aristocratic engagement

"The king summoned?!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

After everyone was silent for a moment, the sound of discussion suddenly sounded.

Those present almost completely forgot that this was the Duke's funeral, not a party in a club, let alone a gossip salon.

Darcy got on his horse, urged the horse to come to Lawrence, and asked in a low voice what was going on.

Seeing that Lawrence was not joking, Annie's heart trembled, and she turned her head to look at Rommel who was watching coldly.

Rommel smiled slightly, opened the door, and helped Mrs. Catherine into the carriage.Then he looked at Annie and held out his hand.

While holding his hand, Annie stepped on the steps of the carriage and whispered, "Is it because of you? What did you say in front of the king? Good or bad, I always have to prepare for it."

Rommel smiled and said nothing, and when he closed the carriage door, he quickly said in a low voice: "Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, it depends on you, not the thing itself."

Annie frowned, digesting this sentence.

The carriage moved slowly, and Darcy, Lawrence and Rommel rode at the forefront of the team.

Annie leaned against the window, looked behind her, and the crowd in front of the church slowly dispersed.Mr. Burgram and Mr. Brown turned their heads and walked away together, ignoring the other gentlemen's advances.

Alan Edgerton had a slightly sad expression on his face. He stood in the middle of the crowd and bid farewell to the gentlemen and ladies who came to the funeral one by one.

Mrs. Edgerton and Miss Edgerton stood behind him, as if they had regarded him as the backbone.

"Mrs. Edgerton and Miss Edgerton never liked this Mr. Ellen Edgerton. Mrs. Edgerton always believed that her eldest son who was not raised by her side was her only support in the future, and Love Miss Jayton is even more respected than Allen in the house." Madam Catherine snorted coldly, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone, "But now they have to live on his breath."

After hearing this, Annie said softly, "Alan won't be too harsh on them."

"Of course, he already has so much." Madam Catherine's voice rose slightly, "However, from their point of view, I'm afraid they will have to stay low in the future. Especially...haha, even if she takes it for her daughter So what if you have the same name as you, can you share the same life with the same name?"

Anne thought of Miss Egerton, who was unruly and indulgent since she was a child. She was not yet an adult and had not yet stepped into a social ball.Once upon a time she had been the darling of the Duke's father, with a bright future ahead of her, to be courted by all gentlemen of her age as soon as she came of age.However, in the future, Ellen's attitude cannot be ignored in terms of her marriage.

— Now, no one thinks that Edward Edgerton, who is bedridden and unconscious, can make a lot of waves.

What's worse is that in the past few years, Miss Edgerton relied on her parents' favor and intentionally tripped up her second brother a lot!

Thinking of this, Annie shook her head, unwilling to think about those boring old things.

She looked at Mrs. Catherine beside her and asked, "Mom, do you know what happened today? Why did the king summon us?"

The expression on Madam Catherine's face froze slightly. She wanted to pretend she didn't hear it, but she nodded hesitantly under Annie's persistent eyes: "I probably know, no, I just know that the king will summon us one day. , but don't know today."

Annie raised her eyebrows and asked tentatively, "Is it related to... Rommel?"

Madam Catherine's face became serious: "It has nothing to do with him!"

Her awkward and slightly angry words confused Annie.Darcy once told her about Lady Catherine's life experience, and Rommel was one of the most important figures in it, how could it have nothing to do with him?

Or are they not talking about the same thing at all?

After Madam Catherine finished speaking, she turned her eyes away, twisted her handkerchief unconsciously, and vented her anger.

This movement and manner made Anne squint her eyes—Lady Catherine had never been so coy.It seems... unnaturally shy?

This guess startled Annie.

She opened the window of the carriage and looked out at the gentlemen riding ahead.

At this time, Rommel seemed to have noticed her gaze, turned his head to look at her, and smiled slightly.

Different from the "royal palace" envisioned by Anne, the carriage stopped slowly in front of a gorgeous manor on the outskirts.

Both Anne and Lady Catherine changed their clothes at the passing post-at least they could not wear black mourning dresses to meet the most noble people in England.

They went through more than one strict inspection. When the guards counted according to the list prepared in advance and couldn't let servants who were not on the list wait in, Anne was glad that she didn't bring Du Li with her today.

The three gentlemen on horseback dismounted.

In front of the manor, there was an elderly female officer standing long ago. She was wearing a uniform, but the material was obviously not something that ordinary maids could wear.Looking carefully, Anne found that it was a style that Phoenix released two years ago.Although not the latest and greatest, they are still the best choice for ordinary clothes that nobles will use on weekdays.

Darcy jumped out of the carriage holding Anne's hand, and Anne took his arm and walked towards Lawrence.

Lady Catherine therefore had to stand by Rommel's side.

Annie squinted at her with an unnatural expression.This unnaturalness can only be seen by her with doubts and special attention, but Annie has never thought about it before, but now the more she looks at it, the more she feels... It's tricky!

The female officer led a group of people towards the interior of the manor. She had a stern expression on her face, and she didn't seem to be willing to chat with the guests.

Annie tugged on Darcy's arm, and when Darcy bent down slightly, she asked close to her ear, "Do you know what's going on? Did Rommel tell you?"

"His mouth is tight, and he refuses to say anything." Darcy imitated her movements, exhaling to harass her ears, "but I can probably guess the reason, and I believe you are not completely ignorant .”

"Is it related to mother's...'life experience'?" Annie's ears were a little itchy, and pink blots crawled up.

