New Gods of North America

Maybe it's because ladies with unmarried daughters are all the same these days.

When Wayne faced Mrs. Brooke, he vaguely had the illusion of facing Mrs. Russell some time ago.

After noticing that Miss Mary and Wayne seemed to be chatting for a longer time than usual, Mrs. Brooke didn't even need Wayne to find topics on his own.

After Miss Mary left somewhat angrily, a series of questions came one after another, and even two ladies came to listen.

However, Wayne's "service attitude" tonight was quite good. He talked about this and that and made some indirect comments.

I can almost make up a "Black Rock Town Story" plus a "Detective Agency Story".

Although Mrs. Brooke did not respond to some of the topics that Wayne mentioned inadvertently, and failed to get more information about the pendant, her spiritual intuition and simple lines did not find anything unusual.

But after Mrs. Brooke and the others left, Wayne secretly took out his pocket watch and looked at it. They had been chatting for almost half an hour, which was an extraordinary performance considering the normal "fragmented" social interactions at the ball.

By this time, the ball had entered a relatively free stage. Wayne noticed that Mrs. Brooke had returned to socialize with the ladies. After a little thought, he asked the servants in the manor about the location of the smoking room.

Then he walked along the stairs of the banquet hall towards the second floor.

This little trick was accidentally revealed to Wayne by Ian Fisk.

Although smoking is not a behavior that women would openly dislike in this era,

But for men, sitting in a relatively private space, sipping fine wine and chatting with cigars is also another kind of "dance socializing".

——Of course, there is also the factor that older gentlemen need to maintain a graceful and energetic image and refuse to show their tired side in public.

Ian Fisk has other ways to use this unspoken rule.

As long as he expressed his intention to smoke a cigar, most servants would not follow him, and he could also use this opportunity to "disappear" from the party for a while.

When he reached the second floor connected to the staircase of the banquet hall, Wayne did not go to the smoking room, but found a lounge near the staircase for guests to use freely.

After declining the maid's offer to bring him tea, Wayne stayed inside alone and took a sip of holy water to aid digestion.

This place is almost the only place Lina had to pass through just now. If Mrs. Brooke notices something unusual and comes up, Wayne can take the opportunity to talk to her and act as a temporary sentry.

As a result, Mrs. Brooke didn't wait for him, but a man who surprised Wayne a little came to the lounge.

I think his name was Simon Sherman, anyway, he was the young man from the shipyard.

The other party waved his hand at the door, indicating that the servants did not need to come to serve, and then walked to the short sofa opposite Wayne and sat down:

"Mr. Wayne, huh? I'm really surprised tonight. I didn't expect to meet an extraordinary person outside of the church and the big family at a dance in Virginia."

Um?!

Before, when I was around big shots like Priest Tywin, it was fine if someone could figure out that I was a Beyonder, but why can you do that too?!

Even Inissa and Lina said that there was nothing unusual when I "opened my vision", unless my "sight" was focused on them.

"You don't need to be alert, and you haven't been exposed. I discovered this when I was talking to Alex Brooke."

The other party quickly waved his hand and took out a small but exquisite jewelry box from his pocket. "I heard that you became interested in it after just one look at it?"

The jewelry box was opened, and it contained the sapphire pendant that Wayne had seen on Miss Mary before.

After confirming that Wayne had seen it clearly, the jewelry box was snapped shut again, and his spiritual intuition seemed to be blocked.

The other party put the jewelry box away again:

"Would you mind telling me why you're interested in it? Oh, by the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is..."

"Simon Sherman, son of Owen Sherman, came to Virginia from New York City about three months ago." Wayne then spoke for him.

The other party hesitated for a moment. "It's not surprising that you know my identity, but when I first arrived in Virginia, I probably didn't participate in any social activities, nor did I reveal my whereabouts to anyone."

Then you probably couldn’t hide it from the local church… I just heard about it from David Mills tonight.

As for the specific time point, Wayne roughly estimated it based on the time he arrived in Virginia. The same thing, expressed in a different way, can sometimes have miraculous effects during interrogation.

But as long as someone is weak, it's usually easy to deal with.

Wayne smiled and opened the field of vision of the simple line, secretly verifying whether the other party could really detect it.

While extending his hand to him, he introduced himself, "Wayne Constantine, I opened a detective agency in Georgeburg."

This is the trend in America.

When dealing with strange civilized people, if you need to show your strength or provide benefits, it is polite to be subtle, but sometimes you still have to keep your words short.

Just like when you encounter a drunk stranger making trouble in a bar, immediately showing your police badge or weapon, or even yelling at him to get lost, will be more effective than reasoning with him, so that you don't end up in a conflict, and the other party will blame you for being a sissy in the beginning.

Simon Sherman sat up straighter after hearing this.

He quickly reached out and held Wayne's fingertips:

"I am sorry for being so presumptuous. I only knew that you were a student preparing to enroll in the college, Mr. Wayne. I didn't expect that you already have your own business here."

But he responded quickly, "Is your detective agency connected to the church?"

Wayne shrugged his shoulders and chose not to answer.

Anyway, the matter of the charter should not be a secret within the church. If you have connections, you can ask yourself. If you don’t know, then forget it.

Then Wayne pointed to the inner pocket of the other person's coat:

"I'm actually quite curious as to why you're interested in it, Mr. Sherman."

While Wayne was talking, his simple-line vision opened and closed, and sometimes "flashed" into the rhythm of Morse code. Unfortunately, the other party seemed to be really not aware of it.

Then Simon Sherman's eyes flickered twice, and there was movement on his side.

Wayne seemed to understand all of a sudden what Inessa meant by the feeling of being "watched" by the simple lines of vision.

It’s like your body is directly exposed to a beam of sunlight. Sometimes you can feel that the “temperature” in a certain direction and position is different without even looking back.

As for Simon Sherman, the "lines" around his eyes seemed to be disturbed.

Nothing was "shooting" directly at him, but the moment his eyes met his, Wayne felt as if he was drunk, as if the alcohol instantly clouded his thoughts, and they began to become a little slow.

The invisible "eye" in Wayne's body opened slightly wider.

The "alcohol effect" quickly disappears, turning into a refreshing and refreshing taste with a slight minty taste.

Unfortunately, Wayne waited for a while, and this extraordinary ability did not seem to be hypnosis, at least not the kind that required speaking, otherwise he might have heard something.

Simon Sherman just looked away, probably wanting to stand up and leave.

Wayne stopped him and said, "Mr. Sherman, you haven't answered my question yet."

The other party's eyes widened obviously.

Watching Wayne unscrew a flat wine bottle and take a sip, he couldn't help but ask, "You still remember it?"

Wayne nodded honestly.