Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

The next morning Julia woke up and lay in bed for a while before ringing the bell.she thought.She recalled the adventure of the night before, and could not help being pleased with the calmness with which she had managed it.It may not be appropriate to say that she won victory from defeat, but if it is regarded as a strategic retreat, then her actions are extremely ingenious. Still, she couldn't make up her mind.There may be another explanation for Charles' odd behavior.Most likely the reason he didn't want her was her lack of charm.It was an idea that had crossed her mind during the night, and though she had dismissed it as doubtless improbable, it was undeniable that she was troubled by it again at this hour of the morning.She rang the bell.Because Michael often came to her room when she was at breakfast, Evie usually handed her a mirror and a wooden comb, as well as her powder and lipstick, after she drew the curtains.This time, instead of a hasty brush through her hair with a wooden comb and a hasty puff of powder over her face, Julia took some time.She carefully applied lipstick and rouge to her lips, and combed her hair carefully.

Tell it calmly and without prejudice, when Evie brought a tray of breakfast to her bed, Julia asked, still looking in the mirror, Do you think I'm a pretty woman, Evie? Before answering your sentence, I must first know if I will cause trouble if I say it? You old bitch, said Julia. You're not a big beauty, you know. Great actresses are never great beauties. You were all dressed up last night, and you looked even uglier with the light behind you, you know. (This spoiled my last night.) What I want to ask you is, if I really wanted to hook up with a guy, would you look at me? I know what men are like, so it's no wonder they fall for you.Which one do you want to seduce now?

Neither one.I'm just speaking in general terms. Ivan took a breath through his nose, and wiped his nostrils with his index finger. Don't inhale like this.Blow your nose well. Julia slowly ate hard-boiled eggs.She was having thoughts.She looked at Evie.It is true that she is an eccentric old woman, but people are not judged by appearances. Tell me, Evie, have you ever met a guy on the street trying to pick you up? I?I'd love them to try it! To tell you the truth, I think so too.A lot of women keep telling me how men keep an eye on them in the street, and if they stop to look in a shop window they come up and try to get their attention.Sometimes it can be a real hassle to get rid of them.

It was disgusting, unmistakable. I'm not sure.It's also very flattering.You know, strange to say, no one has ever been stalking me in the street.I don't recall anyone ever trying to hook me up. Oh, come, you just have to walk up Edgware Road some night.Make sure someone picks up. If someone catches up, I really don't know what to do. Call the police, Evie said sternly. I know a young girl who was looking in a shop window in Bond Street, it was a hat shop, when a man came up and asked her if she wanted a hat.I wanted to buy one, she said, and they went into the shop together, and she picked one up, and left her name and address, but he paid for her on the spot, and she said, thank you so much, While he was waiting for the change, she walked outside.

This is what she casually said to you.Evie sniffed suspiciously.She looked at Julia, puzzled.what do you mean? Oh nothing.I just don't understand why I've actually never had anyone accost me.Maybe it's because I don't seem to be sexy. But does she have it?She was determined to try it out. That afternoon, after she had finished her afternoon nap, she got up from the bed with slightly more colorful makeup than usual. Without calling Evie, she put on a colored dress that was neither plain nor obviously expensive. A red wide-brimmed straw hat. I don't want to look like a whore, she said, looking in the mirror, and I don't want to look serious, either.

She tiptoed down the stairs so that no one could hear her, and went out, closing the door softly.She was a little nervous, but excited; she felt that she was doing something amazingly bad.She walked across Connaught Place and onto Edgware Road.It was about five o'clock.Buses, taxis and trucks formed a long snake on the road, with cyclists weaving dangerously between the traffic.Pedestrians crowded the sidewalks. She walked slowly north.At first she walked with her eyes straight ahead, neither to the right nor to the left, but soon she realized that wasn't going to work.If she wants people to look at her, she must look at them.Two or three times she saw five or six people looking into shop windows, and she stopped to look too, but no one paid her any attention.

