The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1385: Chapter 203: An Unexpected Encounter at the Winter Palace

“Please wait here for a moment, Your Excellencies, have some tea and snacks. The Tsar is meeting with the French chargé d’affaires, and when everything is concluded, someone will inform you.”

The court attendant placed one hand on his chest and bowed slightly to Earl of Dalmoor and the others, then turned around, holding his sword as he strode out of the Winter Palace’s lounge with his head held high.

Arthur looked up, examining the spacious hall. The ceiling was extremely high, and the exquisitely carved golden decorations complemented the deep blue wallpaper. In the center of the ceiling hung a massive crystal chandelier, its light cascading down, seemingly turning the entire space into a golden dreamscape.

From the murals hanging on the walls, one could easily discern the Tsar’s aesthetic preferences. Besides the ubiquitous portraits, the most common scenes depicted were of battles.

Among them was the Battle of Poltava, where Peter the Great defeated the Swedish King Carl XII, thereby completely altering the balance of power in the Nordic region.

There was also the engagement at the Kagul River during the reign of Catherine the Great, where Marshal Rumyantsev, the “Outer Danube Victor,” utterly defeated the Ottoman Empire, bringing the Crimean Khanate under Russian control and establishing Russia’s military presence in the Black Sea region.

And then there was the Patriotic War of 1812, where the “Holy King” Alexander II resisted Napoleon’s invasion. In the Battle of Borodino, both sides deployed over three hundred thousand troops, with the Russian and French forces suffering losses of more than 66,000 in just one day of combat.

Arthur walked along the wall, looking at each painting. Through the golden-framed decorative mirror placed in the corner, he could see the other members of the delegation standing to the side, speaking in low voices.

Perhaps to guard against eavesdropping, Earl of Dalmoor and the others deliberately used their heavily accented regional English to converse.

Arthur could understand about seventy to eighty percent of the Glasgow and Liverpool accents, but he couldn’t make out Stewart’s Irish accent, and he had to painstakingly pick out a few seemingly familiar words to piece together their conversation.

In summary, Earl of Dalmoor and the others seemed to be discussing the Greek influence within the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Over the past few centuries, due to Greece being under the rule of the non-Christian Ottoman Turkish Empire, Greeks had continually migrated to other parts of Europe. Given Russia’s shared Eastern Orthodox faith with Greece and the Tsar’s longstanding policy of recruiting foreign officers and engineers, Russia had long been a primary destination for Greek immigrants.

Because these Greek immigrants were well-educated, numerous, and lacked a mother country, the Tsar freely utilized them. As a result, Greeks quickly became a formidable presence in the Russian court, with some rising to the rank of general and others holding ministerial-level positions of authority.

The central hub for Greeks within the Russian court was the Foreign Ministry.

The first president of the Greek Republic, Mr. Kapodistrias, who was unfortunately assassinated a few years ago, had served as Russia’s Foreign Minister.

Russia was the most stalwart supporter of Greek independence, not only because of the shared religious beliefs and the traditional animosity towards the Ottoman Empire but also due to the significant efforts of these Greek immigrants behind the scenes.

As Earl of Dalmoor and the others continued their discussion, Arthur suddenly heard a familiar name and a string of gossip in their conversation.

Dorothea Levin, the sister of Count Benkendorf, head of the Third Hall.

Mrs. Levin’s husband was recalled by the Tsar the year before last, but Mrs. Levin, having lived in Britain for 22 years and accustomed to the conveniences and climate of developed Western Europe, was reluctant to return to cold St. Petersburg and instead remained in Paris, attending various social events.

The Levin couple had been living separately for two years because of this.

According to Earl of Dalmoor, the Tsar seemed quite angry with Mrs. Levin’s conduct, but since her husband, the Duke of Levin, and her brother, Count Benkendorf, were both highly valued by the Tsar, the matter ceased after he rebuked Mrs. Levin and demanded that her husband and brother sever contact with her.

However, Earl of Dalmoor had somehow gotten hold of gossip, perhaps from a loose-lipped individual during his travels in Paris, suggesting that Mrs. Levin, suffering emotionally, had found someone to console her soul.

Of course, it wasn’t the little Thiers, although he was also skilled at charming women, but he didn’t make a move on Mrs. Levin this time.

The one who won Mrs. Levin’s favor was Thiers’s cabinet colleague, the equally talented historian and former Sorbonne University professor, Francois Guizot, who was the current Minister of Education in the July Monarchy of France.

In Earl of Dalmoor’s seemingly gloating tone, he seemed to be mocking Viscount Palmeston for his misstep in the affairs of the heart.

But from Arthur’s experiences at Almack’s Club and his understanding of that Irish Cupid, Viscount Palmeston might not be too distressed by this matter.

Because the romantic pursuits of this British “Old Baby” were always quite busy, and even though he was well-versed in the art of time management, there were times when he simply couldn’t manage it all.

In a way, Mrs. Levin’s change of heart actually helped ease his burdens.