beautiful friend

Chapter 31

"That's right... 100 million... I have to admit that I am unlucky... How could Wardrake be so thoughtless when making a will, and even forget the worldly perspective. He didn't even think about how embarrassing it would be for me Ridiculous situation... You must not ignore any detail in life... If he can divide my property in half, won't the matter be solved?"

Then, he sat down, crossed his legs, and began to twirl his beard with his hands.He liked to do this whenever he was bored, irritable, or lost in painful thoughts.

Madeleine picked up her usual woolen work, and said while selecting the wool:
"I have nothing to say. You see."

Du Roy remained silent for a long time.Afterwards, he said hesitantly: "No one will understand why Wardrake let you be his heir, and they can't even understand why I let you accept this inheritance. To accept his inheritance in this way, For you, it is undoubtedly admitting... Admitting that there is an ulterior relationship between you, and I will also become a shameless person who is said to be a wife for glory... Don't you know what people will think of it in the future Is this a thing? So, we have to come up with a roundabout way to avoid this. For example, we can make people believe that Wardrake divided the inheritance between us: half husband, half wife."

Madeleine asked: "But, how can people believe it? Isn't it clearly written in the will?"

Du Roy replied: "Oh, it's not easy. You can give me half of the inheritance through a gift during your lifetime. We don't have children. This is not only reasonable, but it can also plug those hearts. The mouth of an unfathomable man."

Some impatient Madeleine retorted: "Since the will is clearly written and signed by Wardrake, how can we prevent people from discussing it?"

Du Roy said angrily: "Do we have to post the will on the wall and announce it to the public? Why are you so dead-headed? Let's just say that the Earl de Vaudrec left us a legacy, one person Half...doesn't it just get it? Without my consent, you can't accept this inheritance. If you want my consent, you have to give me half. Otherwise, wouldn't I be the laughing stock of the world?"

Madeleine has always been watching Du Roy with a keen eye.

"You can do whatever you want, I don't care."

Du Roy got up from his chair and began to walk up and down the room again.Facing Madeleine's piercing gaze, he began to dodge, seemingly hesitant.He said: "No... Absolutely not... Let's give up completely... It's more appropriate... More appropriate... More decent... In this way, no one will gossip, even those villains who like to tell tales the most I can only sigh in admiration."

He stopped in front of Madeleine and said: "Well, my dear. If you wish, I can speak to Mr. Ramanall alone, explain the situation to him and ask his opinion. I would tell him my concerns and tell him that we have decided to split the inheritance so that no one can gossip about it. Since I have also received half of the inheritance, no one will dare to laugh at me anymore. The reason is obvious: the wife accepts , because I, the husband, accepted it, and because I understand that my wife's reputation will not be damaged by doing so. If not, this matter will definitely cause trouble in the city."

Madeleine said only one sentence: "Everything is up to you."

Du Roy resumed his eloquence:

"That's right, if the estate is divided in half, it's pretty clear. We shared a friend's property because he didn't want to differentiate, favor one over the other, or give the impression that he preferred this or that during his lifetime. That is the same after death. Of course, he loves this lady more. However, by distributing the estate equally, he clearly shows that his love is platonic. If Waldrake could consider this He would have done it if he wanted to. It's a pity that he didn't consider the consequences at the time. Like you said, Wardrake sends you flowers every week and wants to leave something behind when he dies The last remembrance is just that he didn't realize it at all..."

Madeleine interrupted him angrily: "Okay, okay, I understand what you mean. You don't have to say so much. Go to the office."

Du Roy blushed immediately, and muttered, "Okay, I'll go right away."

He picked up his hat and prepared to go out.Before leaving, he asked:

"I'll try to get rid of his nephew with fifty thousand francs."

Madeleine replied arrogantly: "No, just give him one hundred thousand. As long as you want, the money will be paid by me."

Du Roy suddenly felt a little ashamed, and said in a low voice: "No, no, forget it, let's share it equally. Even if one person gives him 100, we still have a full [-] million."

Then he bid farewell to his wife contentedly: "Goodbye, my dear Made."

Du Roy went to the office and explained to the notary for a long time.He said the ideas came from his wife and the couple signed an agreement the next day.Madeleine du Roy agreed to pass on 50 francs of her inheritance to her husband.

Walking out of the office, the weather was fine, and Du Roy proposed to take a walk on the street.Today, he looks extraordinarily easy-going, gentle and considerate to his wife by his side, and takes good care of him.He was in a comfortable mood, and he was so happy to see everything; while Madeleine at the side seemed a little serious, always preoccupied.

Autumn is coming, and the pedestrians on the road are in a hurry.Du Roy led his wife to a shop where there was a pocket watch that he had admired for a long time.

"Would you like me to give you a piece of jewelry?" Du Roy asked his wife.

Madeleine replied coldly: "Whatever."

They go into the store.Du Roy asked: "Do you prefer necklaces, bracelets or earrings?"

As far as the eye can see, the store is surrounded by all kinds of gold baubles and all kinds of exquisite gemstones.The indifference on Madeleine's face was also swept away.She looked curiously at the exquisite jewelry in the cabinet, her eyes sparkling.Suddenly, Madeleine felt a little moved: "Look at this bracelet, it's so beautiful!"

