I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Because of Pei Xiang's several questions, Darcy also raised doubts in his heart:

"Miss Wilkes, do you really know Wickham?

I did some research before, and found that... there is almost no possibility of any intersection between you and him, and what's more, you seem to know too much about the past between me and Mr. Wickham? "

"I really don't know Mr. Wickham. How should I know those things?"

Pei Xiang's eyes wandered a little, she puffed her cheeks subconsciously, and frowned slightly:

"Mr. Darcy, it's like this..."

"Miss Wilkes, I want to hear the truth. If it's not convenient to say it now, don't explain it."

Darcy suddenly interrupted Pei Xiang's explanation before she could organize her words.

He didn't know when he understood Pei Xiang's subtle expressions so well. When he saw her series of small movements just now, Darcy's first reaction was that the girl was about to start making up stories again.

Pei Xiang was not embarrassed by being exposed, instead she smiled, stretched out her slender white fingers and tapped her cheek:

"Mr. Darcy, if I had really made up the story seriously, I wouldn't have let you discover these loopholes.

I'm a little tired tonight, and I really don't want to continue to use my brain, so those reactions I just did not intend to tell new lies to lie to you, but I was thinking, um, what kind of good excuse can I find to answer the inconvenience? The topic changed. "

Pei Xiang's words were a bit rambunctious, but the frankness and ease in the corners of her eyes and brows miraculously calmed the depression in Fitzwilliam Darcy's heart. He gently exhaled the depression in his chest, and walked two steps closer. This time, He stood directly in front of the long wooden chair, very close to Pei Xiang.

Pei Xiang raised his head and met Mr. Darcy's downcast gaze.

"You always have a lot of secrets, Miss Wilkes. But I have an extraordinary tolerance for you, so if you don't want to confess anything to me, please keep silent and smile."

Pei Xiang really showed a faint smile to Mr. Darcy, and then she patted the empty seat beside her:

"Mr. Darcy, if you don't feel cold, can you sit with me for a while?"

Darcy was silent for a moment, then sat down at the other end of the long wooden chair.

Pei Xiang stomped her feet lightly, and then looked up at the night sky for a while. She suddenly thought of the classic confession sentence "The moonlight is so beautiful tonight", and couldn't help but bend the corners of her mouth slightly.

She thought, if she said this to Mr. Darcy now, it would be considered as a confession to the male god, right?Although, the object of the confession may never know, there is a deeper meaning behind this sentence of praising the moonlight.

"Miss Wilkes?"

"Ok?"

"Are you still planning to go back to America?"

"Yes, so far, that's my plan."

Darcy was stunned for a moment, and immediately asked sharply: "So far? Do you think your plan will change?"

Pei Xiang thought of that Mrs. Albert, and of Bernard's frequent movements in recent days, and thought flashed across his eyes:

"Mr. Darcy. I'll have to see, and maybe I'll have to stay in England."

Pei Xiang's answer made Darcy feel mixed:

"Miss Wilkes, would you like me to do anything about it... between you and Mr. Louise Bernard?"

Pei Xiang glanced sideways at the handsome gentleman with a sincere look, and suddenly he couldn't utter the words of refusal on his lips.

His willingness to appear here tonight, his willingness to sit down and talk with her, and his recent performances made Pei Xiang face up to some things.

She thought about it carefully, and felt that it was no big deal to owe him more favors, and she would always repay him.Besides, she really didn't want to make a complete break with him. If he and she didn't owe each other and kindness, wouldn't they become real strangers.

"Mr. Darcy, do you think there is something wrong with my engagement?"

"Obvious."

"Just because of Mrs. Albert tonight?"

"Not only that."

Fitzwilliam Darcy's voice was a little hoarse: "I have a lot of doubts and speculations, and I have a lot of worries about gains and losses, but tonight, the scene in the rose garden is enough for me to see some facts clearly.

Miss Lucy, with your temperament, if you really gave your heart and soul, you would definitely not leave in such a state of embarrassment. "

"My temperament?"

