The port of Kolkata is peaceful at night, with the gentle sea breeze banishing the heat of the day and bringing a pleasant coolness to this city on the South Asian subcontinent.

Compared with the darkness and tranquility of the Indian-populated North City, the white-populated South City District, especially the Belvedere Building, where the Governor's Palace is located, is a scene of brilliant lights and crowds.

Tonight, the most powerful man in the British Indian colonies, Earl Charles Cornwallis, had a ball to give Calcutta socialites a ball to present Lord Magalny, who had been stationed there.

Nearly all of Calcutta's celebrities, including the East India Company's senior staff, and the nouveau riche who had amassed a great deal of wealth through trade, brought their wives and daughters to the ball. The fact that everyone appeared so neatly at the ball at the Governor's Palace, not only in the face of His Excellency the Governor and Lord Magalni, was also related to the lack of colorful entertainment in the Bengal colony.

It was an opportunity for the ladies to dance to their heart's content at the ball, while the gentlemen could get together and exchange valuable information.

When Wickham and his group of four appeared in the lobby of Belvedere Building, they did not cause any waves. Because the military uniforms on the four of Wickham undoubtedly indicate their identity, they are just a group of low-ranking officers. And with almost all of Calcutta's powerful people gathered here tonight, who would be interested in a group of junior officers?

As soon as this guy Bert entered the hall, the dandy's true nature was exposed, and he said excitedly: "My God, I didn't expect that there would be so many beautiful young ladies in an overseas place like Calcutta, and tonight's ball must be very exciting!" ”

Barnett was helpless about his good friend who was a classmate and comrade-in-arms, and only whispered: "Bert, the young ladies at today's ball are all people with status, don't make anything bad to end up." ”

As soon as he remembered Bert's affair in London, Barnett became a little worried about the unmarried ladies of Calcutta. Although Bert is handsome and dashing, young and golden, he is an out-and-out playboy, and the girls who touch him all end up in disgrace.

Bert glared at Barnett with some dissatisfaction, and exclaimed, "You guy is ruining my reputation!" Am I that kind of person, I just want to enjoy this wonderful dance party with those lovely young ladies! After saying that, he threw a wink at a brown-haired young lady not far away.

The young lady may have just stepped into the social world, and her face was still a little thin, and she was suddenly blushed by Bert's bold behavior. Bert seemed pleased with his charms, and said triumphantly to the crowd: "I think those beautiful young ladies must need a handsome man to pass their lonely time." ”

The corners of Wickham's mouth twitched slightly, Bert is quite similar to his physical predecessor, both belong to the kind of masters who laugh proudly at London flowers. It's just that what makes Wickham resentful is that he, who has a romantic reputation for his predecessor, has not even touched the corner of a woman's clothes so far, which has to be said to be a great irony.

Bert smiled lewdly and said to the three of them, "I forgive you, gentlemen, I would prefer to be with beautiful women than to stay with you big men." With that, Bert, who had forgotten his friends, slipped away without a cloud with a wave of his hand.

Wickham shrugged his shoulders a little helplessly, led the three of them to find a corner and sat down, then poured a few glasses of whiskey and tasted it slowly. Evan was attending a high-society ball for the first time, and he seemed a little reserved, just drinking the whiskey in his glass to hide his inner tension.

Seeing this, Wickham had no choice but to hold down his wine glass and said, "Aven, you will get drunk soon if you go on like this, and it is very rude to get drunk at the ball, so let's slow down." ”

Evan glanced at Wickham a little dazedly, and then said very honestly: "I rarely drink whiskey, but I didn't expect that at the ball at the Governor's Palace, whiskey and wine were actually served in unlimited quantities!" I've got to take my chance, drink enough at once. ”

Before Evan became an officer, he was just an ordinary Royal Navy sailor, which doomed his vision to be limited, and to put it bluntly, he was a small farmer. After all, he has not been an officer for a long time, and his mentality will not change for a while.

Barnett's stomach twitched unconsciously, and he couldn't help but laugh and said, "Aven, the prom can't just focus on drinking, there are many interesting things at the prom, such as dancing with those lovely girls." ”

Ai Wen looked a little embarrassed, and muttered, "But I can't dance." "The balls of the British upper class were all about the more conservative court dances, not the waltzes that were popular on the continent. This kind of conservative court dance requires a high level of pace control and stance because it requires constant exchange of dance partners, and it is impossible to dance well without systematic learning. And Ai Wen was born in the burgher class, so naturally he would not have learned this kind of dance steps.

