The Happy Life of a Duchess

Adele originally just sighed casually, and she really didn't think so, but when she saw Mr. Dole's reaction, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

She is very keen on many things about Mr. Duval, otherwise she would not have just discovered the problem of the original painting by chance from some clues.

Seeing his response, she suddenly felt a strange feeling in her heart.

Intellectually told her that this was impossible, but for some reason, she still insisted on this idea perceptually, so she simply thought along this logic.

She was indeed just following the trend, but for some reason she suddenly thought of a certain possibility.

She was the one who proposed the ending sequence, and she was also estimating the time, so it was naturally impossible for him to arrange it intentionally in advance, but generally speaking, the order of the songs is somewhat regulated, and the more distinguished guests will basically have it in their hands. There is a set of repertoire for the dance that day.

She knew this before, although there will be some changes during the ball, for example, the previous variations were added at the request of some guests, but there is no doubt that Mr. Duval must also have such a copy List of tracks.

In addition, the arrangement of the songs at the public dance is not random. The host will definitely follow some of the previous practices in the arrangement, although there will be some songs that the host particularly likes, such as the current dance, Adele will listen to it There are several pieces from the "father of waltz" Austrian composer Johann Strauss Sr.

As a very experienced middle-aged gentleman, Duval must have known the repertoire arrangement of the dance party by heart, so he may not really be ignorant of this matter.

At this moment, Adele recalled another detail.

When they entered the arena just now, she and Armand entered behind Leo and Duval. It was not too early for them to enter the arena. Armand originally wanted to take her to a position a little ahead, but Because the first two stopped first, they ended up just following the end.

Now that I think about it, Duval took Leo to stop very subtly...

Adele felt that she now had reason to suspect that the other party had indeed deliberately arranged the station after roughly calculating the repertoire, so that she would automatically move forward one position at the next music bar, and then came to his side.

But she didn't have any real evidence. Even if it was the other party's expression, as long as he nodded in affirmation, no one would be able to guess what he was thinking and confirm it.

"You are so cunning!"

Adele couldn't help but said to him.

"Huh?" Mr. Duval raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes lifted up, and the innocent eyes just now were full of bright smiles, "How should I say it?"

"This..." Adele prolonged the syllable on purpose, and then chuckled, "Of course I won't tell you, just like you wouldn't tell me..."

"But if you are willing to tell me and prove my guess, then I can also tell you and share my feelings." Adele raised her chin with a smile and looked at him proudly.

"But if you don't tell me what you want to prove..." Duval also smiled knowingly, "How would I know what to tell you?"

Mr. Smart deserves to be Mr. Smart, he didn't suffer at all, and he didn't let Adele grasp the rhythm.

But who is Adele—of course she knows that the other party will never be serious with her. It has been proved a few times before that not only will he not play tricks on her and make her difficult, but he will also Take the initiative to hand out a few conversations, so that she can happily take them over.

"You look so stingy." Adele said dissatisfied.

"Hey, but if I want to help you out..." He also seemed very distressed, "You must also give me a chance to pamper you..."

As soon as these words came out, both of them paused for a moment. Adele looked at each other, his half-smile face could not reveal a bit of sincerity, and all the real emotions were hidden under the extremely perfect polite expression. .

Adele thought about it for a while, and felt that it would be better to skip this matter a little bit, because she would lose the "beauty" of this "confrontation" if she was too picky about words.

"Well, sir, I solemnly inform you—"

"Of course not."

Adele shook her head with a smile, the music in her ears had reached the last section, and it was time to return to the original position.

"I have always been impressed by your ingenuity. You are such a smart gentleman. I believe that even without my prompt, you will be able to guess what is in my heart and bring me the answer... When the time comes I was able to test the validity of my thoughts."

"It's very cunning of you to say that."

Duval shook his head helplessly, with a smile clearly showing from his eyes.

The way he looked at her was extremely gentle, and he was not angry at her waywardness and arrogance at all. Instead, he maintained a tolerant and gentle attitude and pampered her from beginning to end. This gentleness seemed to have surpassed his treatment of his two children and younger generations of other families. The lady's attitude, if it is said to be intimacy, is somewhat possible.

