Guidebook for the Dark Duke

    At six o'clock the next morning, Tom, Evan's footman, knocked on the door and woke him up. Tom had just graduated from the footman's school last year and had been serving in the former pastor's house. When the former pastor left, 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. Then he said in a low voice, "Pastor Bruce, Mrs. Haydn has already made breakfast. Do you want 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, you go to the post office today to order some newspapers for me, a local newspaper and a Thames Newspaper, order another 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 need?"

    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 papers."

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

    When Evan went downstairs, Mrs. Haydn had already brought breakfast to the table. Mrs. Haydn was a grumpy middle-aged woman. He and the gardener Aiden were husband and wife, and they ran errands The boy Billy is their youngest son. They used to be tenants under the name of the Duke, but because of the flood, the land in the family was submerged, so they had to come out to work.

    Mrs. Hayden's cooking skills are very good, Evan is very satisfied, and he has suppressed the idea of ​​changing people. It seems that this Mrs. Sanders Strict personality, but very measured in what he does.

    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. Mrs. Si has arrived and is 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 curved the corners of her mouth a little stiffly: "No, Pastor Bruce, you are here at the right time. In a quarter of an hour, the parishioners will arrive."

    Evan felt a little nervous when he heard what he said. 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. But not so much scruples.

    Miss Blair, who lives by the pine forest, spoke first. Miss Blair is in her forties this year. She is an old lady who owns a single-family cottage and a storefront. This place in Delan Lier can also be considered affluent.

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

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

    And 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 soothing and calm, coupled with his natural good looks, made the unmarried ladies around him even more excited.

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

    Evan nodded lightly: "That is just a small church, Major Mel should not know."

    He didn't want to tell more about his previous story, because it was like the life of a stranger, and he really had nothing to talk about.

    Major Meyer is a wise man, and will not ask further questions.

    When all the people were almost there, Evan stepped onto the altar and started preaching. He had already prepared the sermon, so this process was considered a near miss. It's just that Evan's heart is not as peaceful as his face.

    Duke Wilson did not come.

    This faithful believer in God, as Mrs. Sanders said, did not appear at Evan's sermon on the premise that almost the whole town came.

    But everyone is as it should be, no one asks questions, and no one talks to each other. This is an incomprehensible phenomenon for a group of loyal Protestants. Evan is very Knowing the influence of religion on people in this era, and an alternative existence like Duke Wilson made him realize that the world is not as simple as he imagined.

    After the sermon was over, the Mrs. Lawrence walked up to Evan. Mrs. Lawrence was very thin and not very beautiful. The thin lips and high cheekbones made the She looked a bit mean, and there was an indescribable restraint in her actions. She raised her chin slightly, 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 appreciate it."

    She gently stroked the satchel in her hand, and Evan saw that it was the most popular new style in London this year.

    "I am very honored to have this opportunity, I will definitely go." Evan said warmly, appearing to be both humble and not too lowly, and 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. In the end, under Evan's proper response, they all left.

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

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

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

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

    Evan subconsciously changed into a gentle look, and said warmly: "Everyone has 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 does not usually come to church except for weekend services, Pastor Bruce, you will find out later." Mrs. Sanders stood up and looked straight at Evan's Eyes, with a cold light in their eyes.

    Evan suddenly smiled, and the bright sunlight shone on him through the glittering windows of the church, making his whole person 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. Derain is a prosperous town, so the church's donations are also very abundant, especially Duke Wilson, he is indeed as generous as Mrs Sanders said.

    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. In the afternoon, Evan did this pile of work. I figured it out, 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 dean and said, "Sorry, it's getting late, let's be here today."

    The deans 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 to see if there were people, and then left the church.

    Evan returned to the parsonage, where Tom the valet was 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, and the Duke is likely to appear."

    Evan's whole body was tense, he looked at Tom in surprise, and it took 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 does not 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 said, and he was immersed in the excitement of seeing the Duke soon.

      Other cannon fodder passers-by can't stop his radiance.

    Evan was excited when he read this book, but when he actually entered this book, he panicked, because this is not a reasonable world, all Axioms and justice do not make sense in this place, and the only things that can be relied on are power and money.

    Evan's eyes showed a smile, in this world, the only way to gain power is to approach this duke, the duke who lacks personality but is emotionally blank .