Today's dinner was of a very high standard. Because there were foreign guests and close aristocrats, it was rare for Downton to open a large banquet hall.
For this banquet, Carson's team started preparing a week ago.
The huge crystal chandelier above the head of the grand banquet hall shines brightly. The horseshoe-shaped extra-long dining table is covered with a docile white linen tablecloth, silver-plated salt shakers, porcelain dinner plates, silver-plated table knives, glass wine glasses, gold-plated candlesticks, etc. in order
placed in front of the guests.
Paper slips with the guests' names will be affixed to an 8-foot-wide nameplate, which will be placed on the simulated dining table and the seats will be constantly adjusted.
Arranging seats is also a science. It requires careful consideration of who the guests may prefer to sit with, whether they know each other, what language they speak, etc.
The plan required Carson to repeatedly report to the hostess for modifications before finalizing it.
The Crowley family has little money now, but the family background is not comparable to that of the nouveau riche.
A skinny camel is bigger than a horse, this is the truth.
The Earl family, which has been passed down for centuries, has successively purchased and created 1,000 pieces of luxurious gold and silver porcelain tableware.
This tableware series embodies the design essence of Egypt, Greece, and Rome in the 19th century.
Because of the high specifications of this set of tableware, it was rarely used before.
One is because the guest status may not be enough for this set of tableware, and the other is because the number of people is too small and it is not worth using.
Today is different. There are dozens of domestic and foreign guests. In order to show the glory of Britain and the heritage of the family, everything must be treated with the highest standards.
This week, Carson had to take the maid with him every day to wash, dry, wipe the tableware by hand, and then carefully put them back together. It was a very huge project.
The waiters in white aprons first polished the long dining table until it was as shiny as a mirror.
This extra-long horseshoe-shaped dining table is formed in one piece. God knows that hundreds of years of old trees were cut down to make it.
Because the table is too big and it is difficult to hook the arms to the center, the servants will take off their shoes, wear thick socks and lie on the table to carefully wipe the table with a stick wrapped in a cloth mat.
In short, all porcelain, glass, silver-plated utensils, etc. that will be used at the banquet need to be cleaned and polished, and linen tablecloths, tablecloths, small napkins for cups and plates, etc. also need to be ironed and folded for later use. p>
The day before the dinner begins, accessories are placed on the table, including 10 exquisite candlesticks, each of which contains 122 parts.
Before each use, they need to be disassembled separately, cleaned, and then reassembled.
The centerpiece of the dining table is mainly composed of seasonal fruits and flowers.
The 12 pots of flowers are designed by a specialized flower arranger. The project is complicated and takes several hours to complete.
Ice buckets, salt shakers, dinner plates, main dinner plates, wine glasses, and silver-plated table knives must be wiped at least 7 times before being placed on the table.
The order in which all tableware is placed must also follow the regulations handed down from the Middle Ages to show respect for the distinguished guests.
The tableware placed at each seat must be accurately measured with a ruler, leaving at least 18 inches between knives, forks, and dinner plates.
The distance between seats will also be measured using special poles, and the distance will be adjusted to ensure the visual beauty brought about by the overall balance.
The guests on Robert's left and right sides will also have their own salt shakers and mustard shakers, while other guests will share one set for every four guests.
Servants will fold linen napkins into the shape of a Dutch hat and place them on the dining table. Each napkin is embroidered with the Crawley family totem, which is very beautiful.
Of course, these are all external factors. The key to the success of a dinner party is the taste of the food.
Mrs. Patmore prepared this for a week, all her specialties.
The pre-dinner soup is cold tomato clear soup and mashed potato pancakes. The appetizers include cod with oyster sauce, and pan-fried whitebait steak with anchovy sauce. Guests can choose between the two.
Followed by French meatballs and duck meatballs with Cumberland sauce.
The main course is roasted leg of lamb with potato slices, and the final dessert is fruit cake.
The taste is actually just that, mainly because the ingredients are fresh enough so it’s not unpalatable.
Mrs. Patmore's craftsmanship is still trustworthy, although she sometimes makes mistakes.
After the dinner, everyone moved to the ballroom next to the banquet hall. Cora arranged for a band to play live, and the guests could dance at any time.
However, most people chose to drink and chat. After all, it would be a pity to use this kind of social occasion for dancing.
Gao Bin walked among the guests with champagne, taking care of every guest who came to Downton as much as possible. This is also one of his responsibilities.
The normal banquet lasted until 11 o'clock in the evening and everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.
Gao Bin was so tired from working in the factory during the day and helping to entertain the guests at night that he went back to his room and took a shower before falling asleep. He didn't even go to Anna to play games.
He slept soundly and had no idea what was happening outside.
In the second half of the night, when it was almost dawn, Gao Bin felt a hand pat his face. He suddenly became excited, his brain reacted instinctively, and his body also took action.
A standard choke hold will pin the person directly to the bed.
"Well~it's me~"
"Anna?"
Gao Bin was startled, thinking that someone was trying to harm him.
Fortunately, Anna spoke up in time, otherwise her fragile neck would not have been able to stop Gao Bin's explosive grip.
