"The Widow" Bertha

Chapter 76 The Lady of Whitechapel 14

The next day, Mrs. Thames asked its leader, Lambert Byrne, for an interview.

The subordinates of the two sides negotiated on their behalf first, and finally finalized the meeting ground in the gathering area of ​​the Irish.

This is a compromise, neither in the territory of the Thames, nor in the territory of the White Pigeon Gang, lest the two sides feel afraid of stepping into each other's place.The Irish, as the middle force, will naturally not cause any surprises to the leaders of the two street gangs.

The White Dove Gang still seemed dissatisfied, but after much deliberation, they agreed to the proposal of Mrs. Thames' boys.

When Lambert Byrne arrived with his younger brothers, Mrs. Thames had already arrived.

The narrow and cramped alley was covered with a simple waterproof canopy, which completely covered the dark sky. The humid air and dim light made Lambert couldn't help showing a look of disgust, especially when he saw standing in the alley After talking about Thomas Thames and Sykes, he spat on the spot.

"how."

Lambert didn't speak, and his subordinates couldn't help shouting: "Is this place yours, and it's still under guard?!"

Sykes, who still had the color on his face, immediately replied: "I'll go to your mother to criticize! Madam told us to wait here, but there are no fucking people from us, you bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates also stay for me , only Lambert can go in alone!"

"You fart!"

"okay."

Seeing that the two sides were about to start scolding, Thomas stopped Sykes without haste.His icy blue eyes looked at Lambert, and his posture and tone were much colder than Bix's: "Only the accountant Ned Morrison is accompanying Madam, and you all know his physique. Lambert, don't believe me." You ask the Irishman, we came with sincerity, how about you?"

Lambert's subordinates suddenly had nothing to say: everyone knew that "Accountant" Ned Morrison was a cultured man with glasses and a gentle manner. He should be a secretary for government officials instead of wandering around.

Among other things, Lambert can beat ten Neds by himself.

So his subordinates turned to look at his burly boss: "Boss, then this..."

Without further ado, Lambert slapped his hand: "What are you talking about, can I still be afraid of a girl?!"

"that is!"

The other little brother couldn't help flattering: "Maybe that girl's legs will go limp when she sees our elder brother."

"Is it because your legs are weak from fear, or... are your legs weak?"

When the words fell to the ground, several men showed wretched smiles.

Sykes' forehead was bulging with blue veins: "You fucking—"

Thomas tugged him again expressionlessly: "Mrs. Thames is waiting for you, Lambert."

Compared with the cursing Sykes, Lambert is obviously more afraid of the water-tight Thomas Thames.He glared fiercely at the young man in a beige coat and a red scarf, and somehow felt that he was a bit shorter.

Although he really looked down on gangs led by women, and it was in his mind that some of his subordinates pointed out what he wanted, but compared with Thomas Thames, his younger brother seemed to be particularly out of the ordinary.

He said to his subordinates angrily: "Wait here, don't embarrass me."

After speaking, he took a step forward and walked deep into the narrow alley.

When he left, Sykes flicked Thomas's hand: "What are you doing to stop me? What kind of bullshit is he and his people talking about? The dirty jokes are on Mrs. Thames's head. If you don't respond, don't you?" Are you not cowardly?!"

Thomas: "Do you think Ma'am can't tell what he's thinking?"

Sykes: "..."

Also.

Reminiscent of how he was trapped on a pirate ship, Sykes shivered.

Sykes on this side shut up resentfully, but Lambert on the other side didn't know what he was going to face.

He walked to the depths of the alley, the dark and silent environment made him unavoidable to follow his little brother's flattery to think crookedly.

It is said that the unknown sister of Thomas Thames, Mrs. Thames, was a remarkable beauty and a widow.

A widow asked a grown man to meet privately—Ned Morrison's kind of sissy is not considered a person, even though Lambert came here to discuss business matters, he still couldn't help thinking about the next three ways.

With a short distance of [-] meters, he has already imagined all the scenes he should think about and should not think about.

In the end, Lambert Byrne came to the agreed place with a disgusting smile on his face. It was located in a relatively spacious area in the Irish gathering area. Unlike the dilapidated buildings around him, the house in front of him was even carefully decorated with stone bricks. It was built, and the door was cleaned cleanly.

Lambert realized at once where Mrs. Thames had fixed the meeting place.

This is where the Irish kept their statue of the Virgin.

The door of Notre Dame Church is open, and standing at the door Lambert can see the woman standing on the square inch——

Tall and thin, a plain dress wrapped her honey-colored skin.Just this back view is already a hundred times more beautiful than all the women Lambert has ever seen. She even has her hair loose, and her thick black hair hangs down to her waist, making her look extremely personal and even a little inappropriate.

