London, in a small building on the side of the street in Mayfair.

The bright sunlight shone through the glass on Mrs. Norton's delicate makeup, as the lady's succinct but powerful quote said—yes, we are beautiful.

Perhaps because of the long family quarrels of the past few years, Mrs. Norton, although she just sat there quietly and acted as a model without any expression, there was always an indescribable haggard between her eyebrows.

Arthur and Disraeli moved a stool to sit across from her, and the two young men, who had always been talkative, were rarely silent at this moment, and they both felt an inexplicable embarrassment.

That's when they realized that they were accompanying a married lady to paint a portrait, which should have been done by her husband or lover, so what was the point of staying here?

The painter on the side gently lifted his brush and dipped the color palette in his left hand, and put a few strokes on the canvas, and from time to time he raised his eyes to look at Mrs. Norton, and then covered his head and fell into an obsession with the art of painting.

It stands to reason that in this state, he should not have noticed Arthur and Disraeli behind him.

But perhaps the atmosphere in the air was so cold and silent that even the painter, who was concentrating on painting, could not stand the reaction of the two men, and he stretched his waist and said, "Let us rest for a while, Mrs. Norton, you can walk around now, and ease your stiff back, for if you sit for too long, the curves of your body seem a little unnatural." As for the two gentlemen sitting behind me, do you need me to bring you a cup of tea? It must be boring to sit silly like this, right? ”

When Mrs. Norton heard this, she also stood up slowly, and said apologetically to Arthur and Disraeli, "Sirs, although I would like to talk to you about the manuscript between paintings, my back hurts so much, I think I should really go out for some activity now." Although it may not be appropriate for me to say this, after all, you two have been waiting for so long, but I think it may be a mistake to delay your precious time here, so why don't we talk about the manuscript another day? ”

"Draft?" The painter said, "Actually, it's okay for you to stay here and talk, ma'am, just move your mouth, and it won't affect the completion of my painting." ”

Mrs. Norton was surprised when she heard this, "Is that so?" Sorry, I'm also a first-time portrait painter and have no experience. ”

Arthur nodded and smiled, "Then let's come back and talk again, you can go out first, ma'am." ”

Mrs. Norton nodded slightly, and then walked down the stairs with the help of the manservant at the door.

Seeing Mrs. Norton walk away, the atmosphere in the studio began to liven.

The painter turned the brush in his hand and said, "Mr. Hastings and Mr. Disraeli, right?" Although it is normal for a gentleman to accompany a lady to paint, it is quite unusual for two of them to come at once, and I thought that only Italians and French would do this. Could it be that I have been away from Britain for too long, and now the ethos of my beautiful homeland has changed? ”

When Disraeli heard this, he just raised his finger and shook it, "Sir, please don't misunderstand our relationship with Mrs. Norton, we are really just here to talk to her about the manuscript." ”

The painter picked up the coffee cup that was set aside: "I hope, but judging by the appearance of the two of you, you shouldn't be married yet, right?" ”

Arthur asked, "How do you see that?" ”

"It's very simple, just by the words of the gentleman sitting next to you, the two of you will be exposed."

"How?"

The painter smiled and took a sip of his coffee, and said, "Because only you unmarried lads want to have a serious business or reason with a woman, I tell you, if you want to get these lovely ladies to agree to something, it is usually not possible to hold a stand or speak normally." I didn't realize this until I got married. ”

Disraeli wondered, "Did anything happen to you after you got married?" ”

"What happened? O my God! Listen to what you're saying! The painter rolled his eyes and said, "Well, you can't imagine how difficult it is to deal with my wife." She would often ask me a question, answer it herself, and then spend half an hour explaining to me why my answer was wrong. ”

Disraeli's eyelids jumped when he heard this: "But didn't you not answer?" ”

The painter warned, "Young man, if you are married, you must say this to your wife, or her mouth will not be idle for the next half hour, do you know what I mean?" She doesn't care if you answer or not, she just wants to count you wrong, it's all due to her mood. If you know how to coax a woman, then she is simply the cutest angel in the world, no matter how excessive your request, she will agree to you. But if you don't have the ability, then even if you pick a star from the sky, she will ask you why you don't pick the moon, and if you pick the moon, she will ask you why you don't pick the sun......"

