Chapter 7 007 Amy Dubuque-Drivery Miss Will Be a Stepmother

Chapter 7 007 Amy Dubuque-Drivery Miss Will Be a Stepmother

Chapter 7 007 Miss Amy du Buc de Riviera will be a stepmother (Part )

Mikhail was quite concerned about his stepmother. She seemed to be very good to his sister Yulia, and she was a French lady. However, she did not speak Russian during the conversation, but she was also trying hard to learn it. After all, Baron Solovyov's family was not a famous family like Count Tolstoy or Duke Volkonsky, which had lasted for many generations. Their family was only the third generation to Mikhail's generation. Moreover, the fourth of the four brothers, Fedor, was Prince Menshikov's trusted steward, but he did not get the title. In the eyes of the old nobles, he always felt like a nouveau riche and a flatterer.

The one who was able to send the invitation was Prince Saltykov (actually at that time their family was still a count, which was later promoted by Alexander I. In order to distinguish them from other branches of their family, this description was used). I still remember there was such a family, which might be related to the family of Lieutenant General Grushetsky. The Lieutenant General introduced his adjutant who retired early to social occasions, but they spent more time in the countryside of Ryazan. After all, being a "manager" for higher-level gentlemen was their family's traditional skill.

The guests attending the banquet were naturally a family of four. It was normal for them to bring their children to Prince Saltykov's official residence at 33 Bolshaya Moskaya Street. Some noble lords, like the Dolgorukov family, had at least three children at home. If they just left the children at home, especially the young ones, it would inevitably remind people of the strange accident in which General Kutuzov's only son was suffocated to death by the chest of a reckless young nanny. Of course, the one-eyed general also had five daughters, and the older ones were already at the age of marriage.

What was unfortunate about this day was that when the Solovyov family arrived at the Prince's residence, General Kutuzov and the women of his family arrived there together.

"General, long time no see."

"You are Vasily Vladimirovich's adjutant, Sergei? You were shot in the leg in the Crimea. How are you now?"

"Thanks to the Emperor, it has been more than 20 years. Although my leg is a little lame, it does not affect my social activities, let alone hunting. This is my fiancée, Mademoiselle de Rivery, and this is my son Mikhail, and my daughter Yulia."

Kutuzov actually knew what this introduction meant. After all, the lieutenant general's adjutant Baron Sergei's wife had died once. This was a trivial matter for a person like him who served as the governor and the principal of the military academy, but he could also remember it. Some soldiers said that he could even see the foot bindings hidden in the boots of the privates, so naturally he could also notice Mikhail's regimental emblem and officer's insignia.

"Well, young man, introduce yourself."

"Yes, General. I am the adjutant of His Excellency Prince Dmitri Volkonsky, the commander of the Moscow Grenadiers. I was previously in the Suzdal Regiment and came to St. Petersburg with His Excellency the Prince."

"Well, kid, this introduction is very brief, but when you are an adjutant, you have to pay attention to many things. If your superior is a hardworking person, you have to assist him in doing his job well. If he is like me, well, you may have to work harder and help me think of many things."

In fact, if Kutuzov is second to none in Russia in his ability to play dumb, no one can claim to be first. He also has a lot of problems, such as gluttony and sleepiness, but these are minor problems. His remaining eye is not blind.

"Yes, General."

"Yes, Sergey, your son is very energetic, and his eyes reveal a lot of intelligence. He can say what needs to be said, but there are some things that need not be said too much. This is what an adjutant should do. However, he is only an adjutant to a regiment commander and a brigade commander. As for Volkonsky, if we don't take into account his injuries, he will still have a bright future. That's it. While he is young, he still needs to work hard. A child of seventeen or eighteen years old will still have a bright future."

"Yes, General."

After Baron Sergei's reply, Kutuzov's carriage continued to move forward. After all, they had to find a suitable place to get off on the street. The Solovyov family, who could reach the destination on foot from Laundry Lane, went directly into His Royal Highness's official residence.

The various people who have arrived also show the bizarre side of the late 18th century. All the noble lords and ladies are dressed in gorgeous and exaggerated costumes. The "Rococo" trend of Madame Pompadour at that time had not completely passed. The interior decoration also shows the flashy and complicated characteristics of the era, which may also be in line with the taste of the owner of this official residence.

Even if it is a Rococo style, it is too vulgar to be decorated like this. Mikhail is also looking for a place where people can sit quietly. He has a briefcase under his arm. The contents are not maps or documents, but things he has worked on with Sergei, the old servant and carpenter in his family.

