The Shadow of Great Britain

117: Chapter 77: The Unfortunate Former Secretary of State 117: Chapter 77: The Unfortunate Former Secretary of State Officers at Portsmouth Port’s dining facility watched as Arthur sat before a dish he had heard much about but was seeing for the first time.

The dish looked from the outside like freshly baked bread with a golden crust, but when Arthur sliced through its outer layer, he discovered its true complexities.

The “bread” was divided into three layers: the outer layer was a mix of egg wash with foie gras pâté and mushroom purée, the middle layer a perfectly marinated, richly red smoked ham, and at the core lay a tender and juicy prime filet mignon.

Because this was Duke Wellington’s favorite dish, it naturally acquired a fitting name in British restaurants—Beef Wellington.

Arthur cut a piece of the steak and chewed thoughtfully for a moment.

Sitting beside him, Eld raised an eyebrow and asked, “How does it taste?”

Arthur put down his fork and nodded, “It’s hard to believe that this is actually a British dish.

You know, most chefs in London’s common restaurants can’t even properly make a simple vegetable soup.”

Following that, Arthur cut another piece of steak and placed it on an empty plate by the window.

Seeing this, Darwin across the table curiously asked, “What are you doing?”

Arthur, feigning solemnity, made the sign of the cross over his chest, “Charles, you know I’m a devout Catholic fundamentalist.

According to my beliefs, it’s only right to share the good things I receive.

I hope to let the seagulls of Portsmouth share this delight with me.”

Scratching his head in confusion, Darwin, a priest who had graduated from Cambridge University’s Theological Seminary, had always been skeptical of the Catholic fundamentalism Arthur talked about, because those doctrines and rules sounded like something Arthur had just made up.

Darwin tentatively probed, “Arthur, are you sure you haven’t got something wrong?

Don’t accidentally join the wrong church and end up on some wicked path.”

Arthur nodded slightly, “Don’t worry, Charles, I haven’t joined any church.

I haven’t yet met a priest or priest that I find convincing, but I think you’re pretty good.

How about this—after you finish your global voyage, find a church to settle in and baptize me when you’re not too busy.”

Upon hearing this, Darwin felt somewhat moved, “Arthur, to think you trust me so much that you’d even consider converting under my guidance to the state religion, I…

I really don’t know what to make of that.

Arthur, you truly are a good brother.”

Arthur picked up a napkin from the table and wiped his mouth, nodding repeatedly, “Of course, Charles, no need for formalities.

We’re all brothers here.

Even if one day you suddenly declare you’ve lost your faith, I’ll still support you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a raven with fiery red eyes swooped past the window, its claws seizing the steak from the plate and it flew off into the distance.

Upon seeing this, Eld whistled, “Oh!

Looks like the seagulls are out of luck today, all the steak has gone into the crow’s belly.”

Arthur glanced at him and said flatly, “Eld, I’ll bet you a penny the steak doesn’t end up in the crow’s mouth, it’s most likely going straight into the Devil’s belly.”

“You’re joking again.”

As Eld stirred his tea with a spoon, he asked, “By the way, how on earth did you make General Cordington hold you in such high regard today?

He was smiling like a well-worn boot all day and seemed almost ready to marry his granddaughter off to you.

If I didn’t know who he was, I’d think he’d escaped from Bethlem Royal Hospital.”

As Arthur cut another piece of steak, he replied, “It was nothing special, just a paper I published at the Royal Society.

It just so happened that it was co-authored with Michael Faraday, so General Cordington mistook me for someone whose expertise in electromagnetism on par with Mr.

Faraday’s.”

Listening, Eld frowned and speculated, “Does General Cordington have a keen interest in scientific matters?

Then…

Arthur, do you think you could…”

Before he could finish, Arthur raised his hand palm-up to stop him.

Arthur said, “My scientific knowledge might fool a naïve young girl, but if you try to deceive General Cordington with it, I’m afraid he might stuff you into a cannon on the Conqueror.

Besides, if you really want to delve into scientific research and write groundbreaking papers, there’s clearly someone better suited to teach you here.”

“Who?”

Arthur pointed to Darwin across the table, telling Eld, “If you can cling to Charles’s coattails, I guarantee you’d immediately surpass your uncle to become the most promising member of the Carter family.”

