The Happy Life of a Duchess

"It's really a big deal."

It took a while for Mariana to find her voice.

She snorted coldly, looked critically at the jewelry that the clerk brought up, and decided not to buy the same type of jadeite jewelry from this store.

Adele's mood is a little delicate. She still remembers that in the original book, Margaret must have persisted for a period of time and could not rely on the duke's support for a living. Accompanied by "mother", she continued to live a life raised by several men.

Among these people, the most persistent one should be Count Garcia. Like other men, he seemed to be somewhat sincere towards her, but Margaret's attitude towards him was always lukewarm. His money and gifts, but in fact, she didn't really receive him for a long time at first.

She didn't know what stage she had reached now, but she still couldn't help but feel a little regretful in her heart.

She thought that Margaret should be a sober and intelligent girl, but unfortunately, it seemed that some kind of force was pushing her to keep her on the original track.

But Adele doesn't believe that God is so free to draw a circle for everyone and prescribe everything. Since she is still alive, it means that everything has the possibility to change, as long as she grasps it.

"Adele, why don't you speak?" Mariana couldn't help asking when she didn't respond for a long time.

"Are you thinking about what happened just now? There's no need to waste your energy on those people. Those women who spread their legs and smile and get a lot of money are the most despicable." Concealed malice and jealousy.

"That's right," the female clerk also followed flatteringly, "You two are respected customers, those women who sell flesh and blood are not worthy of your attention. To put it bluntly, we see many such women every day. When the social season comes Especially much more."

"I'm just a little surprised..." Adele showed a little ignorant expression, vaguely trying to erase this matter, but Mariana thought of an explanation herself and explained it.

"Are you surprised that the earl is so generous to that woman?" Marianna curled her lips, but the smile in her eyes faded a little, and she lowered her voice, "It's not just him, there are many men who are there for them Spending a lot of money, even... the one in my family, doesn't he also have a lover?"

"Miss, you don't know that the courtesan just now spends as much as [-] francs a year, while many young people in Paris only earn [-] to [-] francs. They alone cannot afford to support such a lover. And these extravagant courtesans will also choose three or four men, and these men all know each other's identity, know each other well, and even talk about it."

Adele showed a slightly disgusted smile, and the lady clerk, who didn't look young anymore, showed a subtle expression of tolerance, like a newcomer looking at someone who has been here.

"Do you think they are not rich enough?" She smiled.

"Of course, everyone knows that Mr. Duke is the richest, but your father's kind is also rare. To give a common example, 50 francs a year can be regarded as a rich man, but even if it is People can't afford to raise a hundred thousand gold swallowing girl..."

"This..." Adele frowned slightly.

"You don't have a housekeeper at first glance." Mariana patted her hand with a smile, and didn't say that many men would not let their wives manage their property. They would just take all their wives' money, including the dowry, and put it in their own In the bag, it is good to spend it on children, but it is really disgusting to use it on lovers outside.

"Such a gentleman with a good income always needs a manor of sufficient magnificence. The manor needs many servants to take care of it, and the manor layout itself also has expenses. In addition, the expenses of carriages, purchases, living, and socializing are usually The expenses of horse riding, hunting, chess and cards, watching opera, gambling, traveling and other activities, as well as the expenses of wife and children, add up to a penny. One day, which husband suddenly canceled some activities project, it will definitely be criticized as bankrupt and down, and all kinds of gossip will make it difficult for them to continue in this circle.”*

"Under such circumstances, unless it is Mr. Duke's wealth, most of them can't afford such an expense. It's not easy to spend fifty or sixty thousand on a lover, so it's all given. That woman is not enough."

"That's the reason, these prostitutes are the most greedy." The clerk's wife nodded yes.

"Do you know how much foreign debt that courtesan just owed?"

"How much?" Mariana was a little curious.

"..." The clerk compared a number, and Adele was extremely surprised.

"Thirty thousand?"

"That's right, I heard that she has a generous master who takes care of her and pays for her living expenses, but she still owes so much. Just the money from our shop alone is nearly ten thousand francs. So there is really no need for a kind lady to sympathize with such a woman."

