Rimbaud's girl

Dover docks.

At 9 a.m., Gabriel Oran arrived at the pier.The earliest ferry departs from Calais at 7:10, and you should be able to arrive at Dover after [-]:[-].

It was cold, and the sea breeze was blowing, making my face hurt.He was sitting in a rented carriage with a book in his hand, a box of chocolates on the seat beside the chocolates, a bunch of whites next to the chocolates, a smooth pink ribbon tied on the stem, and an elaborate bow.

He hadn't seen him for more than 3 months, he just felt how time passed so slowly!Why hasn't the ferry arrived yet?He looked at his pocket watch for 10 minutes, and he didn't even think about reading.

He missed the girl at the estate in the French country, her smile, her beautiful blue eyes, her innocent, open expression.He thought that when he saw her, he must hug her and kiss her first.It's so cold, is she freezing?It might not be warm enough in the cabin, but don't freeze her.

Being in love is beautiful, but being with her is even better.

He had been writing to Arthur Rimbaud for several months, trying to persuade him to apply to Oxford University, and if Arthur went to Oxford, he could take the opportunity to persuade Vitaly to go to Oxford as well.Arthur's academic level is not a problem for applying to Oxford University, and he will also ask his father to write a letter of recommendation for Arthur; as for tuition and living expenses, Arthur can live with him (so that if Vitaly comes, he will also be with him. They live together), saving a lot of rent; applying for scholarships to cover tuition fees, so that only 2 pounds are enough for Arthur to live.

Arthur was indeed moved by him. He also thought that he could be a French teacher in his spare time and earn dozens of pounds a year.His English has been learned very well, daily conversation is not a problem, and there will be no obstacles in a few months, and it will not be a problem to go out and find a job teaching French.

He learned from Arthur and Vitaly's letter that Mrs. Rimbaud would not refuse the decision made by the two brothers and sisters. Whether it was going to Dijon or Paris, Vitaly did not do it. He is very good at persuading his mother when things don't work; Arthur also listens to Vitaly very much, so the focus is on how he can persuade Vitaly.

He had already prepared a long speech to persuade Vitaly, and he was waiting for her to come.

The ferry docked slowly, and Rimbaud's mother and daughter were the first passengers to disembark.

"Gabriel!" Vitaly was busy looking for Gabriel among the waiting crowd. When she saw him, she couldn't help shouting his name excitedly and waving to him.

"Vitale!" Gabriel hurried towards her as soon as he saw her.

The two came together, but only smiled.

I haven't seen each other for more than 3 months. In fact, the two parties will not change much, but in the eyes of young men and women who have just started dating, they automatically put filters on each other.

Gabriel smiled foolishly for a while, then remembered that he was still holding Bai in his hand, and hurriedly handed it to her, "Here, for you."

"Thank you." Fresh food in winter is very expensive, and Dover probably can't buy it. It was brought from London. In order to prevent frostbite, a special incubator is needed.

It's nice to have money.

Madame Rimbaud went up to her daughter.

"This is my mother, Madame Rimbaud."

"Good morning, Mrs. Rimbaud."

"My sister, Isabel."

"Hello, Isabel."

"Mother, this is Gabriel, Oran."

"Hello, Mr. Oran."

"You can call me Gabriel."

Madame Rimbaud looked serious.

Gabriel was quite disturbed, not knowing what Mrs. Rimbaud meant. "Hurry up and get on the carriage, let's go to dinner first, and take the bus to London after lunch. I've already booked the ticket."

"Isn't it too early for lunch?" Vitaly asked.

"It's a little early." Gabriel reached out to hold her hand, "Look, your hands are cold. Don't you wear gloves? Why don't you put them on?"

"Oh, I forgot!" She hurriedly took out the gloves from her cross-body bag, Gabriel helped her put them on, and took the opportunity to touch her hand.

She smiled at him.

