beautiful friend

Chapter 27

Although she was in the church at this time and God was close at hand, Mrs. Walter felt more vulnerable and disoriented than at home.She no longer wanted to pray, but thought only of Du Roy.His turning and leaving broke her heart.Even if all efforts were in vain, Mrs. Walter forced herself to pray to God for help.She would rather die than perish.She was chanting words, but what echoed in her ears was Du Roy's footsteps gradually going away.

Mrs. Walter knew she was doomed, and no matter how much she tried to resist, it was useless.But she still didn't want to give up.Sad and desperate, she felt like she was about to collapse.Whenever a woman encounters this situation, she will yell and fall to the ground trembling.Mrs. Walter felt herself about to fall out of her chair at this moment; her limbs twitched and she fell screaming in the middle of the chair.

Someone is walking this way quickly.Mrs. Walter looked back and saw that it was a priest.She quickly got up, ran over, clasped her hands together, and stammered, "Oh! Help me! Please help me!"

The priest stopped and asked in surprise: "What can you do, Madame?"

"Help me! Pity, pity me! I don't know what to do if you don't help me?"

The priest looked at her blankly, thinking, is this woman crazy?He asked again: "What do you need me to do for you?"

The priest in front of him was young and tall, with a bloated figure, a round face, the flesh on it fell straight down, and the beard around his mouth had been carefully trimmed, leaving a faint black mark around it.He is a parish priest who often visits the homes of religious women in the wealthy districts of the city.

"Please accept my confession," said Mrs. Walter, "help me, support me, tell me what to do"

The priest replied: "I will listen to people's confession here every Saturday afternoon from [-] to [-] o'clock." Mrs. Walter grabbed his arm tightly and begged repeatedly: "No! No! No! You must immediately Listen! Now! It must be done! The man is here! In this church! He is waiting for me!"

"Who is waiting for you?" asked the priest.

"A man...he will destroy me...he keeps on haunting me...if you don't save me...I can't get rid of him...I'm too weak...too fragile..."

Mrs. Walter knelt down before the priest, weeping uncontrollably: "Oh, priest, have mercy on me! For the sake of the Lord, please help me!"

She grabbed the priest's black robe to prevent him from leaving.The priest looked around in a panic, for fear that any malicious person or hypocrite would see this scene.

Finally, he realized that pulling away was impossible.

"Get up, I happen to have the key to the confessional."

The priest felt in his pocket and produced a bunch of keys.He picked one and walked quickly to the confession room.In the church, the wooden confessional rooms for people to confess are like dustbins of human souls, filled with the sins of good men and women.

The priest opened the middle door, went in, and shut the door behind him.Mrs. Walter rushed to the small room next to her, murmured with great piety and hope, "Father, please bless me. I am a guilty person... Du Roy circled around the altar , and then walked along the small hall on the left side of the church towards the door. On the way, he met the fat bald gentleman just now. The pace of this man was still so unhurried. Du Roy couldn't help wondering: "This old man is always hanging around here, what is he trying to do? "

The old man also slowed down his pace and stared at Du Roy, as if he wanted to have a chat with the young man.I saw him walking forward, saying hello, and then politely asked: "Excuse me, sir. May I ask when this church was built?"

Du Roy replied: "I don't know that very well. However, I think it must have a history of at least twenty to twenty-five years. Today is my first time here."

"Me too. Never seen this church before."

Hearing what he said, Du Roy suddenly became interested: "You seem to be very serious and careful about your visit."

The other party explained: "I am not here to visit, sir. My wife asked me to come here to meet, but she has not shown up for a long time."

The old man didn't say any more.After a while, he said again: "It's really hot outside!"

Du Roy looked at him and found him to be kind.Suddenly he felt that he resembled Forestier.

"Are you a provincial?" asked Duroy.

"Yes, I'm from Wren. And you, sir? Did you come in out of curiosity?"

"No, I'm waiting for a lady," said the young reporter, and taking his leave of the old gentleman, he walked away smiling.

