The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1556: Chapter 6: Arrogant Young Men

Heavy hoofbeats echoed through the alleys as a black lacquered carriage slowly stopped in front of the Duke of Wellington’s manor.

The coachman put away his whip, skillfully jumped down from his seat, and opened the door, allowing a young gentleman dressed in a dark coat to step out.

With an upright posture, Arthur, supporting himself on a cane, walked steadily to the iron gate, removed his gloves, and casually rang the copper bell at the door.

The ivory white double doors slowly opened. The old butler, Jonathan, saw the young man he hadn’t seen in years, smiled, and gave a slight bow as he greeted him, “Mr. Hastings, oh no, times have changed, now I should address you as Sir Arthur Hastings.”

Arthur took off his hat and smoothed his hair, smiling as he replied, “Come now, Mr. Jonathan, don’t joke like that. I wouldn’t put on airs in front of you; just continue calling me Arthur, the name sounds far smoother than ‘Sir’.”

The old butler laughed heartily twice, “Well then, come inside quickly, my dear Arthur. His Excellency the Duke is waiting for you in the study.”

Arthur nodded slightly and entered the hallway, expertly handing his coat to a servant and following the butler to the study door.

The hard boots made a crunching sound over the Turkish carpet, causing the Duke of Wellington to turn around. He joked to Sir Pier, “The main guest has arrived today.”

The study door was lightly knocked, and the Duke of Wellington paused intentionally before issuing the command in the tone of a commander, “Come in.”

The butler ushered Arthur Hastings into the room filled with warm light, the rich scent of brandy wafting through the room.

“Your Excellency, Sir Arthur Hastings has come to visit.”

Arthur was about to make a bow, but his peripheral vision caught Sir Pier sitting on the sofa.

Before he could grasp what was happening, the Duke of Wellington, half-leaning on the table by the fireplace, interrupted his thoughts.

“Arthur!” The Duke of Wellington showed a slight smile, beckoning him over, “I thought you would stay longer in St. Petersburg, but I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

Arthur smiled calmly, stepped forward, and made a slight bow, “Your Excellency, Sir, it’s good to see you both.”

Soon after, Arthur paused slightly, using diplomacy to deflect, “After all, staying too long in the icy snow of Russia certainly makes one miss the fog of London.”

Sir Pier raised his hand with a smile, indicating, “Sit first, Arthur. It’s been too long, we should find time to catch up properly.”

Arthur accepted Pier’s invitation and was about to sit down, but before he could settle into the soft velvet, Pier’s seemingly casual question echoed in his ear again.

“How are the progressions in Russia? I heard you’ve stirred up a bit of a ‘little commotion’ over there?”

Although Arthur’s movement to sit down paused slightly, his smile remained unchanged, “Your Excellency, the word ‘commotion’ might be a bit exaggerated. It’s just that our cultural friends in Russia, out of respect for Britain, insisted on electing me as an honorary member of the Moscow Natural Philosophy Association. Honestly, I feel my contributions to the field of electromagnetism hardly deserve such an honor. But, for the sake of maintaining the friendship between our countries, I…”

Before Arthur could finish speaking, the Duke of Wellington splashed the remaining liquor into the fireplace, causing a burst of blue flame to rise instantly, “Moscow Natural Philosophy Association? In my view, they should also grant you the title of ‘Honorary Bandit of the North Caucasus’.”

Arthur naturally knew the Duke of Wellington was referring to the David Eckett incident.

During his time in Russia, he had deliberately avoided leaving too many obvious political traces.

Though aware there are no paper windows that don’t let in the wind, according to his calculations, the David Eckett incident shouldn’t have exploded so quickly…

Yet, the Duke of Wellington’s attitude today seemed as if he knew the whole story…

Arthur was unsure and doubtful inside, but before figuring out what was happening, he didn’t intend to reveal everything indiscriminately.

Feigning ignorance while pretending to understand, he lowered his head in admission, “If you are implying my negotiations in St. Petersburg, I admit my wording might have been too intense at the time, but the initial intention was to defend British interests.”

The Duke of Wellington frowned slightly, knocked the floor heavily with his cane, “The intention might have been good, but the approach was severely inappropriate. Your reckless actions at the time have greatly angered the Tsar. As far as I know, Tsar Nicholas I believes you’ve exceeded diplomatic etiquette, almost viewing it as a disrespect toward him.”

Arthur straightened his back, sitting formally and saying, “I had no intention of offense. Of course, if His Majesty the Tsar insists that a diplomat’s insistence on reason and protection of national interests counts as an overreach, then, well, on Eastern matters, I must express Britain’s overreaching concern as its representative…”

Sir Pier softly interrupted Arthur’s words, “Arthur, we certainly understand your patriotic intentions. However, Russia may not appreciate them. The current difficulty is that the trust in you from St. Petersburg has completely dissipated. Our Ambassador to Russia, your mentor, the Earl of Dalmo, has recently privately disclosed to the Privy Council that the Tsar feels that if Britain does not punish you and David Eckett, he will lose face.”

The Duke of Wellington snorted, tossing the newspaper onto the table, “See for yourself, see how The Times describes your and Eckett’s feats!”