Pei Xiang smiled lowly, as if he didn't notice Darcy's quietly changing address:

"In Mr. Darcy's opinion, if I really love Bernard, what will I do tonight when I find out that he and Mrs. Albert are ambiguous?"

Darcy closed his eyes and thought about Pei Xiang's question seriously for a while, a conniving arc slowly appeared on his lips:

"If there are many people present, like tonight, you won't run away in a panic, hiding alone in such a clean place and blowing the cold wind.

You will return to the ball with your back straightened, happily accepting the invitations of other young gentlemen to dance, and become more radiant.

As for how to resolve emotions such as vulnerability, pain, or resentment, that is all after the dance. Of course, necessary revenge is indispensable, and the marriage contract will not continue to exist. "

Pei Xiang was taken aback, the scene described by Darcy was indeed in line with her wishes.

——If... I was really betrayed, my choice and reaction would definitely be as Darcy said.

"Then what if there aren't many people watching, and I'm the only one who bumped into such an ambiguous scene?" Pei Xiang raised his eyebrows with interest.

This assumption made Darcy show hesitation, and he tentatively analyzed:

"I think that if Miss Lucy is good enough, she might rush up and beat him up, but it is more likely that you will leave silently and pretend not to know, and then look for opportunities to break off the engagement and look for opportunities Take revenge on the other party."

Pei Xiang did not comment on the accuracy of Darcy's analysis, but complained with a smile:

"Why do I have to take revenge in Mr. Darcy's mind? Am I the kind of person who will take revenge? This is a bit bad, Mr. Darcy, you are questioning my ladylike upbringing."

Darcy smiled silently, not intending to argue his point.

Although at the beginning, his proud judgment was repeatedly mistaken because of Pei Xiang's pretentiousness, but after many lessons and years of precipitation and reflection, he felt that he could probably understand the girl next to her. up.

Even if he doesn't know everything about her, he still has a certain understanding of her character and ability.

Resignation and humiliation seem to have never existed in her life dictionary. If she was a man, Darcy thought, she would probably prefer to stir up trouble in the political arena, right?Even if her background restricts her, she can earn a bright future.

Naturally, Pei Xiang didn't know the imagination and evaluation of her by the people around her. She tapped on the wooden chair lightly, full of novelty and joy in her heart.

Someone has figured her out. It stands to reason that this is not a particularly good thing, especially for someone with a cautious personality like her, it feels too insecure.

However, if this person was Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pei Xiang would have a different feeling in her heart. Instead of feeling resistant and taking precautions secretly, she suddenly felt a kind of peace and relaxation in finding a harbor.

"Mr. Darcy, now that you know that there is something wrong with my engagement with Bernard, what do you want to do? Help me break it?"

Darcy didn't answer Pei Xiang's question immediately, but looked at her thin dance skirt with concern.

"are you cold?"

"One thing. Although the servants of the Earl's Mansion have added warming facilities under the benches, it doesn't seem to be of much use."

Pei Xiang had already put on a big thick shawl before leaving the room, but the temperature was still a bit low for the night of this season.

"Then let's go back and say as we go, if you sit here all the time, you will definitely get sick tomorrow."

Pei Xiang nodded, and stomped his feet again.

"Indeed, it's been long enough to calm down my excitement.

Come on, Mr. Darcy, let's stop by the Earl of Leicester's glass domed greenhouse. If we miss tonight, it may be difficult to have the opportunity to visit there again. "

Darcy stretched out his arm and let Pei Xiang walk with him. The two got closer again. Pei Xiang could feel the warmth of the man beside him, and his mood became more relaxed.

"Miss Wilkes, do you still have the will to maintain the engagement?"

I don't know when, probably because he left that long wooden chair and that clean and secluded world, Darcy changed back to Pei Xiang's name without any trace.

Pei Xiang gave a soft "hmm", and the footsteps of his companions paused slightly.

