Palatinate liked reading very much, but most of it was poetry, not science or philosophy, and not even much about human geography. However, the vacant space on the bookshelf seemed a bit awkward, which made Rhine a little concerned.
Rhine randomly pulled out a book of poetry. The book was full of traces of reading, and there was a letter inside, signed by Gertrude Breen, the lady who was burned to death and the sweetheart of the Palatinate.
After hesitating for a while, Rhine took out the letter and searched for the complete letter by time in various poetry collections. Unexpectedly, it contains not only letters from Gertrude, but also letters from the Palatinate to Gertrude, which somehow returned to the hands of the Palatinate.
He was not someone who liked to pry into other people's privacy, but from the servant's brief and frightened words, Rhine felt a little sympathy for the two people who had never met. If possible, he would be willing to do something as a Palatinate.
From the books Palatinate read and the servants' attitude towards him, Rhine had a rough idea of Palatinate's character. He is handsome, distinguished, young, and has the entire Blandings Castle and the tax power of Cannor. He is the most popular bachelor in the entire Cannor region. But he was shy by nature, timid and sentimental, and could not develop a liking for a young lady as passionate and unrestrained as his mother. Instead, he fell in love with the famous strange lady in Cannor - Gertrude Blaine.
The first time the two met was when their parents in the Palatinate were still alive. At the ball of the Palatinate family, Gertrude attended with her father, Viscount Brain. The Blaine family at that time was just like the Palatinate now, but the Palatinate at least had the entire Cannault as its territory, while the Blaine family only had a few failed manor houses, and they still maintained their semblance of respectability.
Miss Breen's appearance was not outstanding. When she was in her early tenth year, she attracted the attention of the Rhine-Palatinate with an overly calm attitude.
Pfalz stepped forward to strike up a conversation, and the attention of the ladies present was focused on that corner. Miss Blaine was obviously dissatisfied with this situation.
The Palatinate attempt failed.
Of course, Miss Blaine was very polite to him, and obviously after judging the situation, she did not think she could offend this young gentleman, but her cold attitude said it all.
Palatinate was a sensitive boy from that time. He stepped away awkwardly and only looked at the cold lady from a distance.
The dance was lively and chaotic. The two hosts of the banquet were not serious people themselves, so it was good not to add fuel to the flames, let alone expect them to control the situation. By late night, the scene was already somewhat unsuitable for these young masters and ladies.
Palatinate hesitated whether to go back to the room directly or find a quiet corner to hide, but looking at Miss Blaine, he still chose to find a quiet corner, and when passing by the lady, he mustered up the courage to send out an invitation. .
This time Miss Blaine did not refuse him. It was obvious that she disliked the current situation more than he did.
The two stayed in a quiet corner for a while, and suddenly they heard an ambiguous sound outside the door. Pfalz glanced stiffly outside the door and found that it was Viscount Braine, who was making out with a famous socialite at the banquet. This discovery made Palatinate extremely embarrassed, and he subconsciously went to see Miss Blaine.
Miss Blaine obviously also saw the two people through the gap. Her expression was extremely calm, neither angry nor shy, and her eyes were so calm that it hurt people.
After finally waiting for Viscount Braine to think of changing to a more comfortable place, Palatinate apologized with some frustration: "I'm sorry."
Miss Brain was a little surprised. She looked at Palatinate as if she didn't know what to say. After a while she said: "Oh, I don't think this is something you need to apologize for. It should be that I feel rude on behalf of my father."
Palatinate was still extremely depressed, with his head hanging down, and the slightly curly hair on his head sticking up messily. Only then did Gertrude realize that he was a very beautiful boy.
Palatinate thought that Miss Blaine must have no good impression of him at all, but when he looked up, he found that this lady's always cold eyes seemed to have a little warmth. He hesitated for a moment, then said: "Miss Blaine, I mean, are you willing to correspond with me? I really want to make friends with you."
Gertrude looked into his beautiful black eyes, nodded, and said, "It is my honor to have a friend like you."
The Palatinate and Gertrude began a correspondence.
Gertrude was indeed a very special young lady. She hated the messy life of the aristocracy and the jealousy among young masters and young ladies. She was even less interested in reciting poetry. All the entertainment activities of the aristocracy could not arouse her interest. .
She hated nobles and was also disliked by other nobles. She was not very good at hiding her emotions, so she got a title - the weird lady of the Blaine family.
Rhine read several of Gertrude's replies and found that her knowledge far exceeded that of ordinary young ladies. To say so was an understatement. Some of the things revealed in them made him feel that they even exceeded the common standards of this era.
Rhine had a guess in his mind.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Rhine put away the letters, put them in a collection of poems and put them back on the bookshelf, planning to read them next time. He wanted to know the traces of the Palatinate and Gertrude in this world.
The man who knocked on the door was the valet John, who brought news that Hillier, a knight and friend of the Palatinate, came to look for him.
