I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Chapter 159

The race started. Leicester sat with Sir John and Colonel Brandon, concentrating on admiring the galloping horses on the track. He cheered and laughed heartily from time to time, and had no intention of returning to his seat at all.

On the other hand, Lisa and Rebecca, the two girls left behind by Leicester, have no interest in watching the game. They are all worried about their future life.

Rebecca frowned slightly, her eyes filled with worry and guilt:

"Lisa, I am very sorry that Mr. Cecil is angry with you because of me. Or... you send the servant to Mr. Cessel and tell him that I will not insist on seeing Mr. de Vere in person." .Lisa, I admit that I have my own selfishness, but I don't want to destroy the happiness of my friends."

The young woman named Lisa took Rebecca's hand and persuaded in a low voice:

"Rebecca, don't waver. We must act in accordance with the previously agreed plan. I support you to see Mr. Deville. Rebecca, if you can get Mr. Deville's love and protection, your value will immediately increase." It's different, even Mrs. Du La will try to curry favor with you."

"But I think it's hard."

The elegant and beautiful girl like a lily has a sad tone:

"Mr. Sissel is a close friend of Mr. Deville. From his attitude, we can actually perceive Deville's temper. That gentleman... I heard Mr. Paddington and Baron Defoe say that he He is a very decent gentleman, he, he probably looks down on a woman like me."

Lisa sneered: "Rebecca, you have been with Mrs. Betty for a long time, why can't you understand the nature of those gentlemen? As long as you are beautiful and attractive enough, they will see you in their eyes , If you take it to heart, they will provide you with fine clothes, fine food and sweet words. Besides, it is actually quite easy to deal with those gentlemen who claim to be decent."

"easy?"

"Yes, as long as you show a cute and pitiful expression, and then vaguely reveal a few miserable experiences of ill-fated fate, they will feel compassionate, and even have a very sense of responsibility to regard you as a poor little child who needs to be cared for and saved. With that With this premise, if you use your beauty and talent to show admiration and admiration, which man will not fall?"

Rebecca bit her lip, twisted the hem of the skirt with her slender fingers, looking a little hesitant.But after all, she is not someone who gives up and shrinks easily. After thinking quietly for a while, her gaze gradually became firm:

"Lisa, you are right. My appearance, talent, and personality are no worse than those ladies, or even better than them. How can gentlemen be really indifferent? If I express my love to Mr. Deville, will I I am willing to follow him anonymously, take care of him and wait for him tenderly, how could he push me away?"

These words earned Lisa a look of approval.

"Rebecca, you have to have confidence in yourself. Beauty is your greatest weapon. Besides, your temperament is so pure and clear, you will definitely attract the attention of iron-blooded soldiers like Mr. Deville."

"Thank you for comforting me, Lisa."

"You don't need to thank me, helping me is helping myself. We are mutually beneficial."

"Well, I will always remember your help to me. Lisa, don't worry, I am not an ungrateful person. After I stand firmly beside Mr. Deville, I will definitely speak good words for you. Let Sissel Sir, remember your kindness. At that time... we will support each other and live a comfortable life, and we will no longer have to be displaced and have no fixed place to live."

Lisa sighed. She was full of confidence when she persuaded Rebecca just now, but when it was her turn, she was also hesitant.

"Lester is actually the most indifferent and sensible person. I can feel that he is gradually alienating me, and the time with me is getting shorter and shorter. I am really afraid that one day suddenly, he Just leave me."

"Lisa, could it be that you are thinking too much?"

Rebecca looked enviously at the fine jewelry on Lisa's body, and gently comforted her:

"Look, you said you were bored, and Mr. Sissel took you out for an outing to watch the horse race. You didn't like the Spanish cook before, so he hired a Russian chef for you. He was obedient to you, how could he suddenly Leaving you?"

Lisa was silent for a moment, her eyes were a little empty, until the burst of cheers and laughter from the crowd brought her back to reality, and she said slowly to Rebecca:

"When Lester and I first met, he was very disgusted with the fiancée candidates arranged for him by the family, and he didn't want to get engaged, so he treated me very well, as if... he was angry and declaring something. But recently In time, Lester already had the confidence to refuse the family's marriage arrangement, and he had more choices. Therefore, his whole state changed. He... Now mentioning the fiancée candidates that the Sissel family valued, a little bit My son is no longer irritable and bored, and sometimes he will sincerely praise each other a few words."

"So, you are worried, um, Mr. Sissel is more willing to accept the marriage arranged by the family after he has no pressure? Even, he will break up with you because of the noble lady who is about to be engaged?"

