man, he looks ugly

After meeting Eric on the roof, I felt less resentment toward him. At least after talking face-to-face, I found that he was not paranoid or unreasonable, but just awkward.

This optimistic discovery made my mood gradually improve, just like the sky outside after a shower, the sky is clear, large white sponge clouds are floating, and the chocolate candies in the candy box are obviously consumed faster than other kinds of candies.

I lay on the window sill with my chin propped up, humming an out-of-key song, and waited for the white dove to descend from the sky.

Eric didn't tell me how to find him, but gave me a white pigeon as a messenger to communicate with each other.

Talk about the weather, about the singing style of the leading actors in the theater, about the bad bacon at lunch, or the fashionable dress and blouse styles in Paris.

Letters are indeed a good way for one person to know another person. An incredible discovery. Eric's knowledge reserve is amazing. The repertoire is filled with new words, most of which are often improvised.

The wooden door was pushed open suddenly, and Christine ran in, her face flushed red.

"Meg, bad news, Mrs. Olan is leaving Paris." Christine rushed forward to hold my hand, dangling anxiously in the air.

"What? Really? How could it be so sudden?" I looked at her in astonishment.

"She was invited by an Italian master and is about to set off to perform in Italy."

"What about the theater? What about the theater?" Mrs. Olan sang on the stage of the Garnier Opera House for 13 years.

"Mrs. Olan recommended an Italian actress named Carlotta to take her place."

"Italian actress...can she speak French?" I couldn't help wrinkling my nose, my heart was full of astonishment, "When will the lady leave?"

"I don't know, her servant is already packing her luggage, and the manager said that there will be a farewell party tomorrow night."

"Let's go find Mom." I took Christine's hand and walked out. The wound on my foot was no longer serious. If I didn't walk too far, I wouldn't feel the pain.

Before Christine and I walked out of the dormitory area, Mrs. Geary came towards us, she saw the big slippers on my feet, and frowned helplessly, "Meg, go back to the house, don't wear slippers Walk all over the place."

Mrs. Geary brought more news. She asked us to freshen up and follow her to say goodbye to Mrs. Olan. After all, Mrs. Olan had served as an introducer for Christine and me to enter high society.

When I came to Mrs. Olan's room, I realized that I was already very busy. There was not only dust floating in the room, but the maid Lucy was packing costumes, skirts or various things into boxes without touching the ground. .

Mrs. Olan was sitting in front of the dressing table, her eyes wandering, as if she was distracted. After seeing Mrs. Geary coming in, she cheered up and exchanged greetings.

The two ladies walked to the soft couch and sat down. Christine and I couldn't get in the way, so we offered to help Lucy pack her luggage.

Mrs. Olan had a deep affection for Paris, and it didn't take long for her to lean on Mrs. Geary's shoulder and weep bitterly... To give up the current honor and status and go to a strange country is not a big deal for a successful actor. What a happy thing. The only consoling reason for this incident is that Italy is a place of glory for opera in Europe, and being able to sing opera in Italy is also an affirmation of Mrs. Olan's singing career.

However, the entire theater couldn't figure out why she had left Paris.

When I was packing my luggage, I suddenly found a new set of pure black mourning clothes in a small suitcase, including matching veils, gloves and hats. They looked like they hadn’t been worn yet. But Mrs. Olan...is in mourning?Had any of her relatives died?But she didn't tell anyone?

Before Mrs. Olan noticed, I subconsciously closed the suitcase, pretended not to see it, and continued to pack other luggage.

"Meg, take a break, your foot injury is still not healed, just let me come." Christine stepped forward and handed the small suitcase to Lucy, who was about to hand it over again Give it to the coachman.

"No, wait, stay with that suitcase." Mrs. Olan said suddenly, "I want to take it with me."

Lucy glanced at the owner and put the suitcase back where it was.

It was so strange that Mrs. Olan was clearly in mourning, but she didn't want people to know who she was mourning for.

But just as I have always believed, there are too many people in this theater, and there are too many secrets in a place with too many people. Under the appearance of singing and dancing in the theater, there are countless surging eddies hidden.

As a famous actress in Paris, Mrs. Olan's farewell party turned into a social occasion for the nobles. Although the time was tight, the nobles who heard the news still occupied the large lounge of the Garnier Theater.

There is no larger and more splendid lounge in all Paris than Garnier.There are matching chandeliers hanging above two rows of gold-plated Roman pillars. Countless candles are placed on the complicated and delicate brackets, illuminating the whole room like daylight. With the addition of Baroque sculptures and murals, the decoration is too luxurious to let It's like a lady's jewelry box.

Christine was both sad and excited. The sadness was naturally due to the departure of Mrs. Olan. Most of the singing skills Christine mastered today were taught by Mrs. Olan, and she was also considered half of Mrs. Olan's disciple. The excitement was that she had heard that her admirers, Viscount Mantejo and Count Andre, were coming to the farewell party.

17-year-old Christine, as the most beautiful girl in the dance troupe, has won the admiration of many young talents. Of course, it seems that she is only admiring at present. Possibly marry a nobleman.

I hid in the corner of the hall, sat on a bench and ate a small cake silently, willing to be a wall flower.In order to avoid being invited to dance, I wrapped several thick layers of gauze on my feet, all the way to my calves.

