beautiful friend

Chapter 36

Mrs. Walter came out of the room with the candle, and went downstairs to the conservatory garden. The Christ Limbo was kept in a small room with a glass door at the end of the conservatory, so as not to be damaged by the humidity in the room.It looks like a small church among exotic flowers and plants.

As soon as Mrs. Walter stepped into the conservatory, she was shocked by a deep darkness; every time she came here before, the room was always brightly lit.The surrounding air is filled with the rich smell of tropical plants.Since the doors of the greenhouses were all closed, the strange smell from the surrounding trees gathered under the glass vault and could not dissipate for a long time.This strange smell made Mrs. Walter feel breathless and dizzy, and she couldn't tell what it was like.She felt a limp, dizzying pleasure all over her.

The poor woman was groping slowly in the dark, and the sight in front of her was frightening: in the flickering candlelight, all kinds of trees around looked like people, demons, and hideous monsters. monster.

Suddenly, Mrs. Walter catches a glimpse of Jesus in the painting.She hurriedly pushed open the glass door in the middle, "plop"

Kneel on the ground with a sound.

Mrs. Walter was flustered, and stammered a lot of words full of emotion and despair.After the excitement calmed down a little, she looked up at Christ, feeling an inexplicable melancholy.Under the dim light, the vaguely recognizable face of Jesus looks like a beautiful friend!At this moment, in the eyes of Mrs. Walter, the person in the painting is no longer God, but her lover.Look at his eyes, forehead, facial expression, and that indifferent and arrogant demeanor, it is clearly Du Roy!
Mrs. Walter kept saying, "God! God! God!" but the words came out as "George."Suddenly it occurred to her that he might be possessing his daughter.They must be alone somewhere, he, Du Roy, and her daughter Susan!

Mrs. Walter repeated, "God...God," but she was thinking of... her daughter and her lover!The lonely couple are alone in a room...and it's late at night.Their figures appeared in Mrs. Walter's mind so clearly, as if they were right in front of her eyes.She saw them smiling at each other and hugging tightly.The light in the room was dim, and the bed curtain was slightly drawn.Mrs. Walter got up and went towards them, trying to grab her daughter by the hair and drag her out of Du Roy's arms; she hated Susan, hated her for giving herself to him, and wanted to strangle her by the neck she.Finally met her.But what Mrs. Walter touched was the feet of Christ on the oil painting. She screamed and fell on her back.The candle fell to the ground and was quickly extinguished.

Mrs. Walter was in a trance, remembering many strange and terrible things.The figures of Du Roy, Susan and Jesus kept intertwining and appearing in front of her eyes, as if even God was blessing their terrible love.

Mrs. Walter seemed to feel that she was no longer where she was.She wanted to get up and leave the place, but felt powerless.Retaining the last trace of sobriety, she felt dizzy and her limbs were limp.All kinds of messy, grotesque, illusory and terrifying scenes appeared in her mind.These grotesque, aromatic tropical plants often lull the mind into a grotesque, unhealthy fantasy that leaves the mind feeling groggy; sometimes fatal.

The next day, people found Mrs. Walter in front of "Christ Limbo".She was lying limp on the ground, unconscious, almost suffocated.Seeing her dying state, people worried that she would not last long.Unexpectedly, just one day later, she regained consciousness and burst into tears as soon as she woke up.

Regarding Susan's disappearance, the servant got the explanation that she was temporarily sent to the monastery boarding school.Later, M. Walter received a long letter from Du Roy.The former wrote back immediately and said that he was willing to marry his daughter to him.

Du Roy had dropped this letter into the mailbox when he left Paris; he had written it in advance the night before his departure.In his letter, he spoke respectfully, saying that he had admired Susan for a long time, but the two did not have any agreement, but Susan came to him voluntarily and told him that she would become his wife, so he felt the need to keep her , and even hid her until she got permission from her parents.Although the wishes of his fiancée are more important to him, he still hopes to get the approval of her parents, so that their marriage will be more legal.

Du Roy asked Walter to send the letter directly to the post office, where he would pick it up; a friend of his would forward the letter to him.