She continued to walk forward.People walked past her on the opposite side and on both sides.They seem to be in a hurry.Nobody paid any attention to her at all.When she saw a man walking towards her alone, she gave him a bold stare, but he continued walking with no expression on his face. She suddenly thought that her expression was too serious, so she put a slight smile on her lips.Two or three men thought she was smiling at them and looked away quickly.After one of them walked past her, she looked back, and the man looked back too, but as soon as he met her eyes, he walked forward quickly.Feeling left out, she decided not to look around.She kept walking.She had always heard it said that the London crowd was the most polite in the world, but this time their behavior was so inhuman.

This is not the case for a woman walking the streets of Paris, Rome or Berlin.she thought. She decided to go as far as the Marielpont Road, and then turned back.Wouldn't it be embarrassing if she went home without encountering anyone to hook her up once.She walked so slowly that sometimes people bumped into her.This annoyed her. I should go to Oxford Street (Note: One of the busiest streets in London, with famous department stores and clothing stores.) Try it, she said, Evie that bastard.Edgware Road is clearly out of date. Suddenly her heart jumped with joy.At last she was noticed by a young man, whom she was sure had a gleam of joy in his eyes.He walked over, and she did her best not to turn her head away.She froze for a moment, because he walked by her again after a while, it turned out that he turned back, and this time he gave her a look.She glanced at him, then looked down sheepishly.He stepped back a little, and she knew he was following her.This is down.She stopped to look at the windows, and he stopped too.She knows how to act at this time.She pretended to be absorbed in the wares on display in the window, but just as she was about to move forward, she gave him a half-smiling glance.

He was a short man who looked like an office clerk or a department store floor inspector, in a gray suit and brown fedora.She was not happy to be seduced by such a man, but it was the case, and he obviously wanted to seduce her. She forgot that she was beginning to feel a little tired.She didn't know what was going to happen next.Of course, she wouldn't let things go too far, but she was eager to see what he would do next.She wondered what he was going to say to her, she thought.She was excited and happy, and a stone was removed from her heart. She walked forward slowly, knowing that he was right behind her.She stopped in front of another shop window, and this time he stopped right next to her.Her heart was pounding, and it seemed that an adventure was about to begin.

I wonder if he will ask me to go with him to the hotel.I don't think he can afford the rent.Go to the cinema.It must be so.This time it's strong enough. She was looking straight at him now, almost smiling.He takes off his hat. Miss Lambert, isn't it? She nearly freaked out of her wits.She was indeed too shocked to deny it calmly. As soon as I saw you, I thought I recognized you, so I turned back to have a better look, understand, I said to myself, if this is not Julia.Lambert, then I'm Ramsay.MacDonald (Note: The leader of the British Labor Party has served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times. Of course the young man here is not Prime Minister MacDonald. He means that he believes that it is Julia.).Then you stopped to look in the window, which gave me a chance to look at you carefully.I wonder how I saw you on the Edgware Road.It seems so surreal, maybe you know what I mean.