In the eyes of outsiders, this exaggerated bandaging method made them think that the injury on the foot was quite serious. Occasionally, a girl with unknown circumstances came to express sympathy, and a man who was too busy came to greet him. These guys called for friends. Later, here Instead, a circle of people surrounded me, and I even had to put on a begging expression to stop them from caring too much.

Wait, why are all the older men around me? !

This gentleman's beard is all white, and the wrinkles on this gentleman's face are also appearing, and this one, the old boy's face is really hard to bear to look at, the youngest one looks like he is in his 30s...

Damn, I hate baby faces, and I hate these old men who openly want to eat young grass.

I almost cried when Philip rescued me.Even Philip is not young anymore, anyway, he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his figure is stronger than a boy in his twenties.

"You have to find a flower protector, my dear." He smiled narrowly.

"Laugh as much as you want, Mr. Earl, take me away from here, and go far away." I stepped on my injured foot on the ground without any concealment, and dragged Philip forward quickly, ignoring the old men behind me The expression that their eyeballs are about to pop out.

"How about going to the private room outside?"

"it is good."

Philip and I left the lobby and went to a private lounge off the corridor.But for several consecutive rooms, there seemed to be people inside, and the servants outside stopped them as if nothing had happened.

"It seems that there are quite a lot of people who don't like the excitement." I sighed softly.

Philip snorted suddenly, laughed out loud, and seeing that I was staring at him for no reason, he whispered in my ear, "Pure little girls, it's not that they don't like bustle, they just prefer soft fragrance and gentle jade. "

This vulgar statement made me dumbfounded for a while.

This man is really... I dare say decent ladies, after hearing what he said, either slap him to show your chastity, or quickly faint to the ground to show your innocence. It's a pity that I can't do both gestures If you come out, you will be ridiculed if you pretend to be hypocritical.

"Then we'll stand in the corridor." I rolled my eyes hard.

"As you wish, Miss Jeanne." The man's blue eyes were full of exaggerated smiles.

No matter what, the air in the corridor is cleaner than in the house. I put the folding fan on my wrist and asked in a low voice, "What can I do for you?"

"Guess what I found?" He raised his chin slightly, with a cruel and ironic sneer on his lips, as if he was looking down on all demons.

"Did you find the source of the poison?" The hair on my back stood up suddenly, and I felt my calf muscles become tense.

"Well, not yet, but we know who poisoned it. Remember the cook called Anna that Sally said? I found her." He tilted his head.

"where is it?"

"In the Seine River, she was already dead, and her body was swollen with soaking water. In view of the respect and protection of ladies, I will not elaborate on the appearance of her death. How should I put it, it is a bit miserable. Some people say that she was drunk and fell down. .”

"Drunk? Women get drunk too?" I couldn't wait to raise doubts.

"It's not certain, my dear, of course delicate and weak ladies like you won't get drunk, but it wouldn't be so if the cook who works with mud and fire in the kitchen every day, my cook can drink more than me It’s all big.” Seeing that I was anxious to hear more inferences, Philip stopped talking glibly and continued to tell about his discovery, “However, it’s hard to say whether the cause of his fall into the river was drunk.”

"murder?"

"It's better to say it's killing people to silence them." He spread his hands.

"Who did it? You said you found the poisoner."

"I bought a low-level maid from the Perry family. She helped the kitchen when the party was short-handed that day. She said that Mrs. Perry came to the kitchen to inspect the afternoon of the banquet. Think about it, What countess would walk into her own kitchen? They are afraid of the fumes from the kitchen staining their skirts."

"You mean Mrs. Perry poisoned herself?"

Although she had been mentally prepared, she was still shocked when she heard that it was Mrs. Perry who poisoned her husband herself.At the ball, when Earl Perry is poisoned, Mrs. Perry faints from fright and is unable to say goodbye to the guests.After that, more than one tabloid reported Mrs. Perry's distraught state.

"Please keep listening, this is far more interesting than you and I imagined. During the banquet that day, a lot of tableware was lost in the kitchen, including silverware, spice jars and sugar boxes, but the stolen tableware was recovered from the ashes the next day. Found it, according to the maid, 'Mrs. Perry's decision to keep it hidden, and the Perry family's reputation would be ruined if there was a robbery in addition to a murder.' Interesting, my dear. "

"This is hiding the evidence. Mrs. Perry put poison in some cake ingredients, and replaced the poisonous seasoning with the help of the theft. No wonder the police didn't find the source of the poison." It is easy to connect the whole story of this poisonous murder case.

"Next, Anna was dismissed because it was unfavorable to be in charge of the kitchen, but you know, I secretly hid the poisoned cake that day, maybe Mrs. Perry thought that this evidence fell into someone's hands, so she chose to silence it... a A noblewoman might murder her husband with poison, but she would never push the cook into the river by herself, so her lover Victor is also very suspicious."

"It's really wonderful. If it wasn't for what happened in the real world, it could be written as a wonderful mystery novel." I sighed softly.

"Sometimes reality is more interesting than fiction..."

Just as Philip and I were immersed in the decryption of the poisoning case, there was some movement in the box next to it.

The door was slammed open, and Christine ran out from the inside with a pale and red face, and quickly ran towards the other end of the corridor with the corner of her skirt in her hands.

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