flower and sword and france

Chapter 8: Cross-examination

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Albert-de-Foua-Gray was arranging his grooming at the door of the Chloe Club. Under the reflection of the golden rays of the sun, the handsome and delicate young man looks like a sculpture of an ancient Greek at this moment.

Then, with his cane in hand, with contempt for all, he entered this famous meeting place of high society, saluted by the doorman.

After the end of the imperial era, the French upper class had a culture of learning from Britain, and the new "club" had also crossed the narrow English Channel and became a new fashion in France. After the French government officially banned casinos, men in the upper class cherished these remaining recreational places even more.

Seeing someone enter, the guests in the club glanced at him, and then they turned their faces away and went on with their own business.

Under the cover of the frivolous expression on the surface, Albert carefully observed the people inside from the corner of his eyes, scanning the faces.

Then in a corner, he found his target - a young man who looked like twenty-six or seven years old, was not tall and stout, but was well-dressed.

Count Louis-de-Leoran, the eldest son of the Marquis of Leorand and the legal heir to the title, was chatting with his friends and his friends while playing whist.

After the collapse of Napoleon's empire and the return of the Bourbons to France with the help of foreign bayonets, the French had an almost subconscious fear of enmity with England, even after the July dynasty overthrew the Bourbons. . The France, who once fought the Hundred Years' War with Britain, once led the entire continent to try to destroy Britain, and once fought with the British in the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium, no longer has the courage to compete with the United Kingdom.

British textiles, British ideas and even British entertainment became popular in France - whist cards being one example.

Albert pretended to be unintentionally pacing towards the corner, greeting and joking with people who knew him.

"My friend, I once slipped and turned a girl into a mother, and what's worse, that lady with no gods and goddesses was stupid enough to confess her mistakes to her own mother. Oops, that poor mother came to me Ask me what to do... guess how I answer?"

"How to answer?" Someone next to him asked.

"But, ma'am, I am neither a surgeon nor a midwife, so how can I help?" Albert answered in a deliberately high voice.

His teasing caused a burst of laughter. With this roar of laughter, he walked to the side of Count Leoran without a trace.

"But now, if the lady comes to see me again, I don't mind giving the unborn little angel a few chunks of maltose..."

Albert was chatting and joking with others in a low voice, while secretly paying attention to the count's cards.

Soon he came to a conclusion.

Poor card skills, no rules, random cards, seems to be a good person to deal with.

It seems that the old friend's commission should be able to be completed relatively easily, he thought to himself.

At this moment, it seemed that he had been fighting for too long and panicked, and wanted to go out to make it easier, Count Leoran stood up and walked to the bathroom.

It's now.

Albert gave a secret wink to a young man beside him who seemed to be talking to someone else.

The sturdy young man understood, and then slowly moved his body to block Count Leoran's course of action.

It seems that after playing cards for a long time, the earl didn't notice that someone was blocking his way, and then the two collided without any accident.

"Sir, be careful!" The young man gave the count a stern look, then pushed him away.

The Count shook his head and walked straight to the bathroom.

Albert gave the young man an approving look, then found a corner seat and sat down, waiting to see the next good show.

After a while, the Count came out of the bathroom again and walked to his original seat.

Then... he bumped into the young man from before.

"Sir, did you do this on purpose?!" The young man seemed to be provoked, staring at the count with fierce eyes.

"I'm not, it was you who blocked me twice!" The count seemed to be provoked, and returned the same response.

"You mean, this is my responsibility?"

"Isn't it?" The count glared at the other party, then muttered a few words, and continued to walk towards his seat.

"Sir, I think you need to apologize to me." The young man looked at the count arrogantly and said.

"Apologize? No, it's your own fault," said the count, smiling dismissively. "And do you know who I am?"

"Oh?" The young man shrugged indifferently, "Who are you?"

"I am Count Leoran!" The Count replied with an extraordinary look. Then he took out his business card from his pocket and handed it to the other party.

The young man took the business card and looked at it.

The count smiled, and then planned to leave.

Next, however, the youth surprised him.

"It's too dirty," said the young man coldly. "It seems that you have left it for too long. Bring me another one." Then, the young man threw the business card under his feet.

The people next to him seemed to have noticed something was wrong, and they all looked at this side with hidden eyes and whispered.

The count opened his eyes.

This is provocation, yes, this is provocation!

