Chapter Twenty
Just like the dining hall of all noble houses, the dining of Delman Manor also has a long dining table that can accommodate dozens of people. The dining table is covered with a white tablecloth embroidered with cosmos patterns. The white roses picked this morning are placed in the center of the table and extra leaves were pruned carefully with scissors. And then the roses were inserted in blue and white porcelain with gold edges.
However, at such an elegant and beautiful table, there were two silent people sitting, and they ate quietly with each other, barely saying a word.
I think it's because they don't have any common topics at all.
Mrs. Alice has tried to break the ice several times, but unfortunately, she has not been able to succeed, because his son simply wants to carry the silence to the end.
"Today's lamb chops are good." Mrs. Alice was trying again.
Butler Hilton quickly said: "This is a honey juice made with honey and this year's newly brewed red wine. The chef pays tribute to the lady. I hope you like it."
"Of course, thank him for me." Mrs. Alice looked at Baron Oscar: "What do you think of the taste?"
Baron Oscar fiddled with his knife and fork lightly, and he didn't even bother to say anything, but just nodded.
Mrs. Alice took a deep breath, smiled, and said: "This castle is really cold and the architectural style is boring. Just like this dining hall, it is so masculine that I can feel the cold wind blowing at the door. It's time to decorate it. Don't you think so, Hilton?"
The Hilton butler did not reply in embarrassment.
"It's cold and icy, like a tomb. If I don't come, there won't be a visitor for many years, hehe..." Mrs. Alice's "hehe" revealed a different meaning.
Baron Oscar was still eating calmly as if he hadn't heard anything.
"I'm your mother, can't you give me some eye contact when you see me!" Mrs. Alice suddenly said loudly, her breasts rising and falling because of her rapid breathing.
The embarrassment in the air just makes people unbearable to breathe.
The baron stopped his hands and raised his eyes. His brown eyes were lackluster, but his eyes were firm and cold. With such a look, Mrs. Alice seemed to be frozen, and even her breathing was weak.
"Mother is right, this house is indeed too old, maybe sometimes it can be repaired." The baron said indifferently.
The Hilton butler bent over and said, "Yes, My lord."
"As for the guests..." The baron held up the red wine, saluted Mrs. Alice, and said with a chuckle: "Haha..."
This 'haha' also had a different meaning, and Mrs. Alice's face turned blue with anger and shame.
The baron wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin, got up, and said, "I still have official duties.
After the baron left the restaurant, I quickly followed in his footsteps.
In fact, the baron has guests, and the baron receives a lot of guests every day, ranging from government officials and noble lords to manor tenants and merchants. He always seems to have endless work and endless guests. If you don't stand by his side, then you really don't know anything.
Everyone who came to see him couldn't ignore his strong sense of presence. Everything he said and everything he did was well-organized and well-reasoned. He is also very self-control. People who come to see him, whether they are arrogant, disdainful, or flattering, won't see him show much emotional reaction. Sometimes, I even feel that I am very powerful because I have angered him several times.
Mr. Charlie has been waiting in the small living room for nearly two hours.
He is a cotton supplier and wants to get financial help from the Baron. For this, he visited it a week ago.
"Dear Lord Baron, I wish you a happy noon." He took off his hat and saluted exaggeratedly.
"Hello, Mr. Charlie." The baron pointed to the seat opposite and said, "Please sit down."
Mr. Charlie cautiously sat opposite the baron, and then cautiously took the black tea I made for him.
"My Lord Baron, what I said before...you see..."
"I respect your ideas and courage, but I am sorry that I cannot accept your proposal." said the baron.
Charlie was very disappointed immediately. He looked at the baron and said, "Could you please tell me why? Are the conditions I offered are not good enough?"
"On the contrary, the conditions you put forward are so good, it is hard to believe that there are such excellent conditions." The baron folded his hands and said.
Charlie said tauntingly: "It turns out that Lord Baron is also afraid of risks, but I heard that you have always had a foresight, and you never retreat timidly when pursuing the highest interests."
The baron was silent for a while and did not answer his question head-on. Instead, he said: "You plan to set sail from Serbia, from Bathurst in Africa directly to Luanda Harbour, and then bypass the Cape of Good Hope, heading for Tamadav, without bypassing India but heading directly to Saigon in Southeast Asia, is this the navigation route map you told me?"
Charlie smiled confidently: "Yes, my lord, the newly built sailboat in Liverpool Harbour, I heard that it can move forward automatically even when there is no wind, so that it can directly cross the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean, which will greatly shorten us. You are an adventurous person in the shipping time of this year, don't you see the benefits and prospects in it?"
