Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

After Kitty got used to her married life and felt at ease with every parting with her husband, Mary left the Emerald Valley Manor and embarked on the long-planned trip to Europe with the Earl of Leicester. The situation was unstable, but it did not affect their itinerary.This time Mary went to visit Austria, Germany and Hungary. After seeing countless castles, villages and ancient towns, they came to Italy.

Before marriage, Mary and Anne lived in Tuscany for a short time, and she yearned for the nearby Florence even more. Therefore, when she planned to stop for a few days to relieve the fatigue of the long-distance travel, she first thought of de Bourgh's family villa, but the count told her that although he respected Mrs. de Bourg's relative, the Earl of Leicester would not be reduced to renting a relative's house when he went to any corner of the world. the point.

For his stubbornness and pride, Mary only felt amused. She reminded him that they were only staying for a few days, and now they were going to buy a new house. What about time?However, Earl Leicester only said one sentence firmly: "Let Smith do it."

As a housekeeper, Mr. Smith is too incompetent, the earl only gave him three days, and when Mary and the others arrived in Florence, there was already a beautiful villa with an independent garden waiting there , dark green shutters and dark red roof, with typical Italian features, but as if they have owned this small villa for 100 years, from the tall laurel tree at the door to the blooming iris in the flower bed, from the courtyard The small cobblestone-paved path in the house, and the pattern of the Persian carpet in the foyer are all in line with Mary's preferences, not to mention the layout and furnishings of the room, God knows how Mr. Smith did it.

But the courteous butler looked calm, but when he greeted the master at the door to get off the carriage, he glanced at the earl with some concern, after the earl looked at the surrounding environment and nodded slightly to him, He retreated satisfied as if he had received a reward from the king.

In fact, Mr. Smith is fully capable of buying the Pitti Palace. It was originally owned by the famous Italian Medici family, but now it is naturally dissipated. Coupled with the frequent civil strife in Italy, Napoleon is eyeing the periphery. The current owner has no financial conditions at all. To maintain such a huge palace expenses, is looking forward to the shot.But Mary didn't like palaces any more than she liked Leicester Castle. She liked domestic style, especially not having too many servants, so Mr. Smith had to make concessions and sacrifice ostentation to the mistress' preferences.

However, within the scope of possible duties, he still invited the most outstanding cook in Italy to the villa, who is famous for cooking T-bone steak and bread soup. These two dishes are relatively homely, and they can be given The amazing taste is covered with a veil of simplicity. Mr. Smith hopes that Mary's culinary heart will not poison the Earl's stomach of refined food.

Sure enough, Mary didn't notice that the fat Italian cook was a skilled celebrity chef, she just admired the crispy feta cheese crepes and seafood bread bisque for dinner that day, and was in the kitchen the next day Learn to make Italian dessert - Tiramisu with this good-natured chef who always smiles.

No matter what food Mary brought, the earl always appreciated it very much, so Mary became more and more confident in her cooking skills. She even declared that she could be a qualified housewife here without any servants. Kissed her ear, leaving a trace of sweetness, and said: "Of course, my dear."

As expected, there are very few servants in the small villa. Mr. Smith, the butler, fully embodies the principle of "a good servant is to make the master not feel his existence". Every day, someone cleans up when Mary and the earl go out for a walk, and there are people on time every day. Fresh vegetables, fruits and delicacies were brought, but apart from the cook, Mary did not see the second servant, and even Mr. Smith himself only showed up when he arrived on the first day.

Evidently this had been arranged at the earl's behest, so that Mary could do the chores as she pleased, without being bored.Every day they walk together, ride horses, read books, paint, enjoy music, or go sightseeing in the city. They learn all kinds of skills she is interested in. Now there is no boring comparison with her sisters. Instead, she can appreciate the fun of music and painting, and her appreciation has also improved.

On many spring evenings, the count would arrange for the young coachman to take the cook home for the night, so only Mary and the count were left in the small villa.On nights like this, after enjoying a good and simple supper, there will be many sideshows. Mary never imagined that married life can be so rich and colorful. Her own parents are not a good example in this regard, and her sister They also seem to follow the rules. Maybe Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy will also be interested in playing tricks, but they must not have the opportunity to turn the whole house into a bedroom. Although Pemberley is bigger than here, it certainly does not have such freedom. .

