The Happy Life of a Duchess

The banquet came to an end with everyone's pleasant exchanges.

The little girl Virginie got a small fruit boat, which was a project that Adele asked people to prepare after knowing that the Dressels would bring their daughter.

Although the little girl didn't have a big appetite, and after so long, she had already started to feel confused, but when she saw the "boat" appearing in front of her eyes, she seemed to be refreshed all of a sudden.

She was hugged by the maid, and she wanted to be coaxed aside to go to sleep. There are several servants taking care of her, so don't worry.

But seeing this specially prepared fruit boat exuding her favorite milky aroma, she didn't want to sleep at once.

She vomited two small bubbles and said something, and only the mother sitting next to her understood, because she kept making troubles, so she could only nod with a smile and angrily. .

"I'm sorry, Adele." The young Mrs. Dressel first apologized, and then asked tactfully, "Virginie likes this fruit boat very much. She won't go to rest until she takes a bite or keeps looking at it. ..."

"Shall I ask someone to pack it for her?" Adele immediately understood.

In this fruit boat, I didn’t choose the kind of fruits that are easy to change color and oxidize. They are all cherries, sea buckthorn fruits, raspberries, and small strawberries, which are beautiful in color and can be stored for a while. There are also two pears in the bottom. The jelly beans used for decoration are part toffee, and part are chocolate beans with peanuts wrapped in chocolate. Since there is no such kind of diced apple, she thinks that it will not go bad after getting up in the morning.

"Okay, okay, did you hear that?"

The helpless mother said to the little girl. While rubbing her eyes, she gave Adele a vague and sleepy smile, and she seemed very happy.

"Just like it."

This boat is really beautiful. The shape of the fruit basket is made of bamboo. In order to prevent sticking hands, a layer of white chocolate is directly "plated" on the outside of the main frame where the fruit is placed.Then the fruits are fixed on it one by one, and they are arranged beautifully.

Different from the fruit bowl of the adults, the fruit bowls of the adults have carved fruits, which are very beautiful when placed, but they can only be carved fresh, and cannot be left for too long, otherwise they will oxidize.

The boat is exquisite, cute and unique, even the adults who are childlike like it, let alone a little girl, Adele asked someone to pack it for her, and tied it firmly with a cardboard box and ribbon. The little girl finally couldn't help closing her eyes, her fleshy hands were still hooking the end of the ribbon, and her fingertips lost a little bit of strength as she fell asleep, and finally let the ribbon slip from her hand.

Everyone laughed again, and the servant hurriedly carried her sleeping soundly to another room, and took her home after everyone had used up and the dinner was over.

There were a lot of people coming to the Dressel family, and it was inconvenient to live in their home for the first time. Although Bailu Manor had a nice view, and the Duke and others tried to persuade them to stay, they still declined.

It's almost time, and it's time to leave.

It was already past midnight and early morning, but the dawn had not yet appeared.

There are so many candles around, it makes the hall look extra bright.

The Duke's father went to see off some guests, and Adele was chatting with the rest of the guests inside.

The first group to leave was the Dressel family. After all, their sleeping little girl was there, the carriage was bumpy, and etiquette did not allow it. So even though Adele said no, they still woke up the little girl and asked her to be with her. The two hosts said goodbye before getting into the carriage.

"Yes, I look forward to seeing you again next time." Adele smiled and talked to the ladies.

"It's time for you to come to our house to play next time. Our two dances are in the second half of this month."

Everyone's attitude is very clear. If you say that when you came in today, you still had scrutiny and a little bit of reservation. After a dinner, more than one person expressed their expectation for their family's dance, and the words of praise never stopped.

They were satisfied with all aspects of the dinner, whether it was the food, the decoration, or the host's hospitality, they were all very appropriate and thoughtful, and made the guests feel very happy when they visited.

Mr. Duke went downstairs to see him off, and Adele stood at the top of the stairs on the first floor, watching him off with a smile.

"Miss Adele." Mr. Duval came over first, Morgana and Armand were a few steps behind, talking to each other not far away.

Seeing this, Adele knew that the other two did not want to join such a conversation, but this should not be a formal conversation.

Otherwise, it should be Adele as the master facing the whole family of the other party.

