35
A full twelve pounds in royalties!
Mary felt like she was dreaming when she received the payment.
She had crossed over to this world,
It had been nineteen years.
Although Mary was already a working dog in the twenty-first century, this twelve pounds,
Was the first money she had earned with her own ability as Mary Bennet.
Although twelve pounds was a drop in the bucket for a single lady like Mary, there was always a beginning.
Even Conan Doyle himself was not optimistic when he first started writing novels,
He only received twenty-four pounds in royalties for "A Study in Scarlet Letters."
As for Mary, she did not experience rejection, was not rejected, and was even appreciated by chief editor Hall. As a novice author, her luck could be said to be exploding.
Chief editor Hall said that as per usual,
A sample issue would be sent to Mary before the magazine was printed.
She could not wait for the response to the work.
Mary took the twelve pounds and happily returned to the Gardiner couple's house,
Mrs. Gardiner was also very happy to hear that the novel had been successfully drafted. She had to tell the cook to cook a big meal tonight to celebrate.
"I have to tell Dad and Lizzie about this."
Jane, who was introverted by nature, was also very happy. After dinner, they returned to the room. Jane sat down with a smile. "Lizzie just sent a letter today. I haven't had time to share it with you."
"Lizzie wrote?"
Mary carefully saved the payment,
And said in surprise, "Is there anything new in Langbourne recently?"
"No matter how new it is, it can't be compared to you running to the slums."
Jane smiled and scolded, "I thought about it for a long time before I couldn't resist writing it in the letter.
If mother knew about this,
She would probably come to London herself,
And drag you home. "
"Hehe." Mary just smiled.
She sat next to Jane and held her arm coquettishly. "I knew Jane was the best!"
"Don't be shameless,
"Jane didn't buy it,
"I just finished pleasing Lizzie.
Now you're trying to please me. If you have such thoughts, why don't you try to have a good chat with the gentlemen and ladies in your social circle? "
Because they were bored to death. Petty bourgeois sentiments and circle gossip were not as interesting as listening to Irish workingmen drinking and singing.
But Mary didn't argue with Jane. She just leaned on her shoulder and looked at the letter on the table. "What did Lizzie write in the letter?"
Elizabeth's letter was addressed to Jane and Mary. Letters between girls had always been trivial and serious. Even the straightforward Elizabeth wrote down everything that had happened in Langbourne recently.
First, it was Lydia who was grounded.
Mrs. Bennet was prone to panic and could not hide her thoughts, but once she had decided on something, she would not change her mind no matter how much she was told. This trait was also passed down to most of her daughters, including Mary.
Therefore, when it came to grounding Lydia, Mrs. Bennet was merciless.
Now Lydia could attend social events and go to Meriton to buy hats, but Mrs. Bennet had to be present.
Without Elizabeth saying more, Mary could imagine how miserable Lydia had been these days.
"She deserves it," Mary judged bluntly. "It's okay if she lost the bet. If she spoke less and cried less, she wouldn't have ended up being grounded."
"I hope she can remember this experience."
Jane sighed. When it came to their younger sister, even the tolerant elder sister could not help but worry. "Lydia needs to be disciplined. She's only fifteen years old. What if she continues to be like this?"
I'm afraid that grounding her once won't work.
Mary complained in her heart. It was not that she looked down on Lydia, but Lydia really … should spend less effort on attracting bees and butterflies.
"Where's my hat?" Mary asked. "Why didn't you mention the hat?"
"Oh you!" Jane laughed out loud.
After talking about her daily life in the letter, Elizabeth mentioned Mr. Collins and Charlotte's wedding, as well as Charlotte's invitation to her to visit Mr. Collins's parish.
In the original work, Elizabeth was invited to visit Charlotte's new house and met Mr. Darcy there.
Mr. Darcy condescended to propose to Elizabeth, but was angrily rejected by Elizabeth. It was also there that the famous face-slapping scene took place.
However, now that Mr. Darcy had apologized to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth also knew that Darcy was not a narrow-minded, contemptuous, and annoying person. If they still met again, and Mr. Darcy proposed again … how would Elizabeth react?
Mary suddenly became energetic. "It's good to go out and relax. It's too boring to stay at home. Ask her to remember to write."
Jane asked, "Then who's going to watch Lydia?"
Mary blinked. "Isn't grounding enough?"
Mary calculated carefully. The signs of elopement first appeared when Jane and Elizabeth both returned to Langbourne.
Now, if she really couldn't go out and socialize freely for a few months, it would have the opposite effect and force Lydia to be rebellious.
