Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 422 418. Bugs in the Pool

Rochester sat by the Seine. The night view on both sides of the river had no beauty in his eyes. Instead, it made him feel like a bug that accidentally fell into a dark and damp reservoir.

The Seine River, reflecting scattered lights, was like a pool of stagnant water, and the starry sky above his head was like an iron roof as silent as a tomb. The evening breeze blowing in through the cracks nailed him to the stone bench, wrapped his whole body, and then slowly kneaded into his flesh and blood, his bones.

  He knew he couldn't escape, but he still fluttered his limbs, waiting for death which would come after a long time.

"Mr. Rochester."

The voice of Patrol Captain Barnes interrupted his thoughts, and then handed him a cup of hot milk: "The bar counter was smashed to pieces, and there is nothing the boss can do, except this. It's still a little cold in Paris in June, drink it quickly."

Rochester put on his black coat, took the milk and drank two sips: "Thank you."

"What a beautiful city." Barnes took off his pipe, blew two smoke rings and sat down beside him. "I was really shocked when I heard Mason say that the cafe was on fire. I thought it was another big event like the previous opera house fire."

Rochester just looked across the river and didn't answer.

"Mason has just questioned you, and I understand the general situation, but I still have a few small questions to trouble you." Barnes took off his hat, combed his graying hair, and got back to the point. "We don't have to go to the police station. I will send a police carriage to take you back after I finish questioning you here."

Rochester put the cup aside: "Ask."

Barnes crossed his legs and put his pipe back into his mouth. "I heard from others that the people who started the trouble were a few Hungarians. As it happens, you are also Hungarian. Do you know them?"

"do not know."

Rochester gave a brief answer, and seeing that the patrol captain was not satisfied, he continued to explain: "I am Hungarian, but I haven't been back to Hungary for a long time, and I have lost contact with all the Hungarian friends I knew before. Before coming to Paris, I lived in Vienna, and before that, in Naples and Rome."

"Hmm, Vienna, interesting." Barnes wrote in the notebook, "In that case, you should be more familiar with Austria. Do you know those Austrians who fought with the Hungarians?"

Rochester always felt that the other party was targeting him: "I have already told Vice Captain Mason that I don't know anyone. Those people are just gangsters, whether they are from Austria or Hungary. Although those Austrians speak German, it is mixed with a lot of Czech local swear words. They should be Bohemians."

"You really don't know them?"

"Bohemia, understand? I am a Hungarian noble, your princess's" Rochester stopped here, he didn't know what he was, so he could only jump away, "How could I know them!?"

"I understand, I understand. Don't get excited."

Barnes smiled and closed the notebook. "I am just conducting a routine questioning. It is the World Expo right now, and someone almost got killed in the cafe late at night. I have to give an explanation to my superiors."

"It's getting late. Can I leave now?" Rochester licked his dry lips and drank the remaining milk. "Your Highness must be getting impatient waiting."

"Um, one last question."

Barnes looked at the name in his notebook and raised his right index finger: "The manager and the waiter said you are a new face. Is this your first time in this cafe, right?"

"Yes." Rochester nodded.

"Then why did you think of coming here today? It's a little far from the main street. You have to take two small roads. There are no road signs on the road. It's hard to find." Barnes felt strange. "Is there no good coffee in the princess's manor? Or do you think the taste here is different? But this is your first time here, how would you know? Or is it..."

Rochester stood up: "I'm leaving."

"I haven't finished asking yet."

"You said the last question, but you asked five questions in one breath! This is just an ordinary fight caused by a quarrel. I am just a bystander. What does it have to do with me?"

Rochester fastened the buttons of his coat with great force, and said, "I have to go back now. If you have any other questions, you can come to see me at the estate of Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde. By the way, remember to return the cup for me, and thank the manager for me."

Barnes stood up and apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I asked too many questions. The fight and the subsequent arson were too strange. I need to rule out other reasons."

"You mean I ordered them to fight?"