Disraeli asked, "What if I pluck the stars, the moon, and the sun?" ”

Arthur said, "Then she will say, 'My dear, why don't you spend your time picking these things up with me?' ”

When the painter heard this, he couldn't help but point to Arthur and said, "Young man, you are a quick learner!" It looks like your plan for today's draft is going well. In return, do you want to come to me for a portrait? While you're still young and you still have hair on your heads, keep a souvenir for yourself. ”

Speaking of this, the painter did not forget to take out two business cards from his jacket pocket and handed them over.

Arthur looked down, the content of the business card was not particularly complicated, but the series of titles and experiences embellished behind the iris pattern still made Arthur understand that the price of painting a portrait under this gentleman should not be too cheap, right?

Name: John Aiter

Born in Britain and trained in the Apennines, he devoted his life to the Romantic painter who sought to combine man and nature.

At the age of fifteen, he was a genius of painting who held a private exhibition in Rome, and was praised by the royal painter Sir Thomas Lawrence.

He was a lecturer in watercolor portraiture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and is currently a professor of pastel color at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and the head and chief painter of the Aitel studio.

Although Arthur didn't know much about the Romantic painters, the art academies and Rome, as a not too authentic English gentleman, he knew that everything that had anything to do with the royal family on this small island, regardless of its quality, was always cheap.

Despite the smiles on Mr. Aiter's face, Arthur's eyes looked as if the personable, highly sought-after artist in his early thirties was staring at his not-so-generous bank account, ready to swipe off more than half of it.

Although it is often said that the value of a work of art will continue to appreciate over time, especially after the artist has passed away.

But Arthur felt that Mr. Aitle still looked too young, and as a prudent investor, he would not have to spend most of his belongings on Mr. Aitel's sudden death.

As Arthur pondered how to respond politely and politely to the suggestion, Mrs. Norton, stiffened herself, pushed open the door to the studio and returned to her seat.

Seeing this, Aitel had no choice but to wink at Arthur helplessly: "Let's talk later, remember my words, you can talk to Mrs. Norton about the manuscript now." ”

Disraeli, who had been taught by Aiter, asked first, "How are you feeling now?" Madam. ”

Mrs. Norton was bewildered by Disraeli's sudden question, but she responded politely, "Thank you for your concern, I feel better now after exercising." ”

"So have you figured out what to write about?"

"Hmm......" Mrs. Norton smirked, "to be honest, I've had quite a few things I want to write lately. But if you ask me all of a sudden, I don't really know where to start. ”

Seeing this, Arthur suddenly smiled and said, "Actually, when Benjamin first asked me, I didn't know what to write. But at that time, he told me that you should just write about the things that you know most and care about the most. As a result, there is the current "Hastings Detective Collection". Madame, if you don't have a clue, you might as well start from a familiar perspective, as I did. ”

Mrs. Norton kept smiling as she spoke, "Thank you for your suggestion, Mr. Hastings. Unfortunately, I am not as knowledgeable and experienced as you. I'm just a vulgar ordinary woman, and as you can see, I got married not long after I was sixteen years old. The family had arranged for me to choose a husband, but I had to choose it myself, and in the end, I ended up with the same fate as the women who were arranged. You've probably met the one in my family, he's the magistrate of Westminster, and you're having a good time with each other? ”

When Arthur heard this, he only felt a little embarrassed.

It would be out of line with social etiquette to follow Mrs. Norton's words and denounce Mr. Norton as an indecent villain.

But if you praise Mr. Norton, it will provoke Mrs. Norton to dislike him.

And, most importantly, according to the latest intelligence from the Intelligence Service of the London Police Service. Since the Nortons attended the Coburg concert together half a year ago, the relationship between the Nortons seems to have eased, and the best proof of this is that the couple who had been separated for a long time have moved back together.

