"The Widow" Bertha

The next day, Bertha and Jane came to the door with presents.

Jane has made up her mind and writes to Mrs. Fisher, agreeing to go to a private girls' school as a teacher.

She will officially start work next week, and she accompanied Bertha to the Whitechapel area today, just to go out and relax.

The two ladies didn't think about what gifts to bring, so they brought a few pieces of cloth and a few pairs of children's shoes to the door.

Compared with the real poor of Whitechapel, Thomas Thames's accommodation was respectable: he had a small two-bedroom apartment.It is enough to see that Thomas was considered a respectable figure when he was in the gang.

It's just that under the premise that Thomas has several children, the two rooms and one living room still seem to be stretched.

"Anna, are you still helping Mrs. Thames with her things? Jacob, get your brother away and don't let him make trouble," Thomas directed, while apologizing, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, Miss Jane, the house will be messy if there are more children .”

After hearing what Thomas said, a girl who looked about ten years old ran to the door, greeted Bertha and Jane timidly, and took the gifts in their hands; another boy who was younger He carried away the young child who was only two or three years old on the chair.

"You alone with three children?" Bertha wondered.

"Actually, there are five," Thomas said with a wry smile. "Colin and Lita are over fourteen years old and already working in the factory."

In addition to the child he said died of illness, there were actually seven people living in the two-bedroom apartment at the same time.

Seeing Bertha's expression was complicated, Thomas looked relaxed, and he clapped his hands: "Anna and Jacob, you are very lucky today, Miss Jane Eyre is a teacher in a private school, and the courses that I didn't know in the night school before, are still available. Don't hurry up and ask—Miss Eyre, don't you mind?"

Of course Jane doesn't mind!

Seeing the suddenly lit eyes of the two children, she nodded happily, and sat down at the only table in the living room without waiting for Thomas to greet her: "What's your problem?"

Bertha couldn't laugh or cry: Jane loved children more than she did.

"I thought you could feed the whole family by yourself," Bertha said with emotion, "but I didn't expect you to raise five children."

"Colin and Leta can also subsidize the family now," Thomas replied. "Before... well, before there was any disagreement with the gang, they would also run errands for me. In fact, life was pretty good."

"What gang are you in?"

In fact, Bertha was here for that.

She didn't care if Thomas Thames had a family or not. Bertha cared about Thomas himself and the street gangs he'd been with.

"I'm in Jesse's gang, ma'am."

As Thomas said, he turned his gaze to his younger siblings, and there was a bit of tenderness in his ice blue eyes: "If you ask around in Whitechapel, no one knows about Jesse and his Jesse Gang. Even Bill A gangster like Sykes has to be afraid of Jesse's face when he goes out to do things."

"And you didn't take Jessie's place in helping Sikes get into trouble?"

"He beats women all the time." Thomas smiled indifferently. "I really can't see him. But don't worry, madam, I believe in your employing methods. It doesn't matter even if you work with Bill Sykes."

"Are there any gangs in Whitechapel besides the Jesse Gang?"

"There is also the White Pigeon Gang and the Gypsies who are relatively large-scale. The latter are not easy to mess with, but they are no different from us; the former is more troublesome. The leader of the White Pigeon Gang, Lambert, is a very capable guy. Lots of thugs."

"what about others?"

"Others were the Irishmen, and gangsters like Bill Sykes, but there weren't many of them."

"Um……"

In this way, it is correct to find an entry point from Sykes and the old Jew.

Bertha just came to London, so it is absolutely impossible to directly affect the interests of the big gangs, because the gap in the number of people is there.Both Thomas Thames and Bill Sykes belonged to the "retail investors" in the Whitechapel district, and it was most suitable to cut into the overall situation where the dragons were entrenched.

It's just the beginning, it's better to keep a low profile.Bertha even hoped that none of them noticed her, until she brought enough power to give a blow to several big gangs.

She roughly outlined a direction in her heart, and then raised her head.

Standing in front of him was Thomas Thames, who could be described as a man of talent. If it wasn't for his slightly coquettish beige coat, which was worthy of the compliment of "gentlemanly", he would have been a resourceful man.

The Jesse gang can become one of the best gangs in the Whitechapel area, and the leader should not be stupid. How did Thomas be removed from the gang?

"you……"

Bertha looked Thomas up and down for a long time, and then put on an attitude of a caring big sister: "Thomas, tell me the truth, didn't you sleep with your boss's woman?"

Thomas: "..."

ah? ? ? ?

Thomas knew that the topic would turn to himself sooner or later. He was ready to be questioned, but he didn't expect Mrs. Thames to ask such a straightforward question, which made him almost choke on his own saliva.

Are all women who have been married and have lost their husbands so straightforward!

"I-I don't," Thomas explained hastily, "do I look so frivolous, ma'am?"

Then you should change your flamboyant coat first.

Although Sykes, who is a gangster, is also dressed in fancy clothes, but he is not a good person.Bertha murmured to herself.

But it's interesting to see his haste. Bertha curled up the corners of her mouth: "Who told you that you are so good, Thomas? You are so neat, I really can't think of the boss of the Jesse gang other than hooking up with the boss's lover." Why can you be kicked out."

At the mention of this, Thomas's smile faintly froze on his face.

He paused, then took out a cigarette from his coat pocket: "Why don't we go out and talk?"

Bertha turned her head to the side: "Let's go."

