Chapter 56 Chapter Fifty-Four

The armored car drove to the villa along the winding driveway lined with poplars.Sophie felt her tense muscles relax.She was relieved to be off the road.She could think of no other refuge than this fenced-in foreigner's private estate. After the car turned into the wide curved driveway, the villa caught their eyes.The house was three stories and sixty feet long, with blinding spotlights illuminating the gray stone walls.In front of the rough-looking building is a beautiful and clean garden and a sparkling pond. Lights came on in the building. Langdon didn't drive the car to the front door, but parked it in the ivy-fringed parking lot.He said: "There's no need to risk being spotted by people on the road, and there's no need to wonder if Ray is driving a battered armored car for us."

Sophie nodded, "Then what do we do with the cryptex? We can't leave it here, but if Ray sees it, he'll want to know what it is." "Don't worry," Langdon said.He jumped out of the car, took off his jacket, wrapped the box up, and wrapped the bundle of clothes carefully in his arms like a baby. Sophie looked at him worriedly: "Be careful." "Teabing never opens the door for the guests himself. He likes to let the guests go in by themselves. After entering, I will find a place to hide it before he comes to greet us." Langdon paused, and then said: " In fact, I have to warn you before you meet him: many people find his humor a little... strange." Sophie thought to herself, what could be more strange than what happened tonight?

A curved cobbled path led to a door carved with oak and cherries, with a brass knocker the size of a grape.Sophie was about to grab the knocker when the door swung open. A neatly dressed butler stood in front of them, arranging the white tie and evening coat that had just been put on.He looked to be about fifty, and his manner was elegant, but his expression was serious, and he obviously did not welcome their presence. "Mr. Ray will be down soon," he said loudly, with a heavy French accent. "He's changing. He doesn't like to greet guests in his pajamas. Shall I get your coat?" He said, frowning, looking at the clothes in Langdon's arms.

"Thank you, I'll do it myself." "Of course. This way, please." The butler led them through a luxurious marble hall and into a beautifully decorated living room, where tasseled Victorian lamps cast soft light.The air was stale—the smells of tobacco, tea, brewing wine mixed with the earthy smell of stone buildings—but regal.On the opposite wall, there was a fireplace big enough to roast a cow.The butler went to the fireplace, stooped, struck a match, and lit the oak inside.After a while, the wood "crackled" and burned. The butler stood up, adjusted his clothes, and said, "Sir, I hope you can do whatever you want." After speaking, he turned and left, leaving Sophie and Langdon alone in the room.

Sophie noticed a number of antique seats by the fireplace—a Renaissance velvet couch, a rustic eagle-claw rocking chair, and a pair of benches that seemed to have been brought from an ancient Byzantine temple—and didn't know it for a moment. where should sit. Langdon took the wooden box out of his coat and stuffed it into the velvet couch.There is no shadow of the wooden box at all from the outside.Then, he shook the jacket, put it on, straightened the collar, sat down on the sofa where the baby was hidden, and looked at Sophie with a smile. Just sit on the sofa, Sophie thought, sitting down next to Langdon.

Sophie looked at the burning flames, felt the warmth, and thought that if her grandfather was there, she would love this room.The dark wood-paneled walls are decorated with works of the Old Masters.Sophie recognized one of them as a work by Poussin, one of her grandfather's favorite painters.A plaster bust of Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, rests on the mantelpiece.Beneath the statue of the Egyptian goddess, two stone "gargoyles" that served as pyre-stands in the fireplace opened their mouths wide to reveal their menacing throats.As a child, Sophie was always terrified of gargoyles.Once, during a storm, her grandfather took her to the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral.He pointed to the monster-shaped drains with rainwater pouring out of their mouths, and said, "My little princess, look at these stupid guys, do you hear the funny noises from their mouths?" Sophie nodded, thinking They seemed to be hiccupping and couldn't help laughing."They're gargling. That's why they're called gargoyles," said grandfather. Sophie has never been afraid of gargoyles since.The fond memories made Sophie feel a pang of sadness, and the reality of her grandfather's murder was brought before her once again.Grandfather died.She thought of the cryptex under the couch, and wondered if Langdon could open it, and wondered if Sir Ray could be of help at all.Before her grandfather died, she left a message telling her to go to Robert Langdon, but she didn't say that anyone else would be involved.But we need hiding places, Sophie said to herself, determined to trust Robert's judgment.

