Mary's Nineteenth Century

There was light snow in Boston on Friday.

Snowflakes can't stop people's enthusiasm for participating in the trade fair.

A carriage drove to the countryside.The manor where the Hermes Society regularly holds trade fairs is lush and lush.Because there are no other buildings around, it is inevitable that it looks a bit deserted at ordinary times.

Tonight, the manor is brightly lit.

07:30 at night.

Mary entered the manor, and as soon as she entered the hall, she saw a smiling young man coming up to her.

"My God! What an honor it is to meet Mr. Minton in Boston. I'm Allyn Balch, one of the organizers of the fair."

Balch, in his early thirties, is at first glance an ordinary-looking American who seems carefree and approachable. "When I heard that you signed up for membership, I wanted to be the first to see who has single-handedly improved the way stocks are traded on Wall Street."

Invitation letter, marked at 19:00 on Friday, the free fair will start.

Even though it was only half an hour past seven o'clock, there were already an endless stream of guests in the manor.

Mary was a little surprised that one of the organizers was waiting for her in the lobby.

"Good evening, Mr. Balch. It is also a great honor for me to come to your trade fair. I hope to see unique items here."

"You won't be disappointed."

As Balch spoke, he cast his eyes on the lady who came with Mr. Minton.

"The one who came with me is Mrs. Roman."

Mary took the opportunity to introduce, and wherever she could see, all she saw were men and women in pairs.

Balch greeted politely on the surface, "Good evening, Mrs. Roman, I hope you have a good time at the Hermes Fair."

As it was said, a line of words floated in Balch's mind.

——This woman in the black dress is a bit interesting.

Seeing that Mrs. Roman is in her early thirties, her appearance is neither bright nor charming.

His figure didn't look much better, and he was half a head taller than Minton, who was under 20 years old. How did the two get together?

However, there are too many combinations of strange lovers in the world, and one more pair is not too many.

"good evening."

Mycroft nodded slightly, as a greeting, as if he didn't see the messy thoughts in Balch's eyes.

In just one minute, Mycroft scanned the hall and was able to make a rough judgment.

A more chaotic relationship between men and women would be more in line with the Hermes Society's membership criteria.Because there is no need for real gentlemen here, grasping the handles of some members' personal affairs can make the society closer.

Balch didn't care about Mrs. Roman's prudence, and his attention was on Mr. Minton, who was quite inventive.

"The invitation letter is not very clear, please let me explain the process of the trade fair. From Friday to Sunday, from [-]:[-] in the evening to [-]:[-] in the morning, all parts of the manor are open to members. Since everyone from Come to the Hermes Fair from all directions, we must not let everyone just do some boring business."

A trade fair is a platform.

Some products are displayed in the showcase, and you can inquire about prices if you like them; some products only have descriptive words, and you need to see the goods in private.There are also several members in the manor who like each other and get together to chat about business.

Balch said that night life is not boring, it has nothing to do with business.

"We provide a lot of interesting activities, such as a casino with your own wagers, a bar where you can try new wines from various countries, or a dance floor where the two of you would prefer to relax."

Listening to the introduction, Mary nodded frequently, as if eager to try. "Great! It's so much fun here!"

"Let the members have fun, and I will be happy too."

Balch carefully looked at Minton and confirmed that the young man of eighteen or nineteen was attracted by the colorful activities in the manor, and he couldn't help but secretly nodded with satisfaction.

More than half a month ago, Waller Reggie died, and he died. Are you afraid that you won't be able to find a new mechanic?

Minton in front of him, or among the members who came tonight, can always find other suitable candidates.

Balch didn't stay too long. He said with a smile, "Just call the waiter if you have anything to do. If you have any questions, you can come to me again. I wish you two enjoy yourself and have a good time."

Mary also smiled and said thanks.

She watched Balch leave, but she could still feel a few dark eyes falling on her.

"It seems that the Hermes Society takes good care of newcomers."

Mary lowered her voice, leaned closer and said, "I feel the warm eyes of the waiters in all directions. It seems that if I need anything, they will come to help in a second."

The so-called hospitality is, to put it bluntly, surveillance.

The waiters keep tabs on the guests to make sure they are not troublemakers with ulterior motives.

Listening to the whispers in his ear, Mycroft obviously couldn't care less about the closeness between the two of them right now.But in order to avoid ear, sideburns, rubbing, he still moved a little sideways half a step.

There's always something weird about getting too close to a guy.

No, even being too close to a woman felt strange to him.

Mary doesn't know, so, is this half-step back action serious?

But in an instant, he realized that he had been negligent.Because she thinks she is the same gender, she doesn't need to be entangled to play the lover, but the other party doesn't know that she is a woman disguised as a man.

So what if you don't know the inside story?

Make it clear who wants to investigate Waller.

Mary raised an eyebrow and smiled.The next moment, he took a half-step forward without any refusal, bringing the distance between the two of them closer again.

The eyes couldn't be more obvious, "Please don't forget, Mrs. Roman, it was you who asked to investigate Waller's secrets. Now what to withdraw, it's already a conservative performance without holding hands."

The corners of Mycroft's mouth froze slightly, and he wished he didn't understand this look.

It's time for the daily 'greetings' to Lord Matthew again.The damn mission in the United States forced him to change his habit of living alone and quietly.

