[HP Doujin] 1943

Volume Five: Autumn

Volume Five. The Grieving Autumn

1949 ~ 1955

Desperado, ah, youain't getting no younger.

Desperado, you are no longer young.

Your pain and your hunger, they're driving you home.

Your pain and hunger, they are driving you back to square one.

Freedom, oh, freedom. That's just some people talking.

Freedom, oh freedom.That's just what some people say.

You'reaprisoner walking through this world all alone.

Throughout your life, you are a prisoner of emotion, walking the long road of life alone.

- Eagles, "desperado"

————————————————————————————————————

London, [-].

At the door of the bar on Leicester Street, a boy with dark brown hair struggled to stand up from the muddy water. The pain in his abdomen made him gasp uncontrollably.He never dreamed that he would accidentally hit Lizzie, but she was not easy to mess with, and her spell made him unable to walk steadily.

He limped out of Leicester Street in the rain.He couldn't come home covered in mud like this, so he went to Randall House in Knightsbridge.He climbed over the wall from the backyard familiarly, slipped into Tony's room, took a hot shower, and changed into clean clothes.

"Are you going to beat up Riddle again?" 16-year-old Tony sat on the window sill, cleaning his new broom with detergent in his hand, gloating, "If your wife finds out, she won't treat you well." Look at your face."

When fully dressed, the dark brown-haired boy looked a lot better than before.He is a thin young man with a clean and handsome face, about 20 years old.He walked to the window, stood beside Tony, put one arm on the window sill, shrugged, and said absently, "Riddle was knocked out by me."

"Then who beat you like this?" Tony dropped the broom, picked up a glass from the table, and poured himself a glass of water.

"Lizzie."

Tony, who was drinking water, choked and coughed violently.

"Lizzie?" he asked, coughing. "For Merlin's sake, Francis, did she recognize you?"

Francis turned around, leaned his back against the window frame, and said a little irritably, "Of course not."

"You'd better not show up in front of her again," Tony said, with a hint of worry in his expression.

Francis didn't speak up immediately.He knew exactly what Tony was worried about, but he didn't want to talk about it at all.

The two were silent for a moment.After Tony finished his glass of water, Francis looked at his watch and said curtly, "I should be back on the Strand. Laura is coming over for dinner today."

"How's Melinda?" Tony asked casually.

Melinda is Francis' one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Although the relationship between Francis and his wife has always been very cold, everyone knows that he loves this daughter.To Tony's puzzlement, Francis just answered "Mel is in Scotland" perfunctorily, then turned and left.

In fact, Francis is not in the mood to talk to anyone right now.Since the moment he saw Elizabeth, his mood was as mixed as if he had knocked over a seasoning bottle.Four years, or five years?He never saw her bright smile again, never heard her happy voice again.Over the years, life has slowly rolled over him like a huge millstone, shaping him into a mature and stable young man prematurely.Those most beautiful pictures in his life have all become broken fragments, scattered in the long silent night.Sometimes he even doubted whether Elizabeth really existed in his life. All those memories of the past were so unreal, and the past was gone with the wind, as if she had never been here.

He used Floo powder to get to the Strand.Through the half-open study door, Geoffrey Clifford, the steward of Stuart Manor, laughed boldly from the living room downstairs.The Scotch man was always rough and quick and informal.Although it seems that he is out of tune with London's upper class, everyone likes him very much.

The corridor outside the study was deep and silent, as if all the sounds were absorbed by the thick cashmere carpet.Camellias were in full bloom in August, and a bronze vase at the top of the stairs was filled with a fresh bouquet the servants had picked from the estate this morning.The snow-white and delicate petals are covered with dew, blooming presumptuously, as if they don't belong to this solemn and dead house at all.

Francis stood at the door of the living room for a while, and he could smell the perfume in the lady's hair, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol on the man's body, and the faint scent of flowers in the air.He heard the chatter of the guests, the rustle of the skirts of the ladies, the clink of glasses in the hands of the men.He knew that dinner tonight included his wife, Laura, the Undersecretary for Magic, and several officials from the Department of Transport.He was going to have a good talk with them about Bulgarian and British broom import regulations, but he couldn't think at all now.As soon as he closes his eyes, what he sees on Leicester Street floods into his mind like a flood: the 15-year-old girl ran out of the bar with quick steps, stood on her feet without hesitation. Tom's side, as if protecting her own life.

He hadn't experienced such sharp and painful emotions for a long time—when he had conflicts with his father, sister, and wife, his emotions were nothing more than a dull, numb boredom, not such deep pain, Anger and jealousy.