This is similar to the scenes in Lambert's previous dirty fantasies, but his little fantasies disappeared without a trace in front of the Madonna.

The woman under the statue turned her head and faced Lambert with her bare face. She was holding a candle, and her dark golden pupils shone brightly under the candlelight.

"Mr. Lambert Byrne," the woman said in a hoarse voice, "when we meet you for the first time, I am Mrs. Thames."

——Bertha saw with her own eyes the change in the expression of this sloppy, sloppy man.

At the beginning, he still had a greasy and disgusting smile on his face, and he could tell what he was thinking by moving his toes.But after realizing that the place where they agreed to meet was Notre Dame Church, Lambert Byrne's smile froze on his face.

To be reasonable, Bertha knew too well how to dispel a man's crooked thoughts.

Thomas' concern is not unreasonable: talk about civilization with villains and thugs?It's not realistic.For them, women have only two purposes, sleeping and giving birth.If Lambert Byrne was only thinking about it in private, then it had nothing to do with Bertha, but for these arrogant gangsters, what Thomas was afraid of was that Lambert Byrne would be disrespectful to Mrs. Thames on the surface.

This kind of disrespect comes from the concept of men and women, but it can affect the situation in the entire Whitechapel area.

Think about it, what would happen if one gang leader spoke ill of another gang leader?

To prevent the other party from contemptuous of Mrs. Thames because she is a woman, Bertha must use majesty to intimidate the other party, or directly tear her face.The former was unrealistic in the Victorian era, and the latter would cause trouble.Bertha didn't want to fight with the white doves yet, so she chose another way - she couldn't believe that anyone could go to the next three ways in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Lambert was a gang leader at all costs, and he wasn't stupid enough to be blasphemous.

So when Bertha saw his suddenly serious expression, she knew that she had made the right bet.

She slowly raised a smile, and then pulled the long black hair on the side of her vertical face behind her ears: "Come in and talk, Mr. Bourne. Just be sure to keep your voice low. We must remain devout before the Holy Mother."

Lambert gave Bertha a deep look.

Even though she has a completely alien face, under the warm candlelight, she is almost holy under the clean image of the Virgin.How dare Lambert have the slightest idea?He entered the door in a regular manner, looked at Bertha again for a moment, and then said cautiously: "You are Mrs. Thames."

Bertha took Ned's new candle.

She lit the candles near the statue of the Virgin Mary one by one, and asked without answering: "Irish people usually can't afford so many candles, Mr. Bourne. Since you and I borrow someone else's place to talk, we should show something, what do you think?" "

"of course."

Lambert said gruffly, "How much is the candle? I'm out."

Bertha shook her head: "It's you and me who disturb the peace of Notre Dame Church, the money should be shared equally."

The Jamaican girl with black hair and shawl was not in a hurry. She was not in a hurry to discuss serious matters with Lambert, and the leader of the White Pigeon Gang did not dare to act presumptuously before the statue of the Virgin Mary, so she had to wait patiently for Bertha.

Until she lit all the hundreds of candles, the dimly lit room was illuminated like a sunny day by the light of these many candles.

At last Mrs. Thames was willing to look Lambert Byrne in the right direction.

"You are a straightforward person, sir," she laughed, "and you are very reasonable. In this case, I must have misunderstood the fact that I wanted to send someone to my territory to provoke you."

"Provocation, what provocation?"

"Your men wounded Sikes."

"That thing."

Sure enough, when Bertha mentioned this matter, Lambert showed a dismissive expression just like Thomas said.He even laughed, as if mocking Mrs. Thames' pettiness: "It's just a misunderstanding, and the ups and downs are too exaggerated, Mrs. Thames. I want my cousin to apologize to Sykes, okay?"

This "I'm a big man doesn't care about your woman" voluntary concession tone sounds very underwhelming.

Before Bertha could respond, Ned, the little accountant beside her, had already frowned.

She gave Ned a sideways look, telling the little accountant to restrain his expression obediently, and reluctantly adjusted the frame of the mirror, continuing to be the silent lighter.Then Bertha withdrew her gaze in satisfaction: "That would be great, Mr. Byrne. Sykes has been in the Whitechapel area longer than me. You all know him. He needs face, so he must be given a step down, right?" ?”

Shirking responsibility to Sykes seems to be too much for his subordinates-not to mention, this is really in line with Bill Sykes' style of hooligans.

"That's no problem," Lambert felt relieved when he heard this, and said cheerfully, "I'll teach my cousin a lesson later."

"It's normal for young people to have some friction," Bertha said casually, "I'll treat them to a glass of wine later, maybe they can become friends."

