[HP Doujin] 1943

No wonder she said she couldn't appear at the dinner party, no wonder she said her first love is here, when she said these words to me, was she trying to mock me?

I spent the morning in my own room, mad at myself, and thinking I was so stupid I couldn't help it.Francis was obviously pissed too, he wasn't home for lunch, and when he saw me on the stairs this morning, he gave me a freezing look.I really don't understand why he is angry with me, he brought other women home, not me, he deserves it for embarrassing himself.

In the afternoon, the guests attending the dinner came one after another, and I could only brace myself to deal with them.

There are a lot of guest rooms in the Stuart Manor, and they are all ready for guests to stay and rest at the moment.The guest room and master bedroom are not on one floor.Francis and I slept in separate rooms, and our bedrooms were both on the higher floor in the east wing, and no one else could enter or leave except the personal servant and the two of us.No matter how many guests there are, our floor is quiet and secluded.

I was busy for a while, went upstairs to get my shawl, and had just come out of my room when I heard the sound of smashing things coming from Francis' room at the end of the corridor, and I was so scared that I ran back to my room. In his own room, he muttered: "What kind of nerves is he having?"

I closed my door and stood with my back against it.I vaguely heard Jacqueline crying, and I heard my name, and then there was a slap, and I almost jumped up.

Francis' voice came from the corridor: "Don't mention her name in front of me again! This matter has not been discussed. Eleanor can only go to the boarding school and cannot come to the manor!"

The sound of his footsteps gradually faded away, and I walked out of the room and walked to his bedroom.

The room was in a mess, broken tiles, plant stems, leaves and flowers were scattered all over the floor, and the wet water soaked a large piece of carpet. Jacqueline sat on the soft stool in front of the window, her thin shoulders trembling. Trembling, the left side of his face was swollen, and his lips were as white as a ghost.

I took out my wand and repaired the vase, the leaves and stems flew back and the rug dried.I took the vase to the bathroom to refill it and put it back on the mantel, handing her the handkerchief I had in my pocket.

She raised her head, glanced at me, took the handkerchief and wiped away her tears, and said, "Did you come to see my joke?"

"When it comes to reading jokes, I'm afraid you and I have seen enough of them this morning." I said flatly, "I'm rather stupid and don't understand the tricks you people always like to play, so don't think of me as a joke. People like you."

There was a look of surprise in her eyes, and she shook her head with a smile, and said, "I'm sorry. I was just curious to see what kind of wife he finally chose."

I asked, "What are you arguing about?"

"It's nothing." She said, with a self-deprecating smile, "It's impossible for things to turn around again. No one can change what he decides."

"Is this about Eleanor?" I asked.

"Do you remember what I told you about my first love?" Instead of answering my question directly, she said, "When I was young, Francis had two older sisters who always bullied me, and Francis always stood by me. By my side, try my best to protect me. He taught me to ride a horse, taught me to get up in the early morning, enjoy the beauty of the sunrise on the beach, and immerse myself in a world that belongs only to me. Do you think you know him as well as I do? ?but francis' father chose his wife from a young age. he married laura greengrass two years after graduation. i got pregnant a week before he got married. i told him, but he still chose Laura."

A sympathy for the woman flitted across my mind, but I said nothing, and continued to look at her with my arms folded and my back leaning on the mantelpiece.

"You see, from that moment on, my heart died." Jacqueline said flatly, "I insisted on giving birth to Eleanor, and he put me in Paris, and that's it, so many years have passed. And you, like Laura, are a poor woman locked in this manor by him."

Her bright blue eyes looked at me, but I just shrugged and smiled. "If you're trying to piss me off, you're wasting your energy. I'm not interested in comparing who knows him better with you."

"You may also wonder why I suddenly appeared in the manor, and it was still when the guests gathered." She said lightly, "I don't live in Paris anymore. I live in Saint-Mungo, there are not many people." Zhou can live. I know you don't want to see me, but as a mother, you should understand how I feel now. The only thing I can't let go is Eleanor. I asked him if he would like to be Eleanor's guardian, and he didn't agree."

