Granville's estate

"It sounds like a snack for kids."

Obviously, the distance between him and Callister was only a little closer, and nothing else happened, but when Cabo walked in, Louis actually felt a strange sense of guilt and panic; Uncomfortable, he said to Callister, pulled a newspaper from the shelf in front of him, and walked away from the corner - he didn't even see what kind of newspaper he was holding .

"But no one brings children here, sir." Carbo said, and he turned and took the plate of sweets from the waiter outside the booth, then walked in and gave it to Louis who was sitting at the table. Instead of sending it to his own master first!) In front of him: "You try it? The cook here is always good, I dare say you will like it."

Sliced ​​strawberries and fresh apricots were neatly arranged on a silver plate decorated with sprigs of basil, and the syrup poured on it had congealed into a beautiful translucent amber coat, which seemed to be Elderberry petals and rose petals, shrunk a hundred times, were clearly visible—the cook must have spent considerable effort cutting them into the petal-like shape.

Louis subconsciously glanced back at Callister, but the other party just put the book back on the shelf calmly: "Taste it, if you don't like it, let them change it."

"I don't have any particular preference for sweets," Louis said, but he put the newspaper aside anyway and picked up a silver fork to pick up a strawberry.

Freshly picked and cut strawberries have a slightly tart taste, but just the right amount of sweetness when chewed with the amber icing shell mixed with flower petals, which seem to melt However, what surprised Louis the most was that in addition to these tastes, he actually tasted a taste that should not exist.

"These sweets taste like almonds!" he said to Callister with wonder and uncertainty, wondering if he had made a mistake.

"That's because when cooking the syrup and the petals, the cooks use almond milk instead of water," Karbo said.

This is really a kind of extravagant behavior, but I have to admit that such ingenuity really makes this dessert more attractive - the most direct expression is that although Louis said that he has no special interest in desserts, he Involuntarily ate two more pieces.

After the sweets came the Rosette Club's signature seared steak with baked potatoes and beetroot, made with care - cattle shipped in from England (we have to admit, although the British Stereotyped like a wall clock, but the good climate there bred the best cattle), freshly slaughtered and picked out the best rump point (according to the alchemists, this part hides the ' Five Elements' is the most complete and the best for the human body), and then it becomes a mouth-watering famous dish after the chef's skillful cooking; however, it is different from any other steak in restaurants. The pan-fried steaks that came up were all cut into bite-sized pieces, which, according to Carbo, was to spare the gentlemen the annoyance of having to put down their newspapers while dining and having to interrupt their pleasure.

"I think Mrs. Morris Sorpon must be a very careful woman."

After learning the purpose of cutting the steak, Louis said this to Callister who was sitting next to him. He was quite curious about the kind of woman who could build and run such a club: "Listen Look, she is not a nobleman, is she the wife of some big merchant?"

"If she was just an ordinary businessman, no nobles would be willing to come here. The nobles are very picky." Callister said, "And just to maintain the buildings in this club and those roses Flowers, she spends at least one hundred thousand francs every year, which is not a small amount of money."

It sounds like there is quite a secret in it, and Louis couldn't help being curious: "So, what is the identity of that lady?"

Callister didn't speak this time—he seemed to be suddenly attracted by the newspaper in his hand, and forgot about Louis' question until Louis, who couldn't restrain his curiosity, asked his question again, he Replied slowly: "Mrs. Maurice Srbon was once an actress famous for her taste, but she is now taking shelter of a noble and powerful duke in Paris, and her husband was a long time ago. gave up all his powers and went to the provinces."

With such a sentence, many things don't need to be explained. Louis was stunned for a while, and suddenly remembered another person who was also an actress-they talked about her an hour ago.

"When we came here, you said you knew about Mary Troia, the woman who is staying at 79 St. George Street now," Louis said, recalling Callister's words at the time: "You Said that she had been an actress at the Opera de France, in fact, she also told me that she was still the number one at the Opera.”

