Chapter 28 Chapter 27 Amy Belden

I talked to him for an hour and never met a happier person, almost ecstatic. I have a client who lives in town R and his name is Monell.I'm going to learn from him the strategy for approaching Ms. Belden.I was very lucky to meet him almost as soon as I arrived in R town, and I took his horse Alfredra's carriage on the road. There are good signs. "How? Is everything going well today?" After some politeness, he said to me.Now we are hurrying towards the city. "You're fine with that part," I replied. I thought to myself that he had to be satisfied with his part before it was possible to turn his attention to mine.I reported to him the progress of the lawsuit.Because this topic covers a wide range of aspects, we walked around town R twice before he remembered that there was a letter to send.As the letter was of such importance that there was no room for delay, we went at once to the post office.He went into the post office, and I was outside watching the small crowd of people coming and going, and they all met friends in front of the post office.Among these people, I accidentally noticed a middle-aged woman.Why I noticed her so much, I can't say, there is nothing special about her appearance.However, when she came out of the post office, she was holding two letters, one large and one small, which she immediately hid under the shawl as soon as she saw me.This made me curious, wanting to know the content of those two letters, also wanting to know her identity, and even more wanting to know why a stranger just glanced at her and made her act suspiciously unconsciously.But Monell just came back at this moment and diverted my attention, and the conversation became so lively that I soon forgot about the woman and the two letters.At last I was determined not to let the conversation go back to the endless lawsuit I had just been talking about, so I took the opportunity to speak to him.

"By the way, it occurred to me that I need to ask you something. Do you know a woman named Belden here?" "Is it a widow?" "I don't know. Is her name Amy?" "Yes, Amy Belden." "Yes, that's her. Are you familiar with her?" "I don't see how you'd be interested in her. She's the respected widow of a cabinetmaker in this town, and lives in a little house down the street. If there's an old bum with nowhere to sleep , or poor families unable to take care of their children, she will lend a helping hand." "You say she's well-liked. Does she have any relatives?"

"No, she lives by herself. I believe she has a little income, though she is not rich, and spends her days knitting or doing good deeds. She has a good heart, and has something to do in this small town. What do you think?" will ask this?" "Business," I said, "purely business. Mrs. Belden—by the way, please don't mention it to anyone—she's connected with one of my cases, so I'm a little curious about her. But I'm not satisfied with the way things are going. .In fact, I would like to find an opportunity to study the character of this lady. I wonder if you can introduce me to her room so that I can take the opportunity to talk with her? The firm will appreciate it if you can your."

"I suppose so. She used to let people in for the night when the hotel was full in the summer. I might have an excuse to hope that she would let my friend stay for a few days, as the friend was anxious to receive a telegram from the office, so To live near the post office, so that when the telegram comes, he can get the news immediately." Then Monell gave me a sly wink.It probably didn't occur to him that his arrangement was exactly what I wanted. "You don't have to say that. Just tell her that I have a quirk that I don't like staying in hotels. Then tell her that I don't know anyone who is more suitable for me than her. Anyway, I won't bother her for too long."

"I let my guests live in other people's homes, and people will think differently about my hospitality." "It's troublesome, yes. But let others criticize your hospitality." "Well, if you insist, we'll see if we can." We came to a house in the style of a white villa, with a simple but elegant appearance. "This is her home," he said, jumping off the carriage. "Let's go in first and see." I looked up at the windows of the house and all were closed except for two open on the balcony overlooking the street.I thought to myself: "If she is really hiding someone here, she definitely doesn't want people to know about it. No matter how recommended others recommend me, it is impossible for me to live in it." But I had no choice but to follow his plan, get out of the car and follow him In a short walk, came the front door.There are lawns on both sides of the walkway.

"Because she didn't invite a servant, she will answer the door herself, please be ready." He said to me when he knocked on the door. I just noticed that the curtains on the window on the left had been lowered, and someone quickly came to open the door.The woman in front of me is the one I saw at the post office before, and the way she hides the letter makes me feel very strange.I recognized her at a glance, even though she changed her clothes, the worried and excited expression at that time no longer existed, her face forced to hide her true inner feelings, showing a tired and a little dazed expression.Yet I have no reason to think she remembers me.Instead, she looked at me with only questioning eyes.

