Granville's estate

When Alred asked Joseph, the carriage carrying Louis and Mr. Dumont had already left St. George Street, where a large number of dodders parasitic on the upper class gathered I saw a lot of beautiful women and handsome young men sitting in open carriages), passing through the quiet and peaceful Peace Street like a lake (there are many devout Catholics living here, but they can be compared with the adjacent St. It is also strange that the neighborhoods live in peace with each other!), the rue Charlot, which is gradually becoming lively, then enters the Rue Tebes and Rue Richelieu in the central area of ​​Paris, and from here they drive to their destination: located in the Durand Bank at 51 Ave.

Boulevard d'Andan and the area around it are the busiest center of Paris. Although it is already dark, this area with dozens of theaters, opera houses, cafes and countless high-end shops is still full of traffic. , There is an endless stream of people coming and going.When Louis looked out the window of the carriage, he could even recognize the signs of the Café Richel and the tailor shop of Bisson that Alrede had taken him to, which reminded him that not long ago, he had Among those two shops, he rejected the pimp sent by Mrs. Tihasson's portrait gallery. How could Louis at that time have thought that things would turn into the current situation in just less than a month!

Because there were too many horses and people in this area, it took a while for their carriage to reach No. 51 Angdan Avenue and drive into the side entrance of Durand Bank.When the carriage stopped, Louis saw Callister's personal attendant, Carbo, standing on the steps, as if he had been waiting for them there for a long time.

"Ah, Mr. Farentin, long time no see."

When John lowered the steps of the carriage for Louis and the others, the viscount's valet greeted Louis with a smile: "You are too slow, my lord has been waiting for you."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, sir." Louis said, seeing this attendant undoubtedly meant that he would see Viscount Durand soon, and he felt his tone of voice slightly changed due to nervousness.

"Ah, Carbo, it's not my fault. You know, the traffic in Paris is always a headache at this time of day."

I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional. Mr. Dumont seemed to take what Kabo said as he said it to him. Cuff: "Let's go, we can't keep Lord Viscount waiting for long."

"Certainly, gentlemen, please follow me."

This was the first time that Louis stepped into this bank named after the viscount. At this time, people in the provinces had probably finished their dinner to reduce the consumption of candles, but here it was brightly lit, and hanging from the ceiling of the lobby on the first floor There are huge crystal chandeliers, gilded decorations on the walls and stained glass on the windows refracting gorgeous brilliance under the candlelight, showing the unique style of the wealthy Parisian bank; There are mahogany handrails, and the floor is covered with expensive woven colorful checkered Persian carpets. Wall lamps with transparent glass covers are installed at intervals on both sides of the corridor, illuminating the entire corridor as brightly as daytime.

At this time, there were quite a few employees and guests who were still in and out of the Durand Bank. When Cabo took Louis and Dumont up to the second floor, another member of the Durand family, Galbien de Durand, happened to take him The little boy came from the end of the corridor.This handsome young man looked a little downcast, probably because he had just got a bad nose from the Viscount de Durand, so that when he saw the senior executive, his eyes lit up: "Ah, Mr. Dumont! This is really What a coincidence, I was just looking for you."

"Mr. Galbien, if I remember correctly, you came to see me just two days ago." Mr. Dumont said, he must know why Galbien is looking for him: "I have something to ask now." Report to Lord Viscount first, if you are not in a hurry, you might as well wait for me here."

"Then it's settled, Mr. Dumont, we can go to the Oyster Rock Restaurant for dinner later." Galbien said, he winked at Mr. Dumont, and then pouted to the other side of the corridor : "My lord seems to be in a bad mood today, you'd better be careful, he kicked me out just now."

"So, you must have done something to make adults angry again."

"I swear to the Virgin Mary, I haven't done anything lately." Galbien said, he looked at Louis who was following Dumont in confusion, and just when Louis thought he recognized him, the young master But he didn't say anything, just nodded to him perfunctorily as a greeting - obviously, for this aristocratic young man who loves pleasure, he remembers everyone he met. Not something he would do.

When Mr. Dumont and Galbien made the agreement, Carbo didn't urge them, but Louis noticed that the servant just made a gesture to the servant standing in front of the room at the end of the corridor from a distance, and the servant knocked. The door painted with golden irises was obviously reporting their arrival to the people inside, which made him even more nervous, and even wanted to turn around and leave immediately in embarrassment.