Adele felt a bit unspeakably heavy in her heart.

When Mariana asked her how the two necklaces were, she responded without looking at them carefully, and Mariana was even happier.

Adele randomly picked out a pair of earrings and a ring to buy, and Mariana chose a bracelet. She said the style was very novel and it matched her purple dress.

Stepping out of the store, Mariana patted her in relief.

"You should be happier when you buy something. We happened to go to the English-style cafe in the circular square to have a cup of coffee. If we didn't have a schedule today, we could go to the show again."

"Are there any other dramas recently?" Adele submissively expressed a little interest, and Mariana didn't think much about it.

"In addition to "The Marriage of Figaro" last time, the recently famous... Oh, there will be a re-stage of "Manon Lesco" in the Song and Dance Theater in two days. It is a love story. I like the male lead. You Have you seen it? If not, we can watch it together."

"I'm very interested." Adele smiled and agreed with her.

However, Adele never thought that she might be too "lucky" today, and she could get whatever she thought of.

In the cafe, she and Marianne had just sat down when they noticed two strange-looking gentlemen across from them.

"Hey, that's Mr. Gaston?!"

Mariana covered her voice with a fan, but the other party obviously heard her as she wished.

In terms of etiquette, when a man and a woman are on the street, if the lady recognizes and identifies the man, the man must come to salute and say hello, and the gentleman has a courtesy obligation to accompany the lady for a while until the lady says she can leave.

In the jewelry store just now, although Mariana knew Count Garcia, she didn't want to greet people when he brought his lover, so she pretended to talk to Adele, and did not know or greet them logically for the sake of convenience.

The man on the right stood up first, and the handsome but somewhat thin and melancholy man next to him also stood up.

Both men came over to salute and say hello, and Adele returned the salute with Mariana.

"Glad to see you, Gaston." Adele keenly noticed that Mariana was not interested in this man, she glanced at the man next to him several times, and Gaston was also a smart man.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Onley." Gaston showed a very gentlemanly smile, and he had a pair of lovely dimples when he smiled, "Hello, Ma'am, I am R. Gaston, this is my friend Armand, Armand Duval."

"Are you Mr. Armand?" Mariana rushed to answer, but Adele just smiled.

She could see the surprise in the gentleman's eyes when he looked at her, but a lady would not show complacency, but when she heard the name, she was still a little surprised, and finally knew why Marianna was excited .

She was not able to catch the line of Duval, who is now the most popular person, but was robbed by Mrs. Castellana face to face. This made her very frustrated, but she had already met Master Duval's friend in advance. Mr. Stone, this is how I came to know today by coincidence.

"Yes, madam, madam."

Adele followed Armand's line of sight, who seemed somewhat absent-minded, and actually saw Marguerite being sent into the open carriage by the count. Now she also knew why he stayed in this position all the time and couldn't keep his eyes off. I looked across the square.

After all, in the original book, he had been infatuated and secretly in love for two years, secretly observed and even followed Margaret several times.

"Since we met, why don't we have coffee together?"

"It couldn't be better."

Gaston sneaked a few more glances at Adele. Adele pursed her lips into a smile and tilted her head slightly. She was catching his gaze, her beautiful and deep eyes were staring unblinkingly.

He paused, and then showed a naive smile, and she was amused.

Marianne was obviously more interested in Armand, but Armand seemed a bit absent-minded. After Gaston reminded him indiscriminately, he regained his senses and participated in the conversation again.

The two sides talked for a while, if it wasn't for Armand's future affairs, Gaston might not have left so soon.

Adele has already figured out his income and family situation, but he only knows that she is the only lady of the Duke's family, and he doesn't even know her hobbies.

But she doesn't dislike such young people. Gaston is a very energetic gentleman, and although Armand's indecision exists objectively, his slightly melancholic temperament and handsome appearance can undoubtedly Bonus points for him.

After they left, Mariana gave her quite a few conclusions.