Mr. Monell pushed me forward and said, "This is a friend of mine, a lawyer from New York." She hastily curtseyed in the old-fashioned way of saluting, expressing her great honor to see me, although her expression was a little uncertain. "We want something of you, Mrs. Belden. Can we come in?" said my client in a deep, earnest voice.He intends to use this tone of speaking to make the other party obey his will. "I have often heard that your house is very comfortable, and I am very glad to have the opportunity to visit it." He didn't notice that she unconsciously showed resistance as soon as she stepped through the door.He didn't see it, so he walked into the small room openly.The small room to our left had a door ajar, a cherry red carpet, and brightly painted walls with a few pictures on it.

Uninvited outsiders invaded her domain, and Mrs. Belden had to let me in, as hospitable as she could be.As for Mr. Monell, he tried to behave himself so well that I almost laughed out loud at his performance, though I was full of anxiety that he might be self-defeating.At this time, Mrs. Belden's attitude softened obviously, and she chatted with him easily.She was in a difficult situation, and it must have been unexpected that she could talk so easily.I soon discovered that her origins were not humble.Her speech and demeanor are extraordinary, coupled with her kind and kind attitude, she makes people feel very comfortable on the whole.Such a woman, no one in the world would suspect that she was engaged in illegal activities.It's a pity that when Mr. Monell just mentioned the subject of letting me stay overnight, she showed an unusual hesitation expression.

"Sir, I'd be happy to keep him, but," she looked me up and down carefully, "actually, I've stopped accepting passengers recently, so I'm keeping everything simple, and I'm afraid he might feel uncomfortable. Anyway, I might ask you Say sorry." "How can it be uncomfortable?" said Mr. Monell. "This room is so good that it makes people want to linger." Then he looked around the room with sincere admiration.Although the rooms are simply furnished, they feel comfortable because of the warm colors, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. "How do you have the heart to disappoint him? He is polite enough to ask you to give him a night to enjoy the elegant atmosphere of this room. No, no, Mrs. Belden, I know you are a good person and will not refuse People are thousands of miles away. You will not refuse a sick beggar to come to your door, let alone such a kind-hearted and intelligent young gentleman like mine."

"You're a nice person," she said while looking at me, with a slightly embarrassed look in her eyes of praise, "but I don't have a well-prepared room. I've been doing a lot of cleaning recently, and it's messy everywhere. Let me tell you, Mrs. Wright has -" "My friend is going to rest here," put in Mr. Monell, bluntly, "because it is not convenient for me to have him stay overnight at my house, at least to give me the satisfaction of knowing that he has the best The mistress took care of—” "Yes," I joined, though not very positively, "I'd be rather sad that I'd be introduced to this place and have to seek shelter elsewhere."

Her worried eyes drifted from us to the door. "I've never been considered hostile," she said, "but it's such a mess here. When do you want to come?" "I intend to stay at once," I answered; "I have some letters to write, and it would be best if I could sit down and write them at once." Speaking of the letter, she reached into her pocket again.I figured it must have been an involuntary movement, because her expression didn't change.She quickly replied: "Yes, yes, if you are not surprised by such a shabby arrangement, then I will promise Mr. Monell this favor." Although she had resisted all the time, she still showed us a pleasant smile and accepted me, then ignored my thanks to her, and hurriedly sent Mr. Monell to the carriage and fetched my briefcase from the carriage , and accept Mr. Monell's constant compliments on her. "I'll prepare your room later," she said as she entered the door. "You're welcome until it's ready. If you want to write a letter, you'll find a pen and paper in the drawer." She pushed a table over to my easy chair, pointed to the little drawer underneath, and expressed a strong desire for me to use everything.This attitude made me feel a little embarrassed, almost ashamed, about my situation. "Thank you. I brought my own stationery." After speaking, I quickly opened the briefcase and took out the pencil case I carried with me. "In that case, I'll take my leave." She quickly bent over and glanced out of the window, then hurriedly left the room. I heard her footsteps across the hall, up two or three steps, stop, continue up the stairs, stop again, and walk away. I was the only one left on the first floor.