Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

After meeting little Mr. Austin, Mary's mood has been a little gloomy. It was not because she accidentally glimpsed Georgiana's extraordinary infatuation with her husband. Only sympathy.What she feels sad is not only for herself, but also the fear of the impermanence of fate and the hazy sadness of the elusive future.

When she watched the back of little Mr. Austin on a lonely journey that day, she admired this unfortunate young man in her heart. After all, he chose to be steadfast in the face of love. He is a brave man, braver than Mary, and stronger than Mary. Georgiana was also brave.He has chosen a difficult path, but it will be a lot less tormenting to his soul than the smooth one, after all, under the Indonesian sun, he can think of Georgiana freely, and if Georgiana herself I don't know, then even she can't object.To a certain extent, he made such a choice but got a perfect love.

Mary was given a headache by her own strange thoughts. That night, when the Earl of Leicester came back, Mary leaned against the window and meditated alone. It was drizzling outside the window. She poured herself a glass of Barolo red wine, mellow and long The aroma of the wine calmed her depressed mood, she simply opened the window, and let the cool night wind blow through her hair, she felt faintly drunk, raised her glass and was about to drink it all down, when a stalk stretched out behind her Holding the wine glass with his hand, the Earl rubbed against her earlobe in a deep voice, and said, "This wine is very strong, be careful not to get drunk."

Mary turned her head and saw the Earl's star-like glasses shining in the night, she couldn't help feeling attached, put down the wine glass obediently, leaned on Lester's chest, closed her eyes, and listened to him quietly. With a calm heartbeat, I said: "I will be more attentive to you in the future, because all my happiness and well-being depend on your love."

The Earl of Leicester didn't speak for a while. He kissed his wife's hair lightly. After a long time, he made a decision: "We will go back to England next week."

Mary raised her head in surprise: "Really? That's great..." She turned and hesitated, "Is it because Napoleon's army is approaching Rome?"

Lester smiled and said, "No, it's because you're homesick."

Mary is indeed homesick. No matter how bizarre the landscape and humanities outside are, it can't compare to the peaceful dawn and the fields under the brilliant sunset in Emerald Valley. Since the date of return was confirmed, her heart has been jumping for joy, and the haze of the past has been swept away. And empty.

In the remaining few days, Mary is very busy. She will bid farewell to the Princess of Wales, and she will also find time to go to the shopping street in the center of Florence to purchase gifts for relatives and friends. This is a pleasant and exciting event. Things, especially when her wallet is full.

The Princess of Wales easily agreed to Mary's request, and she was not unhappy. In fact, as long as the Earl can guarantee her expenses in the Pitti Palace, she does not need the Countess's service, because now she has several Close boyfriends, so someone too close to the British court becomes an eyesore.

Then Mary took her personal maid Daisy to the streets of Florence, especially those high-end women's clothing stores, hat shops and jewelry stores. This afternoon, when she arrived at the Damiani jewelry store near the Town Hall Square , She ordered a few items in this jewelry store. The jewelry design style of this store is undoubtedly a continuation of the Italian romantic and aristocratic tradition: the surface is ordinary, and only by careful observation can you realize the unique taste.

The first thing the shopkeeper brought out was a sugar bowl made of shells: on a simple silver stand was a huge nautilus shell that was polished to a metallic luster, the spoon was carved from mother-of-pearl, and the pure white luster of the shell The cold and hard material of metal makes this ordinary sugar bowl a work of art, and Mary wants to give this sugar bowl to her mother, Mrs. Bennet, so that when she drinks tea with her neighbor, Mrs. Lucas, It's time to display this refreshing piece and take the opportunity to show off to your daughters and sons-in-law.

The gift Mary gave to her sisters was earrings with a very oriental charm made of diamonds and silk, while what she gave to Anne was a beautifully designed crocodile leather belt. The belt buckle was a small silver plate. Three smoky-quartz emerald clasps snapped on, so novel and novel that Mary expected her friend to like them.

She admired the items she ordered, praised the ingenuity of the shopkeeper, and then paid the bill as promised. When she was about to leave, she suddenly saw a piece of jewelry in the window-a lily inlaid with a pear-shaped yellow diamond. This is a platinum brooch in the shape of an object that she is very familiar with because it is associated with a painful past, and as far as she knows, this brooch should never appear here anyway.