Darcy nodded and said no more.

At this moment, they walked through a long corridor.A middle-aged man approached him, he was very imposing, wearing a gorgeous and complicated dress, but when he approached, he could smell a faint smell of alcohol on his body-maybe he didn't just drink alcohol, but just after a long period of drinking , he seemed to be soaked in the smell of alcohol.

However, Annie noticed at the first sight of him that the undergarment exposed by his neckline and cuffs was the newest season of Phoenix - a new product specially for the royal family.

When everyone saw him, they saluted respectfully.

After Lawrence met him and saluted him, Anne learned from his words that this was His Royal Highness the Prince.

The Prince of Wales appeared to have just seen the King, but his frown and dark eyes suggested that his conversation with the King was not pleasant.Rommel talked to him a few more words, which seemed to be a little friendly.

Anne didn't dare to make a fuss anymore at this time, Rommel's connections were so vast that she couldn't figure it out.

After exchanging pleasantries, when the prince looked suspiciously at the people behind Rommel, Rommel pretended to remember just now, and introduced: "This is Mrs. Catherine and her only daughter, Miss Anne."

He didn't say his last name.

But when Anne was saluting, she found that the prince showed such an expression.

I don't know if it was Anne's illusion, but she felt that the Prince's eyes stayed on her for a particularly long time. Those eyes were not friendly, but they were not hostile either.

At this time, the female officer suddenly reminded the prince respectfully in a low voice that the king was about to summon the group.The prince said goodbye to Rommel and left without changing his face.

When he walked away, Annie let out a breath quietly, and Darcy patted her hand comfortingly.

"George is back again?" An old voice sounded from the end of the gallery, "Has he figured it out? Caroline's rumors..."

"The prince has already left. Please see Mr. Rommel, Earl Fitzwilliam, Lady Catherine, Miss Anne and Mr. Darcy." The female officer said loudly.

The person at the end of the gallery turned around slowly, and the female officer led a group of people into the gate.

The king squinted and looked at the visitor uncertainly.Rommel was the first to step forward calmly and saluted him.

And when Mrs. Catherine stepped forward, she suddenly heard a hoarse voice: "Catherine..."

Annie froze for a moment behind her mother, and immediately supported her mother's hand, and found that she was also a little stiff and at a loss.

"Your Majesty, Lady Catherine did not know about those past events." Rommel stood up, "According to your wishes, we kept our mouths shut. Even when Earl Fitzwilliam passed away, he still kept his promise."

The king was slightly taken aback, and his eyes were fixed on the faces of Lady Catherine and Anne for a long time.

Lady Catherine bit her lips in bewilderment, and took a step back unconsciously, not understanding what was going on.

Was her guess wrong?

Not only was it wrong, it was terribly wrong.

Annie took her arm, supported her, and prevented her from stepping back.

The king looked away, turned around slowly, and looked at the portrait beside him.

Annie followed his line of sight, and saw a young and graceful lady in the portrait. She was wearing a white long dress. Pearls were the only decoration on the long dress, which were hidden in the skirt layer by layer. A huge jewel hangs in front of it.There was a smile on her lips, and her eyebrows were affectionate.Her face can be seen even through paintings, and it is six or seven points similar to Lady Catherine.

When the person in the painting and the king looked at each other, Anne found that the eyebrows and eyebrows of the two were exactly the same.

In the lower right corner of the portrait is a faint handwriting: To my sister, my angel, Catherine.

Darcy once told her the legend from the Prussian royal family, a mysterious and unknown noble lady gave birth to a baby in the palace, and then disappeared in Europa...

The atmosphere in the gallery was weird, the king didn't speak, and seemed to be lost in memory, and the others didn't dare to speak.

Rommel watched coldly.

Although Lawrence is now Earl Fitzwilliam, he is no longer the Earl Fitzwilliam who really interfered.

Darcy stayed out of the matter, he had already guessed the truth, and exchanged it for Anne's peace of mind, and resolved her heart disease... But, he never thought that the day when this secret would be revealed.

Darcy coughed lightly, breaking the deadlock and waking Annie up from the shock.

After so many years of hiding it, why tell them the truth now?

Annie was a little puzzled. It was always better to cover things like this as tightly as possible.However, what happened during this period of time can't help but make her think more...a guess slowly and clearly established in her heart.

Annie slowly raised her eyes.

"Who is she?" Annie's voice was extremely clear in the empty gallery.

The king cast his cloudy eyes on her, and the girl met her eyes without any panic.

"Catherine, she's Catherine."

"What's her last name?"

The king fell silent.

Anne took Lady Catherine's hand, and found her cold.

"She doesn't have a surname, does she?" Annie said softly, "because she is a person who shouldn't exist, a person who shouldn't live in the sun."

As soon as the words fell, the king's face turned red suddenly, and his breathing became short of breath.Annie was startled, and saw the female officer immediately stepped up, supported him, and said something in a low voice while following his breathing.

The king waved his hand and signaled everyone to go out. Lady Catherine also wanted to leave, but was stopped by the lady officer: "Madam Catherine, please stay. Your Majesty has something to say to you."

Her voice was gentle and kind. Mrs. Catherine took a deep breath and stood still while supporting the picture frame beside her.

Anne had just stepped out of the gate when she heard His Majesty's voice from behind: "Please Anne...the Countess go to rest in the garden."

The author has something to say: There is only one reason for the late update... The author is dying in the melon field.