"Mr. Charlie, I agree with you. The prospects in this are really exciting, but I have to say that your ideas are too idealistic and lack practicality. Just some seafarers' boasting is no doubt."
"They are all seamen and sailors who have been to Europe and Asia for many years. They can't be wrong in what they said, and I have personally verified that time can be guaranteed." Charlie said excitedly.
The Baron shook his head: "That's because it was January when they went to sea, and the ocean currents from the west of Africa led the ships upwind, and when they arrived in Europe, they happened to catch up with the southeast monsoon, so their ships could be so fast. Arrival. But such a coincidental itinerary is not something we can do every day. Once the monsoon changes, the itinerary is not what we can predict, even with the latest sailing boats. On the contrary, we have no establishment along the coast. Shipyards and piers that can provide supplies, are you sure that such a sailing route will work?"
"I... I believe what the crew said, you... have never been to sea at all, you haven't even been to Europe, you don't even know..."
The baron did not refute. He looked at Mr. Charlie silently, but Mr. Charlie could no longer utter a word. Many people were like this. When they looked at him, they would gradually become timid and unable to refute.
Charlie finally got up in disappointment and looked at the dark blue carpet under his feet regretfully with a pair of eyes: "I am sorry that you made such a choice. I have to say that this is your loss."
The baron leaned to Mr. Charlie: "I also regret that, I think your ideas are forward-looking, but unfortunately immature. You said that I am an adventurous person, I am afraid I can't agree with it, I have never liked adventures."
After Mr. Charlie left, the Baron began to read as usual.
In this kind of leisurely afternoon, the baron always holds thick books.
You can judge by the complicated title on the cover that this must be a drowsy book. The Baron has a wide range of subjects. Regardless of literature, science, music, or medicine, there seems to be nothing he is not interested in.
He always ordered the postman to buy the latest books for him from the bookstore in the Capital, so you must be surprised by the Baron's rich collection of books. The large library is full of bookcases on all sides. The books on the top floor even need a ladder to reach it. When I got it, I often wondered if the Baron could really finish reading so many books. No wonder he disdained the collection of Mormon Manor.
I remember that for a while he was always reading books about infectious diseases, and then he asked me curiously:
"You covered my forehead with a cold towel when I was sick. Who taught you the way?"
"It's a surgeon, he...he is treating people in a slum, I don't know his name..." Actually, there was a benefactor in my previous life. At that time, I was running around, living in distress, and often getting sick. . While hiding in the port factory in the royal capital, I met a kind doctor who took care of me. And when I had a fever at the time, he used this method to treat the fever. Not only did he treat me for free, he also bought me food, but in order to avoid the sheriff's inquiry, I stole it away without even knowing his name.
"In this way, that surgeon is better than many physicians. The doctors around us will only bleed you, take a bath, and prescribe laxatives regardless of your illness..." The baron shook his head in disapproval. He shook his head, then closed the medical book in his hand and said: "They should learn more about the experimental results of some excellent doctors in other countries."
In short, Baron is very different from other nobles. After seeing the family of Viscount Bruce, and then looking at Baron Oscar, you will feel that people can be very different from each other.
In such a leisurely afternoon, drinking black tea and reading books, there will always be troublesome things.
With a rush of footsteps, the door of the library was rudely pushed open, and Mrs. Alice broke in.
She was panting, her face turned blue, but her chin was raised high, the hand fan that matched her dark blue velvet dress was tightly held in her hand, and the blue veins on the back of her hand were violent.
She pointed her fan at me and said loudly, "Get out!"
I was taken aback by her rude behavior, after all, noble ladies are elegant and gentle, rarely so rude.
"Mother, what happened?" the baron asked directly.
I did not leave the room, and I could not leave, because the owner of this house did not order, so even if the guests were angry, I could not act casually.
"You! How could you treat me like this!" Tears burst into Madam Alice's eyes, and she gritted her teeth, seeming to force her not to let the tears flow out of her eyes.
"Is any servant in the house snubbing you? Tell me, I will deal with them." said the baron.
"Are you deliberate? Are you deliberately humiliating me?" Mrs. Alice finally couldn't help it, and said with tears: "I am your mother. It's fine if you refuse to take care of me. I'll visit you. You let these scumbags control me! I don't even have the qualifications to walk around this manor!"
"Mother, you are a distinguished guest of Delman Manor. All the servants in the Manor are very pleased with your visit from the bottom of hearts. All the servants will treat you with the highest respect and obey you, but as a guest, please follow the basic guest's etiquette. If the host does not allow it, please don't walk around the host's house. This is the most basic etiquette that even children know to follow."