beautiful friend

Chapter 20

She picked up a pen from the table and wrote a few names at random; then, she studied their appearance carefully.Suddenly she exclaimed: "Look, look!"

She handed Duroy a piece of paper on which was written: "Madame Duroy de Cantel."

Duroy thought for a moment, and then said solemnly: "Okay, that's great!"

Madeleine was overjoyed and read repeatedly: "Durois de Cantel, Durois de Cantel, Mrs. Durois de Cantel. Great, this is really a wonderful idea !"

She said confidently: "Just wait and see! It won't take long for people to accept this name. But we must seize the moment, or we will regret it. From tomorrow on, your column will always use 'Douroy de · Canthal's signature, and social news use 'Duroy'. In this way, your name will appear in newspapers every day, and people will not be surprised because you took such a pseudonym. When we get married, Make some changes. Just tell your friends, considering your situation, you gave up the word 'Du' out of humility, or you didn't say anything at all. By the way, what's your father's name?"

"Alexander."

Madeleine said softly several times: "Alexander, Alexandre." She listened to the timbre of each syllable, and then wrote on a blank piece of paper: Alexandre du Lois de Cantel I am pleased to inform you of the wedding of Georges du Roy de Cantel and Madame Madeleine Forestier.

Madeleine moved the paper away a little, looked at it for a while, and felt complacent about her masterpiece."Without any effort, we can get everything we want," she said.

Walking on the street, Duroy decided to call himself "Du Roy" or "Du Roy de Cantel" from now on.In a blink of an eye, he seemed to feel that he had become a big man, imitating the appearance of an aristocratic gentleman, walking with his head held high and his chest swaggering, even the mustache on his face was full of air.He felt a strong urge in his heart to tell passers-by: "I am Du Roy de Cantel."

But as soon as he got back to the apartment, Duroy began to feel a little uneasy when he thought of Madame Marelle.So he wrote a letter and asked her to meet the next day.

"It's over," he thought to himself, "she's going to give me a lot of blood."

However, his naturally carefree personality immediately made him forget all these troubles.After a while, it occurred to him that he wanted to write an article on new taxes to ensure a balanced state budget.In the article, he mentioned: Anyone with a noble mark in their name must pay [-] francs a year; while those with noble titles, from baron to princely relatives, pay [-] to [-] francs a year.

Finally, he signed the article "Durois de Cantel".

The next day, Duroy received a reply from his mistress, saying that she would arrive at one o'clock in the afternoon.

While waiting for Madame de Marelle to appear, Duroy fidgeted.He decided to tell everything from the beginning, and then explain carefully after her emotions calmed down.He wanted her to understand that he couldn't stay married for a lifetime, and that Mr. de Marais couldn't die for a while, so he had to consider other candidates besides her and find a legitimate wife.

Still, Duroy was very nervous.His heart started beating wildly when he heard the doorbell ring.

As soon as she saw Duroy, Madame de Marais threw herself into his arms and said: "How do you do, my pretty friend?" Then, feeling that the other man's attitude seemed a little cold, she asked: "What is the matter? "

"Sit down first," Duroy said, "I want to have a good talk with you."

Madame de Marais did not even take her hat, but rolled her veil over her brow, and sat waiting for Duroy to continue.

Duroy lowered his eyes, thought about how to speak, and then said slowly: "Honey, I want to confess something to you. You can also see how troubled and annoyed I am about this. I am very Love you, love you from the bottom of my heart and with all my heart. I am afraid that this will cause you pain, and this fear is far greater than the fear of confessing everything to you."

Madame de Marais turned pale and asked tremblingly: "What is it? Tell me!"

When people secretly gleefully announce a decision that breaks the other's heart, they often have to put on a heavy heart.At this moment, Duroy said with a hint of sadness in his words, but said firmly: "I'm getting married."

Madame de Maraire seemed to be about to lose consciousness, and let out a painful sigh from her chest. She was short of breath, wheezing, and could not speak.

Seeing that Mrs. de Marais did not speak, Duroy continued: "You can't imagine how painful I was before making this decision. But now I have neither status nor property, and I am alone in Paris. ;I needed someone by my side to comfort me, support me, and give me ideas. I was looking for a like-minded partner, and I found it.”

At this point he paused to see how Madame de Marais would react; he waited to see how she would explode and curse at him.

Madame de Marais put her hands on her chest, as if trying to control her emotions.She was short of breath, her chest was heaving, and her head was shaking constantly.

Duroy grabbed her little hand on the armrest of the chair, but she pulled it back violently.After a while, Madame de Marais murmured like a fool: "Oh! . . . God! . . . "

Duroy bent his legs and knelt on the ground.But this time, he didn't dare to touch her again.At this moment, he was more disturbed by silence than by rage.He began to speak incoherently: "Crow, my little Crow, think about where I am now. God knows how happy I would be if I could marry you! But you are married. I can What should I do? Think about it! I must establish myself in society, first in my family. Do you know? Several times, I really wanted to kill your husband."

