"The Widow" Bertha

Before visiting Mrs. Ward for the second time, Bertha specifically asked Miss Jane Eyre what kind of women's magazine Mrs. Fisher wanted to start.

The next morning, she took Mrs. Fisher's salon invitation to the cabinet minister's mansion.

"I'll let it go." Facing Bertha's invitation, Mrs. Ward still declined the invitation letter with a smile. "Recently, Anna's piano lessons have fallen behind a lot, and she is losing her temper again. I really can't leave."

"Too."

Bertha did not insist, but echoed: "Children's education is still important. As for the salon, I will listen to it for you, and I will help you relay it when I come back."

Mrs. Ward was very pleasantly surprised: "That's really great, Miss Marple."

It can be seen that although Mrs. Ward is destined not to participate in Mrs. Fisher's salon due to the difference in status and class, she is very interested in Mrs. Fisher's career: "I heard that she has always wanted to hold a special service for Women's magazines, I'm curious, what would such a magazine publish?"

"It's such a coincidence, I'm also very curious," Bertha came prepared, "so I asked Mrs. Fisher specifically, and she said that the current idea is to tend to popular science magazines, which are dedicated to women about science news, health Knowledge will also answer questions related to law and politics. If it sells well, we will add programs that interact with readers in the future, and collect some poems and essays written by women."

After finishing speaking, Bertha added seemingly indifferently: "Of course, Mrs. Fisher is so keen on social activities, and political appeal must be indispensable."

In fact, in Bertha's view, the last item is the focus of Mrs. Fisher's magazine.But she was afraid that Mrs. Ward would disapprove of it, so she only mentioned it lightly.

"That's it," Mrs. Ward said with emotion, "I heard that Mrs. Fisher has always supported that women should have their own careers. But now only women who cannot support their families go out to work, don't they? Oh, of course, like Ma Except for someone as outstanding as you, Miss Poole, genius cannot be confined indoors."

Bertha smiled indifferently.

Even a deaf person can hear that Mrs. Ward doesn't approve of women going out to work-of course she doesn't agree. A woman in the upper class has a lot of money and a rich dowry. "Shame".

Even a governess like Miss Jane Eyre was inferior to Mrs. Ward's class.

Class attributes determine a person's thoughts. She has never experienced the feeling of starving to death without moving her hands. Even if she puts the facts in front of Mrs. Ward, she will not understand.

Therefore, Bertha did not waste any more words on this, but complimented: "Don't say that, Mrs. Ward, your career is equally important. Isn't it hard work to assist your husband?"

"How can that count?" Mrs. Ward said with a wry smile, "it's just my duty, and it's not worth mentioning."

"If it's not worth mentioning, let Sir Ward try to take care of the children for a day," Bertha joked, "If you want me to say, the importance of the husband in the family is far less than that of the wife, and the family will not change without a father." , if the mother leaves for three months, the children may be in trouble."

That was what Mrs. Ward wanted to hear.

Bertha's witty words made her laugh again and again, but after laughing, she sighed: "I have done too much, and what remains is James' name, which has nothing to do with me."

This... surprised Bertha a little.

She tilted her head and said tentatively, "It sounds like you have some ideas, ma'am."

Mrs. Ward shook her head: "It's nothing, it's just that I have helped James deal with many things over the years, and I have seen many people and many worlds, but no matter how much my wife does, people outside always say that James is doing well. What the husband does is always a 'job'."

Although Mrs. Ward always said that it was her duty and that women should pay for men, and was proud of it, Bertha could still hear a bit of imbalance from Mrs. Ward's words. Come.

How should I put it... Bertha could understand Mrs. Ward's contradiction.

On the one hand, the education she has received since she was a child and the environment she lives in tell her that everything she is doing now is the right thing to do; , contact with more people, the vision will naturally broaden.

Her inner conflict lies in the fact that she not only feels the inequality of treatment due to the improvement of her knowledge, but also takes it for granted because of her education.

So many women have been hiding behind the shadow of patriarchy for thousands of years, accepting their protection and being bound by them.From slavery to feudalism to the present, this has never changed.

Is it sad to be a father before marriage and a husband after marriage?Bertha felt sad, but she also felt that Mrs. Ward was not to blame.

"Of course you are a great contributor, madam, Sir Ward must thank you very much," Bertha deliberately pretended not to understand Mrs. Ward's regret, "I'm just curious, you have to take care of your children on weekdays, and What kind of investment project do you want to help with, and is it arranged on a daily basis?"

"Fortunately, there are tutors and maids to help take care of Anna and Jimmy," Mrs. Ward said, rubbing her forehead, "but James' investment projects are really trivial, which made me neglect my concern for the children."

"So busy?"

"So busy that James even asked me to work in his study to save me time."

Speaking of which, Mrs. Ward regained her spirits, and said with a smile, "If you don't believe me, come with me to the study to see what I'm usually busy with."

