Chapter 7 Chapter VII

Yes, he hates me!I knew it from the beginning. When I came out of the interrogation room, I thought I must have done something stupid.I would agree to such an extremely rude request, but I had no other choice. Sergeant Belken looked at me in the hallway with extremely dark eyes, smoking a cigarette.When I walked by his side, the choking smell almost suffocated me. Fortunately, Major Portman is a very trustworthy person, and I met Marisa an hour later. She was sitting in the spacious and cold reception room, the poor girl was obviously frightened, her flaxen hair was messy, her face was pale, there were one or two scratches on her hands, her eyes were almost red when she saw me .

"God bless, I finally met you, Chart." She took my hand tightly and looked at me. "My God, your head...are you hurt?" I brushed my hair on the forehead to cover the opening: "I touched it, it's nothing! I'm fine, don't worry!" But she looked at it carefully before she was relieved: "I hoped you were okay when I was arrested with Joseph, but I never thought... have they interrogated you? I heard that some people were taken to the interrogation room! " "Well," I smiled and patted her hand, "just asking, I told them we are innocent and we were misunderstood!"

"So... what about Joseph?" "He's still a kid." Marisa bit her lip: "Those guys don't care about this, I'm worried that his temper will cause him big trouble! This irritable little thing! The guard said that this time the incident was a big one, and the Germans wanted to make an example of it!" " "No, we'll be fine!" I glanced at the guard in the corner, and lowered my voice to comfort her, "Do you know who is interrogating me? We all know each other, Major Portman, he promised to help, maybe we can get out on bail Woolen cloth!"

Marisa looked at me in surprise, and I felt her hand tighten suddenly: "It's him! He...how could...did he make things difficult for you?" "It's just a small price to pay? No one doesn't like money!" I said in a nonchalant tone, "So don't think too much, I'll get this done right away, you, Joseph and me, the three of us We'll be out soon!" "But, Shalt" she looked at me in panic, "is it really that easy? Don't hide it from me—" "Marisa, Marisa," I pretended to be helpless, "would I be so hateful that I would lie to you even at such a time?"

She didn't speak, just put her face on the back of my hand, and I kissed her forehead lightly. I'm sorry honey, I just don't want to worry you. Pierre and Simon came quickly after my call, bringing lawyer Deja with them.They met with me and started negotiating with the police station and the German army. With the help of Major Portman, the matter was really easier. He had a rough talk with them in the office alone and asked me to go through the formalities, but when I saw that there was only one Chartre de Nodois on the form When I heard the name, I still couldn't help shouting out:

"What's the matter, Mr. Major? Didn't you say that my fiancée and her brother can also be released on bail?" "My dear Earl." He frowned displeasedly. "Please calm down. Do you think I can let three prisoners go at once without being discovered? There must be a limit to the abuse of power." I suppressed my heavy breathing and avoided his cold gaze.I will never be at ease without seeing Marisa leave here.God knows what will happen during this time? I held the pen, my face was cloudy and cloudy, and I didn't move for a long time. Simon patted me on the shoulder anxiously, and said in a low voice, "Don't be stupid, Shalt, at least you can think of something more if you can go out."

I gritted my teeth and signed my name on the paper with terrible strength. The blond-haired SS smiled and took a look, then nodded at me: "You don't have to doubt, Lord Earl, I will abide by the agreement." I snorted through my nose and strode out of the place - I'd be disgusted to look at him again! "Should you ask a gypsy for fortune-telling or exorcism recently?" Simon frowned and said to me while sitting in the car that had finally gotten gasoline, "Could it be that life was so smooth before that troubles were all gone?" It has been concentrated in the past few months."

I touched the scab on my forehead, and only smiled bitterly: "Thank God, he let me know that I am an ordinary person, and I have to be careful at all times." "Are you worried about Marisa?" He handed me a clean overcoat, "Can you trust that major?" "Just trust him." I took off my dirty clothes, "He promised to find a way, and it may have to wait a few days." "How did you settle him?" "Give me the money, and use the francs like waste paper! Don't they all eat this pack of wolves?" I dare not tell the truth, otherwise Simon will give me a few angry, besides Pierre and De Lawyers are all around.