Pei Xiang didn't seem to notice it, nor did he explain why she had to maintain the engagement, but made a request to Darcy:

"Mr. Darcy, will you be my guarantor in the late spring and early summer of this year?"

Darcy didn't ask Pei Xiang what he wanted him to guarantee, but nodded calmly.

He promised so happily, but it made Pei Xiang feel complicated, and felt that he was annoying for not explaining anything clearly.

After a little hesitation, she made a promise:

"Mr. Darcy, around June this year, the engagement on me should be dissolved automatically, and I will definitely explain everything to you at that time.

As for asking you to be a guarantee, I want to make myself more comfortable and not involve you in troublesome things. "

"I know who you are, so I dare to promise you. However, Miss Wilkes, can you guarantee that your reputation will not be too damaged in the process of breaking the engagement? You will not be treated unfairly? "

"I'm sure, Mr. Darcy."

Talking along the way, the two returned to the glass greenhouse. Pei Xiang felt the warm heat coming towards her face, gradually warming her cold hands and feet. However, this temperature was not as reassuring as the heat emitted by the man beside her.

"Automatically dissolve in June?" Darcy frowned slightly. There are only a few possibilities for the automatic dissolution of the marriage contract. One of the most common situations is that the marriage partner dies unfortunately.

Fitzwilliam Darcy recalled the meeting of Louis Bernard, a gentleman who looked very healthy and not as if he had been chronically ill.

He turned his head and glanced at Pei Xiang with probing eyes, Pei Xiang looked back at him innocently.

——Miss Wilkes shouldn't make any drastic moves, right?

--of course not!

——But why, I just feel that the temperature in the greenhouse is cooler than outside, um, it's chilly.

The two passed through the glass greenhouse, and met guests they knew from time to time on the road. After everyone stopped and nodded to each other, they separated and continued to enjoy the scenery.

At this moment, Darcy asked the original question again:

"Miss Wilkes, when I asked you if you were sad, you didn't answer me."

Pei Xiang chuckled: "To be honest, I'm a little sad."

Before the man beside him became more stiff, Pei Xiang said unhurriedly:

"Of course, I'm not sad because of that Mr. Bernard, but because I found something that I had overlooked before, and I felt that I was cheated, so I was sad for a moment."

Darcy's shoulders relaxed unconsciously, and he didn't continue to ask Pei Xiang what he had overlooked, because he had already realized that this involved some secrets that Pei Xiang was unwilling to tell him.

"In any case, we are still friends. Please don't take the care and help from friends as a burden. Maybe one day, I will ask you for help."

"Naturally, but, Mr. Darcy, I hope you will never need my help."

Darcy responded lightly and said nothing more.

In fact, for Pei Xiang, the reason why some things cannot be disclosed to Mr. Darcy is not because those things are secrets, but because they are still uncertain.

She didn't want to disturb Mr. Darcy's peaceful life with some vague guesses. She never forgot her determination to protect someone, and everything she has done so far is inseparable from this original intention.

At the beginning, when Pei Xiang and Bernard made an agreement, Bernard told Pei Xiang that he didn't want to follow the established path arranged for him by the old Bernard, and he didn't want to waste his life on the so-called old honor and Restoration of the dynasty.

He is a free man who grew up on the land of America. He doesn't want to be bound by other people's life ideals for the rest of his life. Therefore, he wants to break free from those dark forces and gain long-lasting peace. Therefore, he hopes that Pei Xiang can help him.

Of course, when he said this, Pei Xiang definitely couldn't believe him easily.

In the next relationship, Pei Xiang gradually discovered that Bernard did not really participate in the restoration activities of those royalists, but he did not intend to simply get away as he said.

Guided by his intentional or unintentional hints, Pei Xiang noticed that Bernard was not only disgusted with old Bernard's beliefs, but his resistance was actually so thorough that he became a personal admirer of Emperor Napoleon.

—Louis Bernard is the absolute rebel in the Bernard family!

