Shadow of great britain

The empty cafe was filled with the strong smell of coffee and tobacco.

The originally quiet and lazy elegant cafe was disrupted by a sudden duel. However, this duel was like a thunderstorm in spring, coming and going as quickly as it came.

In a corner of the coffee shop, several gentlemen who were shouting about killing just now were sitting calmly. Each of them was wearing a well-tailored black tuxedo, with a white silk scarf at the collar that set off their slender necks, and they were holding delicate necklaces in their hands. Silver-plated coffee cup, elegant and calm.

They sat around a round table covered with snow-white linen, with several copies of Le Figaro and Le Temps scattered on the table, as if the mess on the floor in the cafe had nothing to do with them, only the The coffee in their hands and the newspaper on the table are their world.

The amber liquid rippled slightly in the porcelain cup, exuding an alluring aroma, as if it were a quiet ocean independent of the world.

They gently blew the hot air away, took a brief sip, and then closed their eyes to taste, letting the bitterness and sweetness intertwine on the tip of their tongues, as if they were interpreting the philosophy of life with their taste buds. Occasionally, they would stir the sugar cubes with a slender silver spoon, their movements gentle and rhythmic.

As for the owner of the cafe, he was standing beside them with a smile on his face, a pen in one hand and a menu in the other, diligently recording the orders of several gentlemen. Considering the snow-white check stuck in his coat pocket, still exuding the scent of ink, with the looming Rothschild Bank logo on the top, he didn't particularly blame these rude guys for ruining his business. , ruined the small restaurant he had carefully decorated.

He just whispered softly and asked these generous gentlemen: "You can come as many as possible from these gentlemen."

Arthur held the coffee cup and carefully blew the hot steam: "So, the misunderstanding is resolved?"

Alexandre Dumas laughed: "Winnie and I have always been very good friends, and the friendship between us is irrefutable. This was all instigated by that villain Balzac. He is simply the embodiment of vanity, and he is jealous of me." Achievements in drama. He is just the son of a small bourgeoisie, but he brazenly and deliberately added "德" in front of his surname, thinking that he could trick readers into recognizing that his ancestors were noble. "

Pooh also knew that Alexandre Dumas and Balzac had a long history of enmity, but it was always not good to expose others' shortcomings like this in front of two guests. He coughed and said: "Alexander, I misunderstood you before. . Everyone knows your reputation for being romantic, so when I found out that you invited Doval to assist in the show in London, I couldn’t help but feel..."

Alexandre Dumas put his hand on Pooh's shoulder affectionately and said: "Of course I am a romantic, and ladies have always recognized me. But you should know that I deeply love my little angel - Miss Ida Ferrier, except for her Besides, I can no longer tolerate other women in my eyes.”

After hearing this, Pooh put down his coffee cup and nodded: "I heard from the manager of Arele at the Porte Saint-Martin Theater a few days ago that you seemed to have gone to see her just after you returned to Paris."

Alexandre Dumas smiled proudly and said: "Of course, I can't wait any longer. She asked me to write a new play for her more than two years ago. Now that I am back in Paris, I should fulfill the promise I made to her back then. Did Manager Arel show you my new book? "Katlin Howard". The heroine in this scene will be played by Miss Ferrier. Manager Arel also knows that this role is mine. Tailor-made for her.”

When Arthur heard this, he glanced at Vidocq beside him. Of course the old French detective knew what he meant.

He took the conversation and introduced Arthur calmly: "Ida Ferriere, Marie Dorval, and Juliette Drouet, the three most famous young actresses in Paris at present, Ferriere Both I and Dorval are already married, but fortunately, I can still pursue Miss Drouet.”

When Pooh heard this, he smiled politely and said: "Mr. Vidocq, you are already a step too late for Miss Drouet. She has completely fallen into Victor's arms."

"Victor?" Alexandre Dumas rolled his eyes, his face full of disbelief: "You mean Hugo? Pooh, are you kidding me? He is recognized by everyone as a model husband and a model father! Pooh, if you listen to me It’s okay to hear my rumors, but how can you doubt Hugo?”

Pooh took a sip of coffee in silence, as if he was organizing words: "Alexander, I don't know how to mention this to you. You should know that that guy in Saint-Beuve has been pursuing Hugo. His wife Adele?”

