[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

In all fairness, Sir Blackwood's confession was not particularly sudden.

At the end of the nineteenth century, there was no such thing as love between unmarried men and women.Basically, if you have an admiration in your heart, you can directly propose after confirming your heart.It barely took a week from exchanging handkerchiefs to finalizing the wedding.Like in the original book of "Pride and Prejudice", several Miss Bennet's cousins, Mr. Collins, failed to woo Elizabeth, and it is not uncommon to propose to Charlotte right away.

On the contrary, Mr. Bingley and Jane have liked each other for so long, but Mr. Bingley left Netherfield Manor because of a misunderstanding, which greatly damaged Jane's reputation.

For Sir Blackwood, he and Mary met from Netherfield Manor, not only met on many social occasions, but the two also had private conversations.He is single and Mary is not married. On the premise that the two people have a good impression of each other, it is reasonable and reasonable to find an opportunity to express their love for each other in the Victorian period.

But the point is, Mary was not a native nineteenth-century single girl!

Sir Blackwood, who was directly rejected by Mary before he even opened his mouth, was choked up, and his expression became very complicated.

The tall gentleman looked at Mary, and the young girl who stopped him was small and pretty.She is not a particularly beautiful girl, just looking at her appearance, she can be called "gentle" at best.But if anyone misunderstands that Mary Bennet is a good lady who has no temper and no principles, it is a big mistake.

Just like now, the seemingly harmless Miss Mary directly cut off Sir Blackwood's words, her expression was determined, and there were unquestionable emotions in her eyes.

If this was not a refusal, Sir Blackwood could not think of what would be.

He was silent for a moment, then said: "I don't understand, Miss Mary."

Mary: "..."

Come, come, the most embarrassing part for Mary has finally come.

"Don't understand what, ser?" she asked.

"Thank you for speaking your mind," he said, "for letting me know that you'd prefer our friendship to . . . go further. To be honest, I'm a little surprised, ma'am, can you tell me why?"

"I don't understand either," Mary said without answering. "What makes you... may I say bluntly, what makes you favor me, sir? On your terms, I can't think of anything in me." Merits that match you."

Sir Blackwood looked a little surprised: "You don't think you are a person with low self-esteem."

Mary: "Of course I'm not, I'm just telling the truth."

Blackwood: "I don't see anything wrong with you."

Mary: "That's too much."

Among other things, Mary felt that she did have an advantage that ordinary people did not have, and that was self-knowledge.She didn't think there was any problem with her own flaws, so she was very calm when she said: "I am not good-looking, at least not like my sisters who can become the capital for marriage, and naturally I can't climb up to you who have a title Sir; my family is not rich, I come from the countryside in the south, and the dowry is not much. Besides, I don’t think I am virtuous and docile by nature. Your ladyship's lady. These conditions are enough to surprise me that I can get into your eyes, sir."

"But those are by no means flaws for me."

Sir Blackwood insisted: "I don't value appearance and money. Miss Mary, you also said that according to my conditions, I can find rich and beautiful single ladies. But material conditions and empty pockets are not enough for me. It doesn't make any sense. As for the last item you said, it is your characteristic that is different from other ladies. To me, having your own thoughts is just a sign of your intelligence. As for the other so-called 'disadvantages', Pale before your wisdom."

Mary smiled: "At least thank you for your affirmation, sir, but I don't think I have done anything—"

Sir Blackwood: "You won't deny the Milton matter, Miss Mary?"

Mary: "..."

For a while, Mary didn't know whether she was referring to solving crimes or helping workers improve their living conditions.But while she was silent, Sir Blackwood himself went on.

"Although you will probably shirk it again, saying that it is everyone's credit to solve the Milton strike. But it is you, Miss Mary, your sisters, and other friends who gave the key help to propose the reform plan, and it is also because you will Everyone is entangled together and twisted into a strong rope—you will never deny this, right? Milton is a small town, but you have nothing to hide when you act. If you want to know what you have done, then so easy."

Mary Yi Lin: "Have you investigated me, sir?"

