Chapter 59 Return to London 21 Game and Discourse
Miss White said frankly, "My mother had already inquired about the attendees for this subscription meeting, and she was particularly interested in Mr. Darcy and the Marquis's agent, Mr. Laurent. You know, I'm more of their age. But I've met Mr. Laurent at a party before; he's so gentle and handsome, so I've always preferred him. But my mother thought Mr. Darcy's status and family background were more distinguished, but I didn't mind it at first, because I just wanted to choose a husband who was as pleasing to the eye as possible."
Heather felt that Miss White had very advanced ideas. Of course, when getting married, one should choose someone who suits one's own aesthetic taste. But forget about Mr. Darcy, because Mr. Darcy has his destined match.
Before Heather could speak, Elizabeth beside her blurted out: "No, Mr. Darcy is not as suitable for you as Mr. Laurent, Miss White."
Her words caught the attention of three people.
"Uh... I mean, as far as I know, Mr. Darcy is rather dull, which doesn't seem to match your cheerful personality. Mr. Laurent seems much gentler." Elizabeth didn't know what she was meddling in at the moment, but she forced herself to explain while feeling annoyed.
Miss White thought carefully about her suggestion. "Well, that makes sense. Perhaps we need to see more of them before we know for sure."
Heather secretly asked Mary: "Has Lizzie been in contact with Mr. Darcy much recently?"
Mary knew nothing. "Mr. Darcy seems to write directly to Lizzie about his investments sometimes, and Lizzie shares them with me, such as those planning plans. Aunt, why are you asking this?"
Heather smiled and patted the head of the child who knew nothing, and decided to observe it carefully herself.
After the shares of the associated members are confirmed, it is time for halftime. The second half will require bidding and negotiation for the remaining shares. Finally, the draft subscription agreement must be signed and temporary share certificates must be received. This will definitely not be completed in less than two hours.
Heather was already tired. She had thought that there would be some fierce and exciting scenes in the backstage, but when the argument was at its most intense, the gentlemen's faces were at most red and their necks were angry. They had no intention of escalating to physical conflict, which made her very disappointed.
The intermission lasted a surprisingly long forty minutes. It wasn't just a break; it was an important time for socializing. The men in the side halls had been divided into distinct circles based on their status: secretaries and assistants in one circle, family members and partners in another, and the few women who remained were subtly excluded.
Elizabeth was indignant. "Although Miss White is noisy and has no opinions of her own, her mother does seem to be a person of ability and insight. But, Aunt, you see, those gentlemen have intentionally or unintentionally excluded Mrs. White from the outside, often turning a deaf ear to her opinions, and yet some people openly appropriate her views after just a few words. It's really infuriating."
Heather also noticed that although Mr. White in the inner hall was empty-headed and not good at speaking, he was sought after by many people because he got a front share, while Mrs. White in the side hall was treated coldly.
"Lizzie, Mrs. White will only be more angry than you, but she didn't withdraw and talk to other ladies. Instead, she continued to stand there. As long as she can make useful points, someone will listen, someone will use them, and someone will gradually accept them. This is a necessary process."
Heiser remembered seeing in the news that two hundred years later, the French government required that the proportion of a single gender in management positions in public service departments should not exceed 60%. This system was strictly supervised and punished. At a glance in the video, female officials were no longer a minority, and this took two centuries.
"Lizzie, don't let anger take over your mind." Heather said softly, "Maybe you don't have enough opinions and identity to support you now, but one day you will encounter such a situation again. Then you may be able to join Mrs. White, so that she will not be the only woman in that circle."
Elizabeth relaxed her frown, glanced at her aunt who was lazily sitting in a chair and looked as if she didn't care at all, and fell into deep thought.
However, the silence in their area did not last long. The crowd suddenly parted in the middle, and someone deliberately walked towards here from the outside.
Hazel looked up and saw that it was Mr. Darcy.
"Mr. Darcy, your performance just now was wonderful." Heather smiled and stretched out her hand to him amid the vague gazes from the people around her.
Darcy rarely showed his joy and high spirits: "Thank you for your trust, Mrs. Lawrence. And the two Miss Bennetts, without your help we would never have achieved the current result." As he said this, his eyes looked uncontrollably at Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Elizabeth was still in a trance, having just come out of her thoughts, and could not detect his emotional fluctuations.
Darcy had to look away. "Mrs. Lawrence, please allow me to introduce Mr. Richard Laurent, whom I just met. He is here on behalf of Lord Norfolk and has shared some valuable information with me before."
Heather didn't expect that the popular Mr. Laurent would leave behind so many men who wanted to get to know the Marquis through him and follow Darcy to the side hall. Could it be that the Marquis was particularly optimistic about Mr. Darcy's future?
