Detective Mary

Chapter 28

Mary never thought that getting to London would be such an easy task.

Though Mrs. Gardiner was a great admirer of the Bennet ladies, it was Jane and Elizabeth who received the most favor and attention, so while her two sisters had been to London with their uncle in the past, Mary had not had the opportunity.

She regretted this, but understood it. After all, Jane and Elizabeth were older than her, and it was customary for them to be the first to go out of the house, socialize, and then marry, and Longbourn's customs were open enough not to ask Mary to wait until Elizabeth was married before letting her go out.

And Mary had been at home with Catherine and Lydia, and had been treated as if she were a little girl who knew no better, and it was all right for the two steady ladies to disturb Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, but if Mary had gone, the other two would have clamored to go, and it would have been a great deal of noise for the five sisters to go to London together.

It is the way of a family with many children, and it is no wonder that Mr. Bennet was always impatient, and disliked this and that; Mary would have been driven mad by the number of daughters she had, and their mother, Mrs. Bennet, was the only one with strong nerves.

So Mary never pressed for a chance to go to London, but that didn't mean that she had any reason to refuse it when it was offered to her.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardner stayed at Longbourn for a week, and after seven days Jane and Mary packed their bags and left the country with them for London.

Nineteen years after traveling through time and space, Mary had longed to see what London would look like, and now the city of her dreams was right in front of her eyes - she was in it.

Victorian London is full of the vibrancy of a new era, but it also harbors the gloom of the aftermath of great social change.

She was a bustling city, with the rumble of ships, the clatter of carriages, and the uncontrollable heat of factories that made Mary's eyes almost glaze over as she looked through the windows.

She was also a dirty city.

In the 1960s, the British government spent 2 billion pounds, spent more than 20 years to control the pollution of the Thames River, we can see what the state of London's "mother river" will be in the next hundred years.

Gray haze shrouded sky, choking air, and the streets can not be ignored on the poor, and her prosperity together into the eyes of Mary.

London wasn't quite what she thought it would be, and it wasn't far off.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardner lived in the streets of Glenos Church, and the first thing Mary did when she stepped out of the carriage with Jane was to survey her surroundings.

Their good uncle, Mr. Gardner, was a merchant, upright and knowledgeable. The neighborhood in which they lived was far from the upper class neighborhoods, but it was clean and tidy.

But for all that, Mary didn't miss the ragged workers and poor people who wandered into the neighborhood.

She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked with concern.

"Nothing," Mary withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened, but she couldn't tell Jane what she was really thinking, she was so kind, she would be devastated by it, "just a little uneasy about home."

Jane smiled at that, "You talk about coming to London every day of the week, and now that you're here and haven't even stayed a day, you're homesick?"

Mary grunted, "I don't think so! What am I homesick for, I'm happy to be quiet without Lydia."

Jane: "Then what are you uneasy about?"

Mary: "I'm afraid she'll do something stupid."

After all, it's Lydia. Mary has always been unforgiving, and the two have fought a lot since they were children, and the fights never end - either Mary makes Lydia cry, or Lydia makes Mary so angry that she spends her nights hugging pillows and trying to get Jane and Elizabeth to sleep in their beds.

But in the end, they are biological sisters, Mary does not show, Jane also know that she is from the heart to worry about Lydia confused to do something out of the ordinary.

Thinking of her little sister's character, Jane couldn't help but get worried.

She is so frivolous and superficial, sooner or later, she will have to suffer a big loss and fall down.

"Don't worry," Jane said kindly and reassuringly, "you gave Lizzie fine instructions before you left, and she'll keep an eye on Lydia."

The words were so, yet as far as Lydia's temper ...... Mary drawled, the original was capable of elopement, and she really could not think of anything more stupid than that.

Not only do not know people well, but also do not know the height of the sky, shallow eyes not to say also selfish and self-interested love brain. If Mary counted up Lydia, she could change her mind and spit for a whole hour.

It is true that she does not like Lydia, but in the end it is her own sister, really let it go, I am afraid that it will not be able to escape the end of the elopement.

Mary's original idea was to use provocation to force her to take a serious view of the problem and hear what Mary said in her heart. Lose a few more beloved hats, pain to the flesh, can always grow a little memory.

However did not expect, the hat has not yet got in hand, her people in London.

And although Elizabeth made a promise to help her mother keep an eye on the grounded Lydia, in the original story, it wasn't long after Jane arrived in London that she was invited by Charlotte to be a guest elsewhere.

Let's hope their mother, Mrs. Bennet, makes good on her promise to keep Lydia grounded hard for a while in the meantime.

However, Mary had counted the days before her arrival, and in the original story Wickham was still courting other ladies, and it was only when Jane returned to Longbourn and saw that no lady of money had taken the bait that she had any intention of "going back to her old ways".

In the meantime, write to Lydia, and urge her to make hats, for Mary would not believe that she could not get something else out of her embroidery when she was in a huff.

It was only at this thought that Mary pressed her mind and followed Jane through the door of Mr. and Mrs. Gardner's house.

Before they came to London, Jane had written a letter to Mr. Bingley. The message was sent as soon as they arrived in London, so that the day after Jane and Mary took up their residence in the streets of Glenorchy, Mr. Bingley was eager to visit them.