The truth is even stranger than he imagined.Anyway, as long as he knew who she was, it didn't matter.She should have expected that it would be impossible for her to walk a few steps about London without being recognized. He spoke with a Cockney accent and was pale, but she smiled at him pleasantly and kindly.Must not make him think she was putting on airs. Sorry to talk to you without an introduction, but I can't afford to lose this opportunity.May I thank you for signing me? Julia gasped.It's impossible that he followed her for ten minutes just to sign her name.He must have come up with this as an excuse to strike up a conversation with her.Well, she had to keep playing. I am very happy.But I'm not very good at signing autographs for you on the street.People will be watching closely. you're right.Listen, I'm going to drink tea.There's a Lyon restaurant around the corner.Would you like to have a drink too? She continues to act.Probably by the time they've had their tea he'll suggest going to the movies. Whoa, she said. They walked all the way to the dining room and sat down at a small table. Two cups of tea, miss, he said to the waitress.Do you want something to eat?Julia wants nothing, he said to the waitress, a scone and butter, miss. Julia could now study him closely.Although he was a short and stout man, he had good features, his jet-black hair was tightly pressed to his scalp with pomade, his eyes were piercing, but his teeth were crooked and his skin was pale, which made him look unhealthy.Julia didn't like his manner a bit rash, but she thought reasonably, you can't expect a young man who picks you up on the Edgware Road to be as shy as a violet ) to describe a shy, shy person.). Otherwise, take your time, let's sign the name first, how about?Just do it, that's my motto. He took a fountain pen from his pocket and a large card from a bulging wallet. This is our company's business card, he said, just sign it here. Julia thought it absurd to see him go so far with the trick, but she graciously signed him her name on the back of the card. Do you collect autographs?She asked him with a sly smile. I?No.I think it's all bullshit.My girlfriend is collecting.She got Charlie.Chaplin and Douglas.Fairbanks (Note: American actor, director and playwright. Famous for mime performances.), and I don't know how many other signatures.I'll show you her picture if you want to. From his wallet he pulled a snap shot of a rather stylish young woman with a toothy grin like a movie star. Pretty, said Julia. Of course beautiful.We will go to the movies together tonight.If I give her your autograph, she will be very surprised.I recognized you just now, and my first thought was that I was dying to get Julia Gwen for my Gwen.Lambert's signature.We're going to get married in August while I'm on vacation, you know; we're going to the Isle of Wight for our honeymoon.With this, I can have fun with her.When I tell her that you have had tea with me, she will definitely not believe it, and will think that I am lying to her. At this time, I will show her my autograph, do you understand? Julia listened to him with gentle civility, but the smile faded from her face. I'm afraid I have to go soon, she said, I'm already late. I don't have much time left either.You know, going to meet my girlfriend, I can't wait to get out of here. The waitress had put the bill on the table when they brought their tea; now they rose, and Julia produced a shilling from her handbag. What are you doing?Don't you think I'll make you pay the bill.I invited you here. Then thank you. But let me tell you what you can do: Let me take my girlfriend to your dressing room to see you another day.You just shake hands with her, understand?It would be a big deal for her.Ah, she'll be telling people all her life. Julia's demeanor had hardened over the past few minutes, and was now almost haughty, though still polite. I'm sorry, but we never allow strangers backstage. oh sorry.But you won't blame me for making such a request, will you?I mean, I'm not likely to make such a claim for myself. Not surprising at all.I totally understand. She waved to a taxi driving slowly along the sidewalk, and at the same time held out her hand to say goodbye to the young man. Goodbye, Miss Lambert.Goodbye, good luck, all the best, and thank you for your autograph. Julia sat down in the corner of the taxi, furious. Vile little beast.He also has his girlfriend.Asking me if he could bring her to see me was pretty bold and old-fashioned. When she got home, she went upstairs to her room.She took off the hat from her head and threw it on the bed angrily.She strode over to the mirror and gazed at herself. Old, old, old, she muttered, and there's nothing I can do about it; I've lost all my sex appeal.You don't want to believe it, do you?You will say this is nonsense.So what other explanation is there?I walked up and down the Edgware Road, Lord knows I still dressed up like that, but no man ever paid me a second, except for a damned little clerk who asked for my autograph for his girlfriend.It's ridiculous.They're all bastards with no libido.I don't know what the future holds for the British.O British Empire! These last words she uttered had a contempt which was sure to startle a whole row of Cabinet ministers.She gestures. Anyone who thinks I'm not sexy can get where I am is ridiculous.What do people come to see an actress for?Because they dream of sleeping with her.Are you going to tell me that I can run a bad play for three months and fill up the shows without being sexy?After all, what is sexy? She paused, looking at herself in the mirror, thinking. Of course I can act sexy.I act like everything. She began to think of those actresses known for their sex appeal, especially one of them, Lydia.Mayne, was often hired to play the role of slut seducing men.She is not a good actress, but when she plays some roles, she is really superb.Julia was a good imitator, and now she began to imitate Lydia.Here comes Maine.She half-closed her eyelids as lewdly as Lydia's, and writhed under her dress.She made her eyes cast coquettish, provocative glances like Lydia's, and added seductiveness to the snake-like wriggling posture, which was Lydia's special knack.She also began to speak in Lydia's voice, in a languid drawl that made everything she uttered sound slightly lewd. Ah, my dear, I have heard that too much.I don't want to cause trouble between you and your wife.Why don't men just leave me alone? It was a bitter parody of Julia's.This is truly ruthless.She found it so funny that she couldn't help laughing out loud. Come on, here's one thing for sure: I may not be sexy, but after seeing my parody, not many people think Lydia is. This was a great relief to her.