The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1528: Chapter 258: Herzen Group’s Appreciation (3)

Arthur stirred the sediment of Ceylon black tea in the cup with a silver teaspoon, the clinking of bone china reminiscent of the lingering echo of a gavel in a London Court.

He gazed at the reflection on the surface of the tea, then suddenly, as if coming to terms, smiled: ”I’ve seen too many people at Scotland Yard using compasses to find north, only to end up drowning in the Thames River. It’s remarkable that at your age, you’ve already acquired such insight. It seems that life’s sudden twists aren’t entirely without merit for you; hardships and setbacks have made you considerably more mature.”

Herzen did not deny Arthur’s statement, as he shared the same view: ”In any case, as you might have guessed, we are here to express our gratitude to you.”

As he spoke, he instructed the footmen to fetch the various local products brought from Moscow from the carriage.

Through the window, several footmen could be seen unloading bundles, exuding the scent of tar, wrapped in birch bark. As they removed the first layer of waterproof cloth, the sweetness of Monastery honey mixed with the alcoholic aroma of the special brew from Vologda assaulted the nostrils.

Arthur just lightly shook his head upon hearing this, and replied, half-truthfully: ”You should be more grateful to City Defense Commander General Star and Duke Dmitry Golitsyn, the Governor of Moscow.”

”General Star is understandable, but why thank Golitsyn?” Satyen, who came with Herzen, removed his hat, revealing his half-bald head from the interrogation period. His appearance alone showed that he probably suffered the most among this group of young men.

Not only did he lose some hair compared to when they first met in Leipzig, but he also visibly lost weight.

According to this fellow, when the Herzen-Ogarev group was collectively arrested, he was at his mother’s farm in Tambov Province.

Satyen considered himself a filial son. Upon hearing the news, he quickly bade farewell to his mother and hurried back to Moscow overnight, without telling her, to prevent the Constitutional Soldiers from making a grand visit to the farm and frightening her.

But unfortunately, he caught a cold halfway, and when he returned home in Moscow, he was running a high fever.

If the Constitutional Soldiers and police had not arrived in time to arrest him, he might have ended up in a coma on the bed, sleeping to death.

Because of his severe illness, he couldn’t be taken to the police station, so he was confined at home, with a police officer standing guard at the bedroom door and a Constitutional Soldier sitting beside his bed. These two acted both as his prison guards and his nurses.

Every time Satyen woke from his coma, he either saw the prying eyes of the police officer or the drunken face of the Constitutional Soldier.

Later, he was transferred to the Liefort Military Hospital, but during that time, there were so many arrests that not even a single secret room was left vacant for prisoners. Poor Satyen was thus placed on a south-facing terrace without a stove, where a corner was isolated for him and a sentry was posted.

A patient with a severe cold and fever staying on a terrace in Moscow’s weather of March and April, one could only imagine the eventual outcome.

Fortunately, the hospital authorities finally realized that in a place this close to the North Pole, tropical temperatures were impossible. So, before Satyen was completely tormented to death, they made special arrangements to change his room, moving him from the terrace to a room next to where frozen patients were rubbed warm.

In hindsight, Satyen’s idea of not wanting to worry his mother was good. However, not letting her know about his arrest indirectly resulted in his poor treatment.

After all, whether it was Herzen, Ogarev, or other members of the Herzen group like Sokolovski, once they were arrested, their families immediately took action. Even if family actions couldn’t secure their release, at the very least, they could ensure their time in prison wasn’t unbearably hard.

If it weren’t for Satyen’s great fortune, and the timely arrival of the orders for their release, this young man’s ordeal would have been far more serious than just losing some hair.