Adele then happily returned to her original position.

Probably, as long as she talks to Mr. Duval, her mood will involuntarily improve, as if all the worries, burdens, all negative emotions and all the bad news are not enough to affect her, and she is like this Strong and brave girl.

It seems that because of his gaze, he has become omnipotent.

Adele knew that this was her own illusion, but she also enjoyed this wonderful taste very much.

This mature and stable gentleman will show a less "stable" demeanor in front of her, but he will also use his generous and tolerant temper to make her feel at ease and at ease.

This kind of ease was unprecedented, beyond the limits of age and era, and she had never felt it from anyone else.

In an unprecedentedly good mood, Adele quickly cleared her mind.

With the rhythm of the music, she hummed softly, and Armand was surprised by her unexpected joy. He still remembered that she didn't seem to be so happy before.

But thinking about how much money she earned in vain today, it seems that all the happiness has an explanation——

Armand thought about himself, if one day he suddenly got hundreds of louis for nothing, he would probably be so happy.

He can think of dozens of ways to spend the money in an instant. After all, the joy of spending money is endless, and the only end is his poor wallet balance.

"The ball was arranged with the help of the vice-bishop, and it was really appropriate."

Armand found the safest topic and praised the organizer of the ball.

Although he knew that he and Adele couldn't talk together all the time, even this sharp-tongued young lady sometimes deliberately teased him.

But it was also because of this uneasiness that he gradually figured out her character. Normally, she would not make things difficult for others, and her attitude, in the eyes of outsiders, was as amiable and gentle as rumors.

Only Armand knew that the other party's words were really harsh, and he would be speechless and in a dilemma, but she usually would not do this with others, and he didn't know how he offended the other party, but Not to the point of sworn enemies or unfriendliness.

But now he knows another person who offended her, and he offended her severely, that is the most unlucky person today, Mr. Plucker, who is about to doubt his life.

However, such a young lady behaves mildly outside, so she will definitely not do too inappropriate behavior.

Especially when she was in a good mood, of course she would not refute his praise of the party organizer, and she seemed to be in such a good mood, she must be very satisfied with the party.

Sure enough, Adele nodded yes, she didn't seem to talk to him as usual in the past.

The two of them harmoniously praised the host, the collaborator, the archdeacon, and several other relatives and families. This kind of praise is what everyone would do, unless something really unpleasant happened at the ball Otherwise, no one would speak in the face of the master——

After all, if it can be held once, there can be a second time.

No one wants to let the other party hold grudges because of inappropriate words, so that they will lose their qualifications to participate in the dance in the future.

That would be really embarrassing.

Adele pondered in her heart while coping with Armand's words.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Duval who was still calm, muttering from the bottom of her heart.

The other party didn't seem to be interested in her, just looking at his appearance, saying that he was indifferent, she doubted her own charm.

She is not so narcissistic, she thinks that if she is a man, she must like herself, but judging from her current performance, how could such a smart person as him not notice something...

But why, out of various scruples, the other party was not willing to give a signal of acceptance?

If it is said that at the beginning, the other party seemed to have some signals that he wanted to reject, but later on, his attitude was not so clear——

Since he promised to invite himself to dance the first dance, it was difficult for Adele to fully understand it as a real reason "to make up for the rudeness of drawing her portrait without permission before", and today's communication can only be seen It can be seen that the two of them are speculative in many aspects, and they are more in tune than she expected.

"Perhaps it's not clear enough."

Adele pondered in her heart, the two had only been in touch for a few times, and only danced a few times. Maybe the other party is a slow-moving person, and he is no longer the young and wanton age, so he might be more cautious .

She refused to think about another possibility that she didn't want to consider, that is, the other party might really be a strict believer who abides by the rules of the Catholic Church, which might make him have some taboos or Unspeakable secret.

Anyway, she just confirmed that the two people are compatible in character, and maybe she can get to know him from other aspects later, and then she will understand some material aspects——

After all, in this era, the best outcome after love is marriage, and she doesn't want to waste her precious years talking about a tragic love being talked about.

If you really want to choose a husband, of course you have to choose someone with "love", which is better than a stranger, but marriage always involves more, so you have to consider objective material things.

