The Happy Life of a Duchess

Adele was wearing a goose-yellow long dress with a thin layer of silk wrapped around it. The lace on the skirt was patterned with lilies, and the long dress was embroidered with patterns of larks and laurel.Different from the previous low-cut long skirt, Adele's long skirt adopts a high-necked design with a stand-up collar and a mint green cushion inside, which does not feel itchy when it comes into direct contact with the skin. It is still the laurel branch embroidered on the brocade.

She wore a mint green silk shawl with a cluster of blooming lilies on it. The satin was shiny, with dense and delicate embroidery patterns, and just the right amount of white space, it was also very beautiful.

There is a huge yellow opal brooch pinned to her chest. The color of the gemstone is very pure. In the middle of the honey yellow color, the very pure continuous vertical cat's eye eyeliner is also very clear and charming, no matter what angle it is. It looked very bright in the past, with pure color and luster, without the slightest gray or variegated color.Especially when in the light, the opal reflects an extremely bright color, which is simply fascinating.

She has a lot of jewelry, even alexandrite, which is very rare and expensive in Russia, has two pieces.

In addition, she still has quite a few opals, like two of the most expensive honey-yellow opals, and there are brown-yellow, wine-yellow, gray-green, and yellow-green ones left, plus a lot of jewelry that she has not worn. been out.

In order to highlight the characteristics of this excellent gemstone to the greatest extent, Adele did not make too many modifications to it, unlike the previous ruby ​​and star-shaped sapphire brooch, she just had it made for her A flower-like outer ring is decorated with pink diamonds on it, and the round opal is buckled with six claws, and it is presented in a held-up manner.

Her soft and beautiful brown-black long hair was coiled up, and she wore a lace hat that was not too complicated. Because the embroidery of the dress was excellent, the embroidery was beautiful, and the jewelry she wore was precious, so she put on her hairstyle In her outfit, she did not use too many expensive jewelry, but chose a hand-stitched embroidered silk flower with some pearl hair accessories.

She stood upright, her hands in white silk gloves reaching to her elbows were slightly folded on her belly in front of her body, revealing the black opal stone ring on her finger.

This natural black opal plays beautifully with a blue-green hue.Under the illumination of the light, the black opal with a small fingertip-length embryo presents an extremely dazzling, rainbow-like color. Countless magnificent colors are mixed and intertwined together. The overall blue-green main body and A few other bright reds, golden yellows and pale oranges make it even more beautiful.

The ring still uses an oval shape, retaining the shape of the gemstone itself, adding a circle of raw-color diamonds around it, and fixing the opal with four claws.

Matching the ring on her hand, she also wears a black opal bracelet on her wrist, but in terms of form, the one on the wrist is not as big as the one on the ring, but the silver bracelet is dotted with Other yellow emeralds are equally precious.

Seeing her dressed like this, the Duke's father felt very satisfied. He was really happy to see his daughter's radiant appearance, and he was also very happy with himself, thinking that he took care of this little daughter well.

Adele hugged her father with a smile, and gave him a close-to-face salute, and then the two had a simple exchange, basically greeting each other and some simple instructions from the Duke's father for today's activities.

While Adele was making this dress, Mrs. Luder and others had already done a final and careful inspection to ensure that other preparations for the manor were in place without any omissions.

"Father, do you remember Lieutenant Costa? I remember, he seems to be the descendant of Lieutenant Fitch?" Adele first briefly talked with the Duke's father about the list of guests who might be present today, and then asked this question again.

"Oh, yes, that young man is Martin's descendant, but he inherited his father's business." The Duke's father nodded. Lieutenant Martin Fitch and Captain Donald Woods were among today's guests, and what Adele mentioned The gentleman he called "young man" was less than [-] years old. He had just been married for two years and had not heard any news about the child. There is not much intersection.

He is younger than Mr. Martin Fitch, he enlisted later, and unexpectedly finished college, but suddenly changed his mind and re-decided to inherit his father's career. After enlisting in the army near Paris, he In disregard of the arrangements his father had given him, he tried to find a way to be transferred to another regiment, and traveled with the regiment to station elsewhere.

