Mary's Nineteenth Century

The eerie silence didn't last long.

Dancing is a hurdle that neither of them can escape today.If you can't escape, you have to face the big pit of life, even if it is a pit you dug yourself, you have to jump.

"Sorry, allow me to say sorry first."

Mary spoke first, with a candid face. "Although I have learned social dancing, I haven't participated in several social dancing parties because of my age. Therefore, the experience of inviting women to dance is close to zero."

Is it true?

Starting from the identity of Mark Minton, this is the truth.Mr. Minton is not yet of marriageable age, although he has some dance practice in his family education, he will not be a butterfly at the ball.

Is it amazing to be young?

It's safe to say that you don't have enough experience.

Mycroft could not deny the possibility, but Mrs. Roman could not use the same excuse.

The next second, he laughed. "God is good, you don't have to be so sorry, I should apologize first. Perhaps, you can guess that in the past few years, I only danced with my dead husband, and I didn't hang out with other men on the dance floor. A new partner is too much for me. strange."

Therefore, it is quite logical that Mrs. Roman cannot dance with other people skillfully.

Mary was caught off guard by a handful of dog food.

Mrs. Roman dared to say that she couldn't dance with other men perfectly because she had a tacit understanding with her deceased husband.There is a small flaw in the dancing later, it can't be blamed for the immature dancing skills, it can only be blamed for the lack of love between the two.

This? !

This set of arguments is damn reasonable.

What else can we do about this?

The two could only keep smiling, raised their chins slightly, and walked towards the ballroom as if they were confident.

The huge dance floor is flickering with lights.

Piano, accordion, tuba, etc., the sound of the ensemble music is sometimes lingering and sometimes exciting.

People throw away the usual rules of social dance, and don't care about which music corresponds to which dance.

On the dance floor, different types of dances were staged at the same time.There are waltzes, lively polkas, and graceful mazurkas.

The slow-paced and fast-paced dances appear together. This is not so much the colorful dancing in the interlacing of toasts, but the chaotic dance of demons after getting drunk.

Mary and Mycroft looked at each other, then at the men and women on the dance floor.

It is also good news.

At the moment, everyone is dancing as they please, so the two of them can also be more casual.

Casualness does not mean bad technology.

Mary and Mycroft simultaneously searched for a reference in the crowd.

At this moment, the two have enough confidence in their learning ability.If you can master a rare new language in a short period of time, then it should be easy to learn and dance male steps/female steps now.

The next moment, the two stepped onto the dance floor.

They chose the most common waltz tacitly, without showing off, and honestly followed the rhythm of the three-step dance.

Every step, three beats a section.The first beat is a retake, and the third is a cycle, with ups and downs.In line with the dance steps, the body began to rotate and swing.

At first glance, the two moved forward and backward with a certain degree, and seemed to have fully grasped the essence of the waltz, which is called the waltz - beautifully turning in circles.

Mary raised her arm, like a fulcrum.

Mycroft turned back precisely, in order to turn out of a circle freely.

'tread. '

There was an inaudible trampling sound.No one heard it, because it was completely buried by the rippling music.

Mary didn't change her face, as if she wasn't the one who was stepped on.

Mycroft showed apology, but he didn't feel guilty at all, as if he just accepted the previous apology.Because I am not proficient in cooperating with strange dance partners, I accidentally stepped on the other party, and it was not because of the relationship between learning and dancing.

The next moment, the two of them could still maintain a polite smile, and continued.

Mary: Set a small goal, don't step on anyone's feet, and she will win.

Not to mention, although she has never learned men's footsteps, whoever makes her diligent in all kinds of physical exercises can master all kinds of exercises.

Mycroft: Deceitful woman, why is he going around in circles?How could God bear his eyes to learn, but his body couldn't keep up.

For those who don't like sports, traveling across the ocean and running around requires them to learn all kinds of rotating postures.This is really unfair, why can't we simply compete who can solve a mathematical conjecture first?

No matter how wonderful their inner world is, on the surface, Mr. Minton and Mrs. Roman dance very seriously.

Jump and dance, the extremely harmonious song is finally over.

Both of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Very good!Stop torturing yourself and get out of this damn place!

“Welcome to come back tomorrow!”

Balch actually saw them off at the exit of the hall in person, and watched the two of them board the carriage.He didn't hold back much, but gave Mr. Minton a look that any man could understand. "Nightlife, after the dance, just begins. Dance is a communication in clothes, and you can only have another deep communication if you go back to the hotel quickly."

Mary could only smile knowingly, as a response to Balch's eyes.In fact, she beat this person countless times in her heart.

