[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

When Mary hurried back to the Gardners' apartment on Greynorth Church Street, Jane was startled by her appearance.

Although Mary was already very careful, after walking around the slums, the skirt and shoes were inevitably stained, and even when she was avoiding Henry Deck's crazy attack, Mary's face was scratched a lot Dusty, dirty like a tabby cat.

"Mary?!"

Jane nearly screamed when she entered the bedroom.She covered her mouth, hurried forward, looked Mary up and down several times, and after confirming that she was not injured, she asked, "Where did you go? Did you encounter any accident? Mr. Bingley didn't protect you well?"

"Wait," Mary had to stop Jane from questioning San Lian, "I'm fine, nothing happened, listen to my explanation!"

Well, with this radiant look, I thought some gentleman had proposed to her, and it really wasn't an accident.

In particular, Mary still had an excited look on her face, which somewhat comforted Jane.

She still frowned, but at least she calmed down: "What's going on?"

"I said it now," Mary lowered her voice, "you won't scream until I'm done."

"……you say."

Mary smiled. "I went to see the Irish workers!"

Jane: "What...forget it, you finish first."

I knew she would react like this, the beautiful elder sister looked worried.But Jane kept her promise and waited until Mary had finished speaking before making a speech.

So Mary didn't hesitate, and vividly relayed all of today's experiences to Jane.

The slums, the Irish workers, Henry Deckard who was dismissed with excuses, and the beautiful, charming, neither humble nor overbearing, impressive future Mrs. Watson-Miss Mary Morstan.

Mary spoke with high spirits, and Jane listened attentively.

When she first heard about the environment in the slums, she shook her head repeatedly, as if she was holding a lot of warnings and exhortations in her heart, waiting for Mary to reprimand her after she finished.

But when she heard that Henry Deckard had been wronged, and Miss Mary Morstan was straightforward and kind, Jane's expression softened little by little.

"So," Mary ended the report happily, "Mr. Holmes is really amazing. He recognized the devil's heel immediately, not only saved Henry Deckard, but also promised him that he would find out the truth. I Seeing that everyone respects him very much, this is probably not the first time Mr. Detective has helped the poor!"

"..."

Mary thought that Jane, who was kind by nature, would be very pleased to hear this act of righteousness, but she did not.

The gentle and beautiful elder sister just frowned slightly, looking deeply at Mary with watery eyes.

"simple?"

Feeling Jane's mood, Mary put away her ecstasy. She calmed down and said cautiously, "Did I make you angry by running around?"

Hearing this, Jane let out a long sigh.

She let Mary sit next to her, and Jane closed her eyes and said hesitantly, "I should have been angry."

Mary raised her eyes: "But?"

Jane: "But, Mary, it's the first time I've seen you so happy."

Hey?

Mary was stunned by this statement.

——Before she came back, she guessed that Jane would be angry, annoyed, or worse, she ran into the Gardners, and everyone saw her gaffe, causing a big mess.

But no.Luckily, Mary sneaked back to the room, avoiding the maid and her uncle and aunt, and even her eldest sister, who was almost a ladylike template, was not immediately annoyed.

"When you were at Longbourn," Jane said softly, "you were full of strange thoughts, but you always refused to speak them out. You didn't like dancing or socializing. Except for reading, you quarreled with Lydia. I have Shi and Lizzie are very worried, afraid that you will become a nerd, full of words that everyone can't understand, not to mention getting married, and you won't even be able to communicate normally."

"...That's because I don't like it." Mary argued.

"Yes."

Jane laughed out loud: "Until Mr. Bingley moved into Netherfield Manor, it brought a fresh atmosphere. Especially when Mr. Detective appeared, you seemed to be a different person. At that time, I was thinking, no You're not good at communicating with people, you just don't want to."

Saying that, Jane held Mary's hand.

"You never laughed so much at home, Mary," she said, "nor did you show such enthusiasm for anything. It's really inappropriate what you're doing today, but—"

"But?" Mary's eyes twinkled.

"But," Jane was a little embarrassed, "you are indeed doing good deeds, and you are willing to do them from the bottom of your heart. As a sister, I can't support your nonsense, but I shouldn't hinder you from helping others. I really don't know what to do." What can I do."

When Mary heard this, her hanging heart was completely relieved.

She was afraid that Jane would be angry, but her good sister didn't.The constraints of the times made her completely disapprove of Mary's behavior, but at the same time Jane is a kind and compassionate person.

Who would hinder a loved one from trying to help those in need?

"I see."

Mary reached out and put her arms around Jane's arm: "It's not difficult at all, will you despise me because I run around?"

Without thinking, Jane said, "Of course not."

After she finished speaking, she thought about it again, and added: "I also believe that you know it well. You are more sensible than Lydia, and you have read more books. You won't really mess around."

"In this way, isn't it very simple?"

Mary smiled and said, "Jane thinks I'm doing good things, and she also believes that I have a sense of proportion, so what are you worried about?"

Jane: "It's not simple at all."

She hesitated to speak several times, as if she wanted to persuade Mary not to run around, but she felt that the words were inappropriate.

In the end, Jane did not express this doubt, but fell into deep thinking—what Mary did was definitely wrong, but it was definitely not right for an unmarried girl.

