Mary's Nineteenth Century

In late August, this year's social season in London came to an end.

Today, Thursday.

In the early morning, Pall Mall Street was covered with a layer of mist, and it might be another day when it was difficult to see bright sunshine.

"Mr. Minton, your breakfast is ready."

At 35:[-] a.m., the maid Sophia followed the schedule for nearly three months and brought the plates and coffee to the table on time.

"Thank you."

Mary took her seat, smiled and thanked the 37-year-old maid, and began to use breakfast foods such as roasted tomatoes, fried scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

It has been four months since I lived in Pall Mall Street.

At first, Darcy claimed that he didn't need to worry about trivial matters, so he seconded the chef and maid to help with housework.It can be said that people can move in with their bags and don't have to worry about life fragments.

Mary thanked her sincerely, as if she didn't care whether those two were eyeliners.

Anyway, she doesn't have the habit of letting the maid take a bath personally, and she can also put forward the small rules about not letting others wash her underwear and not entering the room at will.

It couldn't be easier for those who have been on the front line for many years to keep the little secrets of menswear.Other than that, there is nothing to hide.

However, the seconded person was still returned to Darcy two months ago.There is no need for a reason, since it is said to be borrowed, it is natural to pay it back.

Two months is enough to find new chefs and maids in the London labor market.There are not too high requirements, just be honest, work more quickly, and be less curious.

Darcy also agreed nonchalantly, and at the same time reissued a passport for "Mark Minton" who had previously agreed.

Mr. Minton is the savior of the Darcy family. He successfully passed the examination of the British Museum and received unanimous praise from the examiners.

In life, the servants all said that he was a good-natured temporary employer.He has never been bossy, always gentle and polite, and will not be capricious.

That being the case, is there anything wrong with it?

Darcy does not believe in Mr. Minton because of this, trust needs the test of time, otherwise he will not only have a close friend like Bingley.

However, after this period of observation, it can be basically confirmed that Mr. Minton has no bad intentions for the Darcy family, so that's fine.

"Add a few dishes tonight, just follow the proposed menu."

After breakfast, Mary gave the menu to Sophia, the maid, and invited Watson to be a guest today to celebrate that he will enter the university for further study next month.

Time flies, and the case of kidnapping, murder and sacrifice seems to have gone away.

The pursuit of the sudden death criminal Tori has not made any progress.Some things can only be left to time, waiting for luck to bring more clues, life goes on.

Mary put on her light deerstalker hat, put her pencil and notepad in her pockets instead of a cane, and went out.Due to work needs, she needs to travel lightly through the fog of London.

The current job does not need to be on duty. As an assistant in a certain research laboratory, it is enough to collect and organize data within the specified time.

Although the salary is average, the advantages are obvious. You can read most of the books and materials in the British Museum library.In the past four months, she has taken the opportunity to browse the collections of the British Museum, from historical ancient books to current news, quickly making up for the differences in her understanding of the world.

As a recommended candidate, Mary is far from being a full-time employee, but she has already won high unanimous approval from the members of the laboratory.

'Dear Minton, please seriously consider applying to a British university and being my student.I believe that you will have a very fulfilling and pleasant university study and research time. '

Several professors in the laboratory have said such things.Their rhetoric has been as subtle as possible, and they have not used words such as "Hurry up! Come on, let's go to the throne of academic glory together".

This is completely unexpected.

If Mary wanted to live a regular life, she should agree with the trend, but why should she follow the steps, she euphemistically said that she might as well wait until she made a decision.

There is really no need to rush.You can also study in universities in the [-]th century, in order to seek a relatively formal background, but you have to consider what status, which school, and what time to choose to study.

Finish the task at hand first.

In the past month or so, her job content is no longer limited to summarizing written data, and just in time for a new project, which is to compile the "Subway Chapter" of the "London Public Transport Travel Guide" for Hui.

In 1863, the world's first subway officially opened in London.

In the following six years, more subway lines in London were built and put into use.They are operated by different companies, and it is conceivable that there is a mutual competition.

People can't even imagine the future Internet era, where you can find out all kinds of complicated transfer routes by clicking on the mobile app.

At the moment there are only big and impractical subway schematics.It is normal for different operating companies to deliberately omit other lines without marking them in order to attract more passengers. It also happens that people accidentally get the wrong ticket.

Entering the subway entrance, walking down the stairs to the ticket window, is like entering the hell world.

Electric lights have not yet appeared, only kerosene lamps are hung on the front of the steam locomotive and the platform, and their light is faintly visible in the fog.

There was a lot of noise in my ears, the roar of wheels, and the rough sound of opening and closing doors.The tip of the nose is filled with the smell of tar and smoke, which are the fuel products of the steam locomotive.

In this case, a clear traffic travel guide is urgently needed.

The British Museum Press approved the project, and Mary's research office was responsible for the compilation.

She was entrusted with the task of compiling the subway guide, on the one hand because of her outstanding observation and analysis skills, and on the other hand because she is young and healthy.

Of course you need to be physically fit.

Because the development of cameras and film has not yet entered the portable and easy-to-carry stage, field investigation and real-time recording are particularly important.

