jump with rage.

"What kind of nonsense is this! Such a ridiculous reason, even a three-year-old child would not believe it!"

Joseph's voice was too loud when he said this, Alred coughed and tried to calm down his little manservant: "Joseph, if you said 'Villiers is a liar' you mean that he was once If the Viscount de Bougogne's mansion was kicked out, then it really doesn't count—I dare say that many college students in Paris have done this kind of thing trying to sneak into noble balls and banquets. It’s more like a risk-free adventure, which doesn’t mean they’re all crooks of bad character.”

Joseph was a little speechless when he heard his master's explanation. He stayed for a while before thinking of retorting: "No, sir! That man, he, he is not a good person at first sight!"

"In the end, Joseph, you are prejudiced against him." Mary sobbed, maybe Joseph's attitude really made her sad, she couldn't help crying, and couldn't even say a word.

Seeing Mary's tears falling down like beads with a broken string, the two men present and Joseph were immediately at a loss.

"Sister, sister! Don't cry!"

Joseph couldn't resist Mary's tears at all. He looked at Alred for help, and only hoped that his husband's words would help.

"Mary, don't be angry! There is a solution to everything."

Alred was also at a loss for Mary's crying. He froze for a while, then hurriedly took out the handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over, and then gave Louis a backhand: "Well, Joseph, I'll put the handkerchief here. I leave it to you to discuss it with your sister first! You are a little man now, and I think you can make your own decision."

After making this decision, Alred took Louis away and left the study space to the two siblings who had not yet reached an agreement.

After leaving the study room as if fleeing, Alred did not return to the guest bedroom where he is currently living, but took Louis directly to the master bedroom, and then took the key to open the drawer of the bedside table, and took out the one that Louis had seen before. A locked tin box containing coins.

"Al, are you ready to agree to Mary's request?"

When Alred was looking for the box with coins, Louis stood beside him, very worried: "The amount she wants to advance is too big, it's three hundred francs!"

Alred shrugged helplessly when he heard his question.

"There's nothing you can do about it, Louis, you've also seen Mary's attitude." Alred said, he was obviously sure about the outcome of the little negotiation in the study: "Although Joseph is very I hate Villiers, but he doesn't want to make his sister sad, so he will definitely give in; but you are right to worry, three hundred francs is too much, I am going to give Mary 150 francs first, And she must get back the IOU written by Villiers when the time comes, otherwise, Mr. Du Turner will never be able to borrow a centim from me in the future."

Louis thought of Marie's distraught behavior recently, and of the lively and playful girl he saw when he first arrived in Paris. If Mr. Ye is not willing to write the IOU, what will Mary do—as Joseph said, as long as the matter is related to that gentleman, Mary will not be like herself."

Allred nodded, then shook his head and laughed.

"I can understand what's going on." He said as he put the box containing the coins on the chair and opened it: "I should have told you that Mary's father was a decent wooden man before he went bankrupt." Barrel merchant, so she also has a little education and knows some words. You know, once girls know how to read, they will naturally worship those who are elegant and learned in their eyes, and regard them as omnipotent characters, even if those people are really just poor people, they can easily get stuck in it."

"In this way, what kind of education to let girls receive is indeed a matter that needs to be carefully considered." Louis said, he recalled Mr. Villiers du Turner in the few meetings I can't help but frowned: "I think there are some things that are more important than teaching harmless knowledge to girls, such as telling them how to treat their suitors-in any case, I don't think a A man who will demand money from a girl who has lost her parents is a good husband, even if the girl herself is willing to put what little money she has at his feet."

"I think it is indeed a rare opportunity for Villiers to become a newspaper reporter, although I don't like him very much." Alred said, he picked up a twenty-franc gold coin from the iron box. Louis, and let it fall down very lightly: "For college students in Paris, journalists, judicial trainees, and clerks in notary offices are the most common positions after graduation, and journalists are the freest and most rewarding among them. Maybe he has gained fame and fortune, if Villiers can make a name for himself at the Longchamp Daily, it would not be a bad thing for Mary."

"But we have not yet been able to determine whether Mr. Villiers du Turner is telling the truth or lying!" Louis said, he was a little anxious: "If he deceived Marie, it is like How about the residence of Viscount Bourgogne?"

"There's still the IOU he wrote, Louis, and I don't think it's surprising that he wanted to sneak into the Vicomtesse de Bourgogne's ball," said Alred, who couldn't help it. Laughed: "This kind of thing is actually very common. When I was still in college, I once sneaked into a certain noble's banquet to eat and drink for free. Many college students have done this, but that time Villiers failed. , It just happened to be seen by Joseph."

As Alred said, he picked up a gold coin from the iron box again, stared at the Napoleon's head on the twenty franc gold coin for a while, and then heaved a long sigh: "However, having said that, I really I am very envious of that Mr. Turner!"