Moreover, in this case, he must propose a duel. A young man, a young French man, cannot bear such public humiliation, and must be washed with blood. If he backs down this time, his reputation will be disgraced.

But... betting everything on me for this bad boy who came out of nowhere... This is crazy!

The count is now in a state of turmoil, and wants to open his mouth to challenge the bastard who offended him, but he can't say it.

"What? Sir, shouldn't you bring me another business card?" The young man was still reluctant, but raised his voice.

There are more and more people watching here.

Cold sweat appeared on the earl's forehead. He looked towards his original seat, only to find that none of his poker friends would make eye contact with him - they also found something was wrong and did not dare to swim in the muddy water.

"Sir..." The ridicule in the youth's eyes grew stronger and stronger.

Fight it!

The Count was heartbroken and prepared to fight him.

"My friends, what are you doing?" A soft voice interrupted suddenly.

Instinctively, the Count looked in the direction the voice was drifting from.

A well-dressed, gentle and handsome young man walked over with a perfect smile, and under the shadow of the crystal chandelier, the light of the savior flashed.

After a while, he remembered who the other party was.

"Albert..." He greeted the other party with a trembling voice.

Albert came over, then picked up the business card on the ground without a trace, and put it in his pocket.

"Louis, Lyons, forgive me for taking the liberty, just now I seemed to be a little unhappy looking at you..." He still looked at the two with that perfect smile, "What the hell is going on?"

"We just accidentally bumped twice..." The Count replied quickly.

He knows this man! Looks like it can help me out!

The count's heart gradually stabilized.

"He bumped into me, but said it was my fault." The young man replied in a still gloomy tone.

"Oh, I thought you were such a big deal, but it turned out to be such a trivial matter!" Albert's tone was extremely brisk, "Is this kind of thing worth arguing about?"

"He has to apologize to me!" The young man was still reluctant.

"For the sake of our friendship, don't fight over such trivial matters. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to have fun together?" Albert patted the young man on the shoulder, then looked at the count.

The young man's tense face slowly relaxed.

"Hmph, well, for your sake."

Albert's left and right hands held each of them one hand. "Come on, we have a rare chance to meet each other and have a drink together!" Then he said to the Count with a smile, "This is my friend Lyons, who used to serve in North Africa, and his guns are so accurate! I also Make an appointment with him to go hunting in the countryside when you get the chance!"

The count's face stiffened, and then he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

saved.

The three of them found a place and sat down together. Albert ordered a few bottles of whiskey and toasted each other.

It seems that it was because of a bad mood. After drinking a few cups each, the young man left quickly, and then Albert and the Count were left to keep pushing and changing cups.

Chatting while drinking.

I don't know why, but after the topic changed several times, the two talked about getting married.

"My friend, I heard that you are getting married recently? You are marrying the daughter of the Duke of Treville! I really envy you. Did you get a large dowry this time?...Come on, do..."

The Earl, who had another drink, didn't know how much he drank. He just drank one cup after another, and his tongue was a little knotted.

"My friend...I...I have...what is there to envy...married a wife...but not...no...don't bring a dowry of Su..."

"Huh?" Albert snorted in surprise, and then questioned in a tone of 'you're a good boy when you're cheap', "A lie, right...?"

"How... how could I lie to you, my friend..." The earl's eyes were blank and hazy, "This is... this is a deal..."

"trade?"

"My aunt... my aunt..."

"aunt?"

"My aunt died...she has no children...her property should have been...should have been passed on to me...but...but...but...but made a will and gave it all...all of it was given. My little sister...what...when the notary read out this will, my father...my mother...and...and me, I was...I was...going crazy! "

"Roughly how much?"

"Exactly how many...I...I don't know...but, but there should be quite a few..." Under the influence of alcohol, Count Leoran was completely speechless, and Albert struggled a lot. to hear clearly. "My aunt, her... her husband... bought a lot of bonds before she died, and then... then there was government compensation... that's also a lot... add up... add up if……"

[In 1825, the ultra-conservatives in power issued a decree to compensate the nobles who suffered losses during the Revolution, a total of 1 billion francs. This fund was supported from the national treasury, for which the government also lowered the interest on the national debt to raise funds, which directly angered the broad bourgeoisie in France and became a major fuse for the revolution a few years later. The decree is considered one of the dumbest political decisions of the Bourbon Restoration era. 】