"No, no, no, don't misunderstand me. That's not what I meant." Barnes smiled and pulled him back to sit. "I'll just ask you one last question. It's really the last one. After I ask you, I'll send the carriage to take you back. Believe me! I promise!!!"

After expressing his dissatisfaction, the other party had already taken a step back, so Rochester naturally would not pester him any further: "Okay, okay, go ahead and ask."

"I heard from several customers that you didn't come to the cafe alone." Barnes saw that he was about to speak, and immediately shook his head to stop him, "Don't be impatient, this is just the topic, I haven't asked the question yet, let me finish what I want to say."

Ayesha is indeed a big problem.

Rochester had already thought about how to deal with it, including the name, origin, relationship between the two, why they met, and why they came here.

Because I was well prepared, I didn't have any mental burden to answer, and I could speak immediately. But now that I think about it, it's better to stay calm and answer slowly: "I'm not in a hurry, it's just that the relationship between me and Her Royal Highness the Princess is quite special, and it's easy to cause misunderstandings and be used against me."

"I understand, I understand. Not many people know about this." Barnes said to comfort her. "I just want to know why she wasn't there?"

"She is a maid. The housekeeper is very strict. She must return to the hotel before 9 o'clock." Rochester simply cut off all the branches and leaves and only answered the question itself to avoid getting into trouble. "She was chatting with me the whole time and had nothing to do with those thugs."

Barnes shook his head. "What I mean is that Deputy Captain Mason was patrolling nearby and arrived at the scene in less than three minutes. There were 3 people in the entire cafe, including the manager and waiters, and no one chose to leave except her. This is very strange."

"She was just scared."

Rochester found it funny: "Besides, if you leave, you leave. Does this violate French law? If you feel it is inappropriate, or if you feel it is necessary, you can go to Claridge's Hotel to find her."

"So you know where she lives." Barnes suddenly realized, "Do you know which floor she lives on?"

"On the third floor," Rochester added, "she is General Morasso's maid."

"I see." Barnes wrote down all the information. "Mr. Rochester, I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time. The questioning is over. The carriage is next to the cafe. I have already told my men to take you back."

Rochester stood up, put on his hat and walked towards the cafe.

The matter finally came to an end, although the inexplicable fight made him uncomfortable and delayed him for a long time. But everything was over, at least no one knew the true relationship between him and Ayesha.

Just when he was still thinking about how to find an excuse to deal with Mathilde after returning, Barnes' voice came again: "Oh, by the way, where is the maid with you from?"

"You went back on your word again. You agreed to only ask the last question!"

"This question has nothing to do with the case." Seeing Rochester like this, Barnes explained with a smile, "Austria is a place where people speak all kinds of languages. We only speak French. We have to bring a translator with us before we go to see her, otherwise it will be a wasted trip." Rochester did not dare to hide it: "She is Hungarian."

"She's Hungarian too?"

"what happened?"

Barnes smiled and did not reply, but continued to speak his own point: "So, you are still connected with the Hungarians, right?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Barnes stood up slowly, staring at the notebook, and said, "You said before that you had lost contact with all the Hungarians you knew, but now..."

At first glance, it seemed that Rochester was not precise in what he said, which led to the omission. But if you think about it carefully, this is not an important piece of evidence. Rochester smiled and replied, "She and I have not been back to Hungary for a long time. She serves the Austrians, so we mostly speak German when we communicate."

"Oh, I see. But you just said that you are a noble and have no contact with commoners." Barnes continued, "But the girl you are chatting with is a maid. Her status is not high."

"Captain Barnes!"

"I didn't ask any questions. I just interpreted the previous answers." Barnes closed the notebook and put it into his coat pocket along with the pen. "If you feel it's inappropriate, you don't have to answer."

How could Rochester not answer when he was already so suspicious? "Before she became General Morasso's maid, she was a nun in a monastery in Vienna. I have been to that monastery before, so I naturally knew her. I didn't expect to run into her on the streets of Paris this time, so I thought I could just find a place to reminisce about the past."

"That's it, thank you."

"Besides, she is the maid of a great general after all. She was a nun before. Her status is not as low as you say."