"That's true."

"That is to say, she was really a famous actress sought after by everyone like Miss Angel of the Comic Opera House?"

"According to Dumont, it's more than worse. After all, Angel is barely ranked among the actresses in Paris."

"My God! How did she become like this!"

What a frightful fate!We can well imagine that Marie Troya, or now Moina, once displayed her celestial beauty and voice under the bright lights of the Opera de France, and was once sought after by enthusiastic audiences , was favored and pursued by princes and nobles, she must have been extravagant, spent a lot of money, and dismissed the most delicious food in the world, but in the end she fell to such a point, reduced to drinking in No.12, the poorest district of Paris. Cheap black tea cane wine, no place to shelter in the cold winter night!

As for the tragic fate of the actress who fell from heaven to hell, Callister, a nobleman, did not show any surprise.

"For those women in the opera house, such a fate is the norm, and for those lucky enough to be like Mrs. Maurice Sorbon, it is a miracle bestowed by God." He said, "After all, when beauty declines, That's when the suitors go away—however, Marie Troya's situation is a bit special, and when she disappeared from the opera house, she was not actually neglected."

Louis was confused by these words: "What does this mean? Are you saying that she could actually stay in the opera house at that time?"

"That's right, although she had already lost her position as the leading actress, she could still be the second or third leading actress." Callister said, turning over a page of the newspaper in his hand: "However, She disappeared from the Opera de France after her beloved lover was sent to a madhouse for something and then died. Rumors at the time were that she had gone mad with grief, but Dumont heard some interesting news. I said that although I can't be 100% sure, it is very likely that Mary Troia's lover was sent to the madhouse by her own hands, because there are rumors that he was ready to abandon her and marry a wealthy widow."

"What, what?"

Louis felt like he was about to break out in a cold sweat—a woman who had probably sent her lover to a lunatic asylum, and this woman was now in the house where he and Al lived!

He recalled the song that Moina once hummed, what were the lyrics in it? "My beloved, hold your head in my arms and kiss deeply"?If, if she did do something like that, it would make sense that she would stay with Sologne Grostedt, who was also a criminal, because they were the same kind of people!

"Do you know how Mary Troya's lover was sent to the madhouse?"

Louis asked eagerly, he was eager to figure out the relationship: "I'm worried that she will use the same method against us, I can't let Al risk..."

"M. de Granville is not her lover, and you need not worry about that."

Callister raised his head from the newspaper, glanced at Louis, and then lowered his head again, as if there was something in the newspaper he was reading that particularly interested him: "As for how Troia's lover was killed Sent to a lunatic asylum, I think it's better for you not to know."

"First... Mr. Callister!"

Louis was going crazy, he found that the viscount didn't think it was a big deal at all, so he had to reach out and grab the newspaper Callister was reading, begging him: "Please, please Tell me! I'm worried about what that woman will do to Al."

The newspaper he was reading was grabbed by Louis, Callister could only sigh, he raised his eyes to look at Louis, and asked slowly: "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course!"

"Then sit here and come closer to me. This is a secret that needs to be whispered."

Louis hesitated for a moment. He glanced at the door of the private room, and found that Kabo seemed to be talking to the waiter outside the private room: "Just, can't you just say that?"

"No." Callister said, "This matter cannot be heard by a third person. If you don't want to listen to it, then forget it."

Louis hesitated for a while, but in the end, his worries about Alred's situation overwhelmed his unnecessary worries. He moved towards Callister, and then leaned over his body: "She, what did she do back then? what?"

"Mary Troya's lover was denounced by the servant who served him, and then sent to the madhouse."

Callister said slowly, so close now that Louie could feel his breath on his ears and neck as he spoke: "The crime he committed was , while he was alone in his room, committed some serious crimes against the laws of nature, concerning lust."

"...?"

It took Louis a while to understand the meaning of Callister's words, and the moment he understood, his face and ears turned red into overripe lobster shells.