Chapter 420 In the Name of the Father

I came from hell, on my way to heaven, and was passing through the world.

——Stendhal, "The Red and the Black"

The afterglow of the setting sun brought a soft light, which fell into St. Martin's Church along the colorful glazed windows.

The air was filled with a mixture of candles, cigarettes and the woody fragrance of the years. In the prayer hall far away from the noisy crowd of Trafalgar Square, an unknown drama was being staged in an area where no one paid attention.

William Turner's brush paused for a moment, and he looked up at the girl who was half-kneeling beside the black oak coffin.

She held a clean and wet white towel tightly in her hand, and her trembling fingers gently brushed across the cooled skin, as if to wipe away the fatigue and suffering of the world for him for the last time.

The towel moistened Arthur's lips. Perhaps it was an illusion. Turner always felt that because of this insignificant moisture, even the pale face of the deceased was rosy and soft because of the arrival of this little moisture.

Seeing this scene, Turner couldn't help but feel a little sad in his calm mood. With the help of the faint candlelight and the dim sunset, he waved his brush and quickly and accurately captured this scene of life and death, trying to use colors and lines to imprint this secret and sincere emotion forever in the world of painting art.

Suddenly, a low and hoarse chanting sound came to his ears.

The pastor, John Newman from Oxford, was standing alone not far away, holding a flipped Bible, chanting the holy scriptures that conveyed endless grief in a low and melodious voice.

His voice was like a soothing melody, passing through the empty hall. At this moment, it seemed to resonate and merge with the silent prayers of the weeping girl, the painter's flying brushstrokes, and the sighs of the deceased's close friends in the front seats.

"Now I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Thanks be to the Father, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the sight of the Lord.

His anger is not in vain. It is but a moment, but his grace is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Our Lord has been revealed to us, having abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. And we are indeed his children. The reason why the world does not know us is that it has not known him. Dear brothers, we are children of God now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when the Lord appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. "

Fiona raised her hand and gently stroked Arthur's cheek. The cold touch came from her fingertips, as if she was thrown into the Arctic Circle in the cold winter. She could not see anything in front of her eyes, or she could see everything. She could not tell whether what she saw was rain or snow.

Drops of tears slid down the wings of her nose to the corners of her mouth, and then fell from her chin to Arthur's forehead.

In the eyes of many people, this is a very rude behavior, but at this moment, no one wants to stop it, because even the strongest people can't recover from the scene in front of them.

"Fiona."

Suddenly, Fiona seemed to hear someone calling her name.

She was stunned at first, then raised her arm and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

How she wished she could see a pair of open eyes at this time, those dark, red eyes that people could never forget after seeing them once.

However, God seemed to have played a joke on her, and her expectations were dashed.

Arthur's closed eyes were like the stone doors of an ancient temple. Since they fell, they could no longer be opened.

Yes!

He died, sleeping forever, like a pool of calm autumn water.

Fiona was stunned for a long time, and her eyes, which were wide open due to surprise, finally softened again. She gently stroked Arthur's face and neck, as if she wanted to remember this feeling.

A little bit of memory emerged in her mind, and she seemed to see the lively young man again.

The man in a dark blue tailcoat, wearing a police knife and a top hat on his head, opened a matchbox and gently lit the pipe in his mouth, leaning against the corner of the church.

With a heavy inhalation, the spark of the pipe lit up, and thick smoke spewed out of his mouth, as if to surround him.

Suddenly, he raised his head and glanced at his side, with a warm smile that was a bit awkward but polite on his face.

He took off his hat and nodded slightly to her to apologize.

"Sorry, Fiona, I didn't know you were there. A gentleman smokes in front of a lady, and I might be a little rude to do this."

Fiona just winked playfully: "Mr. Gentleman, you know, I don't care."

He rubbed his hair. He looked a little tired after working for a long time: "By the way, are you still drinking laudanum? The kind of harmful alcohol that makes everyone addicted?"

"Of course not."

Fiona took Arthur's arm: "I will always keep your words in mind. Seeing how obedient I am, don't you plan to treat me to a meal before discussing business with me today? ?”

