Chapter 9 Chapter nine
When Philippe and Claude returned from Paris a few days later, the intimacy that developed between me and the Count seemed never to have occurred.Claude and he often rode together, and Philip was not so fond of sitting in the saddle.Sometimes I saw them talking and laughing together from the window of the room, and I remember hearing the conversation between them the night of the dance.
Well, now that she is married to Philip, her home is in the castle, and she is the mistress—though not the count's wife.
I quickly learned her rules.The day after she came back, fifteen minutes before dinner, there was a knock on my door and I was surprised to see the maid carrying my plate.I ate in the parlor when Philip and Claude were away, and I was ready to go in my brown silks.
When the maid put the food on the little table, I asked her who had ordered her to bring it.
"Madame ordered, Polange sent Jenny to change the table, because she had already arranged a place for you. Madame said you would dine in your own room, Polange said in the kitchen how would she know? You have spoken to Mr. Earl and Jill Ms. Na Weiwei had dinner together. Well, it's all Madam's order."
I felt my eyes flashing with anger, and I had to try to hide from the maid.
I pictured them entering the dining room, and I pictured him looking around for me, surprised when he found me absent.
"And Miss Lawson?"
"I asked them to bring her plate, she can't expect to eat at our table. After all, she is not a guest, she is hired to work here."
I saw his face sink with contempt for her and concern for me. "What nonsense! Pogland, another seat, please. Go to Miss Lawson's room at once and tell her I expect her to attend dinner."
I waited, and the food on the plate gradually became cold.
It didn't happen as I hoped, without any word of mouth.
Now, if I could look back, what a fool I was!This woman was his mistress, and he married her to Philip so that she could stay in the castle without causing rumors, for he was smart enough to see that he couldn't bear any rumors, even the ones in the castle. The king still has to be careful.
As for me - I'm an eccentric British woman who puts herself into work, and it's fun to talk to once in a while when I'm sick and stuck in a castle.
I woke up in my sleep and woke up in fear because someone was in my room, right at the end of my bed. "Ma'am," said Genevieve, crawling towards me, a lit candle in her hand. "I heard taps, miss, you said to come and tell you just a few minutes ago." "What time?" "One o'clock, it woke me up, ta... ta... I was so scared, you said we had to go and see...together." I slipped my feet into my slippers and hurried on my nightgown. "I hope that's what you imagined, Genevieve." She shook her head. "Like before, ta... ta... as if someone wanted to let you know they were there." "where?" "Go to my room, I can hear it from there." I followed her through the castle to the nursery, which was in the oldest part of the castle. I said, "Did you wake Rano up?" She shook her head, "Lano can't get up when she's asleep, she said she sleeps like a dead person when she's asleep." We went into Genevieve's room and listened, and there was silence. "Wait a minute, miss," she begged, "it stops and goes on." "From which direction?" "I don't know . . . next, I think." The dungeon was right under this part of the castle, Genevieve knew, and the fact that a girl with an imagination like hers just gave her something to think about. "There will be again soon, I know it will," Genevieve said, "There, I think I hear..." We sat nervously, listening, a bird chirping in the lime tree. "That's an owl," I said. "Of course it is, you think I don't know that, there!" Then I heard, tap-tat, softly and then loudly. "Below." I said. "Miss... You said you were not afraid." "Let's go and see if we can find out what's going on." I took her candle and walked down the stairs to the floor below. Genevieve's confidence in my courage gave me that quality that I would have been uneasy walking through the castle at night like this. We got to the gun room door, stopped there to listen, and clearly we heard a sound, I don't know what it was, but I felt goosebumps on my skin.Genevieve grabbed my arm, and in the candlelight I saw her frightened eyes, and she was about to speak, but I shook my head. Then the sound came again. It came from under the dungeon. There's nothing I want to do more than turn around and go back to my room, and I'm sure Genevieve feels the same way, but she didn't expect it from me, and I can't tell her I'm scared, too.It is nothing to be bold in the daytime, but quite another to be in the dungeons of an ancient castle in the dead of night. She pointed to the winding stone staircase, grabbed my long skirt, put it in the hand that held the candle, because I needed the other hand to grab the rope railing, and I led the way down the stairs. Genevieve was behind me and suddenly staggered forward, luckily she fell on top of me and that stopped her from stumbling down the stairs, she screamed a little, then immediately put her hand over her mouth. "It's okay," she whispered, "I tripped over my nightgown." "For heaven's sake, pull it up." She nodded, and for a few seconds we stood on the spiral staircase trying to steady ourselves, my heart was beating restlessly, and I knew Genevieve was the same, and I'm sure at one point she'd say, "Let's go back, There's nothing here." I would be more than willing to obey.But some firm belief in my invincibility stopped her from speaking. It's completely quiet now, I'm leaning against the stone wall, facing the hot hand of Genevieve on my arm I can feel the coldness through my clothes, she doesn't look at me. This is ridiculous, I thought, what am I doing wandering the castle at night?What a fool I would look if the count found me!I should go back to my room now and report in the morning what I heard at night.But if I did that, Genevieve would think I was scared, and she wasn't wrong.If I don't go any further now, she'll lose the respect I have for something that I believe gives me some authority over her.If I'm going to help her conquer the evil gods that make her behave strangely, I must maintain authority. I pulled up my skirt and stepped down the stairs. After reaching the bottom floor, I pushed open the door of the dungeon decorated with iron nails.The dark hole opened before us, and the sight of it made me resist going in more than ever. "This is where the sound comes from," I whispered. "Oh... Miss... I can't go in there." "It's just the old prison." Genevieve pulled my arm hard: "Let's go back, miss." It would be foolish to walk there only by candlelight, the ground was uneven, and Genevieve's near fall on the stairs was a warning of how dangerous it was going to be!I tell myself so.But the truth is that the eerie coldness of the place made my instinct turn me back. I held up the candle and saw mold growing on the damp walls, and the darkness seemed to go on endlessly, and I could see one or two cells with huge chains that held the men and women of Terra Tyre. . I said, "Is anyone here?" My voice echoed eerily and I could feel her shaking as Genevieve pressed her body against mine.I said, "Nobody's here, Genevieve." She had been ready to accept the idea, "Let's go, miss." I said, "We'll see after daylight." "Oh, yes... yes...." She grabbed me and pulled me out.I wanted to turn around and leave this place quickly, but in those few seconds I detected a terrible hallucination.I can easily believe that somewhere in the darkness someone is watching me... luring me forward... into the darkness into some kind of destruction. "Miss... come on!" The feeling passed and I turned around.When Genevieve climbed the stairs ahead of me, my feet felt like they were made of lead, I could barely lift them, I almost thought I heard footsteps behind me.It was as if a cold hand was grabbing me back into the darkness, it was all fantasy, my throat constricted so that I could hardly breathe, my heart was so heavy in my chest, the candle shook irregularly, for a moment I fearfully thought It's going off, I don't think I'll ever get to the top of the stairs, the climb up won't take more than a minute or so, but it looks like ten minutes, I'm gasping at the top of the stairs... just outside this room is the secret dungeon. "Come on, miss," said Genevieve, her teeth chattering, "I'm cold." We climbed the stairs. "Ma'am," said Genevieve, "may I stay in your room tonight?" "of course can." "If I go back, I... I might disturb Rano." I didn't point out that Lano would never be woken; I knew she shared my fear of going to sleep alone.I lay wide awake for a long time, reminiscing every moment of my nocturnal adventure. I told myself that the fear of the unknown was inherited from our savage ancestors, what the hell am I afraid of in the dungeons?Ghosts of the past?Something subsisting in childish imaginations? But when I do fall asleep, the knocking sound haunts my dreams from time to time. I dream of a young woman trapped and dying of violence and unable to rest. She wants to come back and explain clearly to me how she died. despair!despair! I jumped up in bed when the maid brought my breakfast. Genevieve must have been up early because she was no longer in my room.