Probably seeing that I was too tired, he shrugged and turned around: "No matter what, it's good to get one out, and you can slowly figure out what to do next. Now all you have to do is go back and take a shower, sleep Last night, maybe Marisa and the others will be back tomorrow morning." In fact, I was very worried whether Major Portman would renege on his promise. After all, his "agreement" with me was too weird, and it made people feel unreliable anyway, but I couldn't find a reason to make him break the contract.It doesn't matter if he wants to tease me or humiliate me, it's up to him, as long as Marisa is safe.

In such a mood, I spent an uneasy night. Early the next morning, I hurriedly washed and went downstairs to call Miss Doriot. Our business put her poor nerves to the test again. The weather has not been very good these two days. When I asked her if any Germans had called, she even showed a look of fainting. "My God, Monsieur Count, do you still expect them to come? It's terrible enough!" "I'm just worried about Marisa, she and Joseph haven't been released yet!" "Oh, God bless them. Didn't you say there was hope?" "Yes," I smiled wryly, "I've made an appointment with Lawyer Deya and Pierre, and when they come, tell me that I'm in the piano room."

"OK." In fact, I didn't have the mind to do anything at this time, but when my fingers touch the keyboard, I can still calm down the disordered heartbeat a little.I promised Marisa that I would write a piece for our wedding, she would be very happy if this would be her first gift home, in G minor... The notes gushed out from my fingers like an underground spring. Although it was intermittent, it gradually began to converge into a stream. I should learn to be patient and wait from it. "Can worry and longing also become the seasoning of love under certain circumstances, Earl?" A deep voice suddenly came from the door, the stream was cut off, and I raised my head stiffly. The guy with the dazzling blond hair stood there at some point, looking at me mockingly. My face must be ugly: "You...how..." "Why am I here?" He patted the hat in his hand, "Of course I came to see you." "Where's Miss Doriot?" "Oh, the old lady? She seemed frightened by my visit, so I told her I could come up by myself." I can imagine Miss Doriot's face when she sees an SS man standing in the doorway. I put down my hands from the keyboard coldly, turned my head to the side: "What are you doing here?" "Don't treat your guests like that, Count, we should be somewhat connected by now, shouldn't we?" He sat down in the chair by the piano; it was Marisa's usual seat. My mood became uncontrollably bad: "Then I don't want to have any more contact; if you have anything to say, just say it." Wearing a leather glove, he pressed the key of C DO, seemed to think about it, and said slowly: "Starting tomorrow, there will be new people participating in the trial of the 'November 1st Parade' incident Come on, those guys are from the Gestapo, headquarters." The blood seemed to freeze, and I knew what his words meant. "And you?" "Of course we have to give up some power." I suddenly jumped up and grabbed his collar tightly like a leopard: "You said you would save her! You promised me!" His straight eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his blue eyes just looked at me without moving.My shortness of breath slowly recovered, and then I found myself losing control more and more in frustration. "You still have a way, right?" Otherwise he wouldn't come to me again. "Yes, but the price has to go up." "Say it." He arranged his appearance elegantly and carefully, and put his hat on the piano: "Play a piece of music for me, um, just "Moonlight"." "Can you change it?" This is Marisa's favorite. "No, I just like it." What this man was doing baffled me more and more: I looked into his eyes, and there was absolutely no teasing in that.He just looked at me intently, as if silently asking me to start playing.The brilliant blond hair is so gorgeously covered on the perfectly shaped head, it is really dazzling.At this moment, I suddenly had a strange feeling—— Perhaps my understanding of him was biased from the very beginning. If I hadn't so strongly and paranoidly identified him as a heinous guy, then perhaps I could have discovered more things close to ordinary people from him. I didn't say anything, just let my fingers slide on the keyboard silently. The music really had a magical effect, and I could feel the tense atmosphere just now gradually dissipating.Major Portman leaned against the piano very quietly, as if asleep.When the last note condensed in the air, I looked up and found that his face turned out to be an unusually gentle expression. But this expression was immediately replaced by a deliberately fake smile, he clapped silently, put on his hat and stood up. "It's wonderful, my lord. If you have nothing one day, you can still find a job in a bar with this skill." I don't know why, but today I didn't