Granville's estate

"Ah! Mr. Louis, I know what this gentleman is talking about. I used to do this kind of thing when I was serving a duchess who lives here."

Self-assertive and reckless servants who send away visiting guests without the consent of their masters-this kind of thing sounds like a plot that only occurs in those who are not in the class, rather than a person with Something that a servant of a family with a long history can do.This made Louis really doubt the authenticity of Carbo's statement. After all, he really couldn't imagine that with Calliste de Durand's strong character and style, he could tolerate such an approach from his attendants.

However, Father Tongsar, who is also a janitor, seems to be very familiar with such things. After hearing Karbo's explanation, he interrupted very proudly: "I have forgotten that the Duchess What's the surname, maybe de Petit, or the Duchess de Pat—she's pretty, and she's got a fair amount of admirers, you know, sir, they're around like flies around fat. She turned; but if they want to come here, they have to be notified by me. If they don't give me money, I will say, 'Madam is resting, and no one can disturb her until she rings the bell'. At this time, most people will Give me silver coins so I can let them into her living room, but there's always some stupid kid who doesn't know anything..."

At first, Louis thought that Papa Tonsart meant that the servants of the Parisian nobles had this kind of habit of making their own decisions, but after listening to him, he felt that something was wrong—what kind of duchess would live What about the St. George's neighborhood where high society courtesans and frivolous dudes gather?Even if he was not of noble origin, he could still hear that neither De Petit nor De Patt seemed like the surname of a real nobleman, and Father Tongsar also specially emphasized the "Duchess" Very beautiful and had many admirers, that is, the original occupants of the house...

"...they think they have eleven thousand francs for their wit and humor, when in fact they have no money, and the pretty girls don't even look at them..."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Seeing that the father of Tongsar was talking more and more vigorously, Kabo coughed in a very timely manner, interrupting the gatekeeper's long speech: "Sorry, I am a little thirsty, and my throat is not feeling well, can you give me a glass of milk? ? Or raw water will do.”

"Please wait a moment, sir, I'll fetch it for you right away." The maid Mary said, before Kabo said anything, the girl had already noticed that what Father Tongsar said seemed to be impolite, and secretly tugged on the janitor's clothes However, the gatekeeper didn't notice her kindness at all; now that she has such an excuse, she naturally wants to seize it immediately: "Father, can you help me get a candle and go to the kitchen with me? There It's too dark and I'm afraid."

"Ah! You girls are so troublesome. This is at home, and you are so timid!"

In spite of all his muttering, Father Tonsal happily followed Mary's advice.

"It seems that this may be a rule among the servants in Paris."

After the janitor and the maid left, in order to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere, Louis said this to Cabo-when he said this, he unexpectedly remembered the incident at the Viscount de Bougogne's mansion. At the ball, the page who had ignored his duty under Callister's power and put the Viscount into the lounge where he was.

"Perhaps you are right, Mr. Farentin. After all, in Paris, absolute loyalty is something more precious than the rarest diamond." Karbo replied, his expression was normal, and he seemed to have not heard the news at all. The suspicious identity of the "Duchess" mentioned by Papa Sal came: "I am sorry that our people have caused such trouble to Mr. de Granville, and I will propose to the Lord to rectify those slippery servants." so as not to cause something like this to happen again next time.”

"You don't have to be embarrassed, it's just a misunderstanding." Louis said, he looked at the time on the fountain-shaped silver-plated wall clock on the living room wall, and thought about whether he needed to ask Papa Peter to prepare the carriage and go out to find his Friends; but soon, this idea was dispelled: no matter which area he went to the Durand mansion, Alrede would definitely not be able to find him, so he would definitely return to 79 St. George Street to ask for news , I just need to wait at home; in comparison, it seems more important to get Cabo out of here quickly, lest his existence make Al suspicious-he hasn't figured out how to deal with his The friend explained his bizarre experience tonight!

"It's getting late, Mr. Carbo. Now that you have completed the task assigned to you by Mr. Viscount de Durand, I think you can go back and report to your husband." Louis said, he seemed to hear the street outside There was a faint sound of carriage wheels passing the road, and I wondered if Al had come back, but when I listened carefully, I found that it was just an illusion: "When you see your master, please tell me He expresses my sincere thanks."

"I will bring you what you mean, Monsieur Farentin."