I went to the dungeon alone at noon the next day, and I tried to ask Genevieve to accompany me, but she was nowhere to be seen, because I was a little ashamed of my fear of the night before, and I wanted to explain to myself that there was nothing good there. Besides, I heard the tap that Genevieve mentioned, and I'd love to find out what it was. It was a sunny day... how different everything was in the sun, even the old steps were no longer quite dark in the light that came in through the narrow slit in the wall.It looked gloomy, of course, but nothing like the light of a small candle alone. I reached the dungeon's entrance and stood staring into the gloom.It's not easy to see even on the brightest day of the year, but after I stood and peered for a while, my eyes got used to the gloom.I could make out the outlines of several so-called prison openings, and as I stepped forward into the dungeon, the heavy door closed behind me, and I screamed uncontrollably as a dark figure approached eerily from behind Me, one hand grabs my arm. "Miss Lawson." I gasped, and the count stood behind me. "I..." I began, "you scare me." "I'm so stupid, it's so dark when the door is closed." He still didn't open the door, and I sensed that he was very close to me. "I'm wondering who's here," he said, "and I should know it's you. You're so interested in old castles, so it's only natural that you'd like to explore...and spooky places like this must be very attractive." .” He put a hand on my shoulder, and if I wanted to protest at that moment, I couldn't.I'm full of fear -- more fear because I don't know what I'm afraid of. His voice sounded close to my ear. "What do you hope to find out, Miss Lawson?" "I don't know. Genevieve heard the noise. We came down last night to look for it. I said we'd come back during the day." "So she's here too?" "She may come." he laughed. "Noise?" he said. "What noise?" "A tapping sound, Genevieve mentioned it before. She came to my room because I was interested and I said if she heard it again we would look into it." "You can guess what it is," he said. "Some red-haired borers have arranged a feast under the old castle, and we have had it before." "Oh... I see." "It happened to you too, it must. You must have had it face to face in some noble English home." "Of course, but these stone walls..." "There's a lot of wood in this place." He took his hand away from me, went to the gate, pushed it away, and now I can see better, the mysterious cave, the terrible ring, the chain... and the count, It looks pale, I thought.His expression was fuzzier than usual. "If we have some moths here, it means trouble." He scowled and shrugged. "You're going to have an inspection?" "Instantly," he said, "maybe after the grape harvest. It's going to take a while for these scoundrels to knock the place down, it was only fully inspected ten years ago, and it shouldn't be too much trouble. " "You suspect this?" I asked. "Is that why you came to check?" "No," he said, "I saw you coming down the stairs, and I followed, thinking you might have a discovery." "Discovery? What kind of discovery?" "Some covered up artwork, do you remember what you told me?" "Under here?" "One is never sure where treasure is buried, can one?" "No, I don't think so." "At the moment," he said, "we're not talking about any taps. I don't want Gettier to mention that he's going to get the specialists right away, and we'll have to wait until after the harvest, you never think, Miss Lawson, wait for you When you see it for yourself, you will know how frenzied it is when the grapes are harvested. At such times, there are no workers in the castle." "Can I tell Genevieve your answer to the tapping she heard?" "Okay, tell her. Tell her to go to bed and don't listen to it." "I will." I said. We walked up the stairs together, and, as usual with him in his company, my feelings were mixed, I felt as if I had been caught snooping, but on the other hand encouraged by talking to him again.
I explained it to Genevieve when we rode together the next day. "Moths," she cried, "what, they're as bad as ghosts." "Bullshit," I laughed, "they're tangible things that can be destroyed." "Otherwise they destroy the house, disgusting, I don't like the idea that we have moths, what are they knocking?" "They tap on the wood with their tentacles to attract a mate." That made Genevieve laugh, and we had a good time, and I saw her relieved. It was a lovely day, with intermittent torrential rain throughout the morning, and the grass and trees smelled exceptionally clear. Those grapes that have been pruned so hard that 90 percent of their fruit has been squeezed out look nice and healthy.Only the best are left so they will have room to soak up the sun, become sweet, and become true châteaux. Genevieve said suddenly, "I want you to come to dinner, miss." "Thank you, Genevieve," I said, "but I couldn't come uninvited, and in any case I'm perfectly content to dine in the room." "Papa and you often talk together." "very natural." she laughed. "I wish she hadn't come here, I don't like her, I don't think she would like me." "You mean your Aunt Claude?" "You know who I mean, and she's not my aunt." "It's more convenient to call her that." "Why? She's not much older than I am. They seem to have forgotten I'm grown up. Let's go to the Bastedt House and see what they're doing." When she talked about Claude her face showed lines of displeasure, but it changed again at the thought of going to the Bastedts.Because I was afraid of her sudden emotions, I was willing to turn Bahonni in the direction of their house. We found Ivan and Margaux in the garden, baskets in their hands, bending over to check the path ahead, singing in thin, childish voices, and yelling at each other from time to time. We tied the horses to the posts and Genevieve ran up to them and asked what they were doing. "You don't know?" she asked, at a stage in her young life when she thought people who knew nothing about what she knew were very ignorant. "Snail!" cried Genevieve. Ivan looked up at her, grinned, and held out the basket for her to see. There were a few snails in it. "We're going to have a big meal," he told her. He stood up and began to dance and sing: Cetait un petit bonhomone mron Cetait un peit bonho mone... Qui allait a Montbron... He screamed, "Look at this, he'll never get to Montblanc, come on, gentle little thing." He grinned at Genevieve, "We'll have a snail meal, and the rain will bring them out. Take A basket came to help." "Where is it?" asked Genevieve. "Oh, Jenny will give you one." Genevieve ran around the back and into the kitchen, where Jenny was preparing the bouillabaisse, and I thought how much she had changed since she came into the house. "You must come to this feast, Miss Duras," he said. "At least two more weeks," Margaux screamed. "We raised them for two weeks, and then cooked them with garlic and parsley," Ivan stroked his stomach nostalgicly, "delicious!" Then he started humming his edible snail song to himself, and Genevieve came back with the basket, and I went in and chatted with Mrs. Busted.