Apparently, the Gardners were pleased with the "legendary" Mr. Bentley. He was handsome, well-spoken, and when he mentioned Jane, his eyes couldn't wait for stars to come out, so he could see that he was deeply infatuated with her.

A few months, the gentleman tone of intimacy, lady blushing joy, this scene is really more than moving.

Mary could not stop the smile on her face as she sat by, and it was not until Mr. Bingley had finished his polite conversation with Jane that she teased, "I have been waiting so long, Mr. Bingley, and you can't leave me out of it!"

Mr. Bentley laughed out loud.

He truly appreciated Jane's witty and eccentric sister, not to mention her cleverness, and Bentley would have to thank her for the rest of his life for the mischief that had brought them together.

He was not angry, therefore, when he heard Mary speak impatiently.

"And yet I suppose," Mr. Bingley followed suit, changing his tone to one of jest, "that it was not my arrival that Miss Mary was waiting for, but the arrival of a certain gentleman's handwritten letter?"

"That is natural."

Mary's eyes sparkled, "Where's the handwritten letter?"

Mr. Bentley: "Oh? I didn't say I'd brought a handwritten message."

Mary: "......"

Want to rush her to death!

Long before moving, out of courtesy, Mary had written a letter to Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who had not moved into 221b Baker Street for the time being, informing him that she would be visiting London.

And on arriving in London yesterday, Mr. Holmes's message arrived along with his letter, which was as succinct as usual, with one short sentence - Wait for my news tomorrow.

As soon as Mary heard of Mr. Bentley's visit, she had guessed that Mr. Holmes' message would be brought by Mr. Bentley, and now that he had expressly mentioned the word "handwritten letter," of course Mary was anxious!

But she knew that Mr. Bentley was making fun of her, and therefore, in spite of her eagerness, Mary slowed down.

"It's been a few months," she smiled, "has there been any progress in the case?"

"Naturally," replied Mr. Bingley, "thanks to Mr. Holmes."

"So just who was the accomplice behind all this, Captain Carter or the mysterious factory owner, or both?"

At these words, the derisive look on Mr. Bentley's face tightened for a few moments.

He mused for a moment before speaking, "Now we have reason to suspect that the factory owner who met secretly with Captain Carter earlier was Mr. Thornton's partner in Milton, Mr. Hamp."

Jane whimpered and covered her mouth, "Wouldn't that be your partner."

"Did Mr. Hamp recommend that you change suppliers, sir?" Mary asked.

"Yes."

"And did he replace it himself?"

"Originally Mr. Hamp was dragging me along," replied Mr. Bentley, "but after that proposal was rejected by Mr. Thornton, he gave it up too."

That wasn't right.

Mary was a little confused: it sounded like not only a partner, but a partner who respected all the mill owners in Milton, and that was a community of interest. Mr. Thornton's and Mr. Bentley's decisions were conservative, yet stable enough to be good for him.

There was no point in giving advice if he was not going to agree to change suppliers, and if he was going to force Mr. Thornton to change his contract, it was really of little use if the contract was not signed.

Mary was a little confused.

"Now," Mary asked thoughtfully, "does Mr. Holmes have any further plans?"

"Yes."

"So," Mary winked, "is there anything he needs from me? The detective did ask me to wait for further word from him yesterday."

Mr. Bentley: "But I really didn't bring his handwritten message, miss."

Liar!

Mary was no fool, and Mr. Charles Bentley, being a kind and sincere man, was naturally incapable of deceiving others. He was so smiling that he had "I am teasing you" written on his face.

"If you make fun of me again," Mary threatened, "you won't be allowed to visit Jane again, sir!"

"Mary!" Jane's cheeks reddened again at that.

Mr. Bentley burst out laughing.

Not surprisingly, it was also rare for him to banter, it was just that after a while Mr. Bentley found the third-ranking Miss Bennet to be quite amusing - her goody-goody, nerdy, don't-speak-in-social-situations-quite-so-much skin was too confusing, and in fact, Mary was just a real tomboy.

Especially with her look of uncontrollable curiosity, even a good-natured gentleman like Mr. Bingley couldn't help teasing her.

"Mr. Holmes did commission me to convey the message."

He cleared his throat in a serious manner, "But I didn't say that it must be a handwritten message that he brought, did I?"

Mary: "......"

Surprisingly misleading her!

Even Mr. Bentley had learned to make fun of her, and Mary found it impossible to go on!

"Jane," so Mary turned to her big sister and pouted, "look at Mr. Bingley!"

Jane couldn't help shaking her head.

"Better ask you to relieve Mary, sir," Jane laughed, "she's been teetotal for a long time."

"Mr. Holmes has asked me to take a message for you, Mary."

Having reached this point, Mr. Bentley ceased to change the subject, "In the morning of three days' time, he wishes you to visit him at his residence."

Mary was immediately energized, "Really?"

"Of course," Mr. Bentley laughed, "Are you questioning my credibility, young lady?"

"Of course not."

Mary followed suit and raised a smile.

A few months ago at Netherfield Hall, Mr. Sherlock Holmes had indeed promised that Mary could visit him when she came to London.

"I am just delighted." Mary

He really hadn't forgotten!