Shadow of great britain

In the spring afternoon, the sun is high in the sky, and the slightly hot weather always makes people drowsy. The hum of the carriages and the sparkling waves of the Seine River in the distance interweave into a unique afternoon melody in Paris.

Beside the Place des Vosges in Paris, there is a small hotel that can be seen everywhere. Although the facade here is inconspicuous, it exudes a warm and simple atmosphere. The stone exterior walls are covered with ivy, and the wooden signboards sway in the breeze. The hotel's name - "Le Petit Chteau", which means "the little castle" - is engraved in gorgeous handwriting.

The taxi slowly stopped in front of the hotel, and two guests, a man and a woman, got out of the car. The man wore a finely tailored dark black tuxedo jacket on his upper body, and trousers of the same color on his lower body. The trouser legs were straight and smooth. Under the coat is a pure white shirt with a delicate bow tied at the collar. Under the lapel of the coat, a delicate pocket watch chain can be seen hanging gently. On his feet is a pair of polished leather shoes, and on his head is a simple round cap. A hard hat.

Although no one asked about this gentleman's occupation, it could be seen from his clothes that he was probably a successful lawyer, or a stockbroker working in a stock exchange.

As for the lady, she wore a soft and lustrous pale pink silk dress, her waist was gently tied up with a thin belt, and she wore pearl earrings on her ears. She wore a wide-brimmed hat with feathers and Delicate gold hat. It can be seen from her outfit that this lady has a good grasp of the current fashion trends in Paris.

From a distance, they looked like a French couple with a talented man and a beautiful man. But if you look closer, this pairing will make some people confused.

Because the gentleman looked to be in his early 20s, and his female companion looked to be at least forty years old.

Although this lady is still as charming as before, no matter how exquisite the makeup is, she can't cover up the traces left by the years on her body. Her hands are not as firm and delicate as those of a young girl, and her white cheeks are no longer as usable as before. To describe it, it can be broken.

However, although this combination is strange, it does not make the hotel operators and waiters feel uncomfortable.

As we all know, hotels in Paris are not always used to entertain tourists. Even local gentlemen and ladies often have reasons why it is inconvenient to stay at home.

And the hotel receives one or two pairs of such guests almost every day. Some people like young people, some people like old people. Everyone has their own preferences, and there is nothing to blame. And for some unknown young people, there are always various benefits to older ladies.

As for what kind of benefits it is, guys like Talleyrand, Disraeli, and Thiers have already proven it to the public with their own experiences of rapid rise.

But having said that, if today's couple were just like the concubines you can see everywhere on the streets of Paris, there would be no need to spend so much time introducing them.

The reason why these two people are introduced so grandly is naturally because one of them is named Arthur Hastings and the other is Francois Vidocq.

Every time he saw Vidocq in disguise, Arthur couldn't help but want to praise him.

After all, this is not the 21st century, but the 19th century. Under limited conditions, Vidocq's level of women's clothing has actually reached such a level. He is not just simply makeup into a woman, but also has a certain level of beauty. However, due to his age, Vidocq can no longer disguise himself as a young girl. However, when it comes to pretending to be a charming lady, there will be no one in London and Paris who is more professional than him.

It has to be said that being able to do so successfully is partly due to Vidocq's personal efforts, but also partly due to his extraordinary talent.

As for Arthur's compliments, Vidocq accepted them all without hesitation.

The thing that the 50-year-old Paris detective is most proud of in his life, apart from his glorious years in the security department, is that he has charmed thousands of girls with his face and humorous conversation.

I don’t know if it’s an inherent habit of the French. They always like to brag about being a natural lover, as is Alexandre Dumas, and so is Vidocque.

Although it is not known how authentic it is, according to Vidocq himself, he first tried it when he was 13 years old.

At that time, he was running away from home and planned to go to America to pan for gold. As a result, he met a liar at the port. The liar said that he had two beautiful girls as companions. And the fledgling Vidocq had never seen such a battle before. When he was at night, like Elder coming down the mountain, he plunged into the arms of one of the girls.

As a result, when he woke up the next morning, he had nothing left except his pants. The package to go to America was gone. Outside the window was a dense forest of masts. Vidocq lay half-naked on the pier in the sun. The morning sun, the harsh sunshine finally made him learn a painful lesson - he realized clearly that sperm in the brain would not end well.

But this does not mean that he has any prejudice against ladies and ladies. If you are deceived, you will be deceived. Vidocq will still play when he should, but he will be more cautious every time in the future.

He walked half-naked all the way back to his hometown, and soon he was having sex with two girls from a local hotel all day long, and later fell in love with an actress who was ten years older than him. The actress taught him the skills of makeup and asked his sister, who was disguised as a maid, to go with her to Lille. For more than two weeks, the two of them became inseparable and infatuated under the eyes of the actress's husband. .

When Vidocq joined the army, he became even more out of control.

Every time the troops changed defenses, it didn't take long for Vidocq to find a new lover. Some young women even secretly gave him money from home, asking him to give it to other soldiers to stand guard for him, so that Vidocq could spend money. Spend time with them. There was also a maid who secretly took things from her employer's house and sold them just so she could give him a gift every day.

Vidocq claimed that he was not open to all women. What impressed him most was that one time, the housekeeper of a house near the army station crept into his bed under the cover of night. As a result, Vidocq was so frightened that he came back from drinking. He almost shot her directly.

