Shadow of great britain

They talk about honor, and talk about it in a grandiose way, but in the end it's just for money.

——Stendhal "The Red and the Black"

What should a banker's house look like?

It should have a good location, luxurious decoration, and a group of servants to welcome and send off.

The mansion of the Dreysert family is a place that perfectly meets these standards.

The magnificent mansion is located in a prime location on the banks of the Seine, and its exterior incorporates typical neoclassical architectural elements.

There are exquisite patterns and reliefs carved above the main entrance, and lion statues on both sides of the doorposts majestically guard the entrance.

Entering the mansion, the first thing that comes into view is the spacious front hall, with smooth marble on the floor, and black and white geometric patterns revealing a low-key and luxurious atmosphere. A huge crystal chandelier hangs from the tall ceiling, and the flickering lights illuminate the entire space. The walls are covered with famous oil paintings and mirrors with gold frames.

Pass through the front hall and enter the main hall. This is the core of the mansion, suitable for hosting large social banquets.

The main hall is surrounded by exquisite carved furniture, and upholstered chairs inlaid with silk and velvet surround several marble tables.

Each table is decorated with flowers, and the fragrance of flowers fills the air.

The curtains are made of fine velvet, and the deep red draperies complement the pure white window rods.

On one side of the main hall is a huge fireplace, and the wall decoration above the fireplace is a relief depicting ancient myths.

The carpet in front of the fireplace is a hand-woven Persian carpet with rich colors and complex patterns.

The bookshelf next to the fireplace is filled with all kinds of precious books, from classical literature to the latest philosophical works, as if the bookstore is opened in the house.

But such a huge stock of books makes people wonder whether the owner has time to digest these wisdom crystals spanning thousands of years after work.

Maybe it's impolite to say this, but Arthur does have such doubts in his heart, not for anything else, because he even found a Chinese version of "The Analects" in the bookshelf.

A casual flip of the page will reveal the famous saying, "Know what you know, and know what you don't know." It must be said that this sentence is indeed somewhat ironic in this room.

As more and more guests arrived, Arthur felt that the temperature in the air was rising, and the white shirt on his chest was also quite dazzling under the candlelight.

He adjusted his bow tie, took off his tuxedo and was about to find a coat rack to hang it up, but before he could take a step, the butler waiting by the window had already taken the coat from his hand respectfully.

Arthur looked around the banquet hall. The men were wearing neat suits, and the ladies were wearing gorgeous long skirts and jewels.

The band was playing elegant music in the corner, and the pleasant melody echoed in the air. The waiters shuttled between them, carrying trays filled with exquisite wine glasses and snacks.

Louis, Dumas, Victor and others in disguise were also among them. They talked loudly with the visiting guests, talking loudly about the fictitious bank business.

Their valet was waiting not far away, and all of them were carefully selected by Gwawi.

But it was funny to say that these thugs who usually shouted and killed in the streets of Paris lowered their heads and looked obedient here, and were as docile as the most honest and simple farmers in the countryside. There was no trace of gangsterism in them.

Arthur suddenly remembered the public servants that Victor had mentioned to him before. The expressions of the small clerks in the government when facing their superiors should be similar to the state of these gangsters today.

There was no need to show those business cards inlaid with gold edges, or to state any prominent titles. The atmosphere of the upper-class banquet, the atmosphere of feasting and drinking, and the expensive brand logos on the ladies' jewelry were enough to scare them out of their wits, making these gangsters believe that the bank fraud plan had penetrated into the upper class.

The plan went more smoothly than expected.

Perhaps after tonight, Gwawi will send someone to contact Francois, the forgery expert in prison.

Arthur guessed so, and suddenly his eyes stopped on an elegant lady. She was standing not far away, talking to several ladies.

That was Miss Clara, and unfortunately, there was another acquaintance of Arthur in this small social circle of ladies.

She was wearing a blue silk dress, and her golden hair shone in the candlelight. That was Miss Emily De Lassiter.

Arthur felt bad when he saw this.

Among the guests present, only Miss Dresset had experienced the bombing of the Kaidao Sai Mansion with him.

If she accidentally let something slip and made Clara suspicious, then things would be difficult to deal with later.

Emily seemed to notice Arthur's gaze. She turned her head and was stunned for a moment, then blushed slightly and gave him a polite smile.

Seeing this, Arthur walked towards the ladies.

He first greeted the ladies present politely, and then reminded Clara: "Clara, are you free now? I have something to tell you."

Clara looked a little excited, with a smile on her face. The girl obviously enjoyed the time with the ladies.

But she was not confused. Although she was reluctant, she still politely lifted the hem of her skirt and said goodbye to the friends she had just met: "Sorry, please excuse me."

Emily watched Arthur and Clara walk out of the banquet hall, and then turned to inquire about the little sisters.

"Who is she? I just came here and haven't had a chance to say a few words to her?"

"have no idea."

"She looks very familiar. I haven't seen her at a ball in Paris before. She may be a foreign actress who is crazy about trying to make a name for herself in Paris. These days, such a dirty person There are simply too many women.”

"Then she should go to a salon for playwrights or literary societies. If she can get close to Winnie, Hugo, Musset or Dumas, she can ask them to write a heroine's script for her, and then she can be a hit And red."

"Maybe it has already happened. Look at the young man who just called her out. He looks very artistic. Maybe he is a young playwright who is about to rise to the top."

"Maybe we should also get to know him? If we don't do it now, when he really becomes popular, he will be like Hugo and Balzac, and he will always be surrounded by noble ladies."