In just a few words, the trouble that was enough to become a gang fight was classified as a personal friction, which proved that neither Mrs. Thames nor the White Pigeon Gang had any hostile intentions.

Lambert finally felt relieved.

It seems that he made the right move by finding someone to test this move.

This Mrs. Thames is not as unreasonable as they say, Lambert thought with satisfaction.

Although there is no longer any crooked thoughts in his heart, even a villain and a thug will not feel disgusted with a person who is dressed in plain clothes and lights a candle for the Virgin himself.

"You are also, ahem, a reasonable person," Lambert rarely eased his tone, he didn't want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the Notre Dame Church, "I will deal with those bastards who spoke ill of you when I go back, don't worry You can’t let them sow discord anymore, isn’t this a bad thing.”

Bertha's hand holding the candle stopped abruptly.

She raised her eyes: "Someone sow discord?"

Lambert didn't think much, slapped his thigh, and put all the responsibility on others: "Isn't it! My people believed the rumors that you were sent by the upper class to clean up the Whitechapel area, and there were rumors that you were from Scotland. And the people there, Mrs. Thames. I thought old Jessie is gone, and I'm next? These bastards listen to everything, and I promise you there will be no next time at the Madonna, madam."

He opened his mouth casually, as if talking about family affairs, but Bertha secretly raised her eyebrows when she heard this.

Strictly speaking, that's not a rumor either.

She cooperates with Mycroft Holmes, and it can be said that she is "sent by high society" after a little while, and the person behind the scene is a dignified spy chief.

But who passed this on to the White Pigeon Gang?

Bertha curled her lips.

"It's a good thing you're not a slanderer, Mr. Byrne," she said slowly.

"I...Of course not, isn't this here to talk peacefully?"

Lambert blushed, and he was embarrassed to say that he really believed it.What Mrs. Thames is a young slut who sleeps all over her office, what she is a femme fatale, or a witch who wants to find a chance to kill all the people of the White Pigeon Gang--sounds stupid enough, but these words are said in my ears every day , No matter how stupid you are, you can listen to it for a minute or two.

Such one or two points are enough to affect Lambert's perception of Mrs. Thames, whom he has never met before.

"Neither you nor I will lie before the gods," said Bertha frankly. "I assure you that these are lies, Mr. Bourne. But..."

"but?"

The beautiful face of Mrs. Thames in front of the statue of the Virgin suddenly turned cold.

She stared into Lambert Byrne's eyes, her tone was gentle, but her dark golden eyes were almost sharp: "As a new friend, I can ask you to help me find out who is slandering me outside, Mr. Byrne? "

Lambert was surprised by this coldness.

As expected of someone who can annex the Jesse Gang overnight.

If there was some contempt for Mrs. Thames because of her gender before, now Lambert dare not look down on her anymore.

Being able to stand out from many thugs and become the leader of the White Pigeon Gang, Lambert Byrne must have something special.With just one glance, one can see that Mrs. Thames has a fierceness that is completely different from ordinary women. More importantly, she is very smart. Lambert just casually said a few words to shirk responsibility, but she heard the key point. information.

——Yes, why would someone slander her outside?

People in the rough society know how important reputation is. A respectable person in Whitechapel can be a villain, insidious and vicious. He can even kill people, set fires, and do everything that is worthy of the gallows.But he must abide by the rules.

There are rules, and gangs can't do things recklessly, otherwise they will be like old Jesse.Even Lambert Byrne wouldn't contemptuously test a drug on an eight-year-old.

But the people who muttered beside him clearly wanted to portray Mrs. Thames as a moody, unruly vicious woman.

"Compare your heart to your heart," Bertha continued to persuade seeing that he did not reply, "If someone slanders you in my territory, Mr. Bourne, I will not allow it."

slander him?

Lambert couldn't help thinking about the bad things he said about Mrs. Thames in his ears. If he said himself...fuck it!

He was immediately annoyed, and immediately became angry with Mrs. Thames: "Needless to say, Ma'am! This matter is really too much, I will help you investigate later, if you don't believe it... it's up to you, little accountant, Madam, you can lend the little accountant to me." Me, let him stare! I have to give you justice."

Bertha pursed her lips.

She gave Lambert a restrained smile: "That would be the best, Mr. Byrne. I thank you for the Thames family, and I am willing to fight righteously to protect our reputation."

***

After half an hour.

Lambert Byrne arrived with great vigilance and left contentedly—this Mrs. Thames was completely different from what he had imagined. After a few conversations, the boss of the White Pigeon Gang felt that he was really a new friend. A well-known and pious friend, after promising him that he would assist in the investigation, he happily took him away.

Before leaving, he kicked the younger brothers who had spoken badly before and scolded them so loudly that even Bertha in front of Notre Dame Church could hear him clearly.