"good evening."

With a smile on her face, Adele bowed slightly to the other party.

"Did you like today's dinner?" she asked with a smile.

The atmosphere was very relaxed, and there was no ambiguous or strange atmosphere before. It was not that I lost my feeling, but that I was in a good mood. The happy mood was coupled with the moonlight like water. The music around me had just stopped. I feel that I have maintained a state of a friend tacitly.

"It's very beautiful." Mr. Duval smiled, his beautiful blue eyes were full of gentleness like water, "I appreciate that seafood dish very much."

"Really? Me too." Hearing this, Adele's smile deepened a little.

"Yes, I personally like it very much." He explained with a smile. In order to prove his true love, he took the initiative to say, "I also praised this meal with Mr. Duke, and Mr. Duke said that he would invite me to have a seafood feast together. .”

"Is that so?" Adele frowned slightly, and the smile on her face became subtle, "Then I should prepare more carefully?"

As far as she knew, although everyone present was considered to be very close to or favored by Mr. Duke, it showed how happy and close he was to the guests who made an appointment for the next meal during this meal.

You know, before this, Adele believed that Mr. Duval and Mr. Duke were not close to such a degree.

Mr. Smart is indeed Mr. Smart.

"No matter what you have prepared, I think I will appreciate it very much. It must not be too bad."

His eyes fell on her blushing face, she didn't know whether it was the heat or drinking a lot of wine, which made her look extra bloody.

Compared with the usual hard-to-touch feeling, it is a little more cute now.

he thought.

"Sometimes your confidence in me is too easy to inflate me."

Adele smiled and closed the shawl again, and spoke teasingly.

"I'm just more confident in my vision...Of course, I also believe in your taste."

These words are not only praising her, but also saying that he is very optimistic about her, and the person he is optimistic about must not be too bad.

This wonderful compliment made Adele chuckle.

"With your words, I will definitely perform beyond the average level."

"Of course, I also hope that our Mr. Supply can catch the freshest first-hand goods, so that I have room to play and open your eyes."

After finishing speaking, she herself was amused. Such boasting is something she doesn't do very much, although it's not like she doesn't do it.

Mr. Duvall seemed to be nodding seriously, with a look of great anticipation.

The two talked for a while, but the laughter didn't stop.

When Morgana and Armand estimated the time to come forward, meet their father Duval, and then bid farewell to the host, Mr. Duke had already sent a wave of guests, and they could continue to socialize when they came back.

Adele took Morgana's hand, and the two girls agreed that they would go to the Paris Opera House to watch the ballet in two days. "Giselle" or "Queen's Comedy Ballet" are fine, but if there are other repertoires, You can also try.

In her heart, she still hopes to introduce to her the female dancer she admires very much. Morgana watched a few dances by Fiona and was really conquered. She likes it so much. She also hopes that her friends can Appreciate the beauty of this actress with excellent expressiveness and skills.

Although she is not yet the chief, but in Morgana's heart, she is not far from the chief.

"Okay, I remember." Adele nodded with a smile, "Remember to write to me when you go back."

"Of course, I will post for you, you want to come to our house to play." Morgana and her reluctantly.

After all the work was done and all the guests were sent away, Adele asked the servant in charge to check the places that the guests had been to today, and there was no need to clean up immediately at night. This is a bit unrealistic and quite embarrassing , but just in case a guest left something here, she asked someone to check it one last time.

The rest of the cleaning work will be done after waking up, and another group of servants will be rotated in the morning. Naturally, they will continue to clean up. The most important thing is that the restaurant and other places must be taken care of when the two masters get up to eat. .

The living room, dining room, lounge and other places should be tidied up.

However, there is more than one restaurant in the family. If the toss is serious, you can eat in another restaurant.

When Adele woke up, the sun had already risen almost to the sky.

Still, I was a little tired from the dinner party yesterday, because she hadn't done it before, and she was afraid of making any mistakes. She always maintained a high degree of concentration, and naturally her energy was not as good as later, but because her self-control ability is not bad, no one can see that something is wrong Come.

She took a comfortable bath yesterday and fell asleep right away.