As he approached the door, Du Roy saw the poor woman kneeling and praying.He thought, "What the hell is she going to do?" All trace of pity and sympathy for her had long since vanished.

Du Roy walked around her gently, and then walked back along the right hall of the church, ready to find Mrs. Walter. He looked at the place where the two had just been from a distance, but was surprised to find Mrs. Walter is no longer there.Du Roy began to think that he had misremembered the place, so he searched along the pillar from the beginning to the end, but she still could not be seen.Is she already gone?Thinking of this, Du Roy was shocked and angry.Then it occurred to him that maybe Mrs. Walter was looking for him.So he circled the church again.People still haven't been found.Finally, he simply sat down on the stool Mrs. Walter had knelt on just now, hoping that she would come back to him.He just sat there, waiting slowly.

Not long after, a slight voice caught Du Roy's attention.Strangely, there was no one to be seen in this corner of the church but him.Where did this whispering sound come from?Du Roy stood up, looked around, and found a row of confessional doors next to the altar.Outside one of the doors, a skirt corner was exposed.He walked over and saw that it was Mrs. Walter.There she was confessing to the priest!Du Roy really wanted to rush in and drag her out of the confessional.But then he thought again: "Forget it, don't look at her confessing to the priest today, she will still be my woman tomorrow." So he sat down quietly opposite the confession room and waited patiently.Looking at the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

A long time has passed.Mrs. Walter stood up at last.When she turned around and saw Du Roy, she walked towards him with a cold and serious expression. "Sir," she said, "please don't see me off, don't follow me, and don't come to my house alone again, I won't receive you. Good-bye!"

After finishing speaking, she went straight out with an awe-inspiring look.

Du Roy didn't stop her, and watched her gradually go away.He has a principle that nothing can be forced.At this moment, the priest also came out of the house with a puzzled look on his face.Du Roy walked straight towards him, stared at him, and cursed through gritted teeth: "If I didn't see you wearing a long robe, I would definitely have slapped you twice!"

Then he turned around, whistled and walked away.

The old gentleman just now was still waiting anxiously at the door.He was wearing a hat, with his hands folded behind his back, and his eyes were fixed on the square and the surrounding streets.

The two nodded to each other as Du Roy passed him.

Du Roy, who had nothing to do, came to the newspaper office of Le French Newspaper. As soon as he entered the door, he saw everyone busy, as if something extraordinary had happened.So, he decided to go to the manager's office to find out.

Old man Walter was standing in the office with a flustered expression and was very busy.He was dictating an article intermittently, and every time he said a sentence or two, he would stop and assign tasks to the reporters around him.He gave Boislena a few words of advice for a while, and was busy opening and reading the letters in his hand for a while.

Seeing Du Roy come in, he shouted happily: "Hey, you've come just in time, pretty friend!"

As soon as "beautiful friend" was said, old man Walter felt a little embarrassed.So, instead of going on, he explained, "Excuse me for calling you that. I'm pretty darn busy right now. My wife and daughter call you 'beautiful friend' all the time, so I And naturally they cried out. You don't mind, do you?"

Du Roy said with a smile: "How come? I like this title very much."

Old man Walter said: "Well, I will call you 'beautiful friend' like everyone else from now on. Uh, come here, I want to tell you something. Now the previous cabinet has fallen, and the result of the vote is 310 to 102 Tickets. Today is July 28th, and it looks like our vacation will be extended indefinitely. The events in Morocco pissed Spain off and led directly to the downfall of Durand de Renal and his followers. We are now at a critical point Period. Marot was being ordered to form a new cabinet. He nominated General Boudindacl as Minister of Defence, and our friend La Roche-Mathieu as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He himself served as Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. In this way, Le Vie Française will become an official newspaper. I am busy now preparing an instructive article, stating some simple principles, and pointing the way to several ministers."

Then he smiled and continued: "Of course, this is their own way. We must write something about Morocco that will interest readers. Either a far-reaching current affairs news, or A blockbuster op-ed. I can't make up my mind right now. Help me figure it out."