Bertha was taken aback: "Can I?"

"Of course, James himself used these projects to brag about them. There is nothing worth hiding."

Mrs. Ward simply stood up: "Follow me."

She took Bertha to the study of Sir Ward's mansion, and Bertha, who had been a reporter, looked at the working environment and knew that Mrs. Ward was not exaggerating.

The messiness of the desk showed that it was used extremely frequently, even to the point where the servants couldn't clean it up.A lot of materials are just placed on the desk, just like the state of Bertha when she was trained by the editor-in-chief and revised the manuscript countless times in the past.

It seems that being a politician's wife is really not that easy, Bertha was dumbfounded to herself, fortunately she and Mycroft were just superficial lovers, and also fortunately the older Holmes was a control freak and determined not to let others participate in his work.

"You see, I haven't had time to pack up the investment project book yet," Mrs. Ward complained with a smile. "If you didn't visit today and liberate me from it, I would have to be busy until James came back. He said that I have been out of energy recently." , don’t care about him anymore.”

Bertha: "..."

Then don't let your wife do so many things!He's a jazz anyway, and hiring an assistant or secretary won't break the bank.

Rao Bertha did not claim to be a radical person, she just wanted to roll her eyes when she heard this: she also wanted her to do things, and she was also required to be sweet and considerate every day, why didn’t a man demand such things from himself?

Even so, Mrs. Ward and Sir Ward are model couples envied by everyone in the upper class, and the Fisher couple, who really support each other and fight for political ideals, are a joke at their parties.

"According to what you said," Bertha smiled wryly, and it was rare to speak the truth, "I think it's easy to track down the case, at least I don't have so many documents to do."

Mrs. Ward thought she was joking again, and couldn't help laughing: "What you said made me fall in love with the profession of private detective, how about someday—"

"--lady!"

In the middle of Mrs. Ward's sentence, the housemaid hurried forward.

The young maid entered the study room without even daring to lift her head. She looked at the ground and said bravely, "Miss Anna had a conflict with the tutor."

Mrs. Ward immediately frowned: "There is a conflict?"

Maid: "Miss threw the music score on Miss Lewis."

Mrs. Ward: "..."

Bertha: "..." This girl is quite temperamental.

As a guest, Bertha felt embarrassed.And Mrs. Ward was not much better than Bertha, she was silent for a moment, then turned to Bertha: "Miss Marple..."

"fine."

Bertha immediately said, "I'll wait here, the child is more important."

"Sorry," Mrs. Ward squeezed her fingers, "I'll come as I go."

Mrs. Ward didn't say any more, but followed the maid and left the study quickly.With a knock of the door, only Bertha was left in the huge room.

She waited, and after confirming that there was no one in the corridor and that Mrs. Ward would not be coming back for a short time, Bertha immediately turned around and walked to the desk.

The messy desk is full of miscellaneous documents, but because of her occupation, Bertha has long been able to read ten lines at a glance.She wrapped her left hand with a handkerchief, and quickly flipped through the paper documents on the desktop.

Bertha visited Mrs. Ward today to find out how James Ward sent money to Dr. Long.

Although it is really immoral to read the information privately, it is important to solve the case. The dignified Sherlock Holmes has done a lot of immoral acts such as hiding evidence, breaking into houses, and even defrauding innocent girls in order to track down clues. Not so much.

And she really didn't come here in vain.

As Sir Ward's latest "big project", Dr. Lang's laboratory is naturally the object that Mrs. Ward needs to check frequently.It didn't take Bertha much trouble to find a useful clue.

The project book of Lang's laboratory is so brightly placed on the table.

It is clearly written in the project book that the drug developed by Dr. Lang En can provide energy for humans. When experimenting on animals, from small white mice to canines, even if they are in a dying state of starvation and cold before receiving the injection, the drug can also provide energy. can cheer them up.

The current injectable drug has been changed into a tablet that can be taken, which is easy to carry. Dr. Long believes that it can be used on soldiers or police in the future.

——I didn't expect that Bertha's random nonsense complaint would actually hit the mark.

Dr. Lang En really wants to create a super soldier, Bertha raised her eyebrows, using such a large amount of stimulant, wouldn't it be possible for people who are dying to be excited?

What made Bertha most concerned was not the effect of the medicine, but...the project book had Sir James Ward's autograph on it.

In other words, Sir Ward did know what Dr. Lange was researching, and the project book even stated that he would recruit drug testers in the Whitechapel area.

Bertha had previously suspected that Sir Ward was ignorant, but now it was hard to say that he was ignorant of the consequences.

That's enough.

Time was running out, so Bertha put it away as soon as it was ready, and after browsing the project book, she put it back to its original position.

She brushed back the shattered hair that hung down to her ears, and went back to the chair on the other side of the study to sit down. Not long after she settled down, Mrs. Ward came back.

"I'm sorry, miss," she said hastily, "Anna, she...is making a mess."