Therefore, Arthur did not understand that the resentment in Mrs. Norton's heart was not as great as it was half a year ago.

And the most strange thing for Arthur is that, according to intelligence, the Viscount of Melbourne will also visit Norton's house from time to time. And when Mr. Norton is not busy, he will personally send his wife to the Ministry of the Interior to talk about friendship with His Excellency the Viscount.

This kind of strange behavior is so strange that Arthur is incomprehensible that it naturally pushes the twists and turns of the bizarre relationship between the three to a new level.

This extremely complex emotional connection is estimated to be something that only Elder can understand.

Unfortunately, Elder may have already entered the cannibals' mouths by this time.

With the enemy situation unknown, Arthur pondered for a long time, and finally decided to play it safe, choosing a slightly euphemistic statement: "Although Mr. Norton was a senior lawyer, until he returned to become a judge, he had been focusing on the trivial matters of the council, and it took a little time to adapt to his new job, and I can understand this. ”

Arthur's words not only saved Mrs. Norton's face, but also complied with her wishes.

But what Arthur didn't expect was that Mrs. Norton didn't seem to be planning to save much face for Mr. Norton.

"Alas...... I knew that the position of magistrate was not hot, and he had not yet picked up all the legal knowledge that had been lost for several years, but he was now worried about the affairs of the prosecutor's office. It's like his defeat in the election, when the basic market is not yet secure, and he runs to compete for the middle voters. In the end, I didn't get the tickets on either side, so I had to run back to London and lose my temper at me. ”

Mrs. Norton's words were just a complaint in the usual sense, but Arthur quickly extracted the key information: "Mr. Norton wants to go to the London District Prosecutor's Office?" Oh, I almost forgot, it seems that there is a plan to appoint a senior imperial barrister to be the attorney-general. Since Mr. Norton can be appointed as a magistrate, it means that he has been practicing law for more than seven years, and in this way, he is indeed not without opportunities. ”

Mrs. Norton just shook her head, "No, Mr. Hastings, you don't know him. He didn't handle many cases in his seven years of legal practice, but he just obeyed his family's arrangement, mixed up for seven years, and won the name of the imperial barrister. If he had worked hard like you, I wouldn't have said a word. But the problem is, he's not.

Since becoming a magistrate, his greatest pleasure has been to get in touch with people everywhere. If he was made a prosecutor, he would definitely make a mess, but it was ridiculous that he didn't have self-knowledge for such a simple thing. More than once he had the cheekiness to ask me to help him beg William, and he said those nasty things, you don't know what he thought of me, I was not a shameless person like him. Oh! O my God! All of this is even more bizarre than that. ”

Mrs. Norton did not forget to say to Mr. Aiter, "Please add an emerald necklace and a few ruby rings to my portrait." ”

Hearing this, Aitel was stunned and said, "But, ma'am, you are not wearing these jewels today!" ”

Mrs. Norton gritted her teeth and said, "I know, I don't have any of these jewelry. But I felt that sooner or later I would be to death, and that if I did, he would definitely marry again before long. I'm going to make that new woman go crazy trying to find these jewels so that he can get his retribution. I swear, even if I die, I must make him uneasy! ”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly spoke, "Madam, I think that if you do this, you may have to be hurt yourself before you can hurt Mr. Norton." Not only that, but it may also hurt the Viscount of Melbourne. ”

Mrs. Norton was stunned when she heard this: "Why is that?" ”

Arthur replied, "Come to think of it, you don't have the jewelry, but the portrait comes out. Mr. Norton, if he had seen this painting, would have said that the jewelry had been given to you by someone else. Isn't that ......?"

As soon as Arthur finished saying this, Mrs. Norton suddenly woke up like a dream: "Oh my God! You're right, Mr. Hastings, I can't do that. But...... If I don't do something, I feel a little unwilling......"

When Arthur heard this, the corners of his mouth suddenly turned up, and he just smiled and said, "It's nothing, have you forgotten?" You still have your pen. If something happens to you on a bad day, we'll find a way to publicize it for you, if you want to, of course. ”

(End of chapter)