Guidebook for the Dark Duke

At six o'clock the next morning, Evan's valet Tom knocked on the door and came in to wake him up. Tom just graduated from the valet school last year. Leaving his hometown, he stayed.

Tom looks ordinary and doesn't look very smart, but he is a hardworking young man. He woke up the sleepy Evan early and helped him change into the pastor's clothes. Then he whispered: "Pastor Bruce , Mrs. Haydn has already prepared breakfast, would you like to go downstairs for dinner?"

Evan took Tom's hot towel and wiped his face: "I'll go downstairs to eat, by the way, Tom, you go to the post office today and order some newspapers for me, a local newspaper, a Times newspaper, and a church newspaper. newspaper."

Tom handed over the toothbrush and tooth bowl and asked respectfully: "There are two kinds of local newspapers, the DeLandrill Daily and the Daily News. Which one do you want?"

Evan thought about it for a while, except that he probably read the book, he didn't know anything about the place of Delanele, so it's better to be sure.

"Both papers."

"Yes, sir." Tom bowed and backed away.

When Evan went downstairs, Mrs. Haydon had already served breakfast on the table. Mrs. Haydon was a grumpy middle-aged woman. He and the gardener Aiden were husband and wife, and Billy, the errand boy, was their husband and wife. The youngest son, they used to be tenants under the Duke's name, but because of the flood, the family's land was submerged, so they had to come out to work.

Mrs. Haydn's cooking skills are very good, and Evan is very satisfied with the food. He suppressed the original idea of ​​changing someone else. It seems that although Mrs. Sanders has a strict personality, she does things very well. Proper.

Evan took the Bible and walked towards the church along the gravel road. The pastor's cottage was not far from the church. Evan walked there for 5 minutes. From a distance, he saw that Mrs. Sanders had arrived and was standing Wait at the door.

Evan stepped forward with a gentle smile on his face: "Mrs. Sanders, I'm so sorry, I'm late."

Mrs. Sanders bent her lips a little stiffly: "No, Pastor Bruce, you came at the right time. In another quarter of an hour, the parishioners will arrive."

Hearing what he said, Evan felt a little nervous for a moment. Although he had helped the pastor to preach countless times before, this was the first time as an official pastor.

Evan pursed his lips and stood beside Mrs. Sanders quietly waiting.

Sure enough, after a quarter of an hour, the parishioners came one after another. When they faced Evan, they all showed great curiosity. The gentlemen were fine, but the ladies didn't have so many scruples.

Miss Blair, who lives by the pine forest, spoke first. Miss Blair is over 40 years old this year. She is an old lady. She owns a single-family house and a storefront, which is also considered a place in Delan Lille. I am well off.

She was wearing a light yellow dress and a pink velvet hat today, looking a little funny.

"Pastor Bruce, are you from London?" She deliberately squeezed her throat and made a harsh voice like a little girl.

But Evan still looked gentle and polite, his expression didn't change at all, like a real gentleman: "Yes, I used to work in a small church in the suburbs of London."

His gentle and peaceful tone, coupled with his natural good looks, made the hearts of the unmarried ladies around him flutter.

Major Meyer is a figure who has been on the battlefield, and he is also very prestigious in Delan Lille, and he is also very curious about this too young pastor at this time. Hearing what he said now, he couldn't help interjecting: "Priest Bruce Which church did I serve in, I was working in London before I retired and I might have been to this church."

Evan nodded lightly: "That's just a small church, Major Mel probably didn't know about it."

He didn't want to talk about his previous story, because it was like a stranger's life, and he really had nothing to talk about.

Major Mel was a smart man, so he stopped asking.

When everyone was almost there, Evan stepped onto the altar and began to preach. He had already prepared the sermon, so the process was safe and sound, but Evan didn’t feel like His face is so peaceful.

Duke Wilson did not come.

The faithful believer in God that Mrs. Sanders said did not appear at Evan's evangelistic meeting under the premise that almost the whole town came.

But everyone behaved as they should. No one asked questions, let alone whispered. This was an incomprehensible phenomenon for a group of loyal Protestants. Evan knew very well the influence of religion on people in this era. , and an alternative existence like Duke Wilson made him realize that this world is not as simple as he imagined.

