beautiful friend

Chapter 3

Duroy didn't know how to answer for a moment, and his face was flushed.He felt that the other party was looking at him from head to toe, examining him.

He would have said a few words of apology, some explanation for his attire.But he still didn't say anything after all, because he really didn't dare to touch this embarrassing topic.

Duroy sat down in an armchair she had pointed out to him. The velvet cushion of the chair was soft and elastic, and it sank immediately when he sat on it, but soon supported him again.The backrests and armrests of the chairs were also stuffed with padding.It seemed to Duroy that he had begun a new and charming life, that he had many wonderful things, that he had become a very important person, that he was at last free from his former embarrassment, that he was saved.He looked over at Madame Forestier, who never took her eyes off him.

She wore a light blue cashmere dress that perfectly accentuated her slender figure and ample bust. Her arms and neck were bare, and her neckline and short sleeves were trimmed with white lace.The golden hair rose high and waved to the back of the head, forming a golden cloud.

Madame Forestier's gaze gradually calmed him down.For some reason, this gaze reminded him of the girl he met at the "Shepherdess Playground" last night.Madame de Forestier had gray-blue eyes that looked peculiar, a small nose, thick lips, and some fat on the chin, which made her face look irregular.But she is still a charming woman, with a bit of playfulness in her beauty.Every line on her face is very beautiful and has a unique charm. Her frowns and smiles seem to be either explaining something or covering up something.

After a brief silence, Madame Forestier asked: "Have you been in Paris for a long time?"

Duroy has gradually calmed down, he replied:

"Only a few months, ma'am. I have a job at the railway, but Forestier told me yesterday that he can get me into the press."

Madame Forestier smiled sweetly, and her expression became more cordial.She lowered her voice and said softly, "I know."

At this time, the doorbell rang again, and the servant's voice came from the door:

"Madame de Marais!"

The person who came was a brown-haired woman of short stature, who was commonly called "Miss Brunette".

She walked into the living room gracefully, tightly wrapped in a simple dark-colored dress.

There is a red rose pinned on the black hair, which is very eye-catching.This rose not only set off her beauty, but also highlighted her flamboyant personality, which made Duroy deeply impressed by her when they met for the first time.

A little girl in a skirt followed closely behind her.Madame Forestier stepped forward:
"Hello, Clotilde."

"Hello, Madeleine."

They hug each other.Then, like a grown-up, the little girl leaned her cheek towards Madame Forestier and said, "Hello, aunt."

Madame Forestier put her arms around her and kissed her, and then began to introduce:
"This is M. Georges Duroy, a good friend of Charles's."

"This is Madame de Marais, my friend and a distant relation of mine."

After a while she added:
"You know, it's not a banquet tonight, you don't have to stick to etiquette, okay?"

The young man bowed in approval.

At this time, the door opened again.A short and fat man walked in with a tall and beautiful lady on his arm.This man is Mr. Walter, the manager of the "French Life".Born in the South, he was a wealthy Jewish businessman, financier, industrialist, and member of Congress.His wife looked elegant, dignified and generous, and was much younger than him.She was born into the family of Basil Ravalro, the son of a banker father.

He was followed by the dashing Jacques Rival and the long-haired Noble de Wallen.The collar of the latter has been shone by the shoulder-length hair, as if it has been waxed, and white dandruff is scattered on the shoulders.

His tie was tied in a casual knot, as if it had been tied before a dinner.The flirtatious old man walked over with graceful steps, took Madame Forestier's hand, and kissed her gently on the wrist, and the long hair in the shawl immediately fell on the young lady's naked face like running water. on the arm.

Forestier was the last to enter, and kept apologizing to his guests for his lateness, claiming that the incident at Morel had caused him to be so long at the newspaper.Mr. Morell, a radical MP, had recently challenged the cabinet over its request for funding for colonial rule in Algeria.

At this time, the servant called out loudly: "Madam, supper is ready."

Everyone walked into the restaurant together.

Duroy was seated between Madame de Marais and her daughter.This made Duroy very uneasy, worried that his actions with the knife, fork and wine glass did not conform to the requirements of etiquette.There are four glasses in front of him. What should the light blue one be used for?
When the first course of soup came, no one spoke.Afterwards, Nobel de Wallen asked: "Have you read the news about the Gautier case? It's quite an interesting case!"

So, everyone began to talk about this complicated adultery case mixed with blackmail.But when they talked about the case, it was not like discussing newspaper news in the family. It was more like a doctor talking about a certain disease, or a farmer talking about the vegetables they grew.There was no expression of anger or surprise on their faces. They didn't care about the crime itself, but only explored and studied the internal reasons of the incident with professional curiosity.They tried to find out the criminal's motives for committing the crime, dig out all kinds of thought activities that led to this tragedy, and finally judged that it was the inevitable product of a special mental state.The ladies also showed considerable enthusiasm for this kind of research and discussion.Then, they used the unique practical vision and unique way of looking at problems unique to news mongers and journalists who sell "comedy on earth" to examine, discuss, and analyze recent events, big or small, from various aspects, and measure their impact. Value is like a merchant who always checks and weighs a commodity before selling it.