Mrs. Rimbaud noticed their small movements, but said nothing. "Thank you, Mr. Oran."

Dover to London train.

Gabriel booked a box, and the box was very warm. There was a cast iron radiator with coal in it by the wall. The train attendant specially said, please be careful that the radiator gets hot.Isabel was very interested in radiators, and clamored that she should buy some at home and put them in the bedroom so that it would not be too cold.

Rimbaud's house in Charleville is rented. It has no fireplace and relies on a stove for heating. You can also put a kettle on the stove so that you can have hot water at any time in winter, which is very cost-effective for ordinary families.Rich people live in better houses, with a fireplace in the living room and can afford radiators.The radiator is still a fashionable thing in Europe. It has just become popular. It is heated with charcoal or coal, and then slowly dissipates heat through the cast iron shell to achieve the effect of local heating.

Vitaly then told Isabel that she had bought two radiators for the redecoration of the Crosval Manor this time, one for Mr. Flaubert's bedroom and one for her bedroom.

Isabel looked at her sister pitifully, "I want one too." Who doesn't like the warmth in the room?

"Half of the winter is over, don't buy it now, wait until next year to buy one for you and your mother, and the price next year will be cheaper." Money, if you earn it, you have to spend it. Let's use it for 10 years, it is not expensive, and it can be regarded as a big piece of furniture in this era.

Then he asked Gabriel, "Do you also use radiators in your dormitory in Oxford?"

"Use it. It's also available at Arthur's." He said with a quick glance at Mrs. Rimbaud.

Mrs. Rimbaud frowned, and said a little bluntly, "Thank you for taking such good care of Arthur."

Gabriel had been holding Vitaly's hand ever since they got into the carriage.She thought that if she hadn't been there, this boy might have been hugging his daughter and not letting go!If Gabriel was twenty-seven years old, she would have called him too frivolous, but after all, this young master is younger than Arthur, maybe he just doesn't understand, doesn't understand that they shouldn't be so close.

Not to mention Vitaly, who was young and knew nothing, and Flaubert had never been married, so he certainly would not have taught her what these women should know.At this moment, she became deeply annoyed, blaming herself for not educating her daughter in time.

Fortunately, after a while, Vitaly finally realized why Mrs. Rimbaud was upset. She took her hand from Gabriel and played with it.She held the bouquet in her hand, and it was difficult for Gabriel to hold her hand again.

Gabriel didn't talk much to Mrs. Rimbaud or Isabel all the way, but to Vitaly.The two talked about their lives in London and Paris and what books they had read; she then asked him if he had met Arthur when he left London, and how Arthur's English was going.While talking, Vitaly was sleepy, it was too warm in the carriage, and she got up too early in the morning, she felt sleepy, and she fell asleep leaning on Gabriel's shoulder.

On the opposite seat, Isabel had already dozed off on Mrs. Rimbaud's shoulder.

Gabriel was also a little sleepy, but Mrs. Rimbaud kept watching him, and he couldn't fall asleep.

"Thank you for looking after Arthur," said Mrs Rimbaud dryly.Vitaly said that Master Oran's apartment is very high-end, and the rent is several hundred pounds a year. If they really have to pay the rent, their family can't afford it.

Arthur could live in a single room in a rented house for £30 a year—the kind that Vincent van Gogh lived in—but Mrs. Rimbaud was not willing to live in such a bad place for her precious son.But this apartment is because Vitaly is Master Oran's lover, so Oran is willing to let Arthur live in it for nothing. No matter how you look at it, it seems... not very good.Mrs Rimbaud hadn't dealt with this situation before and didn't know what to do.

Gabriel smiled humbly, "You are too polite, Mr. Rimbaud is a very nice person, and he is a friend worthy of association. It is a waste to keep the apartment empty. Between friends, doing this small favor is not worth mentioning."

Mrs. Rimbaud thought that although he was young, he was really good at talking, so she didn't mention Vitaly at all.As for whether his son will become friends with this rich young master...it must be because of Vitaly.