"Mr. Laurent." Heather nodded slightly: "Your conclusion just now is also very convincing."
Mr. Laurent was obviously not a fool who took advantage of his power to bully others. He was humble and polite, bowing slightly with just the right amount of force, as if he came from a wealthy family rather than being an orphan picked up from the common people.
"Mrs. Laurence, I noticed during the first half of his speech that Mr. Darcy had received a letter from the side hall. Reducing time costs will also be beneficial to the Marquis's business. I heard that it was sent by his wife and two young ladies. I am very eager to meet these intelligent and knowledgeable ladies."
This remark caused surprise among the men who had gathered around. For the first time today, they looked seriously at the ladies who had been sitting in the corner and seemed to be just lucky enough to have a fortune but had no investment insights.
Heather was no less surprised than them: "I don't have a deep understanding of the canal project. I rely mainly on my two nieces, Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Miss Mary Bennett."
Mr. Laurent still greeted them in a very elegant manner.
Then came the time for polite greetings. Mr. Laurent ignored the eager glances of the others in the side hall and insisted on staying in this corner. Heather always felt that Mr. Laurent was not only making small talk, but also asked if her journey from France to England had gone smoothly. Moreover, he kept glancing at her casually.
Or rather, glance behind her.
Heather glanced back calmly. Behind them were only the manservant who had delivered the message, Reina, and, barely slightly behind them, Marie. Could it be that Mr. Laurent had fallen in love with Marie at first sight?
Mr. Laurent was finally pulled away by the steel plant owner's brother, and Heather breathed a sigh of relief. Twenty minutes of intense and awkward conversation with a strange man under everyone's burning gazes had consumed all her energy.
At this time, Mrs. White also came over, pulled out her daughter who was infatuated with the two gentlemen in the corner without any sense of existence, and walked between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.
"Dear Mr. Darcy, my husband is Mr. White, who owns a textile factory. We met once outside Mr. Crawford's villa. I wonder if you remember." She nudged her blushing, bewildered daughter and introduced her, "This is my only daughter, Jolene White. Mr. White's speech just now incorporated many of Jolene's ideas."
Miss White looked at her mother in admiration, even though she couldn't even write the full name of the canal company.
Darcy had no choice but to turn around and greet Miss White, and answer Mrs. White's questions under her unconcealed gaze.
Until the bell rang to signal the end of intermission, Darcy was unable to say a few more words to Elizabeth. Elizabeth watched their conversation quietly from the side, her face blank, her mind wandering to another world.
Heather sighed secretly, and suddenly felt an inappropriate feeling of regret for asking her husband to seek a title.
"Mary, Lizzie, I want to go out and get some fresh air. The smell of cigars here is too bad. I really can't stay here any longer."
Heather refused to be accompanied by her nieces and Reina, and slipped out of the side hall alone. When she finally went downstairs to the first-floor corridor and breathed in the fresh air, the sunset glow had already filled the entire sky, and the world was so quiet that it made people relax their vigilance.
The long corridor was deserted, with a wall and tall windows to the left and a narrow lawn to the right. It was rare to be without blond, blue-eyed foreigners around, and Heather felt strangely like she was back in college, wandering around the school on her free days, humming pop songs whose lyrics she couldn't quite remember, admiring the hem of her skirt in the afterglow of the setting sun.
She lowered her head and walked in two steps at a time until she reached the end of the corridor, where she was frightened by the figure on the ground in front of her and almost jumped up.
"ah--"
As Heather raised her head in panic, a large dry hand covered her mouth. It just touched her lightly and then disappeared suddenly. It was hard to tell who was the one who was scared.
"You scared me to death, Lancaster!" Heather took a few steps away in panic, glaring at the person opposite her with a complaining look: "When did you get here? You didn't say a word! And why did you change your perfume? I just thought I was kidnapped."
Lancaster stared down at her vivid expression of annoyance and picked a simple question to answer: "Just wanted to see when you would look up."
After the sudden surprise wore off, awkwardness crept in. This was their first meeting since that night in Chelsea. For the past week, Heather had been busy with work, occasionally reflecting on whether she had acted too frivolously that night. Lancaster, aside from sending someone to visit him, had completely disappeared, not appearing for an entire week.
Heather didn't want to ask him what he was busy with. The connection between them seemed to have always been under his one-way control, as if once he let go, the thread hanging in the air would disappear without a trace, which made it difficult for her to really have any other ideas.
Lancaster saw her intentional alienation, which was not a good sign. She never cared too much about anything or forced anything too much. If she intuitively knew that things were unlikely to go as she wished, she would easily turn around and withdraw, and never hold unnecessary hopes.
Lancaster didn't think his situation was much better than the forgotten estate. He pursed his dry lips and whispered, "I've been in the past week..."
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