The bread in Alexandre Dumas' hand dropped back to the plate in shock: "Is there such a thing?"

Winnie said: "Uh... I actually don't know much about the inside story. But, in short, Adele has refused Saint-Beuve for four or five years, but for some reason, Hugo and Adele's There was a rift in the couple's relationship for a certain period of time, so Saint-Beuve had his way. In order to maintain the appearance of a model family and for the growth of their children, Hugo and Adele had not disclosed this matter before. On the surface they maintained the facade of the family, but privately Adele allowed Sainte-Beauve's advances, while Hugo pursued Juliette Drouet."

"hiss……"

Pooh's speech not only shocked Alexandre Dumas, but also shocked theater regular Vidocq, and even Lord Hastings from London choked on his coffee.

Arthur originally thought that the London circle was already quite chaotic in terms of relationships between men and women, but on the other hand, in Paris, the French could always come up with some new tricks for him.

Seeing that they had been silent, Pooh thought they didn't believe what he said, so he spoke again: "I didn't believe that St. Beaufort would do anything to seduce Adele at first, but then I saw his That article "On the Romantic Life in the Heart" just made me realize that this guy has been coveting Adele for a long time. "

Alexandre Dumas asked eagerly: "What did he write in there?"

Pooh recalled, cleared his throat and said: "Every passionate woman who first falls in love too early will often fall in love a second time. No matter how passionate her first love was when she was eighteen years old, and no matter how favorable the environment, It will not last until the age of twenty-four. After the age of twenty-four, there will be a period of intermission, during which her heart will be in a dormant state, so the new relationship will become more and more mature. "

Alexandre Dumas suddenly realized: "No wonder he always writes reviews to praise Hugo's new works, calling him the new leader of the romantic school in the entire French literary world! This is to try to please Hugo, make him careless, and thereby draw him closer. The distance between me and Adele!”

Winnie added: "More than that, you should know that Saint-Beauve could not earn much money per month writing literary reviews, but he still rented a room in the Saint-Paul Hotel not far from Hugo's home. This is just for Allowing Adele to walk to see him effortlessly.”

Alexandre Dumas curled his lips and punched the table angrily, as if he had forgotten that he had just gotten involved with Pooh's lover Dorval: "How can Sainte-Beuve poach Hugo? Hugo, who was losing money, had not done anything before. So supportive of him.”

Pooh did not say anything after hearing Alexandre Dumas's comment, because both Sainte-Beauve and Hugo had a good relationship with him, so he was not very willing to wade into this muddy water.

However, when he saw the dumbfounded looks of the other two guests, he couldn't help but feel his cheeks getting hot. He asked seriously: "Gentlemen, I only told you this matter, and you must not spread it to anyone else."

Arthur and Vidocq looked at each other, and the two old policemen smiled and nodded: "Of course, Mr. Pooh, you don't know what we do? We have always been very strict with our mouths."

Pooh slapped his head and said: "I forgot, you two, one is the director of Scotland Yard, and the other is the detective of the Security Department. If that's the case...I..."

Having said this, Pooh suddenly clenched his knees with his hands in embarrassment, as if he wanted to say something but had concerns.

Arthur asked: "Do you need any help?"

Vidocq also took the opportunity to advertise his detective agency: "Sir, you know my reputation in France. As for Sir Arthur Hastings, he was the first knight in the history of Britain. police. If you have any difficult cases that you want to handle, as long as the price is right, we can help you solve it quickly.”

Alexandre Dumas also echoed: "Pooh, they are not bragging. Mr. Vidocq's deeds have long been widely circulated in our literary circles in Paris. As for Arthur, I dare to pat my chest and promise you , he is the most reliable spy in the entire British Isles. He was the one who saved me when I was almost kidnapped by pirates and sold to America.”

Under the advice of Alexandre Dumas, Pooh hesitated for a long time before making up his mind: "This... alas! Well, since there are no outsiders here, I will tell the truth. Mr. Vidocq, Sir Hastings, I do I’m going to entrust you with a piece of business.”

Arthur smiled and lifted the teapot to fill Pooh's coffee cup: "Don't worry, there is still a long time today, you can talk slowly."