respond to his sarcasm with my usual retort. He also seemed to find it strange, turned his head to look at me and walked towards the door, and then smiled at me from under the brim of his hat as if remembering something: "Please don't worry, I will work hard for today's "Moonlight". " Lawyer Deya is a lovely old man who has been responsible for all legal affairs for me since the day I entered the society. He is my father's friend, a kind elder, and has a shrewd hand.He and Pierre came here around ten o'clock to discuss with me about Marisa's bail. I told him every detail of the whole thing, down to the news from Major Portman this morning. "This person is really strange," I raised my own doubts while holding a cup of warm black tea, "He seems to hate me, but he gives me hope from time to time, making me feel that I should not lose any opportunity .I think he must want something from me, but he won't say it until the last moment." "The current situation looks like this, Schalte." The gray-haired lawyer straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose, "I went to check this Major Rostock von Portman, according to his surname, he should be a famous German Noble, because General Portman of the Army Staff seems to be his father and a hereditary Marquis. He joined the SS when he was 20 years old, and it took only four years from an ordinary soldier to the current major .” So that arrogant guy is five years younger than me!A serious sense of frustration came over me. "Although the power of the traditional aristocratic group in the German Army has plummeted after 1938, it is still no problem to take care of a well-known noble descendant." I think I know why he was able to go to the generals' balls when he was a little captain, and where his "nice talk" came from.But why is he still saying those things in the interrogation room, what is "when I was seventeen, I just wanted to live", who did he lie to? If it is true, as Lawyer Deya said, he did not climb to this position from a commoner, then money is probably not what he cares about the most. What is he thinking? "Master Earl, what should we do now?" Pierre obviously had no interest in the major's background, "I called the police station today to inquire about the situation in the detention center, but he told me that everything is now kept secret. " "As long as the Gestapo is around, there will be no easy things!" Lawyer Deya snapped his thumb habitually, "Shalt, the ultimate goal of the major is not important now; because this matter cannot be delayed for too long, I heard from my friends that once the Germans convict the arrested person, there are only two options: either put them on a train and transport them to a concentration camp, or shoot them secretly in prison.” My heart was clenched tightly: "Are you sure?" "Well, it was someone from the upper echelons of the security team who leaked it." Marisa!I can't imagine what would happen to me if this happened to her! "But what should I do now? The bail application was rejected, and I can't even enter the detention center without a special relationship!" Lawyer Deja snapped his thumbs, and I was upset to hear: "Thankfully, we all had a chance before the trial was over, because the Germans did not give up the idea of ​​establishing France as a 'peaceful' occupied zone. Europe sets an example to let others know that they still talk about 'order', so they will spend some time pretending, don't be too impatient now, contact the major more often, after all, he can play a more practical role .Wait for news from him. That's the most important thing. Oh, Mr. Mabeverey and Mr. Luchel are working on this too, so you should be optimistic." "Really?" I wanted to smile, but the next moment I trembled and overturned the black tea. The cup fell on the carpet and rolled under the sofa. If I were to take the initiative to approach that person, I would have a feeling similar to being forced to sleep with Mrs. Manet, but if the premise was for Marisa's safety, I would do it very willingly, even smoking some marijuana for myself. Fortunately, things are not as difficult as I imagined, because Colonel Portman has been visiting from time to time since he came to listen to "Moonlight" that morning, and sometimes brought some small gifts for me, Miss Dorio, and even Andre, Just like a neighbor who comes to visit.He always asked me to play that piece to him first, and then sat on the chair next to the piano and chatted with me. Most of the time he came to tell me about the new developments in the interrogation and the situation of Marisa in the detention center. But sometimes it's really just a chat.When the fangs are put away, I have to admit that there is a pleasant element in his language; The words did not fall. Simon and Lafont's reaction to this was as if they had seen the Arabian Nights in reality.But they can understand the reason, especially Simon, who told me to be more careful, and then reminded me not to forget the