After a while, the conversation turned to a duel.Jacques Rival took up the conversation.This is a topic that belongs entirely to him, and no one else can get involved.

Duroy didn't dare to say a word, and occasionally exposed it to his neighbor.Madame de Marais' round neck fascinated him.From below her earlobe dangled a diamond dangling from a gold thread, glistening like a drop of crystal water ready to drip onto her skin at any moment.From time to time she joined the discussion, always with a smile on her lips.Her thoughts are very interesting and often unexpected, just like a girl with rich experience but still childlike innocence, she doesn't care about any problems, she is slightly skeptical about people's conclusions, but she is not lacking in kindness.

Duroy wanted to compliment her a few words, but he couldn't say a word.So he turned to Madame de Marais's daughter, pouring her drinks, clearing the plates, and paying her so much attention.The little girl, who was much more serious than her mother, thanked Duroy, nodded to him, said, "Thank you, sir," and continued to listen attentively to the conversation of the grown-ups.

The dinner was quite sumptuous, and everyone was very satisfied.Mr. Walter had been so busy devouring his food that he had hardly said anything.Every time he serves a dish, he looks at the plate in front of him from under his glasses.Noble de Wallen was as excited as he was, dripping vegetable juices on his shirt-front.

With a smile on his face and a solemn expression, Forestier carefully observed every guest at the dinner table, and exchanged understanding glances with his wife from time to time, just like two partners who are about to complete a difficult task. It's going according to their plan.

The faces of the guests were all glowing red, and their voices became louder and louder.From time to time the servant whispered in the ears of the guests: "Would you like Corton or La Rozburg?"

Duroy found the Corton to his liking, and asked the servant to pour a full glass every time.He felt everything was unspeakable, a hotness shot up from his chest, then spread to his limbs, and quickly spread all over his body.He is comfortable all over, from life to thought, from body to soul, he has obtained a kind of supreme enjoyment.

He had a sudden urge to say something to get everyone's attention, and he wanted everyone to listen and appreciate what he had to say, just like someone who can say even a few words.

But people's conversations go on and on, from one thing to another, and even a word, a little thing, can turn the topic from one to another.They told almost all the recent events, and finally returned to Mr. Morel's question to the Cabinet on the question of Algeria's colonial rule.

While waiting for the food to be served, Mr. Walter told a few jokes. He was a skeptic and had no scruples about his words.Forestier talked about the article that will be published tomorrow.Jacques Rival demanded the establishment of a military government, allocating land to all military personnel who had served in the colony for more than 30 years.

"In this way," he said, "a strong society can be established there. By then, they already know and love the land, have mastered the local language, and are familiar with all the problems that newcomers will encounter. "

Nobel de Wallen interrupted him:

"Yes...they know everything but farming. They speak Arabic, but they don't know how to transplant sugar beets or grow rice. They are good at swordsmanship, but they don't know how to farm and fertilize. We have to open up this land to all, where the shrewd will get their place and the weak will be eliminated. That’s how society works.”

Everyone didn't speak, just responded with a smile.

Georges Duroy finally spoke, and the voice surprised even himself, as if he had never heard himself speak:

"What's lacking there is fertile land. Really fertile land is as expensive as France, and it's bought as investment by rich Parisians. The real immigrants, the poor people who are forced to live there, are bought They rushed to the desert where there is severe water shortage and no grass grows."

Everyone turned their attention to Duroy, which made him feel very embarrassed."Sir, do you know Algeria well?" asked Mr. Walter.

Duroy replied: "Yes, sir. I was there for two years and four months and lived in three districts."

At this time, Nobel de Wallen had forgotten the Morel incident, and suddenly asked Duroy about the customs of the local people, which he had heard an officer talk about.The officer was talking about a place called Majab, a curious little Arab republic in the middle of the Sahara, the hottest place in the world.

Duroy has been to Mazabu twice, and he told everyone about the customs and customs of this magical country: where water is precious like gold, residents are required to perform public duties, and businessmen are honest and trustworthy, which is far better than civilized countries.

With the strength of his drink and his desire to please everyone, Duroy talked freely, telling anecdotes about the army, certain characteristics of the Arabs, and thrilling experiences in battle.He spoke vividly, exaggerating this piece of bare yellow land with the scorching sun all year round.

All eyes of the ladies were on him.Mrs. Walter said slowly: "You can write your memories into a series of articles, it must be very attractive." Mr. Walter shot in from above the glasses and looked at the young man in front of him.He always does this every time he takes a closer look at someone.When looking at the dishes, his eyes were shot from under the glasses.