Wickham was about to be embarrassed by this subordinate of his own, so he had to nod Barnett: "Barnett, the role of the guide is left to you, and you will have to teach our poor Ensign Evan well in private, but now your task is to find our Evan a lovely young lady to enjoy this wonderful ball together." ”

Barnett didn't want to sit here and drink from beginning to end, so he pulled Evan away reluctantly. When the two were gone, the one-man Wickham became a little bored, so he turned his attention to the center of the ballroom, observing the men and women dancing.

The British in this era were still a little conservative, and British gentlemen have always stayed away from the intimate waltz. Compared with the waltz, which has become popular in the courts of continental Europe, they prefer court dances with strict procedures and subtle movements.

In his previous life, Wickham considered himself a first-class silk, and he had never danced something like a national standard, a waltz, or ballroom dance. As he watched the young gentlemen and ladies dancing happily on the dance floor, Wickham's heart began to stir up, and maybe it would be a good choice to hook up with a girl.

Fortunately, Wickham's predecessor was a master dancer, and the skill of dancing was engraved in his memory like instinct. So Wickham can feel free to have fun without worrying about making a fool of himself at the ball.

Soon, Wickham set his sights on a blonde lady who looked hot. There was something special about the young lady, who just sat quietly in a corner of the hall, casually dealing with the courteous men around her. It can be seen that this young lady has no desire to dance with the men around her.

Wickham has a gut feeling that this blonde chick is definitely a quick one. But isn't it fast and hard-boiled, how can you show your ability? Wickham drained the drink from his glass, put a proper smile on his face, and walked over to the young lady.

Miss Daisy Cornwallis looked at her cousin, who was very attentive to her, and said helplessly, "Cousin Henry, please don't do this." If you stay with me all night, there will be rumors about the two of us throughout Kolkata to-morrow. I'm sure you know how important fame is to an unmarried young lady! ”

The young officer, Henry, smiled coldly, and thought to himself that the rumors were spreading throughout Calcutta about the two of us. However, this guy pretended to be rejected and injured on his face, and said affectionately: "Dear cousin, I just want to dance with you, I think a joyful dance will definitely bring you great pleasure." ”

Just when Daisy had a headache, she suddenly heard someone behind her say: "This beautiful young lady, I am George Wickham of the Qing Mission, I don't know if I have this honor, invite Miss you to dance?" "The sound is very magnetic, it sounds very pleasant, and there is a magic that makes you want to know the owner of the voice.

Miss Daisy Cornwallis looked back and saw that the man behind her was a young officer in a neat uniform. The handsome face that was close at hand, with two shallow dimples when he smiled, made people feel a faint warmth. And the faint scar on the side of the face not only did not destroy the handsome face, but made the handsome face have a little more angular masculinity.

It wasn't until the officer deliberately coughed a few times that Miss Daisy Cornwallis withdrew her gaze with a red face and said with a smile on her face: "Good day, Mr. Wickham, I am Daisy Cornwallis, and it is my honor to be your dance partner Mr. Wickham." ”

After saying that, Daisy Cornwallis handed over her small hand, which was as tender as a white lotus, and took the initiative to step on Wickham's right arm. Wickham ignored the angry young officer, but took a pair of small hands that were as soft as bones and walked onto the dance floor with a heart.

At the beginning of the dance, Wickham felt that the dance steps were a little rusty, so he had to pay attention to his dance steps with 120,000 spirits, so as not to step on the jade feet of the opposite lady and make jokes at the dance.

Daisy Cornwallis soon noticed the young lieutenant's caution, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Mr. Wickham, you didn't dance much before?" ”

Wickham was so embarrassed that he nodded and admitted, "I haven't danced much since I left London, Miss Cornwallis." At that ball held by Fritz Mellon, in order to avoid those special "gifts", Wickham just drank a drink, went back to his room and went to sleep, and really didn't dance.

Daisy Cornwallis smiled reservedly and nodded understandingly: "Life in the army is always a bit boring, and that's normal. Mr. Wickham, you must have missed this year's London social season. "The busiest social season in London every year is in the winter, and Wickham really left the UK in the summer, and really didn't catch up with the famous London social season in the UK.

But what are the social seasons? Wickham pouted with some disdain, that so-called social season was, to put it mildly, a high-end pimp place. The ladies of the aristocracy work hard to show off their charms, while the gentlemen choose their favorite marriage partners at the ball.

"Miss Cornwallis, you guessed it, I left London in September, just before the social season. But I never had much hope for the social season, and those balls were filled with Christmas trees with activities. Wickham joked as he watched his dance moves.

"A moving Christmas tree?" Daisy Cornwallis asked, a little confused.