Blackwood: "I don't intend to offend your privacy, Miss Mary. It's just that someone wiped out all the influence of Professor James Moriarty in the UK in an instant. On the surface, this is the handle of the British government to catch Professor Moriarty , but in fact it is due to Sherlock Holmes. I also have a lot of property threatened by Moriarty, Miss Mary, someone suddenly helped solve all the troubles, I should know who it is?"

In this sense, Mr. Holmes' previous deduction is completely correct.

Sir Blackwood did notice himself because of Professor Moriarty's economic case.Technically, he had noticed Holmes because of the disappearance of a rival.Given that the two had known each other before, there was nothing worth investigating about him himself, provided he knew the identity of the detective.

But it is necessary to help him.

And Mary did more than help Holmes capture Colonel Sebastian Moran during her stay in Milton.As Sir said, Milton was young, but Mary did not hide any of her identity.

That is to say, as long as someone is sent to Milton and any worker is caught and questioned, they can learn Mary Bennet's name and the fact that she is loved in Milton.

So meeting at Pemberley Manor was the first meeting for Mary, but for Sir Blackwood, he already had everything Mary had done in the past six months in his hands.

The Sir who said these words was sincere and serious, but Mary read another urgent fact in his explanation—even though Sherlock Holmes had tried his best to help Mary hide her identity during the economic case. However, anyone who wants to track him down can still easily track down Mary.And to carry on with that, nothing she does in the country is a secret.

Irene Adler knew herself that way, and so did Sir Blackwood.

Doesn't sound like a good thing...

"It was reasonable," said Mary, "and since I did not hide my identity to help the workers, I tacitly allowed my name to be known."

"I admit I was skeptical at first. I have known Holmes for a long time, and he has always kept women at a considerable distance, let alone cooperate with a single girl? And this lady not only cooperated with him, but also greatly helped It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel where local factory owners fix factory problems."

Sir Blackwood paused, and continued: "So when I saw you at Pemberley Manor, I was curious and deliberately approached you with the purpose of probing. But it's not the case when I return to London, miss, you helped Scotland Yard solve the case, It even helped me find little Oliver by chance, if there were any doubts about your intelligence before, when Mr. Brownlow and I retrieved the angelic Oliver, all doubts disappeared immediately."

The tall ser talked, and he bent down.

"If I have startled you without warning, Miss Mary," he said, "then I apologize to you. But I must say that those external conditions you speak of are not worth mentioning to me. And You care about the poor, and your spirit of persevering in finding the truth deeply moves me—"

"Sir."

God, Mary was about to explode in embarrassment.

Now that she felt that she had done something wrong, Mary quickly reflected in her mind, and after confirming that she was really only getting along with Sir Blackwood in a polite way and not with more ambiguous hints, she said with difficulty: "Please You, don't, I don't want to cause an embarrassing situation for both of us."

Sir Blackwood sighed helplessly.

He nodded, and finally gave up his desire to confess.

"Therefore," said the Sir, rather gravely, "you did choose Holmes, as you did at the banquet that day."

"..."

Can you stop doing this!

"Mr. Holmes and I are only friends," Mary declared. "Just because I reject you, sir, does not mean that I belong to another man. There is no logical relationship between these two things."

"I know."

Sir Blackwood smiled. "That is why you are a unique lady, Miss Mary."

Mary: "...Thank you for your affirmation, sir."

Although Sir Blackwood was full of unwillingness, he still maintained a gentleman's demeanor.Mary strangled him to death before he could speak his confession. He didn't walk away, nor did he become angry. Instead, he said regretfully, "I hope I didn't bring you any unpleasantness."

"No."

Mary hooked her lips reluctantly: "If you want, Sir, we are still friends."

After finishing speaking, she turned her head to look at the quiet and beautiful tree-lined road: "If you don't mind, let's finish this section of the road."

Blackwood: "With all due respect."

As a man who was "truly rejected", Blackwood adjusted quickly.He still walked beside Mary on foot, but the awkward atmosphere just now had disappeared.

"However," Blackwood said proactively in order to ease the atmosphere, "I understand why you can become Holmes' partner."

Mary tilted her head.Sir Blackwood was so tall and straight that Mary had to raise her eyes to catch his sight.