Of course, this kind of absurd idea can only be thought about, but when Mr. Dumont led him into the room at the end of the corridor, Louis was so nervous that he could hardly speak, and even felt that he was going to be like those Passed out like a delicate young lady who would faint easily.

It was a very spacious and elegant room—this was Louis's first impression of it, as anyone who steps into it, the first thing he noticed was that it was almost as high as the ceiling, filled with various There was a huge mahogany bookcase of books and files, and then Viscount Durand stood before the drawn window.

Calliste de Durand, the young master of this room and the Durand bank, was standing at the window with his hands behind his back, as if looking through the glass at the bustling traffic on the night-shrouded street outside, and even listening to He didn't turn his head until the sound of them walking in.

"Dumont?"

"Yes, my lord."

If it were someone else, they would probably be pissed off by Viscount Durand's arrogance, but Mr. Dumont didn't seem surprised by the Viscount's behavior at all. He took off his hat and turned sideways , and reported to the viscount calmly: "My lord, according to your instructions, I went to deal with the difficulties faced by Mr. Louis du Farentin and Mr. de Granville, and achieved some reasonable results. Considering this matter The importance of the matter, I have invited Mr. Farentin to visit you with me, and I hope you will not blame me for my self-assertion."

Callister just tilted his head slightly when he heard what Dumont said.

"How did you handle it?"

"As you might expect, M. Jacques Bernard gave up his ridiculous idea of ​​asking M. de Granville for 15 francs because of his own constraints, while Guillonet du Mr. Clermont is also willing to cover up the traces left by Saw Logne Grostedt. The officer is eager to obtain your approval in front of Mr. Thomas, and he will not hesitate to abandon some principles he has always adhered to. .”

The Viscount must have understood what the so-called approval in front of the chief of police meant, he just sneered: "This Clermont is very decisive, he is quite a smart man."

"Yes, my lord, Officer Claremont is a person who is quite aware of current affairs. This kind of quality is rare for people of his background." Mr. Dumont said, and he glanced at Louis beside him: "Then, do you have anything else to order in this matter?"

"You've done a good job, go about your own business, and remember to clean up the tail."

"Yes, my lord, then please allow me to retire first."

Andrew Dumont bid farewell to the Viscount very politely, and he smiled at Louis: "Mr. Farentin, I still have some things to deal with, please forgive me - if you need anything from me in the future, Send me a letter if you can."

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Dumont." Louis said, trying his best to make his voice not sound abnormal: "Your help today, my friend and I will always remember it in our hearts."

"Then, I look forward to meeting you next time, Mr. Farentin."

After a brief farewell, Mr. Dumont left the viscount's room very briskly, and when the door painted with golden irises was closed by the attendant, Louis suddenly realized a problem——the senior member of the Durand Bank The supervisor must have been prepared for the situation he faced long ago, and the hat in his hand has never been put down from the beginning to the end!

With the departure of Mr. Dumont, only Louis and the Viscount were left in the room. At this time, Callister finally turned around to face him.

"Little guy, your face doesn't look very good now."

After nearly a minute of silence—for Louis, the pressure of this silence was more terrifying than anything else—Callister finally spoke slowly to the person in front of him. Now, the color of his eyes looks more green, reminding Louis of the eyes of wolves who want to eat children in the bedtime stories his mother used to scare him when he was a child.

"I... I'm fine, thank you for your concern, my lord."

Louis answered with great difficulty. Because of the copper heating pipes hidden in the dark, the viscount's office was very warm and comfortable, but Louis only felt his whole body trembling, and he didn't even notice that Callister was treating him His address: "My lord, I, I came here to thank you for your generosity. Without your selfless help, my friends and I would not be able to escape from the trap set by others. We don't even know what to do. "

Because of the excessive nervousness, what Louis said was a bit confusing, and Callister just snorted at his words.

"You can put away this so-called gratitude. I didn't let Dumont go because of your friend." The viscount said, and he walked towards Louis: "You should know that hypocritical flattery is not only to satisfy vanity. Nothing is worth anything outside of the heart, and the last thing I like as a person is to do meaningless things."