This young man refused to live under his father's halo, but still made some achievements. He insisted on being promoted to lieutenant before returning, and then he was pressured by his family to marry a wife——

He finally proved himself. His family saw that he was willing to get married honestly, so they didn't care too much. He still stayed in the Legion in Paris, and now he and Lieutenant Fitch have indeed become colleagues.

Little Lieutenant Costa is a promising person, and Mr. Duke admires such a young man.

Although the Duke and his father are not very close, Lieutenant General Costa is from the Infantry Regiment, the Duke was not from this area in the past, and there is also a gap in age between the two sides. After all, they are different arms, so it may not be possible to talk about them together.

Mr. Costa Jr. originally assigned his father to the Infantry Regiment. Later, he got a promising job in the Artillery Regiment, and then ran away with the army. Now, when he came back, he was transferred to the Artillery Command of the Paris Garrison Army. Block, and Lieutenant Fitch is also on the headquarters side.

Only Donald Woods is the same as the former Duke, and the two are closer.

But now that Captain Donald Woods is not too young, it is estimated that before he is about to retire from the army, he will be promoted by the king, or given a Medal of Honor, so that he can return with honor.

Today, besides Captain Donald Woods and his wife, there is also his son.

He has a son and a daughter, the eldest daughter is married, and the youngest son originally belonged to a good-looking girl, but since Adele returned to Paris, it seems that he has been silent——

Adele basically also moved this hint, and she believed that Captain Woods and the Duke's father had also hinted.

However, she doesn't like his son's flirtatious appearance, and he doesn't have much respect for women, especially his flirting methods. After a dance, surrounded by women, he also thinks that he is surrounded by courtesans. Surround yourself with pride, as if you are really attractive.

If you really want to say, he is not as good as Count Garcia.

At any rate, Count Garcia still has some good morals of emphasizing love and righteousness, and he can barely be regarded as respecting unmarried women. It is also not offensive to make some jokes or show a little color.

But she always felt that Mr. Woods was a little greasy, and his vulgar and promiscuous temperament was unlikable.

Therefore, she has always behaved relatively calmly towards him. She didn't know if Captain Woods hated iron and iron very much, but anyway, the Duke's father understood what she meant, and he didn't have the idea of ​​urging her to choose.

However, Adele asked about this little Lieutenant Costa only because his wife who was pressured by the family to marry back home was the other princess, who is now the wife of the promising young Mr. Lieutenant .

Adele, the lieutenant's wife, hadn't communicated with her in detail, but listening to her friend Miss Leopoldina Hugo tell the story about Mr. Miss Barry was extremely shrewd and vicious, she suddenly wanted to get to know this lady.

I don't know if the other party really knows.

If she did, did she know anything else about Miss Sophie Barley?

After all, it is said that she used to be Miss Barry's boudoir friend...?

After Leo said that, Adele also inquired about other things.

But it seems that this young couple, who were not originally married because of love, is still emotionally good.

Because Little Lieutenant Costa spent more than half of a month living in the Paris army, so they were married for almost two years, and there was no news of their children, and the elders on both sides did not intend to put pressure on them.

That's right, both of them are still young, so they are not in a hurry to worry about the heir.

But Adele thought to herself, if Mr. Lieutenant Costa had no affection for the other princess who was not his wife at that time, then he is a person who dared to escape from the future arranged by his family, so determined How can a person be forced to marry a wife he doesn't like?

As for Mrs. Lieutenant, this young lady may have had some wrong thoughts when she was young. For example, she fell in love with Pluke, a guy with a bad character, but for a person who is not worthy of her efforts... After being stopped by her family After that, she might not be able to figure it out at first, but she has been arranged to marry into the lieutenant's family. The lieutenant general and his wife of Costa's family should also be very tolerant and friendly to her.

