The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1634: Chapter 36: Ladies’ Favorite (Part 2)

Although in the past two years, Miss Emily Drescett and Miss Fiona Ivan have both proposed acquisition offers, intending to help this insolvent company undergo bankruptcy restructuring, without exception, they were all categorically rejected by Sir Arthur Hastings, who failed to recognize the opportunity.

In short, are you asking Sir Arthur to sell at a loss at this time?

Sorry, deeply influenced by the Cambridge stock god Sir Isaac Newton and heavily imbued with the small farmer mindset, the Yorkshire Pig has no concept of stopping loss in a timely manner.

Moreover, he also loves to dream in his own mud pit, self-hypnotizing himself into thinking that his stocks are still in high demand in the market, and once next year’s financial report is released, the scene of investors flocking will once again appear before his eyes.

Does Arthur’s speculation have any merit?

To be honest, it’s not entirely without reason.

Although recently, his reputation in White Hall is absolutely notorious, while his old units, Scotland Yard and the Foreign Office, never miss a chance in public occasions to praise his extraordinary ability and bright prospects and thank him for his years of contributions.

But in reality, the old slicksters who speak one way to your face and another behind your back all understand that if you want to ruin a person, you have to first praise their bright future, because this is actually giving a death sentence to his prospects.

However, gentlemen disliking Arthur and keeping him at arm’s length does not mean his reputation among the ladies is equally abysmal.

Even though he can be invited to private parties in Kensington, with the help of John Conroy, becoming the center of attention among the ladies at these parties is thanks to Arthur’s years of good deeds.

Or more specifically, it’s all thanks to ”The British” taking an unwavering stand during the Melbourne Viscount and Lady Norton’s extramarital affair case.

Although the case was already tried and concluded during the 1832 cholera outbreak, Lady Norton appealed to court for child custody in 1833, so it was not finally settled until early 1834.

Unfortunately, Lady Norton still didn’t get custody. The only consolation might be that at least she could obtain a yearly separation allowance of 300 pounds from Judge Norton.

Yes, it was from her husband Judge Norton that she got this money; they were not divorced.

It’s not because Lady Norton didn’t want a divorce, but because, in this era, divorces were nearly impossible. Even someone like Arthur, who has delved deep into British law, can’t remember when Church courts last granted a divorce.

The last uproarious divorce case in Britain was between the late King George III and Queen Caroline, where the lawyer for the Queen was none other than Arthur’s mentor, Lord Brougham, who in court left the King’s Attorney General at a loss for words and successfully defended the Queen’s demand—not to divorce, no way, no how.

And such mentorship, in the eyes of the ladies, naturally translates into the adage that a great master produces a great disciple.

”The British” during the Lady Norton’s extramarital affair trial would often take the opportunity to sarcastically jab at Judge Norton through novel plotlines. Dickens’s ”The Pickwick Papers” even mimicked and mocked the courtroom scenes in the ”Bardell v. Pickwick” Chapter.

These novelists work so hard, it’s enough to reward the ladies who regularly spent so much money supporting their subscription endeavors.

And among today’s guests, Lady Cooper was especially appreciative of ”The British’s” performance, because that case also involved her brother, Viscount Melbourne.

This lady, who has always been close to Viscount Palmerston, seemed utterly indifferent to the recent minor frictions between her lover and Arthur, and she even took the liberty to subtly apologize to Arthur for Palmerston’s recent actions.

”Sir Arthur, I hope you aren’t upset by some of Pam’s ways. That’s just his nature. I’m not quite sure what exactly happened between you two, but I think for two gentlemen of impeccable character to clash, it can only be due to a misunderstanding.”

Arthur understood Lady Cooper’s biases towards him and Palmerston, but even so, when he heard the adjectives she used, he couldn’t help but twitch a smile.

Seeing this, Lady Cooper widened her eyes with concern and asked, ”Are you having a stroke?”

Arthur seemed very calm about it: ”Sorry, ma’am, ever since that night in 1832, I’ve had an ailment. The doctor said the bullet, besides piercing my chest, also somehow affected the muscles around my mouth.”

”Such poor soul,” Lady Cooper looked at this young man, similar in age to her son, full of sympathy in her eyes: ”Luckily, God favors you. I can hardly imagine if the bullet had gone a few centimeters higher that day, we would’ve lost such an outstanding young person—upright, brave, passionate, constantly enduring such discomfort, yet still concerned about suffering ladies, not forgetting even the Caucasians.”

”Indeed! He has quite a number of people he’s concerned about.” The Red Devil chimed shadily in Arthur’s ear: ”Let me count, there’s also the Royalists in Paris, the exiled Young Italy, the students in Gottingen, and Russia’s new Decemberists...”

Arthur gave a sidelong glance at the malicious Red Devil, intending to chat a bit with the enthusiastic lady in front of him, but Lady Cooper took the initiative before him.

With her brother becoming the new Prime Minister, Lady Cooper’s status in the London social circle was rising steadily. Therefore, many scrambled to curry her favor every night, but few successfully got her to speak freely.

Yet she was more than happy to chat a bit more with Arthur.

Since first laying eyes on Arthur, she’d had a good impression of this young man from Yorkshire. Of course, it wasn’t solely due to Arthur’s personal charm; the phonograph he gifted her surely played some peripheral part.

”I’ve heard since you left the Foreign Office, you’ve been wholly devoted to the publishing business?”

”Thank you for your concern, ma’am.” Arthur politely smiled: ”But that’s not entirely accurate. I am actually still teaching at the University of London, and I was recently appointed as the Dean of Academic Affairs there.”

”Dean?” Lady Cooper raised her lace gloves to cover her mouth: ”I only remembered you being a great musician, an excellent officer, and a novelist, almost forgetting that you’re also a great scholar.”

Hardly had Lady Cooper finished speaking when she saw a figure in a long gown gracefully walking towards them.

Lady Cooper felt a bit awkward upon spotting this person since the smiling visitor was her best friend, the Russian socialite Mrs. Levin.

Everyone knew Mrs. Levin’s brother was closely allied with the Tsar, and given Arthur’s numerous stirrings in the Caucasus, a meeting between the two was bound to make the atmosphere delicate.

Previously reminded by Conroy, Arthur wasn’t caught off guard, instead slightly bowing to Mrs. Levin: ”Good afternoon, ma’am. The last time we met, I believe it was in Paris.”

Mrs. Levin didn’t exhibit any unnatural expression, as if meeting an old friend, albeit her tone was normal, but her words left a strange impression: ”Good afternoon, Sir. I thought I might never see you again, after all, my brother once greatly praised you in his letter, and even said the Tsar highly appreciates you. I once suspected you might stay in Russia for an official position, perhaps as the Police Chief of St. Petersburg or Moscow, or maybe as the commander of the Semyonov Guard Regiment, but who would’ve thought you’d return to Britain?”