In the silence of the dining room, there was a crisp sound, slight, but distinct, and Elizabeth and Elf both raised their heads and looked in the direction of the sound, and then saw the letters still sliding on the table. Obviously, the movement was the sound of someone dropping a letter.

George's brows were furrowed together, and his solemn and serious expression was outlined between the thick eyebrows, with a faint hint of anger. It can be seen that he is trying to suppress, but the rude and casual movements, turning over the "Financial Times", and the loud sound of the clamor leak his inner irritability and dissatisfaction.

This is not the end of it. The newspaper had just been opened, and after a few pages of hard work, without sincerity or patience, he folded it again and threw it heavily on the table. Completely ignoring the upbringing and etiquette at the dinner table.

"George, be careful with your words and actions. Elizabeth didn't hold back, her tone was steady, but there was a fierce look in it.

This sentence seemed to prick George's sensitive nerves, and his voice rose slightly, "My words and deeds, if it weren't for your persuasion, things wouldn't have developed to this point." Now that the disgrace has been lost to the West End, what should we do now?"

Years of upbringing have given George a strong sense of self-control, but there are always exceptions to things, and special topics can always challenge the nerves of sensitivity/sensitivity, and release all negative emotions.

As he spoke, George's eyes widened, and he could faintly see the tight jaw, and his words began to become sharp, "If your words and deeds are so perfect, then you can tell me how we should deal with it now, let Arthur send his minions, kidnap him to the Lake District, and then lock him up in a mental hospital for a few months? Jesus Christ, Elizabeth, it's 2012, not 1912!"

George raised his hand and picked up the envelope, and with a light drop, the letter slid over the mirror-smooth table top and landed in front of Elizabeth, "It's too late now." At least, I don't know what to do? He just stood outside with a loud bang and was embarrassed, and we just hid in Bayswater and pretended nothing had happened? Shame, shame on you!"

"Calm down. Elizabeth remained unmoved, and said in a calm and cold tone, "With such words and deeds, and such manners, do you think the Duke would be willing to entrust you with the management of their assets? George, you are not thirty-two years old." ”

George did not lose his temper again, but looked at Elizabeth with cold eyes, waiting for Elizabeth to open the envelope, and then saw Elizabeth's calm face change slightly, as expected, George raised his eyebrows slightly, and a trace of sarcasm slipped under his eyes, waiting for Elizabeth's answer.

Elizabeth quickly scanned the contents of the invitation, her left hand clenched into a fist, her neatly trimmed nails pierced into her palm, and the slight tingling made her quickly sober up, "I told you that we should be strangled in the cradle before this drama begins." ”

"How to stifle?" George also completely calmed down at this time, and his cold words did not carry the slightest trace of fireworks, as if the emotional out-of-control just now had never happened, "John Cord, that's a hard bone, no one buys it, and the Almeida Theatre is a thorn, even the Prince of Wales is willing to visit, what do you think we can do? Or do you think we can convince André Hamilton?"

It's not that they haven't tried.

To be precise, the meeting at the unveiling of Eaton Dormer's personal brand was already aware of the urgency and seriousness of the problem, and after that, the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival was looming for the first time, the Oscar for Best Actor was looming for the second time, and the return to London for a rehearsal of the West End was the third time.

Naturally, they could not sit idly by and try different ways to try to stifle the prospects of the play in London, but it was not an easy task.

John Codd and the Almeida Theatre are tough bones, on the one hand, they are single-mindedly focused on artistic creation, and they are not interested in the intricacies of personal connections, and on the other hand, they have a reputation for professionalism and many supporters among the aristocracy. The Prince of Wales, also known as Prince Charles, is the crown prince who has been on standby for the longest time.

Above all, André is an investor in the play. Not the Hamiltons, but Andre. Andre and Lan Li's personal friendship aside, even through the Hamiltons pressuring, it was useless - everyone knew that the Hamiltons doted on their young son and almost let it go.

"So, you're putting the blame on me?" Elizabeth straightened up and stepped back without showing weakness, "how could he have gone to New York if you hadn't completely cut off his financial resources?

For the children of the nobility, without the support of the family and the support of other friends, they may really starve to death on the streets.