That means taking the subway at one stop and verifying the conditions of different lines at different times, which is equivalent to constantly shuttling back and forth in hell.

Even if there is a so-called distinction between first- and second-class carriages, before the underground environment has undergone dramatic improvements, wealthy gentlemen who are not in a hurry are definitely more willing to take a carriage, not to mention that nobles are rarely interested in experiencing underground life.

As a newcomer to the laboratory, it is not difficult for Mary to understand why she was assigned the dirty work.

If she is not willing, she can naturally have all kinds of means to let others do it for her, but why refuse?Travel at public expense with additional allowances.If the book sells well, there will be a bonus for the manuscript fee.

Even if the travel environment is dirty and messy, it is just what she wants, and she can see the real London at this time.

'Kang, kuang, kuang——'

The wheels crushed the tracks, driving in the dark underground world.

The subway on weekdays seems to have little room to breathe no matter what time of day it is.

Mary spent most of the day on the subway from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon, excluding a simple lunch in the cafe.

The days of traveling underground, accompanied by soot smog, are numbered.After more than a month of research, after today, she no longer needs to take the subway for this reason.

The subway headed towards the City of London.

In the carriage, there are almost no business people in suits and leather shoes. This is not their preferred travel tool, and most of them are manual workers wearing rough canvas suits, linen blouses, short jackets, etc.

Mary had purposely chosen a gray well-worn jacket instead of a suit so she wouldn't look out of place.

The carriage is noisy, but there are few people whispering to each other, mostly the roaring noise made by machinery.

The passengers all seemed to be wearing masks, some frowning, some drowsy, some dumb, and almost none of them were smiling masks.

'Clang! '

When the subway entered the station, there was a violent door opening sound, and people in twos and threes got on the train.

Among them was a familiar face.

Mary glanced around and saw a man in his 30s, let's call him Z.

Z is of medium height, with an English face, a somewhat worn-out jacket, and a pair of stained rubber shoes.He was carrying a big cloth sack, which looked heavy, but he stood firmly.

Commuters may encounter a situation where they occasionally see someone who is a little familiar on public transportation.

In the vast majority of cases, there is no later, when you change your job or travel mode, you will never see that person again, and you will soon forget the specific appearance of that person.

Today, it's different.

Mary has a good memory and clearly remembers meeting this strange man four times in forty days.

Z seems to have no fixed working hours, no matter whether it is morning, noon or evening subway.He was dressed like a sewer worker and had been taking the subway in the direction of the City of Finance.

It is worth noting that he seems to have the remnants of the battlefield, and his standing posture is like a soldier.

In the past, Z was alone, but today he got into the car with another man C in similar attire.

Both Z and C are expressionless, but C's brow reveals a hint of excitement.

"...,ARBET'AYAM,..."

C couldn't hold back and opened his mouth, but it was not in English.He got a slap in the face when he couldn't say anything more, and the rest of his words seemed to be drowned out by the sound of the roaring subway.

Mary and the two were separated by a distance of two meters. Under the heavy noise, she keenly captured part of the content. It was in Arabic, and the tone meant "four days".

strangeness.

The two middle-aged men were suspected to be retired English soldiers. They knew Arabic, but they both worked as sewer workers.

It is not to say that sewer workers are inferior to others, but we have to admit that the wages of this type of work are low, and the work is hard and hard.Why do men who are physically strong and know another language choose this profession?

'Boom--'

The subway entered the next station, approaching the City of London.

Z and C get out of the car with heavy packages.

While thinking, Mary also quietly got out of the car and followed them far behind.

If you have to find a reason to follow, you don't have to admit that it's just for fun, because the two of them are speaking Arabic.

Don't forget that Tori, the criminal who died suddenly, believed in Egyptian gods, and Arabic is commonly used in Egypt today, just as she became more sensitive because of tracking down old cases.

Watson, the former victim of the same case, might not hesitate to believe such a fabricated excuse.

As for Mary herself, believe it or not?

That didn't matter, she followed the two of them to a dead-end alley.

At the entrance of the alley, a few hemp ropes were pulled up to block the road, and a sign was erected on the road, "Wallace Engineering Team, Underground Pipeline Repair".

Z lifts the manhole cover, and enters the sewer with C successively. Their figures completely disappear in the above-ground world.

10 minutes later.

Mary made sure no one else was watching the alley, and she also stepped over the cordon and circled the alley.

The alley is only 50 meters long, with no windows on both sides and bare walls.It's like a dead corner, and it can't get direct sunlight at noon.

Looking around the manhole cover again, several footprints are superimposed, and there are at least five or six footprints of different shoe prints.

They have one similarity, they are all stained with black oil stains and smell faintly, which is the rotten smell from the sewer pipes.

If you ask what is special?

His eyes fell to the corner, and there was a mass of candy paper stained with black oil stains lying on the ground.

Mary picked up the candy wrapper with her gloves on and spread it out. There were two dark fingerprints on it.The original appearance of the candy paper can still be discerned, the color is translucent, and a line of trademark "Little Sweet Rainbow House" is printed on it.