When the snails picked up by the children were ready to eat two weeks later, Genevieve and I were invited to the Bastille House, and their habit of creating celebrations for simple scenes was lovely, and it was all for the sake of the children.I thought that was a great idea, because Genevieve was always happier in those times, and her behavior improved when she was happy. But as we rode, we met Claudie, who seemed to be coming out of the vineyard.I saw her before she saw us, her face flushed and enchanted, and I was struck again by her beauty.Her expression changed when she saw us though. She asked where we were going and I told her we were invited to the Bastedts. As she rode on, Genevieve said: "I believe she wants to forbid us to go, she thinks she's the mistress of the place, but she's just Philip's wife and she's behaving like..." Her eyes narrowed.I thought: She is not as ignorant as we assume, she knows about this woman's relationship with her father. I didn't say anything, and rode all the way to the Busted Mansion, where Ivan and Margaux were waiting for us, shouting hello to us. It was my first time eating snails and they all laughed at my resistance.I'm sure they were delicious, but I couldn't eat them as much as the rest of the party. The children talked about snails and how they begged their patron saint to send rain to wash them out, and Genevieve listened eagerly to all their conversations.She barked as loudly as the others, and they joined in when they sang the snail song. Champier came in on the way. I seldom see him these days because he is so busy in the vineyard. He greeted me as usual, and I was a little surprised to notice Genevieve's expression when he came in. Transformed, she seemed to lose her childishness, and it was obvious to me that she was eager to hear everything he had to say. "Come, sit next to me, Champier," she yelled, and without hesitation he pulled a chair to the table and inserted it between her and Margaux. They talked about snails, and Champier sang to them in his rich tenor voice. When Genevieve looked at him, he immediately turned his attention to me. Worms, I don't care if they're snails, do snails come indoors? Do they beat with their shells?" She was desperately trying to get his attention, and she got it. "The moth is in the old castle?" he asked. "Yes, they knock. Miss and I go down at night to check, don't we? We go straight down to the dungeon, and I'm afraid, Miss, nothing will scare you, Miss, will it?" "Of course not moths," I said. "But we didn't know it was a moth until Dad told you." "The worms are in the chateau," repeated Champier. "Red hair? That will make Monsieur the Comte miserable, I swear." "I've never seen him in distress and he certainly doesn't." "Oh, miss," cried Genevieve. "Isn't it scary...under the dungeon, and all we have are candles, I'm sure someone is watching us in there, I feel it, miss, I really do." The children listened intently with wide eyes, Gina Vivi can't resist the temptation to focus the fun on her. "I heard a noise..." she went on, "I know there is a ghost down there. Someone was a prisoner and died after being imprisoned. His soul cannot rest..." I could see that she was so excited, a hysteria was rising in her, and I glanced at Champier, who nodded. "Well," he exclaimed, "who wants to dance the 'Snail March'? It's only fitting to pay tribute to them with a dance after you've had your fill. Come on, Miss Genevieve and we'll lead." Genevieve jumped up quickly, her face was flushed, her eyes were bright, she put her hand in Champier's, and she flew around the room.
We left the Bastille House at about four o'clock, and as soon as we entered the castle a maid came to me and told me that Madame Terratel wished to see me in her boudoir as soon as possible. I went straight to her without changing in my riding clothes. I knocked on the door of her bedroom and heard her deep voice ordering me to go in, so I did.There was a four-poster bed with a peacock-blue silk curtain; she was nowhere to be seen in the room with its fine furniture. I noticed an open door, and from inside she called to me: "Here, Miss Lawson." Her boudoir is a room half the size of her dormitory, which contains a large mirror, bathroom box, dressing table, chair, sofa and overly strong fragrance.She reclined herself on the sofa wrapped in a light blue silk gown, her yellow hair fell to her shoulders, I hate to admit it to myself, but she looked very beautiful and alluring. She studied one of her bare feet sticking out of her blue robe. "Oh, Miss Lawson, you have just come in. Have you been to the Busteds?" "Yes." I said. "Of course," she went on, "we do not exclude your friendship with Busted." I looked at it in confusion, and she emphasized with a smile: "Of course not, they make wine for us, and you clean up the pictures for us." "I don't see the connection." "I'm sure you can, Miss Lawson, if you think about it, I'm thinking of Genevieve, and I don't think the Earl would want her to be so called... intimate and... his servant." I was about to protest, She went on quickly, and there was an almost soft tone in her voice, as if she was trying to make it easier for me. "Maybe we protect our young girls here better than you do in the UK, we don't think it's wise to allow them to be too free with people who aren't their class, and in some cases it can get...complicated, I'm sure You understand." "Are you suggesting that I stop Genevieve from visiting the Busteds?" "And you agree that's unwise?" "I think you think too highly of me, and I'm sure I can't stop her from doing what she wants. All I can do is tell her to come to you, so you can let her know what's on your mind." "But you accompany her to meet those people, because of your influence..." "I'm sure I can't stop her, I'll tell her you want to talk to her." With these words, I leave her.
I was resting in my room that night, and I was awake in bed when the commotion happened. I heard screams of fear and anger, I put on my nightgown and went out into the hallway, I could hear someone yelling in protest, and then I heard Philip's voice. As I was standing in the doorway, wondering what to do, a maid ran past me. "What happened?" I yelled. "The snail is on the lady's bed." I went back to the room and sat down with a lot of thoughts, so this is Genevieve's answer.Her punishment was dignified enough, or so it seemed—when she planned her revenge.There will be trouble. I went to her room and tapped on the door.There was no answer, so I went in and found her lying with her back to me, pretending to be asleep. "That's useless," I said. She opened one eye and smiled at me. "Did you hear the cry, Miss." "Everyone must have heard it." "Imagine her face when she saw them." "It's not really fun, Genevieve." "Poor lady, I've always felt sorry for people who have no sense of humor." "And I'm sorry for the people who play stupid pranks and end up reaping the consequences of it, what do you think the joke will end up with?" "She will learn to mind her own business and not spy on me." "It may not end up being what you think it is." "Oh, come on, you're as bad as she is, and she's trying to keep me from seeing Champier and the others, and she can't, I tell you." "If your father forbids..." She stuck out her lower lip. "No one will forbid me to see Champier...and others." "The way to deal with this is not to play this schoolgirl snail game." "Oh, didn't you? You didn't hear her? I bet she was terrified and doing a great job." "You don't think she'll just let it go, do you?" "She can do what she likes, and I can do what I like." I could see that talking to her was useless, so I left her.But my vigilance increased, not only because of her folly, which I was sure could only do her harm, but also because of the fact that she was becoming increasingly obsessed with Champier.
