Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 144 Seeing the Banquet
After returning to Minsk Street from the factory district, Klein had a brief lunch and fell back to sleep, sleeping until darkness fell and evening came, when he woke up naturally.
But even then, he still felt tired, from the bottom of his heart.
After a while, Klein went down to the first floor, lit the gas lamp, and prepared to sit on the sofa and read today’s newspaper, but when he swept his eyes, he saw an invitation on the coffee table.
He was stunned at first, and then he woke up to the fact that it was an invitation to a dinner party that Mrs. Starling Sommer had sent her maid to the door to make up a few days ago.
”I almost forgot about this thing …… disguised as a blind date banquet ……” Klein put down the invitation and walked towards the first floor washroom, cleaning his face with cold water to make himself look a lot more energetic .
Compared to when he first arrived in Berkland, he had gained a thicker, shorter black beard around his lips and above his jaw, which didn’t completely remove his own bookish demeanor, but made him look a lot more mature and rugged.
Not a real acquaintance, can no longer recognize me …… face to face Klein exhaled silently, wiped his face clean, and set his gold rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
He took a short break, changed into a shirt with a firm, straight collar and a matching black tuxedo, then very formally put on his half-height silk bowler hat, grabbed his cane and invitations, and headed out the door and turned toward the next door.
At the tinkling of the doorbell, he saw Julian, the maid who opened the door, and Starling, with her blonde hair coiled high in her hair and silver jewelry in her earlobes.
Klein removed his hat, curtsied, and complimented politely:
”Mrs. Sommer, you are very beautiful today.”
Although his words were of a strong perfunctory nature, today’s Starling was indeed much prettier than usual, and it seemed that she had gotten a breakthrough in the field of careful grooming.
It seems to be that the incident of catching adultery has made her and Lady Mary really become “bosom friends”, and the other party is a rich man worth tens of thousands of pounds, and is now in the Kingdom’s Air Pollution Investigation Committee, and has made friends with quite a number of powerful and noble people, so in terms of make-up, clothing, accessories, and so on, she will certainly have enough insight… …Klein nodded mentally with some dawning realization.
The corners of Starling’s mouth turned upward with difficulty:
”These are my new earrings, and they cost a full 8 Soules.”
Ma’am, your style hasn’t changed …… Klein smiled and handed the maid her hat, cane and coat.
The fireplace and pipes in the room brought warmth as if it were early summer, and many of the ladies and ladies were relatively less tightly clothed, some showing half of their white arms, others with slippery breasts.
”Luke was talking business with some friends and asked me to apologize on his behalf.” Starling did her hostess duty and said, “You dine first and I’ll introduce you to some well mannered ladies later.”
There’s really no need for that, just let me eat in peace …… Klein smiled:
”I can already smell the food.”
Because of the large number of guests, more than twenty, the dinner was served buffet style, and Klein took his plate and turned it around, realizing that the food this time was quite a bit more plentiful than before:
Cold salmon, chicken pie, braised lamb with peas, brisket in salt, curry food, roast beef, boiled turkey, beef tongue pie, ham, salad and cream cake ……
The wine remains champagne with red wine.
It was very much to the carnivore’s liking and Klein picked up a large plate, not bothering to make small talk, retreated to a corner and savored it slowly.
”Not as well done as the chef at the Kraig Club ……” He made a mental comment every now and then.
He was about to get a second round when he was finally spotted by Starling Sommer.
At the same time, he saw a familiar face beside this wife, the lawyer Jürgen with a serious expression.
It is also, Ürgen is still the same bachelor …… Klein smiled and came over, and took the initiative to greet:
”How is Mrs. Doris recovering?”
Yürgen tugged at his bow tie less comfortably and said:
”She’ll be out of the hospital next week.”
”That’s wonderful.” Klein exclaimed with genuine emotion.
By this time, Starling had ushered a couple of ladies over and introduced them:
”This is Mr. Jürgen Cooper, senior solicitor, with a salary of at least three pounds a week, and from time to time a draw on his cases, he must be earning more than two hundred pounds a year, and he is young and promising, and is likely to be a barrister in the future.”
”This is Mr. Sherlock Moriarty, the well-known detective, whose income is not steady, but every sum is generous, say £10, £50.”
Ma’am, this introduction is too straightforward …… Klein couldn’t help but bellyache.
And next to him, Jürgen visibly frowned.
Starling continued the introduction with no problem at all:
”Miss Sara Taylor, her parents are both faculty members at the grammar school ……”
”Angela Watson, her father is a civilian employee of the Birkeland Police Department ……”
……
Klein smiled numbly and greeted the one lady.
When Starling had finished, Jürgen said in a hushed voice:
”Mrs. Sommer, it is not a polite thing to mention someone’s income to their face.”
Starling did not take offense and responded very seriously:
”No, it is very important.”
”If you can like each other and start a family, income is an essential foundation.”
”Think about it, there must always be meat, vegetables, fruit, milk, white bread, cream, butter and other food every day, right? One has to spend at least £1.50 soule a week on that, and that’s not counting the wine, plus one has to rent a better house, which again costs close to £1 a week, and, well, one has to buy things like water, gas, charcoal, soap, etc., and one has to think about the cost of traveling, which adds up to almost 10 soule.”
”That’s the barest expense; don’t you take your lady to concerts and plays?”
”Don’t you buy some new clothes every year? A family, I think, ladies, must spend at least thirty pounds a year on this, to be called decent.”
”Besides this, there is the salary of the maid, the cost of the children’s education, the medical expenses of the preparations, and the expenditure on some necessary ornaments.”
”It is only with an annual income of over £200 that one can meet these needs and have a happy family.”