After ringing the bell, it was Jenny who came in to serve her. Mary worked hard yesterday, and only at the end of the second half did Jenny come to change shifts to help. Objectively speaking, Mary has done everything she can, everything All good.

"How's it going?"

Adele drank a little too much yesterday, and her face was flushed. She only noticed it when she reflected from the window inadvertently, but everyone is basically in that state, and it's not particularly weird.

When I woke up this morning, my head didn’t hurt. This amount of alcohol is still acceptable, most of it is natural. Although my cheeks will turn slightly red after drinking too much, the amount I can bear is actually quite large.

Jenny introduced to her knowingly:

"Mrs. Lude and the butler got people up early in the morning to clean up. The places visited by the guests yesterday have been tidied up. Since there was not too much noise, it was easy to clean up."

"Some of them said that only after the dance party, because too many people were received and too many things and places were involved, it would take a few days to clean up those places. Of course, if everyone works quickly, it can be done. Do it in one day."

"However, you and the Duke are very kind. The servants who were busy serving the guests yesterday can have a rest today, and another group of people on shift will be responsible for cleaning and tidying up."

"Everyone is used to it now. It's good to be able to change duty and work in this way. There will no longer be people who don't want to be on duty at night and want to avoid work. In this way, the housekeepers in the group will clearly announce the management. Make it clear, no one can be lazy, and you can get extra bonuses if you do a good job. The current system is really good...you don't know, many people are praising you..."

"And the servants who came with the guests yesterday also inquired about a lot of things. What we can't say is that we didn't say anything. However, some people also asked about the management system. Everyone thinks that the current method is very good, so it's okay. I introduced it to them, and they said yes... This is an idea you came up with, and the housekeeper has implemented it very well. Now the manor is very orderly, and everything is handled properly... Everyone will definitely praise you, guest They all seemed very satisfied."

"That's good." Adele also smiled, she put down the towel, and went to the dressing table, and Jenny helped her braid her hair.

"Get a simple one, hang it down and tie it a little bit. I won't go out today. After lunch, I will go to the study to write something for a while. In the afternoon, I will go to the garden pavilion for afternoon tea. By the way, I will look at some things that I haven't seen before. Handle a letter post, then read poetry."

"Mrs. Semantha, the tutor, may arrive later. If she comes, just take her to the garden to meet me. I will invite her to have dinner with us then."

"Oh, by the way, I will finish writing those letters in a while, and you will send them to the above address for me. There are a few letters that must be delivered on time, so there are no mistakes."

"Okay, I got it." Jenny nodded, and then remembered another thing, "Mrs. Lude said before that she would make a brief summary before and after this dinner. Let's see when..."

"Just after dinner, Mrs. Semantha is also here. I would like to ask her to give some pointers and comments, but I think everyone has done a good job. If I have time in the evening, I will directly summarize the awards. If there is nothing left, then You can do it again tomorrow morning.”

"Okay," Jenny nodded, "Mary has worked hard, she doesn't have to get up early to work today, but she still got up early in the morning, and then she compiled a list of the guests' tastes and preferences, and went to Mrs. Lude to ask I think Mrs. Lude will be very happy to come."

"Yes, it's good that she can work so hard, and Armand can also relax. There are many guests who are not so familiar with them before, such as Mr. Duval's family and Virginie's family. They should let us know Update the list of information."

"Hey, but it seems that the old Mrs. Dressel and her 'daughter' are really not very close."

Jenny is talking about the old Mrs. Dressel and the young Mrs. Dressel. During the dinner, the two women seemed to be very restrained from each other, and there was not much intimacy between them. It is hard to imagine that this is a friendly, The old Mrs. Dressel who is used to smiling.

"However, she is still very good to her granddaughter. Virginie didn't affect her view of the two relatives because of the discord between her mother and grandmother. She is very close to them and obedient. She is a well-behaved girl. "

Adele recalled the scene at that time, and couldn't help but feel emotional.

Old Mrs. Dressel and Mrs. Dressel did not live together.

The youngest son has not yet married, and is living with his parents in Dressel's manor for the time being.

The eldest son, Mr. Dressel, is married and has his own daughter. He has been living in another manor not far from Provence Street, and is also a neighbor not far from Hugo's family.