I was in the gallery the next morning when Claudie came in and she was wearing a dark blue riding outfit and a blue bowler hat, under the hat her eyes were dark blue and I knew she was very angry and trying to hide it . "There was an indecent scene last night," she said, "perhaps you heard it." "I've heard some." "Genevieve's attitude is so pathetic that there is no doubt about who is with her." I raise my eyebrows. "And I think, Miss Lawson, that you have something to blame for, and you'll agree that she's been kinder to the brewer since you came." "This friendship has nothing to do with her bad attitude, they were pathetic when I came." "I am convinced that your influence is not good, Miss Lawson, and on that ground I ask you to go." "Walk?" "Yes, it's by far the best way, I want to see you pay for everything that happened to you, my husband may help you find another job, but I don't want to start any arguments, I want to see You have two hours to leave the castle." "But it's ridiculous, and I'm not done yet." "We'll find someone else." "You don't understand, I use my own method, and I can't leave this painting until it's finished." "I am the mistress here, Miss Lawson, and I ask you to go." How sure she is!Does she have reason to be so?Did she have such influence over him?Does she need to ask his help to get consent?She was well aware of these views, and she had every confidence that the Earl would deny her anything. "I am employed by the Earl," I reminded her. She pursed her lips, "Very well, you'll take orders from him." I felt a chilling dread that there must be a strong reason for the absolute certainty that perhaps she had discussed me with the count, perhaps she had asked me to go, and his eagerness to spoil her had agreed to her. wish.I tried to hide my fear as I followed her to the library. She knocked open the door and called, "Lossel!" "Claude," he said, "my dear?" He got up from his chair and was about to walk towards us when he saw me.He backed away for half a second, then he bowed his head slightly in recognition of my presence. "Lossell," she said, "I told Miss Lawson she couldn't stay, and she refused to let me dismiss her, so I brought her before you so you could tell her." "Tell her?" he asked, from that angry face to see my contemptuous face, I saw how beautiful she was at that moment, the anger added deep red to her cheeks, which accentuated the blue of her eyes, The whiteness of the tooth of the perfect shape. "Genevieve put snails on my bed, it was horrible." "My God!" he murmured breathlessly, "what pleasure does she get in such a foolish trick?" "She thinks it's funny, her attitude is chilling, and who would have thought . . . did you know that her dearest friends are the Busteds?" "I don't know," said the count. "Well, I can assure you, she goes there a lot, and she tells me she doesn't care about anybody here, and we're not as pleasant, playful, and clever as her dearest friend Champier. Yes, he Her dearest friend, though she admires the whole family, Busted! You know who they are." "The best brewer in the district," said the count. "The girl got married in a hurry not long ago." "Such haste is not so uncommon in this place, Claude, I assure you." "And this perfect Champier, he's a jolly chap...that's what I've heard. You want your daughter to act like a country girl; she'll learn in a short time, well...from an unfortunate situation Withdraw in a hurry?" "You're getting too agitated, Claude, and Genevieve won't be allowed to do anything inappropriate. But what does this have to do with Miss Lawson?" "She made the friendship, she went with Genevieve to the Bastedts, she was their important friend, it was all good because she introduced Genevieve into their circle, so I said she must Walk." "Go?" said the count, "but she hasn't finished the pictures, and besides she has mentioned the frescoes to me." She approached him, and lifted her beautiful blue eyes into his face. "Loselle," she said, "listen to me, I'm thinking of Genevieve." He looked at me instead of her. "You didn't say anything, Miss Lawson." "I regret leaving unfinished paintings." "That's incredible." "You mean...you're on her side?" Claudia asked. "I mean I don't see how Miss Lawson's going is doing Genevieve any good, but I can see how it's doing my picture a disservice." She was standing with her back to him, and for a moment I thought she was going to hit him, but instead she looked as if she was about to shed a tear, then turned and walked out of the room. "She's mad at you," I said. "To me? To you, I suppose." "To both of us." "Genevieve is behaving badly again." "Yes, I'm afraid so, and that's because she's forbidden to go to the Bastedts'." "And you took her there?" "yes." "You think that's wise?" "At one point I thought it was wise that she lacked the sociality of young people, that a girl her age should have friends, and because she didn't, she was so unreasonable...in emotions, in throwing temper tantrums, and playing these tricks." "I see. It was your idea to give her this companion?" "Yes, I have seen her happy at the Bastedts." "And you too?" "Yes, I really enjoyed their company too." "Champier had a reputation...to be too attentive to women." "Who doesn't? Courtesy is as common as grapes in this part of your country." I got reckless in his company and I felt like I had to find out how he felt about me...how they were different from how he felt about Claude, and I said, "I thought maybe it would be nice if I left , I can go, . . . in, let's say two weeks, I think by then I can finish the painting I'm working on, and that will please Mrs. Teratell, because Genevieve doesn't have much chance of riding alone. The Busted family, this matter will be perfectly arranged." "One cannot arrange one's life for perfection alone, Miss Lawson." I laughed and he laughed with me. "Now please," he said, "don't talk about leaving us." "But Madame Terratell..." "Let me deal with her." He looked at me, in this radiance, as if the mask had slipped off his face, and he might have told me he couldn't bear to lose me, no less than I couldn't bear to leave.
When I saw Genevieve again, I noticed the scowl on her lips. She told me she hated everyone...the whole world, and most of all she hated this woman who called herself Aunt Claude. "Again she forbade me to go to Bastedt House, miss, and this time papa was with her, and he said I must not go without his consent, which means absolutely not... because he would never consent." "He might, if..." "No, she'd told him no, and he did what she said. It's weird to think he'd do what anyone told him . . . but he did what she said." "I'm sure he wasn't always like that." "You don't know, miss, I sometimes think you know nothing but English and being a governess." "A governess has to know a ton of stuff at least before he can teach." "Don't try to change the subject, miss, I hate everyone in this house, and I tell you, one day I'm going to run away."
