[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

The little questions raised by Elizabeth occupied the hearts of the girls. The more they couldn't get the reason, the more curious they became, and the more they wanted to get to the bottom of it.Taurus Academy is very strict with the newly admitted ladies. Apart from writing letters, the girls have no better source of news.

Fortunately, this matter is not a secret, and it has even spread in London, causing an uproar:

"...that is a famous Naples courtesan. The whole of Naples is fascinated by her. Some people even say that this 'Mrs. Lady' is the dream lover of the whole of Europe!"

"The famous Mrs. Hamilton?"

"Look, Laura dear, I knew you could guess!"

As the daughter of a rare noble family in the academy, Laura is very prestigious, and she always looks like a baroness outside, she is a cold and delicate beauty.Facing the flattery of the young lady next to him at this moment, his face was still indifferent.

"I've also heard of this lady's famous name, but what does it have to do with the Duchess?" Elizabeth asked after returning to their bedroom.The Countess is not as keen on competing for beauty as the idle ladies.Although Mrs. Hamilton was famous throughout Europe for her beauty and style in her early years, she couldn't seem to match Countess Anne.What's more, there are many courtesans in London, and Mrs. Hamilton is just one of them. According to the lady just now, she is a woman who has passed her prime and is older than Mrs. Bennet.

Elizabeth racked her brains, only remembering Mrs. Hamilton's famous name in the history books, and other details were like a missing piece of a puzzle that she couldn't recall.

As soon as the door was closed, Laura retracted her high chin, covered her mouth and screamed silently: "Dear Lizzie, do you know how beautiful Mrs. Hamilton is! Although people always slander and abuse her when they mention her, ask yourself, where is she?" Didn't the lady dream of being as beautiful as Emma Hart Hamilton? Just think, a blacksmith's and maid's daughter who rose to high society solely on the basis of her beauty, driving the kingdoms from England to Naples mad for her... She also contributed to our powerful Royal Navy during the French Revolution, making the royal family of Naples allied with Britain, so that the ports of Italy did not turn against France..."

"Dear Laura, I think you are too excited." Elizabeth held Laura helplessly, "We are not discussing this lady's beauty and love history."

Laura was stunned for a moment, then sighed suddenly, and said old-fashionedly: "Gentlemen chase beauties, but beauties fall in love with lonely heroes."

"so?"

Laura spread her palms, "No reason, it's our great one-eyed general Nelson who caused the trouble."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. General Nelson, one of the three most famous heroes in British history?The missing pieces were filled in an instant, and Elizabeth suddenly remembered that she had seen a movie about the love story between Admiral Nelson and Mrs. Hamilton, because of the equally magnificent Vivien Leigh.The movie is naturally lingering. The sacrifice of the admiral in the last battle marks a sad end to this ardent love like "the flames over England", leaving only conjectures and sighs.

"What is the relationship between General Nelson and the Duchess? As far as I know, the general was born as a commoner, and he gained his current status entirely by accumulating military exploits, while the Duchess was born to be prominent—one has been stationed overseas all the year round, and the other has lived in London for a long time. relation?"

"The general is indeed a commoner, but he has been knighted a few years ago, and he was once again made a viscount by the king for his victory over the French fleet in the port of Aboukir last year. London's social circle is only so big, and it is also a place where the eyes of the social scene gather. How could it be possible? I don't know each other." Laura said.

"As we all know, General Nelson and his wife have been married for many years and have no children. Mrs. Nelson is the widow of a doctor. Soon after she met the general, there was news of her marriage. Except for old Nelson, the outside world, including the general's relatives, are not likely to think highly of Mrs. Frances I hope that they can get a divorce, and the general can marry a real blue-blooded lady as his wife. The Stoke family is also anxious about the marriage of Lady Anne. Sir Trowbridge, General Nelson's best friend, intends to bring them together, because the two People don't give up on purpose. Even so, I heard that the Countess respects General Nelson very much, and the two have a very close personal relationship."

The more Laura talked, the more she became less interested. In the final analysis, this matter was someone who wanted to target Nelson, a naval officer, regardless of the Duchess or Mrs. Hamilton. It was just a means or an excuse for political opponents to attack the general.Today's king is different from his ancestors and heirs. He is a rare monarch in the Hanoverian dynasty who values ​​marriage and family. He has a deep relationship with the queen and has given birth to fifteen children together. There have never been scandals about mistresses and illegitimate children.Therefore, the king himself must be dissatisfied with the rumors of an extramarital affair, which even involved General Nelson of the Stoke family of the great aristocrat.

