A Red Dead Redemption Story

Chapter 121 Banquet
On the avenue outside Gray Manor.

Charlie had just driven a carriage through the vast Caliga Plantation. Now, at the end of the road was the arched gate of Gray Manor. Driving on this tree-lined road, rows of green banyan trees on both sides kept slowly passing through the windows. Backing up in the carriage, this scene made Arthur and Marybeth, who were sitting in the carriage, smile and sigh:
"What a modest mansion."

"Arthur, why do I feel like you're not complimenting me?" Marybeth asked with some confusion.

In her opinion, such a mansion was simply the home of a rich man in the stories she imagined. She couldn't even find a suitable word to describe the wealth of this family.

Mary Beth admitted that she did briefly imagine what it would be like to live in such a mansion...

Arthur nodded, smiled and answered Marybeth's question. He said:

"Yes, you know, when we face the huge wealth owned by others, most of us will feel jealous, and I am one of these people."

Mary Beth smiled and joked:
"I thought you would act more... Well, let me think about how to describe it more appropriately. Yes, aloof. I thought you would act more aloof? At least express your feelings towards these insensitive rich people. Shameless or something?”

Arthur shook his head lightly. What Marybeth said was what Arthur would do in the past, not what he is now.

"There is nothing shameful about having wealth. Similarly, a rich person who is shameful will not become great because of the wealth he possesses. And I am just simply jealous. That's all, haha." Arthur ended the topic with a smile.

"Here we are." Charlie said after stopping the carriage.

Arthur signaled Marybeth to wait a moment, and then after getting out of the car, he buttoned the middle button of his suit, walked to the carriage door on Marybeth's side, opened the carriage door for her in a very gentlemanly manner, and finally stretched out his hand. He held out his white-gloved hands and said with a smile:

"Please, ma'am."

"Pfft, Arthur, where did you learn this from?" Mary Beth smiled and stretched out her hand. She took Arthur's hand and stepped out of the carriage gracefully. She looked at the people who had stopped around the door. Several other carriages later, he continued to ask worriedly:

"It seems that we are attending according to the time on the invitation, so it seems that we are still late? Could it be that we have to come earlier?"

After hearing what Marybeth said, Arthur also looked around the manor. It seemed that most of the guests had indeed arrived early, and they were now talking in twos and threes in the middle of the courtyard.

Arthur was not sure whether the banquet had already begun. After all, this was his first time attending such an event. He saw waiters carrying champagne shuttle around to provide drinks to the guests at any time, and the band was also there. Cheerful music was played hard on the steps.

Arthur shrugged nonchalantly.

"Never mind it, let's go in first." Arthur said nonchalantly. He raised his arm in a gentlemanly manner, and Marybeth smiled and took his raised arm.

"Hello, sir, madam, please let me take a look at your invitation." The Gray family guard at the door came to the two of them and said politely. Soon, after simply confirming that the invitation was correct, he got out of the way. the road.

"Wish you all the best."

After entering the venue, Arthur didn't know what to do for a moment. He could only stand there with Mary Beth. To be honest, he didn't know anyone among the people present. Just when he felt a little at a loss, Archie Bird ran out of that corner without knowing it. He was still wearing the Sheriff's outfit and did not change into formal clothes like the others.

"Mr. Callahan, you are finally here. Mr. Gray has been waiting for you in the study for a long time. I have been staring at the door eagerly for a long time. God, how come you really show up at the time when the banquet starts?" Archie Bird was about to drag Arthur into the house while talking.

From what he said, it's possible that you have to come earlier. Then who told you to write the time like this, and no one told Arthur to arrive earlier.

"Archibald, why aren't you wearing formal clothes?" Arthur was not in a hurry. He had already made people wait anyway, so it didn't matter if he waited a little longer. He directly asked what he was curious about.

Archibald said anxiously:

"Ancestor, didn't you hear me tell you that Mr. Gray has been waiting for you for a long time? As for your question, I attended this banquet as a staff member of the Gray family. Because I am not a guest, I don't wear any clothes. Formal attire, are you satisfied with this answer? Now you better hurry up and follow me."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, what about my female companion?" Arthur continued to ask.Archibald was about to jump. After pulling a young man from the side, he said to Arthur:

"This is the young master of the Gray family, Bo Gray. Just let him entertain you. Now, come with me."

With Marybeth's "Go ahead" look in her eyes, Arthur finally followed Archibald into the Gray family's main house. Well, yes, the main house. Judging from the results of Arthur's inspection just now, There are several other buildings in Gray Manor.

The two of them followed the stairs to the second floor. In front of a door with simple and exquisite workmanship, Archibald signaled Arthur to wait. He stepped forward and knocked on the door three times before reaching out. He opened the door on one side, and it was only open a crack, and then he respectfully said inside:
"Mr. Gray, excuse me, I'm bringing Mr. Callahan over."

"Please come in, Mr. Callahan." An old male voice came from inside.

At this time, Archibald opened the door that had just been opened a crack by almost forty degrees, and stretched out his hand toward Arthur to invite him in.

It has to be said that Arthur feels like Archibald is a completely different person in Gray Manor. He is not like a deputy sheriff at all, but more like a well-trained servant of the Gray family. .

Well, if you think about it carefully, there seems to be no difference between the two?
Arthur thought about this and walked into the study. As soon as he entered, he saw the Persian-style carpet on the floor, the solid wood desk, the leather sofa, and the walls full of bookshelves and collections of books. The appearance of these things was honestly different from Arthur's imagination. Not too much?
The only thing that was different from what Arthur thought was probably the large floor-to-ceiling window in the middle of the room. Through the floor-to-ceiling window, Arthur could directly see the people attending the banquet below. If his eyesight was good enough, he could also see the door. Then it continues straight out, and you see the tree-lined road you came from, and the land of the plantation outside.

Arthur withdrew his distracted attention and observed the real leader of the Gray family in front of him.

The old man looked quite old, but he gave people a very energetic feeling. He raised his hand slightly and said:

"Please take a seat, Mr. Morgan."

"...?"

The old man sitting on the chair looked at Arthur who was standing still, showed some smiles, and continued:

"Didn't Malloy tell you? We've known each other for a long time, ever since he was a little kid. So, don't worry, Mr. Morgan, what I did to you and your friends, and what you did, was actually There is no bias.”

Damn it, damn Malloy, that bastard, he fucked himself again, again.

Arthur swore that when he returned this time, he would cure his hidden problem of not telling the whole truth.

"Sit down. I'm old and my neck is not good. If I look up at you for too long, my neck will feel uncomfortable again tomorrow." The old man said kindly.

Arthur sat down opposite him obediently. At this time, Arthur didn't know how much Malloy had revealed to Old Gray, so he asked tentatively:

"I heard from Archibald that Mr. Gray has been waiting for me? To be honest, I was surprised enough to receive the invitation. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Faced with Arthur's straightforward and polite question, Old Gray did not rush to answer. Instead, he opened the box with cigars on the table. After taking out one for himself, he pushed the box towards Arthur. , indicating to Arthur to help himself.

Arthur was not polite, took one from inside, neatly cut off one end with a cigar cutter, then lit it and started smoking.

"How does it taste?" Old Gray asked, looking at Arthur who took a sip. He didn't rush to light it, but just put it in front of his nose and smelled it.

"I can't tell whether it's good or bad, I can only say it's not annoying." After Arthur finished speaking, he took another sip.

The reason for smoking is just because when Arthur was young, he always followed the example of Hosea and Dutch. At that time, he thought they looked handsome when they smoked. After learning for a long time, this became Got used to it.

He never thought about whether it was good or bad.

(End of this chapter)