After such a long time, I haven't heard anything about the two of them being unfaithful or having a rift, although there are some rumors that because they have no children and the lieutenant is always busy in the corps, some good things are deliberately spread. The relationship between husband and wife is not harmonious, saying that he has a very doting lover outside, but in fact these are groundless.

Lieutenant Costa has a very good reputation in the Corps. Although he would drink and sing with his brothers, he didn’t say that he went out to prostitutes with his comrades. They all said that he would go home to accompany his wife whenever he was free and on vacation. , and the lieutenant's wife has a good reputation in the circle, she has always taken care of the house very well, and there is no news of being dirty with other men.

As an elder and mother-in-law, the lieutenant general's wife is also very kind to her, and will take her to participate in activities when she has time. If I really want to say, the way these two get along is better than Mrs. Dressel and her eldest daughter-in-law much.

From this point of view, maybe the two of them are still very affectionate, and Adele is more willing to believe that after getting rid of the scumbag and waking up from the deception, the lady lieutenant can have a happy and fulfilling life.

But if possible, she still wants to get to know each other. The important thing is that she is a little angry now, and she wants to slap Miss Barry twice.

The other party's methods are really not top-notch, but they can't grasp her real "criminal evidence", but Adele estimates that this is not the first time she has done such a bad thing of killing with a borrowed knife. As long as she does it, there will definitely be victims. There will be some traces.

It would be great if there was someone who could understand her and even "same hatred with the enemy". It would be easier for her to grasp her weaknesses.

At about the same time, the carriages drove in one after another.

The Duke's father will wait for the guests at a little inside the hall on the first floor.

When the previous guests arrive, the Duke's father will still stay at the door, waiting to receive the distinguished guests behind.

And Adele will always be inside, waiting for the first wave of people to go to the reception room inside. She receives everyone in the reception area and waits for all the guests to arrive.

If the Duchess was there, she and Adele were there to welcome the guests.

For example, when she and Mr. Duke went to Marianna's house to attend a private ball, the Angli couple greeted the guests at the door together. In fact, the status of the two of them was a little lower. In addition, there were female guests among the guests, so Mary was needed. Anna, the hostess, went directly to the door to meet the female guests.

This is not the case in Bailu Manor. The Duke is relatively high in terms of age, seniority and status. With him at the door, it is enough weight, and everyone knows that Adele is an unmarried lady, and the Duchess has been married. If you die, then no one is suitable to be at the door together.

The actual guests who came were the same as those posted in the reply, so Adele didn't have to move the seat arrangement anymore.

The first to come were Ang Li and his wife, Lieutenant Fitch and his wife, and then Captain Woods, his wife and his son, who were very close to the family. This wave was considered relatives and close friends.

Then, Mr. Duval and his three children arrived at about the same time as the carriage of Mrs. Castellana's family, and the five of them came in together.

Later came the old Dressel couple and their youngest son, as well as the eldest son, Mr. Dressel Jr., his wife and daughter. These six were originally expected to come at about the same time as the Castellana family, but Because the little girl delayed for a while before leaving, she finally arrived smoothly.

I was afraid that Mrs. Castellana would send a message to the Duke's house in time, but I arrived at the end, and the time was about the same, so it was not a big problem.

From the moment they entered the manor, everyone's scrutiny had already begun.

The young Dressel couple originally didn't want to take their daughter with them, but because Mrs. Dressel, who was not in harmony with her mother-in-law, accidentally mentioned in her reply that her youngest daughter heard that she could be famous. They wanted to go to the beautiful Bailu Manor, and they kept clamoring to come, so Adele asked them to bring their little daughter with them.

The smile on Adele's face deepened when she saw the little girl.

The little girl wore the same green skirt as her, but hers was a dark green skirt made of brocade material, which was thicker than hers.

When this four-year-old girl smiled, she had the same dimples as her mother. She was very happy to see Adele, and she also showed quite closeness, so the old Mrs. Dressel said very naturally. If she came to their house more often and so on, Adele just smiled and nodded.

The little girl was alone, holding her hand all the time, but she didn't see any sickness, it's just that she felt unwell before departure.

