"The Widow" Bertha

"Can't catch" Jack Dawkins is only a child in his early ten years old, and it is his first time to board the carriage that the gentlemen and ladies usually take, so it is naturally very fresh.

He lay down on the seat comfortably. If the carriage wasn't narrow, he would have to cross his legs.

"Ma'am, you must not go out these days!" Jack said.

"You said someone was plotting against me," Bertha asked the coachman, urging the horses, "Who is it? What are they trying to do?"

"Ugh……"

Jack suddenly frowned: "Actually, it's my fault. I got carried away after taking a shilling. I've been hiding for so long, but someone found out. They asked me where the money came from, and I told them I had slipped my tongue. We Thieves don't dare to push their feet, but there are people who are so courageous and desperate that they want to go to the hotel to get your idea, ma'am!"

Bertha: "..."

If you are brave enough, you dare to take the idea of ​​a hotel in a rich area.

It has long been expected that there are accomplices behind "Unable to Catch". According to Bertha's experience as a reporter, it is absolutely impossible for these child criminals to commit crimes alone.

"Who made you work?" asked Bertha directly.

"Uh," Jack winced, "I can't say, ma'am."

"Ok."

Bertha didn't force her, and took the initiative to give in a step: "Then you tell me, who is trying to get my idea, is it okay?"

Jack breathed a sigh of relief, and looked a little more at ease: "It's Bill Sykes! Sykes in the Whitechapel neighborhood, you ask Thomas to find out, they all know."

Sykes?

Sounds familiar, wait...

"Sikes, it turned out to be him." Bertha tilted her head, and tried with a blank expression, "Then let me guess, Jack, are you a child of the legendary 'Old Jew' Fagan? Bar."

Jack:? ? ? ! ? !

The boy's back straightened suddenly, and surprise was written on his cunning face.That look alone told Bertha that she was right.

"You, ma'am, you," Jack was dumbfounded, "how did you know the old Jew?"

Of course it was because she had read the original "Oliver Twist".

It's just that Bertha's memory of this book is not so clear, at least not as clear as "Jane Eyre" and "Sherlock Holmes". She only vaguely remembers that Sykes is a supporting role and a villain.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that the nickname "Unable to Catch" did appear in the novel.

But Bertha would not tell Jack the truth, she just smiled without answering.

Such a smile made Jack Dawkins feel that this lady looked even more mysterious—what kind of identity was she, that she knew everything about the Whitechapel district and their affairs? !

Sure enough, it was correct to tell Mrs. Thames about Sykes' plan in advance, Jack muttered in his heart, it doesn't matter what happens to that guy, as long as they don't get involved.

But Bertha thought to herself at this time: If I had known, I would have read "Oliver Twist" again!Because apart from the story of the little protagonist Oliver, she has no impression of the story fate of other characters.

But the facts she has now are enough for her to plan.

A villain from the Whitechapel District playing his own tricks... as long as it is used properly, just like Miss Ingram of the Truth Society, it may not be a bad thing.

"Jack," said Bertha slowly, "do me another favor, and it will still be a shilling."

"That's up to you, ma'am," Jack didn't immediately agree this time, "You ask me to betray my friend to the police, and I will never do it."

"why?"

Miss Jane Eyre, who was listening quietly from the side, couldn't help interjecting, she was quite confused: "Those...'friends' of yours are not good people."

Jack laughed loudly when he heard the words: "Miss, don't forget, I am also going to be hanged?"

Jane was slightly taken aback.

Bertha was noncommittal about this, and she explained: "Don't betray the police, betray me, how? I will not collude with the police, otherwise, where do you come from and come to inform me."

Jack: "Uh..."

Bertha: "Go and persuade Sikes to kidnap me in another place."

Jack:?

simple:? ? ? ?

Facing the unexpected expressions of one big and one small in the carriage, Bertha curled her lips and said, "Just tell him that all my property is hidden, and I can't find it in the White Horse Hotel. I have to be kidnapped to get my freedom from Jane... Miss Ai took out a hiding place and took the ransom. A week later, I will go to the house at No. 23 South Bank Street, which is very close to the Whitechapel area, and there are few people, so it is easy to strike, and no one will know."

Jack: "..."

Speaking of which, if Jack didn't know that Bertha was trying to fish for law enforcement, then he really won the title of "uncatchable" for nothing.

Bertha emphasized: "I have not betrayed you, and I will not betray you."

The implication is that if none of them said that Jack helped, who would know?

Hearing this, Jack hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind: "Okay, ma'am. I leaked this matter first, so I will help you. Today, a week later, I will definitely find a way to get Sykes Lie to No. 23, South Bank Street!"

