I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

In the lady's bedroom, the noble lady who had just fainted from grief and excitement was half leaning on the bed, her eyes were peaceful, but she couldn't see any particularly sad emotions.

"Did the discussions among the gentlemen downstairs come to anything?"

"Ma'am, Mr. Morris believes that Miss Doris Gray has escaped, and it is very likely that she intends to go to the port near Ramsgate and smuggle to the European continent."

The long-faced and thin lady twitched the corners of her mouth, her eyes complicated and obscure:

"It doesn't matter if you run away, as long as you don't continue to wander around the Grove Manor, let her go, she is also a poor girl."

The lady's confidant maids were silent. They are servants who have long been accustomed to the non-interfering atmosphere and extremely indifferent relationship between the Lord and his wife.

The lady fiddled with the ruby ​​bracelet on her wrist for a while, and sighed regretfully:

"Kelly, I have to attend the party after dinner, please help me find a plain dress, and choose simple and low-key jewelry. Recently, I can no longer wear these bright and beautiful dresses. Little thing."

The maid Kelly nodded: "Don't worry, ma'am, after receiving the report, I immediately ordered the tailor to start preparations, and I will be able to make a brand new and decent funeral dress in a few days."

"Thank you, Kelly, how difficult would my life have been without you by my side all these years?"

The lady patted Kelly's hand with a warm smile in her eyes.

"By the way, Kelly, has the newly-made prom dress for this year been delivered?"

"The new ones from London have arrived, ma'am, and it will be slower from Paris."

"Hey, I really like the lace I chose this year, but unfortunately I can't wear it anymore. Forget it, after the funeral, you can tidy it up for me and give it away quietly. Otherwise, when I can wear it, these lovely lace New clothes are out of date."

Kelly replied with a smile: "As for the clothes that you can't wear temporarily, I have put them in the second cloakroom on the east side. I will tidy them up after I finish my work."

The master and the servant chatted for a while, and the topic turned to Doris Gray. They both got along with that young girl, and they thought they could see a person's temperament clearly, so neither of them thought it was her. Lord Essex who took the initiative to seduce.

When it was time for dinner, the lady sent word that she was sad and had no appetite, so she would not go down to accompany her, and invited the guests to enjoy the hospitality of the Grove Manor, and you must not be polite.

The gentlemen downstairs once again expressed their deep affection for the lord and his wife.

After dinner, the guests moved to the brightly lit living room to talk, and after a while, the pale lady appeared.

She was dressed in black and walked slowly. After greeting everyone briefly, she sat down on the single sofa.

"Mr. Morris, can you tell me about the progress of the case?"

The sheriff who was named immediately corrected his sitting posture and leaned forward slightly: "My lady, I am willing to serve you."

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Morris told the lady about his speculation, and took out the letter written by Pei Xiang to the principal of the girls' school.

The lady frowned sadly: "So, it is confirmed that Miss Doris Gray is the murderer of my husband? And, she has absconded from Grove Manor?"

Most of the gentlemen here acquiesced to this conclusion, only a younger detective raised a question:

"Then why did she go to groom Anderson to deliver a letter in the middle of the night? Wouldn't such a move make it easier to expose her attempt to escape?"

Mr. Morris made a nasal sound of displeasure. He clearly disliked talking young people. He felt that his abilities were being questioned.

The sheriff immediately raised his voice, emphasizing his findings again:

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, we must always be aware that, however cunning this Miss Doris Gray may be, she is a young girl who has just graduated from boarding school. Meticulous gentlemen on par.

Moreover, it is precisely because of her letter that I believe even more that she intends to flee abroad. Young people, especially those who have suffered some kind of injustice or been deceived by trusted people, are rarely able to swallow their anger.

Please read her letter to Mrs. Margaret, and see how angry she is at the deception of the principal lady!

Such a confident wording of accusations, as well as the detailed examples she listed, cannot be edited at will in a short while, so I deduce from this that the content of this letter has a very high degree of credibility. "

Mr. Sheriff's words calmed down the atmosphere in the living room, because, if the content of the letter is extremely credible, then it is really possible that Doris Gray accidentally killed Essex in order to save herself. Lord's.

This is a complete scandal!

The lady's face became even paler. She leaned on the sofa, resting her forehead with one hand, looking precarious.

Lord Essex's cousin showed anger: "Mr. Morris, you have to be careful..."

"Okay, Eric, stop arguing." The lady said hoarsely.

"Which is right and wrong, we can't justify it now, but I believe that the clear will clear itself, and I believe in my husband. When I find Miss Gray in the future, the truth will become clear. Now, there is no need to argue about these things."

The lady interrupted a quarrel that was about to break out, not because she didn't pay attention to the reputation of her deceased husband, but the more this kind of thing was put on the table to quarrel, the more embarrassing it would be for her as a wife. The husband died in another woman's bed , is it an honorable thing?

Before Doris Gray was caught, nothing was conclusive, and rumors and rumors were just guesses. If one day Doris Gray was caught, they would have their own way to shut up an orphan girl forever.

She just wants to press things down as soon as possible, hold a decent funeral for the lord, and then take over the property and concentrate on raising the offspring, and when time passes, she can calmly return to the social circle.