Elizabeth immediately understood: "General Nelson was born in an ordinary family, without family support, the more military exploits he made, the more the nobles in the army could not surpass him on the battlefield, the more they hated him."

"However, the Stoke family is a great nobleman with a strong foundation. If the general and the duchess can marry as their relatives and friends wish, it is estimated that there will be no such turmoil." Elizabeth put the teaspoon on the saucer and said lightly: "However, the two of you don't have such a will. Presumably General Nelson's political opponents are very happy. They not only want to use the scandal of extramarital affairs to lower the general's reputation, but also use this opportunity to completely destroy the possibility of future alliance between Nelson and the Stoke family."

Countess Anne admired General Nelson's talent and made friends with him. Seeing that he was entangled in scandal, she must be dissatisfied with Mrs. Hamilton who seduced him.Elizabeth faintly thought that the admiral in history broke with the Earl of St. Vincent and his friend Sir Trowbridge who admired him because the Admiralty arranged intensively for him to go to sea in order to separate him from Mrs. Hamilton.Then it is not surprising that he fell out with Lady Anne at the moment when he and the lady were in love.Not to mention that there are still so many hostile forces with malicious intentions around.I'm afraid that the Duchess will also become an unexplainable supporting role in this scandal, and even the reputation of the Stoke family will be damaged by it.

Laura lifted up the long skirt, walked around Elizabeth a few times, looked up and down for a while, and then said seriously: "Lizzie, to be honest, I sometimes feel that you really don't look like a girl who was born in a squire's family."

She didn't mean to belittle.In fact, among the daughters of squires that Laura met in the past, there were certainly some smart people among them, but Elizabeth was the only one with insight and transparency.Laura compares herself with herself, and feels that Elizabeth is no worse than herself—but what kind of education Laura has received since she was a child, before entering Taolis Academy, she followed the tradition and served and studied with the upper-class nobles.Her godmother, a venerable Viscountess, was not only Princess Sofia's etiquette teacher, but also full of life's wisdom.It is precisely because of her experience with her godmother that Laura would rather resist her mother's determination and come to Taoris College to study.

"Maybe, you should choose Lily or Daisy. You are very suitable." Laura thought about how to express, "Very suitable to be the mistress of a family."

Elizabeth shrugged: "I prefer to be my own master, if I can."

Regarding General Nelson and his famous mistress, the two ladies sighed for a while and then forgot about it, after all, they were too far away from their lives.

But no one expected that on Jehovah's birthday, the aftermath of this incident led to accidents suddenly befalling these little girls.

Christmas is coming in a blink of an eye, and the four-wheeled green horse-drawn carriages from Taolisi College dotted the streets of London.Especially near St. Paul's Cathedral, the well-dressed ladies stepped down gracefully from the carriage one by one, attracting the attention of countless London families who came to participate in the Light of Jesus ceremony.The girls lit white candles at the door of the church, solemnly held the candles in their hands, and listened to the bishop recite the Bible. Then, under the guidance of the priests, all the participants crossed their foreheads, lips, and chests in unison. Praise and celebrate Jesus for bringing light to the world.

Stepping out of the Baroque-style St. Paul's Cathedral, Elizabeth, who was still immersed in the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, suddenly felt something was wrong.Not only her, Daisy, the youngest among her friends, has already pulled Lily over: "It's strange that two nuns are leading Mrs. Purlan to preach. The priests are very busy today." But Mrs. Purlan is a pious She is an Anglican, and no one dares to disturb her listening to the voice of the Lord.

"Where are the escorting servants of the Stoke family? I counted a dozen or so less?" Elizabeth asked the coachman with a frown.

Tauris College can barely be regarded as Anne Stocker's property. On weekdays, the security of the college is guarded by the baroness's personal entourage. Occasionally, when there is a shortage of manpower in special circumstances, they are all well-trained servants of the Stoke family. on top of them.