Ned, the little accountant, curled his lips dismissively: "It's just for Mrs. Thames to see, it's a guilty conscience."

The young man wearing glasses picked up the long dark red cloak and put it on for Bertha. The thick hood was pulled, just covering her loose hair.

In the Victorian era, ladies in high society generally wore their hair up, and walking in public with disheveled hair could be said to be a very indecent behavior.But it's different at the bottom of society. Everyone can't get enough to eat, so who cares about their hair?

Therefore, Bertha acted with her hair disheveled, and neither her own nor Lambert showed any objection.

But Bertha is a gang leader after all, and she can't go out on the street like this.

She straightened her hood, and heard Ned say, "You don't have to take the White Pigeons to heart, ma'am, look at Lambert's virtue, he treats you and me as our own in a few words, than If you kill a fool together, it's better to keep it and use it."

Bertha couldn't help laughing: "He can sit on the gang leader, which is enough to prove that he is not as stupid as he looks."

Ned said, "So what?"

No matter what, it should be used or should be used.Even if both parties know it well.

Bertha turned her head to the side: "Let's go, I have to thank the Irish for lending us a place later."

They left Notre Dame Church on the back foot and walked outside, Thomas and Sykes followed immediately.The young man in a camel coat gestured to Bertha, and Bertha immediately took a few steps to keep away from Nedra.

"how?"

"Outside," Thomas turned to look at the street beyond the alley, and lowered his voice, "Ma'am, uh, your lover is here."

Ok?

Bertha couldn't help being surprised: what is Mycroft doing here?

She looked at the sky, and it was almost evening, and the western sky was dyed red by dusk.It was the time when Bertha went home on weekdays, maybe she had something to drop by to pick her up.

So Bertha nodded to Thomas: "Then I'll go first, and we'll talk about the rest tomorrow. I will entrust you to take care of my people."

Her people, of course, refer to Miss Jane Eyre and the two maids, Grace and Minnie.

Thomas smiled when he heard this: "Leave it to me, ma'am. Miss Ai helps Anna and Jacob with their homework every night, and it's too late for me to pay for her."

Sounds like they're getting along fine.

Jane likes children, and also likes the profession of teachers. Intellectually, Bertha knows that it is strange that they do not get along well, but she is really relieved after listening to Thomas himself.

"Please, dear."

She smiled and patted the top of Thomas' head.

Thomas: "..." Do you still think you are a 16-year-old boy!

Bertha turned around and gave some instructions to Sikes and Ned, and then, holding the hem of the skirt and the hem of the long cloak, she walked carefully across the muddy road and dirty water of the slums to the ordinary carriage on the side of the street.

The coachman was Mycroft's own coachman, and when he saw Bertha coming forward, he jumped out of the carriage and opened the door for her.

After Bertha got into the car, she said to the man in the car without waiting to sit still: "I probably know how the Truth Society will target you and me, Mike... Mike?"

"Listen, ma'am."

Mycroft, who was sitting in the carriage, nodded. What he meant was for Bertha to continue talking, but Mycroft leaned forward slightly.

The man stretched out his hand, but with a slight flick, Bertha's hood covering her long hair fell off.

The long black hair of the Jamaican girl pressed into the hood slanted down with his movements, and fell like a waterfall to the sides of Bertha's cheeks.Mycroft paused visibly when he realized her hair was down.

But soon he returned to his normal demeanor.

Mycroft's fingertips lightly rubbed against the hair on the side of Bertha's face, and the seemingly absent temperature stayed a few centimeters away from her skin for a moment, but it never fell.

Finally he took his hand back.

"This is not appropriate, ma'am," Mycroft's tone could not detect emotion, "The play is not fake, but the situation is not so far."

Bertha did not miss the momentary unhappiness he unleashed.

What's unpleasant because she let her hair down for Lambert Byrne?This slightest emotion made Bertha tilt her head with interest.

You must know that objectively speaking, Mycroft Holmes and Lambert Byrne are no different from Mrs. Thames, they are all men who cooperate with each other.

Holmes had seen her let down her hair, could it not be seen by others?

"What's the problem?" Bertha tilted her head.

"Of course there are problems."

Mycroft frankly admitted: "I am your fiancé, dear, this makes me can't help but reflect on whether I am not capable enough to need you to pay so much."

Mentioning her fiancé once, Bertha couldn't help raising her eyebrows.

"Has a letter from Richard?"

"Yes," said Mycroft, "it won't be too late when we get home."

"..."

Hmm, interesting.

Seeing Mycroft's still expression, Bertha hooked the corners of her mouth with interest.

I don't know why, but I always feel that the phrase "it's not too late to talk about it after I go home" means to settle accounts with myself.