Seeing that she had been staring at the jewelry, the shop owner hastily and courteously took out the lily brooch from the window: "You have great taste, Countess, this is a consignment item from a distinguished customer. Please look at this yellow diamond, there is no flaw at all, I have been in the industry for so many years, and this is the first time I have encountered such a perfect material and such exquisite craftsmanship..."

Mary asked, "A distinguished customer?"

The owner smiled and said, "You know, ma'am, the French Revolution caused many nobles to lose their original status and wealth. Many of them used to be the customers of the small shop, but now they can only live on pawns. Please forgive me." I can't disclose the name of the seller, after all, it's not a glorious thing to fall into the family..."

Mary interrupted him: "Needless to say, I know." She asked the price, and the price was much lower than she expected. Maybe the princess is really in a hurry to spend the money, after all, even the current price is not an ordinary purchase price. If the family can afford it, Mary asked the shopkeeper to wrap up the brooch and wrote him a check that made him smile, but Mary attached a condition-not to disclose her name and identity to the seller.Now she has forgiven Miss Cynthia, because she has heard about the execution of Cynthia's father, the old Duke, by Napoleon, and she doesn't want to add insult to injury.

After the carriage with the Earl of Leicester's coat of arms drove away, a Lisbon priest dressed in black came out from the shop next door, and he asked the shopkeeper expressionlessly: "Did she ask you about the origin of this brooch? "

The terrified shopkeeper replied mutteringly: "No, my lord, the lady only said that she knew about it, so she paid for the brooch, and she didn't even return the price. She just asked not to let the seller know her identity and name."

Pastor Lisbon sighed: This woman is the only person he has seen in this life who can maintain a pure heart. No matter how many deceptions and extravagant temptations she has experienced, she is still the original simple and kind woman... However, such a woman He even took it away!His hands that were tucked into the sleeves of the black robe were convulsed and clenched, and there was a hint of savagery in his resolute eyes out of thin air.

On the way Mary and their carriage left Florence to the port of Marseilles, they encountered Napoleon's soldiers everywhere. Napoleon had conquered Rome with overwhelming force, and now he was crowned by the Pope and became the king of Italy. Mary was worried that the journey would be full of dangers. What I thought of was that the Earl of Leicester actually had a close personal relationship with Napoleon's step-son Eugene, and because Napoleon had no energy to rule Italy, he had promoted Eugene to be the governor of Italy to govern Italy instead of him, so Lester held Eugene's step-son in his hand. The note written in his own hand reached Marseilles without hindrance. Before Napoleon got the news and sent his own soldiers to arrest him, they had already set sail and returned to England.

Mary was still a little worried about the safety of the Princess of Wales, and she was especially worried that Napoleon would take the Princess hostage and bargain with Britain.But after hearing her worry, Lester laughed and said, "Honey, the princess is much safer in Italy than in the UK. You know, she is like a hot potato now, and the British royal family, especially the crown prince, hates it." Napoleon would take her life, that would solve a lot of their troubles, and as for the hostages, do you think the crown prince would pay a penny for his wife? On the contrary, Napoleon had to treat her with courtesy and respect Show respect for the noble blood, and I will save money in this way, and now Ou Ren will pay the living expenses of the princess..."

As for the Lisbon priest, Mary did not mention it to the count, and the earl certainly never mentioned him, but Mary knew that the Lisbon priest would never be in any danger.The trip to Italy made her get to know Lisbon again. She keenly realized that he was behind all the people and things she encountered. Hatred towards him, maybe because she sensed his affection behind the conspiracy, maybe because she knew that he would not really hurt her after all, Mary herself couldn't explain why she was so obsessed, so she could only put these chaotic things together. Thoughts buried deep in my heart.

Returning to England again, among her family and friends, Mary's heart settled down. She made short stays in Longbourne and Emerald Valley, and then the couple returned to Leicester Castle together. Because the season of grape harvest is coming.They invited all their relatives and friends, including Miss Darcy, of course.

Georgiana seemed to have recovered from the shock of the dissolution of the engagement. Although she was still not very talkative, there was a cheerful element in her expression and manner, which pleased Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Elizabeth told Mary that she hoped Georgiana was a frequent participant in such social events.However, seeing this friend of hers again now, Mary couldn't help but feel a little strange in her heart—the priest of Lisbon still planted a thorn in her heart unconsciously.