”So, in order not to delay you or cause any misunderstanding, I think it is necessary to introduce it in advance.”
As a lawyer, Jürgen couldn’t find the words to retort for a moment, and luckily he was supposed to have only expressions such as seriousness and solemnity.
Really frank ah …… but the basic etiquette is to privately tell both parties this kind of information first, of course, I understand very well Mrs. Sommer you introduced in person the reason …… Klein piled up a smile and said:
”Yes, income is important.”
”Only those who earn more than £400 a year can afford to hold a dinner party at this level, and allow their ladies to have beautiful dresses and fine earrings.”
Starlington lifted her chin slightly and tried to suppress a smile as she said:
”Four hundred and thirty pounds, I mean, and some savings each year to protect against accidents or invest in stock bonds.”
That was her husband’s approximate annual income.
After helping the unfamiliar parties to find a topic of conversation, she left the place and greeted the other guests, while Klein clearly noticed that Sara, Angela and other ladies were more interested in lawyer Jürgen, after all, the other party was not bad looking and had a very stable job and income.
As for the private detective who may enter the police station at any time, it is not the middle class women’s priority, and Klein is now a circle of beard, slightly rough, the girls are inevitably a little intimidated.
He accompanied a few sentences of small talk, then found an excuse to leave, hiding in the corner, while eating, while enjoying Ürgen’s awkward and helpless performance.
At times like this, his eloquence as a lawyer went nowhere.
After a few minutes, two of the Sommer children playfully ran past Klein.
They noticed the gentleman hiding in the corner and stopped, wide-eyed and curious:
”Mr. Moriarty, I hear you’re a detective?”
”Yes.” Klein responded with a smile.
The little girl spoke innocently:
”Can you tell us about the case you solved?”
Her twin brother nodded repeatedly.
The case I solved? Either they involve spiteful souls, secret puppets, demonic dogs, or finding cats and catching adulterers, there’s really nothing suitable to tell a small child about …… Klein pondered for a few seconds and laughed:
”Yeah, it’s a story about a treasure.”
”An officer who had retired from East Byron and returned over was suddenly murdered ……”
The detective novels he had read in his past life, in fact, he had forgotten almost all of them, and could only make them up off the top of his head based on his vague impressions, while the two children did not care if the plot was plausible or not, and listened quite attentively, and even learned to ask, “What’s next?”.
Without realizing it, Klein relaxed.
As the dinner drew to a close, he was about to take his leave when he saw Starling’s face filled with joy.
”Did something worth celebrating happen?” Klein asked casually.
Starling raised her head slightly and answered with a reserved smile:
”Mary has received an invitation from Mr. Hibbert Hall, the Chief Secretary of the Air Pollution Investigation Board, to attend a luncheon at his home on Monday.”
”This gentleman is the eldest son of Earl Hall, a true aristocrat, and he has invited all the members of the committee and allowed them to bring two or three friends.”
Starling paused to say:
”Mary just invited Luke and me.”
……
Monday at noon.
A dressed-up Starling Sommer, accompanied by her husband, Luke Sommer, followed Mrs. Mary, to Queens and saw an extremely extensive building.
Marble statues, pools, fountains, gardens, lawns, and other things caught her eye one by one, making her feel nervous even before she entered the villa.
”Luke, doesn’t this necklace of mine go with the dress?” She inquired up her husband with a sideways glance.
Luke shook his head and laughed:
”Honey, you’re too nervous.”
”You don’t need to worry at all, nobles just live a bit bigger and eat better than us, we’re not that far behind.”
Starling nodded continuously as she listened, seemingly finding her old confidence again.
Entering the villa, they saw gorgeous crystal chandeliers, a hall that could be used for many people to dance, and plates of gourmet food.
Foie gras, pan fried lobster, h lobster …… ormolu wine, misty champagne …… just like the description in the magazine ah …… Starling curiously watched the food, feeling that since the family save a little and could have such a meal for the holidays or New Year’s.
Except for the ormolu red wine and misty champagne …… she added in her mind at last.
Just then, her eyes suddenly glazed over and she saw a young girl in a beige court dress walking slowly.
That young girl had blonde hair and blue eyes, unusually beautiful, wearing a pair of white silk gloves, equipped with a pair of small and beautiful emerald earrings, her temperament was pure and elegant.
Really like an angel ah …… Even if she had always been proud of her own appearance, Starling couldn’t help but sigh in admiration at this time, inexplicably somewhat inferior.
”Hello.” She clumsily greeted with the etiquette she had just learned.
”Hello.” The young girl gracefully returned the greeting.
After the two brushed shoulders, Starling accompanied her husband and Mary to meet one of the distinguished guests and get to know the noble Mr. Hebert Hall.
After a while she went up to the balcony alone, intending to lighten her mood, when she unexpectedly saw the angelic maiden of a moment before.
She was looking out over the landscape, and beside her ribbon rose-encrusted shoes crouched obediently a large golden-haired dog.
”It’s so cute.” Starling searched for a topic of conversation.
The young girl responded with a light smile:
”I thank you for the compliment on Susie’s behalf.”
Looking at the combination of the beautiful young girl and the big golden-haired dog, Starling suddenly felt that she should also have a similar pet.
That would show off the decency of the Sommer family! She asked with deliberation:
”I’ve heard that nobles tame quite a few hounds, is this it?”
”Yes.” The young girl whose blue eyes were more mesmerizing than the jewels in her earrings nodded lightly.
”I wonder how many gold pounds it would cost to purchase one?” Starling asked with a smile.
The pure and elegant maiden looked down at the large golden furred dog and smiled with little concern as she replied:
”450 pounds.”