Duroy's tone was gentle and low, which was irresistible, as if it was the sound of strings echoing in the ears.

He saw two large tears slowly form in the eyes of Madame de Marais's glazed eyes, and slide down her cheeks; two more soon came.

Duroy comforted in a soft voice: "Oh, don't cry, Chloe, please don't cry. My heart is about to break."

Madame de Marais struggled to maintain her dignity in the presence of her lover; with the last of her strength, she asked in a trembling voice: "Who is she?" But the voice sounded like she was about to cry.

Duroy hesitated for a second, knowing that he must say: "It is Madeleine Forestier."

Madame de Marais, trembling all over, sat silent, lost in thought.Her expression was so focused, as if she had forgotten Du Luowa who was kneeling in front of her eyes.

Big teardrops kept falling from her eyes.

She stood up.Perhaps, Duroy thought, she would just walk away without saying a word.She would neither blame him nor forgive him; he would be humiliated and unable to bear it.So, he tightly grabbed her skirt and hugged her legs to prevent her from leaving.Madame de Marelle's full thighs were taut and unrelenting.

Duroy begged: "I beg you, please don't leave like this."

Madame de Marais surveyed her ex-lover from top to bottom with tears of despair.The eyes are so sad, showing the pain in this woman's heart.She was sobbing, crying: "Nothing... nothing to say... I don't... nothing to do... you... you are right... you... you... chose what you need..."

As she spoke, she stepped back and walked straight out, although Duroy still tried to persuade her to stay.

Duroy was now alone in the room.He stood up, his head was dizzy, as if he had been hit on the head by someone.But soon, he regained his sobriety, and said to himself: "Thank God, whether it's good or bad, the matter is finally over... It's great that there's no quarrel." Duroy was relieved, It seems that there is a sudden feeling of being free from shackles and freedom.Since then, he can finally pursue a new life as he pleases.As if he had just had a contest with the God of Destiny, Duroy was intoxicated by the great sense of accomplishment and punched the wall a few times.

When Madame Forestier asked: "Have you notified Madame de Marais?"

Duroy replied calmly: "Well, I've been notified..."

Madame Forestier fixed her clear eyes on him.

"Then did she feel it was sudden?"

"No, not at all. She thinks it's a good thing."

Soon, the marriage of Duroy and Madame Forestier was widely rumored.Some expressed surprise, some said they had expected it, and others simply laughed it off to show that they were not surprised by it. Today, Duroy's columns are all written in 'Duroy de Canté Er'signature, social news continues to use the original name 'Dulova'.Gradually, he began to write some political articles, signed 'Du Roy'.In addition, Duroy spends some time every day at the house of his fiancée.In Madam Forestier's view, there was only a brother-sister relationship between them, but there was still a trace of tenderness and desire that she deliberately concealed.She decided that the wedding should be held in secret, with only the notaries invited; she would go to Rouen the same evening after the ceremony, and the next day to visit Duroy's parents and stay there for a few days.

Duroy tried every means to dissuade Madeleine from this idea, but she couldn't be persuaded no matter what, so he had to give up at last.

On May [-]th, the newlyweds went to the city hall to simply register.Since the couple did not intend to invite anyone to their wedding, no religious ceremony was deemed necessary.After checking in, they went home to pack their luggage, hurried to St. Laza station, and got on the train bound for Normandy at six o'clock that night.

There were only the two of them in the huge carriage.Madeleine and Duroy didn't speak much until they got in the car.As the train moved, they looked at each other to hide their uneasiness and laughed.

The train passes slowly through the long Batinho station, and then begins to cross the vast plain between the old city walls of Paris and the Seine River.

Occasionally, Duroy would have an insignificant word or two with his wife.Then, the two of them turned their heads out of the window at the same time, falling into silence.

When the train passed the Asniere Bridge, the two became very happy when they saw the boats on the river, the fishermen and the people rafting on the water.In May, the scorching sun slanted on the passing boats and the river.The river was as if frozen, motionless; there were neither waves nor eddies.In the middle of the river, in order to take advantage of the only evening wind, a sailboat hangs two huge white triangular canvases on both sides of the boat.From a distance, it looks like a big bird spreading its wings.

Duroy murmured: "I love the suburbs of Paris. I remember eating fried fish there. It's the best memory of my life."

Madeleine replied: "And those boats! Oh, how pleasant it would be to be able to glide gently on the water in a small boat in the afterglow of the sunset!"

Immediately afterwards, neither of the two spoke, as if they did not dare to show too much nostalgia for the past.They sat quietly like this, without saying a word, as if they were enjoying the regretful and poetic past.

Sitting opposite Duroy took his wife's hand and kissed it tenderly.

"When we get back from Rouen," he said, "we can go to Chateau and have dinner."

Madeleine said with a heavy heart: "We still have a lot to do!" The tone seemed to say: "We must not waste our work for the sake of pleasure."