I met Champier a few days later, and I rode alone because Genevieve had been avoiding me since her outburst. He let the horse trot towards me, and his face was as happy as he used to be when he saw me. "Look at these grapes," he exclaimed, "have you ever seen one like this? Our wine this year deserves the Chateau logo on the bottle. If nothing goes wrong." He added hastily, as if comforting some god, He might hear and punish him for his arrogance. “我记得只有另一个理由让它们这么好过。”他的表情突然变了，“不过我也许看不到这次的收成了。” "what?" “迹象如此显示，伯爵先生正在找一个好手，派去门摩士葡萄园，而我是一个非常棒的人，我是这么听说的。” “离开盖拉德！但是你怎么可以这样做呢？” “很简单，只要把我自己搬到门摩士。” "impossible." “有上帝和伯爵先生在任何的事都可能，”他突然激动愤怒起来，“噢，你看不出来吗？戴拉丝，我们对伯爵先生不重要，我们是棋子被他移来移去全为了他玩的这些游戏的利益。他不想要我在这里，我们可以说……那么，好吧，我越过棋盘到另一个地方，对伯爵先生而言……我在这里是个危险人物。” “危险人物？你怎么会呢？” “一个低微的小兵怎能威胁国王去将军呢？这就是这个游戏的微妙处，我们没看到我们如何干扰了或威胁到大人心中的平静，但是只要我们一时做了，我们会被扫得远远的，你懂吗？” “他对盖柏拉很仁慈，他把她安排去圣瓦林还有贾克。” “噢，非常仁慈……”尚皮耶喃喃。 “为什么他要你走呢？” “可能有几个理由，也许是你和吉娜薇薇拜访我们。” “泰拉泰尔夫人想因此而辞退我，事实上她请求过伯爵。” “而他不听？” “他希望他的图画修复。” “不就是，你不认为吗？戴拉丝，小心，他是个危险人物。” "What do you mean?" “女人着迷于危险，他们是这么告诉我的。他的妻子，可怜的女士，非常不快乐，她不被需要，所以她走了。” “你想告诉我什么，尚皮耶？” “小心，”他说，“好好当心。”他靠近我，拿起我的手，吻它，“这对我而言很重要。”
I woke up in my sleep and woke up in fear because someone was in my room, right at the end of my bed. "Ma'am," said Genevieve, crawling towards me, a lit candle in her hand. "I heard taps, miss, you said to come and tell you just a few minutes ago." "What time?" "One o'clock, it woke me up, ta... ta... I was so scared, you said we had to go and see...together." I slipped my feet into my slippers and hurried on my nightgown. "I hope that's what you imagined, Genevieve." She shook her head. "Like before, ta... ta... as if someone wanted to let you know they were there." "where?" "Go to my room, I can hear it from there." I followed her through the castle to the nursery, which was in the oldest part of the castle. I said, "Did you wake Rano up?" She shook her head, "Lano can't get up when she's asleep, she said she sleeps like a dead person when she's asleep." We went into Genevieve's room and listened, and there was silence. "Wait a minute, miss," she begged, "it stops and goes on." "From which direction?" "I don't know . . . next, I think." The dungeon was right under this part of the castle, Genevieve knew, and the fact that a girl with an imagination like hers just gave her something to think about. "There will be again soon, I know it will," Genevieve said, "There, I think I hear..." We sat nervously, listening, a bird chirping in the lime tree. "That's an owl," I said. "Of course it is, you think I don't know that, there!" Then I heard, tap-tat, softly and then loudly. "Below." I said. "Miss... You said you were not afraid." "Let's go and see if we can find out what's going on." I took her candle and walked down the stairs to the floor below. Genevieve's confidence in my courage gave me that quality that I would have been uneasy walking through the castle at night like this. We got to the gun room door, stopped there to listen, and clearly we heard a sound, I don't know what it was, but I felt goosebumps on my skin.Genevieve grabbed my arm, and in the candlelight I saw her frightened eyes, and she was about to speak, but I shook my head. Then the sound came again. It came from under the dungeon. There's nothing I want to do more than turn around and go back to my room, and I'm sure Genevieve feels the same way, but she didn't expect it from me, and I can't tell her I'm scared, too.It is nothing to be bold in the daytime, but quite another to be in the dungeons of an ancient castle in the dead of night. She pointed to the winding stone staircase, grabbed my long skirt, put it in the hand that held the candle, because I needed the other hand to grab the rope railing, and I led the way down the stairs. Genevieve was behind me and suddenly staggered forward, luckily she fell on top of me and that stopped her from stumbling down the stairs, she screamed a little, then immediately put her hand over her mouth. "It's okay," she whispered, "I tripped over my nightgown." "For heaven's sake, pull it up." She nodded, and for a few seconds we stood on the spiral staircase trying to steady ourselves, my heart was beating restlessly, and I knew Genevieve was the same, and I'm sure at one point she'd say, "Let's go back, There's nothing here." I would be more than willing to obey.But some firm belief in my invincibility stopped her from speaking. It's completely quiet now, I'm leaning against the stone wall, facing the hot hand of Genevieve on my arm I can feel the coldness through my clothes, she doesn't look at me. This is ridiculous, I thought, what am I doing wandering the castle at night?What a fool I would look if the count found me!I should go back to my room now and report in the morning what I heard at night.But if I did that, Genevieve would think I was scared, and she wasn't wrong.If I don't go any further now, she'll lose the respect I have for something that I believe gives me some authority over her.If I'm going to help her conquer the evil gods that make her behave strangely, I must maintain authority. I pulled up my skirt and stepped down the stairs. After reaching the bottom floor, I pushed open the door of the dungeon decorated with iron nails.The dark hole opened before us, and the sight of it made me resist going in more than ever. "This is where the sound comes from," I whispered. "Oh... Miss... I can't go in there." "It's just the old prison." Genevieve pulled my arm hard: "Let's go back, miss." It would be foolish to walk there only by candlelight, the ground was uneven, and Genevieve's near fall on the stairs was a warning of how dangerous it was going to be!I tell myself so.But the truth is that the eerie coldness of the place made my instinct turn me back. I held up the candle and saw mold growing on the damp walls, and the darkness seemed to go on endlessly, and I could see one or two cells with huge chains that held the men and women of Terra Tyre. . I said, "Is anyone here?" My voice echoed eerily and I could feel her shaking as Genevieve pressed her body against mine.I said, "Nobody's here, Genevieve." She had been ready to accept the idea, "Let's go, miss." I said, "We'll see after daylight." "Oh, yes... yes...." She grabbed me and pulled me out.I wanted to turn around and leave this place quickly, but in those few seconds I detected a terrible hallucination.I can easily believe that somewhere in the darkness someone is watching me... luring me forward... into the darkness into some kind of destruction. "Miss... come on!" The feeling passed and I turned around.When Genevieve climbed the stairs ahead of me, my feet felt like they were made of lead, I could barely lift them, I almost thought I heard footsteps behind me.It was as if a cold hand was grabbing me back into the darkness, it was all fantasy, my throat constricted so that I could hardly breathe, my heart was so heavy in my chest, the candle shook irregularly, for a moment I fearfully thought It's going off, I don't think I'll ever get to the top of the stairs, the climb up won't take more than a minute or so, but it looks like ten minutes, I'm gasping at the top of the stairs... just outside this room is the secret dungeon. "Come on, miss," said Genevieve, her teeth chattering, "I'm cold." We climbed the stairs. "Ma'am," said Genevieve, "may I stay in your room tonight?" "of course can." "If I go back, I... I might disturb Rano." I didn't point out that Lano would never be woken; I knew she shared my fear of going to sleep alone.I lay wide awake for a long time, reminiscing every moment of my nocturnal adventure. I told myself that the fear of the unknown was inherited from our savage ancestors, what the hell am I afraid of in the dungeons?Ghosts of the past?Something subsisting in childish imaginations? But when I do fall asleep, the knocking sound haunts my dreams from time to time. I dream of a young woman trapped and dying of violence and unable to rest. She wants to come back and explain clearly to me how she died. despair!despair! I jumped up in bed when the maid brought my breakfast. Genevieve must have been up early because she was no longer in my room.
