The Sin of Ludwigs

Like most fashions, the bell skirt originated at the court of the French kings decades ago and became popular because of its unique function.Mrs. Montespon, who invented it, was the concubine of the King of France at that time. She wore this bloated skirt without a waist to hide from everyone's eyes when she was pregnant. Since then, this skirt has a Cache-batard ("conceal wild species"), also known as "the fig leaf of illegitimate children".

As I said before, loyalty and chastity are hard-to-find virtues in the upper class, which only exist in legends, so naturally, the ladies of the upper class face the risk of the forbidden fruit every day, which This risk often comes from her friends or knights.To preserve the reputations of ladies and their husbands and friends, lest suspicious society suddenly judge from a man's itinerary that the poor husband is cuckolded, bloated and complicated enough to turn a slender figure into a bucket, The bell-style skirt that makes it impossible to tell whether the wife is pregnant has become the best means of concealment.

Once conceived, it is the unmarried ladies who face a more terrible situation than the ladies with husbands, if they fail to hold the ground when they are unmarried because of credulity or tenderness-because of the romantic habits of high society. , this is a very common thing - leading to pregnancy, then they either secretly take certain drugs to drive away this unwelcome guest, or cheat the world to give birth to the child and discard it in a monastery for abandoned babies, other than that There is no other way.And once the pregnancy is revealed, unless the other side of the affair has high authority—as the proverb says, "Only the old-fashioned would think that the king's favorite concubine is not decent"—otherwise, all that awaits them is ruin, They are regarded as depraved and inferior people who are willing to be inferior, and they are no longer treated as decent people. Everyone is ashamed to talk to them, let alone equal marriages, it is the reputation of their family and family members, It will also be dragged down by this and become a laughing stock.

In contrast, as long as there is no such serious matter as pregnancy, many things can be regressed and harmless.The reason why Helena's father, Count Chartres, was laughed at by the nobles of Ludwigsburg is precisely because he, like a country bumpkin, not only didn't follow the hidden rules among nobles when he saw me in Helena's room The rules acted as if they didn't see it and quit, but instead wanted to arrest me and beat me up, causing a commotion.

While my thoughts wandered about the time I spent with Helena in Ludwigsburg, Miss Selena fiddled with the delicate snack with a spoon as if nothing had happened, as if she was just thinking about which piece to eat, inadvertently In the midst of her movements, the bell-shaped skirt pattern drawn on the porcelain plate was quickly blurred by the dim sum and became invisible. She raised her head and smiled softly at me.

"When my mother and I were in a desperate situation and were about to meet a terrible fate, the Earl sent someone to find us. Miss Edmund, do you know? When the Lord said to me, 'You can stay with me' , I knelt down from the bottom of my heart, and sincerely thanked the Virgin Mary for her gift."

I pulled back my divergent thoughts and looked at her carefully.

It's hard to imagine that such a gentle and amiable lady has experienced such a terrible situation-the death of her father, her uncle driving her mother and daughter out of the house, her pregnancy before marriage, the biggest blow that fate can deal to an unmarried lady All caught up.If it is said that without the protection of the father and no dowry, you can still marry a husband without dowry to ensure your own source of income, then getting pregnant before marriage has completely cut off this possibility. From the ending point of view, Miss Selena's lover Betrayed her after seeing the fact that she couldn't bring the dowry, or she was taken away from all property by her uncle and resolutely kicked out of the house because she was pregnant out of wedlock.

I once heard that when my mother was young, something similar happened in Ludwigsburg that ruined the reputation of a family-a certain romantic lady, because she was too naive and credulous, unfortunately suffered an out-of-wedlock pregnancy In an embarrassing situation, her father drove her out of the house after the incident was revealed, and her lover also left her. In the end, she died alone in a dilapidated small monastery.

In contrast, Miss Selena was able to meet Earl Ian in this desperate situation, and finally lived safely by the earl's side. It is indeed luck favored by God, which can also explain why she treats other women The attendant's keen competition for favor is so indifferent, that's because she already has the earl's promise that others covet.

"I sympathize with what happened to you. Your mother, is she all right?"