"I was abrupt."

It was a far-fetched excuse and many parts of it didn't make sense, but Barnes didn't keep him.

The other party's identity was special, and even if he had an unclear relationship with other women, it was not their job as patrol officers. The most important thing at the moment was to first find out the purpose of the fight between the two groups of people and whether there was another mastermind behind it.

"Mr. Rochester is gone?" Mason came over with his interrogation notes.

"Yeah." Barnes turned around and looked at him, "Did they take everyone away?"

"The police sent a horse-drawn carriage and took them all back." Mason sighed, "I guess they won't be able to get out before the end of the World Expo. They may have to wait until the end of the year before they can be sent back."

"Any new discoveries?" Barnes asked.

"They have nothing to do with Rochester or the girl dressed as a maid. They all said they didn't know them."

"What's the cause?"

"The conflict was caused by a quarrel. Austria and Hungary have always had a bad relationship, and recently there was news of the Austro-Hungarian merger. Neither side was convinced by the other, and both felt that the merger would be bad for their own countries. Then, as they were talking, it was like dry wood meeting a raging fire, and everything went south."

Having said this, the two looked at each other, and then at the same time looked at the half-burned cafe, as if the fire in their minds had started burning again.

Mason stood aside and cursed inwardly: "If you want to fight, then fight. What's the big deal about tearing down the oil lamp and burning the store?! There are residential areas nearby. What if the whole place burns down?"

"Go back to the police station and explain the main points. He will behave himself if you keep him in custody for a few more days."

"Ah."

The fire was not extinguished, it just remained in their hearts.

Just as Rochester said, one of the important reasons why Aisha left in a hurry was that the housekeeper was indeed keeping a close eye on her. If she was delayed by an unexpected incident, it would be difficult to explain when she returned.

Even without this incident, Ayesha returned to the hotel a little late. Two and a half hours seemed to pass quickly, but it was far more than the time it should take to go out and buy a small piece of Hungarian ham and the cheese that can be found everywhere.

"Ayesha, this isn't your first time."

Nora was half a head shorter than her, and was wearing a smart black housekeeper outfit. I don't know if it was because she had killed her husband before, or if she was just like that by nature, but there was always a hint of viciousness on her face, which made people feel uncomfortable.

"I'm really sorry, Miss Nora, I'm not very familiar with the streets of Paris." Ayesha felt a little uneasy when she heard the clanking sound of the keychain. "I will familiarize myself with the surrounding environment as soon as possible. There won't be a next time."

"Where's the stuff?"

"To the kitchen." Ayesha forced a smile. "Tomorrow the general and his wife will have a nice Hungarian breakfast."

Noila walked up to her, circled around her twice, and then said, "Go to bed early, you still have to get up to work at five o'clock."

"Okay Miss Nora."

Of course, there is more than just Nora in Morasso's house who is weird. There is also the black cat that does nothing all day long.

Every time Ayesha goes out, it always lies at the door and waits. Others say that the black cat likes her, but only Ayesha sees this "like" as "surveillance." Because the black cat never looks at their maids, even the servants who are responsible for its daily food and drink.

“Meow~meow~~~”

The black cat Buster swung its tail a few times, sniffed around Ayesha, then lay down on the sleeping mat with a low strange voice, licked its own feet, and treated her as air.

These two guys are indeed annoying, but they will not affect Ayesha's status and mission. The real reason why Nora is in a hurry to leave the cafe is Mick. Once she is implicated in the police station, Mick will definitely investigate and will definitely find something.

Ayesha changed into pajamas and slowly laid her nearly falling apart body onto the hard bed, but all she was thinking about was the "mission" and how to escape after completing the "mission".

Although she longed for freedom and wanted to wash away her sins, she would not blindly trust others. Even though the man named Kalman wrote to her saying that someone would help her, Aisha still wanted to hold hope in her own hands.

“Who can I ask for help?”

The image of a young man appeared in front of her eyes. "I happen to be going to the jewelry store tomorrow. It's a good opportunity."