Lisa shook her head, the uneasiness in her eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by shrewdness and calmness:

"Mrs. Dora and I have inquired about the lady. Madam Dora said that even if Lester doesn't dislike his marriage, the lady may not be happy. Because the lady seems to be... with another rich man Gentlemen who are not very well-to-do come very close. Of course, this is gossip, and there is no evidence, but, Rebecca, we all know Madame Durat's abilities, and her words always have some basis."

Rebecca was a little confused: "Since that lady has her own heart, she will definitely not try to win over Mr. Sissel. Lisa, this is a good thing for you. What are you worried about?"

"Of course I'm not worried about that lady. To be honest, even if she doesn't have a heart, I don't see her as a threat, because her appearance is too ordinary and dull, and she can't attract Lester at all. Attention. What I am worried about is actually another lady."

"another?"

"Yes, you saw her today too, the one I went to say hello to when Lester dumped you—Miss Marianne Dashwood. Since that lady moved to London, I can always get her from Leicester. I heard her name from Te's mouth. I can feel that Lester pays special attention to that Miss Marianne, which is a treatment that no other woman has received."

"It was her!"

Rebecca looked stunned, and she didn't doubt Lisa's speculation at all, because the Miss Marianne she had seen was indeed outstanding.

"Lisa, to be honest, even if Mr. Sissel is interested in Miss Marianne, it should not pose a threat to you. You and I both know that Miss Marianne's family background is not very suitable for Baron Sissel's choice of marriage. The conditions of the object, on the premise of not being able to commit to a marriage contract, they have no future."

Lisa smiled bitterly: "I originally comforted myself in this way, but unfortunately, things have changed since Lester met Mr. Paddington. Mr. Paddington helped him secure several investments, so that , Baron Sissel is less binding on him, and he is fully capable of deciding his own marriage. I think about it, and this is probably the reason why Lester has been cold to me recently."

Rebecca frowned: "Why is this Paddington again? Mrs. Betty's matter was related to Mr. Paddington before, and now you are going to lose your stable life because of Paddington's meddling. This Are men the nemesis of our sisters?"

"His existence is really annoying," Lisa said following Rebecca's words, "you probably don't know yet, after I had a sense of crisis about Miss Marianne's existence, I asked Madam Dura to help me find out about her. The detailed situation, hey, that is really a lucky girl who makes people jealous."

"Good luck?"

"Rebecca, do you know that the three Dashwood girls originally only had a dowry of a thousand pounds each. But Mr. Paddington promised to add ten thousand pounds to each of the three sisters when they married. The dowry in pounds sterling directly increased their net worth. Otherwise, how could they afford to live in a house in downtown London and live a carefree life like this."

Hearing Mr. Paddington's generosity, Rebecca covered her mouth in surprise:

"A dowry of ten thousand pounds each?"

"Yes, that's not counting their mother's annuity. So, if Lester is determined to marry Miss Marianne, it's not impossible. Their personal property is enough to support a decent and wealthy life."

"This is really good luck." Rebecca didn't hide the jealousy in her tone.

Lisa shook her silk fan, a faint haze flashed across her eyes.

Of course she knew that helping Rebecca would make Lester angry.However, as the pillow person, how could she ignore the lethargy in Lester's eyes and the perfunctory expression on his expression.She knew that they were about to fall in love and drift away, so she had to do something to change her situation.

—If Rebecca succeeds, she must repay me.Regardless of whether she can change Leicester's attitude towards me by influencing Deville, I have left myself a way out, and this matter will do more good than harm to me.

——If Rebecca fails, it will just polish off the girl's arrogance, and make her obediently obey Mrs. Dura and me, and rely on and trust us more.

——If Lester proposes to break up because of this, then...it's not bad.Just in time to leave with dignity before the last bit of emotion is spent, you can get a lot of compensation.

Lisa made some calculations in her heart, and felt that people and things were under her control.

Rebecca quickly glanced at Lisa who was in deep thought, her slender eyelashes fluttered slightly, and a more shy and soft smile appeared on her face.

As the game drew to a close, the clear sky suddenly darkened.

Seeing that a heavy rain was about to fall, everyone left the open-air stands one after another, trying to find a place that could shelter from the wind and rain before the rain fell.

Looking at the crowd, Lester suggested that everyone go back to the carriage first, then leave the racetrack before the rain intensified, and go to the nearby Sissel's villa to take a short rest.If the sky has not cleared, everyone can still rest in the comfortable villa for one night.

This proposal naturally got the approval and gratitude of my friends.

The weather was changeable. As soon as everyone boarded the carriage, raindrops fell, but when everyone arrived at the garden villa in Leicester, the dark sky gradually cleared up again.

