[Pride and Prejudice] Mary's Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 33 illegitimate daughter

Miss White is an illegitimate daughter? !

This makes sense, her mother was a cook, but she still got a good education through the sponsorship of her biological father.But why did she continue to be a cook?Her biological father must be a nobleman, and she has a good relationship with her half-brother. Based on these, she should have a modest dowry. Finding a comfortable and well-off family to marry should not be a problem .

At worst, being a governess is an easier and more respectable job than a cook, and it pays more.

Mr. Lake slowly narrated the ins and outs of the incident: "Forgive me, out of respect for Miss White, I can't comment too much on her background, but she is a respectable girl. Her mother is a cook. Daughter, died of dystocia when giving birth to her. Miss White grew up with her grandmother who was a cook. Later, his half-brother Mr. Edwards knew about it and began to help her, so she was well received. Care and education, brought up like an aristocratic lady. Mr. Edwards was kicked out of the house a few years ago, this lady was willing to share with his brother, so they moved out together. She once tried to find a governess work, but the owner of the house was really rude, so his brother asked me to find a job for her."

Although working as a cook in a food store is tiring, the working environment is very simple and you don’t have to worry about encountering bad people, and Ms. Mary arranges a reasonable work and rest time for the employees. The working time is only 48 hours a week, which is really unprecedented. See benefits, so Mr. Edwards also agreed to Miss White to work.

Mr. Edwards had been living in Triru Street since he was evicted, and lived there with one of his mistresses, but Miss White had refused to live with them, and had therefore been living in the lodgings provided by the grocer.

Half a month ago, Mr. Edwards returned from being wounded at sea. Ms. White, who was worried about her brother, went to visit her brother when she was free, but she insisted on going back to the dormitory on Tianen Temple Street no matter how late, so Mr. Edwards inevitably sent the family carriage to him. When she came back, after learning about Miss White's rest schedule, she sent a car to pick her up on time.

Mr. Edwards was originally a Lord. He lost his right of inheritance after being kicked out of his family. He had nothing but his post in the navy. Fortunately, he had a good relationship with his brothers and was not as bad as other families. The younger brothers have financial support. The carriage to pick up Miss White was temporarily lent to Mr. Edwards by the next heir of Mr. Edwards. It's more convenient.

But the people around her don't know the truth, especially the colleagues who work together. Miss White has always been ashamed of her illegitimate daughter's background and has never told anyone about it, so naturally it will inevitably arouse many speculations.

Mr. Lake said a lot, Miss White's life experience is embarrassing, especially she is unwilling to rely on her brother to support her, and insists on working by herself, which makes several girls present embarrass.

At this time, the door next to her creaked, and Mary stood up abruptly, stepped over a few steps and opened the door abruptly, only in time to see a corner of the skirt passing by the corner of the stairs.

Mary gritted her teeth, these two dead girls, wait for me, I will teach you a lesson in a while!I was glad that Aunt Gardiner had taken her cousins ​​out early, otherwise she must have set a bad example for the two young children!

Mary turned her head and continued to talk to Mr. Lake as if nothing had happened: "Since this is the case, we feel relieved. Our family does not believe this rumor, but we still think we should find a way to clarify it. It is very important to Miss White and the food store. Good!"

"Yes," Mr. Lake nodded in agreement: "I will find a way to clarify this matter, please leave it to me, Miss White is an upright and noble person, we cannot allow her to be slandered in any way, let alone food The store is affected by any sex scandal."

Everyone agreed to hand over this matter to Mr. Lake, and Mr. Lake also solemnly apologized to Mrs. Bennet. It was his negligence. Mrs. Bennet did not blush at all for blaming Miss White. She said that if it weren't for her, the rumors might have developed to the point of no return.

Mary felt that Mrs. Bennet was indeed playing the wrong game. A lie told a thousand times would become the truth. The rumors would snowball and grow bigger and bigger. If they really developed to a bad level, then even if Miss White was cleared of suspicion, it would be inevitable. If the reputation is not guaranteed, the food store may also suffer from the disaster and be affected badly.

In fact, Mr. Lake blamed the manager of the food store very much in his heart. He didn't tell him anything about what happened. .

Ignoring the next day or so, Mary and Jane went for a walk to the grocery store together, and Elizabeth had to conceive an essay describing the scenery and feelings she and Jane encountered when they went for a walk in Hyde Park, and stayed at home to think hard about words and sentences.