"My lovely lady. Your request is very reasonable and I should not refuse it, but..."

He took out the shriveled wallet from his arms and took a look at it, then scratched the side of his face in trouble: "My financial situation is not optimistic. Alexander, Benjamin and Elder, and now there is another Heinrich. Heine, all my bastard friends are asking me to borrow money. The worst part is that I paid the advance payment for the police toys from Mr. Colt and Mr. Wheatstone. "

Fiona waved her hands indifferently and said: "It doesn't matter. You treat me and I'll pay for the bill. I'll treat it as a kickback for you. Although I am a woman, it doesn't mean that I don't understand the rules or the politics of Britain. Ecology.”

He looked a little surprised or hesitant, but soon he put a hand on his chest, bowed slightly, blinked and said with a smile: "Well, thank you for your generosity, I am very happy to be able to attend you." A charity dinner hosted by myself. By the way, it would be better if I could have a glass of ice-cold orange carbonated water tonight.

Fiona rolled her eyes at him, squeezed his arm, and immediately held up the custom-made small pure white lace parasol: "No carbonated water. But, drinking is enough."

The two figures walked further and further away, gradually disappearing into the light and fog in front of them, until they could no longer be seen.

"Miss Fiona."

The voice of calling sounded in Fiona's ears again, pulling her back from her memories.

Fiona looked to the side blankly, and saw that the people in the church had left their seats at some point. They stood in the aisle and looked at her, as if they were hesitant to speak.

However, in the end, Mr. Turner, who was stained with paint, spoke: "Madam, it's getting late and our work has been completed today. Why don't we all go have a meal together? If you feel that the food here is not to your liking, Our gentlemen here will also be happy to take you home first.”

"Ah..." Fiona seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes darted around: "I... thank you for your kindness, but I am not as fragile as you think. Officer Bonaparte should know that I am different from the average person. Women are different. No gangster has ever dared to cause trouble for me."

When Louis heard this, he couldn't help but remind him: "Miss Fiona, no one dared to trouble you before because..."

Halfway through the words, Louis stopped talking. He knew that he should not mention that name again at this time: "In short, let us send you home. Although the parliamentary reform has been passed and the riots have subsided, London There are usually a lot of people doing dirty work on the streets.”

Fiona shook her head repeatedly. She resisted and said: "You are right, but you also said that no one troubled me before because... now, he is here too. As long as I don't go too far. , then there won’t be any problem.”

"But……"

Louis still wanted to dissuade him, but was interrupted by Alexandre Dumas: "Louis, it's okay, it's not like there are no hotels nearby. If it's late, this lady can stay at the hotel. Trafalgar Square is right next to it. "If there's a problem with security here in Whitehall Street, in Parliament, in the Court of Chancery, it means the country is finished."

Seeing this, Pastor Newman on the side also said: "If you stay too late and have nowhere to stay, I will help you say hello to the priests at St. Martin's Church or Westminster Abbey. You arrive You can live in a room with the nuns. Although the conditions are not very good, at least it is safe. Moreover, it will not delay your attendance at Mr. Hastings's funeral tomorrow."

When Fiona heard this, she was immediately relieved. She held up the hem of her skirt and bowed her head and said, "May God bless you, Mr. Newman. Not only have you forgiven my sins, but you have also provided me with all kinds of grace."

Newman smiled reluctantly and glanced at the oak coffin: "Don't worry, madam, I also learned from him to save the lost lamb."

After saying this, several people silently left the prayer hall of St. Martin's Church.

Before leaving, Louis did not forget to tell Fiona: "If you want to go back, you can ask the police officers in front of the church for help. They are all members of the Police Intelligence Bureau, so they also know who you are."

Fiona just nodded slightly and watched the group of Arthur's friends walk away until their footsteps could no longer be heard in her ears.

She turned around and looked at Arthur in the coffin.

The warm wind blew through the empty prayer hall and picked up her dress. Fiona was trembling. She only felt her whole body trembling.

Perhaps he was in awe of this sacred place, or he felt that such a scene should not be desecrated.

