Guidebook for the Dark Duke Chapter 2: Communications

At six o'clock the next morning, Evan's footman, Tom, knocked on the door and woke him up. Tom had just graduated from the footman's school last year. He stayed because he didn't want to leave his hometown.

Tom looks ordinary and doesn't look very smart, but he is a diligent young man. He woke up the sleepy Evan early, and helped him change into the priest's clothes, and then whispered: "Pastor Bruce, Mrs Hayden has made breakfast. Would you like to go downstairs for dinner?"

Evan took Tom's hot towel and wiped his face: "I'll go downstairs for dinner, by the way, Tom, go to the post office today to order some newspapers for me, one local newspaper, one The Times, and another one. a church newspaper.”

Tom handed over the toothbrush and toothbrush and asked respectfully, "There are two kinds of local newspapers, the Daily News and the Daily News. Which one do you want?"

Evan thought about it for a while, except that he had probably read the book, he didn't know anything about this place in Delan Lier, or it was better to be more secure.

"Both newspapers are required."

"Yes, sir." Tom bowed and stepped out.

When Evan came downstairs, Mrs. Hayden had already brought breakfast to the table. Mrs. Haydn was a grumpy middle-aged woman. He and Aiden the gardener were husband and wife, and Billy the errand boy was It was their youngest son. They used to be tenants under the duke's name, but because of the flood, the family's land was submerged, so they had to come out to work.

Mrs. Hayden's cooking skills are very good. Evan is very satisfied with eating. He has also suppressed the idea of ​​changing people. It seems that although this Mrs. Sanders has a strict personality, she can Things are very measured.

Evan took the Bible and walked towards the church along the gravel road. The pastor's hut was not far from the church. Evan walked for five minutes and arrived there. He saw Mrs. Sanders from a distance. Standing at the door waiting.

Evan stepped forward with a gentle smile on his face: "Mrs. Sanders, I'm so sorry I'm late."

Mrs. Sanders bent the corners of her mouth stiffly: "No, Pastor Bruce, you are here at the right time, and in a quarter of an hour, the parishioners will arrive."

Evan felt a little nervous when he heard him say this. Although he had helped the pastor to preach countless times before, this was the first time as an official pastor.

Evan pursed his lips and stood quietly beside Mrs. Sanders waiting.

As expected, after a quarter of an hour, the churchmen came one after another. When they faced Evan, they all showed great curiosity. scruples.

Miss Blair, who lives by the pine forest, spoke first. Miss Blair is in her forties this year. She is an old lady. She owns a single-family cottage and a storefront. The place is also plentiful.

She looked funny today in a goose yellow dress and a pink velvet hat.

"Pastor Bruce, are you from London?" She deliberately tucked her throat into a shrill voice like a little girl.

However, Evan still looks gentle and polite, his expression has not changed in the slightest, like a real gentleman: "Yes, I used to serve in a small church in the suburbs of London."

His tone was warm and calm, and his natural good looks made the unmarried ladies around him even more excited.

Major Mel is a figure who has been on the battlefield and is also very prestigious in Delan Lier, and he is also very curious about this too young priest at this time. Now listening to him say this, he can't help but interject: "Which church does Pastor Bruce serve in? I worked in London before I retired and may have been to this church."

Evan nodded lightly: "It's just a small church, and Major Mel should not know it."

He didn't want to talk about his old story, because it was like a stranger's life, and he really had nothing to talk about.

Major Meyer is a smart man, so he doesn't ask any more questions.

When everyone was almost there, Evan walked up to the altar and started preaching. He had already prepared his sermons, so the process was considered to be a near miss, but Evan was in his heart. But not as peaceful as his face.

Duke Wilson did not come.

The faithful believer in God, as Mrs. Sanders said, didn't show up at Evan's crusade on the premise that almost the whole town had come.

But everyone looks as they should, no one asks questions, and no one whispers. This is a phenomenon that is incomprehensible to a group of loyal Protestants. Evan is very clear about the influence of religion in this era. The influence of people, and an alternative existence like Duke Wilson made him realize that this world is not as simple as he imagined.