Arthur, this brat, was once disliked by everyone, very rebellious, cynical, rebellious and difficult to deal with, sometimes she couldn't do anything about him, but Vitaly had a way to degenerate this from a "good boy" to The brother of the "bad boy" broke back and was admitted to the University of Paris.

This good news made her straighten up in front of the parents of the students at Charleville College: It’s nothing for a boy to be rebellious, only a smart boy has the confidence to make a fuss, look!Admission to the University of Paris is just a matter of minutes!

For a family like the Rimbauds, being admitted to a good university is equivalent to having a good job after graduation. This is something she understands instinctively, so she is willing to save money on food and clothing (although it is not that tight in reality) and is willing to pay for him to finish his studies. University, after all, there are not many children from Charleville who are admitted to the University of Paris every year, let alone children from ordinary families like them.

It's not that she dislikes Gabriel, but she's just worried that he's young and will have a long-term future. If he can't marry Vitaly in the future, her good daughter will be very sad.A mother can't bear to see her child cry bitterly, but she doesn't know what to do.

Because she saw Gabriel as soon as she got off the ferry, Mrs. Rimbaud hadn't thought about it, and then she thought of asking: "Why did you come to Dover, but Arthur didn't come?"

In the evening, the train arrived in London.

The Oran family's carriage was waiting outside the station, and the group got into the carriage and went directly to Arthur's apartment.

Arthur had drawn a sketch of an apartment before and sent it home. The mother and daughter knew the general situation of the apartment, but they were shocked when they saw the real thing: a 4-story building with a foyer at the entrance. There is a doorman in the foyer, opening the door and saying hello attentively; the hydraulic elevator can take 6 people, and the speed is not fast, but in the eyes of Rimbaud and her daughter, it is already a very magical thing; the apartment of Olan’s family is on the 4th floor, and the elevator goes up to On the top floor, the elevator door opens, and there is a spacious living room.

bsp;leather sofa, walnut long table, alabaster fireplace, bright kerosene lamp, smooth walnut floor, Persian carpet, patterned wallpaper on the wall, landscape oil painting.The interior is stylish and has an 'I'm worth it' vibe.

But it's not tacky, it's quite harmonious.

Isabelle looked envious, "Oh—" This is a hundred times more beautiful than Charleville's dusty rental suite!No, a thousand times!She didn't know how much the upholstery and furniture were worth, and instinctively knew that "it's very beautiful and valuable."

Vitaly remained calm and put down the suitcase in her hand.

Mrs. Rimbaud couldn't wait to put down the suitcase and walked in, "Arthur, Arthur!"

A maid rushed out from the room at the end of the corridor, "Who?"

"Selena, it's me." Gabriel answered hastily.

"Master."

"Take Mrs. Rimbaud to see Master Rimbaud."

"Yes, master. Mrs. Rimbaud, Master Rimbaud lives in this room." Selena walked over quickly and opened a door.

Arthur was sick with a bad cold.

Mrs. Rimbaud refused to let her two daughters go to Arthur's room, and took care of her sick son herself.

The apartment is about 260 square meters, with a spacious living room; two large ones, one small and three bedrooms, a small maid's room, a study, a kitchen, two washrooms, and a small storage room opposite the maid's room.

Arthur had the small bedroom, Sisters Vitaly and Isabel the largest master bedroom, and Mrs. Rimbaud the large, slightly smaller bedroom.

Isabel quietly asked her sister, "Will you live here when you get married?"

"Who said I was going to marry him? Did mom ask you to ask?"

Isabel grinned, "Mom didn't say anything, but I think Gabriel is very kind to you, and he is willing to let Arthur live in such a nice house! Sigh! I also want to live in such a nice house."

Vitaly also felt that Gabriel was quite generous, "He's very nice, otherwise I wouldn't like him. Don't ask so many questions and go to sleep."