After smelling it, I can even discern a sweet smell.Coupled with the fineness of its paper, this candy paper is likely to have been discarded here recently.

Suddenly, I found that I haven't bought candy in the four months since I was reborn.

Although the price of Sweet Rainbow brand candy is still unclear, but looking at the candy paper on its outer packaging has nothing to do with shoddy production, at least it can be sure that the price of the candy will not be too low.

Mary took out the little paper bag and put the wrappers in it.

Glancing again at the manhole cover with half a gap, she left the dead alley without leaving even half a footprint, as if she had never been here before.

Walk for ten minutes to arrive at the City of London.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, it was still trading time for financial products.Pedestrians were in a hurry, some cafes were bustling with people, and stocks were still being traded on the stock exchange.

Immediately call a carriage, circle around the Financial City, and then drive slowly towards Pall Mall Street.

Various buildings can be seen along the way.The baroque St. Paul's Cathedral, the ancient Greek-style Royal Exchange, and the French AB Bank with French signs.

A year ago, French AB Bank entered the City of London as the first foreign bank.

At this moment, the setting sun is slanting, and the rays of the sun and the mist are intertwined.

It is scattered on the streets of the Financial City, as if coated with a hazy golden light.But the golden light can't shine into the dead alley, let alone fall on the manhole cover.

It's like a mime.

The financial city is full of gold coins and shines brightly, but the underground world across the street is always stinking, and there is only darkness there.

**

08:30 at night.

The summer night is slightly drunk, blowing into the half-open window.

What a delightful August night to drink brandy on the rocks after dinner.

Watson couldn't help feeling emotional, the brandy of [-] pounds was different, and this was the first time he had tried it.

Since he couldn't refuse the "compensation fee" from the sudden death murderer, he always wanted to express his gratitude to Mr. Minton.

From the original point of view, he believed that Mr. Minton was probably responsible for the smooth escape.The three should not have shared the murderer's purse evenly, and the £130 given to him was quite hot.

For four months, I have been waiting for an opportunity to return the gift, and today I finally gave away a bottle of expensive wine as a guest.

A hundred pounds of brandy may not seem like much to the rich, but it must be admitted that its price is very high, equivalent to the salary of a London laborer for a whole year.

Watson didn't expect Mr. Minton to open the wine as soon as he said it, and immediately invited him to taste the bottle of brandy after dinner today.

Is it good to drink wine?

Perhaps, it is the charming taste of more money.

Mary shook her glass carelessly.It's only a hundred pounds, it's a nobody in the luxury wine category, and you'll find it's nothing more than that if you drink the more expensive ones.

Alcohol, she has no preference.

Never excessive drinking, as her brain's thinking must never be negatively affected by the substance.

What's interesting is that although I don't know how much alcohol the original body has, but after four months of physical training, it is basically confirmed that the soul has a high probability of affecting the body.For example, she has a good capacity for alcohol, and the muscle memory of fighting and fighting, all of which are more and more similar to her in her previous life.

None of this was the point of the after-dinner conversation.

I only heard Mary asking casually, "Mr. Watson, as you said, there is still one week to start school. Do you have any leisure plans for the next seven days of free time?"

Watson lives alone in the hotel for the time being, waiting for the freshmen to move into the school dormitory.

He had no relatives in London, but he was not without friends.I met some people for the exam, and some of them have become alumni of the same class.

However, there must be a difference between those people and the person in front of him, the difference between life and death, and also another category of difference.

"Mr. Minton, don't you want to take me to the fighting club again?"

Watson tried his best not to change his face, as if he wasn't the one who was thrown over his shoulder as a sandbag a few times ago.

After being attacked and kidnapped, improving combat effectiveness must be on the agenda.

Therefore, Watson gladly accepted the invitation from Mr. Minton to go to the fighting club for a while.

Then he made sure of one thing by himself, seeing that Mr. Minton, who was thinner than him, was very good at it.The two practiced against each other, and it always ended with him being thrown on the cushion.

Watson: It's really unscientific.

He has no tendency to be abused, and he really doesn't want to be a sparring partner until he develops better skills.

"Good God, since it's your last leisure time before school, how can I ask you to go to the fighting club to suffer."

Mary smiled and said, "Of course it's other good places. Are you interested in the City of London? Go and see the so-called "heart of the British Empire made of gold." "

"Mr. Minton, do you want to speculate in stocks?"

Watson didn't think about whether there was any follow-up principal, but said that he really didn't have the slightest grasp of the numbers that changed every day.

Mary blinked, "No, I won't think about stock trading for the time being. This time, I just want to explore the hidden secrets of the Golden City. It's the kind of thing that most people want but dare not ask for, and it's also very absurd. Secret. Brave Mr. Watson, have you aroused a little curiosity?"

Watson:?Which breed's secret is this?

In doubt, he already nodded involuntarily in agreement.It's just that Mr. Minton's eyes are too sincere, like the angel Gabriel leading people to heaven.

Well, something is always wrong.

When Watson left Pall Mall Street, he realized something belatedly. If a person goes to heaven, does it mean that he will end up dead on earth?