Exchange a ghost!She still had a dull pain in the back of her foot.In-depth communication is absolutely impossible, and it is impossible to have in-depth communication with Mrs. Roman in this life.

Mycroft had only glanced at Balch to be sure that the two had chosen to dance rather than go straight to the start, which would have aroused suspicion.

But at this moment, he was really tired, too lazy to slander Balchiu's messy eyes.He is a staunch celibate, not to mention in-depth communication with Mr. Minton, it is impossible to communicate with anyone else.

The carriage drove away from the countryside, gradually getting farther and farther away from Hermes Manor.

The two people in the car did not speak, which can be interpreted in a high-sounding manner as guarding against the ears of the partition wall. No one knows whether the driver has been bribed by Balch.

What about the facts?

As the night deepened, the snow fell.

The cold air permeated the gaps in the carriage, and the cold made people's brains more and more awake.

Mary: Suddenly remembered.Why didn't I dance the women's step just now?Anyway, the dance floor is full of monsters dancing wildly, so it's not impossible to have one more pair in reverse.

Mycroft: A thought came to me.Why didn't he simply dance the male step before?Since people are dancing in a mess, it is not uncommon to have an extra couple of unruly dances.

The two of them had their own thoughts, and suddenly turned their heads to look at each other.

Both Mary and Mycroft had calm eyes, met peaceful eyes, and calmly looked away.

One turned to the left and the other turned to the right, looking out the car window.Outside the window, three or two street lamps cast a halo of falling snow.

Snowy nights in Boston are beautiful.

The beauty is silent, the beauty is seven points cold, and it is better than a moonlit night.

Mary affirmed herself while admiring the snow.

Yes.Just now, she didn't propose Mr. Minton to dance the women's step. It was because of her integrity that she didn't subconsciously cover up her identity.

Watching the snow move with the wind, Mycroft found a good excuse.

Yes.Mrs. Roman didn't suggest the men's step just now. It was because he tried to be realistic in acting, and he didn't subconsciously fear of showing his feet because of his disguise.

The snow continued to fall gently.

The wheels of the carriage crushed snow marks one after another.

Finally, the carriage arrived at the hotel.

Quite presciently, the two moved to the same hotel this morning.Entering the same room at this time, on the contrary, reflected Balch's wild guess when he saw him off.

"No monitoring."

After Mary entered the room, she waited patiently for a while and then turned back to open the door to confirm that there was no suspicious figure in the corridor outside the door.

Even so, after closing the door, the two still communicated in a low voice as much as possible.

No one mentioned the dance 10 minutes ago, no apology or emotion was needed.

It doesn't need to be said that if we go to the trade fair tomorrow night, whether we should choose to dance together, anyway, it won't be worse than tonight, anyway, it won't be more embarrassing than tonight.

At midnight, lonely men and widows.

The guest room in the same hotel, of course, is to talk about serious business.

Mycroft didn't waste time, and said straight to the point, "I observed Simon, who sold ancient coins, and there was a white spot on his temple, which seemed to be caused by a chemical agent. Coins and white spots can be deduced from the two. one word."

what word?

"Fake coins."

Mycroft knew that this was not common knowledge, and he could only push it to the non-existent dead husband. "In the past, I heard from my late husband that the manufacture of counterfeit coins was rampant. Special machines and some acidic chemicals were used."

"You're really observant."

Mary is very selective in her compliments, and avoids talking about Mr. Late Husband, who appears a little frequently tonight, but talks about her discovery in a serious manner.

"There is indeed a problem with the coins sold by Simon. There are no flaws in those ancient European coins, but there are problems with oriental coins. For example, the "Chongning Tongbao" is written by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, but the imitation is not thin gold body As strong as it should be. "

Not surprising.

Even in the East, it is not uncommon to write a perfect thin gold body. It is even more difficult for Westerners to make molds to counterfeit.

"It's not just coins. I think some oil paintings are also problematic."

Mary couldn't tell the specific data, "Although everything from the paper to the color has a sense of time precipitation, there are always some weird ones."

Where is the blame?

Mary can only describe her eyes and feelings.

So why is she so sure?Why don't you say that you once worked on "Teaching You to Spot Fake World Famous Paintings".

That project almost had a completely different name "Teaching You to Imitate World Famous Paintings Step by Step".The difference of a few words, the theme of the world is very different.

At the moment, Mycroft was able to add evidence.

"Your instinct is right. One of the Rembrandts, for example, I've seen exactly the same in a private collection in Paris."

Compared with the chaotic Hermes Fair, private collectors can clearly express the origin and inheritance of paintings.

Perhaps, this does not necessarily prove who owns the real painting, but at least it can suspect that there is something wrong with the items of the fair.