As for the possibility of her failure, just as she didn't want to think about the worst outcome.

She is not such a pessimistic person, and she is naturally unwilling to speculate on the worst possibilities, and she always feels that she has not received any response.

Even if it is a stone, there will be times when it is hot.

It's not that she is heartless, nor is he ruthless, so it doesn't mean that she is really hopeless.

"So you still have to work harder."

Adele thought happily in her heart, and looked at Armand with a much calmer expression.

Feeling such sight, Armand not only didn't feel happy, but felt a chill down his back.

For some reason, it seemed that something beyond his expectations was about to happen, which seemed to make him feel a little uneasy, but if there was really any bad news, it seemed that there was no such news.

Armand was confused.

In the second half of the dance, everyone was still in high spirits.

There is no such thing as being unable to play because you are too tired. It is better to say that the atmosphere at the scene reached its climax at this time.

There was laughter mixed with screams from nowhere, whistles and applause from the gaming table, and drunken people everywhere and big smiles on everyone's faces...

This is considered as the best feedback for the host, and it is the purpose and purpose of holding a dance party to let every guest return home happily.

"What's going on over there?"

Adele yawned by covering her mouth with a fan.

In order to make up for the precious time she had been wasting playing cards before, she was dancing almost all the time, and it was a bit late, her physical strength was indeed not that good, and she didn't want to drink to refresh herself, so she felt a little overwhelmed.

But after estimating the time, it was almost zero o'clock, and she didn't want to spoil the fun at this time, so she took a break while eating.

Sitting next to Adele were Morgana and Leo. Adele, the younger sister of the Leo family, was already a little sleepy, but she still refused to go to rest. She just leaned against her sister and squinted her eyes, half dreaming. She's so cute when she's half asleep.

However, it is indeed difficult to fall asleep here, after all, the hall is still very noisy.

"A few children are playing games." Morgana looked at the situation over there, then turned to ask Leo.

"Do you want to take her to the room to rest?" She asked in a low voice.

"She won't." Leo shook his head, patted his sister's back lightly, and coaxed her to rest for a while, "She said before that she must last until the end today, and she still wants to look at me Where's your boyfriend?"

"Huh?" Adele looked at her in surprise.

"No, no, it's not what you think, and it's not what the little girl thinks." She shook her head, "She was afraid that she would miss her future brother-in-law, and the family didn't let her know, but there really wasn't one, and I also It’s not decided, and my father didn’t choose for me.”

Seeing that the two still looked curious, she smiled helplessly and said:

"Didn't I point it out to you just now? As for the three gentlemen who danced with me, among them I think the one who has good character and talent, I will also show you."

"Why are you all gossiping on me?!" She pretended to be angry, "Why don't you tell me, do you have a husband you fancy?"

"..." Adele just smiled and said nothing, Morgana just shook her head, looking confused, just like Leo's sister Adele, she was innocent and cute.

Leo is a smart girl, and she knows it well.

But right now is not a good time to talk, so she quickly changed the subject with a smile.

Soon Mrs. Hugo sent someone to take the little daughter over to take care of her. She couldn't let the little girl drag her sister sleepily, so that she couldn't dance and meet men.

The delay was a major event in the eldest daughter's life, and Mrs. Hugo was unwilling, so even though the youngest daughter insisted on seeing her sister's future husband in a gamble, and she was quarreling and refusing to leave, Mrs. Hugo still refused. Besides, Leo himself didn't think about which gentleman to choose, and naturally there is no "future brother-in-law who will take away his sister" as his sister said.

Seeing Adele's eyes drifting towards the boys playing games from time to time, Leo asked casually.

"Are you curious? I don't know which family those children belong to. I only know one of them."

"Which one?" There was no topic on the left and right, so they chatted casually.

Morgana was invited to dance, and Adele hid temporarily under the pretext of helping Leo take care of her sister. In order not to make herself look too free, she actually brought a small plate of fruit over, and slowly Poke and eat.

"It's the one with average height, slightly thinner, and the one in the brown dress."

"Which one is it from?" Adele chewed the apple, and had no objection to the taste.

The apples are not too sweet, but not too sour. The good thing is that they are quite juicy, and they taste good.