For example, Gaston, who has an annuity of 8000 francs a year, looks much more suitable than Armand, who only has an annuity of [-] francs, but Armand's family background is really outstanding, especially his powerful father. Mr. Duval is now in Paris One of the most annoying people.

"I can guarantee that when they all start to socialize, there will be many people who want to go to the ball at their house or participate in the banquet where they are present." Mariana shook her fan, somewhat proudly, " And I have already made an agreement with that Mr. Armand that he and his family must attend the dance at our house."

"Don't worry, I have sent invitation letters to your family. Before Easter, I must arrange a chance for you to meet everyone."

Hearing this, Adele thanked and complimented her again, which greatly satisfied Mariana's vanity.

"Let me talk to you a few more words." Mariana sat up straight again, and leaned closer to her. Adele leaned closer with great dignity, pretending to be listening attentively.

"Nowadays, you can ignore most families in Paris, including their girls. You are a princess, and there are not many who can overwhelm you, just a few. However, what you need to pay attention to now is gentlemen of the right age, the circle There are only so many wealthy sons-in-law here, and everyone is vying for good men."

Mariana pointed her fingers, giving her names one by one and introducing their families and personal relationships.

Adele forced herself to remember all those unfamiliar names in her mind, and heard her comfort that she would definitely introduce them to her at the dance at home.

"Also, there are just a few upstarts, such as the one just now...Mr. Armand is not very good, but he has a good appearance, but thinking about his father, Mr. Duval, he should be just as good," Mariana smiled mysteriously Laughing, "I guess this is a gentleman who is not easy to please. I heard that when he came over, he had already dealt with all the past relations."

"What do you mean?" Adele didn't respond for a while.

"I don't know if it's true or not, but after all, he didn't have a wife, and he didn't bring a woman with him when he came to Paris." Marianne smiled, "It's not urgent, men should inquire about lovers, and a man of his age Man, if you have a lover, most of them have been with him for many years, but you don't have one now, then maybe you are really a good person."

"Moreover, this is a gentleman who knows art and is very sentimental. It is said that he goes to Barbizon Village to collect paintings every year, and he is friends with the painter Delacroix, and he also has a place in the salons of those painters... ..." Mariana spoke more and more vigorously.

"Besides, older men are always more loving. You don't need to worry about everything, just keep you comfortable on the bed..."

After listening for a long time, Adele suppressed the awkward expression and suddenly reacted:

Oh, this is not only introducing Armand to her, but also introducing his father to her? !

The author has something to say:

The part marked with * in the article comes from the original work. In addition, when Margaret and Armand officially met and fell in love a few years later in the original work, they owed more than 4 francs.

Song and Dance Theater: Historically, it was built near the palace in 1791, burned down in 1838, rebuilt in Exchange Square in 1868, and later moved to Capuchin Street.Because it appeared in the original book, this theater still exists in this article.

"Manon Lescaux": a famous love novel written by the French priest Plaifu (18-1697) in the 1763th century. In the article, Armand gave this book to Marguerite.

Circular Square: One of the place names of the original Paris.

Delacroix (1798.4.26-1863.8.19): A famous French painter, a typical representative of Romanticism.He inherited and developed various European art schools since the Renaissance, including the achievements and traditions of the Venetian School, the Dutch School, PP Rubens and J. Constable, and influenced the later artists, especially the impressionists. doctrine painter.Representative work "Liberty Leading the People".

Barbizon School: A group of French landscape painters active between 1830 and 1880 in the town of Barbizon, near the Forest of Fontainebleau, who formed an informal school, or group of artists.They were the first painters to paint directly from nature, rather than creating landscapes in the studio.This creative attitude and their true portrayal of pastoral scenery and characters influenced the painting style of Impressionism.The leaders of the Barbizon School were Theodore Rousseau (1812-1867) and Charles François Daubigny (1817-1878).Although some painters also interacted with them, their painting styles were different, such as Camille Corot (1796-1875), whose landscapes were less real but filled with light and shadow; The interests of farmers here are far greater than the pastoral itself.

Adele: Such a fast car, it’s a bit sudden (I’m cracking.jpg)

Duvall: Look at me, quality man