I went to the dungeon alone at noon the next day, and I tried to ask Genevieve to accompany me, but she was nowhere to be seen, because I was a little ashamed of my fear of the night before, and I wanted to explain to myself that there was nothing good there. Besides, I heard the tap that Genevieve mentioned, and I'd love to find out what it was. It was a sunny day... how different everything was in the sun, even the old steps were no longer quite dark in the light that came in through the narrow slit in the wall.It looked gloomy, of course, but nothing like the light of a small candle alone. I reached the dungeon's entrance and stood staring into the gloom.It's not easy to see even on the brightest day of the year, but after I stood and peered for a while, my eyes got used to the gloom.I could make out the outlines of several so-called prison openings, and as I stepped forward into the dungeon, the heavy door closed behind me, and I screamed uncontrollably as a dark figure approached eerily from behind Me, one hand grabs my arm. "Miss Lawson." I gasped, and the count stood behind me. "I..." I began, "you scare me." "I'm so stupid, it's so dark when the door is closed." He still didn't open the door, and I sensed that he was very close to me. "I'm wondering who's here," he said, "and I should know it's you. You're so interested in old castles, so it's only natural that you'd like to explore...and spooky places like this must be very attractive." .” He put a hand on my shoulder, and if I wanted to protest at that moment, I couldn't.I'm full of fear -- more fear because I don't know what I'm afraid of. His voice sounded close to my ear. "What do you hope to find out, Miss Lawson?" "I don't know. Genevieve heard the noise. We came down last night to look for it. I said we'd come back during the day." "So she's here too?" "She may come." he laughed. "Noise?" he said. "What noise?" "A tapping sound, Genevieve mentioned it before. She came to my room because I was interested and I said if she heard it again we would look into it." "You can guess what it is," he said. "Some red-haired borers have arranged a feast under the old castle, and we have had it before." "Oh... I see." "It happened to you too, it must. You must have had it face to face in some noble English home." "Of course, but these stone walls..." "There's a lot of wood in this place." He took his hand away from me, went to the gate, pushed it away, and now I can see better, the mysterious cave, the terrible ring, the chain... and the count, It looks pale, I thought.His expression was fuzzier than usual. "If we have some moths here, it means trouble." He scowled and shrugged. "You're going to have an inspection?" "Instantly," he said, "maybe after the grape harvest. It's going to take a while for these scoundrels to knock the place down, it was only fully inspected ten years ago, and it shouldn't be too much trouble. " "You suspect this?" I asked. "Is that why you came to check?" "No," he said, "I saw you coming down the stairs, and I followed, thinking you might have a discovery." "Discovery? What kind of discovery?" "Some covered up artwork, do you remember what you told me?" "Under here?" "One is never sure where treasure is buried, can one?" "No, I don't think so." "At the moment," he said, "we're not talking about any taps. I don't want Gettier to mention that he's going to get the specialists right away, and we'll have to wait until after the harvest, you never think, Miss Lawson, wait for you When you see it for yourself, you will know how frenzied it is when the grapes are harvested. At such times, there are no workers in the castle." "Can I tell Genevieve your answer to the tapping she heard?" "Okay, tell her. Tell her to go to bed and don't listen to it." "I will." I said. We walked up the stairs together, and, as usual with him in his company, my feelings were mixed, I felt as if I had been caught snooping, but on the other hand encouraged by talking to him again.
I explained it to Genevieve when we rode together the next day. "Moths," she cried, "what, they're as bad as ghosts." "Bullshit," I laughed, "they're tangible things that can be destroyed." "Otherwise they destroy the house, disgusting, I don't like the idea that we have moths, what are they knocking?" "They tap on the wood with their tentacles to attract a mate." That made Genevieve laugh, and we had a good time, and I saw her relieved. It was a lovely day, with intermittent torrential rain throughout the morning, and the grass and trees smelled exceptionally clear. Those grapes that have been pruned so hard that 90 percent of their fruit has been squeezed out look nice and healthy.Only the best are left so they will have room to soak up the sun, become sweet, and become true châteaux. Genevieve said suddenly, "I want you to come to dinner, miss." "Thank you, Genevieve," I said, "but I couldn't come uninvited, and in any case I'm perfectly content to dine in the room." "Papa and you often talk together." "very natural." she laughed. "I wish she hadn't come here, I don't like her, I don't think she would like me." "You mean your Aunt Claude?" "You know who I mean, and she's not my aunt." "It's more convenient to call her that." "Why? She's not much older than I am. They seem to have forgotten I'm grown up. Let's go to the Bastedt House and see what they're doing." When she talked about Claude her face showed lines of displeasure, but it changed again at the thought of going to the Bastedts.Because I was afraid of her sudden emotions, I was willing to turn Bahonni in the direction of their house. We found Ivan and Margaux in the garden, baskets in their hands, bending over to check the path ahead, singing in thin, childish voices, and yelling at each other from time to time. We tied the horses to the posts and Genevieve ran up to them and asked what they were doing. "You don't know?" she asked, at a stage in her young life when she thought people who knew nothing about what she knew were very ignorant. "Snail!" cried Genevieve. Ivan looked up at her, grinned, and held out the basket for her to see. There were a few snails in it. "We're going to have a big meal," he told her. He stood up and began to dance and sing: Cetait un petit bonhomone mron Cetait un peit bonho mone... Qui allait a Montbron... He screamed, "Look at this, he'll never get to Montblanc, come on, gentle little thing." He grinned at Genevieve, "We'll have a snail meal, and the rain will bring them out. Take A basket came to help." "Where is it?" asked Genevieve. "Oh, Jenny will give you one." Genevieve ran around the back and into the kitchen, where Jenny was preparing the bouillabaisse, and I thought how much she had changed since she came into the house. "You must come to this feast, Miss Duras," he said. "At least two more weeks," Margaux screamed. "We raised them for two weeks, and then cooked them with garlic and parsley," Ivan stroked his stomach nostalgicly, "delicious!" Then he started humming his edible snail song to himself, and Genevieve came back with the basket, and I went in and chatted with Mrs. Busted.