After all, it is a large plate of food that is publicly served at the ball. It is unrealistic to expect how good it is, and there are too many people present today. Most of them come after afternoon tea and basically do not eat at night. They wait until the early morning for supper. The stomach is full of snacks and fruits.

"Eat less, it's time for supper later." Leo reminded, Adele nodded yes, and she just chewed something to pass the time, and relieve the soreness of her feet by the way.

"That teenage boy is not yet an adult. His surname is Charcot. He is the son of our wheel maker, but his academic performance is very good, so he is studying in Paris."

"When I was young, I lived very close to our family. Later, his father, Mr. Shake, also took care of our carriage. Mr. Shake is a very capable and honest man."

Leo just said it casually, and Adele didn't ask her wholeheartedly. He only heard that Leo said that the other party was called "Jean Martin Charcot" and didn't take it too seriously.

Although she felt vaguely familiar with the name for a moment, she really couldn't remember anything, and she had memorized too many people's names today. His name matches the faces of the people passing by in front of him, if they don’t match, just ask Leo next to him.

Leo also admired Adele's perseverance in his heart, and he became more dedicated when explaining to her.

I thought the dance would end like this, but unexpectedly, things were not as beautiful as expected.

When Miss Sophie Barley approached, Leo noticed it before Adele.

With the cover of the handkerchief, she touched Adele's arm slightly with her fingers. Adele felt it, and when she turned her head, she saw Miss Sophie Barry smiling and looking very gentle. Speechless for a moment, then alerted.

Let alone Leo, she doesn't have much affection for Miss Sophie Barry, the "No. [-] beauty".

Although there is no intersection with the other party, the other party's reputation has been greatly hyped, and it has been overly hyped. Almost no one does not know about it. There are even more people who don't like her, but they are all discussing in private.

If Leo didn't have Mr. Prucker's idiot, she wouldn't have much opinion of this beauty.

But it was precisely because she investigated some information quietly that she felt that it was even more unacceptable, and she didn't have any good feelings for this person.

Adele didn't hide from Leo, she told about her relationship with Leo, and also focused on asking Pink Pearl.

But Leo only knew that Miss Barry had gossip about Mr. Prucker, and didn't know anything about other aspects. In addition, she was not in a circle, and she didn't know much about Miss Desi or Baroness Bernard. She is very familiar with it, so naturally I can't provide her with more information.

Adele thanked her repeatedly, but she was unable to restore her extremely lost mood at that time.

Leo felt that her good friend was about to be counted against, but she couldn't provide more reliable help. She could only say a few words to make her more vigilant. She really didn't seem like a competent and reliable friend.

Now, I didn't expect that this beauty would take the initiative to approach her again.

Leo only felt that his siren had already sounded, and only regretted that he hadn't put on a handsome red top hat military uniform and launched an attack on the enemy.

Right now, Miss Barry is the "evil Englishman", and she, Leo, is the next unyielding "Saint Joan of Arc".

"Miss Barry." Adele touched Leo's finger slightly, signaling her to be more natural, and greeted her with a smile.

"Miss Adele, Miss Hugo." Barley was not very familiar with Leopoldina Hugo, she didn't even know the name of the other party. Greet vaguely.

Leo snorted softly, knowing it well.

The smile on Adele's face did not change, and she introduced them to the two without knowing it.

"This is my new good friend, Miss Leopoldina Hugo, the eldest daughter of Mr. Hugo."

"This is Miss Barry, Miss Sophie Barry, known as the 'No. [-] Beauty'."

"Nice to meet you."

Both of them showed their hypocritical smiles with dignity.

Adele felt as if she was in a delicate situation, as if all of a sudden she was a character in a drama.

The actors on both sides are all ready to sing or scold, whether it is merciless ridicule or very hypocritical praise, as well as the background, curtain and narration, etc., are all ready, just waiting for that spark When it falls, there is a crackling sound of "start", and the shooting can start.

Adele, of course, thinks of herself in a mess, neither movies nor operas, but what does it matter?

Anyway, the current scene looks very funny, and everyone, including her, is part of this "funny show".

Maybe I can still mix up a heroine Dangdang...

She secretly thought in her heart.