The enemy was very angry when they met, and because Major Henri Sario deliberately delayed the rescue, Wickham and Colonel Brandon almost collapsed in the Frenchman's estate.

Seeing the annoying guy come up to provoke, Wickham will not show mercy: "Isn't this the bravest Major Henry Sario in our Kingdom of Britain, but our Major Henry Sario is a noble person, and he usually presses the formation behind, isn't it?" Wickham sneered, mocking Henri Sario's behavior last time he saw him die.

"You ......" Henry Sario was poked in the sore foot by Wickham, and he was immediately annoyed, but he couldn't say anything to refute it.

Fortunately, Henry Sario controlled his emotions in time, and the corners of his mouth showed a hint of sarcasm: "Captain Wickham, now that my military rank is colonel, shouldn't a subordinate salute when he sees a superior?" "This

After the Marquis of Cornwallis stepped down as Viceroy of India, he did not want to leave his relatives in India, so he transferred Henry Sario from India back to his homeland. In order to find a promising future for his son, Baron Sario deliberately spent money to dredge up the relationship, so Henri Sario was able to jump two levels in a row to become a colonel officer.

Wickham was stunned at first, he didn't expect a scumbag like Henry Sario to be promoted so quickly! However, after thinking of this guy's aristocratic background, he was relieved, and besides, the buying and selling of officers is not a secret in the army, and it is estimated that this guy's military rank is bought with money.

Hearing the soft knife in Henry Sario's words, Wickham immediately shot back: "Really? But I'm an officer in the Marine Corps, and I don't seem to have an affiliation with you, Mr. Colonel, right? By the way, I would also like to ask Colonel Sario how much it costs to be promoted from major to colonel, and I will also buy a colonel to play with in two days. ”

"Giggle......" Margaret was amused by Wickham's words and couldn't help but laugh out loud. She had already seen that Henry Sario and Wickham were not dealing with each other, so she did not interject, and let the two of them exchange words. Because she believes that Wickham is not a loser.

Sario was so angry by Wickham's nonchalant look that he felt even more harsh Margaret's sneer, so he said in a panic: "I forgot to tell you, Wickham, Miss Cornwallis is married, and her husband is me, I hope you fly will not appear next to my wife in the future!" ”

Looking at the stunned Wickham, Henry Sario had never been so happy, even when he married Miss Cornwallis, he was not so happy. Henry Sario, who left these words, walked away with his head held high like a victorious rooster.

Listening to Henry Sario's words, Wickham's first reaction was impossible! At the mention of Miss Cornwallis, Wickham conjures up the image of an elegant, noble and somewhat playful girl. Her family is one of the top aristocratic families in England, and with a dowry of more than 100,000 pounds, it is simply a perfect combination of wealth, beauty and family background.

I didn't expect such Bai Fumei to marry a man with an average family background and a narrow heart like Henry Sario! Moreover, at the ball at the Governor's Palace in Calcutta, Miss Cornwallis had already clearly shown her rejection of Henry, and I did not expect it to be like this more than a year later, and I have to say that fate is a strange thing.

The scene that happened with Daisy Cornwallis in Calcutta was remembered by Wickham for a long time! Unexpectedly, such a beautiful woman would marry a scumbag like Henry Sario, and Wickham only felt a burst of stuffiness in his heart, and he was uncomfortable.

Wickham looked obscure, frowned and whispered, "How could Miss Cornwallis marry Henry Sario, this is impossible!" ”

Margaret Bernard did not know the intersection between Wickham and Miss Cornwallis, and gave Wickham a strange look, and explained: "The marriage of the granddaughter of the Marquess of Cornwallis is a major event in London this year, and the wedding presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury himself is in St. Paul's Cathedral. It is said that His Majesty had planned to attend the wedding in person, but the trip was cancelled due to ill health. ”

The Sario family is just a small aristocratic family, and the reason why the wedding can have such a big pomp is completely for the sake of the face of the Marquis of Cornwallis. Now the upper class of London is lamenting the good fortune of the Sario family, because this marriage of the Sario family will go one step further in the aristocratic circle.

While Wickham was deep in thought, a very tall man in a blue coat trimmed with gold trim said very politely: "Excuse me, gentlemen and young lady, may I have the honour of sitting next to you?" ”

This gentleman is about thirty years old in appearance, and his gentle and elegant temperament, coupled with Shanshan's polite smile, won the favor of Wickham at once. Anyway, there was nothing beside him, so Wickham smiled kindly: "This gentleman, you are too outward, please feel free." ”

As the man sat down, Margaret Bernard suddenly stood up with some excitement, curtsied respectfully, and said, "Your Royal Highness Prince Frederick, I didn't expect to meet you here. ”

Prince Frederick also returned a salute to Margaret: "Good day, Miss Bernard, I haven't seen you for a year, I didn't expect you to be more and more beautiful." ”

"You've won the prize, His Royal Highness Prince Frederick." Seeing that His Royal Highness the young prince still remembered herself, Margaret replied excitedly. Last year, St. James's Palace held a ball, and at the recommendation of her father, Margaret danced a dance with His Royal Highness the Prince, and was very impressed by this witty and witty prince.

Wickham went straight to the bunker, he didn't expect that this handsome guy in a blue coat would be the second son of the current King George III - Frederick Augustus. Compared with his fat eldest brother, the Prince of Wales, Prince Frederick was well-proportioned and handsome, and was a real handsome young man.

In the early days of the founding of the United States, the constitutional monarchists in the United States even elected him as the king of the United States. Of course, none of this is important, the important thing is that in 1795, that is, next year, Prince Frederick will be awarded the rank of Field Marshal and become Commander-in-Chief of the British Army!

