Granville's estate

Chapter 103 Brumy Moon: Chapter Memory of the Past

According to the prevailing rules of this era, even if a young man has property, status or even married, as long as his father is still alive (especially when there is economic dependence between father and son!), people will still get used to it. It is a habit that the real head of the family is his father, and the child is only a "semi-adult" "adult". Under this habit that has been passed down for thousands of years, the authority of the father's generation is unquestionable; that is to say, a certain To a certain extent, Louis, who was born as a commoner, is even regarded as an "adult" in the social sense than Alred, who was born as a nobleman, because he does have this independent power and does not need to consider the will of his parents.

Hearing what Louis said, Alred was silent for a while, his face was very gloomy, just when Louis fearfully thought that he was going to be furious at what he said, Alred turned around and wanted to go out of the restaurant.

"Al! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see the Vicomte de Durand."

Allred replied, judging from the suppressed anger in his voice, the high probability that he wanted to discuss with Calliste de Durand would not be a friendly topic: "I have to ask the banker Mr. Jia, he gave you some gypsy witch's potion to make you think like this!"

"Al!"

These words suddenly reminded Louis of the pistol that his friend picked up when facing Bernard's blackmail yesterday. , Begging him: "Al, calm down! This has nothing to do with Viscount de Durand, it's what I want to stay."

"How can I calm down!"

Alred replied grumpily. He shook off Louie's hand, but immediately, he regretted his rough attitude towards his good friend-it was obvious that Louis was deceived, and the culprit was the Calliste de Durand, isn't it?So he turned around and grabbed Louis' shoulders and shook it vigorously, as if this would wake up his friend immediately: "Do you know what you are doing? Ah? Louis, you are dancing on the edge of a cliff! Are you still dancing?" Better listen to that Jew than to mine!"

"Al!"

Louis was a little dizzy by Alred's actions. Seeing that Alred seemed to have regarded Callister as the poisonous snake that tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and there were signs of going to find him immediately to settle accounts, Louis had no choice but to Confided some of my heart: "Al, Mr. de Durand is really not the bad character you imagined. Without his help, we would not be able to escape from the trap of Officer Clermont. Isn't it? And he... He also gave me a lot of help when I was in Saint-Etienne before, I, I still believe in Mr. Durand's character."

"For the sake of the gold pocket watch and the franc case, I will not believe a word of your words, and I will never let you stay here any longer. Louis, you have been deceived too much by him, you It takes a clear-headed environment to calm you down."

Alred said very angrily, obviously thinking that Callister must have tricked his friend in some way, so that Louis had the illusion: "Except for yesterday, I don't remember that gentleman What kind of help did you give us that are worth remembering? If you just refuse to leave Paris, I will ask Mr. Martin to go to the carriage and question Mr. Durand face to face to see what he said to you. Let you have such a misunderstanding of his non-existent virtue!"

Louis opened his mouth. He wanted to say something to Alred, but he happened to see Mary walking past the dining room with some hesitation—the maid looked in here frequently as she pretended to walk past casually. Still holding a bread-slicing knife, apparently in the kitchen when he heard the noise and worried that the owner and guests of 79 St George Street would start a row.

"Al, let's all calm down and talk about this later."

Louis told Alred that he didn't want the secret he wanted to tell Alred to be heard by a third person—especially a girl—and that just imagining such a scene was enough to make him lose his mind. Most of the courage was gone.

During this breakfast, the two had different thoughts. Louis didn't even notice whether his bread was covered with butter or jam. All his mind was occupied by what he was going to do next.

Alred obviously also noticed his abnormality. After finishing his breakfast hastily, he asked Mary to clean up the table and told the maid that they didn't need anyone to go up to the second floor to disturb him; after giving all these instructions, Alred Take Louis to the study on the second floor, and close the door of the study himself.

"Now you can tell me what you think."

Alrede said this to Louis, but judging from his expression, he had made up his mind, no matter what reason Louis had for wanting to stay in Paris, he would not listen.

Louis sat in an armchair in the study with a pillow and a soft velvet cushion—it made him feel as if he were trapped in a cloud of softness, and with it, the memory seemed to be trapped in a long time ago. in time.

"Al, you remember when we were at the boarding school in Saint-Etienne," said Louis, pausing for a moment before he had the courage to say the name of the woman who had cast such a shadow on him again: "In the school Mama Moreau?"

Alred obviously didn't expect that the first thing Louis mentioned was a maid from the boarding school in the past—he looked like a warrior who was ready for a duel and suddenly found that the enemy on the opposite side began to retreat, which was really unexpected , so that it took him a while to understand: "Mama Moreau? Uh... oh, oh, I remembered, 'Mama Moreau, Bon Appetit'! Why did you mention her all of a sudden?"

If someone hears the name "Mama Moreau with a good appetite", they will probably think that she is a fat woman who loves to eat, just like Gigone who is tall and bloated in a puppet show and can hide several children in her skirt In fact, Mama Moreau was plump but not fat, and even a little pretty, although this beauty gradually faded with age, but in a boarding school where women were extremely rare, it was still possible. Attractions from men—and she was ready for all of them, and she had a natural appetite for young men's love buds.

"Since you know her nickname, you should know the origin of her nickname." Louis said, when he mentioned this, he felt his stomach sinking heavily, and even felt a kind of Feeling like throwing up.

"I also only learned of this nickname when she left Saint-Etienne. It is said that she has that romantic relationship with many students in Saint-Etienne. Some people even joked that she is indeed the 'mother of enlightenment' for many people. ; and it was rumored that her lovers included some schoolteacher from Saint-Etienne, and there was a private speculation at that time as to which impeccable gentleman it was."

In all ages this sort of gossip between men and women has always attracted the greatest curiosity, and Alrede was evidently no exception; but, after he had said these words, he realized something at once, The smile on his face also quickly disappeared: "Louis, what do you mean, you... you?"

Louis didn't speak. He stared blankly at the painting of the Virgin and Child hanging on the wall of the study. After a while, he buried his face in his palm wearily.

"Yes, Al, that's what you think it is."

Louis murmured that even though several years had passed, he still felt a suffocating pain when he recalled this incident again: "Mama Moreau once wanted to treat me...she, she used Called me to her house in various ways, and when she was almost about to win, Callisto who was passing by broke in and rescued me..."

"Why didn't you say a word to me!"

Alred jumped up almost as if he had been stabbed by a knife. He would never have thought that one day he would find out that his friend was also related to this matter that he had regarded as a romantic joke for many years: "Louis Holy Virgin Mary, what's going on! I've never heard a word from you in all these years!"

"At first I didn't understand anything, so I didn't dare to say anything." Louis whispered, and he almost had no strength to look up at his friend: "Didn't Mama Moreau leave St. Is Etienne? Then there is no need to say, Al, I am sorry, I have kept it from you for so many years..."

"It's not your fault, Louie, there's nothing wrong with you."

Alred walked up to his friend eagerly, knelt down and grabbed Louis' hand: "I'm sorry that I never knew you had such an experience, God, Louis, if you feel like this If you say it will make you unhappy, then don't say it again, and tell me when you feel that everything is over."

"But I don't want to hide it from you anymore, Al." Louie said slowly, and he felt that his friend's comfort gave him a little courage to face those painful memories: "I have kept this matter in my heart for so many years. Even the priest I confessed to didn't know...maybe I'll feel better if I tell everything."

As Louis recalled, time was pulled back to the winter at the turn of 1814 and 1815.