Forestier took the opportunity to say: "Boss, this is the Georges Duroy I mentioned to you today. I hope you can let him join our political news department and help me collect some political materials. Since Malumbo left Since then, no one has helped me collect urgent inside information, which has caused a lot of losses to the newspaper."

Mr. Walter's expression became serious. He took off his glasses and looked at Duroy carefully from the front.After a while, he said: "It is obvious that M. Duroy is indeed very talented. If he wishes, we can talk about this matter again at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

After a long silence, he turned to the young man and said:
"First you write some Algerian essays, talk about your memories, and say something about the colonial problem, as I said. These are hot news, and I am sure the readers will like them very much. So, you must hurry .I hope to have your first article tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. That way we can bring the issue to the attention of the public while it is being discussed in Parliament."

With her usual serious expression, Mrs. Walter kindly reminded: "You can use "African Service Notes" as the title, it will surely attract readers, Mr. Nobel, what do you think?"

The late blooming old poet was both disgusted and afraid of the up-and-comers, and replied coldly: "Of course it is good. It's just that whether the following articles can always be coordinated is not easy. This is the same as the keynote in music. .”

Madame de Forestier quietly cast Duroy a glance of admiration and understanding, as if to say: "You will succeed." Madame de Marais turned her head to look at him several times, The diamond earrings hanging from the gold thread kept shaking, like a drop of water that would fall at any time.

Her daughter was still sitting there with a serious expression on her face, motionless, looking down at her plate.

Meanwhile, servants went around the table filling each guest's blue glass with Johannesburg wine.Forestier raised his glass and said to Mr. Walter: "To the prosperity of the French Newspaper!"

Everyone bowed to the smiling boss.Duroy also drank the wine in the glass as if he had won a victory.At this moment, even if it was a barrel of wine, he could drink it dry, even eat a cow, and strangle a lion without a problem.He feels that he has extraordinary strength, the confidence to win, and the future is full of infinite hope.Now that he was quite at home among these people, he had found his place.He scanned the table with a new and confident look, and finally ventured to strike up a conversation with his neighbor, Madame de Marais:
"Madam, you have the most beautiful earrings I have ever seen."

Madame de Marais turned her head and looked at him with a smile:
"It was my idea to hang a diamond above the gold thread. It looks like a dewdrop, doesn't it?"

Duroy was disturbed by his boldness, worried that he might say something inappropriate, he hesitated and said, "It's really charming...but you need someone like you to wear it."

Madame de Marais gave him a grateful glance, so clear and bright that it seemed to be able to read the other's mind.

Duroy had just turned his eyes away from Madame de Marais when he saw Madame Forestier looking at him.The latter always had a friendly smile, and Duroy felt that he saw a more obvious pleasure, teasing and encouragement in her eyes.

The men at the dinner table danced and talked, all with loud voices.They talked about huge plans to build an underground railroad.This topic continued until dessert was finished.Everyone has a bunch of complaints about the slow traffic in Paris: the trams are inconvenient, the stagecoachs are obnoxious, the coachmen are brutal.

Next, everyone got up and left the restaurant, ready to drink coffee.Duroy stretched out a hand to the little girl jokingly, but the girl thanked him solemnly, and stood on tiptoe to put his hand on the arm of the neighbor.

Walking into the living room, Duroy once again felt as if he had entered a greenhouse.The room was surrounded by tall, leafy palm trees whose trunks reached to the ceiling and stretched out like fountains.

On either side of the fireplace stood two gum trees, their trunks as thick as two large columns, and their long green leaves overlapping each other.There are two unknown round small bonsai placed on the piano, full of flowers, one is red, the other is white, it looks like man-made, because it is so beautiful, it makes people uncomfortable real feeling.

The air in the living room was fresh, accompanied by a faint, indescribable fragrance.

With a calm expression, Duroy looked at the room carefully.The room is not very big, there is nothing particularly attractive except for various plants, and there is no bright color to make it feel refreshing.However, as soon as people walk in here, it is as if they have been gently caressed, and they immediately feel comfortable, leisurely and at ease.

There were violet hangings on the walls, which were beginning to fade with age.Small flowers are embroidered with silk thread on the curtain.

The door curtain is made of blue-gray military cloth, with carnation flowers embroidered with red silk thread, hanging down to the ground.Chairs of different sizes and shapes are randomly placed around the room.The benches, armchairs, poufs and poufs are all covered with a cover made of Louis XVI silk or cream Utrecht 1 velvet with a garnet pattern.

"Would you like a cup of coffee, Monsieur Duroy?"

Madame Forestier brought him a full cup of coffee, still with a friendly smile on her lips.

"Yes, ma'am, thank you."

Duroy took the cup.When he bent down and used a silver tong to carefully pick a sugar cube in the sugar bowl carried by the little girl, the young hostess whispered in his ear:

"Go and flirt with Mrs. Walter."

Before he could speak, Madame Forestier had turned and left.

(End of this chapter)