[Pride and Prejudice] My husband loves me again

At this time England had three treasures, gambling, gin and laudanum.

All the British people take gambling as their daily life, and even take pride in being a gambler. The poor play cards and the rich make money.In addition to gamblers, the British Empire is also rich in alcoholics. When the most famous Prince Regent was the Prince of Wales, he was too drunk to walk on the wedding night. The Duke of Wellington once revealed to his friends that the Prince Regent was only For breakfast, three rounds of mozelle, a full glass of champagne, two glasses of bourbon and a glass of brandy.

So there was a gamble back then, about whether His Highness the Regent was not drunk enough to be sober enough to make his bride worthy of the name a few days after the wedding. The newspapers were still full of caricatures satirizing His Highness.

In this context, a few girls at a party to play a game of roulette is not a big deal. The country's gambling atmosphere is not so prevalent, but cards are also a good thing for leisure time.

London is completely different. People seem to think that money is dirty, and they can't wait to throw it away for gambling. They often make big bets without blinking an eye.The poor will play cards in the bar, and the nobles will gamble in their manor until dusk, and then they will go to the newly opened club in a carriage, and thousands of noble ladies spend all their money day and night. belongings.

In this matter, the status of women is no less than that of men, and everyone is equally fond of gambling.

Even if there is no gambling equipment, people can use their imagination as much as possible, and anything can be bet.It is said that someone offered £[-] to bet on which drop of water on the glass window would fall to the bottom first; if a person passed out drunk in a bar, his friends would bet on whether he was drunk to death or not.

There are also tutors in London who specialize in the art of gambling, and they charge a lot of money, but isn't it true that 99.99% of gamblers have to go bankrupt?At this time, there were not many seats on the small table, which could not accommodate many gamblers. After Elizabeth, Countess of Jersey, Countess of Levin, Duke of Devonshire and Sir Canning were seated, the others could only have fun.

Immediately a new bet was made by the spectators on whether the new members of the club would lose their ten guineas.The bettors put down at least twenty guineas, and the highest bet one hundred pounds. Charlotte noticed that it was Darcy who had bet one hundred pounds that Elizabeth would not lose. All the twenty pounds he had in his pocket were also staked.This is the activity fund that Dr. Brown gave to Charlotte, which is a lot of money in all fairness, but Charlotte didn't even think about it.She always felt that Elizabeth had an indescribable radiance that made her trust everything this friend did. Charlotte didn't know that this was called "the protagonist's aura".

But the odds were high for Elizabeth, and Charlotte was willing to take the risk.

After all, her bet was nothing compared to Mr. Darcy's one hundred pounds.

Darcy also trusts Elizabeth very much, which is completely different from the kind of friendship that Charlotte trusts Elizabeth. It is a kind of dazzling passion that has been continuously heated up and fermented. A different kind of heartiness.

Charlotte suddenly felt that this kind of party was boring, and she should have stayed with her husband on such a beautiful evening.

After the bankers gathered their bets, the five players at the table laughed, and the person with the highest chance of winning was the Duke of Devonshire. His loud voice would not displease the owner of the club. Given the prestige of his surname Everyone takes this result for granted.

The Countess of Jersey teased Elizabeth rather regretfully: "We might as well turn things upside down and make it sound like good news. If Miss Bennet can bring back ten guineas today, then there are two people who can Bring home a fortune. If Miss Bennet had ten guineas to spare in the pocket of her pretty dress, there would be three gentlemen and ladies who would go home rich."

It turns out that besides Darcy and Charlotte, there is another person who bought Elizabeth to win.

Charlotte saw the dealer greet a third person, and the lady's name was Charlotte Brunswick written on the chip recording paper. Charlotte felt that the name was a little familiar, but couldn't remember it for a while. I had no choice but to give up, and just ask my husband when I go back. There is no family in London that he doesn't know.

Charlotte was curious about her for another reason.This young lady stood alone in the corner, her appearance was not impressive but she was slightly plump, her gestures were very casual, her demeanor did not go well with her temperament.For some reason, Charlotte felt that she looked a bit like Miss Maria Grenoye. Could it be that this was another illegitimate daughter of the Prince Regent?Or the illegitimate daughter of the Regent's brothers?

George III, who is still alive, is said to have a total of 57 grandchildren, 56 of which are all illegitimate.

The hopes of the entire British people are pinned on the only noble-born Princess of Wales. Charlotte thinks it is not unusual to see one or two royal blood in such a high-level social occasion, but with her current qualifications, it is necessary to find out who is Who is quite difficult.So Dr. Brown also took care of Charlotte, watching more and talking less, and came back to discuss things behind closed doors.

Because of this, even if she was the only one who bet on Elizabeth to win, Charlotte didn't plan to deal with her.

Apparently Darcy had no such intention.

The Countess of Jersey entrusted another friend of hers, the Marchioness, who is also one of the hosts of the almack's club, to be the banker. The wooden car wheel turned counterclockwise very quickly, and the banker quickly turned to the opposite direction of the car wheel. Throwing a wooden ball, the small wooden ball rolled and jumped on the gambling table, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on it until Che Lunpan was completely still.This game is relatively simple, only betting on numbers and not on colors, and the ball finally lands in the wooden grid with the number "seven".