Pooh held up the coffee cup, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes: "To be honest, gentlemen, I always feel like I'm being stared at all the time lately."

As soon as Pooh finished speaking, Alexandre Dumas said: "Pooh, are you thinking too much? Although I don't want to say this to you, your thoughts are indeed too delicate sometimes, so that you are often suspicious. Like It is very normal for a successful poet and playwright like you to be noticed by the public."

Arthur joked after hearing this: "Alexander, you can't say that. At least in my opinion, Mr. Pooh's intuition is quite accurate. For example... Dova..."

But before Arthur finished speaking, Alexandre Dumas suddenly raised his arm and shouted: "Please make a pot of good black tea for this gentleman from London. This damn Englishman is not used to drinking coffee brewed with water from the Seine." "

Vidocq saw that Alexandre Dumas was going to disrupt his business, and even deceived Pooh into ecstasy: "This kind of worry is generally not unfounded, Mr. Pooh, as Mr. Dumas said, the whole of Paris We all know how successful you are in drama. If you write a good play and perform it for 50 performances, the income per performance is 2,000 francs, which is a total of 100,000 francs. Mr. Dumas told me before. , you can usually get a 10% share. In addition, you can also earn a royalties equivalent to 5% of the total box office through publishing the script. This adds up to fifteen thousand francs. You can earn so much for one script. In the eyes of the gangsters hiding in the streets of Paris, you are simply a hen that can lay golden eggs! They may have set their sights on you and sent people to map out your travel route until the time comes. When the time came, I planned to kidnap you for ransom!”

Pooh turned pale with fright at Vidocq.

In fact, as Vidocq said, he himself had also considered this possibility.

What's worse is that if it's just him who feels like he's being targeted, then he can still explain it.

But just a while ago, when he and Mrs. Dorval were studying the 'new play', Dorval mentioned it for no reason: "My little sweetheart, have you ever felt like you were being watched recently?"

At first, Winnie thought that Doval had been getting along with someone else recently and was hiding another man in the house. She deliberately said this in order to cover up her abnormal behavior. Once that man was discovered by Winnie, Doval also You can use the excuse that you are under surveillance.

When Pooh thought of this possibility, he immediately jumped out of bed and rushed towards the wardrobe door that looked suspicious to him.

But he found nothing in the closet, but the sound of him jumping out of bed started up a rush of footsteps outside the door.

Pooh was so angry that he just put on a pair of trousers and chased outside, but when he rushed out the door, he only saw a dark figure hurriedly running around the corner of the corridor.

Pooh initially guessed that the black shadow was probably Alexandre Dumas, but judging from the attitude of Alexandre Dumas today, it didn't look like him.

The most important thing is that the shadow appeared two weeks ago, and Alexandre Dumas had not yet arrived in Paris at that time.

When Pooh thought of this, he felt more and more angry and frightened.

What makes him angry is that if the other person is a new love rival, then he must kill that guy with his own hands.

What I was afraid of was that if the other party was really a gang of robbers seeking wealth and death, it would have been too reckless for me to rush out of the room that day. Fortunately, I didn't want to chase someone disheveled because of my face. Otherwise, wouldn't catching up with him be a trap for him?

Pooh thought about it, and still felt that for this kind of thing, it was necessary to find a group of people who were more brutal and professional than the robbers to protect him and Doval.

He told all the wonderful experiences during this period, which made Dumas scream in shock.

Vidocq calmly took out a pen and paper to record. At the end, the Paris detective did not forget to ask for the professional opinions of his colleagues in London with a hint of teasing: "Superintendent Hastings, what do you think this is?" Case? A murder and kidnapping case in progress, or... a preview of the next duel where romance and honor are at stake? "

Arthur was in no hurry to make a conclusion. Although he, like Vidocq, had been persuaded to retire by the government and his career as a policeman had been completely ended, this did not mean that he was willing to embarrass his old club, Scotland Yard.

Arthur copied down a few key pieces of information from Vidocq's notebook and put the note into his pocket: "Mr. Pooh, before we find out the truth, I suggest that you hire a private agent from Bray Oak Detective Agency. Security services. Because we may need to scout around your route for a few days before we can figure out the truth."