After much deliberation, I can only say this greeting.

"Thank you for your concern. She is now living a simple life in a monastery under the protection of the Earl, and prays for the Earl with the most pious heart."

Even I have to admit that Earl Ian's kindness did save an innocent woman who was about to fall into a terrible fate, but: "I am very glad that you and your mother are able to live safely under the protection of the Earl, but It’s just a pity that I personally didn’t have the chance to see the kindness of the Earl, maybe he gave his kindness and tolerance to all the beautiful ladies more, and he was stingy to the uninvited guests from outside.” Especially the men related to England!

"As for what happened to you, I can only say that it was God's arrangement and I can't justify it, but I also hope you can know that adults are not just what you think, you know, a soft-hearted woman can't always see her The respected person is misunderstood by others because of appearance." Miss Selena said, "You are one of the smartest people I have ever met, and your compassion and tenderness towards us are exactly the same as adults, which is why I can treat you For the sake of telling my secret, I sincerely hope that you will become friends with your lord."

Miss Selena's words were only the bells in my ears, and when the bells passed, they disappeared without a trace.

I think that Miss Selena may have misunderstood something. Maybe the incident with Anne reminded her of the lover who abandoned her irresponsibly. Good intentions, to even come up with such an absurd idea.

The earl and his guests continued to have fun for a whole day, and the music from the window never stopped. After night fell, the servants even surrounded the woods with cloth and lit a torch so that the guests could continue dancing. have fun.

However, even if Caroline was not there, Miss Selena could not disobey her order and allow me to sleep in another place. After watching the maid tie me to the narrow bed, she gave me a sorry look, Then she took her maids and left.

Thankfully, Marie is resourceful - thank goodness for her wit! ——very cleverly changed me into an extremely warm cashmere nightdress, and stuffed the quilt with full of cotton wool, which at least protected me from the cold at night.

And Mary confidently believes that she is fulfilling the duties of a personal maid. According to her, in view of what happened to an unfortunate lady next to the Earl a few years ago, she had to use this to prevent me from getting sick from the cold, after all. The unfortunate confidante died of pneumonia because she wore a shift dress that was not warm enough and forgot to add a warm Kashmir shawl in winter.

For the next two days, the owner and guests of the Kollak Manor had fun and enjoyed the rare fine weather. Whether it was the Earl, Beatrix, or Caroline, they all seemed to have forgotten about me.

I am happy to enjoy this rare peace, after all, it is very comfortable to be with Selena, except that she often praises the earl's kindness and generosity in my ear, and it is a bit annoying to sincerely hope that I can get along with the earl-really I don't know where this lady came from such a weird idea!Should I say that women are very innocent and emotional creatures?

Until the tranquility was broken in the middle of the night.

"The Count wants to see you, Miss Edmund."

With that word, I was released from bondage, Mary hastily changed me into a homely gown, and I was taken, wrapped in a wide cashmere shawl, into a small drawing room of the count.

"Ah, Miss Edmund, long time no see."

To my surprise, apart from the Earl, there was another male guest in the reception room - Baron Fred, who greeted me with a smile. Besides, there was neither Beatrix nor Carlo Lin and other female servants did not see the male servants who usually surrounded the earl.

This small reception room has a large fireplace that is out of proportion to its size. The fireplace is decorated with net-shaped melon patterns, and there is a round sculpture of a gold-plated equestrian statue of Henry III on the left and right sides. At this moment, the flames in the fireplace are burning fiercely, baking the whole room. It was extremely warm, and the bright and jumping firelight shone on the gold-plated chair handle, refracting fine golden light.

The Earl was half-lying on the mahogany chaise longue to the left of the fireplace in a very unnoble manner, and turned his head when he heard Baron Fred greet me, as if he was very impatient.

He stared at me for a long time, and let out a humming laugh from his nose.

"Ludwigs."

He hooked his fingers at me and drew out his tone.

"Come here and please me—please your husband, Elvis."

--------------------

Don't ask me what integrity is! DDL too much lost!

(Of course, it's impossible to drive or something, don't expect too much)