When he left the army and pretended to be a captain to make friends with local ladies, there was a rich and charming lady who fell in love with him and wanted to stay with him forever, but Vidocq still had that feeling. With a little conscience, he frankly told the other party his true identity. Not only was he from a humble background, but he was also penniless. He was very sorry for deceiving his wife.

Who knew that the noble lady not only did not condemn, she did not even complain. When leaving the next morning, Madame thrust a small bag into his hand, containing fifteen gold louis.

Vidocq went to Paris with such a small fortune, and soon received retribution for betraying his wife's kindness. In Paris, he became madly infatuated with the mistress of a high-ranking Parisian official named 'Rosin'. Rosin was not only a beautiful woman, but also one of the girls who led Parisian fashion.

In other words, it is quite expensive to have a relationship with her. Vidocq was caught up in it and couldn't extricate himself. He paid the bills of the women's clothing and millinery shops, as well as small items such as gloves and perfume.

When Vidocq recalled this incident to Arthur, he even made fun of himself: "Do you know what it means to be ungrateful? I was ungrateful at that time. Rosin was only charming when I gave him money. , but once my wallet was empty, she would immediately change to her cold, stiff face, and when she found out that I could take out more money, she would quickly revert to her charming self. I finally found out that she was playing tricks on me. I intercepted a letter that said, 'Have you done this idiot? Can I go home?' When I saw it, I ran upstairs angrily. It was empty, and she had long since disappeared without a trace."

Perhaps because of these experiences, Vidocq finally attributed his ability to pretend to be a woman to his experience in many battles.

Whether it is a tavern girl, a fashionable actress, a high-class lady or a shepherdess, someone who values ​​love and justice, someone who is cold-hearted, resourceful, clumsy, or even a chaste nun and a never-married person. He could imitate the old aunt perfectly.

The strange couple gently pushed open the hotel door, and the bell rang loudly.

When the young lady at the front desk saw the visitor, she immediately greeted the visitor in French with a slight accent: "Good evening, sir, and welcome to the 'Little Castle'. How can I help you?"

Arthur leaned forward slightly and took out his business card from his coat pocket: "Good afternoon, miss. I have reserved a room before and hope to spend a good night here."

The lady took it, checked it carefully, and said with a smile: "Of course, Mr. Hastings, we have been waiting for you for a long time. Your room is ready. It is on the second floor, with a small balcony facing the street. , I believe you will like the scenery there. "

"I won't bother you anymore."

Arthur gently raised his hand to express his refusal, Vidocq took his arm, and the couple, who seemed to have a huge age gap, went up the stairs under the watch of the lady at the front desk.

It wasn't until she saw the two people disappearing that the lady curled her lips slightly and said, "Another young man who likes to cling to the older lady, but he looks much better than the fat man who likes to drink coffee."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of cars rang outside the hotel again.

I don’t know if God sensed her complaint, but the guest this time was the fat man who loved coffee as she mentioned.

Although he has a pair of smart little eyes, he is not tall, has a fat body, broad shoulders and a thick chest. Messy hair and uneven teeth are also negative points.

"Madam, I haven't seen you for a while. You simply don't know how much torture it is for me to lock myself in a room for a month without being able to see you. You are like my sun, I can’t live a day without your light.”

The lady looked at this young man who was younger than her daughter, and just smiled helplessly: "Honoré, you can leave your love words in letters. I am already a grandmother, and your enthusiasm for me is obvious." It’s too much.”

At this point, the lady suddenly paused again: "Do you have enough money recently? I heard from your mother that you seem to owe a foreign debt?"

When the fat man heard this, his face suddenly turned red: "Madam, believe me, this is just a small difficulty. I can handle it myself. You gave me 45,000 francs to set up a printing shop, but it turned out that My business went bankrupt and I haven’t even paid you back the money.”

The lady smiled and shook her head: "Honoré, it doesn't matter. I didn't lend you the money, but invested it in you. It's normal for investments to make profits and losses. I just lost money. As for your foreign debts, what do you think? Tell me how much you owe, and I will pay it off for you first. When you have money, you can pay me back slowly. If you keep holding on to other people's money, I'm worried that they may hire gangsters to force you to pay off the debt, or they may take you away. Throw it into jail or something.”

Hearing this, the fat man tried his best to argue: "Madam, I promise, the situation is not as bad as you thought. You have helped me too much. Every time, you are like an angel, supporting me in fierce battles. You seem to You are my God. You are like my loving mother, girlfriend, relative, confidant, and counselor. You have made me a writer and comforted me as a young man. So, please allow me to do it once, this time. I'll do it myself. My new novel will be finished soon, and I'll pay back the money."

When the lady heard this, she just raised her eyebrows and teased: "Can a novel sell for fifteen thousand francs? Honoré, I believe in your talent, but the price of your manuscript should not be that high for the time being."

"Uh..." the fat man said in shock: "How do you know that I owe fifteen thousand francs."

The lady took the fat man's arm and said: "Because I have already paid back the money. Honoré, you are a good young man, but if you want to borrow money, you can come to me first. My wealth is not much, but It is definitely enough to provide you with a relatively suitable environment to create literary works.”

"lady……"

When the lady at the front desk saw this scene, she just felt something was wrong.

Perhaps it was because she was a little picky about her appearance, but she always felt that no matter how she looked at this elegant lady paired with this fat man, she could not be moved at all.

The fat man didn't know if he was impressed by his wife. He rushed to the front desk in a hurry, took out a few francs from his pocket and slapped them on the table: "Honoré Balzac, I have made a reservation before. Please help me. Go to the restaurant next door and order a good meal, paired with two bottles of good wine, and have it delivered to my room.”