After Pei Xiang discovered certain signs, he felt that he gradually understood Louis Bernard, and realized the reasons and intentions of what he did.

On the surface, he is indeed actively participating in various activities of the royal party members and seeking benefits for some allies. However, at critical moments, he either fails or transfers the danger to other party members. He is extremely cunning and insidious .

In recent years, his status and power among the royalists has been getting higher and higher, and he even got a code name like Poseidon, but in fact, without his secret troubles, many secret operators It will not be exposed at all, and many material transactions will not be interrupted halfway.

The double identity of Louis Bernard made Pei Xiang think that she had to wait until the emperor of France failed to abdicate before ending her personal deal with Bernard, so she never considered her personal relationship issue.

Since she chose this path at the beginning and chose to grab huge benefits in danger, it meant that she had to give up a lot of happiness that belonged to ordinary people. Pei Xiang saw this very clearly.

At the same time, Pei Xiang is also mentally prepared to deal with Bernard for many years. When the legendary figure finally passes away, she believes that Louise Bernard should also have a new life pursuit, but, then It has nothing to do with her.

——Besides, working around for many years does not mean wasting time, it is just suitable for me to lay a solid foundation for my career and manage my own contacts and influence.

She will let herself get out of the chaos, and she even has a plan, if she encounters the worst situation, how she will dock her tail to survive.

However, the discovery at the Earl of Leicester's ball made Pei Xiang suddenly realize that she had been misled by Bernard before.

She had thought that Bernard was a personal admirer of Emperor Napoleon, but Louis Bernard was deliberately misleading her.

If she hadn't doubted Mrs. Albert's identity today, she might have been kept in the dark from beginning to end.In the future, when she got away safely, she would not rely on her own strength, but on the softness and integrity of Louis Bernard.

Although there will also be a good ending, that kind of fragile balance is not what Pei Xiang needs.

How dare she base her safety on another person's conscience, everything she has should not be obtained by relying on other people's charity and guilt.

——If Mrs. Albert was the secret sentinel sent by France to keep an eye on the Royalists, and Bernard Louise had the intention to defect to the other party, then tonight's affairs should not have been arranged in this way.

——No third person knows whether Louis Bernard and the Earl of Leicester have negotiated a deal.

——However, the matter of Mrs. Albert pestering Bernard all night, and the matter of Mrs. Albert pestering the two shields, must be clearly seen by other royalists.

——After the ball is over, if something happens to one of the two chess pieces, it will almost expose Mrs. Albert's true identity, and it will affect the whole body. Starting from the breakthrough of Mrs. Albert, the royalists said Maybe he will follow the vine and fight back.

——With this back and forth, the contests and conflicts between the two sides will intensify, so no one has the extra energy to continue to pay attention to the Earl of Leicester and whether he has agreed to arms smuggling.

Thinking of this, Pei Xiang broke into a thin layer of sweat, and she continued to think deeply about her hypothesis.

Louis Bernard confuses the Royalist Restoration forces and Napoleon's spy forces in England, causing both sides to lose. Then, where will he transport these weapons?Will he take the opportunity to increase his voice among the royalists and grab more power?

Then, further disintegrate this force from within?

——If Bernard is neither a royalist nor an admirer of Napoleon, what if he is a person or leader of a third party?

——If he had started anew a long time ago and wanted to save France in his own way, what should he do?

Pei Xiang carefully recalled what Louis Bernard was busy with recently. Although he couldn't get a glimpse of the whole picture, he also noticed three or four parts of the real thing.

——Probably because Bernard felt that I had already been misled by him, so he didn't take precautions.

—He did almost succeed, I really didn't suspect it before.

——Bernard suddenly came to London, and tried every means to eliminate dissidents and increase his voice among the royalists. What is he going to do?

——If he wants to do something, it must be related to the current situation.

Pei Xiang can't clearly remember everything in history, but with some vague memories to guide her, plus what she has heard and seen with Bernard these years, it is always easier than others Determine the direction of some major events.