After getting Walter's affirmative answer, he immediately took Susan back to Paris and handed it over to her parents; he planned not to show his face in the short term.

Du Roy and Susan spent a total of six days in La Roche-Guyen-sur-Seine.

Susan had never had such a good time before, as if she suddenly became an innocent and carefree shepherdess.

Du Roy would say that Susan was his sister when he met everyone, so that the two could be intimate together blatantly, with a bit of brother-sister affection.

Du Roy believed that caution should be exercised with Susan.On the second day after they arrived, Susan bought some clothes and some country girl's clothes, and went to the river to fish.On her head she wore a large straw hat with a few country flowers dotted on the brim.The little girl thought this place was so much fun.

In addition, there are two historic bell towers and an old castle in the village, where you can see many exquisite tapestries.

Du Roy, wearing a rough uniform bought at a local store, took Susan for walks along the river, or rented a boat for a raft on the water.No matter when, they hug each other tightly, trembling with excitement.Susan was still ignorant about the relationship between men and women, while Du Roy was beginning to feel a little uncontrollable, but he knew how to control himself.When he told Susan that Walter had promised their marriage and was going back to Paris tomorrow, the little girl still said naively: "So fast? It's so fun to be your wife!"

The apartment in Rue Constantinople was pitch black, and Georges du Roy and Clotilde de Marais hurried into the room after meeting at the door.Before Du Roy could open the shutters, Clotilde asked, "So, you're going to marry Susan Walter?"

Du Roy agreed softly, and then asked:

"do not you know?"

Clotilde stood before Du Roy and said angrily: "You are going to marry Susan Walter! It's too much! It's too much! For three months you've been flattering me and keeping me a secret. What a pain! Everyone knows it, except me. In the end, it was my husband who told me!"

Du Roy sneered a few times, feeling uneasy.He put his hat on a corner of the fireplace and sat down in an armchair.

Clotilde looked directly at him, and said angrily: "After you divorced your wife, you have already planned everything. You hypocritically let me continue to be your mistress, just to fill the temporary vacancy. You How can you be so mean and shameless?"

Du Roy quibbled: "Why do you say such things? My wife betrayed me and was caught by me on the spot. I divorced her and married another one. What's wrong with that?"

Clotilde was trembling with anger, and cursed fiercely: "Oh! You are so insidious and cunning, unscrupulous!" Du Roy smiled and said: "Of course, only mentally retarded and fools will be deceived! "

Clotilde continued: "I should have guessed it from the beginning. But who would have thought that you would be so shameless!"

Du Roy said with a serious face: "Please pay attention to your wording."

When Clotilde heard it, she became even more angry: "What? Do you still want me to pay attention to the way I speak at this time? Do you think I can't speak? Ever since I knew you , you have always been like a scoundrel. You deceive everyone, use everyone, and absorb wealth and happiness from them. But now, you have the face to ask me to treat you as a gentleman!"

Du Roy stood up and said with trembling lips: "Shut up! Otherwise, please get out!"

Clotilde stammered, "Get out? Get out? You...you...you want to drive me away?"

She was so angry that she couldn't speak a word.After a while, a burst of anger suddenly burst out: "Are you going to drive me away? Have you forgotten that I have rented this house from the first day! Yes, you have paid rent occasionally. But who Rented it? Me! Who kept it? . . . Me! And now you're going to drive me away. Shut up, scoundrel! You think I don't know how you got out of Ma Did Draena take half of Waldrake's inheritance? Do you think I don't know how you tried to trick Susan into it and force her to marry you?"

Du Roy grabbed her shoulders and shook her vigorously:

"Don't mention Susan, I won't allow you to say that about her."

Clotilde shouted: "You slept with her, I know."

No matter what Clotilde said, Du Roy could accept it, but this fabricated lie inevitably made him very angry.Just now she scolded him face to face, which had already made him angry, and now she maliciously slandered Susan, who was about to become his wife, Du Rova wanted to go up and punch her a few times.

He kept saying, "Shut up! Be careful! Shut up!" He shook her body as hard as one shakes a branch to shake fruit from a tree.

