"The Widow" Bertha

Early this morning, Mr. Geoffrey got up in a hurry and rushed to South Bank Street, which is located on the edge of London.

As an estate agent, Mr. Jeffrey has almost become a joke in the entire industry because of the two properties at No. 22 and No. 23 South Bank Street. No one cares about it.

Even Mr. Geoffrey himself hadn't been here for almost a year.

This time he arrived early, and before he got any customers, the owner of the pharmacy across the street asked in surprise, "Mr. Jeffrey, what are you doing here?"

Jeffrey: "Someone wants to see the corner property on South Shore Street."

The pharmacy owner: "Those two haunted houses? My God, is there anyone else who dares to come up with the idea of ​​a haunted house? I heard that the people who wanted to rent those two properties either failed their investment or suffered a sudden illness. Is it true?"

Jeffrey: "..."

Pharmacy owner: "I see, this is a haunted house, cursed!"

Jeffrey wiped his cold sweat: "Okay! Don't say these words when the client comes."

After finishing speaking, he did not forget to tell the neighbors who went out to watch: "Everyone hears rumors. If there are too many rumors, the house will really not be rented out. Those two properties have been put on hold for so long, which also affects the lives of neighbors. .I rented it out, it's good for everyone, let's go!"

That being said, everyone wants to see who the unlucky guy is this time.

Quite a number of idle housewives entered the pharmacy under the guise of buying things, but in fact they all stretched their necks and looked across the street through the window.

It didn't take long for Mr. Jeffrey to wait for the buyer's carriage.

The buyer's carriage was ordinary, but Mr. Geoffrey did not miss the nameplate belonging to the White Horse Hotel hanging on the carriage, let alone the young man in a beige coat sitting side by side with the coachman outside. That was Thomas Thames.

Mr. Geoffrey's face turned green on the spot.

What is he? ? ?

The carriage barely stopped in front of Mr. Jeffrey. When he saw Thomas Thames, the asset agent lost his temper: "Thames! I warn you, don't make trouble for me!"

Thomas Thames jumped out of the car and smiled indifferently: "I'm not here to trouble you this time, old Jeffrey."

Jeffrey: "You lied about buying the property on South Shore Street, and you said you weren't looking for trouble?"

"I'm not the one who wants to buy real estate," Thomas said with a smile, and lowered his voice, "Do you think I'm willing to come here? Who doesn't know that these two properties on South Bank Street are haunted houses?"

"It's not that you can be..."

Thomas didn't bother talking to him at all, and turned around and opened the door of the carriage.

What came out of it was not the gentleman Jeffrey had expected, nor was it some out-of-towner who got rich overnight.I saw Thomas Thames reaching out his hand into the carriage extremely politely——

What came out turned out to be a woman!

The first thing to step out of the car was a dark skirt, and then Mr. Jeffrey stared dumbfounded at Thomas Thames helping a beautiful lady to the ground.

She looked past Mr. Jeffrey and looked directly at the dilapidated old storefront behind him, thinking.

"These two properties?" The lady asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yes, it is!"

Mr. Jeffrey hurried forward and put on a warm smile: "This is No. 22 Nan'an Street, and the house next to it is No. 23. They are all for rent, ma'am."

Only then did the lady notice Mr. Jeffrey: "You are..."

"This is Mr. Geoffrey, estate agent for two estates," put in Thomas Thames. "Old Geoffrey, this is Mrs. Bertha Thames."

Lady Thames?

Although Thomas Thames looked respectful and humble, but the two had the same surname... I'm afraid they were not relatives.

Mr. Jeffrey put a question mark in his heart, and then said politely: "Thomas is right, Mrs. Thames, I am the agent of these two properties, and the price is low. It is very suitable for operating investment, living and renting out. gone."

"What's the specific price?"

"In terms of rent—"

"I want to buy."

"..."

It really is a big family!

Jeffrey was overjoyed, he wanted to get rid of these two pieces of hot potato in his dreams: "It's not impossible to sell, the storefront only costs 1500 pounds and it's yours, ma'am, as for the mansion, it's even cheaper, 1000 pounds is yours." Can."

"So low?" asked Mrs. Thames in surprise.

"The location is not very good," Mr. Jeffrey said with a wry smile. "This is already the boundary of the city of London, madam. If you look north from the church in the neighborhood, you can see what happened in the Whitechapel area at a glance."

"It's one step away from the slums," Mrs. Thames nodded. "The location is indeed not very good."

"So the price is lower."

"Even so, you understated the price by at least a third."

"Uh……"

"It's also because it's haunted, ma'am," Thomas said with a cold look at Jeffrey, who was poor at words, "Originally, the two properties belonged to the same person. It is said that a murder occurred in the house three years ago. Since then, the house and Unexplainable things happen in the store from time to time, making it impossible to enter. If not, why bother to post the news and sublet and sell it?"

Geoffrey even wanted to gag Thomas Thames on the spot.

After hearing this kind of news, who would buy it?

"No wonder," said Mrs. Thames with a look of sudden realization, "it's because the price of haunting is so low."

"Yes."

Apparently Thomas didn't like the property: "If you want to invest, you might as well look elsewhere."

"Let's go in and have a look first."

"lady……"

Seeing Thomas's [-] unwilling expressions, Bertha suddenly burst out laughing.

Haunted?She can still be afraid of ghosts, Bertha Mason herself was the ghost of Thornfield Park a few weeks ago!

Besides, Bertha was a reporter before the crossing. "Haunted houses" and "haunted houses" are the basic components of folklore. Well, Bertha has probably visited more haunted houses than anyone present.

After crossing... If there is no one, let it be, if there is, it would be better!

"I've grown up so much, I haven't seen a ghost yet," Bertha laughed wantonly, "I'd like to see, what kind of person and what kind of injustice can make a person refuse to let go even after death? "

"Mrs. Thames is right."