This is a uniquely shaped bracelet.Each section is set with a gemstone, of various varieties.

Du Roy asked: "How do you sell this bracelet?"

The jeweler replied: "Three thousand francs, sir."

"Two thousand and five, I'll buy it."

The man hesitated for a moment, then said, "No, sir, that's impossible."

Du Roy went on: "Then it's better. I'll buy the pocket watch for another fifteen hundred francs, four thousand francs in total, and I'll pay in cash. What? If not, I'll go elsewhere."

The jeweler looked embarrassed, but finally agreed:

"Very well then, sir."

Du Roy left the address and said to the boss: "Please ask someone to engrave the three initials of my name GRC on the pocket watch, and then engrave a baron's logo on top of the name."

Madeleine was a little surprised.At the same time, a charming smile began to appear on her face.She took du Roy's arm tenderly as she went out of the shop.She felt that her husband was becoming more and more capable and courageous.Now that he has an annuity, he should have a title.

When the owner of the jewelry store greeted them to leave, he said: "Mr. Baron, please don't worry, we promise to deliver it on Thursday."

Next, the Du Roys passed a cabaret theater where a new play was being staged.

"If you like," said Du Roy, "let's go to the theater to-night. Go and book a box now."

So they picked a box and booked it.Luo Wa suggested again: "How about we go to a restaurant and have something to eat?"

"Okay, great!"

At this moment, Du Roy was very happy, thinking of other diversions.

"We might as well invite Madame de Marais out to play. I hear her husband is back, and I should like to see him."

So the couple came to Madame de Marais' house.At first, Du Roy was a little worried that Clotilde would still remember the unhappiness from last time, thinking that if his wife was present, there would be no need to explain so much.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. de Marais had long forgotten what happened a few days ago, and she even tried her best to encourage her husband to accept their invitation.

Dinner was held in a cheerful atmosphere, everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

On this day, Du Roy and his wife came home very late.The lights in the corridor have gone out.To light the steps, Du Roy struck a match from time to time.

When we arrived at the stairs on the second floor, suddenly a lit match illuminated a mirror facing us, reflecting two looming figures in the darkness.

The two people in the mirror looked like ghosts that would disappear in the vast night in a blink of an eye.

Du Roy raised his hand to make their image clearer and said with a smug smile, "Look, two millionaires."

The fighting in Morocco ended two months ago.After France occupied Daniel, it invaded the entire African Mediterranean coast until Tripoli.The debts of the occupied countries are fully guaranteed by the French government.

It is said that the two ministers took the opportunity to earn more than 2000 million francs.Among them, the most talked about is La Roche-Mathieu.

As for Walter, he became famous overnight in Paris.First of all, he made a net profit of 4000 million francs from his stocks; secondly, his copper, iron ore and land trading business also made a profit of 800 million to 1000 million francs.These lands were purchased by Walter in large quantities at low prices before Daniel was occupied. After the city was occupied by France, he sold the land to the colonial company at a high price.

In just a few days, Walter transformed himself into one of the few millionaires and financial giants in the world.Now he is as rich as an enemy.When everyone saw him, they all looked groveling and submissive, and the jealousy and humbleness in people's hearts were all exposed.

He is no longer "Walter the Jew", "the boss of the bank of unknown origin", "the manager of the newspaper of dubious status", "a member of parliament elected by shady transactions", but "Mr. Walter", a wealthy man in Israel. .

Walter was eager to show off his wealth.

When he learned that the Prince of Karlsburg was in short supply recently, he proposed to buy the prince's mansion in the suburban street of Saint-Honoré within one day (the garden of the mansion leads directly to the Champs Elysees); Leave it as it is, not even the armchairs can be moved.Walter offered 300 million.The Prince of Carlsburg couldn't bear the temptation of the high price, so he had to sell it reluctantly.

The next day, the Walters moved into their new home.

But not long after, Walter sprouted a strong desire to conquer again.He wanted to conquer all of Paris, like Bonaparte.

At that time, people in Paris ran to admire the huge oil painting "Christ Limbo" by the Hungarian painter Karmakovic.The painting was on display at the home of connoisseur Jacques Lenoble.

Art critics praised it as the most outstanding painting of this century.

So the old man Walter bought the painting with 50 francs.For a time, curious people never had the opportunity to watch this famous painting.As a result, Walter became the center of discussion in the city.Some were jealous, some scolded, and some applauded.

Then, Walter invited celebrities from all walks of life in Paris to his home to appreciate foreign masterpieces through newspapers and newspapers, so as to avoid people saying that he monopolized artworks.

The door of Walter's house has been opened since then.Anyone who is willing to come can have a glimpse, just show the invitation card.

It is written in the invitation card: The Walters are very honored to invite you to visit the humble house on December 30th from [-]:[-] to [-]:[-] p.m. to watch Karmakovich's famous painting "Christ Limbo". lighting.

At the bottom of the invitation was a line of fine print: the ball will be held after twelve o'clock.