"Just remember to urge me when you reply to the letter," Mary said evilly. "I'll check it when I get home. If Lydia can't finish the embroidery, I'll publicize her untrustworthy behavior to the militia."
Jane was speechless. That was so cruel!
Her elder sister shook her head helplessly and also looked at Elizabeth's letter. "Compared to Lydia, I'm more worried about Lizzie now."
Mary was stunned and then realized that Jane was referring to the visit to Charlotte.
After all, Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth first. After being rejected by Elizabeth, he turned to her friend Charlotte.
This time, Charlotte was a kind person and naturally didn't mean anything by the invitation. However, Mr. Collins couldn't avoid showing off.
It was normal for Jane to be so worried, but …
Thinking of Elizabeth's character, Mary was relieved. "I think that Lizzie doesn't care about Mr. Collins at all. She won't be embarrassed!"
"I'm just worried about her marriage." Jane sighed.
"Oh," Mary teased. "You have a sweetheart, and you want all the unmarried girls in the world to have sweethearts. How can it be so easy, Miss Bennet?"
"Silly girl."
Jane imitated Elizabeth and poked Mary's forehead.
"Not only Lizzie, but you too," she said. "Of all the people to like, why do you like to run to the slums with Mr. Holmes?
Elizabeth doesn't like anyone, and your mind is full of nonsense. Neither of you is better than the other. I'm really afraid that you can't find the right person. "
"Well …"
"What's wrong?"
Mary curled her lips. "I think there's a gentleman who's a good match for Elizabeth."
Jane was a little surprised. "Who?"
Mary: "Mr. Darcy."
Jane: "…"
Hearing Mary's words, Jane immediately covered her mouth. She looked as if Mary had said something terrible.
She stared at Mary with her beautiful eyes as if she didn't know her. She looked up and down several times before confirming that Mary was not joking.
"Mr. Darcy?"
Obviously, Jane had never thought of this possibility, but when she saw Mary nodding her head desperately, she couldn't bring herself to say a word of rebuttal.
Come to think of it, Mr. Darcy was a man of striking appearance and rich knowledge. Although he did not take Elizabeth seriously at first, and even made a very excessive judgment, he later realized his mistake and deeply reflected on it. He even apologized for it.
This proved that not only was Mr. Darcy rich, but he was also an upright and sincere person.
Moreover, Mr. Darcy met Elizabeth's criteria for a spouse in all aspects. If the two of them liked each other …
Mary: "Right?"
Jane: "…"
Mary: "Right, right?"
Jane thought about it and couldn't find an exact reason to object to Mary. She could only admit, "If Mr. Darcy likes Elizabeth, it's indeed suitable."
"He likes her!
He likes her very much. "Mary hurriedly said," Why do you think Mr. Darcy apologized? It's because I reminded him. He admitted that he likes Lizzie! "
"What?!"
Jane didn't know about this at all. When she heard Mary's confession, she was surprised. But when she connected the dots, she immediately figured it out.
"In that case, Mr. Darcy especially likes to talk to Lizzie," Jane added. "When he danced with her at the second ball, he was also in high spirits."
"Now it depends on whether Lizzie likes Mr. Darcy or not," Mary said. "If she doesn't like him, then no matter how deep Mr. Darcy's love is, it can't be helped."
"This."
Jane thought for a moment, then turned to look at Mary, whose eyes were sparkling, and suddenly understood what she meant.
"You're going to work with me to set her up with Mr. Darcy, aren't you?" Jane smiled slightly. "No wonder Lizzie was so annoyed when you mentioned Mr. Darcy."
"But Lizzie won't be annoyed by you!"
Mary didn't hide her motives at all. "Good sister, dear sister, for the happiness of Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, you should think about it."
"If Lizzie also likes Darcy," Jane replied, "I will naturally support them."
"That's easy!"
Mary, who got the nod, breathed a sigh of relief.
She had already made a plan. If Mr. Darcy's first proposal was successful, then it would be fine. But if it wasn't … she had an idea.
"Then it's a deal," Mary said mysteriously. "When we get back to Langbourne, you must help me."
Jane had personally understood Mary's bad idea. Otherwise, she and Mr. Bentley wouldn't have been able to break through the window paper.
Seeing Mary's excited look, Jane shook her head. "You're worried about this and that. What about your own marriage?"
"I'm worried."
Mary took out her twelve pounds. "I'm making money. Twelve pounds for the first story, and twenty-four pounds for the second story. By the tenth story, I'll be a little rich woman!"
What a bunch of childishness.
Jane was amused by Mary's shameless calculation. She couldn't help but laugh. "You wish."