For example, the second war between Britain and the United States, such as Napoleon's attack on Russia, these two wars were vaguely in Pei Xiang's mind, but she couldn't remember the details.

However, after being personally exposed to a large amount of information and intelligence of this era, the vague memories became clearer, and the uncertain details became clearer. Most importantly, she knew the ending!

According to the reverse derivation process of the ending, it is enough for her to infer some things and become a "prophet".

——If Bernard Louis wants to take the opportunity to develop his strength, he must be waiting for a good time when the time and place are right.

Once this good time comes, or if there is a sign, Bernard will make a quick move.

Pei Xiang didn't know whether Bernard had found that opportunity, but after trying to think about the problem according to Bernard's thinking, she found that in the near future, there would be an opportunity that would excite and satisfy Bernard.

——In June, Napoleon will personally lead the army to fight against Russia. I remember that soon after the war started, the defeat of France was revealed. In Paris, all forces have been dormant for a long time, and they will seize this opportunity to make some small moves .

——Bernard will naturally not give up this good opportunity, he will return to France with his people, his money and his strategic materials.

——He is an ambitious man. If he wants to realize the grand plan and great cause in his heart, he must not be wandering abroad and remote control all the time. He must change his appearance and quietly return to his compatriots.

——At that time, it was a good opportunity for me to break up with him peacefully and "disengage the engagement".

——However, I have to prevent him from trying to get me to France on a whim, or those scattered forces that he gave up are desperate to jump over the wall, thinking that I am a bully, and plan to vent their anger on me.

——I have to make some people feel that the price of mobilizing me is too high, and the gain is too small, so it is not worth wasting manpower and material resources with me.

——Then, in these years, I have successfully managed not to touch any core secrets, making people think that I am Bernard's cover-up.

——Actually, that's pretty much the case...if I didn't figure it out myself.

Pei Xiang, who likes to think blindly, glanced sideways at Darcy, and got a puzzled look from the other party. Pei Xiang shook his head and smiled, and continued to organize his thoughts.

——If my guess about Bernard is correct, then what I need to do now is to make those interested people feel that attacking and controlling my ostensibly fiancée will make them pay a high price that is not worth the loss. troublesome thing.

During the second half of the Earl of Leicester's ball, Pei Xiang was dealing with the acquaintances at the ball while thinking about how to protect himself.

——Actually, I now guess that Bernard is a third-party force, all based on assumptions and speculations.In my opinion, he wants to provoke a struggle between the other two forces, so as to reap the benefits of the fisherman.But so far, no more convincing evidence has emerged, and most of them are my conjectures.

——However, this will not happen too late, I just need to pay attention to the newspapers and rumors in the next few days.

——Whether it meets my presupposition will be known in a few days.Then, it's time for me to arrange a way out for myself.

While thinking about this, Pei Xiang did not forget to observe Mrs. Albert.

Her gaze was clear and aboveboard, but it did not arouse the curiosity of others, because it had been so long that the other guests at the ball had learned about the sex scandal in the rose garden.

Darcy never left Pei Xiang's side, he stayed with her as a friend.

Although she knew that she was not saddened by Bernard's incident, Pei Xiang always had to bear some sympathy or ridicule after such unhappiness happened, especially when Bernard was still with Albert at this time. Madame is entangled.

——If I put her here alone, it would be too cruel. It is her own business to be open-minded and calm, but I cannot remain indifferent.

——At least, when those talkative ladies see me standing beside her, they will restrain their ugly faces and become gentle and kind.

Pei Xiang also noticed Darcy's silent support and silent companionship. She swayed the wine in the glass and suddenly felt that the dance tonight was really good.

With regard to Bernard's identity, she made a new discovery and was able to adjust her response in time.

For Mr. Darcy, she also confirmed some things. When he was willing to take the risk and walk towards her, Pei Xiang decided that she would leave him a special place in her heart.