Du Roy thought for a moment and said: "Leave this to me. I will definitely give you a detailed research report, introducing the French African colonies - from Tunisia on the left, Algeria in the center, and on the right The political situation in Morocco and the history of its indigenous people. In addition, I will take the reader on a fascinating tour from the border of Morocco to the famous oasis of Figui. Although no European has set foot in this oasis so far, but It has become the flashpoint of this conflict. Do you think it is okay to write it like this?"

Old Walter exclaimed: "Very well! What subject are you going to use?"

"From Tunis to Daniel."

"good idea!"

Afterwards, Du Roy went to the office and flipped through the previous issue of Le Française.He wanted to find out his first published article, "A Brief Account of Service in Africa".The article was all about colonial policy, Algeria's population, and what he had seen in Oran.Therefore, he only needs to change the article a little bit and change the title, and then he can complete the assignment.

Du Roy roughly revised "African Service Notes" and hurriedly finalized it in only 45 minutes.

Of course, he did not forget to praise the new cabinet in the article.

After reading this article, Walter praised Du Roy: "Not bad... not bad... very exciting! You are really a rare talent! Congratulations!"

In the evening, Du Roy returned home for dinner, complacent about his performance during the day.Although the appointment at Trinity Church was not satisfactory, he felt that he had a certain chance of winning.

Madeleine is anxiously waiting at home for her husband's return.As soon as she saw Du Roy, she shouted: "Do you know? La Roche has become Minister of Foreign Affairs丨"

"I know. I wrote an article about Algeria on the matter this afternoon."

"What did you write?"

"You know, it's the "African Service Notes" we wrote when we first worked together. I re-read the article and then slightly revised it according to current needs."

Madeleine smiled and said, "That's right, it just comes in handy now."

After pondering for a moment, she continued: "I think you should write a sequel. Last time you... gave up halfway. Now is the time, we can start right away, and we will definitely be able to write a series of exciting serials that keep up with current events article."

Du Roy walked to the dining table and said, "That's right. Green-headed tortoise Forestier is gone, so there's nothing in the way."

Madeleine felt very embarrassed, and said every word: "This kind of joke is not at all appropriate. I hope you stop here. This is not once or twice."

Du Roy was about to retort when a servant came in and handed him a letter.Du Roy saw that there was no signature on the letter, and only wrote one sentence: I was impulsive yesterday, please forgive me, please come to Monceau Park at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Du Roy will immediately understand who wrote it.He suddenly felt ecstatic, put the letter in his pocket, and said to his wife: "My dear, I will never make this kind of joke again. I admit, it sounds really stupid." After finishing speaking, Du Luo Watt began to bury his head in his meal.

While eating, he thought about that sentence repeatedly: "I was impulsive yesterday, please forgive me, please come to Monceau Park at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon." Obviously, Mrs. Walter has made a concession.It seemed to him that she was saying:
"I am waiting to meet you at any time. Where, when, whatever."

Du Roy laughed uncontrollably.Madeleine asked:
"What happened to you?"

"Nothing. I was thinking of the priest I met this afternoon. He looked so stupid."

Du Roy was on time for the appointment the next day.The benches in the Parc Monceau were full of Parisians who were overwhelmed by the heat.Some nannies enjoying the cool sat on the stools and took a nap while the children were playing on the gravel road.

Du Roy saw Mrs. Walter standing beside an ancient ruin, with a clear spring flowing slowly around her.She walked slowly up and down the small columns of the monument, looking sad and restless.

As soon as Du Roy came forward to say hello, she said, "There are so many people in the park!"

He took the opportunity to suggest: "Yeah, that's right. Shall we move somewhere?"

"But where?"

"Anywhere is fine, even in the carriage. As long as you pull the curtain beside you, no one will see." Well, I'd rather sit in the carriage.This place really scares me. "

"Okay, I'll call for a carriage. In five minutes, I'll be waiting for you at the gate opposite the ring road."