Duroy held his wife's hand, flustered, not knowing how to express his love to her.Even when facing a young girl who is in love, he will not be in such a dilemma as he is now.His wife's cleverness and cunning made him dare not make mistakes.He could neither be too shy nor rash, neither slow nor hasty for fear of appearing stupid in front of her.

In desperation, he squeezed his wife's hand.But the other party didn't respond.Then he said:

"Although you are my wife, I always feel weird."

"Why?" asked Madeleine, looking surprised.

"I don't know either, it just feels a little weird. I'm surprised I have the right to do that when I want to hug you."

Madeleine approached her face calmly and kissed her husband like a brother or sister.Duroy went on: "When I first saw you, I think you remember, that was the time Forestier invited me to your house for dinner, I was thinking: 'Damn, what if It would be great if I could find such a woman one day'! Now, I finally got my wish!"

"Thank you for your kindness." Madeleine said, while looking at her husband beside her with great interest, there was always a hint of a smile in her eyes.

Duroy thought: "Am I too cold? Too clumsy? Maybe I should be more straightforward." So he asked: "How did you know Forestier?"

Madeleine asked back: "Are we going to Rouen this time just to talk about him?"

Duroy was very embarrassed, and said quickly: "I'm so stupid. You always make me feel at a loss."

When Madeleine heard it, she was happy: "Me? Impossible? Why do you say that?"

Duroy turned and sat down next to her.Suddenly, she yelled:
"Look, a deer!"

The train is passing through the forest of Saint-Germain.Madeleine saw a frightened fawn leap across a path.

While his wife was leaning against the car window to look out, Duroy bent down and gently kissed the hair on her neck, refusing to let go for a long time.

At first, Madeleine did not move.After a while, she raised her head and said, "Stop making trouble, you're tickling me so much."

But Duroy didn't stop there.His lips continued to move slowly over Madeleine's fair skin, kissing him long and passionately.

Madeleine twisted her body and said, "Don't do that."

At this time, Duroy's right hand had slipped behind her.He turned his wife's head and threw himself on her mouth like an eagle catching prey.

Madeleine struggled, pushed, tried to break free from his embrace.Finally, she finally pushed Duroy away and scolded:
"stop!"

How could Duroy listen at this time?He hugged Madeleine, trying to push her down on the cushion of the carriage, and kept kissing with his longing, trembling lips.

Madeleine shook him off with all her strength, and sat up abruptly: "Oh! George, stop making trouble! We are not children, can't we wait until Rouen?"

Duroy sat there, his face flushed.Hearing such calm and reasonable words, more than half of his passion was extinguished.When he recovered a little bit of reason, he said: "Well, I will wait patiently. However, I have nothing more to say until I reach the terminal. I have only arrived in Poissy now."

"That's up to me," said Madeleine.

After speaking, she sat down next to him again.

In the following time, Madeleine explained in detail to Duroy what she should do after returning from Rouen.They should continue to keep her and her ex-husband's apartment; at the same time, Duroy should also take over all the duties and treatment of Forestier in "French Life".

Long before her marriage, Madeleine, like a businessman, made a detailed list of family financial income and expenditure.Their marriage adopts the property sharing system.They take into consideration any possible situation; for example: death, divorce, birth of one or more children, etc.The man claimed to have [-] francs. In fact, [-] francs were borrowed, and the rest was saved during the year to prepare for the wedding.The woman claimed that she had forty thousand francs, which Forestier had left her.

Speaking of her ex-husband, Madeleine always couldn't help but praise: "Charlie is very frugal, organized and very hardworking. If it wasn't for that illness, he would definitely be able to accumulate a lot of wealth in a short period of time."

Duroy didn't listen at all, and sat there, thinking about his own thoughts.

Sometimes Madeleine stopped suddenly because she thought of something else.But soon, she went on to say:

"In three or four years, you'll have four thousand francs a year. That money would have belonged to Charles, had he lived."

Duroy began to feel a little impatient with the lengthy lecture, and he replied: "It seems that we didn't go to Rouen this time to talk about him."

Madeleine patted him lightly on the cheek and said, "That's right, it's my fault." Then, she burst out laughing.

Duroy deliberately put on the appearance of an obedient child and put his hands on his knees.

"You look like a fool," said Madeleine.

Duroy replied: "This is the role I should play. Didn't you remind me just now? It seems that I can no longer get rid of this role."

"Why do you say that?" asked Madeleine.

"You have the final say on everything in the family. Even my private affairs, I have to obey your orders. But having said that, as a widow, this is indeed what you should do."

Madeleine was very surprised: "What exactly do you want to say?"

"What I want to say is this: You are married and have experience, and I was only a bachelor before, and I don't understand anything; I need you to guide me and clear my ignorance."

Madeleine exclaimed: "What is that?"

Duroy said: "That's the way it is. I don't know anything about women...and you just lost your husband and you know everything about men...so I'll have to teach you everything...if you want...today Tonight, or even now to start..."

Madeleine said happily:

"Ah! You can rest assured about this!"

(End of this chapter)