Isabel was so excited that she couldn't sleep, "Living in such a nice house, I can't bear to sleep. It would be nice if Gabriel became my brother-in-law. When you have a baby later, I can help you take care of the baby."

Vitaly felt that her sister was a little ghost who thought too much, "Who told you about having a baby? Do you know what giving birth is?"

"I understand, I understand! A woman and a man sleep on the same bed, and then a baby is born. A woman's belly will grow, and when it is too big, the baby will be born!"

Vitaly couldn't help but laugh, "You know what! I'm sleepy, stop talking."

"If you want me to say that Arthur lives in such a house, he is really a 'master'. Master Oran, master Rimbaud. Yes, master; yes, master." She imitated Selena.She doesn't know English, but the word "master" is so simple that she can understand it.

Vitaly was amused by her younger sister, "You little clever ghost." Hold her down and scratch her waist.

The sisters laughed and laughed in bed for a while, until Mrs. Rimbaud knocked on the door and told them to go to bed early.

Mrs Rimbaud stayed in the flat to look after Arthur, and it was Gabriel who took the sisters out to dinner in the evening.Mrs. Rimbaud was not there, so Gabriel seized the opportunity, held Vitaly's hand all the way, and even kissed Vitaly in front of Isabel in the carriage.Isabel, the little ghost, watched them kiss without blinking.

Vitaly asked Isabel to cover her eyes so that she would not be allowed to look; she covered her eyes with her hands pretending to be obedient, but she still secretly opened her fingers and peeked through them.

She's still young, so she can't tell what it's like.On the one hand, I feel that with Gabriel, my sister doesn’t like her the most; but Gabriel is so kind, he gave her chocolates, let her live in such a beautiful house, and promised to take her to buy beautiful dresses, and soon put She bought it.

In her heart, her elder sister is already very rich. Every time she goes home, she will give her pocket money and buy her new skirts, hats, and headbands. She is much more generous than her mother, but compared to Gabriel—it seems There is no comparison, this apartment must be very expensive, very expensive, so expensive that she dare not even think about how much this apartment is worth.

Of course she knew that a rich life would be good, such as being able to eat a lot of delicious food, never worrying about going hungry, and not having to do housework—and have a maid!Rimbaud's family has a maid in Charleville, but she only does some housework, such as washing clothes and cooking, and only comes for a few hours a day, and she is not as good-looking as Selena.Selena looks pretty good, although she is not as beautiful as Vitaly, but she doesn't need to be too beautiful as a maid.

She didn't want her sister to marry too early.There are many girls in Charleville who marry early. After marriage, the elder sister is no longer a Rimbaud girl, but someone else's wife. Think about it, if the elder sister changed her name to Madame Orland—for God's sake!She didn't want to accept it at all.

As for mom... Mom didn't tell her much about her sister and Gabriel. Mom was worried that the young master of the Oran family would abandon Vitaly in the future.well!Being in love looks beautiful, but there are other things in the middle that make it less beautiful.

The next morning, Madame Rimbaud woke her daughters up and told them to wash up and go to the dining room for breakfast.

The kitchen is quite "modern", with a dining room separated from the living room. The dining room is not too big, and there is a dining table for six people.The overall layout of the apartment is suitable for a small family of two to four people, which can be regarded as "compact".Gabriel said that this is only his single residence, and if he gets married in the future, his father will give him a separate small house.

This is the benefit of the only child, all the property is his.

In fact, Vitaly didn't think much about the family property he would get in the future. She liked this apartment very much, and thought it was not too big or too small, and it was very convenient to take care of it.

Gabriel laughed that she didn't understand, she didn't need to do housework, she probably liked the bigger the house, the better.

The two sisters got up in a daze and went to the bathroom to wash up.There is a bathroom with bathtub next to the master bedroom, another bathroom is opposite, and the second bedroom and the small bedroom are in between.