"Let's take a stroll first."

After all, Mycroft didn't retreat again, it was still important. "Look at what goods are sold at the fair. Wait a while, maybe you have to choose a form of entertainment."

Since there is a special person to follow, the dynamics of each guest will be recorded.

It was the first time for Mr. Minton and Mrs. Roman to come to the trade fair, so it was better not to go shopping.Since the play must be performed to the end, I always go to the entertainment area that Balch said.

"Well, as you wish, I will do something to make us happy later."

Mary's tone was filled with anticipation and longing, but she lacked interest. She was not interested in gambling or drinking.Regardless of the fact that the casino draws up the bets on its own, the two came here to investigate Waller's secrets, so how could it be possible to drink.

Don't mention alcohol that interferes with thinking, even if you drink lemonade and other drinks, you should be vigilant and make sure there are no additives in it.

Try not to touch the food and drinks here, this is the consensus reached before coming.

At the moment, the two did not wander around without a clue.

Now that Waller has sent what appears to be a medieval magic coin, look for a showcase or seller of ancient coins.

The scale of the trade fair is not small, occupying several houses.

As we know from the previous investigation, even the remains of human corpses are sold here, so how could there be less popular coin collections.

There are four or five showcases displaying ancient coins.

There are not only coins from the European continent, but also coins from different dynasties in the ancient oriental countries, with different appearances.

Mary took a few more glances at the oriental coin. Its price is not low, but it is hard to say whether it is true or not.Regardless of the authenticity of the ancient coins, I have not seen the magic coins sent by Waller for the time being.

Then talk to the buyer directly.

"You want medieval healing silver coins?"

When the seller Simon heard about the goods he was looking for, he said without much thought, "I have sold a few magic coins before. But everyone who knows the business knows that silver coins 500 years ago were not common, and buying and selling depends on fate. There are no goods now."

Out of stock, that's normal.

If you grab a lot of antique coins, then there is a problem.

Mary did not give up, so she kept asking. "It's out of stock now, but it doesn't mean it won't be available in the future. I really want to buy it, and I'm willing to pay a deposit. Maybe I can make an appointment?"

The seller Simon hesitated a little, and glanced at the waiters around him.

Both Mary and Mycroft pretended not to see the scene.

On the other side, Simon nodded as if he had received some hint. "Okay, with a deposit of fifty dollars, I'll save the goods for you. If necessary, you can sign a letter of intent now."

"it is good."

Mary took out the green notes without hesitation, and carefully read the letter of intent before handing over the money.It stated the address and contact information of the seller Simon.

Simon vowed, "Don't worry, the sales here are guaranteed by the Hermes Society. I can't escape with the money. If there is an accident, you can ask the society for compensation according to the letter of intent."

No one can say beautiful words.

A deal was struck quickly, and there seemed to be no problems.

Mycroft watched from the side, never letting go of a single detail, and his eyes scanned Simon's whole body.

It was found that there was a white spot the size of half a fingernail on Simon's temple.Because of his skin color, the white spots on the side of Simon's face were not conspicuous.But if you carefully distinguish it, it is not naturally generated. Instead, it looks like the skin was corroded by an acidic reagent after a chemical experiment went wrong.

"Okay, I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Simon didn't notice that he was dissected from head to toe, and he saw off the guest after collecting the deposit. "I will give you a confirmation letter within half a month at the earliest. If there is no supply, fifty dollars will be refunded."

Sounds like a fair trade.

It's not just Simon, the seller, but go shopping more, it seems that there are serious businesses everywhere in the manor.

Mary did not stop too long in front of the ancient coin display case, and continued to browse down.

Walk through some areas selling famous paintings, and some stalls selling ancient books.Not to mention the painting skills, but the paper alone, they all look like veritable antiques.

Stopping and stopping like this, more than three hours passed without knowing it.

The grandfather clock points to 22:35.

It was getting late at night, but the guests in the trade fair didn't seem to be tired at all.On the contrary, after a few glasses of wine, many people became energetic.

At this point in time, there were fewer people talking about business, and the casinos and bars became more and more lively.

"To be honest, I think it's time to leave. Go back to the hotel, rest on time, and make sure you have a good day."

Although Mary hoped so, she could feel that the ubiquitous waiters were still paying attention to the two of them.

The Hermes exchange meeting entered the midnight session.

The other guests were either having a good time or drinking, or their gambling spirits were high.

If your eyesight is better, you can see that some drunk people are not satisfied with cuddling, cuddling, hugging, hugging, and have staged public kissing.

In such an environment, the more sober and restrained you are, the more out of place you will appear.

"We don't seem to have a better option."

Mycroft knew the necessity of acting in a complete set. Even if he had to leave, he must always participate in entertainment activities, otherwise it would be easy to startle the snake.After ruling out a lot of messy and terrible options, it seems that only the dance floor is more normal.

"go dance?"

"go dance?"

After the two spoke in unison, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Mary smiled nonchalantly: bad news.After coming to the nineteenth century, she hadn't had time to learn today's social dancers.

Mycroft remained calm: bad news.In the emergency training of men's dressing up as women, he didn't dabble in the social dancer's step.

The two looked at each other.

God, why make it difficult for them in this kind of thing, is it now hand in hand and hard dance?