"Have you known Mr. Holmes long?" she asked.

"He and I are considered alumni," Jazz replied, "but I'm a few years older than him, and we didn't meet each other at school."

"Then how did you meet him?"

"I invite him to be one of us."

Mary's expression suddenly paused.

"Actually," Sir Blackwood looked into Mary's eyes, "I also intend to invite you to be one of us, Miss Mary. But now it seems that your answer is probably the same as Holmes'."

... She was still thinking about how to get more information from the topic of Mr. Holmes, but she didn't expect Blackwood to speak on his own.

There was no trace of mystery or temptation in Mary's conversation.It was as if his so-called "joining" meant inviting Mary to another ordinary salon gathering.

"Join," Mary asked with a calm expression, "What do you mean?"

"It appears that Mr. Holmes has not told you."

Blackwood smiled: "I am a member of the Illuminati, Miss Mary."

So that's what you said?

Mary remained calm, she turned her head to the side: "Illuminati, what is that? What do you do?"

Blackwood: "It's hard for me to give a precise definition of what we do. If we have to say, maybe we want the world to be a better place - but it's not some childish fantasy group , is absolutely different from the utopian theorists like Saint-Simon and Fourier (*see note). Most of our members are authority figures, not as smart as Sherlock Holmes, but they also have their own achievements in various fields.”

Mary: "..."

How did Saint-Simon and Fourier provoke you? Do you look down on our socialism!

"So," Mary thought for a while before opening her mouth carefully, "I assume that you are an alliance formed by people who have made achievements in various fields."

"You can say that."

"Then, if we want to make the world a better place, with so many big names in the industry, there should always be a specific way."

"Remember what I said at Pemberley Manor," said Sir Blackwood, "I don't believe in God, because I think human beings are so small, and the world can definitely be defined by the myths and legends created by human beings. It's not so specific. Do, what we should do is to distinguish our position in this world first, and then discuss other issues after seeing everything clearly."

Fine.

Mary probably understood a little bit.

——At least she understood why not only Holmes rejected Holmes, but even Professor James Moriarty was an enemy of the Illuminati.

Pragmatists like Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty naturally look down on this kind of magic organization!

And Mary understands that the more clever they are, the more they can prove that their current investigation is in the right direction.

She still wants to continue to ask, for example, if you say you want to see everything clearly, how to see clearly, how to do it and so on.But Mary is not sure whether Blackwood's telling is based on temptation, or it is purely to win over herself.

In order to avoid arousing his vigilance, Mary decided to follow Blackwood's words and stop here.

"I'm sorry, sir," she smiled regretfully. "You are right. The reason why I can cooperate with Mr. Holmes is because he and I pay more attention to practical results than theoretical exploration."

"I expected this when I learned that you helped workers improve their working conditions," Blackwood said in a deliberately light tone. "Marxism, isn't it?"

"..."

"Don't be nervous, Miss Mary, you didn't encourage the workers to strike, even if I want to report you to the government, I have no reason," he joked, "It's just that in my opinion, Marx did consider reality, but perhaps too much No, he hasn't touched the soul of the world."

"…………"

Mary took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to argue—it was really unnecessary, especially now that she and Blackwood still maintained a friendly relationship on the surface.Even if it was to test him better in the future, Mary couldn't quarrel with Jazz now.

But to say that Marx did not get to the root?This has risen to the issue of personal grievances!

"Then, I wish you all a breakthrough." Mary said dryly.

"Thank you."

The long walk is finally over.

Sir Blackwood strode forward and stopped a carriage at the intersection of the streets: "Although I frightened you today, Miss Mary, I hope this will not damage your mood for the whole day."

"Will not."

Not to mention anything else, at least she met little Oliver.

Thinking of the angelic boy, the smile on Mary's face was a bit real: "Oliver is a very good boy, and he will become a big shot in his own right."

"If he wants to see you," said Sir Blackwood, "then perhaps Mr. Brownlow and I are going to bother you in Serpentine Street, and I don't think you would resent a boy's thoughts?"

"Welcome to Serpentine Street."

Mary promised: "If Oliver wants to see me, as long as I'm free, I'll be there anytime."