"If Elinor didn't come to the Stuarts, where would she go?"

"I don't have any relatives," Jacqueline said. "She's in a boarding school in France now."

"Why didn't he agree?" I asked, maybe I didn't like Jacqueline because of a woman's instinct, but her daughter was innocent, and I couldn't figure out why Francis was so unreasonable in this matter.

"It's simple, because Eleanor is different from your child. She is an illegitimate child." Jacqueline said, lowering her head, burying her face in her hands, taking a deep breath, and then looking up at the I smiled sadly, "However, the main reason is that he considers your feelings. I'm not blaming you, Elizabeth, you don't mind. No woman would be willing to take care of her husband and another A child born to a woman."

"He cares about my feelings?" I snorted, "He doesn't care about my feelings, and he doesn't like me."

Jacqueline looked at me and shook her head: "He actually cares about you, I can see that. Francis is a very principled person, so sometimes he seems too strict and unreasonable. He is also not good at expressing emotions. Himself. So many times, many things he will pay silently behind his back, even if you hate him, he will not come to you to tell you what he has done for you, or say that sentence to you' I love you'."

At that time, I didn't understand a word of these words.Until many years later, I only understood a small part.

I said coldly: "Anyway, you have no reputation to speak of, and I have lost all face. If you don't want the Stuart family to become a bigger joke, you should stop showing up at my house in the future. "

******

Before the dinner that day, the guests were drinking champagne and chatting in the living room. I stood by the fireplace and talked with the Secretary of Education. After the Secretary of Education left, Francis came over and stood behind me, asking with a serious face. : "You drove Jacqueline away?"

I turned around, looked at him with a smile and said, "Yeah, are you trying to drive me away too?"

In front of so many guests, I knew he wouldn't get mad at me.Sure enough, he just smiled, put one hand on the mantelpiece, and said lightly: "Elizabeth, don't go too far."

"I'm thinking of your reputation," I said, continuing to irritate him with pleasure, "if Jacqueline was standing here with me at this moment entertaining guests, you wouldn't be afraid of your father falling from his grave." Come back alive, slap you and die again?"

"I'm afraid that someone is deliberately taking revenge just because they swept their faces this morning." He explained what was in my mind, "If you care about my reputation, I will give all employees in my company twice the salary tomorrow. salary."

I wrapped his arms around him and said happily, "Why are you so smart? Besides, you also know that I don't care about you and Jacqueline at all. You have enough mistresses to form a women's Quidditch team representative." Scotland's participation in the World Cup is none of my business. I just want to see your pissed off face after I shoo her away."

"If you piss me off, what good do you do?" To my surprise, he wasn't angry, but just looked down at me with a hint of amusement in his gray-blue eyes.

"Then your manor is mine." I said gloatingly.

"Don't worry, my will has been placed with my lawyer a long time ago, and the manor is not yours. But for the sake of my kindness, I left you a brick." He squinted at me. Yes, if my mistresses form a Quidditch team, they represent England, not Scotland. I like English women."

After speaking, he raised the champagne in his hand, touched my glass politely, then turned and walked away.

When it comes to poisonous tongue, my morals and deeds are far inferior to his.I looked at his leaving back angrily, and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.It's really a rare thing that happens once in a hundred years for a husband and wife to do the same for the two of us.I put down my wine glass, looked up, and saw Tom and Adelaide sitting on the sofa diagonally across from me. He watched Francis walk away, and then looked at me again, with a hint of understanding in his dark eyes sarcasm.

******

At the end of the hunting season he said to me, "You can go back to York."

We happened to be drinking tea in the living room at that time.Apart from the maid, we were alone in the living room.The floor-to-ceiling windows were wide open, and the white tulle curtains fluttered in the wind, while the heavy woolen curtains were pulled aside and tied with velvet with embroidered fringes.The sun was just falling on the white napkins and gilded white china on our table, the little silver spoons gleaming, and the maid brought us a serving of tangerines and a stack of brioche.