When the snails picked up by the children were ready to eat two weeks later, Genevieve and I were invited to the Bastille House, and their habit of creating celebrations for simple scenes was lovely, and it was all for the sake of the children.I thought that was a great idea, because Genevieve was always happier in those times, and her behavior improved when she was happy. But as we rode, we met Claudie, who seemed to be coming out of the vineyard.I saw her before she saw us, her face flushed and enchanted, and I was struck again by her beauty.Her expression changed when she saw us though. She asked where we were going and I told her we were invited to the Bastedts. As she rode on, Genevieve said: "I believe she wants to forbid us to go, she thinks she's the mistress of the place, but she's just Philip's wife and she's behaving like..." Her eyes narrowed.I thought: She is not as ignorant as we assume, she knows about this woman's relationship with her father. I didn't say anything, and rode all the way to the Busted Mansion, where Ivan and Margaux were waiting for us, shouting hello to us. It was my first time eating snails and they all laughed at my resistance.I'm sure they were delicious, but I couldn't eat them as much as the rest of the party. The children talked about snails and how they begged their patron saint to send rain to wash them out, and Genevieve listened eagerly to all their conversations.She barked as loudly as the others, and they joined in when they sang the snail song. Champier came in on the way. I seldom see him these days because he is so busy in the vineyard. He greeted me as usual, and I was a little surprised to notice Genevieve's expression when he came in. Transformed, she seemed to lose her childishness, and it was obvious to me that she was eager to hear everything he had to say. "Come, sit next to me, Champier," she yelled, and without hesitation he pulled a chair to the table and inserted it between her and Margaux. They talked about snails, and Champier sang to them in his rich tenor voice. When Genevieve looked at him, he immediately turned his attention to me. Worms, I don't care if they're snails, do snails come indoors? Do they beat with their shells?" She was desperately trying to get his attention, and she got it. "The moth is in the old castle?" he asked. "Yes, they knock. Miss and I go down at night to check, don't we? We go straight down to the dungeon, and I'm afraid, Miss, nothing will scare you, Miss, will it?" "Of course not moths," I said. "But we didn't know it was a moth until Dad told you." "The worms are in the chateau," repeated Champier. "Red hair? That will make Monsieur the Comte miserable, I swear." "I've never seen him in distress and he certainly doesn't." "Oh, miss," cried Genevieve. "Isn't it scary...under the dungeon, and all we have are candles, I'm sure someone is watching us in there, I feel it, miss, I really do." The children listened intently with wide eyes, Gina Vivi can't resist the temptation to focus the fun on her. "I heard a noise..." she went on, "I know there is a ghost down there. Someone was a prisoner and died after being imprisoned. His soul cannot rest..." I could see that she was so excited, a hysteria was rising in her, and I glanced at Champier, who nodded. "Well," he exclaimed, "who wants to dance the 'Snail March'? It's only fitting to pay tribute to them with a dance after you've had your fill. Come on, Miss Genevieve and we'll lead." Genevieve jumped up quickly, her face was flushed, her eyes were bright, she put her hand in Champier's, and she flew around the room.
We left the Bastille House at about four o'clock, and as soon as we entered the castle a maid came to me and told me that Madame Terratel wished to see me in her boudoir as soon as possible. I went straight to her without changing in my riding clothes. I knocked on the door of her bedroom and heard her deep voice ordering me to go in, so I did.There was a four-poster bed with a peacock-blue silk curtain; she was nowhere to be seen in the room with its fine furniture. I noticed an open door, and from inside she called to me: "Here, Miss Lawson." Her boudoir is a room half the size of her dormitory, which contains a large mirror, bathroom box, dressing table, chair, sofa and overly strong fragrance.She reclined herself on the sofa wrapped in a light blue silk gown, her yellow hair fell to her shoulders, I hate to admit it to myself, but she looked very beautiful and alluring. She studied one of her bare feet sticking out of her blue robe. "Oh, Miss Lawson, you have just come in. Have you been to the Busteds?" "Yes." I said. "Of course," she went on, "we do not exclude your friendship with Busted." I looked at it in confusion, and she emphasized with a smile: "Of course not, they make wine for us, and you clean up the pictures for us." "I don't see the connection." "I'm sure you can, Miss Lawson, if you think about it, I'm thinking of Genevieve, and I don't think the Earl would want her to be so called... intimate and... his servant." I was about to protest, She went on quickly, and there was an almost soft tone in her voice, as if she was trying to make it easier for me. "Maybe we protect our young girls here better than you do in the UK, we don't think it's wise to allow them to be too free with people who aren't their class, and in some cases it can get...complicated, I'm sure You understand." "Are you suggesting that I stop Genevieve from visiting the Busteds?" "And you agree that's unwise?" "I think you think too highly of me, and I'm sure I can't stop her from doing what she wants. All I can do is tell her to come to you, so you can let her know what's on your mind." "But you accompany her to meet those people, because of your influence..." "I'm sure I can't stop her, I'll tell her you want to talk to her." With these words, I leave her.
I was resting in my room that night, and I was awake in bed when the commotion happened. I heard screams of fear and anger, I put on my nightgown and went out into the hallway, I could hear someone yelling in protest, and then I heard Philip's voice. As I was standing in the doorway, wondering what to do, a maid ran past me. "What happened?" I yelled. "The snail is on the lady's bed." I went back to the room and sat down with a lot of thoughts, so this is Genevieve's answer.Her punishment was dignified enough, or so it seemed—when she planned her revenge.There will be trouble. I went to her room and tapped on the door.There was no answer, so I went in and found her lying with her back to me, pretending to be asleep. "That's useless," I said. She opened one eye and smiled at me. "Did you hear the cry, Miss." "Everyone must have heard it." "Imagine her face when she saw them." "It's not really fun, Genevieve." "Poor lady, I've always felt sorry for people who have no sense of humor." "And I'm sorry for the people who play stupid pranks and end up reaping the consequences of it, what do you think the joke will end up with?" "She will learn to mind her own business and not spy on me." "It may not end up being what you think it is." "Oh, come on, you're as bad as she is, and she's trying to keep me from seeing Champier and the others, and she can't, I tell you." "If your father forbids..." She stuck out her lower lip. "No one will forbid me to see Champier...and others." "The way to deal with this is not to play this schoolgirl snail game." "Oh, didn't you? You didn't hear her? I bet she was terrified and doing a great job." "You don't think she'll just let it go, do you?" "She can do what she likes, and I can do what I like." I could see that talking to her was useless, so I left her.But my vigilance increased, not only because of her folly, which I was sure could only do her harm, but also because of the fact that she was becoming increasingly obsessed with Champier.