"Hu~hu~"
Anna also knew that she was almost killed in the hands of her lover, and she burst into tears instantly.
Gao Bin comforted:
"Okay, okay, stop crying. Why did you come to me at this time?"
"Something happened to Miss Mary..."
It turned out that 20 minutes ago, Mary, who was fooling around with a beautiful Turkish man, woke up Anna. The reason was that the handsome man died on her bed. She didn’t know who to look for, so she could only wake Anna up.
But it is impossible for the two of them to move the body of an adult man.
Mary did not dare to tell her father. She knew that this incident was too embarrassing and that once word spread, the reputation of the entire family would be destroyed.
They didn’t want her father to be ashamed of her, so they had to wake Cora up.
In the end, the three of them still couldn't move it, so they had to have help from a man.
Carson is too old and William cannot hide the secret. After much deliberation, the only one he can find is Gao Bin.
So Anna took the initiative to invite Ying over. Unexpectedly, Gao Bin regarded her as a threat and almost had her neck cut off.
Gao Bin was speechless after learning the cause and effect.
This Mary has more success than failure.
"Let's go, let's go there."
He was used to sleeping on the ground, so he had no clothes on at the moment, but Anna had never seen anything, and there was no need to avoid her. Time was tight, so he just threw on a nightgown and followed her out.
When she came to Mary's room, she saw the mother and daughter in shock. Mary lowered her head in shame and did not even dare to look directly into Gao Bin's eyes.
Cora hugged Gao Bin:
"Child, I know this incident shocked you, but you must keep Mary secret, not for her, but for your father, for the Crawley family, and for Downton."
Gao Bin patted Cora on the back and said softly:
"Don't worry, I know what's appropriate. We must dispose of the body now, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble. The Turks will definitely investigate the cause!"
The women didn't think so much before, they just thought about sending the body back to his own room.
Now that Gao Bin said this, they also realized the seriousness of the problem.
It’s impossible for a good person to sleep to death, right?
You have to give someone an explanation!
There is still an hour and a half before dawn, time is running out.
Gao Bin stepped forward, stretched out his hand to pinch Mary's chin, and lifted it hard. Looking at the face full of pain and fear, he didn't feel soft at all:
"Tell me, how far have you developed?"
"What?" Mary didn't understand.
"There are no outsiders here. Tell me where you have progressed. This is very important!"
"I, we..." Mary subconsciously looked at her mother.
Although Cora didn't know why Gao Bin asked this, she believed in Gao Bin's ability to deal with things.
"Tell me, at this point, do you still feel ashamed?"
"Halfway in, he suddenly yelled, lay on top of me and became unresponsive."
After all, Gao Bin had been a policeman. Although he was not a professional forensic doctor, he had a basic understanding of corpses.
He shook off Mary's face and went to the body for a quick inspection.
If the judgment is correct, it should be a myocardial infarction. He was too excited, and he already had a heart disease, so he had a heart attack!
But Mary was indeed the inducement.
"Did he rape you?" Gao Bin asked without looking back.
Mary didn't speak, so he looked back and saw that she lowered her head and said nothing. The answer was obvious.
Gao Bin pinched his eyebrows, this matter is not easy to handle.
Originally he had a good impression of Mary, at least judging from the subsequent plot, this person is quite responsible.
But he forgot this important plot and naturally failed to prevent the tragedy from happening.
Mary is actually a very selfish person. Of course, she is the eldest daughter of a nobleman, and her selfishness is always directed towards people of the same class and status.
Because of her status as the eldest daughter of an aristocrat, she was destined to never elope for love from birth, let alone be indifferent to fame and wealth or give up on the management of family property.
Moreover, she is beautiful, tall, and has an unparalleled temperament. She can learn almost all the subjects that nobles need to study: fashionable clothing, horseback riding and hunting, social skills, and dance art.
You must know that not all carefully cultivated eldest daughters and eldest sons of aristocrats can meet these conditions at the same time, including natural beauty and wisdom, and acquired temperament and skills;
Therefore, even in the upper class circle where noble ladies gather, Mary is still the most shining. Her parents, the old lady, her two sisters, and the servants at home all have a very clear understanding and affirmation of this. Carson's preference comes from the tacit understanding cultivated between the second and third daughters before they were born, and Mary, the first daughter born in the family, and they have a friendship similar to that of a father and daughter
The father's preference is that the eldest daughter is born to be the face of the family, which meets all the expectations of the old aristocratic helmsman;
Mother's preference is the first crystallization of a happy marriage, inheriting beauty and aura, giving this American woman the first jewel in British society.
Even the head maid, who had some complaints about the eldest lady's coquettishness, said that she was the protagonist, and Carson naturally treated her like a queen, with quite a hint of jealousy and helplessness in her words;
Mary has been immersed in such a halo for a long time. Her indifference and selfishness are almost all directed at her second sister and her suitors who have been suppressed by her and have no future.
You can imagine that the princesses and sisters in the ancient palaces competed for the limelight and teased the princes and princes who pursued her.
Such people are qualified to be willful.
But what she did this time made Cora and Gao Bin extremely disappointed in her.
Because what she gave up was the most important honor of a noble eldest daughter!