That is, handmade pencils and makeup pencils, each of which was packed in a paper box. In fact, even if there was no order to liberate the serfs, a craftsman like old Sergei should have been restored to freedom long ago. Perhaps he would have a better future if he went out to start his own business as a carpenter.

Today, Mikhail brought these things with the intention of selling them to these ladies.

The first to enter were the owner of the salon, Nikolai Ivanovich, the prince, and his wife Natalia Vladimirovna. What attracted Mikhail was the lady's sharp expression and her round eyes that were always staring at others. Although she was old, her "witch" appearance gave people an uncomfortable feeling, even a little... At least this lady was famous for her sarcastic remarks in social occasions. With her current appearance, it is hard to imagine that she was a famous beauty in St. Petersburg when she was young.

As for Miss de Riviery, she was directed at the Solovievs as soon as she opened her mouth. After all, she was French and was not a person who was supposed to entertain the salon. It was only because of her typical French dress that she suffered the sharp words of the lady: "Baron, est-ce votre fiancée?" (Baron, this is your fiancée, right?)
"Oui, Madame le Prince." (Yes, Madame le Prince.)
Baron Sergei and his son Mikhail both felt uncomfortable. Mikhail was accompanied by his sister Yulia, and he could clearly feel her small hands grabbing his tights. Being stared at by such a "witch" was indeed a bit uncomfortable. "You look very young and are about the same age as your son. Does this make you feel younger?" (You look very young and are about the same age as your son. Does this make you feel younger?)
Sergei was embarrassed by what he said, and although Miss de Rivery did not retaliate out of respect for her master, her eyes also revealed a desire to eat people. This girl was a French girl from Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies. Unlike the noble ladies in the country who could not carry anything, she was somewhat wild. The old baron probably proposed to her on the premise of mutual affection because of this, and because he felt sorry for her being brought to Russia alone, and some other factors we all knew. Mikhail could not control what his father did, no matter if it was the original or the current one.

"Madame the Prince, I suppose everyone is a young captive, but as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, only snakes can live forever. People cannot do this, even Queen Zoe of Constantinople, who looked young all her life, will eventually die." (Madame the Prince, I suppose everyone is a young captive, but as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, only snakes can live forever. People cannot do this, even Queen Zoe of Constantinople, who looked young all her life, will eventually die.)
The statement was made with quotations from classics and without beating around the bush. Mikhail really couldn't stand this lady, who started speaking in harsh words, so he retorted.

In contrast, the smooth-talking prince was very popular in the court, although everyone knew his true nature, while this lady had always been unpopular since the time of Empress Catherine, and no one around her liked her, even her son Alexander Nikolayevich, the current senior Russian civil servant, who stood aside and felt that it was rude for his mother to speak to the guests in this way.

"Mother, I think it is appropriate at this moment to follow the rules of entertaining guests, to invite our guests to sit in the areas they want, and to provide them with some entertainment on such a lovely occasion." (Mother, I think it is appropriate at this moment to follow the rules of entertaining guests, to invite our guests to sit in the areas they want, and to provide them with some entertainment on such a lovely occasion.)
If we ignore the fact that Mikhail likes to quote from classics when he speaks, this should be the longest speech between the host and the guest in today's salon. If he said too much, he would obviously be worried that with the cultural level of everyone present, it would be difficult to understand the long and difficult French sentences.

Mikhail sensed that the host who came to smooth things over had a face that easily reminded people of a permanent secretary, the famous Sir Humphrey Appleby. They looked a bit similar in outline, but in 1797, he was only 24 years old and even still single, yet he had the opportunity to become a member of Tsar Paul's Privy Council.

Of course, he was very polite, elegant and easy-going. His mother's foul mouth could be said to have resolved the embarrassment. His Highness also found that the little baron in front of him seemed to be eloquent and not easy to mess with. He thought of the surprise of the servant who went to No. 4 Laundry Lane a few days ago, "That 'groom' boy speaks French well."

As for Mademoiselle de Rivery, she should also be aware that some of the minor problems she had originally worried about, such as the terrible situation that the Baron's son would not accept her, should not exist. This "stepson" who was only five years younger than her came out to rescue her. However, it was not easy for her to understand some of the quotations from classics. She just understood that Mikhail directly mocked the hostess as a dying old woman. Fortunately, most of the guests had not arrived yet, otherwise it would cause a lot of trouble.

Prince Saltykov smiled helplessly at his wife's behavior. He hadn't said a word until now, but he knew that the old baron was the former adjutant of Lieutenant General Grushetsky. Although he was just a local squire of low status, he was related to their family. After all, his annoying wife with a sharp tongue was also from the Dolgorukov family, and the meaning of their family itself might have the extended meaning of "mean and sharp-tongued".

