The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1308: Chapter 174: Nightingale Mansion’s Business Evaluation (Part 3)

The answer is on the horizon!

France is no longer tenable, Germany is unfamiliar territory, and the girls unanimously believe it’s time for everyone to find a new place to flourish!

To secure an opportunity to make it in London, today they must win over Shubinsky and demonstrate their business acumen to the Sir.

Arthur saw the girls full of energy, tilted his head, and gestured to them, meaning: watch and learn, there’s no need to push yourselves too hard.

After all, he’s asked everything he needed to; even if you twisted Shubinsky into a rope, you probably wouldn’t squeeze any more juice out of him.

But none of the girls paid him any mind; all they could think about now was going to London to live a good life.

Seeing this, Arthur didn’t say much, just curled his lips and exited the room.

As soon as he stepped out, he took out a pipe and lit it, only to look up and see Fiona standing not far away with an ivory fan watching him.

Arthur took a drag from the pipe and asked in a deep voice, “Is it necessary to put on this show to take them to London? Working at Nightingale Mansion, is it not enough to have strength and wield a whip?”

Fiona covered the lower half of her face with the fan, squinted and moved to Arthur’s side, leaning in to his ear and asked, “Feeling sorry for them? Then go in and protect them, why did you come out?”

Arthur, biting the pipe, glanced at her but said nothing.

Seeing him silent, Fiona took his arm and said, “Darling, you don’t understand; in this line of work, not a single girl is innocent. They are not like you and me; we’ve never lived and died alongside them. They’ve only enjoyed the benefits you’ve given them but never done anything for you. Such a relationship is unstable and cannot be trusted. Nightingale Mansion never lacks girls; what we lack are reliable ones. After tonight, they’ll have proven their allegiance. It’s like you taking a bullet under the Tower of London, from tomorrow on, I can confidently bestow upon them the titles of ‘Göttingen University Supervisor’ and ‘National Special Representative.’ This is for your good, for mine, and for our good.”

Hearing this, Arthur reached out and patted her head: “No wonder everyone calls you Miss Ivan; you truly show your Russian blood, Fiona, you’re just like Ivan the Terrible.”

Fiona retorted, “How am I like that tyrant? You’re the boss; I’m just a weak girl in your service.”

“A weak girl?”

Arthur shook his head with a smile: “Austria’s Queen Maria Theresa said the same thing. But right after she said those words, she allied with France and Russia to start the Seven Years’ War, even saying ‘I’d rather sell my last dress than give up Silesia.’ Prussia’s Friedrich II was so infuriated he called it ‘the conspiracy of the three dresses.’ This shows women are not weak, just that you like using weakness as an excuse to gain advantages. But you can’t be blamed for this, as there really are many fools in the world who buy into this act, handing over Silesia, which Prussia defended with 200,000 troops.”

Fiona held onto Arthur’s arm as they walked down the steps: “You can’t blame me entirely, seeing as you’ve changed a lot. Before, your ambitions weren’t so grand, so I could comfortably go about my small business. But since you took a bullet under the Tower of London, it’s like your whole world changed. You said going abroad was for vacation, leisure, a rare respite from the grind.

But ever since you left Britain, you’ve been inquiring about London all the time, your letters flow out of Europe one after another, with hardly any greetings for me, but unusually frequent inquiries about His Majesty the King, Count Grey, and Viscount Palmeston. Have they drugged you, or has some Black Forest witch cast a spell on you? Is one bullet’s lesson not enough, and now you’re thinking of joining the gun barrel?”

Fiona’s words seemed to touch on a sore point for Arthur; his arm rested on the banister as he stopped walking and after a long silence, finally spoke: “Before leaving Britain, I went to see Mr. Talleyrand once.”

“Did he want to do business with you again?” Fiona leaned her head against Arthur’s chest: “Stay away from him, he’s an old fox, more cunning than a snake, craftier than a wolf, you can’t outplay him.”

Arthur shook his head slightly and said, “He just asked me for a small favor, but it’s not important. We didn’t have much monetary exchange; my reward was nothing but a few simple words.”

Curious, Fiona asked, “A few words? Are his words that valuable?”

“More valuable than you think. For those few words, I gave up a hundred thousand Francs.”

“A hundred thousand Francs?” Fiona instinctively steered clear, “You’d better not tell me, otherwise I won’t resist selling those words for a high price.”

“That would also require you to find a wise buyer.” Arthur said flatly: “Before leaving, Mr. Talleyrand asked me two questions. I think these two questions are not only suitable for me but also very fitting for you, Fiona.”

“What questions?”

Arthur smiled, turned to gaze at Fiona’s face, his eyes glinting like the twinkling stars in tonight’s misty sky: “If you are capable, why are you distracted? If you are not capable, why be so ambitious? Fiona, I must admit, in answering these questions, you have done better than I have.”