With many wives present, the occasion would naturally become heated, so Adele sat with Morgana and the two girls, and then listened to Morgana and the little girl talking about each other.

Adele did not forget to greet the other ladies and gentlemen. The Duke immediately played billiards with several other gentlemen, but at this time Mr. Duval did not play cards.

Mrs. Castellana played cards with Mariana, Mrs. Dressel and Mrs. Lieutenant Fitch.

Mrs. Captain Woods, Adele and others were watching and chatting at the same time. The young Mrs. Dressel sometimes talked to Morgana and sometimes to her daughter, but she would not be idle.

Both Mr. Fitch and Mr. Onley wanted to talk to him, so several gentlemen talked together about the part about political affairs. Sometimes when the voice came over, Mariana would laugh and tease her husband and ask him to collect the part. Don't let her play cards distract her from worrying about the country and the people.

Mr. Ang Li was not angry, so he smiled and retorted, "It's okay, lose whatever you want, and it will be charged to my account today", which amused all the wives, so the other gentlemen also said that they are responsible for the winning or losing of the wives playing cards, If they win, they own it, and if they lose, the gentlemen get their money.

Armand and several other single gentlemen also got together to talk, probably all young people, and there was always something to talk about.

Although their purposes may be different, for example, Armand is not interested in Adele, but the youngest son of the Dressel family and the son of the Woods family are all for Adele, and they sometimes join in Come and talk to the young ladies and Adele will go and say hello to them too.

But more often, they gather to discuss new literary works, new ideas and concepts, and they will also express some young people's views on the current situation, and then talk about overseas colonization and England on the opposite side. Or bragging about their experience.

All in all, in the spacious space, everyone has their own things to do, and it seems that they are all in a good mood and the atmosphere is very harmonious.

In this way, Adele felt a little relieved.

Just as he was thinking, when he looked up, he saw a certain gentleman who was discussing the political situation with the gentlemen clearly distracted.

The two met each other with a smile, and there was a tacit understanding between each other, and Adele didn't need to say anything to him. The two people who should avoid suspicion naturally understood each other, but they just looked at each other with a tacit understanding, as if they got it The feeling of what a precious treasure is really incredible.

The ladies talked excitedly, and they did not forget to praise her as the host, saying that she is well-dressed, she is good-looking, and the decoration here is also good-looking.

Adele was embarrassed by the praise behind her, and she kept hiding beside the little girl of Dressel's family. The little girl didn't understand, she thought what happened but still wanted to be a hero, so she opened her arms and hugged Ah Del wouldn't let go, so Adele kissed her a few more times.

The atmosphere became lively, Adele looked at the time and reminded her father that everyone could be seated.

Adele and the Duke's father sat opposite each other at both ends of the long table, the side of the Duke's father was respected, and the position on the right hand side was more important.At first, I also considered whether to make a long row, or to vacate the secondary seat opposite the main seat originally reserved for the hostess, but after counting the list of visitors, I finally chose the current one. The way.

Sitting in the row on the right side of the Duke's father are Captain Donald Woods, Mr. Dressel Sr., Mr. Castellana, Mr. Dressel the Great, Mr. Onley, Mr. Dressel Jr., and Woods Jr. Monsieur, Armand and Morgane.

The first on the left is Mr. Duval, followed by Lieutenant Fitch, old Mrs. Dressel, the Dressel girl, Mrs. Dressel, Mrs. Marianne Unley, and Lieutenant Fitch. Mrs., Mrs. Captain Woods and Mrs. Castellana.

Mrs. Castellana is on the right of Adele, and Morgana and her brother Mr. Armand are on the left.

Several gentlemen who were single were arranged together. Anyway, it is impossible to facilitate any blind date today. The only girls who are single themselves are her and Morgana. Everyone knows that it is impossible to succeed with just one dinner party. It's just that I want to get acquainted, but I really need to rely on the dance party to understand, and the dinner party after the dance party will be more lively.

Once the dishes and napkins are laid out, it's time to serve.