Francis went upstairs to the bedroom alone, and Vincent followed him and opened the door of the cloakroom for him.Vincent is over 60 years old. Since old Mr. Stuart passed away, Vincent has become Francis's valet. He knows Stuart and his son very well.He could tell at a glance that Francis was in a bad mood, and he knew what to say when he was in a different mood.

He didn't ask anything, but respectfully opened the top drawer of the dark red solid wood wardrobe, which was full of exquisite boxes with various cufflinks.

"Use those plain white gold cufflinks," Francis said simply, taking off the black robe he had picked up from Tony's closet. "Tie in a dark color."

Francis put on a white shirt, and while he was buttoning it, someone knocked at the door.Vincent turned his head to look, and said, "Wait a minute, sir, I'll go and have a look."

Standing outside the door was Alicia, Laura Stuart's personal maid.

"Madam asked me to come up to see if Mr. Stuart is ready to go downstairs for dinner, and the rest of the guests are waiting for him." Alicia said in a low voice.

"What's the rush?" Vincent closed the door behind him so that Francis could not hear his voice, "Didn't you see how smelly Mr. Stuart's face was when he came home just now? Let Mrs. Laura talk to the guests again After socializing for a while, sir, it will take about a quarter of an hour to go down."

"What happened?"

Vincent glared at her: "Do your own thing well, it's not up to you to take care of your husband's private affairs."

"It's none of Mrs Laura's business, is it?"

There was a hint of unabashed acidity in Alicia's voice.Of course Vincent noticed it, but he just acted as if he didn't hear it, and closed the bedroom door in front of Alicia.

Alicia went downstairs very angry.Walking to the door of the living room, she heard Mrs. Laura's relaxed and happy laughter.Alicia paused at the bottom of the stairs, a pang of pain gripping her mind.Lady Laura's voice was so soft, so graceful, as she was.However, since she followed Mrs. Laura to Stuart's house, Alicia never heard Mrs. Laura laugh from the bottom of her heart.She never dared to ask Mrs. if she loved Mr. Stuart, but from her observations, she felt that Mrs. Laura and Mr. Stuart had no place in each other's hearts.They were engaged when they turned seventeen, and after their marriage they lived one in London and one in Scotland, except at social dinners, and never saw each other.

Alicia had been a maid at the Greengrass House since she was a child, but she never dared to say that she knew Miss Laura.In her eyes, Miss Laura was always so gentle and charming, elegant and decent.Miss Laura was never angry, her plump and pretty face was always rosy, and there was a dainty, easy smile on her lips.Miss Laura could discuss home herbal remedies for minor ailments and new-style ruffled needles with ladies, and she could discuss politics and philosophy with men without leaking.Alicia loved her with all her heart.She always secretly imitated Miss Laura's words and deeds. In the eyes of Alicia, a simple and simple Welsh country girl, Miss Laura is the representative of all the good things in this world.

Alicia walked slowly to the door of the living room, and looked timidly at Mrs. Laura.Mrs. Laura was wearing a long black off-the-shoulder dress, her long blond hair was pulled back into a low bun, and a deep red rose was pinned to her hair.She was chatting cheerfully with Mr. Geoffrey Clifford, and her pale blue eyes shone cheerfully.Seeing Alicia, she gestured to her and looked at her questioningly.

Alicia walked up to her, lowered her head and said, "Mr. Stuart said it will take another 15 minutes."

"What is he doing up there?" asked Lady Laura.

Alicia noticed with some displeasure that Mr. Clifford was also standing beside Lady Laura and staring at her.She was a little afraid of the loud, black-haired Scot.

"I don't know," Alicia whispered. "Vincent didn't tell me."

"Well then," said Lady Laura with a chuckle, "I guess he's busy. How about we pour another glass of champagne, Geoffrey?"

Mr. Clifford laughed and held out his arms, and said briskly, "Of course, it is my pleasure."

At this moment, in the bedroom upstairs, Vincent quietly looked at the golden watch in his arms, and put on a brand new black robe for Francis.

"Sir," he asked in a steady and quiet voice, "Madam just sent someone up to ask."

Francis glanced at him, his gray-blue eyes were dull, and there was no expression on his face.

"Need me to go downstairs and inform Madam that you are going abroad in a hurry?" Vincent asked.

The corners of Francis' mouth twitched slightly, revealing a smile, as if amused. "Your job is getting better and better, Vincent," he said. "I'm in trouble now, and I need you to come to my rescue."

Vincent grinned and said, "I just know your temper better. Didn't you just find an excuse to go abroad in order to avoid your wife's dinner?"