Vitaly took out her toothbrush and toothpaste, and brushed her teeth slowly with her eyes closed.

Why did Arthur only live in the smallest bedroom?It should be that he doesn't want to live in the master's bedroom.Maybe he also thought in his heart that she would live in the master bedroom with Gabriel in the future, and he, as an older brother, couldn't just live in their bedroom.

So far, she has nothing against Gabriel.Arthur was ill, so he went to Dover to pick up their mother and daughter by himself. He took good care of them all the way, and he was very good at doing things; he also made people feel comfortable talking, and Mrs. Rimbaud didn't have a bad impression of him, although he was He has always distrusted the rich young master, but he also agrees that there is nothing wrong with what Gabriel did.

For a 17 and a half-year-old boy, this is already very remarkable. When Arthur was 17 years old, he was far inferior to Gabriel's 17 years old.This is probably the difference between a boy from a very good family and a boy from an ordinary family.The Oran family has only one child, and the Oran couple must do their best to educate and train this heir, which is incomparable to Mrs. Rimbaud raising four children by herself.

Thinking about it makes me feel very sad.

Selina, the housemaid, mainly does housework, does laundry, mops the floor, and cleans up. She is not responsible for cooking, but Arthur has been ill for a few days, and she also cooks.If Gabriel lived here, he would have to have another maid, a kitchen maid.After Mrs. Rimbaud came, she cooked three meals a day by herself, and Gabriel delivered ingredients to the apartment every day.

They arrived yesterday afternoon. As of this morning, Mrs. Rimbaud cooked two meals, and she already felt that the life of the rich is really comfortable: the ingredients are very good, there are few vegetables because it is winter, but there is a lot of meat. Enough for a family of four and a maid to eat; there are not many fruits because there is no fruit in winter, but this morning I sent a pack of oranges, which were well stored, still full of water, and very sweet. I cut two oranges and shared them. 5 servings.

She originally wanted Selena to eat with them, but she also understood that rich people have different dignity, so don't embarrass their maids, Selena eats in the kitchen.

Arthur couldn't get out of bed with a fever, so it was ready and brought to his room on a tray and watched him eat.The daughters were not allowed into Arthur's room because they were afraid they might catch a cold too.Although there is no concept in this era that "a cold is a virus and viruses are contagious", it is already known that many diseases are transmitted through the air, and both coughs and colds are contagious through the air.Severe colds can kill people. In Mrs. Rimbaud's opinion, one should not be careless about a little cold, and it is always right to be cautious.

Vitaly and Isabel didn't see their brother, and they didn't care much. They were waiting for Gabriel to pick them up to play.

Mrs. Rimbaud asked Vitaly to speak alone: ​​"Take Isabel everywhere, be careful, if he takes you to a hotel or a hotel, or his other houses, you know what to do and what not to do. ?”

Vitaly looked at her mother in bewilderment.

Madame Rimbaud sighed to herself, and could only say, "You can't, you can't undress, understand?"

Now she understands, but it's not easy to directly say that she understands, so she continues to look at her mother in confusion.

At this time, Mrs. Rimbaud deeply regretted that she had not told her about the things between men and women. If she did not allow Vitaly and Gabriel to go out, maybe she would sneak out to meet him, and then she would have no way of knowing that they had gone. Where and what did you do.She told Arthur her worries last night, but Arthur advised her not to stop them from meeting and going out, not because he trusted Gabriel, but because he believed that Vitaly would not be so stupid.

The author has something to say: *The radiator is called "radiator" at this time. The people in our country are more familiar with the word "radiator", so they use the radiator uniformly.The earliest radiator should have been invented in the 50s, and then became popular in Europe. It was a bulky and fashionable luxury at that time.

*The elevator at this time is a hydraulic elevator with water, but it should be called a "hydraulic elevator". In 1853, the safety elevator was invented.

*Solid chocolate is already available.

* No "virus" has been found.