Elizabeth has been greatly encouraged since she published an article. Recently, she has been obsessed with writing. The cultural environment in London is much better than in the countryside. There are many kinds of newspapers and periodicals here. Elizabeth often finds some model essays to ponder carefully. Articles are also recited and adapted—sometimes the sentences in it are reversed and rearranged by themselves, sometimes novels are rewritten into poetry, poetry is rewritten into prose, and sometimes a novel or current event is rewritten. Make a comment.

The family is her loyal readers, and Mrs. Bennet also likes to listen to Elizabeth read her articles, but because she always has too many compliments, and when Elizabeth asks her to give some suggestions for improvement, she will always be dumb. She was speechless, and eventually she didn't like hearing it anymore.

Moreover, Elizabeth submitted two manuscripts to the "Times" and "Daily Mail", but they were not approved, and Mrs. Bennet was even less interested.Elizabeth, on the other hand, was neither arrogant nor impetuous, and continued to hone her writing skills.

When Jane and Mary proposed to go to the food store, she knew why the sisters went, but the fewer people present for such embarrassing things, the better, so she didn't go together, but stayed at her uncle's house In the living room, while writing something, while supervising the study of two younger sisters.

Jane and Mary went there after afternoon tea. At this time, the store's passenger flow had passed its peak, but there were still many people staying here.Most of them are women and children.

The pubs and restaurants in this era are basically prepared for men. In the evening, men who are off work will gather in pubs and restaurants to smoke, drink and play cards. Even the cafes and pubs where the upper class haunts are no exception. It's a man who talks a lot. Occasionally a woman comes in, and most of them come to buy a take-away beer for the men in the family.

But Fanny's Food Store doesn't sell high-alcoholic liquor. There are only juices, milk, honey water, tea and soda, and coffee here, so men who like to drink a cup actually don't like to come here.But because the environment is quiet, the food is delicious, and the price is low, men who are not ready to drink often come here for a quick quick meal, or take some takeaway home.There are also many young girls who, after borrowing books from the library or buying clothes, shoes and hats, will come here to gather with friends, or talk about books, or talk about handicrafts.In a corner of the hall, there are slides, small swings and some small toys, so many children from three to four years old like to play there.

The business in the store was very good, and then recruited again. Now there are four chefs, ten waiters, and five or six kitchen handymen and cleaners.Although the business is busy, the employees cherish their jobs very much because of the high wages and the many breaks.

The store manager saw the two ladies coming over quickly, and Jane said that she wanted to see Miss White.It happened that it was not very busy now, so the store manager called Miss White out, and the three of them went up to Miss White's room on the second floor together.

There are not many people living here. At first there were only three people, and some people were recruited later. If they all lived here, it would be very crowded. Mary asked Mr. Lake to subsidize one penny a month for each person who lived outside. , but most of them have their own homes, and are willing to go home and huddle with their families for a penny a month, so there are only five people living here now.Miss White's room is at the first of the stairs. As soon as she walked in, Mary felt that Mrs. Bennet was not exaggerating at all. Although this room is simple, it is very warm and stylish, not to mention Kitty and Lydia. Compared with those two completely tasteless children, even compared with Mary's room, they seem to be much more upscale.

The bed was covered with soft and white quilts, and the fabric was very high-grade. Originally, the food store only provided a bed for the employees, but Miss White also hung a bed curtain for it, so that the bed could be raised up immediately.The curtains are not the original ones, but replaced with small floral patterns with tassels.There are two potted plants on the windowsill. The weather is a bit cold now, but the potted plants are still very energetic.On the table under the window is an exquisite vanity mirror, with beautiful patterns depicted on the frame, and a very exquisite jewelry box next to it, with the lid closed and gorgeous enamel decoration on it.There are several books on the table, and the letter paper, ink bottle and quill are all placed in an orderly manner.

The whole room is dominated by milky white and ivory white, clean and beautiful, which makes people feel good.

Miss White politely invited the guests to sit down. There was only one chair, and the two sisters sat on the bed.

Miss White probably learned the news from Mr. Lake in advance, and has been a little silent.

Jane apologized to Miss White apologetically, and sincerely apologized to Mrs. Bennet for her rash behavior yesterday.Her earnest words and undisguised expression soon won Miss White's favor.