"No need today, I'll go down later." Francis reached out to hold the tie on his chest, opened a drawer and took out a pack of cigarettes, paused on the table, "Come smoke a cigarette with me."

He tosses a cigarette to Vincent, who catches it.

Francis drew out his wand, lit a cigarette, and asked calmly, "Do you remember Jacqueline Pierre?"

"Of course," said Vincent, "that's a pretty girl, isn't she? I hear she's gone to France."

"Hmm." Francis responded, and stretched out his hand to open the window of the cloakroom.The air that was not fresh at night in London rushed in all of a sudden.He leaned sideways on the window sill, with one hand in his pocket and the other hand holding the cigarette, and flicked it out the window carelessly.

"When I was young, I often thought," Francis said lightly, exhaling a puff of white smoke, "there are essentially two types of women in this world: those who can dream and those who can't. Laura Greengrass definitely falls into the latter category. The only rebellious period I've ever experienced in my life was when I was 17, when I first got engaged to her. One can imagine how much I didn't want to see her stern, lifeless face, and only one friend was with me during that time."

"Jacqueline?" Vincent asked.He raised his head slightly and stood facing the window, looking at a wisp of white smoke floating slowly in the dark blue night sky.The smoke swirls and rises in the air, beautiful and flexible, condensing and dissipating, as if it has life.

Francis didn't speak immediately, and Vincent could see that his thoughts were still elsewhere.They stood still for a while, and five minutes later, Francis stubbed out half of the cigarette on the window sill, turned his head, and said, "I have something for you to do."

"Okay," Vincent said.

"I need you to leave for Paris tomorrow morning and visit my lawyer, Mr. Durand. He lives in Montmartre. I'll ask Jonathan to give you his address later." Francis straightened his collar casually, speaking plainly and clearly Said, "When you get to Paris, Durand will tell you what you need to do."

"Of course it's okay, it's just..." Vincent hesitated a little and asked, "Are you sure you want to leave the business to me?"

Vincent knew his place.He is Francis's servant. He is different from Geoffrey, the general manager of the manor, and Francis' assistant Jonathan in the Ministry of Magic. They are in charge of Francis's business and work, and Vincent is in charge of Francis' personal affairs. Life.Don't meddle in matters that don't belong to you. This is the fundamental principle of all work.

"This is not an official business." Francis closed his eyes tiredly and rubbed his forehead. "In the past, the money I gave to Jacqueline's mother and daughter was all taken from the account of the manor office. I plan to transfer all the money to you in the future." to your account."

Merlin's beard, Vincent shouted in his heart, his back was covered with cold sweat.He vaguely heard gossip about Francis and Jacqueline from the maid at home, but he never took it seriously, but... He actually supported Jacqueline and her child?Is this child...

After all, it wasn't the first day that Vincent had worked as a manservant for someone like Francis, and it was his instinct to keep a calm attitude no matter what he heard.He just thought about it for a while, and then asked in a calm tone: "I understand. In this case, even if someone finds out about the money, it has nothing to do with you. Everything will be done in my name."

Francis patted Vincent on the shoulder: "Mr. Durand will explain the details to you, I'll go down first—"

Francis froze.Vincent turned his head and followed Francis' gaze. Laura Stuart was standing at the door of the cloakroom.Her expression was extremely cold, her lips were pursed tightly, and she stared at Francis' face motionless.

"If you don't mind, Vincent," Laura continued to stare at Francis, her voice undeniably firm, "I need to speak to my husband alone."

******

Mr. Randall led Tony into the Stuart mansion on the Strand Street in a hurry, and apologized repeatedly when he entered the door: "I'm really sorry for keeping everyone waiting, I was delayed by a group of idiots in the office this afternoon! "

"Don't worry," an official from the Department of Transportation handed him a glass of champagne and said with a long face, "Francis came back with a bad face half an hour ago, and he didn't come down after going upstairs .Laura went up-stairs a quarter of an hour ago, and I don't think any of us will have dinner to-night."

"What happened?" Tony asked immediately, remembering what happened on Leicester Street this afternoon.Francis and Tom fought for some unknown reason, but unexpectedly, Lizzie stepped in and beat Francis up.Did Laura know about Lizzie?This is impossible. There were very few people who knew about Victoria's handling of Francis and Lizzie, and they kept their mouths tight. Even Tony's own father, Julian Randall, didn't know.

"Stop asking," Mr. Randall hissed into Tony's ear after poking him. "Where's your manners?"

Tony turned and took a glass of wine from a tray in the hands of a footman, and said nothing more.

******

Vincent exited the master bedroom, closed the door gently, and left distracted.To avoid encountering guests or other servants, instead of taking the main staircase, he descended the narrow servants' corridor on the west side of the house to his own room, worrying about Francis and Laura.

