Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

The entrance hall was densely packed with servants, but Mary just glanced at it and found that even among the servants there were different levels of dignity. For example, the front seat was always reserved for Mr. Smith, the housekeeper. Opposite him was Mrs. Ingle, followed by Mrs. The earl's valet, the countess's valet, the head of the parlour, the head of the kitchen...

Seeing the master and his wife coming downstairs, the servants bowed one after another, curtseyed and curtseyed, one after another, but it was also patchy.Mary thought to herself, maybe some people like servants asking for trouble in groups, just to satisfy their vanity at such moments.Thinking of this, she pursed her lips and smiled.

Mr. Smith took a step forward and said, "Count, everyone is here." The Earl nodded slightly and said, "I've been very busy these days. I thought everyone knew what I was up to, but this morning I just I realized that I forgot to inform you of a very important thing - I am married. Now I will introduce you officially: Countess of Leicester, your mistress."

The servants froze for a few seconds, then bowed and curtseyed again, and there was a buzz of congratulations.Mary glanced at the count complainingly: Is it necessary to make such a serious matter?What an embarrassment!The count gently squeezed her palm to comfort her.

Everyone obviously heard dissatisfaction from the earl's words, and everyone was silent and waiting for the master to speak.The count began to slowly introduce the servants to Mary one by one.Mary is not used to such occasions, especially not used to dominating others. She thinks that the Earl is obviously bullying people now, and every servant introduced by him will tremble subconsciously, for fear that something he did not considerate will make the master Angry, so Mary tried her best to dispel their doubts with a warm smile.

After such a round, it came to the gardener old Carl, poor old Carl, he didn't realize that such a big formation today was specially arranged for him.Seeing the sincere smile on Old Carl's face, Mary suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt. She really wanted to drag the Earl back upstairs, but the Earl had already begun to introduce: "This is Mr. Karl—the head gardener. , Karl, how many years have you served in Leicester Castle?"

Old Karl replied with a smile: "35 years, count. Since I was 15 years old, I have worked in the garden of the castle and have served three generations of counts."

The count nodded indifferently, and said, "Very well, you've been fired." Perhaps a thunderbolt from the blue would not have shocked Old Karl so much. Oh, David..." But the Count squeezed her palm again, and she had to shut her mouth.

When old Karl finally asked "why", the count explained to him in detail: "The countess asked you to send a vase of flowers to the bedroom this morning, didn't you? You used flowers that I never put in the bedroom. The reason for putting flowers was rejected. Karl, your mistake is that you still only regard me as the owner of this place, while ignoring that I am married and the countess has the same rights as me, or has priority over me. Right. If she asks for flowers to be placed in the bedroom, she must put them. If I don't like it, I will mention it to my wife myself, and there is no need for a servant to tell her."

Now that everyone understands the reason why Karl was fired, Earl Leicester turned to the butler and said, "Mr. Smith, give him Karl's annuity, and pay him three more months' wages." The butler bowed respectfully and nodded in response. yes.

Then the count turned to the crowd and said: "Others should also be warned, I don't want to hear the words 'what are the rules in the castle' again, the wish of the Countess of Leicester is the biggest rule, understand Have you?" This time the answer was loud and tidy, and the count finally nodded in satisfaction, and then took Mary's hand again and went upstairs.

As soon as she got back to the room, Mary hurriedly asked, "David, you really want to fire Karl, don't you? Please don't do that." The count smiled slyly and said, "Of course not, my dear, tomorrow morning, the butler will Will bring Karl to make amends to you, of course you will forgive him magnanimously, and of course I will obey Madam’s opinion, so everyone will praise Madam’s tolerance, old Karl will stay, and others have learned their lesson—— It's just a trick to control a servant."

Mary smiled relievedly, and said: "Oh, but you really startled me just now. It's quite a skill to manage such a large manor and so many servants, but I don't think I will ever be as good as Elizabeth. A competent hostess." The count lightly held her waist and said, "Honey, I didn't marry you to marry a housekeeper, if that were the case, maybe Mrs. Ingle would be more competent." Mary pouted Laughing, the Earl also said with a smile, "It's actually not difficult to be a competent hostess. As long as you have a competent housekeeper, you don't have to worry about anything. Mr. Smith and Mrs. Ingle are very capable. I think what happened today It is also a knock on them, they will know the time."

