Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

Mary met only three servants on her first day at Leicester Castle, and visited a small part of the building, the downstairs halls, stairs and corridors.The earl remodeled the interior decoration of the castle, making it less gloomy and gloomy, which satisfied Mary very much, and then she was taken to the bedroom by the earl.In fact, she didn't pay attention to the layout of the bedroom, because as soon as he entered the bedroom, the earl showed more aggressiveness than the warlike ancestors he hung on the wall. Mary's only impression of the decoration in the bedroom was The deepest thing is that the bed is very big, very big, it seems that no matter how hard it is tossed, it will not fall to the ground.

Mr. Smith, the housekeeper, was so anxious to make a good impression on his fresh-baked hostess that he and Mrs. Ingle, the housekeeper, had painstakingly studied every detail, from introductions to dinner recipes, to be perfect, but their troubles were in vain.The count and countess did not come out of the room after entering the room, nor did they eat lunch or supper.

While Mr. Smith was sitting upright behind the table thinking about this serious question, Mrs. Ingle approached cautiously and asked, "So... don't they eat or drink?"

Mr. Smith replied without changing his expression: "I don't think so, I have already ordered Daisy to put soda water and a bottle of old Gewurztraminer in the room in advance." Mrs. Ingle had to admit that in the professional field of housekeeping, Smith The gentleman is indeed experienced and considerate.

The next day's breakfast was also saved. In order not to disturb the master, the housekeeper ordered even the routine cleaning work to be suspended, and the entire mansion was silent.Mary didn't wake up until near noon, she was woken up by hunger.Turning to look at her husband next to her, he was still soundly asleep, no wonder, because he basically drank the bottle of Gewürztraminer last night by himself.

She was really ashamed to call the servant to bring breakfast now, so she decided to go downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat.Mary's clothes had already been delivered a day in advance. The Earl had told her that he had ordered the housekeeper to prepare some daily clothes for her. Now Mary checked the closet and found that the clothes he had prepared in advance were indeed very plentiful.Considering both convenience and comfort, she chose a plain off-white linen skirt to wear. Of course, she knew that this so-called plain skirt was still expensive.

So Mrs. Ingle, the housekeeper who has always been proud of strict rules, saw from the window of her office on the morning of the second day of the master's wedding that the countess who had just taken office was wearing slippers and her hair was hanging down the stairs. .At that moment, she felt deeply worried about the future of Leicester Castle. Such a serious accident should have been reported to her supervisor, Mr. Smith, but considering the Countess's attire, she was determined to handle the matter herself.

Mary didn't realize that she had violated many of the castle's aristocratic rules of life, she went downstairs in a good mood, just in time to see the gardener coming in with a large bouquet of tulips, she knew this old man, so she was very happy He said happily: "Hello, Carl." The old gardener took off his hat respectfully and saluted her, and then said: "Hello, madam, I am here to deliver the bouquet for decorating the dining room." I thought it was very beautiful, so I said: "It's so beautiful, please put a bottle in the bedroom upstairs." Carl hesitated, scratched his head and said: "Of course, madam, but the count has never used it before. Flowers are allowed in the bedroom." Mary paused, then said, "Okay, that's not necessary." Carl bowed and sent flowers to the restaurant.

Mary's mood was not affected by this episode, because she knew that old Carl, and Mr. Davis often talked about all kinds of interesting things about him. She knew that he was a good man, but his character was too straightforward and simple.It's better to solve her stomach right now, she walked to the kitchen, it's not lunch time yet, there are only a few cooks and helpers in the kitchen packing vegetables and kneading dough.Mary went in abruptly, and everyone stood up to salute. Mary waved her hand indifferently and said, "Just do what you need to do. I'll get something to eat myself."

Saying so, she walked towards the light-seeming operating table. Mary is very proud of her cooking skills. Few of the upper-class ladies do a lot of housework like her and enjoy it. Now she starts to think about it. Whether to make David a caviar sandwich or bake a cranberry soufflé.

The foreman among the cooks followed behind her uneasily and muttered: "Ma'am, let me cook what you want." But Mary was looking at the well-equipped kitchen utensils and the assortment of ingredients in the kitchen with great interest. Such a kitchen is really a pleasant thing, so I didn't care about the cook's embarrassment.