Mr. Geoffrey said flatteringly: "Don't listen to your brother, madam, he is just timid."

Bertha raised her eyebrows, and did not deny that Thomas Thames was not her younger brother, but said with great interest, "It seems that you and Thomas are old acquaintances."

Thomas sneered, without any intention of hiding it: "There is no one like us who doesn't know old Jeffrey, ma'am."

"You people?" Bertha grasped the point keenly.

"A well-informed person," Thomas smiled slyly, "so please forgive me for being curious, ma'am, which colleague introduced this property to you?"

Thomas asked tactfully, but Bertha understood what he meant: in fact, he was saying that whoever introduced her to the haunted house was trying to entrap her.

It was Mycroft Holmes, however, who presented Bertha with the property.

She has never met this great god, so where does she have the time to entrap her?If he wanted to be a majestic Sherlock Holmes, it was impossible for him to hold a grudge because she took advantage of her for a while.

Compared to entrapment, Bertha felt that Holmes was more likely to find himself to do something.

But it's all about doing things, so what does it have to do with this haunted house?

Out of curiosity, Bertha picked up the hem of her skirt and decisively pushed open the door of the dilapidated storefront.

It used to be a bar, and the name on the door plate is no longer clearly displayed, but the interior still maintains a complete decoration frame, and even the bar is still in place.

"Even if you don't want to be a bar, you can do something else when the store is completed," Mr. Jeffrey dutifully introduced, "Go north along Nan'an Street, there are several factories, and it's quite prosperous."

Have a factory?No wonder it is a bar.

"Prosperity is prosperity, but law and order are not that great," Thomas said disdainfully. "Does Mrs. Thames seem to be in a hurry to make money?"

"I don't mean to look down on Madam!"

"It doesn't matter."

Bertha glanced at Thomas, saw the latter blink, and understood the general idea: "It's just the price... I'm buying the store, and the decoration is also an expense."

Mr. Jeffrey immediately sensed Bertha's intentions, and he quickly made up his own calculation: "If you can win both properties, madam, I can make my own proposal and give you a [-]% discount."

"[-]% off?"

Thomas interjected: "Your storefront has been open for three years, old Jeffrey, if Mrs. Thames doesn't buy it, who else can you sell it to? Just a [-]% discount?"

Jeffrey: "..." If you don't say a few words, you will die!

Mr. Jeffrey, who had been exposed, looked embarrassed. He carefully looked at Bertha's non-smiling expression, and seeing that she had no intention of repenting or getting angry, he gritted his teeth and made a hard-hearted decision.

"To tell you the truth, ma'am," Jeffrey said, "your brother is right. If I don't sell it to you today, I won't be able to sell these two properties in three years. If you take the two properties, you will pay I can pay 2100 pounds, and I will pay for the loss myself, which is better than continuing to hang the house.”

It's almost there!

The storefront is so damaged, it is actually equivalent to Bertha buying two pieces of land.In addition to the rumors about the haunted house... £2100 is indeed close to Bertha's estimated price.

Cheap is cheap, but the two properties alone cost Bertha £2100, and that’s not counting the house in St Mary Mead.Adding up and subtracting, the 7000 pounds I just got will cost almost 3000 pounds, not counting the price of the shop and the refurbishment of the mansion.

Bertha suddenly felt that her wallet was bleeding.

"The first floor is a bar," Bertha changed the subject in order to prevent the little heart from bleeding with her wallet, "What's on the second floor?"

"The second floor is the guest room, ma'am," Jeffrey said enthusiastically, "shall I take you up to have a look?"

Bars in this era often serve as wine sellers and accommodations, and Bertha was not surprised to have guest rooms.Just as she was about to nod, a voice from a neighbor from South Bank came from the door: "Mr. Jeffrey, your carriage is blocking the way of the grocery store's cart."

Jeffrey: "Damn it, we'll talk about it later!"

Bertha: "You go, Thomas and I can go up and have a look, and we won't sneak away the storefront."

It was rare to meet such a talkative client, and Mr. Jeffrey showed a sincere gratitude: "Forgive me for my poor hospitality, I will come as soon as I go!"

As soon as he walked away, Thomas couldn't help but said: "Ma'am, are you really planning to sell this store?"

"And the house next door," Bertha added as she walked towards the stairs, "if it weren't for the haunted house, where would I find such a cheap property?"

"But……"

"Thomas, you're not afraid of ghosts, are you?"

"Of course I'm not! It just doesn't feel right here—who?!"

Thomas stood in front of Bertha almost at a brisk pace, looking warily at the shadow in the corner: "Who's over there?"

Bertha was taken aback by the young man's sudden action. Before she could react to what happened, she heard a man's laughter from a dark corner on the second floor.

Laughter fell to the ground, followed by the sound of metal objects hitting wooden boards.Bertha saw a stick protruding from the shadows.

"You're new to London, ma'am. I planned to introduce you to some helpers to run errands for you. Now it seems that I'm overly worried," the man in the shadows said, with a smile in his voice, " If other people need to worry about such trivial matters, then they will look down on you."

"You—" Thomas was startled, he didn't expect that there would be anyone here.

"fine."

Bertha gave Thomas a reassuring tug, and stepped forward.

The man in the shadows was not seen...but Bertha knew who he was.

"It's my honor for you to miss me even if you don't know each other before. How can you look down on me?"

After she finished speaking, she turned her head sideways and raised a smile full of interest.

"I'm more curious. What kind of important event can alert you to come forward in person, Mr. Mycroft Holmes?"

The author has something to say:

#今天红哥has he met his lover whom he has never met?seen! #

Bertha: I didn't see him!What happened to the lighting master!

Jiang Hua: This is what people with noodles look like!