At this moment, the two reached an agreement that the Hermes Fair would sell fakes.

Thinking a little deeper, there is a counterfeit gang hidden within the Hermes Society.

"Falsification may be the reason why the Hermes Society favors inventors and creators."

Mary didn't think Balch, the organizer, would treat her favorably for no reason. "I haven't heard of any new inventions that the Hermes Society invests in. Unlike other institutions that specialize in investing in new patents, this society has another purpose in finding creators."

"Like making Waller Reggie the maker of a knockoff."

Mycroft said this would explain where Waller's so-called gift money came from, "not for doing a good job, but for selling a certain machine that can't be said about it."

Some kind of machine that facilitates counterfeiting.

It is destined to exist only in the dark, and the creators of inventions cannot see the light.

Perhaps Waller was unconscious at first.

For example, what he made, and he was unconsciously dragged into the pirate ship of the Hermes Society.There are other transformation masters in the club who have transformed the machine.

Waller Reggie doesn't have a tough background, he didn't even go to college.

University not only means higher education knowledge system, but also means a circle of network resources.

The former can still be obtained through self-study.

The latter requires opportunity and luck.

"Well, if the falsification we deduce is true, the Hermes Society's Balch and his like will obviously like to recruit people like Waller. He is isolated and helpless, and he can't find a reliable helper."

Mary added in her mind that relatively speaking, Balch shouldn't provoke her.Someone like her, unless she was used willingly, was bound to turn upside down the organization that was trying to drive her.

Mycroft could not help thinking deeply now. "Hermes, one of the twelve main gods of ancient Greece. He is in charge of commerce and animal husbandry, and also protects travelers and thieves.

The Hermes Society may have made its purpose clear from the very beginning, and it was not an aboveboard society.In addition to selling fake antiques, will you sell other fakes? "

What other fakes?

The answer is already in the conversation just now.

"Fake antiques, no direct counterfeiting...money comes quickly."

Mary remembered that this was Boston, the city with the most developed manufacturing industry in the United States, and one of the important ports for international trade. "Maybe, it's not a country's counterfeit currency."

In the era of the gold standard, the British pound occupied one of the core positions in the international currency.

Mycroft was almost certain that Waller's initial intelligence was related to financial market disruption.A large number of counterfeit coins flowing into the market will definitely impact various industries.

For now, everything is just speculation.

Further evidence is needed, such as where are the fake templates, machines, and venues?Are there any accounts of fake .. coins flowing into the market, etc.?

"Follow the vine."

Mary took out the business card given by Simon at the trade fair. "Since Simon said he would give me the news of the magic coin within half a month, he should go to the fake base camp."

How to track becomes a new question, which does not have to be decided in the middle of the night.

'clang--'

The clock ticked one o'clock in the morning.

"I will talk about other things after dawn."

Mary didn't want to turn over the map at night to make a tracking route. Now she just wants to take a hot bath and make a date with the big bed. "Mrs. Roman, good night."

"Good night."

Of course Mycroft wouldn't keep it.After unraveling Waller's secret, the big problems disappear and the little annoyances pop up.

During the trip to the Hermes trade fair, he might have unavoidably exposed his flaws.

He stepped on Mr. Minton three times tonight.

God testifies, as a beginner in women's step, if the full score is 85, he can score 30 without humility.However, as Mrs. Roman in her 95s, even if she didn't get a perfect score, she should get a score of [-].

A tenth difference is enough to explain the problem.

Mycroft tried to find fault with Mr. Minton's lack of skill in dancing, but the reality was too cruel.

There is a contrast and a gap. Mr. Minton's male step is not as good as his, but it is better than Mrs. Roman's female step.At least he wasn't stepped on tonight.

Is this contradictory?

No, there is no contradiction at all.

At this time, a small cake is urgently needed to ease the mood.

Mycroft took a gulp of fresh water.

Yes, yes, don't forget that Madame Romain doesn't like sweets!When will this deceitful days end?

The other side.

Mary went back to her room on the next floor.

When entering the door, first make sure that there is nothing unusual in the room.Then change your shoes and get ready for the bathroom.Just as he was about to put away the men's leather shoes, he saw the footprints on them.

Mary brought the shoe-shine cloth, and was just about to wipe off the traces of being trampled on the shoe, but the movement of her hand stopped.

The next moment, she picked up the leather shoes.

Carefully recall the details of the scene on the dance floor.From the clasped hands, to the dancing posture of the two, and the different sizes of men's and women's leather shoes.

It's quiet inside.

Suddenly, Mary smiled slowly at the leather shoes.

She may have discovered one of Madame Roman's great secrets.No, maybe it can't be called Mrs.