George is also reluctant to take the blame, "At the very beginning, I said that he should not learn piano, he should not learn acting. What are you talking about? You told me that the new century is coming, and we need to keep pace with the times, and we cannot cling to tradition. So now? Now you see what the results are?"

"Stop!" a crisp shout rang out, stopping George and Elizabeth from pointing fingers at each other, and it was the third person in the dining room, Elph Hall.

Even in the face of sudden quarrels and turmoil, Elph still did not panic. The obedient bun is not messy, the straight and elegant spine is held high, and the slightly raised chin curve is like a proud white swan, white, supple, and elegant, "We are not those broken middle-class families, please pay attention to your words, deeds and attitudes." ”

The middle-class family crises in the movie tear each other's faces apart, revealing the ugliest and most real side. That's not how they deal with problems.

Elph's cold and calm words made both George and Elizabeth look away, but they finally calmed down. "Now that it's happened, the most important thing is to think about solutions. ”

The calm words hide a condescending sternness. It is not surprising that in the Hall family, Elph is indeed a daughter, but in front of George and Elizabeth, she has the right to speak. At least the ability to talk on an equal footing.

George threw the napkin in his hand on the table, "I don't care. I'm not going to be at the premiere, I'm not going to talk about anything, you have to settle it for me, I don't want to hear anyone talk badly about the Hall family behind my back in the workplace. With that, George strode out of the restaurant.

"Sir. Philip went and returned, saw the resolute George at the door of the restaurant, got out of the way, and said hello, but did not let George stop, "Philip, prepare the car." I'll go to the bank now. ”

"Yes. Philip did not argue or question, walked quickly to the porter, picked up the internal phone, and informed the driver to prepare the car.

In the restaurant, only Elph and Elizabeth were left.

Elizabeth rubbed her temples, but her emotions still hadn't calmed down, and Elf stood up, walked over to Elizabeth, picked up the invitation, and read it carefully, "We must be there for the premiere." ”

"Elf!" Elizabeth sat up straight, not even caring about her own grace, and her voice trembled slightly, "We have to be at the premiere, why? Let him humiliate us to our faces? Or let the others see our jokes? I can't believe that he really treated us like this, and just returned to the stage of the West End, and sent out invitations, so cruel!"

"Nobody thinks it's cruel when you announce that you've kicked him out of your house, and no one thinks it's cruel when he invites you to the premiere. Elph's calm words, like a soft knife, pierced Elizabeth's chest little by little, but as if she didn't know, she put down the invitation and returned to her place.

"Mother. If Lan Li didn't send out the invitation, this would be a real shame, the whole of London knew about the premiere, all received the invitation, only we didn't get invited? What does this mean?" Elf was calm enough and thoughtful enough to figure out the whole thing very quickly, "Andre is a person who likes to be lively, no one can be sure who he will invite to the premiere. Even so, do you think we don't have to be there?"

Elizabeth owns an art gallery. Whenever the gallery brought in a new painting or introduced a potential artist to the stage, they would throw a big party, not just for the sale, but also for the aristocracy's daily social occasions.

Imagine that all the nobles were present and only a few were absent, which was tantamount to being excluded from the upper class circles, which was a real shame.

As Elf said, André is a ticking time bomb. What's more, Lan Li also has a large number of classmates at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. If the Hall family is absent from the premiere, this battle, they will be equivalent to directly disarming and surrendering.

After thinking about this, Elizabeth's fingers curled up again, "This is a battle letter! He is betting that we will not be able to attend!" "If you don't attend, it's a turtle with a shrunken head, and if you do, it's a battle that is doomed." However, Lan Li still sent out an invitation.

Elizabeth gritted her teeth.

"You and your father don't have to be there. Elph had already conceived a solution, "Let Arthur and I attend." We'll take care of the social interactions. ”

Not George and Elizabeth, but Elph and Arthur, who were the same generation as Lan Li. It couldn't be better, winning or losing, George and Elizabeth can be invincible.

Elph looked up, and then saw Philip back in the dining room, "Philip, you can also come with us." I think Lan Li would like to see you there. ”

This is the eldest daughter of the Hall family, Elle Hall, elegant, calm, strategic, and never wrong.