The valet bowed slightly to Louis, but he seemed hesitant: "Do you think I need to wait for Mr. de Granville to come back, so that I can pay him a gift for the inappropriate behavior of the servants of the Durand Bank? After all, it is Our people made M. de Granville a trip in vain, which really shouldn't happen."

"This... this is unnecessary!"

The first time he heard Kabo say this, Louis was immediately startled, and his tone of voice changed a little: "I will convey your apology for you. My friend has always been very good-tempered, and he won't care about it." .”

"Your tolerance is touching, Mr. Farentin, in this case, please allow me to go back to my master first."

After Kabo left, Father Tongsar came back slowly, holding a glass of milk in his hand.

"Ah! Has the gentleman left?"

Father Tongsar asked Louis, who seemed a little disappointed: "Then what about the milk? Really, Mary, she accidentally spilled some milk on the ground just now, otherwise she should be able to make it in time."

"Drink it up and light up the fireplace, Dad, it's too late, or I'll drink it up." Louis said, pointing to the fireplace where there was only a faint fire left, and asked by the way One sentence: "You just said that a duchess lived here before? I don't seem to have heard Al say this."

"Hey! Monsieur, to tell you the truth, I shouldn't insult your ears by saying such things. Where would a decent duchess live in such a place! If you have been in Paris long enough, you will know that there are some Those who wear the title of noble lady are some women. They can tell any kind of lies in order to raise their value. However, that was a few years ago, and the people who rent here live here every year. Well, sir, I remember when that lady lived here, and I got several hundred francs a month just for tips!"

"So, my friend living here should have caused you a lot of loss."

"Of course, sir, even if they are all current people, the money they can get for different people is different. There is a lot of knowledge in the middle! Take our street as an example, everyone is willing to give money to Mrs. We are the current people, and don't like to wait on those little white faces. They look like they spend a lot of money, but in fact they are all miserly, only willing to spend money on women!"

Papa Tunsal was talking to Louis, he lit up the fire, and pulled a chair to the hearth, so that Louis could sit comfortably and wait for Alred to come back; Unable to withstand Mary's entreaties, she also moved the small walnut table she usually used for needlework to the fireplace, so that she could use the firelight to clean the threads on the fabric to be embroidered tomorrow.

Sitting next to a warm fireplace is actually a very easy thing to doze off, but Louis doesn't have this kind of thought now, he is racking his brains to think about a problem-how should he explain to his friends that he and What about the contracts signed by Calliste de Durand?To be honest, it is definitely impossible. This matter has violated an absolute religious taboo. If Alred knew that Callister had such thoughts on him, he might immediately draw his gun and go to the Viscount for a duel; however, if Say nothing, and regardless of whether he can get away with it today, what will he do when Callister asks him to fulfill his promise in the future?Among other things, it was obvious from a glance that the very valuable gold pocket watch and the franc case of precious stones were still hidden in his coat pocket!

Holy Mary, what should he do!

Before Louis came up with the perfect solution, he had already heard the sound of a carriage coming from outside No. 79 St. George Street. That sound was very familiar. He subconsciously stood up from his chair. After a while, his Friends rushed in from outside.

"Louis! Where have you been!"

Alrede rushed into the living room almost like a barbarian. When he saw Louis, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then strode over, pulling Louis to look left and right, as if he was afraid of his friend. A hair is missing: "Are you okay? That De Durand didn't make things difficult for you, did he?"

"I'm fine Al, don't worry about it."

This answer obviously didn't satisfy Alrede. He grabbed Louis by the shoulder and pulled him to his side, looking at him carefully: "I didn't find you on the Boulevard d'Andan tonight—you were captured by Durand Where did he take it? Did he do anything to you? Louis, you have to be honest, I know when you are lying."

"There is no such thing. I have been at the Durand Bank on the Boulevard d'Andan. Al, I heard that you went to find me. This may be a misunderstanding." Louis said, trying to divert Al's attention, so He told his friend what Karbo said: "I think some servants of Durand Bank like to make fun of people, so they deliberately told you that I was not there. The attendant of Viscount Durand told me that he was very sorry, and he still Let me convey his apologies to you."

Alred didn't seem to care about Kabo's so-called apology at all. He carefully looked at (or, to use the word check is more appropriate) the expression and clothing of Louis, and walked around him twice to confirm that his friend After it seemed that there was nothing abnormal, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then gave Louis a hug, which almost made Louis stagger: "It's just that you're fine...it's already so late, don't say anything, Rest first! No matter what, we will talk about it tomorrow."

"……Hey?"