Just when she had made up her mind to make a soufflé, and had taken the flour scoop, Mrs. Ingle appeared.With a respectful yet obviously offended look, the housekeeper resolutely invited the young countess out of the kitchen. Mrs. Ingle told Mary in an unquestionable manner that the kitchen is definitely not a place where a lady of status should be. For those who set foot in, no matter what she wants to eat, or when she wants to eat, there will be people serving in the kitchen 24 hours a day, as long as she sends her personal maid down to say something, it will be delivered to her bedroom or dining room properly, Or any innocuous dining place.

Realizing that she might have trespassed on Mrs. Ingle's territory, Mary could not help being amused to see the housekeeper's cat-like expression protecting her territory, so close to showing her paws.She told Mrs. Ingle kindly that she would like to eat a soufflé, and she would also send one to the earl, and then she sat down in the magnificent dining room. Dining alone at a large table of twelve is not a pleasant thing, let alone next to a stately man with a white napkin on his arm and a silver plate, who can only say elegantly and implicitly "Yes, Mrs.' old housekeeper.And that's not to mention the whole set of cutlery and silverware that was laid out for her to eat that soufflé.

Mary sighed in her heart while eating her souffle carelessly. This is the difference between a wealthy family and a country gentleman. When she was in Longbourne, she often needed to help the housekeeper with some kitchen work, and Howard Endor was once a servant However, she did remember that in Pemberley Manor, Elizabeth never seemed to have entered the kitchen. Even if she needed to finalize the menu for dinner, she always summoned the housekeeper's wife to her lounge to order.But this is my own home. If the hostess has never set foot in her kitchen, is it a joke to say it?

In the face of Mrs. Ingle's face of "please don't do it again, ma'am" and the deep agreement expressed by Mr. Smith's silence, Mary rang the bell and called her personal maid knowingly, and she ordered: "Daddy Xi, go to the kitchen to get a souffle and a pot of mocha coffee, and go upstairs with me."

The butlers let out a sigh of relief—it seems that the hostess is not completely unreliable.Daisy followed Mary upstairs with a silver tray in her hands and feet. In fact, in Mary's opinion, there was no need to go through so much trouble, she could bring the tray up by herself, but in that case, I don't know Mrs. Ingle And what kind of heartache will be with Mr. Smith, Mary has always tried not to embarrass others as much as possible.

At the bedroom door, Mary took the tray and said with a smile, "Thank you, Daisy." Daisy curtseyed and stepped back.Mary walked in with the tray, and saw the count just waking up. He stretched lazily with his bare upper body, and stretched out his hand to Mary: "Honey, come quickly, I'm starving."

He was really hungry, but he ate more than soufflé, and when he was full Mary had to change into another dress.The count leaned against the bed, drank coffee, and watched Mary dress up, feeling pleasing to the eye.This time Mary chose a dress of Indian chiffon, and put on formal satin shoes on her feet. Then she straightened her hair in front of the mirror, unconsciously remembering what happened just now.The earl is such a perceptive person, he guessed from the clues that something that made Mary feel unhappy must have happened: "What's the matter, dear? Did something make you unhappy just now?"

Mary hesitated for a moment, but she thought that husband and wife should trust each other, and there was no need to hide anything from him.Then she smiled lightly and said, "It's nothing, it's just that I haven't fully understood your habits and the rules of the castle." She first told her about Carl's telling her that flowers were never placed in the bedroom, but she said it lightly The count was already angry, and Mary found that when he was angry, he didn't speak harshly, but his voice became deeper and deeper, which was a bit frightening to watch, so Mary didn't mention what happened in the kitchen afterwards.

The earl quickly put on his shirt, and then rang the bell to call the housekeeper. Mr. Smith came, and the earl ordered coldly: "Smith, gather all the servants in the hall." Mr. Smith hesitated even for a second. She turned her head to carry it out, and Mary had some bad premonitions. She frowned and said, "Oh, David, I don't want to make a fuss about a vase of flowers." The earl chuckled lightly, and said: "Don't worry, honey, you don't have to say anything, I'll take care of it, I just want you to be able to do whatever you want in your own home." He kissed Mary's earlobe lightly, at this time the butler came to report that all the servants had gathered, The count took Mary on his arm and went downstairs.