The gods crowned her [Famous Book]

Although Ivy had been mentally prepared before, she was still shocked by the appearance of Mankasri Manor.

The carriage moved forward smoothly, and it took about two hours to travel from central London to Croydon.The Clarence family's manor is located in this quiet and beautiful town.

Along the way, the breeze was blowing, and the hyacinths shook their blue petals to welcome their carriages and horses, and the sound of birdsong was sweet and crisp.

"Welcome to Mankasri, my dear Miss Ivy." Following Alice's cordial shout, Ivy raised her head, and a magnificent and gorgeous castle stood majestically in front of her eyes.

This is a typical Gothic-style building, with a heavy sense of history when the carriage passes the suspension bridge. The off-white city walls are alternated with dark diamond-shaped windows. It shone into her dazzled pupils.

"It's exactly the same as the Mankasri on the picture." She couldn't help praising, "It's even more spectacular."

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but cast a glance at Kevin who was leading the way, and lamented in her heart why God was so eccentric and gave such precious wealth to his darling.

"Mancasri is indeed our pride." Alice said proudly, jumping off when the carriage arrived at the door, and Ivy got out of the carriage at the same time.

There were already two maids in black skirts waiting there, and when they saw the owner's return, they all had enthusiastic smiles on their faces, and they were vying to take down the luggage from the car.

"I think this is the distinguished guest, Miss Mornington?" One of the maids with a darker complexion asked eagerly, walking over and taking off the shawls of the two young girls.

There are two small dimples on her face, her smile is as sweet as a rose, and her whole body is full of vitality.Although she looks plain, people will fall in love with her the first time they see her.

And the other one looks much quieter, quietly following the master's orders, like a little lotus in bud.

Ivy nodded: "I don't dare to be a distinguished guest, but I am very honored to be invited by the Clarence family."

"Sophia, is Miss Ivy's room ready?" Alice looked uneasy, and after getting the maid's affirmative answer, she turned to look at Ivy, "Come on, let me show you your room first, I specially asked them to arrange it carefully, and if you don't like it, you can change it."

Saying that, Alice took her hand, climbed up the spiral staircase, passed through a deep corridor, and a gust of wind suddenly came through the window.

"My house is often drafted." Alice smiled apologetically, "If you're cold, I'll tell them to close the windows."

"No, no need." Ivy was busy looking at the family portraits hanging on the walls on both sides of the corridor, and responded with her mouth. A painting suddenly caught her attention, and she couldn't help but stop and watch.

It was a lady in a crimson court dress.It stands to reason that few people can control this kind of color similar to bay red.

But on her body, she looks noble and dignified, coupled with the neat and tidy hair, it is even more eye-catching, and the aristocratic temperament is lifelike through the frame.

"May I take the liberty to ask, which elder of yours is this lady?"

Alice raised her eyes when she heard the words, but she didn't expect her complexion to change suddenly, and her voice was also a little strange.

"She... she is my mother."

Ivy felt guilty for a moment, and felt uneasy: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, my ignorance offended you..."

"No, no, no..." Alice interrupted hastily, "You don't have to take it to heart. This is what my mother looked like when she was 30 years old. Before she got married, she was Queen Charlotte's maid, and she was very much appreciated by the queen. Therefore, a court painter was specially summoned to paint her portrait."

Queen Charlotte is the first wife of the current King George III of England. Since their marriage, the two have had a deep relationship. They have fifteen children in total, and the elegant and gentle Prince August is one of them.

What's even more rare is that George III never had a mistress in his life, which is completely opposite to his grandfather and father (the former two are both famous for being romantic), and it was also a good story for a while.

And Queen Charlotte is also a gentle and kind woman, and her maids are all from noble families, and they all require both talent and appearance, so that they can stand out from the crowd.Therefore, it can be seen that most of Alice's genes are inherited from her mother.

"You are very much like your mother, both beautiful."

Alice smiled restrainedly, and shook her head quickly: "If I inherited half of her excellence, how can I be like this now? You must know that my mother was not only good-looking when she was young, but also very capable in doing things. That's why Queen Charlotte likes her the most among the maids. , when I finally had to let her marry, I was sad for several nights."

"You can see the qualities of the Duchess of Clarence from you. I think no matter who comes into contact with her, they will be involuntarily infected by her charisma."

In her mind, she roughly imagined that the hostess in a red velvet dressing gown was walking in the dark and beautiful corridor, the sunlight was shining through the window lattice, and the light and darkness were shining on the ground, and the tiny dust particles were slowly dancing in the air.