The two dances they said would be held in the future came from the parents, mainly for the blind date of the younger son, and the other was held by the eldest son couple, more for socializing with the upper class.

After going through this dinner party, they are also familiar and close.

Especially the little girl Virginie liked her again. Naturally, the invitation from the young Mrs. Dressel became more logical.

And then there's Madame Castellana.

It had been rumored that the two were at odds before, but it was actually pretty much the same.

It's not that they don't get along, it's just about the marriage of their own daughter. The two have huge differences. Coupled with the illegitimate child of an outside lover, Mrs. Castellana has no expectations for her husband.

When arranging the seats, the two of them almost sat in the largest opposite corner. Of course, there were more than one couple separated. For hours, the old couple never looked at each other.

It seems that the older Dressel couple would occasionally look at each other and smile, but this couple has never looked at each other, let alone glanced at their partner.

No matter what funny things Mrs. Castellana said on the table and everyone became lively, her husband didn't seem to meddle. Instead, he talked to the gentlemen on both sides, and of course he still had a polite smile on his face. What an unhappy look, he is satisfied with the dinner, there is no reluctance or dissatisfaction.

It was only then that Adele realized that Mrs. Castellana hadn't talked to her husband much before at the poker table or chatting.

Mr. Castellana played billiards with the Duke's father from the very beginning, and Mrs. Castellana took the ladies to play cards. They also had a great time and didn't seem to care at all.

Only then did she realize that the actual relationship between the couple should be a little more "icy" than what she had seen before.

Thinking of this, Adele couldn't help feeling a little bit embarrassed.

Obviously they are also a couple who have been together for 30 to 60 years, and they have several children one after another, but they are forced to be less than five or sixty years old, and they have already "boiled" their lives like this.

The most disturbing thing is that not only this middle-aged couple, but also many young couples have actually become a couple in name only. Not to mention resentment, there is basically no warmth at all. Not only is there no love, even the family relationship may be in jeopardy.

But Adele thinks about it in another way.

If my future husband spends time and wine outside, has a group of children, and for the benefit of himself and the family, even marry her biological daughter to a distant place where he may not see each other for several years, the most hateful thing is knowing this. The young man is not a good match, and his daughter was forced to marry him——

Then she might be more than what the Castellanas are now.

Not to mention being extremely indifferent to her husband, she would tear his heart apart with her hands.

Today's children are no different from those in the future. It is not easy to conceive a child, and the conditions for childbirth are even more difficult. After a child is born, it is even more difficult. It is difficult to survive. It is very likely that only a few children will survive. It's easy to pamper and raise her, and it ends up in such an unfortunate end.

Thinking about it, she felt that her head was exploding. This is a pain that no amount of money and dowry left to her children can make up for.

That kind of angry fire burst from the bottom of my heart, and I wanted to kill the heartbroken man.

The dinner ended like this, and the praise for the Juradi family outside gradually increased.

As the guests participating in the dinner appeared in other different social occasions, all kinds of compliments were heard endlessly.

Adele has heard too many compliments about her and Bailu Manor. It seems that everyone is waiting for a grand ball to be held in the manor before summer.

At this time, while she was thinking about how to deal with the upcoming birthday party of Baron Bernard's family and the "No. [-] Beauty" who had malicious intentions and wanted to ruin her reputation, she received an echo from the letter she sent earlier. .

Margaret first praised her in the letter, and even she heard a lot of compliments about the exquisite dinner held by the Duke's Palace. She said that Adele is undoubtedly the most famous in the circle today. Every family wanted to find out about a young woman, and chose her to be the wife of the family.

Later, she mentioned the matter that Prudence had been asked to investigate before. It was not called an investigation, but to check again. She is a quack doctor who caused festering infection in the place where she was scratched and broken skin. She declared that the old baroness was "the devil's minions" that made her face broken, but everyone knows the barefoot doctor who made a mistake. have all run away.

In addition, her string of torn pearls was actually fake. It was a string of pink pearls that were made to be real and fake.

Adele flipped through the letters, and finally smiled after seeing a certain sign, and she quickly opened them.

Her probing letter received a response, and the lieutenant's wife offered to meet her before the Baron's birthday party.