But Jane knew that Mary didn't like to talk about her love life, so she didn't force her.
Besides, it was indeed a happy thing that the submission went well.
"Then what murder story are you going to write next?" Jane asked. "A great writer?"
"No more murder stories," Mary replied.
This was both Mary's plan and the suggestion given to her by Fred Hall.
The chief editor's idea was very straightforward: the first story was fascinating, but no one knew what the feedback would be.
After the murder, it would be much better to write a story that was not so shocking but looked fresh.
Mary thought so too.
"I think," she said to Jane, "it would be good to write about a theft story."
Mary's experience in the twenty-first century was much more helpful when it came to writing about a theft story. Excluding high-tech crimes, all the thieves in the world were only good at disguise, good at martial arts, and good at planning.
It was easier to write a novel character and a bizarre and romantic process than to portray a real human devil.
"A theft story?"
The unexpected answer really piqued Jane's interest. "What are you going to write?"
Mary said, "Steal paintings, and... the crime team is a Circus."
Jane said, "Circus?"
Yes, Circus.
The source of Mary's inspiration was particularly simple: when it came to good at martial arts, she couldn't help but think of a "non-mainstream" founder of the 19th century — the King of the Circus, P. T. Barnum.
Thanks to Hugh Jackman's musical film, "The King of the Circus," Mary knew about this master.
The members of the Circus with their unique skills were very suitable to be the kind of popular "thief."
But Mary felt that a crime was a crime, and she didn't want to write the marginalized people who had been discriminated against in reality as criminals.
She still had to think about it.
"I only have an idea for the time being," Mary said truthfully. "I have to think about how to develop it."
If it wasn't handled well, the story would be ignored. The most terrible thing was that it would be popular, and people would discriminate against and hate the marginalized people. Mary would never forgive herself.
If she really wanted to write this story … the case was still secondary. She had to do much more than the murder case.
Jane saw Mary's serious expression, took her hand and encouraged her seriously. "Don't worry, think about it. If you have an idea, be sure to tell me."
Mary laughed. "I'm afraid of scaring you!"
Jane said, "I want to hear it even if I'm scared."
Mary was stunned.
Jane smiled and took Mary's hand. Her beautiful eyes were filled with moving sincerity.
"I always don't understand what you're thinking, Mary," she said. "You read a lot, and your mind is full of ideas that no one can understand, but you've never done anything wrong. Whether it's going to the slums or starting to write, it's all meaningful."
"Jane?" Mary was a little confused.
"So," Jane said solemnly, "after you came back from the slums, I thought about it a lot, and the answer I finally came up with is that even though I can't understand you, you did the right thing, so I have to try to understand you."
"…"
"Then let's start with your story," said the elder sister, rubbing Mary's hair. "When you have an idea, be sure to tell me. I have to listen carefully, so that I can understand what's in your little head."
"…"
"Mary?"
"Nothing."
Mary said with great emotion, "God gave me an angel to be a sister, right?"
Jane didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Nonsense!"
She wasn't talking nonsense!
Mary really didn't expect Jane to say such a thing — even Elizabeth scolded her every day for being ridiculous!
But Jane, an unmarried girl born and raised in the 19th century, who was so standard that she could be a model of a noble lady, could sincerely say that she wanted to understand her.
At this moment, Mary really didn't know how to describe her feelings. Such a good sister, she couldn't bear to let Jane marry Mr. Bentley.
"Thank you, Jane." Mary raised a bright smile. "If I have an idea, I will tell you first."
"More than that."
Jane was very attentive. She clearly remembered what Mary said when she came back from the slums. "You said you made a new friend called Mary Morstan, right?"
The next morning, the Irish girl, Miss Mary Morstan, arrived as promised.
Originally, Mary planned to tell the maid not to stop Miss Morstan at the door because of her patched clothes.
But now, not only did Mary not have to tell her, but Jane even personally invited Miss Morstan to the door.
Miss Morstan, who was holding a brand-new cotton dress, was flattered, and Jane just took the dress with a smile. "Thank you very much for taking care of Mary, Miss Morstan. She is always nervous and careless. I think she has caused you a lot of trouble."
"Not at all."
Miss Morstan, who had the same name as Mary, hurriedly shook her head. "Mary Bennet found out the truth for my friend. I can't thank her enough."
Jane was surprised. "You know about it too?"
Miss Morstan said frankly and proudly. "Not only that, I also brought a message from Mr. Holmes today, asking me to invite Miss Mary out."
"To visit Mr. Holmes?!"
Hearing this, Mary rushed downstairs and almost rushed to Miss Morstan with a red face.