Chapter 8 Chapter Eight Letters from Ms. Templin

Ms. Templin put down the Paris edition of the Daily Mail and gazed thoughtfully at the waves of the Mediterranean.The golden branches of the silk tree are swaying on her head, forming a quite moving and beautiful picture.She was a blue-eyed blonde in a gorgeous pajamas.The blonde hair may be dyed, but the eyes are indeed blue.At forty-four, Templin still retains the charm of her days. But Ms. Templin was not thinking of herself now, or not quite of her own beauty.She was solving a difficult problem. Ms. Templin was a well-known figure on the Riviera.There is a lot of communication in Marquis Town.She is a woman with a lot of life experience and has had four men.The first man was just a misunderstanding, so she hated to mention him.The man was clever and quick-witted, but soon died, and the widow married the owner of a button factory.But this one also went to the underworld three years later.It was a happy night, and he died of a drunken madness after binge drinking.The third man was named Lord Templin, and he brought his wife into high society, which was her long-cherished wish.When she married for the fourth time, she kept the man's last name.The fourth husband made her enjoy the happiness of married life for the first time.Mr. Charlie Evans is a fine young man of twenty-seven, with all the charms and a fondness for many sports;

Ms. Templin was more than content with his present, though at times costly.Fortunately, the button boss left her a considerable property, but she didn't use the money to do any business.Because the bachelor, Lord Templin, was a spendthrift and spent a lot of money.She lives in a rich environment, but that alone is not enough for a woman. One morning in the first lunar month, when she read a piece of news from the newspaper, she opened her eyes wide and fell into deep thought.Beside her sat her daughter Reynolds Templin, who had become a thorn in the side of her mother.Because after she turned eighteen, she was already a competitor of her mother.Reynolds' cynical sense of humor often makes people laugh.

"Honey," said Miss Templin, "you see..." "what?" Ms. Templin pointed to the article in the newspaper which interested her so much. Reynolds glanced at the news in the newspaper, completely unmoved by his mother's excitement. "There are many such things. Many old women in some remote villages often leave millions of dollars to their loyal adopted daughters." "The number is not that great. The newspapers may not be reliable. Even half of them are enough." "But she didn't leave us any money," Reynolds said. "Of course not, my boy! But this lady, Caterina Gray, is a cousin of mine. Just imagine if it were—"

"If it's something for us..." The daughter finished her mother's words. Ms. Templin gave her daughter a hard look.Reynolds had a bad habit of telling the truth about things. "I think so," said the mother patiently, furrowing her painted eyebrows.Then Cupid came.She said, "Good morning, Cupid, my dear, are you going to play tennis now? How wonderful!" Kewpie - Ms. Templin's pet name for her husband - said, "How beautiful you look in that dress!" and disappeared hastily up the balcony ladder. "Lovely boy." Ms. Templin looked after her husband affectionately. "But what am I going to say? Yes, yes..." She remembered her plan again.

"I think……" "Tell me quickly, Mom, what are you thinking?" "Yes, boy, I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if I suggested that lovely Caterina come to my house? She must want to make her way in high society. It would be better for me to do it than anyone else." Much stronger. Good for her and good for us." "How much do you think you can squeeze out of her?" Reynolds asked. The mother looked at her daughter sternly and murmured, "Of course we need some financial expenses. Of course you know our expenses, your poor father..." "It's Kewpie now. He's a submissive plaything."

"She was a lovely girl, as I remember," said Miss Templin to herself, thinking of her own affairs. "She is quiet, simple, not beautiful, and has never pursued men." "You're saying she's not a threat to Cupid, is she?" Templin thought he was stabbing her. "Kuppy never..." "No," said Reynolds, "I don't believe it. He knows what he's marrying you for. It's money." "My dear, you always speak so rudely." "Excuse me!" Reynolds said. Ms. Templin put away the Daily Mail, the messy handbag, and other things.

"I will write to Miss Caterina at once, and remind her of those wonderful moments at Edgeworth." She went back into the room with a look of determination in her eyes. Caterina received a four-page letter the day after she arrived in London.She stuffed the letter into her handbag and went to Halffeld's lawyer and administrator of many years.The lawyer received her with paternal affection.After the pleasantries, Caterina handed him a letter from a relative of the deceased. The lawyer smiled slightly after reading the letter. "It's shameless covetousness, Miss Grey. I can assure you that, according to the law, these people have not the slightest reason to make any claim on a will."

"I think so." "How stupid people are sometimes. If I were in their place, I would count on your generosity." "I was just about to talk to you about it. I wanted to leave a sum of money to the relatives of the deceased." "You are entirely free from such obligations." "I know." "But you may have the illusion that you owe them a debt. Of course, you will receive the money. Someone may plot against you after this." "I know all this. But I decided to do it anyway. It doesn't matter to me. Besides, she is, after all, Ms. Halfeld's only relative. Without asking about her life, I still don’t want her to go back empty-handed.”

Although the lawyer tried to dissuade her, she insisted on seeing her.As she stepped out into the streets of London, she felt a sense of relief so she could plan her future with peace of mind.The first thing she does is to go to the tailor shop. She was received by a slender old woman who looked very much like a duchess.Caterina said innocently: "I am completely at your disposal. All my life I have been poor and I don't know how to dress. Now that I have money, I really want to dress better." The French seamstress was in high spirits.An hour ago a fat Argentinian woman had been fussing here, much to her annoyance.She looked at Caterina with an expert eye.

"Of course, of course, you will be pleased, madam, you have a beautiful figure. I'll pick out something plain for you, madam. You're a typical Englishman, madam. Some people think it's a mockery of them. There are no perfect people in the world.” The Duchess has become quite a capable businessman, busily going back and forth among the models, introducing all kinds of clothing to Caterina. "This is Clotilde, and this is Virginie. Quick, my little angel, here is the light gray dress, and the evening dress." It's been an interesting morning.All kinds of costumes shine in front of your eyes.The Duchess took notes in a little notebook.

"These clothes you have chosen, madam. You have a good eye, madam. They are the perfect clothes for a winter on the Riviera." "Please show me that purple pajamas," said Caterina. The pajamas were held in front of her. "This one is better than any other," said Caterina. "What do you call this dress?" "'Late Autumn'. Yes, this dress is just right for you, miss." When Caterina left the tailor shop, the words "late autumn" came to her mind again.Why is that?Why can't she get rid of this melancholy feeling? "Late autumn. This dress is just right for you, miss." Yes, the fall of her life had come.She has never experienced spring and summer, and will never return.She lost something, and no one can give her back what she lost.For ten years, she had lived a life of slavery in the village of Mary Mead, and the time of the world was passing by. "What a fool I am," said Caterina. "What on earth do I want to do? Honestly, I felt a lot more satisfied a month ago than I do now." She took out the letter she had received that morning from her handbag.It was from Ms. Templin to her.Caterina is not stupid.She understood well the meaning of the letter, and she had no illusions about the sudden kindness shown to her by Ms. Templin.Her cousin did not invite her to enjoy the blessings, but to expect something from her.Why not!For Caterina, this arrangement may be beneficial. "I accept the invitation," she said. She came to Korek Travel Agency for immediate formalities.She booked a train ticket, and at the same time she was thinking about another thing: there was a man who looked very familiar, where had she met him?Suddenly she remembered that it was in the corridor of the Savo Hotel.At that moment Caterina met him face to face.What a coincidence, I ran into him again today.She glanced back, feeling annoyed, but not knowing why.The man stood by the door and watched her.A wave of fear came over her, and she had a premonition of a tragedy... She resolutely got rid of this premonition and concentrated on going through the formalities with the travel agency staff.