But that being said, Sir Blackwood's sudden confession...Mary was still taken aback.

In the evening, after the closing time of the factory, Miss Morstan, who hadn't seen her for a few days, came to visit with news from the slums.

Mary couldn't wait to tell Miss Morstan about the "surprise" of being proposed.The red-haired Irish girl quietly listened to Mary's report, and said directly: "I think his real purpose is to get you into the gang."

"But if that's the case, it's fine for him to directly propose." Mary said.

Miss Morstan shook her head: "If you want an ally, do you think you can compare to some justice or conquest councilor? He wants to 'compete' you from Holmes. And marriage is to bind a woman best means."

"So you think he is for Mr. Holmes."

Mary understood Miss Morstan at once.

A kind lady who helps workers improve their living conditions, although she is indeed superior, is far less valuable than Sherlock Holmes.

Especially when they tracked down Professor Moriarty, Holmes and Mary had already come into contact with the devil's heel—assuming that the Illuminati is really behind everything, then in Sir Blackwood's eyes, Holmes must be tricky enemy.

In order to neutralize his threat, it is best to start with those around him.

Under such conditions, Miss Morstan's judgment was entirely justified.

but……

"Up to now," Mary said rather distressed, "we still haven't made any progress. What if the Illuminati is just an upper-class salon club? It's not impossible."

"The salon club."

Knowing the exaggeration used by Mary, the Irish girl still laughed out loud: "It's really strange, but tell me, which salon club will build strange altars in the underground waterways of the slums?"

"There is no evidence to prove that the underground altar belongs to the Illuminati."

After all, among the few clues they have found so far, there are patterns of triangular frames displayed in them, but there are no eyes in the triangular frames.Although the elements are the same, it cannot be directly determined that this is what the light will do.

"really weird."

Mary couldn't help muttering, "Where did the eyes go?"

Miss Morstan immediately shuddered: "Don't say such things, I feel numb in my spine when I think of Sykes' death. The same is true for Henry, who has gone through such a big thing and refuses to say a word. "

Mary looked up immediately: "Henry Deckard won't tell?"

Sykes is dead, but Henry Deckard, who had been hallucinated by the devil's heel, is still alive.A few days ago, Morstan took over the task of asking for clues on himself. Judging by her frowning expression, it is estimated that there is not much progress.

"I asked him if he had been in the sewer before he was poisoned," Morstan replied, "He said no, and instead asked me what to do in a dirty place like the sewer. Seeing Henry's reaction doesn't sound like a lie , but I then asked him if he had seen eye patterns drawn in a triangle frame before that, or similar intentions, his complexion immediately changed, but he refused to say more. "

Even if it's a lie, it's better than covering it up.Hearing Miss Morstan's reaction, it was obvious that Henry Deck knew something.

Mary made a decisive decision: "I'll find someone to inform Mr. Holmes to go to the Whitechapel area tomorrow morning."

But even so, Mary miscalculated.

She arrived at the Irish workers gathering area near Whitechapel in a carriage almost just after dawn. Holmes and Watson were already waiting for her on the street.The three outsiders who did not live here walked into the slum at the fastest speed, but they were still one step too late.

The alley where Henry Deckard went mad last time was crowded with people, and when Mary saw Inspector Lestrade's back, her heart sank immediately.

"Holmes, why are you here?!"

Inspector Lestrade's face was tired, but he still showed a look of surprise when he saw Holmes: "I just thought I should send someone to inform you."

"What is the matter?" asked Holmes.

"Another one," said Inspector Lestrade, resignedly, "an Irish laborer who, like Sikes, went mad before he died."

Henry Deckard was dead.

The author has something to say: [Absolutely different from utopian theorists like Saint-Simon and Fourier (*see note)]: Both Saint-Simon and Fourier are utopian socialists who laid the foundation for Marxism.

Blackwood: I don't think Max can do it.

Mary:? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?You are totally out!

However, a girl in the comments said it was good, although the straight man's face is really annoying, but the one who wants to confess is Teacher Ma Qiang... Mary and Lao Fu are locked up!Teacher Ma Qiang let me go! [The author asks you to hold back and thank you.