"There are twelve guest rooms here. You can wash and change your clothes first. Afternoon tea will be ready soon. The library is on the third floor, and the billiard room and men's smoking room are on the second floor. If you have any requirements, you can tell the housekeeper Mandalay and servants, please treat this place as your own home."

Under Leicester's warm hospitality, Pei Xiang and Elinor took the maid to choose a beautifully decorated guest room.

They took spare clothes with them when they traveled, so after washing off the dust, both sisters changed into comfortable and beautiful clean dresses.

"Eleanor, I think your complexion is not very good. Is it hot during the day? This room is quite cool, you can rest for a while."

"Alright, how about you?"

"I'll go and see Mum and Mrs. Jennings and the others, and then have some afternoon tea at Cecil's, and then, um, maybe a look into the library."

Elinor nodded her sister's pink face enviously:

"You are really full of energy. As long as you don't stay up late, you will be in good spirits every day."

Pei Xiang raised her chin proudly, thinking that although this girl has no internal strength, the sword intent she cultivated in her previous life is not for fooling people. The kind of perception that permeates the soul is actually the most nourishing for the body and mind.

After bidding farewell to Elinor, who was listless in the sun, Pei Xiang went downstairs and found that no one came out of the guest room.

After asking the housekeeper, she found out that most of the guests were tired, and they planned to rest for a while before going downstairs to chat and eat.

So, Pei Xiang sat on the terrace happily, drinking tea and eating snacks while admiring the roses after the rain, enjoying a sweet afternoon tea alone.

At the same time, in the library on the third floor, the cold Aldrich frowned as he listened to Rebecca telling about her tragic life, her struggles, gratitude, self-improvement, and admiration for the red-uniformed officer...

After Pei Xiang finished eating, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, and there were footsteps and intermittent voices outside the terrace porch.

She listened carefully, and recognized the persons as Mrs. Middleton and Miss Mordot.For Pei Xiang, the two of them were not particularly compatible chat partners, so she quietly got up and left early through the side door of the terrace.

Walking up the spiral staircase to the third floor, Pei Xiang followed the direction of a maid and walked towards the library.

However, before Pei Xiang reached the door of the library, the door carved with elegant patterns was suddenly pushed open, and a slender and graceful green figure rushed out from inside.

Pei Xiang paused and quickly avoided the person's running route.However, there are some things that cannot be avoided if you want to, such as Lu Yu Pengci.

When the heartbroken Piaoxiang figure passed by Pei Xiang, he suddenly exclaimed and stumbled on the ground at the same time.After that, she threw herself down in the direction of Pei Xiang from an unreasonable angle.

Behind Pei Xiang is a sculpture with edges and corners.

If she was an ordinary weak woman, if she was caught off guard like this, her entire back would definitely hit the sculpture behind her, and she would inevitably bleed and get injured.And the person who threw her down would not suffer much harm because someone was behind him.

Therefore, Pei Xiang, who didn't like to be disadvantaged, immediately gave up the ordinary beautiful and delicate girl character, moved to the side on tiptoe, and left the place in the blink of an eye, exposing the hard and angular sculpture.

Her reaction was so fast that the person who deliberately fell had no time to react, and slammed into the sculpture with a look of astonishment.

Of course, this person intends to avoid the danger of injury, and her reaction speed is not slow. The moment Pei Xiang avoided it, she tried to restrain herself from falling, at least not to let herself suffer too much. injury.

But Pei Xiang is not a good-tempered girl, she has just eaten and drank enough, and she is very strong.

So, while avoiding the danger, she raised her hand and gave the person who touched the porcelain violently.

——Touch what kind of porcelain?Heh, if you want to fall, you can really fall, and there are no surveillance cameras here.

This time, the girl in green really cried out in pain.At the same time as a burst of severe pain hit, she felt wet liquid flowing down her forehead, and immediately, the faint smell of blood became her last memory before she fell into a coma.

It all happened very quickly.When Pei Xiang put his hands behind his back with an innocent face, there was a sound of hurried footsteps in the stairwell not far away.

Apparently, someone rushed up to check the situation after hearing the exclamation.

Pei Xiang took another half step back, straightened the hem of her skirt, and looked sideways at the library with the door open.

Inside the door, Aldrich with black hair and black eyes stared at her silently.

As the footsteps got closer, Pei Xiang interrogated the only witness:

"Mr. Deville, are you secretly dating this Rebecca? She is very agile, and her behavior is very suspicious. As an army officer in an important position, shouldn't you pay attention to vigilance?"