The outdoor air in the Whitechapel area may not be much fresher than the indoor air, but it is better not to let the children and Miss Jane Eyre hear some words.Bertha went out with Thomas, and saw the young man leaning against the door, stuffing a cigarette to his mouth: "The child I mentioned to you before, Connor Thames, if he survived the previous few days, he should be eight years old now .”

"I'm very sorry."

"It's nothing, he didn't have that life," Thomas shook his head, "Anna and the others always thought that Connor died of typhoid fever."

"Is not it?"

"Forgive me for concealing something before, ma'am, Connor was poisoned to death."

When Thomas said this, he wanted to bite the cigarette butt off his mouth: "Connor likes to pester me the most. Over time, he and the members of Jesse's gang have become familiar with each other, and everyone likes him very much. When someone gets on the line and recruits people to test the drug in the Whitechapel area, they will be able to give a lot of money."

test drug.

Bertha's heart skipped a beat, and she probably understood everything.

Even in the 21st century, drug research and development cannot avoid the link of "drug testing".The rewards for living people to test drugs are often high, and of course, the risks are not small.Modern society has perfect legal and moral regulations to restrain drug research and development companies to minimize risks, but this is the [-]th century, when modern medicine has just started, and most medicines are still linked to the Victorian era of alchemy!

"So," she said coldly, "is there something wrong with the medicine?"

"Yes."

Thomas's face was pale, reflecting his clear and cold blue eyes: "Jessie earned a lot of middle price for this. I have nothing to say about this one willing to fight and the other willing to suffer, but—"

"But," Thomas said at the end, almost at the end of his sentence, "Jessie knows that Connor Thames is my younger brother, and he is not yet eight years old. An eight-year-old child asked to participate in the drug trial after hearing the high salary. , he didn’t stop it at all.”

Bertha: "..."

Even if the boss of the gang doesn't care about it, don't the scientific researchers who distribute the medicine remain indifferent? !Not to mention Thomas, even the self-proclaimed hard-hearted Bertha was furious when he heard it.

"This is the whole process of my being expelled from the gang, ma'am," Thomas said in a low voice, trying to maintain a calm expression, "do you have anything else to ask?"

"Have."

Bertha looked indifferent: "Why haven't you killed your former boss?"

When Thomas heard this, he gave Bertha a smile that was almost heartbroken.

"Thank you, ma'am."

After a cigarette was burned out, Thomas replied softly, "Thank you for comforting me, maybe I will have a chance in the future."

Bertha: "You must have, I promise you."

This alone is enough for Bertha to credit the Jesse Gang.

"And this account can't just be done by Jesse," she said again, "You said that someone from a high class entrusted Jesse to help the boss find someone to test the drug, do you know who it is?"

"I am not very sure."

Thomas is very regretful: "I didn't agree to take this job at first, and I said nothing. I can only guarantee that I will not participate or understand. After Connor's accident, Jesse is even less likely to let me get in touch with it. This news. I inquired many ways, and I found out that the person who asked Jesse for help seemed to be someone from the Institute of Organization."

Bertha: Oh shit.

"Could it be the Truth Society?" she asked.

"...It seems to be the name," Thomas was taken aback, "Madam, have you heard of it?"

Not only heard of it.

Bertha curled her lips coldly: "Coincidentally, Thomas, it seems that God destined you and me to be a family."

"Ma'am, what do you mean?"

"This Institute of Truth just offended me not long ago," Bertha laughed. "Now they've killed Connor. That's your brother and mine. Let's forget about the new and old grudges."

That afternoon, after returning from Thomas' apartment, Bertha wrote down the clues about the Truth Society on paper, and then asked Grace to find the postman near the hotel.

"Please send this letter to the Diogenes Club, Mr. Holmes." Bertha handed the blank envelope to the postman. "Can you do it?"

Logically speaking, it is impossible for a postman to receive a letter without an address.But it was the postman who delivered Mr. Mycroft's unaddressed letter to Bertha. If she wanted to take the initiative to contact him, Bertha had to try.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the postman nodded and put the envelope away.

"I think Mr. Holmes will be very pleased, ma'am," said he.

***

Mr. Mycroft Holmes's "joy" was reflected in his reply almost as quickly as possible.

Before Bertha went to bed, the hotel steward delivered the blank envelope.

She opened the letter, and what lay in it was not Bertha's expected reply, but an invitation letter to Holmes, with Sir James Ward's name written on it.

—Whoever reads the newspapers does not know who Sir James Ward is?He is the Home Secretary of Great Britain.

Sir Ward's letter was earnest, claiming that this is just a gathering among friends, please be sure to bring your family to go, there is no other meaning.

Bertha's gaze stayed on the word "family" for a moment, and she immediately understood what Holmes meant.

He hoped that Bertha, as Holmes' lover, would attend the party with him.

Whether Sir Ward had "any other meaning" Bertha did not know, but she knew that Mycroft Holmes was determined not to be useless.He is not the kind of person who goes to the front line to track down personally, and attending the party is not his style.

Bringing a "lover" may shake the entire London social circle.

I just don't know what to invite myself for?Could it be that the clues passed by Bertha were related to high society?

Banquet.

Bertha thought about it, and laughed.

Then she should dress up well, so as not to embarrass Mycroft.

The author has something to say: #今天麦哥 is out, out! #

Jiang Hua: Brother, if you don't go out, I will be overwhelmed by the condemnation of the reader sister.

Maggie: Wait for me to change my clothes——

Jiang Hua: Brother! ! !

Maggie: Hey, there is no delay, isn't this a banquet that will make its debut.