Rhine sighed a little. If he could read all the letters, he would know a little more about Hillier. However, there were so many correspondences between the Palatinate and Gertrude over the years that Rhine couldn't read them all in a while. He simply gave up the idea and read some every day as if he were friends, and gradually got to know the two of them. good.
Rhine took the things that the valet had prepared and went downstairs to see the knight. Hillier was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes. He was not wearing heavy armor and looked extremely handsome. As soon as he saw Rhine, he stood up, smiled at him, and saluted: "Good day, Count of the Palatinate. "
Rhine nodded slightly to him and said, "Good day, Hillier."
Rhine guessed that Palatinate and Hillier were indeed good friends. Apart from the formal greetings when they first met, Hillier soon began to call him "Rhine".
It turned out that this trip was arranged by the Palatinate. At that time, Gertrude had been burned at the stake by the Vatican. Hillier thought this was a sign that his melancholy and sentimental earl friend would come out.
Rhine's intuition was not what Hillier thought, but he failed to say so. The steward Joseph prepared the horses for the Rhine trip, and John led them out. The stirrups had long been introduced from the east to the west. Rhine refused John's help and easily mounted his horse.
Hillier's eyes lit up and he said: "Rhine, have you been practicing riding skills these days? This skill is really beautiful."
Rhine shook his head, as if he didn't want to talk more, so John didn't need to follow. This was not the first time. Neither John nor the housekeeper said anything. They only asked Rhine to take care of himself and not go to too messy places.
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Rhine noticed that although John and the housekeeper also maintained an attitude of respect for Hillier, this respect was too superficial and seemed a bit strange. Hillier didn't know whether he didn't notice it or didn't care, and stood beside him laughing.
Rhine lifted the reins and the horse started to move, Hillier following behind him. It wasn't until the two of them were farther away that Hillier gently pinched the horse's belly, took two steps forward, and walked side by side with Rhine.
With just this action, Rhine understood that he knew what kind of disregard the butler and John had underneath their seemingly respectful appearance.
Hillier said: "Rhine, why are you going to inspect the fields properly? Do you suspect those farmers are deceiving you?"
The harvests in the fields have been extremely limited in recent years. Palatinate is a soft-hearted person, and with Gertrude supporting his decision, he lowered the rent again and again. The income of the Palatinate family dropped significantly. There has been no war in the past few years, so there is no property plundered from the defeated side. The entire Blandings Castle is only a bare surface.
Hillier thought that Rhine could not hold on any longer and wanted to raise the rent.
Rhine didn't speak, just looked at the wild flowers and weeds on the roadside in a daze. Seeing him like this, Hillier naturally made up some things in his mind and asked in surprise: "Did Miss Blaine ask you to do this?"
If Rhine's guess is correct, Miss Gertrude, who is unwilling to join in the conspiracy, is indeed very likely to do such a thing. Just look at Hillier's reaction and you will know that he thought so too, so Rhine said: " There’s nothing else I can do for her other than to come and see it for myself.”
Hillier said: "I am also very sad for that lady. She is a little strange, but she does not deserve such a harsh punishment. But I don't understand, what do you like about this lady? In terms of beauty, she is not as good as Miss Lawrence." In terms of knowledge, Miss White is the best at reciting poetry. If we talk about amorous feelings, it would be even more ridiculous. Even the second young lady of the Black family, who is just fifteen years old, is more amorous than her."
Rhine immediately turned cold and said, "Mr. Mike Breen, you are so rude."
Only then did Hillier realize that Rhine was really angry, and he was a little at a loss. Logically speaking, after all these years, he should have known that Palatinate was truly in love with Brian, but he still couldn't accept it. In his eyes, Miss Blaine's merits are really lacking. If anything, she can only be regarded as a little special, if weirdness can be regarded as a kind of specialness. Which man would truly admire such a young lady? Especially a man like Rhine-Palatinate. Whether as his knight or his friend, Hillier could not help but be a little jealous of Rhine. He had a handsome face, noble status and compassionate nature. He could be easily liked by women. Hillier never believed that he would really like that. A strange lady.
He even had darker thoughts. Maybe Rhine, who was kind-hearted, also had bad qualities in men. He made an unknown bet with some noble young masters, and that was why he pursued such a young lady so passionately and sincerely.
Until today, Hillier didn't know that his friend was really deeply attracted by Miss Blaine.
Hillier said with some embarrassment: "Oh, I'm sorry, my friend, I didn't mean to offend Miss Blaine."
The expression on Rhine's face did not improve, but he still said: "Hillier, I hope you know that admiring a lady is not just about admiring her appearance, admiring her style, and even admiring her talent. You You should also admire her character, her temperament, and even her soul.”
The author has something to say: This world may last longer (but my estimate is never accurate, it may not be long...)
If you want to skip it, it may take a long time.