identity of this person.Gradually, however, Miss Doriot overcame her fear of the Germans, and even Andrei began to let his guard down. This situation continued for a week. He came again at the weekend, but this time in casual clothes, a black suit that fitted him perfectly and looked great. He took off his cap and sat in a chair, looking at me with bright blue eyes. "You don't want to listen to "Moonlight", Major Portman?" I thought his expression was a little strange, as if he was planning something. "Kiss me, Monsieur Count." "What are you kidding?" I frowned. "Next Wednesday—no, maybe Monday, you can go to the jail with your money and bail your fiancée and her brainless brother." I stood up from the piano bench at once. "It's true, their trial is over and they have not been convicted. Now they can come out after paying the fine and bail." He tapped his finger on the smooth handrail, "I said I would work hard, now you Do you believe it?" A tide of joy surged up from the bottom of my heart, as if all the light from heaven suddenly shone on the earth, and even the blond bastard in front of me had grown wings. "Great, great!" I grabbed his hand and laughed, "Of course I believe in you, I know you must have a way...God, I'm going to tell Miss Doriot right away, Simon... yes Yes, I'm going now..." I just want to yell and want to let the whole world know the good news! However, a powerful hand held my body that was rushing out in the next moment. "Don't worry, Mr. Earl, you will not forget our agreement?" I looked back at him, and there was some heat on my cheeks—he still remembered that. During this period of time, I almost thought that this so-called "agreement" was just a joke, and he just wanted to extract something special. Now it looks good. It doesn't seem to be the case. "Mr. Major, but, but..." I suddenly started to stutter. "You don't want to break your promise, count?" His eyes were fixed on mine. "No, it's not." It's very easy for him to turn his face now, and I can't tell him to get out immediately. "That's all right..." He stood up, with a breathless smile on his sculpture-like face, and stretched out his other hand to climb my waist. My heart beat wildly, and I took a step back subconsciously, but immediately felt the strength on my waist increase: "Don't be afraid, Shaerte, my skills are very good..." The fiery breath brushed the skin on the face, the lips with perfect lines slowly approached, I felt like I was about to suffocate—— "Wait!" I turned my head abruptly, and something soft brushed against my ears. Major Portman clenched his chin and turned my head around, his tone became a little cold: "My lord, what do you mean?" "I want...I want to meet Marisa first!" I tried to show a calm expression. He let go, looking at me thoughtfully. I suddenly felt a little scared. If he was really angry with my behavior just now, then the previous forbearance would be in vain. But in the end he didn't say anything, just put his hands on his chest and nodded: "Okay, no problem." Maybe I was just trying to avoid the unbearable embarrassment, so I made this request out of desperation, but I didn't expect that weird SS soldier to agree. So I saw Marisa again. The poor girl was thinner, her flaxen hair dull, her cheekbones more prominent, her blue eyes glowing with a familiar gleam only when she saw me. "Chart!" She gripped my hand tightly. "Finally seeing you! My God, I thought I'd—" "Shh—" I interrupted her, "don't say anything I don't like to hear!" She nodded with tears in her eyes. "Don't worry, honey," I whispered in her ear, "Major Portman has already said that you and Joseph can get out of this damn place next week! Hold on!" "Of course, I will." She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, "I will wait patiently! Do you know how I have been here these days?" "Huh?" I noticed that she was trying to smile, so I made the most cooperative expression. "I'm thinking about you, every day! I said to myself: I can suffer any hardship, because I still have to be your bride!" "Yes, the most beautiful bride." I kissed her deeply, ignoring the obtrusive prison guard beside me. She told me she was still worried about Major Portman, and that she didn't believe him as much as I did: "I don't think the money will pay the man, Schalte, that's not what he wants!" "As long as it allows you to come out, no conditions matter." I decided not to tell her about our deal no matter what. "Be careful, Shaerte, I always feel very uneasy." Every time that man is mentioned, my innocent fiancee will show an expression that I can't understand, "You have to be careful, I know him to you……" She hesitated suddenly and swallowed the following words. "what?" "No, no, it's nothing." She squeezed out a gentle smile and squeezed my hand harder, "You just need to remember that I love you and love you forever, that's enough." "Of course, so do I." I looked at her beautiful silhouette over and over until the face was etched in my mind.