Clotilde's hair was fluffy, her eyes showed a fierce light, she opened her mouth and roared, "You slept with her!"

Du Roy let go and slapped her so hard that she nearly fell against the wall.Clotilde didn't show any weakness. She propped herself up with her hands, turned her head, and shouted again in anger: "You slept with her!"

Du Roy rushed up, pressed her down, and beat her like a man.

Clotilde could no longer swear.Facing Du Roy's punches and kicks, she could only moan incessantly.She didn't move, her face pressed against the wall and the floor, moaning in pain.

After a while, Du Roy stopped beating her.He stood up and took a few steps around the room, trying to calm himself down.A thought flashed through his mind.He went into the bedroom and fetched a basin of cold water, soaked his head in it, and washed his hands again.Du Roy walked back while wiping his hands, wanting to see how Clotilde was doing.

The mistress lay motionless, crying.Du Roy said angrily: "Cry! Cry! Are you finished?"

His mistress was unresponsive.

Du Roy stood in the middle of the house, facing the woman lying next to him, feeling guilty and uneasy.

Still, he made up his mind to pick up the hat on the mantelpiece, and said, "Good-bye! Give the room key to the porter when you leave, and I won't wait for you."

Du Roy walked out of the room.He said to the concierge: "Madam is still in the room, I will leave later. You tell the landlord that I will not live here after October 16st. Today is August NO.[-], and there is still some time left."

Du Roy strode out.He had to rush to prepare a gift for the bride.

The wedding is scheduled to be held on October 20th (that is, after the resumption of the parliament) in the Madeleine Church.People have been talking about their marriage, but no one knows the ins and outs of the matter.For a time, rumors spread everywhere, gossip and gossip.Some people say that the bride was kidnapped, but no one knows whether it is true or not.

The servants said that Mrs. Walter no longer wanted to speak to her future son-in-law.On the night when the marriage was negotiated, she sent her daughter to the boarding school overnight, and then committed suicide by taking poison in a fit of anger; when people found her, she was already dying, and it was almost impossible to restore her former health.Today's Mrs. Walter has white hair and looks like an old woman.At the same time, she became very religious, going to church every Sunday for mass.

At the beginning of September, Le Vie announced that Baron du Roy de Canteler had been promoted to editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and Mr. Walter continued as the manager of the newspaper.

With a lot of money, "French Life" has recruited a large number of well-known columnists, news editors, political editors, art and theater critics from major newspapers and those powerful old newspapers.

Those old and respected journalists no longer spoke of Le Vie Française with disdain.Even big writers who initially underestimated the paper have been impressed by its short-term, rapid and comprehensive success.

The marriage of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper quickly spread throughout the streets of Paris.Du Roy and Walter also became popular figures and attracted a lot of attention.All the social celebrities who frequently appeared in the newspapers expressed that they would definitely go to this grand wedding at that time.

On the day of the wedding, it was sunny and pleasant early autumn.

From eight o'clock in the morning, all the clergy of the Madeleine Church on the Royal Mile are busy laying the red carpet on the high steps.They stopped passers-by and announced that a grand wedding was about to be held here.

Young women workers, store clerks, and those rushing to work all stopped to see who went to such lengths for a wedding.

When it was almost ten o'clock, curious people began to watch.They stood for a few minutes, thinking that the wedding probably would not take place immediately, and walked away again.

At eleven o'clock, the crowd gathered more and more.In the end, there was nothing to do, and the police station had to temporarily mobilize a group of people to evacuate the pedestrians.

Soon, the first guests arrived.They sat down on the chairs at the side of the hall to grab the best seats to watch the whole ceremony.

Other guests also arrived one after another.Ladies wear skirts, while men are mostly bald.Usually on such occasions, these upper-class people will walk gracefully and look dignified.

Gradually, the hall was filled with people.Sunlight streamed through the open church doors and onto relatives and friends in the front row.

In contrast, the side of the altar seemed a bit dark.The candles on the altar gave off a dim yellow light, so weak and pale compared with the sunlight at the door.

(End of this chapter)