Mary asked: "What if they don't have this self-awareness?" The earl had already turned his attention to studying her sash, and he said out of breath: "Then change to a self-conscious one." Mary admitted that this is indeed an easy way good idea.

Obviously, the experienced Mrs. Ingle also quickly realized this good way to save trouble, so before Mr. Smith came to ask Mary to intercede for the old Karl, she was the first to express her sincere apology to Mary. She explained her fault like this : "You know, ma'am, it is my duty to emphasize the need to obey the rules among the servants, but now I will immediately make them obey the new rules." Now she did not have that arrogant attitude, on the contrary Behaving very tamely, Mary noticed the nuances, nodded in agreement, and said, "Of course, Mrs. Ingle, there are no rules, it's not a circle."

Mrs. Ingle went out, and Mr. Smith came one after another. The old Carl's matter was resolved smoothly. Mary also found that becoming a countess was not as difficult as she had imagined. The main reason is that the two housekeepers are very competent. All household chores were well managed, and Mary's small suggestions for improvement were carried out quickly and in place.Mary likes to go to the library to read in her dressing gown, and she has never encountered any embarrassing incidents of being bumped into by the servants. This cannot but be attributed to Mrs. She cut down the dishes served on the table, because she felt that it was too exaggerated for two people to eat more than [-] dishes. This is not a matter of extravagance or saving, but mainly because it is unnecessary. implement.

But Mrs. Ingle still couldn't hide the sadness in her heart: who would have imagined that there would be only one soup, one appetizer, two main courses and one dessert on the table in Leicester Castle one day.Although she usually has a faint sense of competition with the housekeeper, Mr. Smith, at this time, she can't help complaining quietly when there are only the two of them: "Oh, Madam told me today that the afternoon tea only needs to be served with two small sandwiches. It's hard for me to imagine that the afternoon tea served in the kitchen under my supervision should be poorer than the one served in the inn in the town..."

Mr. Smith was reading the newspaper, and he said without raising his head: "Ms. Ingle, as a senior and qualified housekeeper, one of the professional ethics you should keep in mind is: the master is always right. If you deny this At one point, you are denying your own value--the lady only wants two small sandwiches for afternoon tea, of course you must do so, but if the afternoon tea in Leicester Castle is worse than the inn in the town, it is you dereliction of duty."

Mrs. Ingle was really enlightened. After expressing her sincere admiration and gratitude with reverent eyes, she immediately went to the kitchen to discuss with the supervisor about the wife's afternoon tea.The next afternoon, when Mary and the Earl were sitting in the gazebo in the garden drinking afternoon tea, what the maid brought was indeed only a pot of coffee and two small sandwiches, but these might be the most expensive sandwiches in the world.The bread slices are fermented with special yeast, golden and crispy, with cheddar cheese from Italy, Iberia ham from Spain, Bles chicken from Hungary, white mushrooms from Japan, Quail eggs and tomatoes from Switzerland... The salt used is not ordinary sea salt, but salt from the Murray River in Australia. Even if only a few drops of salad oil are used, it is all walnut oil from Australia, and sandwiches There are a few beautiful sturgeon roes dotted on it, which are imported from Russia, and a layer of gold powder is sprinkled on the top...

Mrs. Ingle was waiting at the end of the garden path with secret expectations. As soon as the maid came down with the tray, the housekeeper stopped her and asked, "Did Madam say anything?" The maid replied ignorantly, "Madam said it tastes good... He also said that the gold powder on it is unnecessary." Mrs. Ingle nodded, turned around and walked away with triumphant strides.

All in all, Mary’s newlywed life in Leicester Castle was pleasant, especially after exploring the castle’s library and underground stacks, she was even more satisfied and even pleasantly surprised.Most of the servants are also very satisfied with this informal mistress, because she is indeed elegant, with few demands and gentle temperament, not as difficult to serve as the count, and even the count has become easy-going under the influence of his wife a lot.

There are only two senior butlers who are quite disappointed. Shouldn't the Countess exist to find fault all day long and constantly challenge the ability and patience of the butler?Now, once he enters the library, he doesn't come out for half a day. He can arrange any flowers, serve any dishes, and find any tailor. Isn't it too difficult?