"Wait for your good news."

Bertha nodded: "Let's go, when things are done, your reward will be indispensable."

Only then did Jack show a smile, waved to the two ladies in the carriage as if he was relieved, and jumped out of the car briskly.

After he left, Bertha opened the window of the carriage and told the coachman: "Take Jane back to the hotel first, and then we will go to Lombard Street."

Jane asked in surprise, "What are you going to do, Bertha?"

Bertha: "To the banker."

Why did Sykes dare to slap his head and plan to steal at the White Horse Hotel?It was because he knew that the people living in the hotel were rich sojourners, and they must have a lot of cash on hand.

In fact, he was really betting right.

Even if £[-] has already been spent, Bertha has more cash than Bix expected.

She has to save the money.

But Bertha couldn't just go to the bank with a suitcase of money, she needed a private banker.

As the capital, London is also the economic and trade center of the United Kingdom.There are a lot of private banks in London's West End and Lombard Street, but for Bertha who traveled across the country, she knew very little about private banks in the Victorian era.

From what she knows, private bankers can provide not only deposit remittances, transfers and loans, but also advice on securities and stock investments. They are a bit like financial managers who specialize in serving the rich in the 21st century.

In a word, it is to help manage money.

Let alone all the 5000 pounds in the future, the more than [-] pounds in Bertha's hands is still a considerable sum.So the private banker had to be reliable.

Mr. Rochester and Mr. Mycroft respectively recommended different private banks to Bertha. After a little consideration, Bertha felt that Mycroft Holmes was more reliable.

There is no intention to discriminate against Rochester's IQ. Although he cannot be smarter than the brothers of the Holmes family, he is a well-run landlord after all.It's just that Rochester doesn't live in London for a long time. For this reason, she must be more inclined to trust Mr. Mycroft, a "local".

There were many things before, and the matter of going to the private bank was so delayed. It is rare to be free this afternoon, so it is better to solve it as soon as possible.

Lombard Street, located on the north bank of the River Thames, was almost the birthplace of the world's monetary economy in the nineteenth century.There are many private banks here, and the coachman parked the carriage in front of Barclays Bank at No. 52 according to Bertha's instructions.

The so-called "bank" in this era is naturally not as large as in the 21st century, but it is just a decent storefront with the Barclays logo on it①.

Bertha didn't make an appointment, but when she walked into the lobby of the bank, an apprentice greeted her.

"Miss, you are..."

"Bertha Marple," she answered, "I intend to deposit some money at your bank."

"Miss Marple!"

The young apprentice was startled, and then immediately became submissive: "Miss, please wait a moment!"

Bertha:?

Although she planned to use the name "Miss Marple" to do something, she didn't seem to be so famous now, did she? Even the bank apprentices on Lombard Street had heard of her?

The apprentice left in a panic, and a middle-aged man walked over after a while.He was well-dressed, wearing glasses, and his jet-black hair was showing a tendency to be bald. He was a very typical British man in terms of temperament and appearance.

"Miss Marple?"

Different from the restrained apprentices, the middle-aged man is much calmer: "Mr. Holmes has already greeted me in advance. You haven't come for a long time. I'm still thinking about going to the White Horse Hotel to visit you in person."

All right!It turns out that the identity of Mycroft Holmes' "lover" is more useful.

She didn't say much, just nodded slightly: "Then I will trouble you, sir...?"

The middle-aged man smiled: "Look at my head, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Patrick Barclay, the owner of this bank."

It turned out to be the bank boss.

Mr. Barclay bowed slightly: "Go to my office and discuss in detail."

Bertha: "Lead the way, please."

Mr. Barclay took a polite step, and they walked through the bank lobby, and when they were walking towards the stairs, Bertha suddenly heard a familiar voice from the counter: "I...um, I'm here to cash the check."

Her footsteps stopped suddenly.

——It wasn't that Bertha wanted to stop, but when she realized who the voice belonged to, the memory of being Bertha Mason roared uncontrollably, ordering Bertha to stop.

The one who stopped in front of the counter was a young man under 30 years old, thin and weak, and his voice was surprisingly gentle.He handed the check in his hand to the bank teller, and then suddenly turned around as if he felt Bertha's gaze.

The young man raised his pale face and looked at each other. Bertha almost stopped breathing.

This was Richard Mason, the man Bertha Mason had repeatedly attacked when she was insane, and her half-brother.

The author has something to say: ① Barclays Bank is the very powerful Barclays Bank in later generations. Interested girls can Baidu, but the detailed address, bank logo, and boss here are all fictitious, eh, old rules, and reality Make a certain distinction.