For Wickham, who is about to take up a post at the War Department, this is simply the best object to hug a thick thigh.

"Please forgive me for my rudeness, Your Royal Highness Prince Frederick. Let me introduce myself, I'm George Wickham from Derbyshire, currently playing for the Marine Corps. Knowing what the other party is doing in the future, Wickham's attitude became eager.

Frederick's attitude was lukewarm, and he nodded reservedly: "No need to be polite, Mr. Wickham, this is not St. James's Palace, just treat me as an ordinary enthusiast." Seeing that the prince's attitude was very flat, Wickham also extinguished the idea of going up to talk, blindly stammering and currying favor only lowered his status, and it would also be annoying.

After a while, the invited guests were basically all there, basically all the young masters and young ladies of London's high society, and there were also some new stars in the world, but those people Wickham basically didn't know any of them.

The Countess of Krone also took her seat, and said with a smile: "Ladies and gentlemen, I feel very honored to have you here. In particular, His Royal Highness Prince Frederick, it is a great honour to be able to attend my salon despite the busy schedule of the War Office. ”

Prince Frederick is the most distinguished person today, and naturally he will be the first to be introduced by his master. Prince Frederick, who was seated next to Wickham, stood up and saluted those around him, receiving a respectful return salute from everyone.

However, the status of the people sitting here is not low, so he did not surrender his identity and ran over to pull the relationship with His Royal Highness the prince, because as the second son of the king, his political status has not been high to that extent. Of course, no one here, except Wickham, could have imagined that the current idle Prince would become the Commander-in-Chief of the United Kingdom's Army next year!

Countess Krone continued: "Words are both a record of the long history of mankind and a carrier of the noblest ideas of mankind. We are gathered here today because we share a common hobby, which is the collection of noble human thoughts. Next, let's accept the supreme baptism of civilization together and enjoy this short but beautiful time. ”

Wickham pouted, isn't it just a group of aristocratic young people getting together to pretend to be young and entertain themselves, why are they so noble? Wickham's movements did not escape Prince Frederick's eyes, and the prince felt that the young man next to him was a little interesting.

"As you know, two years ago, there was a poet named Wickham in London who published a beautiful book of poems, Ode to Freedom, which contains a dozen heart-stirring poems. Unfortunately, after the poet published a collection of poems, he disappeared from the public eye, and has not been heard from for two years. Today, I will read aloud a poem from the Wykeham poetry collection as a tribute to this venerable poet. The Countess of Krone made a brief opening remark, and then opened a beautifully printed book of poetry in her hand.

Hearing that Wickham's name was mentioned by Countess Crane, Margaery gave Wickham a particularly meaningful look, and then burst out laughing under her breath. Prince Frederick also glanced at Wickham with some surprise, thinking that the young officer next to him had the same name as the poet who had become famous in London two years earlier.

Wickham touched his nose in embarrassment, but he didn't want to jump out and admit that he was the poet he had become famous two years ago.

"My heart still aches,

Sleepiness and numbness pierce the senses,

It's like drinking a poisonous donkey, or if you've just swallowed opium,

So he sank towards the Letheus River:

It's not that I'm jealous of your good fortune,

but your joy makes me too happy—

Because in the bright world of the forest, you light-winged fairy,

You hide in the greenery and shade of the beech, let go of your singing voice, and sing about summer.

……”

Wickham knew that this was the romantic poem "Ode to a Nightingale" that he had pirated from Keats, and it was even more interesting that it was recited by the Countess of Cronon in a soft and waxy voice like a nightingale. Wickham squinted at Prince Frederick, and found that the thing was staring at the countess's choppy chest that was changing with the ups and downs of the air, and his mind was not on appreciating the poetry at all, and he couldn't help but be a little amused.

In the past, in order to pass the boring time on the way to sail, Bert broke the news of the British royal family, which is not a secret in the upper circles.

It is said that Prince Frederick and his new wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, did not have a good relationship, and the two separated shortly after their marriage. Originally, Wickham thought that this was a gossip from Bert, but now he was sure that the credibility of this rumor was 99 percent, otherwise His Royal Highness would never have brought his wife without him to attend such an occasion.

After the Countess Coloness finished reading a poem, a group of "literary youths" applauded. Nowadays, British romantic poetry has just emerged, and it has won the love of many aristocratic youths, and the imagination and meaning of those heavenly horses and starry sky have quickly captured the hearts of a group of aristocratic "literary youths".

Wickham directly plagiarized the poetry of the three major poets at the peak of Romantic poetry - Byron, Keats and Shelley, which naturally caused a great earthquake in the British poetry world! For a time, these "literary and artistic youths" in London who loved Romantic thought were greatly encouraged and devoted themselves to the creation of romantic poetry, almost crowding the submission mailboxes of several major newspapers.

Margaret chuckled in a low voice: "You guy, why don't you admit to others that you wrote those poems, and the whole of London has been looking for who is Wickham for the past two years." ”

Wickham shook his head and grinned: "Forget it, otherwise all the ladies in London will rush to marry me, what will you do?" It's not that Wickham is indifferent to fame and fortune, but that he is worried that after he becomes famous, poetry and cultural celebrities will come to him to ask for advice, so won't he soon be exposed?

So Wickham made a point of making a condition with John Walter of The Times, that is, not revealing his identity when publishing a book of poems. Now it seems that John Walter's old man is still relatively obedient and has not exposed him, otherwise Wickham will have to get into trouble.

Margaret Bernard thumped Wickham on the leg and said angrily, "You narcissist! ”