After many spells of obsession, Mary would often be so dazed that she could not tell whether it was day or night, and fell asleep in the count's arms, who seemed to have unlimited energy in this regard.For Mary, she was developed not only physically, but more importantly, her spirit. It seemed that a layer of taboo barriers that she had never thought of touching had been uncovered, and it seemed that a new barrier had been opened in front of her. A world never seen before.

One morning, Mary was so insanely teased by the Earl's outburst of passion that they lay down on the wide window sill of the bedroom and looked at the field in the mist.At the dawn of dawn, the earth seemed to wake up gradually from the chaos. The dense fog gradually dissipated, like a veil slowly fading away. The nearby vegetation became clear, and the verdant shrubs and woods stood out, verdant green. There was the faint sound of cowbells, and Mary was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery. She sighed softly and said, "This place is so beautiful that I can't describe it in words. No wonder the ancient philosophers said that Italy is a place where angels dare not set foot. .”

The count chuckled and said, "Do you still remember the next sentence—the stupid people broke in, did you mean the two of us?" While they were chatting and laughing like this, they suddenly appeared in the scattered mist There was a figure.He came out of the mist, looking like a ghost, dressed in black, with a handsome face like a saint, his eyes shining in the morning mist, with a soul-stirring beauty, but also very frightening—he was Like an angel stepped out of hell.

The count froze, and he cursed softly: "Damn it, he really lingers." He put on his dressing gown hastily, tied his belt, and pushed open the bedroom door leading to the terrace and went out.The man approached, he raised his perfectly shaped head, showing his white teeth, he was smiling at Mary, but there was an inexplicable sadness in that smile, and Mary recognized that man was the pastor of Lisbon whom he had not seen for a long time .

She let out a soft cry, and after realizing that her clothes were disheveled and her hair was loose and uncombed, she hurried back into the room.The earl said in a lazy voice on the terrace: "It's a rare visitor, Mr. Lisbon. I don't know if you are here, what's your business?"

The voice of the Lisbon priest downstairs was as cold and mellow as before: "Earl Leicester, please forgive me for disturbing me. I am here on a mission."

The Earl asked sarcastically, "Is it the King's mission, or the Prince of Wales's?"

The priest of Lisbon paused for a moment, then replied sternly: "Isn't the king and the crown prince two in one? I serve the royal family, which is no different from your conviction, Earl."

Even if Mary didn't see it, she could still imagine the ironic smile on the earl's lips, and he said tactfully: "It's really touching loyalty—you used this kind of loyalty to find a bride for the Crown Prince, right? Well, now that the crown prince can't stand his wife anymore, you naturally have to find a place for her to stay."

All the while he was talking condescendingly to the Reverend Lisbon, without making the slightest attempt to invite him into the room.The slight was perhaps extremely disrespectful, but given his already disastrous relationship with Mr. Lisbon, it was hardly surprising.Sure enough, the Lisbon priest gave full play to the endurance of the clergy, and did not complain about the cold treatment he received. He just said humbly: "You know, no matter how the relationship between the princess and the crown prince suffers, she gave birth to the royal family after all. The only heir-Princess Charlotte. I am only responsible for delivering news for the Princess of Wales. The Princess admires the scenery of Tuscany very much and hopes to recuperate here and recover from the pain she suffered due to childbirth.”

He paused for a moment, but the earl's attitude seemed arrogant, and he didn't seem to want to continue, so Mr. Lisbon restrained himself and asked, "I have a letter from the king. Does the earl not want to invite me into the house?"

The count replied slowly: "Please forgive me, Mr. Lisbon, this is my private house, and my wife and I are on our honeymoon. You know, people who are in love don't want to be disturbed. So, please go back to Go to your inn, I will visit in person and accept any orders from His Majesty the King."

Mr. Lisbon's voice finally showed a bit of irrepressible anger: "Honeymoon? I remember you have been married for more than a year, right?"

But the count said in a cynical tone: "But I feel like it was yesterday, maybe I have been on a honeymoon all my life-I think a bachelor like Mr. Lisbon can't understand this."

Mr. Lisbon left angrily, and the earl returned to the room. Mary asked with some concern: "Is it really appropriate for you to provoke him like this?"

The count took off his dressing gown with a smile, and replied, "Do you think he will treat me high if I don't tease him? It's better to ignite his anger, because anger will burn reason and make people commit crimes that shouldn't be committed." My mistake..." He didn't say any more, because now he had more important things to do.