Laura Greengrass has been a frequent visitor to Stuart Manor since she was a child.She was a respectable lady, no one could deny that.For a while, all the maids at Stuart Manor tried to imitate Laura with her long hair pulled back, and a soft, refined expression on her face.Although they didn't announce their engagement until Frances turned 17, everyone knew that Laura would one day be the future mistress of Stuart Manor, so they were always very attentive to her.

In Vincent's view, Laura's marriage to Francis was not surprising.In the past, old Mr. Charles Stuart and his wife were also in this state of incoherence.Every child born into a large family learns from an early age the fact that marriage is a business in which both parties gain.For them, getting married is just a change of life in a castle or a mansion, and there is no major change.The personal servants around him are still the same, and the cost of food and clothing is still the same. Even if they have children, they will be thrown to the nanny and nanny. It is common for a family of three to live in three places.

After serving the Stuart family for so many years, Vincent has long developed a unique and keen intuition.For no reason, he always felt that something was going to happen.

He turned his head and saw a letter placed on the table by the door.Judging by the sealing wax, it was from Francis' office.He opened it and looked, and it was the office address of Mr. Durand, Francis' French lawyer.

He sighed and began to pack his luggage, preparing to leave early tomorrow morning.

******

There was a dead silence in the deep bedroom, only the occasional sounds of pedestrians and cars came from outside the window.Laura stood motionless at the door, staring at Francis, and asked calmly but stiffly, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Francis gave her a quick look, frowning slightly.

"what?"

"The bastard," Laura said impatiently, "is it a boy or a girl?"

"Girl," Francis said after a pause, "one year older than Melinda."

"You had other women before we were married?"

Francis looked at her sideways, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"She's not my woman," he said.

Laura sneered and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not necessary." Francis said lightly.

"It's not necessary?" Laura said sarcastically, "If you let that illegitimate daughter get your surname on a whim in the future, won't she replace my daughter as the first heir to your property? You What do you think I am? A fool?!"

"Her name is Eleanor Stuart," said Francis calmly. "She is my daughter, and Stuart's blood runs through her. You cannot deny that."

The last trace of color was gone from Laura's face.She took a step back in surprise, and immediately after that, a raging anger ignited in her eyes.

"Say it again." There was cold anger in her voice.

"You heard me, why should I repeat it?" Francis said, "Since Eleanor is born, I will do my best to protect her, but don't worry, I will not affect your reputation Yes, Eleanor will never have the right to inherit Melinda. What else do you want?"

"Listen," Laura walked up to Francis, raised her head and stared at him fiercely, "first, her last name cannot be Stuart. Second, I want you and your illegitimate daughter and your lover Cut off any relationship, if you let me know that you gave them a penny, I will definitely make you regret it."

Francis smiled coldly and said, "Are you threatening me?"

"Oh, no," said Laura scornfully, "I'm ordering you. It's non-negotiable."

Francis reached out and lifted Laura's chin. There was a stern light in his gray-blue eyes.

"I've always saved face for you, don't let yourself go down the stairs." His tone suddenly became cold, and Laura couldn't help shaking with fright, "If you dare to do anything to Eleanor For a penny, I will make you die in an ugly way. I will divorce you and use the best divorce lawyers in the country to deprive you of all your property. After divorce, there will still be many women who want to be Stuart Mrs. Te, and you, a miserable divorced woman, will be abandoned by your family because you will no longer be able to marry a man of my stature with dignity, and you will have nothing to your family. Useful. So, honey, you pretend you don't know anything now, take my arm, and come downstairs to dinner with me with a smile on your face. Any questions?"

Shaking violently all over Laura looked up at her husband with tears of shame and anger welling up in her eyes.She broke free from his hand suddenly, and walked quickly to the window with her back to him.Francis took one look at her, then went to the mirror to adjust her tie and sleeves, and gave her some time to wipe away her tears alone.

The grandfather clock in the downstairs living room struck exactly seven o'clock. Francis, wearing a brand-new robe and dark gray tie, and Laura, who was wearing a long black dress, went downstairs together arm in arm, talking and laughing into the room. out of the living room.Those who were gossiping suspiciously just now were stunned when they saw this scene.However, they quickly recovered and walked up to greet the radiant Stuart couple.Francis put one hand on Laura's waist, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and said politely: "Sorry, I'm going to talk to Mr. Randall about the broom import."

"It's okay." Laura's tone and expression were as gentle and quiet as all the ladies, and she was well-educated. "I'll see you at the dinner table, my dear."