As soon as the words fell, the others had already left in a hurry.

A few minutes later, they met again.As soon as Mrs. Walter got into the car, she lowered the curtain beside her and asked, "Where did you tell the coachman to go?"

Du Roy replied: "You have nothing to worry about, he knows that."

Du Roy's address to the coachman was Rue Constantinople.

Mrs. Walter went on to say: "You must not know how much I have suffered for you. Yesterday in the church, the reason why I left cruelly was because I wanted to run away from you no matter what. And you It always scares me so much to be alone. Can you forgive me?"

Du Roy held her hand and said: "Of course. I love you so much, what can't be forgiven?"

Mrs. Walter looked at him with eyes that were almost begging, and said: "Listen to me, you must behave well... you can't... you can't... otherwise, I won't see you again."

Du Roy didn't speak at first, and there was a sly smile on the corner of his mouth that no woman could resist.Finally, he said softly: "I will listen to you in everything."

Mrs. Walter said frankly that she only found out that she was interested in Du Roy when she learned that Du Roy was going to marry Madeleine.She spoke in such detail that she could even remember the exact date and every little mental activity.

After a while, Mrs. Walter suddenly fell silent.It turned out that the carriage had already stopped.Du Roy opened the car door.

"Where are we?" asked Mrs. Walter.

"Come down. Let's go to the room, where it will be quieter," replied Du Roy.

"Where the hell are we?"

"My bachelor's dorm. I used to live here when I wasn't married. Now I'm re-renting it...for a while...so we have a place to meet."

Madame Walter's face paled with fright at the thought that she would soon be alone with Du Roy.She clung tightly to the seat cushion of the carriage, and said in horror:
"No, no, I'm not going! I'm not going!"

Du Roy said solemnly: "I swear to you, I will never touch you. Come in quickly! Look! Everyone is watching us. They will come around to watch the fun. Hurry up... ;Decision point... Come down quickly丨"

Then, he repeated: "I will never touch you."

At this time, a hotel owner was standing at the door of the store and looked at them curiously.Mrs. Walter panicked, jumped out of the car and rushed into the building.

Just as she was going up the stairs, Du Roy grabbed her and said:
"On the first floor."

As soon as the door was closed, Du Roy embraced Mrs. Walter like a prey.She struggled, resisted, and stammered: "Oh, God丨... Ah, God丨..."

Duroy kissed her neck, eyes and lips passionately.Mrs. Walter tried to escape but seemed powerless.She pushed and shoved like this, while desperately avoiding Du Roy's lips, at the same time she couldn't help bringing her own mouth together.

Suddenly, she stopped struggling, as if she had been completely conquered, she became extremely docile, allowing Du Roy to undress her.Du Roy took off her clothes one by one, his hands were as agile and light as a maid.

Mrs. Walter snatched a piece of clothing from him to cover her face, and stood there naked, with the newly taken off clothes piled up at her feet.

Du Roy didn't help her take off her shoes, but hugged her and walked towards the bed.Mrs. Walter whispered into his ear, "I swear... I swear to you... I've never had a lover before." I swear, I'm chaste."

Du Roy thought; "Hmph! I don't care about that."

In a blink of an eye, autumn is here.Du Roy and his wife stayed in Paris for a whole summer.While the MPs were enjoying their short breaks, they published article after article in La Vie in support of the new cabinet.

Although it was only the beginning of October, the parliament had to reconvene because of the increasingly difficult Morocco incident. Although the meeting was closed, the humorous speech of the right-wing congressman Count Lambert Sarrasin made many centrists applaud.However, people still do not believe that the French government will send troops to expedition against Daniel.In his speech, Earl Sarrasin imitated the former famous Indian governor and bet his beard with the cabinet; he said that out of symmetry, the new cabinet would definitely follow the example of the previous cabinet and send troops to attack Daniel.Only in this way can it echo the troops stationed in Tunisia.It is as if people place two vases on either side of a fireplace.

(End of this chapter)