Upon hearing this, Eld first dismissively glanced at Darwin and then even more disdainfully at Dickens who was sitting beside him.

He asked nonchalantly, “Which Charles are you talking about?”

Arthur spread his hands toward Eld and then leaned back in his chair, speaking, “Hold whichever you can hold.

I think both of them are possible.”

The two Charleses responded almost in unison, “Arthur, you truly flatter me.

Compared to you, I still have much to learn.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows and say to Eld, “You see, Eld, this is why they can be prominent figures.

While they are earnestly studying, they remain exceedingly humble.”

At this point, Arthur turned his head toward Dickens and asked, “Charles, you mentioned there was a problem with the inauguration ceremony.

What exactly happened?”

Upon hearing this, Dickens put down his knife and fork and sighed heavily, “Arthur, you don’t know how lucky you are that you weren’t in charge of security for the inauguration ceremony today; otherwise, you would have definitely been blamed for this debacle.”

Upon hearing this, Darwin couldn’t help but ask, “Did the train derail?”

Dickens shook his head, “It’s worse than that.”

Eld, pinching his chin, chimed in, “Did Duke Wellington derail during the ceremony?”

Dickens hesitated a moment, “It does involve Duke Wellington.”

Eld gasped, “Duke Wellington didn’t derail with former Secretary of State William Hesketh, who also attended the ceremony, did he?”

Arthur, somewhat unable to continue listening, said, “I don’t think they share that kind of relationship.

If they were really that close, Wellington wouldn’t have needed to use the inauguration ceremony as an excuse to reconcile with Mr.

Hesketh.”

Dickens sighed, “That’s right.

They intended to use this event to announce publicly that the Hesketh faction was returning to the Tory ranks.”

Things had been proceeding smoothly, and both gentlemen had boarded the first train, with Duke Wellington quite excited about the remarkable speed of the ‘Northumberland.’

“I heard from colleagues who went to report that Mr.

Hesketh was thrilled with the successful inauguration of the railway, while the Duke was ecstatically shouting aboard the train, ‘This speed is incredible!’ ‘This moves as fast as a cannonball!’ ‘It’s only slightly slower than the French!’”

Upon hearing this, Eld couldn’t help but cover his mouth, “That sounds wonderful!

The atmosphere at the inauguration ceremony seems very lively!”

Dickens nodded, “If the event had continued in this direction, it would indeed have been a perfect inauguration ceremony.

But, unexpectedly, after the train arrived at the station, Duke Wellington was standing on the carriage, talking to Mr.

Hesketh below.

Just then, the delayed ‘Rocket’ train suddenly arrived, and at that moment, Mr.

Hesketh was standing on the tracks.

Seeing ‘Rocket’ coming towards him, he was so startled that he collapsed to the ground.”

“Although ‘Rocket’ tried very hard to brake, it inevitably struck Mr.

Hesketh, catapulting him several meters away.”

Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but take a deep breath, “What happened to Mr.

Hesketh later?”

Dickens lamented, “Don’t even mention it.

Although Mr.

Hesketh was immediately placed on a train and rushed to the nearby hospital, he died a few hours later from excessive blood loss.

Members of the Hesketh faction were furious, suspecting that Mr.

Hesketh’s death might have been a conspiracy.

“They questioned why the on-site police officers and engineers responsible for security didn’t warn Mr.

Hesketh not to stand on the tracks, or inform him that another train was approaching from behind.

Because of this incident, Duke Wellington is now extremely busy, and under pressure from the Hesketh faction, Scotland Yard and the railway company have started investigating Mr.

Hesketh’s death.

So, Arthur, you were indeed very lucky today.

When I first heard the news, I thought you were finished.

It was only later that I found out that the officer in charge of security at the venue from Scotland Yard had been changed last minute, thank Heaven.”

Hearing this, Arthur suddenly looked up towards the coastline outside the window and asked,

“Who was the highest commander from Scotland Yard in charge of security for today’s inauguration ceremony?”

Upon hearing this, Dickens took out a notebook from his bag, flipped through a few pages, and then confirmed his answer,

“Ah!

Found it.

The Scotland Yard officer in charge of today’s inauguration ceremony was Inspector Taylor Clements.”