The coachman of the college was a little embarrassed. When he saw the four girls in front of him, he insisted on asking the truth, so he had to tell them: "Someone deliberately made trouble while everyone was coming to the church. The guards might disturb the girls and the teachers. Please rest assured, ladies, there are only two or three people making trouble, and Scotland Yard will be there shortly."

Lily took a look, her voice was soft: "Can we take a look?"

She pointed to a piece of paper that was hidden behind the coachman.

The coachman hurriedly waved his hands, his dark face was filled with embarrassment.Elizabeth and the others became more and more puzzled. Daisy looked around and quickly reached out to pull out the paper. The coachman couldn't protect her and didn't dare to compete with the ladies, so she had to stand in front of them to block others' sight.

It was half of The Times, and it happened to write about the complex relationship between Nelson, Emma, ​​and Sir Hamilton, and also vaguely brought out information about Lady Anne. Wife develops caricature of extramarital affairs turning a blind eye.

This newspaper is an old newspaper from a week ago. The girls can read The Times in the college. The Countess did not hide this matter. This issue of the newspaper was ironed by the maids as usual and delivered to the girls. .What is unusual is that in the margins of the newspaper there are many obscenities written about the Duchess, and even directly insulting the Stoke family.

The four ladies glanced at each other, and a strange female teacher had already picked up her long skirt and trotted forward, and said sternly: "Ladies, you shouldn't look at this kind of thing! Get in the carriage, the carriage will start immediately, ladies!"

At this time, a manservant with the Stoke family crest on his chest came back twisting a small man. When the man saw the crest on the carriage of Taurice College, he immediately twisted and cursed loudly: "Nelson only cares about talking to that Hamilton's man." Gadgets messing around, disregarding military affairs, Congress should recall him, our great king will severely punish this bad guy who was seduced by women's rouge! But Anne Stoke loves Nelson, the Stoke family covers this bad guy, the king's navy Being swayed by a woman...Jehovah's birthday...the exalted Lord will not spare you Bitch!"

The female teacher's face was flushed, as if her good upbringing prevented her from speaking ill at each other, so she had to urge the girls to get on the bus and set off.

Seeing this chaotic situation, the girls who were originally puzzled became anxious, closed the glass door, lowered their heads and fiddled with the decorations on the shawl to hide their displeasure.

Elizabeth asked her, "Where are the others, I mean the other guards?"

The female teacher was very anxious, and hurriedly said: "My dear miss, of course they are going to chase other villains. Believe me, they will come back soon." So, more than ten male servants went to chase three people, But it was this single person who caught him?

Lily's eyes kept looking at the short man, even though the girl next to him deliberately turned her face away.

"Lizzie, look at that man's hands and his clothes." Lily whispered.

Elizabeth looked over intently. The man's hands were very rough, with cracks and cracks in the nails, even at the tiger's mouth. What was obvious was not a pair of hands holding pens and newspapers, but even the hands of Taoris's lowest kitchen maid. more decent than him.This man's sleeves were a bit shorter, and the fabric around the cuffs was a little darker in color, which was the reason for taking it—the cuffs were washed less often, so they looked newer.

"This is a child, at least a little younger than us, maybe about the same size as Daisy." Lily said, she moved her fingers lightly, and gestured for her height.

Elizabeth nodded, so although the man kept talking, he kept his head down.

"He's run out of words, isn't he?" Laura snorted coldly, "He's already repeating it a second time."

"Then, what is the purpose of finding such a person?" Elizabeth pulled the other three and slowly retreated behind the coachman. There was no doubt that the coachman was from the Taolisi College.Besides, he was tall, at least for the time being considered a refuge.

"Fortunately, it's very close to the church," said Daisy. "Ladies, throw away your shawls, pick up your skirts, and let's run to the church!"

Elizabeth saw that the lady teacher persuaded the other girls into their respective carriages and was walking this way, so she quickly said to the coachman: "Sir, please block the carriage and don't let the carriages behind pass through, please! I think the Countess and Madame Poulein will appreciate you!"

The coachman was at a loss, but subconsciously shook the reins, and the two old horses made a "beep", and the gorgeous four-wheeled carriage lay across the street.

"What are you doing!"

"Several beautiful ladies seem to be in trouble? Do you need our help?"

The voice of the female teacher and a deep and pleasant male voice sounded at the same time.