Either way, one is right and the other is wrong.

So, is it wrong for Mary to pursue the truth and restore her innocence, or is it wrong for social morality to demand a "lady"?

If Mary knew that because of her boldness and risk-taking, Jane would start to think about and even question the rights and status of women in the current society, she would be surprised.

But she is not a roundworm in Jane's stomach, so she naturally doesn't understand what elder sister is thinking.Mary just confirmed that Jane would not pursue the matter anymore, so she changed her clothes and ran to tell the maid that if Miss Mary Morstan, an Irish girl with the same name as herself, came to visit her, she must not drive people out because of her clothes and financial conditions.

However, Jane put this matter aside for the time being, but it doesn't mean that there is no follow-up.

Early the next morning, as a polite return visit, Mrs. Gardner accepted Mr. Bingley's invitation to visit him in his mansion in London.

Mary didn't want to go at first, and she planned to send a message to Mr. Detective after her aunt and eldest sister went out, asking if she needed to continue to help.

But Jane, who has always been gentle and talkative, insisted that Mary also visit Mr. Bingley.

Firstly, Jane was indecisive. She didn’t know whether to discipline Mary because of her elder sister’s responsibility, or let her continue to run the case, so she simply took Mary with her; secondly, it was a matter of basic courtesy, and Mr. Bingley specially I came to visit the two of their sisters, and I will always pay a return visit.

Seeing that Jane was so tough, Mary thought about it for a moment, and then readily agreed.

It doesn't matter if you don't see Mr. Detective for the time being. Mr. Bingley went to see Hamp himself yesterday, and there will be some clues.

But when she got to Mr. Bingley's residence, Mary's hopes were dashed.

Not that Mr. Bingley was absent, but that his sister, Miss Caroline Bingley, was present.

When we parted at Longbourne last time, Mary specifically stated that she had no interest in Mr. Darcy at all, and that she was not Miss Bingley's rival in love at all, which made her leave in embarrassment and shame—Mary thought this was enough to make Miss Bingley treat her I kept it at a respectful distance, but when we met again, Miss Bingley still showed her air of being proud and reluctant to agree with you.

"Mary!"

Seeing Mary entering the door, Miss Bingley pretended to be eager to say: "I have been waiting for you and Jane to arrive early in the morning. I have been waiting for a long time."

Mary was very speechless, but she stretched out her hand not to hit the smiling face, so she could only raise the corners of her mouth and put on a look of surprise: "So you miss me so much! You promised to help me find out about Mr. Holmes, but I have been there for months. I couldn't wait for the letter, I thought you had forgotten me."

Miss Bingley: "..."

Miss Bingley's cheeks flushed when she was directly punctured, and she coughed a few times, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"It's not that I don't write letters," she explained, "but Mr. Sherlock Holmes never appears in the social circle, and I don't know what Charles is busy with. I really can't get any information."

This is true.

Mary accepted the argument: "Well, it's not your fault."

"but……"

Miss Bingley smiled smugly: "Recently, I have to be a decent gentleman. After talking for a few words, I felt that you must have something in common with him. He was discussing affairs with Charles in the study, and they came out later. I'll introduce you to him."

Mary: "..."

What else to do!

She was going to lose her temper by Miss Bingley, maybe it was because she confirmed that Mary was not threatening, and she actually started to do the matchmaker's business--if you have this thought, please help me to match Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, so that I don't have to pay back Take care!

Who cares about a decent gentleman, as if every Miss Bennet is worried about getting married.Even if Mary didn't care about the eyes of others, Miss Bingley's repeated harassment made her a little impatient.

At a loss, Mary hesitated for a few words, and when she was about to decline, Mr. Bingley came out with today's guests.

Then Mary realized that she had misunderstood Miss Bingley.

"Mr. Hall," Miss Bingley stood up, "this is the lady who I told you about before who is writing a detective novel."

The strange gentleman who walked into the living room was not a single young man, but a middle-aged man around 45 years old.

Like all middle-aged gentlemen Mary had met, he looked polite, wearing spectacles, and had a bookish air about him.After hearing Miss Bingley's words, his eyes lit up: "Is this the lady?"

Miss Bingley turned her head to look at Mary proudly: "Mary, this is Mr. Fred Hall, he is the editor-in-chief of a well-known magazine, he specializes in displaying new things from all over the world, and also publishes manuscripts serially, and he is worried about the novel section It's not enough now."

"Magazine?"

Mary's eyes widened: "What magazine?"

"The Shore Magazine," said Miss Bingley rather triumphantly, "I suppose you've heard of it."

"........."

Oh my goodness.

Mary had to cover her mouth to hide her shocked expression.

"Seashore Magazine", nothing else, is the magazine where Mr. Conan Doyle himself published the Holmes series of novels!

The author has something to say: A girl asked about the follow-up of Mary's novel Breakthrough before, and the follow-up is here!

"The Shore Magazine" is the magazine where Sir Conan Doyle published the short stories of Sherlock Holmes, and the novel Dr. Zhong Sheng also published his adventures with the detective.The name of the editor-in-chief is not Fred Hall. Since it is not a real historical world, I completely made up a character to avoid mistakes.