After the sermon was over, Mrs. Lawrence walked up to Evan. Mrs. Lawrence was very thin and not very beautiful. Her thin lips and high cheekbones made her look a bit mean. And there was an indescribable restraint in her actions, she raised her chin gently, and there was a hint of pride in her eyes.

"Pastor Bruce, please allow me to sincerely invite you to hold a welcome dinner for you at my home, Woodwich Cottage, at seven o'clock tonight. Please be sure to enjoy it."

She caressed the satchel in her hand, and Evan's sharp eyes saw it was the most popular new style in London this year.

"I'm very honored to have this opportunity, I will definitely go." Evan said warmly, appearing to be both modest and not too humble, and he was just right.

Mrs. Lawrence nodded with satisfaction, and left Mr. Lawrence, who looked a little tired.

Afterwards, Evan dealt with several ladies with spring eyes one after another, but fortunately they were all traditional British ladies. Although they were very eager to Evan, they could not make a rude move. Finally, they were decent in Evan. In response, they all left.

People in other small towns are polite and reserved, well suited to a stranger's reaction.

After Evan sent off the last member of the church, he returned to the church again, and Mrs. Sanders was kneeling in front of the Virgin Mary in prayer.

Evan walked slowly to her, looking at the merciful Virgin in front of him, but with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"Have the parishioners gone?" Mrs. Sanders said suddenly.

Evan subconsciously changed into a gentle look, and said warmly: "They have already left." After speaking, his eyes changed and he said, "However, I didn't see the Duke today."

Mrs. Sanders ended her prayer by reciting the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"The Duke usually doesn't come to church except for weekend services, Pastor Bruce, you'll find out later." Mrs. Sanders stood up and looked straight into Evan's eyes with a hint of Icy light.

Evan suddenly smiled, and the bright sunlight shone on him through the glittering windows of the church, making him glow with a holy light.

"That's it, thank you for your suggestion."

Mrs. Sanders nodded stiffly, and withdrew from the corner of her skirt.

Evan stayed in the church all day to deal with the accounts left by the previous pastor. Delan Lier is a prosperous town, so the church has a lot of donations, especially Duke Wilson, who really As Mrs. Sanders said, very generous.

Because of the large number of donations, it is also very complicated to deal with. Evan spent the whole morning checking the ledger with the deacon who controls the church finances. It was only in the afternoon that Evan could sort out this pile of work, but It was already past six o'clock, and it was time for Mrs. Lawrence's dinner.

Evan looked at his pocket watch, shook his head at the deacon and said, "Sorry, it's getting late, I'll be here today."

The delegates breathed a sigh of relief, said goodbye to Evan one by one, and left the church.

Evan was the last to leave. He sorted out all the ledgers, checked the church for anyone, and then left the church.

Evan returns to the parsonage, where Tom the valet is waiting at the door.

"Pastor Bruce, Mrs. Lawrence called an hour ago."

Evan stopped: "Did she say something?" Evan turned to look at Tom.

Tom nodded slightly and said, "Mrs. Lawrence said that you must be in formal attire for tonight's dinner. The Duke is likely to appear."

Evan's whole body was tense. He looked at Tom in surprise. It took him a long time to find his voice: "The Duke is coming?" Evan's voice was a little hoarse.

Tom gave Evan a strange look and nodded: "Yes, Mr. Duke doesn't often appear on such occasions, but Mr. Lawrence is a town councillor and has a good relationship with the Duke, so..."

Evan hardly heard what Tom had to say, and he was immersed in the excitement of seeing the Duke soon.

This duke, who is almost omnipotent in the book, has no extreme personality, but even so, he is the real protagonist in this book, whether it is the female protagonist like the white lotus or other cannon fodder passers-by. Couldn't stop his radiance.

Evan was excited when he read this book, but when he actually entered the book, he panicked, because this is not a reasonable world, all justice and justice are in this The place doesn't make sense, the only thing you can rely on is power and money.

Evan had a smile in the corner of his eyes. In this world, the only way to gain power is to approach this duke, a duke who lacks personality but is emotionally blank.