"This is the guest room that used to receive the king of England." Alice's voice dragged her back to reality, and she looked at the magnificent large room in front of her again. The dome is high and the ceiling is painted with Aphrodite from ancient Greek mythology. The birth murals are intertwined with sacredness and innocence. A huge chandelier made of crystal hangs in the middle, with elegant diamond tassels hanging down.

No wonder it is said that the Clarence family is the most prominent among the nobles. If she were the king of England, she would also like to visit Mankas.

Sophia, who was following behind, couldn't help saying: "I dare say this is the most luxurious room in England, even Buckingham Palace can't match it. When I first came here, I was shocked for three days and three nights."

"Sophia is always exaggerating." Alice continued to lead her forward, "But it is true that the decoration of this room cost a lot of money. But the entire castle costs even more, and one day's expenses may be enough for an ordinary family for half a year. living expenses."

Ai Wei couldn't help lamenting the gap between the rich and the poor again.The consumption of my own home can already be clearly distinguished from that of ordinary people.

What's more, top nobles like the Clarence family would not be sure of owning this ideal manor in the whole of England if they didn't have strong financial resources.

After walking for a few minutes, Alice stopped and walked into a room with a lamp, and Ivy followed quickly.

"This is your room, are you satisfied with it?"

She looked around in response, and as far as she could see, it was a boudoir exclusively for a young lady. The decoration was quite baroque, with complicated and delicate rose patterns winding around her head, and the color of the wallpaper was fresh and light. A moon-shaped dresser leaned against the Next to the lace curtains of the windows, there is a huge closet, which seems to be for putting down the numerous clothes of the girl's house.

This room surprised her very much, she nodded quickly and said: "I am very satisfied, thank you for your hospitality."

"This is my aunt's boudoir before she left the court. It has been unoccupied for a long time. So I called Sophia and they cleaned it up and down. The sheets and curtains were just changed."

Sophia put the suitcase in the corner and put a bright smile on Ivy: "It's great that Miss can come to be your guest. I hope you can spend an unforgettable time in Mankasli."

As soon as she finished speaking, a crisp bell rang outside, echoing quickly over the entire castle within a second.

Alice suddenly turned pale with fright, glanced at the watch on her wrist, the smile on her face sank instantly, and said anxiously: "It's already twelve o'clock, hurry up, father is calling us for lunch, Sofia, hurry up and give Miss Ivy Change clothes, you must be fast."

As she spoke, she hurriedly changed her clothes.Although these overly hasty actions made Ivy a little strange, she still quickly changed into a simple and elegant light-colored long skirt as instructed, pulled up her long loose hair, and carefully fixed it with gold hairpins.

After everything was ready, Sophia couldn't wait to take her downstairs, and finally arrived at the dining room after going through one room after another.

For some reason, the atmosphere here instantly became solemn, and there was no sound around, it was so quiet that even the sound of dust splashing could be heard.

Looking at the long table, she realized the source of the frozen atmosphere - the old Duke Clarence was sitting there with a serious face, even with displeasure on his face.

Hearing Ivy's footsteps, he stood up slowly, looked her up and down for a few seconds, forced a smile, and said, "Miss Mornington must not have dinner on time at home, right?"

He approached Ivy, kissed her hand, and then sat back down.

"Dear Duke, I am sorry for the inconvenience my delay has caused you, and I beg you to forgive me for my inadvertent mistake."

"In our Clarence family, punctuality has always been a virtue that must be observed. But I hope Miss Ivy can understand our habits and enjoy being a guest in Mankas."

"It is my honor to be a guest in Mankasri."

After the words were finished, the butler came over and pulled out the chair for her. She took a seat from the left, and because the etiquette is to sit apart between men and women, she happened to sit next to Kevin.

It should be out of politeness, he leaned over to pour her a glass of pre-dinner liqueur, and then sat back, never exchanging even a look with her, like a stranger who didn't know each other.

Alice was winking and smiling with her all the time, and she knew everything about eating etiquette, such as gently shaking the wine glass when drinking, and using a fork when eating fish, while answering the old prince's questions.

"I wonder how old Miss Mornington is?"

"16 years old."

"What a wonderful age." The old duke sighed out of politeness or sincerely, "I think I just entered Cambridge when I was 16 years old. When I saw Mr. Newton for the first time, I laughed at his absurdity in the audience. The so-called theory is simply ridiculous.”

Yet you will find that his theory is still true in the three-dimensional world on Earth hundreds of years later, Ivy thought to herself.

"Does Monsieur the Duke not believe in science?"

"What science..." the old prince shook his head contemptuously, his eyes full of contempt. "There is no science in this world. God didn't create human beings for us to challenge."