I was in the gallery the next morning when Claudie came in and she was wearing a dark blue riding outfit and a blue bowler hat, under the hat her eyes were dark blue and I knew she was very angry and trying to hide it . "There was an indecent scene last night," she said, "perhaps you heard it." "I've heard some." "Genevieve's attitude is so pathetic that there is no doubt about who is with her." I raise my eyebrows. "And I think, Miss Lawson, that you have something to blame for, and you'll agree that she's been kinder to the brewer since you came." "This friendship has nothing to do with her bad attitude, they were pathetic when I came." "I am convinced that your influence is not good, Miss Lawson, and on that ground I ask you to go." "Walk?" "Yes, it's by far the best way, I want to see you pay for everything that happened to you, my husband may help you find another job, but I don't want to start any arguments, I want to see You have two hours to leave the castle." "But it's ridiculous, and I'm not done yet." "We'll find someone else." "You don't understand, I use my own method, and I can't leave this painting until it's finished." "I am the mistress here, Miss Lawson, and I ask you to go." How sure she is!Does she have reason to be so?Did she have such influence over him?Does she need to ask his help to get consent?She was well aware of these views, and she had every confidence that the Earl would deny her anything. "I am employed by the Earl," I reminded her. She pursed her lips, "Very well, you'll take orders from him." I felt a chilling dread that there must be a strong reason for the absolute certainty that perhaps she had discussed me with the count, perhaps she had asked me to go, and his eagerness to spoil her had agreed to her. wish.I tried to hide my fear as I followed her to the library. She knocked open the door and called, "Lossel!" "Claude," he said, "my dear?" He got up from his chair and was about to walk towards us when he saw me.He backed away for half a second, then he bowed his head slightly in recognition of my presence. "Lossell," she said, "I told Miss Lawson she couldn't stay, and she refused to let me dismiss her, so I brought her before you so you could tell her." "Tell her?" he asked, from that angry face to see my contemptuous face, I saw how beautiful she was at that moment, the anger added deep red to her cheeks, which accentuated the blue of her eyes, The whiteness of the tooth of the perfect shape. "Genevieve put snails on my bed, it was horrible." "My God!" he murmured breathlessly, "what pleasure does she get in such a foolish trick?" "She thinks it's funny, her attitude is chilling, and who would have thought . . . did you know that her dearest friends are the Busteds?" "I don't know," said the count. "Well, I can assure you, she goes there a lot, and she tells me she doesn't care about anybody here, and we're not as pleasant, playful, and clever as her dearest friend Champier. Yes, he Her dearest friend, though she admires the whole family, Busted! You know who they are." "The best brewer in the district," said the count. "The girl got married in a hurry not long ago." "Such haste is not so uncommon in this place, Claude, I assure you." "And this perfect Champier, he's a jolly chap...that's what I've heard. You want your daughter to act like a country girl; she'll learn in a short time, well...from an unfortunate situation Withdraw in a hurry?" "You're getting too agitated, Claude, and Genevieve won't be allowed to do anything inappropriate. But what does this have to do with Miss Lawson?" "She made the friendship, she went with Genevieve to the Bastedts, she was their important friend, it was all good because she introduced Genevieve into their circle, so I said she must Walk." "Go?" said the count, "but she hasn't finished the pictures, and besides she has mentioned the frescoes to me." She approached him, and lifted her beautiful blue eyes into his face. "Loselle," she said, "listen to me, I'm thinking of Genevieve." He looked at me instead of her. "You didn't say anything, Miss Lawson." "I regret leaving unfinished paintings." "That's incredible." "You mean...you're on her side?" Claudia asked. "I mean I don't see how Miss Lawson's going is doing Genevieve any good, but I can see how it's doing my picture a disservice." She was standing with her back to him, and for a moment I thought she was going to hit him, but instead she looked as if she was about to shed a tear, then turned and walked out of the room. "She's mad at you," I said. "To me? To you, I suppose." "To both of us." "Genevieve is behaving badly again." "Yes, I'm afraid so, and that's because she's forbidden to go to the Bastedts'." "And you took her there?" "yes." "You think that's wise?" "At one point I thought it was wise that she lacked the sociality of young people, that a girl her age should have friends, and because she didn't, she was so unreasonable...in emotions, in throwing temper tantrums, and playing these tricks." "I see. It was your idea to give her this companion?" "Yes, I have seen her happy at the Bastedts." "And you too?" "Yes, I really enjoyed their company too." "Champier had a reputation...to be too attentive to women." "Who doesn't? Courtesy is as common as grapes in this part of your country." I got reckless in his company and I felt like I had to find out how he felt about me...how they were different from how he felt about Claude, and I said, "I thought maybe it would be nice if I left , I can go, . . . in, let's say two weeks, I think by then I can finish the painting I'm working on, and that will please Mrs. Teratell, because Genevieve doesn't have much chance of riding alone. The Busted family, this matter will be perfectly arranged." "One cannot arrange one's life for perfection alone, Miss Lawson." I laughed and he laughed with me. "Now please," he said, "don't talk about leaving us." "But Madame Terratell..." "Let me deal with her." He looked at me, in this radiance, as if the mask had slipped off his face, and he might have told me he couldn't bear to lose me, no less than I couldn't bear to leave.
When I saw Genevieve again, I noticed the scowl on her lips. She told me she hated everyone...the whole world, and most of all she hated this woman who called herself Aunt Claude. "Again she forbade me to go to Bastedt House, miss, and this time papa was with her, and he said I must not go without his consent, which means absolutely not... because he would never consent." "He might, if..." "No, she'd told him no, and he did what she said. It's weird to think he'd do what anyone told him . . . but he did what she said." "I'm sure he wasn't always like that." "You don't know, miss, I sometimes think you know nothing but English and being a governess." "A governess has to know a ton of stuff at least before he can teach." "Don't try to change the subject, miss, I hate everyone in this house, and I tell you, one day I'm going to run away."
I met Champier a few days later, and I rode alone because Genevieve had been avoiding me since her outburst. He let the horse trot towards me, and his face was as happy as he used to be when he saw me. "Look at these grapes," he exclaimed, "have you ever seen one like this? Our wine this year deserves the Chateau logo on the bottle. If nothing goes wrong." He added hastily, as if comforting some god, He might hear and punish him for his arrogance. “我记得只有另一个理由让它们这么好过。”他的表情突然变了，“不过我也许看不到这次的收成了。” "what?" “迹象如此显示，伯爵先生正在找一个好手，派去门摩士葡萄园，而我是一个非常棒的人，我是这么听说的。” “离开盖拉德！但是你怎么可以这样做呢？” “很简单，只要把我自己搬到门摩士。” "impossible." “有上帝和伯爵先生在任何的事都可能，”他突然激动愤怒起来，“噢，你看不出来吗？戴拉丝，我们对伯爵先生不重要，我们是棋子被他移来移去全为了他玩的这些游戏的利益。他不想要我在这里，我们可以说……那么，好吧，我越过棋盘到另一个地方，对伯爵先生而言……我在这里是个危险人物。” “危险人物？你怎么会呢？” “一个低微的小兵怎能威胁国王去将军呢？这就是这个游戏的微妙处，我们没看到我们如何干扰了或威胁到大人心中的平静，但是只要我们一时做了，我们会被扫得远远的，你懂吗？” “他对盖柏拉很仁慈，他把她安排去圣瓦林还有贾克。” “噢，非常仁慈……”尚皮耶喃喃。 “为什么他要你走呢？” “可能有几个理由，也许是你和吉娜薇薇拜访我们。” “泰拉泰尔夫人想因此而辞退我，事实上她请求过伯爵。” “而他不听？” “他希望他的图画修复。” “不就是，你不认为吗？戴拉丝，小心，他是个危险人物。” "What do you mean?" “女人着迷于危险，他们是这么告诉我的。他的妻子，可怜的女士，非常不快乐，她不被需要，所以她走了。” “你想告诉我什么，尚皮耶？” “小心，”他说，“好好当心。”他靠近我，拿起我的手，吻它，“这对我而言很重要。”