At that time, some people will stay, and the Walters can make new friends from them.

Other guests left in a hurry after viewing famous paintings, mansions, and visiting hostesses and hostesses, just as they had come.But old Walter knew that they would come again later.Because these people used to often visit some fellow Israelis who had the same fortune as him.

The most urgent task at the moment is to attract those aristocrats whose names often appear in the newspapers and whose family fortunes have fallen to his house.Walter wanted them to see the real face of this wealthy businessman who had amassed 5000 million francs in just one and a half months. He wanted them to see how his family was full of guests, and how this descendant of Israel had an elegant interest, Ingeniously invite people to enjoy oil paintings at home.

The old man Walter seemed to be saying to people: "Look! I spent a full 50 francs for Markovich's famous religious painting "Christ Limbo". From now on, this masterpiece will stay in the "Jew Walter" forever. Home!"

The invitation caused a stir in Parisian society, especially among the ladies and children of the rich.Anyone who wanted to look at the oil painting could go there anytime, just as one went to Mr. Patty's to look at a watercolor.Isn't it a beautiful thing for the Walters to own a famous painting and kindly invite everyone to see it?
Over the past two weeks, Le Vie Française has repeatedly promoted the event to be held on the evening of December 30th, trying to arouse public interest.

Du Roy gritted his teeth at the boss's fortune.

He thought he was rich by defrauding his wife of 50 francs, but now he feels that he is poor.Around him, millionaires abound; compared with others, his wealth is a drop in the bucket, nothing at all.

Du Roy's jealousy grew stronger and stronger.He hated everyone, hated the Walters, and never wanted to set foot in his house again; hated his wife, hated that she had been tricked by La Roche and prevented him from buying Moroccan stocks; of course, what he hated the most was The Minister La Roche who played him in the palm of his hand.Thinking about how much this minister asked him to help at the beginning, he even went to his house for dinner twice a week; but he only regarded him as his secretary, clerk and pen.Whenever Du Roy listened to his instructions to write an article, he wanted to strangle this proud guy to death.As a minister, La Roche had a mediocre record; in order to keep his position, he tried his best to hide his behavior of using his position to enrich himself.However, Du Roy felt that the words and deeds of this prosperous lawyer were so rude, bold and arrogant, and he looked like a rich man.

Now, La Roche completely replaced the Earl of Vaudrec, bossing around Du Roy's house.He spoke to his servants like a second master in the family.

Du Roy often trembled with anger but did not dare to attack, like a dog that wanted to bite but did not dare to open its mouth.Therefore, he could only vent his anger on Madeleine.And his wife just shrugged, treating him like a naive kid.She didn't understand why her husband was always so depressed: "I really don't understand, why are you always complaining? You are lucky enough."

Du Roy turned away and ignored her.

A long time ago, Du Roy threatened that he would not participate in the grand meeting of the boss's house, and he would never set foot in this hateful Jewish house again.

For two whole months, Mrs. Walter wrote to him every day, asking him to meet at her home or elsewhere.She said she would give him the seventy thousand francs she had earned for him.

Du Roy never responded and burned all the paper.The reason why he did this was not because he wanted to give up his part of the interests, but because he wanted to deliberately snub Mrs. Walter.Mrs. Walter was so rich, and he wanted to show his dignity in front of her.

On the day of the exhibition, Madeleine told her husband that it would be a wrong decision for him not to go.Du Roy replied:
do not talk!I'm going to stay home.

But after dinner, he suddenly changed his mind:
"It seems that this crime has to be endured, so go and prepare."

Madeleine had expected him to go.

"I'm only 15 minutes away," she said.

Du Roy muttered as he changed his clothes, and even got into the carriage and cursed.

The front yard of the original Karlsburg Prince's Mansion is brightly lit, and a lamp is hung in each corner, just like four small moons shining with light blue light.The steps were richly carpeted, and on each step a servant stood erect like a statue.

Du Roy muttered, "What a pose!" He shrugged, jealous as hell.

His wife said: "Shut up! If you have the ability, you should act like it!"

The two walked into the room and handed the coats they had taken off to the servant who came up.

At this time, several other ladies also walked in with their husbands.While taking off their fur coats, they kept admiring: "It's really magnificent!"

The spacious front hall is covered with various tapestries, telling the love story of Mars and Venus.There are magnificent staircases on the left and right, and they merge together when they reach the second floor.The gold plating on the iron railings on both sides has gradually faded due to age, but against the backdrop of the red marble steps, the faint light is still faintly visible. At the entrance of the living room, there are two little girls standing: one is wearing pink clothes and the other is wearing blue clothes ; Whenever a guest walks in, send a bouquet of flowers to the ladies.Everyone felt that such an arrangement was ingenious.

The living room was full of people.

Ladies mostly dress casually, no different from the old days.They want to show that coming to see this painting is as casual as visiting a private exhibition.And the ladies who were going to stay for the ball were all topless.

Madame Walter received her guests in the second drawing room.Beside her, surrounded by a group of girlfriends.Many of the guests didn't know her. They were like visiting a museum, not paying attention to the owner of the house.

(End of this chapter)