After the sermon was over, Mrs. Lawrence walked up to Evan. Mrs. Lawrence was very thin and not very beautiful. Her thin lips and high cheekbones made her look a bit mean, and her There was also an indescribable reserve in her actions, she lifted her chin slightly, and there was a hint of arrogance hidden in her eyes.

"Pastor Bruce, please allow me to sincerely invite you. I will hold a welcome dinner for you at my home, Woodwich Cottage at seven o'clock this evening. Please be sure to appreciate it."

She gently stroked the satchel in her hand, and Evan could tell that it was the most popular new style in London this year.

"It's a great honor to have this opportunity, and I will definitely go." Evan said softly, looking humble and not overly humble, with just the right amount of proportion.

Mrs. Lawrence nodded in satisfaction, and left with Mr. Lawrence, who looked a little tired.

Afterwards, Evan dealt with a few ladies who were full of love one after another. Fortunately, they were all traditional British ladies. Although they were very eager to Evan, they couldn't be rude. They all left one after another.

People in other small towns are polite and reserved, which is very in line with the reaction to a stranger.

After Evan sent off the last believer, he returned to the church again. Mrs. Sanders was kneeling in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary to pray.

Evan walked up to her slowly, looking at the merciful Virgin in front of him, but there was a trace of coldness in his eyes.

"Have the parishioners gone?" Mrs. Saunders said suddenly.

Evan subconsciously put on a gentle look, and said softly: "They have already left." After speaking, his eyes turned and he said again: "However, I didn't see the Duke today."

Mrs. Saunders concluded her prayers with a silent recitation of the Hail Mary.

"The Duke usually doesn't come to church except for weekend services, Pastor Bruce, you will know in the future." Mrs. Sanders stood up and looked straight into Evan's eyes, with a cold light in them .

Evan suddenly smiled, and the bright sunlight shone on him through the colorful windows of the church, making his whole body glow with a holy light.

"That's right, thank you for your reminder."

Mrs. Sanders nodded stiffly, and backed out holding the corner of her skirt.

Evan stayed in the church all day, dealing with the accounts left by the previous pastor. Delan Lille is a prosperous town, so the donations received by the church are also very abundant, especially the Duke of Wilson, he is indeed like Sander What Mrs. Si said was very generous.

Because there are a lot of donations, it is also very complicated to deal with. Evan spent the whole morning checking the books with the clerk who controls the church's finances. It was not until the afternoon that Evan sorted out the pile of work, but at this time It was past six o'clock, and it was time for Mrs. Lawrence's dinner soon.

Evan looked at his pocket watch, shook his head at the clerk and said, "Sorry, it's getting late, let's stop here today."

The priests immediately breathed a sigh of relief, bid farewell to Evan one by one, and left the church.

Evan was the last one to leave. He sorted out all the ledgers and put them away. He checked the church to see if anyone was there before leaving the church.

Evan returned to the pastor's cottage, and Tom, the servant, was waiting at the door.

"Pastor Bruce, Mrs. Lawrence called an hour ago."

Evan stopped in his tracks: "Did she say something?" Evan turned to look at Tom.

Tom nodded slightly and said, "Mrs. Lawrence said, please be sure to dress up for the dinner tonight. His Excellency the Duke is likely to appear."

Evan's whole body tensed up. He looked at Tom almost in surprise, and it took him a long time to find his voice: "The Duke is coming?" Evan's voice was a little hoarse.

Tom gave Evan a weird look and nodded: "Yes, Mr. Duke doesn't often appear on such occasions, but Mr. Lawrence is a town council member and has a good friendship with the Duke, so..."

Evan barely heard what Tom said, he was immersed in the excitement of seeing the Duke soon.

This duke, who is almost omnipotent in the book, has an extreme personality and no three views, but even so, he is the real protagonist in this book. Whether it is the heroine like a white lotus or other cannon fodder passers-by, he can't stop him. His radiance.

Evan was excited when he read this book, but when he actually entered this book, he panicked, because this is not a reasonable world, and all axioms and justice do not make sense in this place , the only thing you can rely on is power and money.

There was a hint of a smile in the corner of Evan's eyes. In this world, the only way to gain power is to get close to this duke, this duke who lacks personality but is blank in emotion.