"It doesn't matter."

Bertha changed into a brisk tone: "It's time for me to go home, and Mike will pick me up after get off work."

Mrs. Ward was surprised: "Come to pick you up in person?"

After she finished speaking, she showed some sincere envy.

"I envy you so much, Miss Marple," Mrs. Ward said sincerely, "It's not hard to find a lover who knows each other well, but it's rare in the world to always have you in my heart. If that's the case, I won't force you to stay, please. Don't keep Mr. Holmes waiting. And..."

"Just say it."

Mrs. Ward took a deep breath.

She took out a check from her sleeve: "Here is two hundred pounds, which is my private money. Miss, I hope you can help me transfer it to Mrs. Fisher. It is my contribution to start a women's magazine... just I have a request , please don’t say that I donated it. If Mrs. Fisher must thank someone, it can be counted on you.”

Bertha froze for a moment, and the look she looked at Mrs. Ward suddenly became complicated.

***

After leaving Sir Ward's house, Bertha saw the very familiar carriage at a glance.

The coachman politely opened the door for him, Bertha stepped into the carriage, and the first thing she saw was Holmes's nondescript black cane.

Mycroft Holmes sat upright in the carriage, with his hands resting on his cane, his posture was upright and his smile was easy-going, but with a hint of pride as always: "Good afternoon, Bertha."

"Good afternoon, Mike."

Bertha took her seat, and then Mycroft's face was imperceptibly turned to the side. He said sharply: "You don't seem to be in a good mood. Mrs. Ward didn't make things difficult for you, did she?"

I knew I couldn't hide it from Holmes.

She hooked her mouth: "Of course not."

Mycroft nodded: "Sure, if I offend you, Sir Ward's family may not have a good rest tonight."

Even if the implication is that the Minister of the Interior still wants to curry favor with him, the minister's wife will naturally hold Bertha as a guest of honor, so there is no reason to offend others by speaking rudely.

For such arrogant words to come out of Mycroft's mouth seemed to have become an extremely common thing.

"Sometimes I do think," said Bertha, pursing the corners of her mouth, "that you're so conceited, Mike."

"It hurts me to say that, Bertha."

That being said, Bertha did not see any signs of distress in the man sitting opposite.

She didn't continue, but returned to the topic: "Mrs. Ward gave me two hundred pounds to donate to Mrs. Fisher's magazine."

"so?"

"So after getting along twice, I think she is a kind-hearted woman with her own thinking and opinions, which is completely different from those noble ladies who only care about vanity and comparison. If Sir James Ward really belongs to the Truth Society, and Committed treason, what is Mrs. Ward to do?"

Mrs. Ward owed all her honor and position to her husband, without whom she was nothing.

If Sir Ward was one of the terrorists, then he deserved to die, but what about his wife who wanted to do something for her fellow women?

When Bertha's words fell to the ground, Mycroft paused subtly, and then said in surprise: "I didn't expect you to have such an emotional side."

"...Now it's my turn to ask you," Bertha didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "What kind of image do I have in your heart?"

"Naturally, it is not an image that will be sentimental for just one person."

Mycroft was frank. He said bluntly: "A person who can choose to set fire to fake death and remain indifferent to Miss Ingram's death will never have a weak character."

Although Bertha understood that Mycroft's remarks were actually taking care of her emotions and trying to divert her attention-an interruption did not have that sentimental atmosphere.But Holmes' words are enough to prove that he doesn't care about Mrs. Ward's life or death.

He just doesn't care.

Mycroft Holmes influences the fate of many people every day, and if he doesn't eradicate the Society of Truth, he doesn't know how many people will die later.A Mrs. Ward's future is worth many lives.

"I'm just sighing," said Bertha, evenly. "To feel sorry for the innocent proves that I have a conscience, Mike. But it won't make me hesitate."

Mycroft smiled, as if he didn't realize that there was a hint of sarcasm in the words.

"I believe you, Bertha," he flattered even less sincerely, "no one would want to be involved in such a thing without a sincere heart. But now you and I are on our way home, better than Instead of talking about work, it’s better to think about how to relax tonight, what do you think?”

"Okay."

Bertha had no intention of arguing with Holmes. She leaned on the armrest of the carriage, pretending to be worried, and said, "I'm really exhausted, Mike. You won't be like Sir Ward, who will dislike me for being busy when you get home." Not tender enough to hold you open all day long, like Mrs. Ward?"

"How can you say that!"

Mike readily accepted Bertha's flirting: "You are investigating the clues of the Truth Society, and you can be regarded as contributing to me. It's not my turn to despise you. I should open my arms for you. If you are right Interested in history, after dinner, I can read the book I am reading to you."

What kind of treatment is Sherlock Holmes reading for you?

Bertha didn't feel ashamed at all: "Then I'm looking forward to it, Mike."

The author has something to say: ①In the original book, Lao Fu proposed to a little maid in order to set up clues.