I looked up at him and said oh.

"Jacqueline died last night at St. Mungo's," he told me calmly. "She will never be here again."

I stared at him with wide eyes, unable to believe it was real.I always thought she was just here to mess around, but I didn't expect that she was really seriously ill.

"I'm sorry." After a long time, I said this word.

The maid put down the milk jug, left the room, and closed the door behind her.The two of us were silent for a while, and then I asked in a casual tone, "Will you pick up the children?"

As I asked, I was faintly worried about his reaction.

He always dislikes me mentioning children the most, but this time he just half leaned in the chair woven with bamboo strips, half closed his eyes, rubbed his forehead with one hand, gave a casual grace, and said with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth : "Charles' eyes are exactly like yours, and his temper is like yours."

I dropped a cube of sugar into my tea, stirred it with a silver spoon, tapped it on the rim of the cup, and set it down in the saucer.

"Then what about Eleanor?" My tone was still casual.

The movements of his hands paused, his gray-blue eyes shot a sharp look at me, and he said unhurriedly, "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking, what if..." Under his urgent gaze, I stuttered a bit, but I still insisted on going on, "If you don't want to take Eleanor because you are afraid that I won't be happy?" Come here, then you don't have to worry. I don't mind. After all, she's your daughter, and I'm not such a mean person. You can't let her be homeless at five years old. You don't know what it's like to be an orphan Difficult."

He put the newspaper in his hand to the side of the sofa, leaned over and took a sip from his teacup. I saw that his light blue striped shirt was tied with a dark gray silk tie at the neckline. The sun shone slightly on the smooth and soft fabric of the tie. for a moment.

He put down the teacup and asked in a deep voice, "Do you really not mind? This is my child with another woman."

"The whole of London knows about you and Jacqueline. Taking her back is just turning an open secret into an open fact. Who can do anything to you." I said, stroking the small teacup with both hands unconsciously Cup Ears, "If you don't bring Eleanor back after Jacqueline's death, people will think you are too ruthless. If we bring her back, people will think you are tolerant, which is also good for your political career. benefit."

He looked at me expressionlessly, smiled slightly, and said, "After analyzing so many objective factors with me, what do you think?"

"I don't mind," I said, "really. I know you've been seeing Jacqueline and Eleanor every month since we got married. I know you like her more than me. I don't like you that much anyway, So I don't really mind."

He nodded, and I thought I said the right thing, so I felt relieved.But before I could say anything else, he overturned the table with his hand, splashing hot tea on me, cups, saucers, teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl and biscuits all fell to the floor.

Hearing the loud noise, the maids and servants outside the door ran in one after another.As soon as they saw Francis overturning the table and standing in front of me, they ran out very quickly to avoid scolding.

"Elizabeth, are you enough?" He bent down, grabbed my skirt, and stared at me with bloodshot eyes, as if about to burst into flames, "What do you want from me?"

I looked at him, and for some reason, a deep weakness suddenly appeared all over my body. I don't want to quarrel with him anymore. I've had enough, I've had enough.

I didn't talk back like I usually do, always jumping in front of him to say extremely mean things. Instead, I just looked at him palely, with a sad smile on the corner of my mouth.

I really don't understand this man.

"Burned?" He looked at my arm.The sleeves of the shirt I was wearing that day were made of sheer crepe, and the tea splashed on it burned my skin red and blistered.He took my arms and tried to pick me up, but I shrank back and knocked the chair to the ground, not wanting to touch him.

"Stay away from me." I said blankly, with a hint of emptiness in my voice.

I walked through the living room, stepping on the broken porcelain pieces all over the floor, met the surprised and curious eyes of the servants, and returned to my own room like a wandering spirit, packed up my things, and Apparated and left.