The lady restrained her sad expression, she turned her head to look at the captain of the manor inspection team, and gave the order in a stern tone:

"Mr. Hope, Your Excellency and I have always trusted you very much, and the inspection team you manage has never let us down, except for this accident!"

Captain Hope immediately showed a shameful expression.

The lady continued: "Of course, you still have a chance to redeem your sins, that is, carefully check around the Grove Manor, and you must not let go of any suspicious people and suspicious locations. I suspect that Miss Gray is very likely to be hiding nearby. .

I cannot allow my children to live in such close proximity to a murderer, and I hope you can understand the fragility of a mother. "

"Ma'am, don't worry, I will catch Doris Gray, I swear in the name of God."

"Okay, don't let me down again."

The lady turned her head to look at the magistrate, softened her tone slightly, and explained patiently:

"I am very convinced by Mr. Morris' speculation, and I believe that Doris Gray is planning to leave England, because there is no place for her in this country.

However, I have known her for three months, and she is a delicate young woman without a carriage, and it is very difficult for her to leave this parish in such a short time, so I think she must still hide it. In nearby villages, even towns.

Mr. Morris, Mr. Hope's scouts will be in charge of the manor and tenants, and you and your staff will be left to the town. "

Madam Maurice's words soothed the magistrate Morris, who repeatedly promised that he would stay up day and night to serve the lady.

Seeing that the lady calmly took the upper hand in the conversation and suppressed the two talented gentlemen Hope and Morris without hesitation, the other gentlemen present were in different moods.

Some things have nothing to do with my private evaluation, and some are very disappointed, such as the relatives of Lord Essex, some of them have no plans to manage the Grove Manor and its property in place of the orphans and widows.

When the supper was over and the crowd dispersed, there was a witty and shrewd gentleman discussing what he had seen and heard tonight with his friends in a low voice:

"This lady, another Lady Catherine de Boer! Looks like she's going to take care of her husband's business all by herself. Kent has a lot of great lionesses."

His friend wasn't too optimistic about it:

"Mrs. Catherine de Boer of Rosings Manor has the backing of her natal Fitzwilliam family and the support of the wealthy Darcy family, so she was able to keep all her property after becoming a widow, and did not let the distant branches of the De Boer family Close relatives get cheap.

However, our lady does not have such a strong background. In the future, the fun will begin as soon as Lord Essex's funeral is over. "

"That's true, eh, speaking of it, the Darcy family has recently changed their owners. The old Mr. Darcy died of illness at the beginning of the year, and all the family property was handed over to the young Mr. Darcy. I don't know that the young Mr. Darcy Whether people can fully control the wealth of the family."

"It's hard to say, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop..."

The moonlight was thin, and the people who left the Grove Manor bid farewell to each other and got into the carriage one after another. The conversations gradually disappeared in the thick night.

The next day, the news of the death at the Grove estate spread wildly.

In another luxurious manor in Kent, Lady Catherine de Boer, who was appraised by gentlemen as a lioness, was also discussing the tragedy of Lord Essex with her nephew Fitzwilliam Darcy at this time.

With her natural personality of wanting to take care of everything, she sent someone to inquire as soon as the bad news came out.

"Darcy, I really can't imagine that there is such a daring girl in this world, she dares to kill a lord, as her disreputable illegitimate daughter!

What's even more frightening is that she actually planned such a careful escape plan. Just think about it, she almost spent the whole night with the Lord's corpse. "

Darcy stood by the window with a calm expression. He regretted that he had chosen to visit Aunt Catherine on this day.

From the end of breakfast to the present, he was forced to listen to his aunt tell all the gossip about the Grove Manor in the past five years. Of course, the key topic of discussion must be the thrilling night between Lord Essex and the governess.

"Auntie, I don't think this is so unimaginable. If the rumors are accurate, then what Miss Doris Gray did should be considered excusable.

It is natural for ladies to fight back when bad things happen, but it is a pity that Miss Gray lacks a little experience to make things irreparable. "

"Lack of experience?"

Mrs. de Boer glanced at her handsome and tall nephew in surprise:

"Darcy, were you showing your sense of humor just now? Are you sympathetic to that Miss Gray?"

The young man looked stern and shook his head solemnly:

"No, I'm just stating the facts and trying to make a reasonable assessment."

"Reasonable? Oh yes, there's nothing wrong with resisting bad atrocities."

Catherine de Boer drew her voice and squinted at the handsome young man:

"However, Miss Gray shouldn't have run away. After all, she did accidentally kill a lord. She needs atonement, whether for the king's dignity or for the mercy of God.

Besides, if she hadn't seduced your lord, if she was decent and innocent, what was there to be afraid of?The justices in London are all respectable gentlemen, can they still bully a weak woman? "

Fitzwilliam Darcy, who was in charge of the family business for the first time, sighed silently. He had seen more truth and darkness than Mrs. de Boer, so he would not naively think that if the Miss Gray stayed where she was and pleaded guilty, she would be able to get justice. trial.

——Even the imperial law itself is somewhat biased.

"Auntie, if it comes to trial, Lord Essex's family will do everything in their power to send Miss Gray to the gallows. Obviously, what she has done has offended the dignity of the nobility."