The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1068: Chapter 84: 19th Century Marriage Urging Plot

Empress Catherine and I are merely common thieves. But I’m curious, how does Queen Teresa of Austria confess to the priest? Whenever she pillages, she always acts like a weeping little woman. However, the more she cries, the more she pillages!

— Frederick the Great

Dear Louis:

I heard that you recently visited Paris and will be representing the Bonaparte Family in bringing back your uncle’s coffin from the distant Saint Helena Island? On this matter, I must be frank with you; your uncle, aunt, and your father are all very angry. They believe that for something this significant, you should have consulted the family in an internal meeting before making a decision.

But in reality, you should understand that if you truly did so, this proposal would definitely have been rejected. Your little intentions, the elders can see through them, and I, as your mother, can also see through them. However, ultimately, I am different from them because you are my son, and as a mother, I always hope my child can stand out in life.

Yet, if possible, I only wish to keep you by my side, to take good care of you, watching you marry a young, well-mannered girl who can complement your personality and care for your children... Those who think I am ambitious will not know how much I pity their narrow minds, exchanging what they imagine I might long for power at such a high price.

Because to me, the only things I need are sunlight, air, and you.

Your mother

Orthense Bonaparte

April 25, 1833, Geneva, Switzerland

The little café was filled with smoke.

Louis clutched the letter in his hand, feeling his head swell with every glance he took.

If there’s anything troubling him recently, it’s not assisting Young Italy, nor bringing his uncle’s coffin back from overseas, but that his mother has started writing letters urging marriage again.

Even though late marriages among European male nobles are relatively common, with marriages in their thirties or forties not being especially rare.

However, his mother believed that Louis shouldn’t follow this tradition, and the sooner he marries, the better. As a descendant of the Bonaparte Family, Louis must do his part to extend the family’s lineage.

Worse still, Louis’s mother doesn’t just talk; she is very proactive in arranging matchmaking for Louis, and she often includes a noble lady she deems suitable in her letters.

And recently, Louis’s mother has been dropping hints, probing into Louis’s feelings about the natural scenery of Portugal.

Others may not know what she means, but Louis, having cousins who pass him information, quickly realized his mother’s true intentions.

It is said that within the Bonaparte Family, there is a discussion about a marriage proposal between Louis and Queen Mary II of Portugal.

And upon learning about this, Louis promptly sent a forthright letter to his mother.

— My father demonstrated with his great example that the homeland is far lovelier than any foreign throne. Even when he was the King of the Netherlands, he never stopped longing for France. As for me, I let time decide. I believe that in the eyes of my compatriots, the great surname I possess shall not forever denote a status of exclusion, as this surname will remind the respectable French people of a 15-year glorious period. Until then, I will patiently and calmly wait for the people to recall the Bonaparte exiled by 1.2 million foreigners in 1815 back to its embrace. To one day serve as a citizen and soldier for France is the only thing I wish for, and in my eyes, this dream equals all the thrones beneath the heavens combined.

Louis’s response was half-true.

On one hand, he indeed believes that even if the chance of seizing the crown of his homeland France is slim, this small possibility outweighs any throne of another country.

But on the other hand, he strongly suspects that this is a ploy by his elder uncle and others intended to draw him away from France, preventing him from representing the July Monarchy in retrieving Napoleon’s remains.

Moreover, regardless of whether the marriage proposal with Queen of Portugal ultimately comes to fruition, even if feasible, it would certainly face strong opposition from the French July Monarchy Government, Austria’s Metternich Government, and even the British and Russian governments may not agree with this union.

At this point, Louis was no longer the young hothead who rushed to join the Charcoal Party uprising; after years of training at Scotland Yard, the most crucial lesson he learned was to be pragmatic and not to reach beyond grasp, only what’s in hand is truly yours.

If you’ve already accepted the pie someone painted for you, why would they really give the pie to you?

In short, concerning the marriage arrangement, Louis’s attitude is summed up in one phrase — I don’t believe it, even if it’s true, I don’t believe it.

However, although he rejected the marriage proposal with the Queen of Portugal, his mother had another potential candidate.

That was a lady from her own family, the Bouarne Family, who was also Louis’s cousin.

Unfortunately, Louis was equally disinterested in this marriage arrangement.

Even if his mother described this lady as beautiful as a flower and wealthy, Louis still wasn’t interested.