When Emily heard that these ladies not only did not reveal any information, but instead focused on the 'skirt' that she had long admired, her snow-white cheeks suddenly turned green.

She showed the same momentum as if she was bargaining with the shopkeeper in a store. She did not reveal Arthur's true identity, but used the same tone as before to go along with the ladies' suspicions.

"How many new writers are waiting to emerge in Paris every year? Seven or eight hundred? Or worse, I guess there are thousands. There are indeed some talented ones here, but most of them are unlearned and unskilled. Read After two or three books, I had a dream and thought I could become a great writer, but it turned out that I couldn't even write lines fluently. If others knew that I had interacted with such a person, it would be considered a joke for several years. ”

Emily thought this would break up their enthusiasm, but unexpectedly, there were people in the group who didn't like her. One of the ladies, waving a pink ivory fan, taunted with a gun and a stick.

"Emily, why are you so mean to a young man with a literary dream? Even if he can't write the script that Parisians dream of like Hugo and Dumas, at least he tried his best to pursue it. I Appreciate young people like this.”

When the other ladies heard this, they were afraid that they would be labeled mean. They echoed: "Yes, you should be more tolerant towards young people, not to mention that he was invited to this banquet, which already shows that he is here." Achievements have already begun on this road.”

Emily usually couldn't stand being pushed down by others. She was the most eye-catching star of this party. This girl was aroused and the smell of gunpowder in her words became much stronger.

She was like a 12-pound howitzer, determined to blast her opponent into the sky.

Emily covered her mouth with a fan and said with a fake smile: "Oh, really? It seems that most people have similar tastes to foreign actresses. All they need is a well-tailored tuxedo and a few words about Montesquieu or Montesquieu. This famous quote by Voltaire is enough to fascinate most people.”

At this point, Emily pretended to sigh again: "No wonder Mr. Balzac has not become famous until recent years. The blame is that he is not outstanding in appearance and a bit clumsy in speech. Therefore, his talents are only those who are truly famous." Only those who understand art can see it, and most people will only wait until he becomes famous before they start complaining that he is surrounded by noble ladies."

As soon as Emily's words came out, she felt that the depression in her chest had dissipated a lot, and the skin on her cheeks became fair and rosy again.

But the other ladies were obviously not in such a good mood as she was. They either left with a dark face, or cursed in their hearts, 'uneducated yellow-haired girl'.

All in all, in order to show their tolerance, gentleness and generosity, they did not choose to talk to Emily at the banquet.

Seeing that they didn't fight back, Emily felt no joy at all. On the contrary, if the ladies took the opportunity to ridicule her and curse her, she might feel more comfortable. Because she suddenly realized that she seemed to have scolded herself.

What's worse is, what is the relationship between the girl who doesn't know where she came from and Arthur?

This question was like a time bomb, making her scratch her head.

She wanted to ask her uncle for help, but the old man seemed to have forgotten all the business of his grandnephew and grandnephew tonight, or maybe he had exposed his true nature as a banker. Whether it was her old uncle or her father and uncles, they were all closely surrounding Mr. Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin tonight.

As for what Mr. Gaudin does?

He is the current president of the Banque de France, the French central bank.

Not getting the answer to the question, Emily even danced absent-mindedly.

After finishing a boring waltz, she sat alone on the sofa in a daze, thinking only about what had just happened.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of Arthur talking to her dance partner a few steps away.

Emily's back suddenly straightened up, and she sat quietly on the sofa for a long time. It was not until the attentive dance partner returned that she asked slightly arrogantly: "Is that young man your friend? ?”

"Friend?" Alexandre Dumas stroked his fake beard: "Our friendship is deeper than that. He can almost be regarded as my brother. We have done many things together through life and death."

Emily couldn't help but shuddered when she heard this.

Dumas continued, "He is a pretty good guy. Although he has some moral stains, he is generally a kind guy."

Emily interrupted and said, "Do you know my name?"

"Your name?" Dumas smiled and shook his head, "If I am honored to know your name..."

Emily changed her attitude and bowed to thank him, "You dance very well, but I want to know more about you."

"Me?" Dumas lied, "I am a playwright, but I have not been famous for several years, so I am planning to change my career. We are planning to set up a bank. OK, we need to invest 300,000 francs in the early stage. We have already raised some funds, and I am planning to get my brother involved, he is a rich man. "

"Rich man?" Emily realized something was wrong as soon as she said it, and then changed her words: "But I don't think that gentleman looks like a person who will concentrate on money."

"Why?" Dumas laughed and said: "Can you ladies tell from his eyebrows that he is in love?"

"You say he is in love?" Emily's face showed a look of desire to know more, and she didn't even notice that her hand was almost crushing the fan handle.

Dumas may be a little rough in other aspects, but he is as shrewd as an old fox in the forest in terms of feelings.

However, the fat man wanted to make the rich lady who looked down on him a little worried, so he pretended to know nothing and said, "Yes. Before he arrived in Paris, he wrote to me and told me that he fell madly in love with a very beautiful woman this summer. However, I didn't hear any news about his love after that.

Can you believe it? This poor child usually gets up at 5 o'clock every morning and runs to finish his official business quickly so that he can reach the country where his lover lives before 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In this way, he rode a lovely thoroughbred horse I gave him. Oh, sorry! I talk too much, miss, please forgive me, because I came back from Italy. We Italians always have the problem of not being able to stop chatting."