However, she felt that she could no longer hide or pretend.

Even though she had just confessed her sins to Newman, even though she had just burst into tears and said that she would change her ways.

But, but...

At this moment, what was accumulated in her chest was a prairie fire, like a volcano crater that had been suppressed for a long time. The feelings that had been accumulated for a long time could no longer be concealed by her.

She tremblingly stretched her hand into the coffin, towards the face that haunted her.

Like the other dead, Arthur's body was very heavy, but Fiona didn't know where she got the strength to hold him in her arms.

She put Arthur's head quietly on her chest, and couldn't help showing a look of intoxication on her face, as if she was a little repentant and a little humble. She murmured: "I am such a cheap woman, maybe I will never change in my life."

And where she couldn't see, Agares was sitting on the statue of the church. The Red Devil held his chin with his fingers crossed, and showed a playful smile of conspiracy on his face.

The Red Devil gently patted the face of the statue under his crotch, and whispered provocatively: "See? Old thing. This is really a moving picture! Right on your territory, at this moment, the most evil combination in the world will be staged!"

He witnessed with his own eyes that Fiona lifted Arthur's chin, closed her eyes and gently pressed her lips against his.

In an instant, the shining hexagram flew out from the red devil's forehead, and they kept growing and extending until they wrapped the entire church together.

Then, they curled up and gathered until they tightly wrapped Fiona and Arthur's bodies together.

The gorgeous purple and shining red bloomed at the same time at this moment.

They symbolize the most corrupt and purest depravity in the world.

Gradually, a huge dark hole appeared in the hexagram array.

Agares examined and observed, and occasionally turned over the parchment in his hand, like an ancient scholar who was working hard.

Suddenly, his right eye twitched lightly, and Agares suddenly snapped his fingers, as if time had stopped at this moment.

The hexagrams dimmed one by one, and as they dimmed, the starlight appeared, and the soul gradually emerged in the air.

A face that was nine points of asking for a beating, and a mind that was four points of rebellion.

If he could choose, Agares might give him a normal person's brain, but many things were beyond his control.

Agares' eyes glowed red. He looked at the pale blue phantom floating above Arthur's body, and suddenly exhaled from his nose: "Welcome back, little bastard!"

Agares' fingertips swung violently, and his soul fell rapidly downwards, pouring into the already stiff torso. With a bang, a burst of pale blue stardust burst out of the oak coffin, as if fluorescent powder was sprinkled all over the ground.

Fiona's mouth blocked Arthur's lips, and she greedily sought in it. She felt like she was falling into an ice cave, but she seemed to rise into the torture of hell.

Her tongue rubbed against Arthur's fangs, and a small cut of neither deep nor shallow was opened. Blood flowed freely in her mouth, as if she wanted her to personally experience the heart-piercing pain of being pierced by a bullet.

She held Arthur in her arms, and was unwilling to let go, even if people wanted to bury her and Arthur together.

Suddenly, she seemed to feel something.

Like a hot iron, a broad hand pressed on her waist, and her tongue was suddenly twisted.

She opened her eyes in horror, fear, fear, excitement, all human emotions seemed to gather in her heart at this moment.

She saw that the familiar face in front of her was twitching, like a worm.

The tightened bronze door, the closed eyes, were being shaken.

Fiona suddenly loosened her lips. She was very scared, but also very excited. This was a contradictory feeling, but no matter what, she was unwilling to let go at this time.

Because she saw that the eyes she had prayed for countless times were slowly opening, the black eyes were like the night sky outside the window, and the light red light revealed the dusty return from the other side.

Arthur looked at Fiona in front of him, and his weak lips moved slightly.

His voice was like a call from ancient times, low but loud enough.

"Water..."

When Fiona heard this, she felt as if she was dreaming. She couldn't believe what was happening in front of her, but hugged him tightly in her arms as if she was worried about losing him again.

She heard Arthur's weak and helpless voice ringing in her ears: "You... why don't you scold me, and... hug me?"

Fiona just buried her head in his neck when she heard it. She had already burst into tears: "Because, no one in the world is more unhappy than you."