"Mr. Robert!" growled a voice behind them. "I saw you traveling with a girl." Langdon stood up.Sophie, too, jumped up.The sound came from the spiral staircase leading to the shadowy second floor.Above the stairs, a figure moved in the shadows, only his outline visible.Langdon said, "Good evening, Mr. Ray. Allow me to introduce you to Sophie Neveu." Teabing walked towards the light and said, "It's an honor to meet you." "Thank you very much for hosting us," Sophie said.Now she could see that the man had a metal prosthetic leg and was using a cane.He can only go down one level at a time.She added: "I think it's too late to disturb you now."

"It's too early, dear. It's morning," he said, laughing. "Are you American?" Sophie shook her head and said, "Parisian." "Your English is great." "Thank you. I studied at Royal Holloway University in England." "Ah. No wonder." Teabing staggered down from the shadows. "Perhaps Robert told you that I studied at Oxford next to your school." Teabing looked at Langdon and smiled mischievously. "Of course. I applied to Harvard too. Waiting school." Teabing came downstairs.Sophie thought he was as typical a knight as Sir Elton John.He was a tall man with a ruddy complexion.He had thick red hair, and his hazel eyes blinked merrily when he spoke.He wore crisp trousers and a paisley vest over a baggy silk shirt.Despite the aluminum prosthetics strapped to his legs, he looked cheerful and cheerful.The waist is straight.Words and deeds naturally reveal a kind of aristocratic temperament.

Teabing came over, took Langdon's hand and said, "Robert, you've lost weight." Langdon smiled and said, "You're getting fat." Teabing patted his round belly and laughed happily. "Well said! My physical pleasures can only be satisfied in the kitchen these days." He turned to Sophie, took her hand tenderly, lowered his head slightly, blew on her fingers, and looked Looking at her, he said, "My lady." Sophie looked at Langdon suspiciously, wondering if she should take a step back in time, or stop where she was. At this moment the butler brought in the tea and placed it on the table by the fire.

"This is Remy Legruder," Teabing said. "My manservant." The lanky butler nodded stiffly and walked out. "Remy is from Lyons," Teabing said softly, as if referring to a terrible disease. "But he's good at making soup." Langdon was amused. "I thought you'd get a servant from England!" "My God! Never! I'll just have English cooks serving those French tax collectors." He looked up at Sophie and said, "Excuse me, Miss Neveu. Don't worry, my hatred of France is limited to politics and football." ...your government stole my money and your football team just humiliated us."

Sophie smiled slightly. Teabing stared at her for a moment, then at Langdon, and said, "Something must have happened. You all look panicked." Langdon nodded and said, "Ray, I just had a fun night." "There is no doubt. You didn't say hello, and you ran to my house in the middle of the night to talk to me about the Holy Grail. Isn't that interesting enough? Is what you want to say really related to the Holy Grail? Or do you know that it is only related to the Holy Grail? Is it something that makes me get out of bed in the middle of the night, that’s why you say that?” "Both." Sophie thought about the cryptex under the cushion. Langdon said, "Ray, we want to talk to you about the Priory." Teabing raised his bushy eyebrows curiously, and opened his eyes wide. "Keeper of the Secret? Well, it does have something to do with the Grail. You say you've brought some news. New news, Robert?" "Maybe, we're not sure. We'll make a better judgment if you give us some information first." Pointing at him, Teabing said contemptuously, "You're a very wily American. Well, let's trade one thing for another. Well, happy to serve you. What do you want to know?" Langdon sighed and said, "Would you be kind enough to explain to Miss Neveu the nature of the Holy Grail?" Teabing was dumbfounded: "She doesn't know?" Langdon shook his head. Teabing laughed, a look of obscenity appearing on his face. "Robert, you brought me a 'virgin'?" Langdon waved his hand, looked at Sophie and said, "'Virgin' is what the Grail zealots call someone who has never heard the story of the Grail." Teabing turned eagerly to Sophie and asked, "How much do you know about the Holy Grail, my dear?" Sophie briefly recounted some of what Langdon had told her earlier: from the Priory to the Templars, from the Grail Documents to the legend that the Grail held magical powers. Teabing looked at Langdon in shock and said maliciously, "That's all? I thought you were a gentleman, Robert. You didn't make her cum at all!" "I know, I think you and I might be able to use more..." Langdon obviously felt that the metaphor was going too far. Teabing had already stared at Sophie, his eyes sparkling: "Honey, you are a Holy Grail virgin. Please believe me, you will never forget your first time."