Of course, in order to avoid embarrassment, he took a look at the little baron and found that he was a neatly dressed lieutenant of the grenadiers. Although his height did not meet the requirements of the grenadiers, he should be the adjutant of the nobleman. When the commander-in-chief of the army and his son Duke Andrei entered the venue, and then Duke Dmitry Volkonsky and his nephew Peter entered the venue, he saw Mikhail saluted Dmitry and carried his bag. He should have known that the general who was ordered by Emperor Paul to serve in St. Petersburg was his adjutant.

Although this duke cannot be said to be very popular, he is also one of the nobles who will be promoted in the future. What's more, his nephew is close to Crown Prince Alexander. Although according to the inheritance law, the nephew will inherit his uncle's property and part of the status, but from the perspective of their family's role, the nephew may have more say in the future.

Moreover, his capable second son, the only outstanding son, did not have a good relationship with Prince Peter Volkonsky. This feud was formed a long time ago, and he had to suffer from the Crown Prince. Moreover, this count (inheriting the original title of his father's family) was always cautious and liked to use those beautiful and defining words in French to beat around the bush, which made Alexander not very fond of him. For example, the other handsome young officers present today, the two sons of General Dolgorukov, were young, handsome and full of vitality, and were more liked by the Crown Prince himself - it was obvious that he paid attention to how a face looked, but at the same time he was willing to use his one ear that was not deafened by the cannon to listen to what he wanted to hear.

This was a common practice in the Russian court, and Baron Mikhail, because of an unpleasant conversation with the hostess, was thrown at the children's table together with his sister Yulia. According to age, Solovyov was just about the same age as the young officers. He was one year younger than Mikhail, the younger of the Dolgorukov brothers, and their birthdays were on the same day, so there was some topic to talk about.

"Your Highness, did you really go to the Caucasus to fight those Persians?"
"There were only some small battles, the Persians only caused us a little trouble at Derbent, then they withdrew and the Emperor terminated the mission of our legions." (It was just a few small battles. The Persians only caused us a little trouble at Derbent, then they withdrew and the Emperor terminated the mission of our legions.)
After that, the peace treaty was concluded. This handsome officer felt that this was not enough for him to make achievements. A young man of only 17 years old, but ambitious, it seemed that any battle could bring him opportunities for military exploits and promotion. I wish him good luck.

At this time, the two Mikhails were clearly divided. On one side were children and servants brought by the masters, and on the other side was the world of adults. It was as if the two young officers, aged sixteen or seventeen, were the sentinels on the dividing line of this salon. They were talking happily, and the young light cavalry officer also noticed the briefcase of the grenadier lieutenant.

"Your superior is here too. Do you have any official business today?" (Your superior is here too. Do you have any official business today?)

"No, there are pencils, crayons, eyebrow pencils and eyeliners." (No, there are pencils, crayons, eyebrow pencils and eyeliners.)
Then he opened the briefcase, which indeed contained these things, and pointed to Mademoiselle de Riviera.

"Look, that lady, Mademoiselle de Rivery, who is wearing this eyeliner, is she beautiful?" (Look, that lady, Mademoiselle de Rivery, who my father is going to marry, is wearing this eyeliner today. Isn't she beautiful?)
Mikhail Dolgorukov was also surprised that when she said this, she didn't seem to feel any pressure at all. You know, when marrying a second wife, there will be some issues of property division, but Mikhail didn't seem to worry at all and even treated this stepmother as a display stand.

Of course, this lady looked good. She had learned social etiquette and some household common sense in the school in Nantes and had suffered a lot at the hands of the Barbary pirates in Algiers. But she didn't look very old. More like a child, she seemed to be about the same age as these officers. She was already 21 years old, but her smile still had a bit of youthful cuteness. The ladies seemed to be discussing how well her eyebrows were drawn.

"It's beautiful. Your father, Baron Sergey, is so lucky. I heard about it from my friends in the navy when I came back."
"Oui." Mikhail replied with only one word to express his affirmation of Dolgorukov's words, but he did not expect that many places should know that the baron was going to marry a young French woman. Considering the discipline of Admiral Ushakov's Black Sea Fleet and the tradition of this fleet, it was not surprising that something happened.

"If you have a girl you like, you can choose to give her one. This one is black. If she is like... the little girl next to my sister Julia, with brown hair, she will be very suitable for this color." (If you have a girl you like, you can choose to give her one. This one is black. If she is like... the little girl next to my sister Julia, with brown hair, she will be very suitable for this color.)
Some people are born to do business with young ladies and children, and they pay attention to dressing up a 6-year-old girl.
(End of this chapter)