The most criticized thing about Mary is that when she considers her relationship, her family interests, inheritance rights, and future prosperity are all weighed against her cousin.
Rationally speaking, for the eldest daughter of an aristocrat, weighing the pros and cons is a compulsory course that she has to learn since she was a child. Her feelings at this time must be weighed.
To her, all men are chosen objects.
However, on this basis, she herself yearns for love.
She hopes that she can marry a real Prince Charming, a man with background, family, good looks, romance, and gentleness!
Her pride and capital make her red line thicker than others, like a high-voltage power grid that electrifies her loyal suitors and hurts herself.
In her opinion, Patnuk is the right one.
So she was impulsive, and it was also because at this age, she had already had all kinds of charming fantasies about the relationship between men and women, and then the tragedy happened in front of her.
"Gao, what should we do? We need to come up with an idea!" Cora stepped forward and gave the firmest attitude in the softest voice.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
"Go back to the room first. I have to go out for a while. You guys should cover for me. You must come back before the servants get up."
"Where are you going?" Mary asked.
"If you want to give a satisfactory explanation, you have to put on a show and make a trap. I have to go to the forest to catch a snake!"
"Now?" Cora grabbed his arm nervously.
Anna was more nervous than she was, but she didn't dare to show any unnecessary signs.
"Yes, mother, now, Mary, remember, when you were hunting during the day, you passed through a waist-high jungle. Patnuk shouted in pain, but no one took it seriously."
Then he said to Anna:
"You go to the laundry room and find the pants that Patrick wore during the day."
"But I don't know which pair he is wearing!"
"Tell Mary to go with you, and be quick!"
Turning to look at Cora:
"Mother, chat with more ladies tomorrow and spread the word about Patnuk's death from snake venom. As long as you set the tone of public opinion first, the Turks won't be able to overturn the situation!"
Cora nodded:
"No problem, I know what to say."
"Very good, then let's take action. Anna, you go out to explore the path first, especially the door to the servants' passage, and guard it!"
"I'll go right away!"
The castle needs to have servants on duty at night to ensure that the bonfire in the fireplace is strong at all times, so that door is the key, and servants may appear at any time.
He doesn't want to kill someone for the sake of honor.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. He carried a cold body through the corridor, which was a bit intrusive in the dark night.
After settling in, he said to Anna and Mary:
"I'll go and come back quickly. You go to my room and wait. I'll call you when I come back."
"Okay, please pay attention to your safety, Master." Anna said with concern.
Mary stepped forward and hugged Gao Bin:
"Gao, thank you, I don't know what I would do without you."
"Mary, remember, I am not doing this for you, but for my father, my mother, and our family. I will always remember this and feel ashamed of you!"
Gao Bin's words were also what Cora wanted to say. She sighed and patted Gao Bin's arm to remember her firm support.
I went back to my room, changed my clothes, and walked into the forest through the back door.
Things turned out to be much more difficult than he expected. It wasn't until dawn that he returned to the room with a green snake on his arm.
However, always hold the tongue with your fingers to ensure that it does not bite others!
"Did you find the pants?"
"I found it, but it has been washed and is still wet!" Mary said.
"It doesn't matter, hurry up, just put one leg on it."
It was too late. When he came in through the back door, he had already heard the servant getting up.
There was no accident this time. I pinched the snake's head and took a bite of Patnuk's calf.
This snake is not big and leaves two small red teeth marks. It is difficult to notice if you don’t look carefully.
Anna asked nervously:
"Is this enough?"
Gao Bin shook his head:
"It can't stand up to the investigation at all. After all, it's not a venomous snake, but it's not a big problem. As long as it looks good, it's fine."
Mary clutched her chest and wanted to cry again. Obviously, she really liked Patnuk.
"Okay, go back to your room quickly. Pay attention to your emotions tomorrow and keep your mouth shut. If you let it slip, no one can save you!"
Gao Bin used the harshest words to hit Mary's heart. There was nothing he could do. If not, this woman might not have a long memory!
Pushing Mary out of the door, Gao Bin took Anna and ordered:
"You also have to be careful not to act strange. From the time you fell asleep to the time you woke up yesterday, you didn't even leave the room."
"I'm not sure Gwen heard the noise!"
Gao Bin thought for a moment and said:
"When Gwen wakes up, take the initiative to say that she talked in her sleep last night but didn't hear what she said clearly, so just divert her attention."
"I understand, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just that it was too dark in the forest and I accidentally sprained my foot."
"Let me take a look." A look of worry immediately appeared on Anna's face, and she squatted down and touched her ankles with her hands.
Gao Bin avoided it, pulled her up, and said softly:
"It's okay, don't worry, go back quickly, it will be bad if you are met by someone."
Anna bit her lip and left Patnuk's room.
Gao Bin looked back at the handsome man who was staring blankly, and muttered:
"You have deserved your death. You did not forget to be romantic before you died. This life has been a good thing for you."
Then, he opened the window and threw the green snake out. The frightened little snake would find its way back to the forest on its own, so don't worry about it.
After doing all this, he returned to the house and took a hot bath. After all, he touched the body. Although he was not afraid, he still felt a little uncomfortable.