Wickham blinked slyly, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned: "The ladies at the ball, decorate their bodies with all kinds of jewels and lace, isn't it like a Christmas tree full of trinkets at Christmas." ”

Daisy Cornwallis was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "Mr. Wickham, you are such an interesting person. Actually, I also hate the social season in London, where I feel like a commodity waiting to be sold. Those diligent suitors came either for the beauty of the ladies or for their rich dowries. ”

Wickham was stunned by Miss Cornwallis's smiling demeanor, and stepped on the hem of the other party's white skirt carelessly. Miss Daisy Cornwallis tore at the hem of her skirt and threw herself on Wickham with a scream. Wickham hurriedly reached out to help his dance partner, but to outsiders, the two were like a pair of intimate lovers, and they were interacting in an ambiguous atmosphere.

This scene happened to be watched by the young officer who was pestering Daisy, and he was immediately angry. If the gaze had been lethal, Wickham would have been riddled with holes by now.

Daisy felt the sound of the other party's powerful heartbeat, which was already a strong masculine aura, and immediately blushed, and quickly struggled out of Wickham's embrace. Daisy had never had such intimate contact with any man except for her relatives, and she was so ashamed that she hung her goose head and did not dare to meet Wickham's fiery eyes.

But strangely, Daisy felt that in her heart, she didn't seem to reject intimate contact with each other.

Wickham felt the residual girlish breath in his arms, and there was no regret in his heart, and he quickly explained: "Miss Cornwallis, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to, and I ask for your forgiveness." ”

Soon, Daisy adjusted her mentality, distanced herself from Wickham a little, and pretended to be calm, "It's just an accident, Mr. Wickham." By the way, where did we just talk about? Daisy felt that her usual ingenuity was gone, and that she was so clumsy in her excuse to change the subject.

Wickham also wanted to eliminate the embarrassment between them, so he continued: "We talked about the social season in London, Miss Cornwallis, but you don't seem to have a good feeling about the social season, hehe......" Wickham's answer was also a little clumsy...... Cover your face......

"It's true, those so-called gentlemen, the requirements for their fiancées, seem to focus on three points, one is a beautiful face, the second is a prominent family background, and the third is a rich dowry, which is really boring." Daisy muttered a few words, and the way she wrinkled her little face and complained was so cute.

No matter how stupid Wickham was, he knew why the young lady in front of him was complaining so much. Glancing at the young officer gritting his teeth on the edge of the dance floor, Wickham said helplessly: "Just like that Mr. Officer? So, I did you a favor, Miss Cornwallis. ”

Daisy looked at Wickham and said, "That's true, thank you very much, Mr. Wickham." Because of your presence, I just got rid of my annoying cousin Henry. Daisy smiled playfully.

"Honesty is a noble virtue, Miss Cornwallis, you are an honest man. With all due respect, the way your cousin looks at you doesn't have that deep attachment to his lover. When it came time to swap back partners, Wickham whispered with a playful smile. However, Daisy Cornwallis remained silent on the subject.

In contrast to the waltz pas de deux, the court minuet is actually a group dance, and the dance partner needs to be constantly exchanged during the dance, which makes the conversation between Wickham and Daisy intermittent.

At the end of the song, Wickham gentlemanly returned to his seat with Miss Cornwallis.

"Mr. Wickham, you're dancing very well, I think you're good at it at the ball in London, right?" Daisy's annoying cousin, Henry, as soon as he saw the two of them sitting down, couldn't wait to sarcastically mock Wickham in order to win the game.

Wickham couldn't deny this, and said calmly: "Being good at dancing is a social skill, and I think Mr. Henry should be trained in it." "Niang Xipi, don't you like my brother? I don't think you like it either! Wickham whispered in his heart.

Henry was very dissatisfied with the evasiveness of Wickham's answer, and he only wanted the handsome Marine officer to make a fool of himself in front of his cousin, so he continued: "Mr. Wickham already has the rank of lieutenant? Amazing speed of promotion, I think the second son in the family should be like Mr. Wickham, more in the army. ”

The second sons of England had no right to inherit property, and the younger sons of the nobles and gentry either made a living in the army or served in the administration of the colonies in order to have a future. Henry's remarks, ostensibly a compliment to Wickham, are actually a satire of Wickham as a poor man with no right to inherit property.

Wickham just smiled and didn't argue. Miss Cornwallis, who was on the side, interrupted Henry's words with a somewhat ugly face, and her tone was impatient: "All right, my cousin. I don't think it's important whether you have the right to inherit property or not, it's the ability that counts. Some people may be able to inherit large inheritances, but they do not have enough wisdom, and sooner or later they will lose the inheritance earned by these ancestors. ”

Miss Cornwallis's words were a slap in the face to Henry, an insinuation that he was a fool with the right to inherit property. Henry chuckled dryly to hide his embarrassment. Although he didn't make a fuss in the following conversation, Lin Zihan still noticed Henry's ill-intentioned eyes.

Yes, the girl didn't soak it, but there was one more rival in love, and this business was really a loss.