Both Elizabeth and the Duke of Devonshire bet on the number "seven".

The Countess of Jersey and Countess of Levin glanced at each other, and felt that the scene was getting more and more interesting. Sir Canning was smoking his pipe "clack-clapping". If he lost another game, he would retire. Except for Elizabeth, he was The second-to-last poorest player on the five-handed table, and with no luck at all, he has already lost a game.

The dealer signaled for a bet in the second game.

The Countess of Jersey noticed that Elizabeth had bet on the number "seven" again.

It takes courage to bet on the same number twice, because this is basically a small probability event, but once you win, you will get far more money than those who take the safe route. Ni and the 140 pounds won in the first game were all bet.

The Duke of Devonshire gave up "seven" without hesitation this time, and bet the remaining more than 200 pounds on other numbers.

Darcy didn't know that Elizabeth had the potential to gamble, and she also had the arrogance to throw everything at one's eggs. As time went by, he seemed to find more and more charming qualities in her, such as beauty, intelligence, decisiveness, and bravery.

And luck.

Because of the second game, she won again.

The atmosphere at the scene was a little delicate, and the betting crowd began to whisper.

Including Sir Canning, who has withdrawn, and the Duke of Devonshire and the two countesses who are still sitting on the court, because Elizabeth has a disturbing and enviable quality.After all, most people on the field don’t lack for anything. Money, power, status, etc. are all within their reach, but there is one thing that humans cannot control, and that is luck.

So is Miss Elizabeth the luckiest person tonight?

The dealer broke the silence, and Elizabeth thanked her very much, because if she hadn't spoken and bet in the third game, she would have been on pins and needles amidst everyone's whispers!

Elizabeth still bet on the number "seven", and the bet reached a total of more than 500 pounds after two rounds of winning and losing.

This move caused an uproar among everyone present.

The countess had sent money over.

The Duke of Devonshire had no cash at this time, so he took off the ring on his hand and placed it in the center of the gaming table.This emerald ring was named Devonshire. It was a gift from the Emperor of Brazil to the Duke. The original stone weighed nearly [-] carats. The Duke only took a small piece to make the ring, and the priceless big stone Also kept in the estate.

The ring was regarded as a bet by the Duke, and even the Countess of Jersey couldn't help but take a few extra glances.

No one can resist the attraction of jewelry to women.

In all fairness, Elizabeth was also moved by the bet.

But this is nothing to the Duke. This is the first time he has spoken directly to Elizabeth tonight: "Miss Bennet, just let me see how lucky you are."

Sir Canning also took a look at Darcy. For him, even though he agreed to help beforehand, his impression of Elizabeth remained as a beautiful girl who had some means to climb up to Darcy. However, now he wanted to change this preconception. thought out.There are many kinds of gamblers, but those who are lucky and courageous are rare. This is an incomparable attraction to everyone present today.

Because many people don't have both of these qualities, or even one.

"Your Highness," Elizabeth greeted the Duke cautiously, "I hope my performance will not disappoint Your Highness."

The Duke of Devonshire is very young, not a few years older than Elizabeth, but very dignified.

When he saw Elizabeth bet the exact same number "seven" again, he didn't even raise his eyebrows.

Until the ball stopped jumping, the dealer announced that Elizabeth had won again, and he smiled instead. The Countess of Jersey and Countess of Levine were also relieved.Today, after Elizabeth won three games in a row, the news of Almack's club must be overwhelming in the newspapers.

The biggest winner may not really be Elizabeth.

The duke's ring was placed on a silver tray and handed to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth didn't answer, everyone was watching what she wanted to do. Although the Duke was modest, he definitely didn't care about being humiliated.

Unexpectedly, Elizabeth said: "Your Highness, I am engaged to someone. Although it is just a bet, it is inconvenient for me to accept such a token as a ring. If you don't dislike me as a philistine, I still prefer cash. "

This time the Duke really laughed out loud: "Miss Bennet, I will send someone to deliver the money to the house tomorrow."

It was a perfect evening for the host and guests.

The Countess of Jersey told Elizabeth that she would very much welcome this lucky new friend to be invited to appear again.

How could Elizabeth tell her that she hadn't married Darcy at this time last time, and she hadn't stepped into almack's club yet.But at that time, the overwhelming newspapers introduced a story, saying that someone gambled heavily at the almack's club, and bet three times in one night on the car, and each time the number "seven" was the number "seven", which became a long-lasting talk in London. one.

She just wanted to try her luck, but she didn't expect to get the result of history repeating itself, and that lucky one was herself.

Elizabeth didn't want to be so high-profile, but Madame Grenouille pressed forward every step of the way, and she sat at the same table with the Duke of Devonshire and the two countesses.Darcy could ask Sir Canning for her help, and he would not hesitate to get in touch with politics, which he was least interested in. How could she just watch Darcy working hard for the future of the two of them alone, and she should do something.

Even if she can't win the favor of the nobleman, at least let Sir Canning know that she has the same courage as Darcy, who has the courage to put everything in one basket.

Love is originally a gamble!