The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1704: Chapter 63: Carlton Hero_2

In any case, just remember, the old chap is doing well now, and his business is flourishing!

Arthur pushed open the wooden door that always creaked softly, and the copper bell on the door jingled.

Inside was the familiar wooden floor and the smell of ink, and those few ivy plants, always yellowed by smoke, hung down from the ceiling basket, as if bowing down to read the newspaper.

The Polish girl at the front desk heard the door but continued to flip through her ”London Lady” without looking up, mechanically saying, ”Good evening, Sir, please close the door, don’t let the wind in.”

Arthur chuckled, closed his umbrella, shook off the rain droplets, and walked leisurely down the corridor.

The dim yellow light from each office illuminated people writing drafts, clipping articles, and organizing election pamphlets no longer needed for Whitechapel and the West Indies Pier.

Arthur’s steps were unhurried, as if intentionally slowed down to savor the feeling of strategizing.

Until he reached the end, at the wooden door leading to the conference room.

A flicker of firelight and faint laughter and clinking glasses came through the crack.

Arthur was reaching to push the door when it was suddenly pushed open with a bang from inside.

In an instant, lights, laughter, smoke, champagne bubbles mingled with the scent of cigars rushed towards him.

”Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, the top advisor from Imperial Publishing, Sir Arthur Hastings!!!”

The room immediately erupted with enthusiastic applause and whistles, like a delayed climax after a drama performance.

In that moment, Arthur became the only one standing frozen under the spotlight.

All eyes in the room were on him, some raised their glasses, some nodded to him, and someone impatiently shouted, ”Sir! If you don’t drink till bottoms up, none of us are leaving!”

This brought forth a burst of laughter from everyone, even the bashful Tennyson by the fireplace couldn’t help but laugh.

He raised his port wine slightly to Arthur: ”Don’t make us too embarrassed, Arthur.”

Arthur glanced around the room.

On the sofa, Disraeli had his feet up on the coffee table, alongside a stack of freshly printed ”Election Special.” Dickens leaned on an armchair, peeling an orange and grinning at Arthur. Dumas held an unopened bottle of cognac, evidently reserved for the ’main character’.

”We were just discussing...” Disraeli hiccupped, lazily saying, ”Sir Robert Peel actually toasted me at the Carlton Mansion, saying that this time the Tory Party, oh no, our Conservative Party took seven seats in London, half the credit should go to me, and he mentioned everyone gave me a new nickname, ’Miracle’ Disraeli. Well, I said, I’m not modest...”

”Alright, alright!” Heine wasn’t pleased seeing Disraeli’s ’little man triumphant’ demeanor: ”You’ve said it three times in half an hour, and you still claim to not be immodest?”

Disraeli feigned innocence, he was in good spirits today, so didn’t argue with Heine, just raised his glass and said, ”I’m just recounting facts, Heinrich, shouldn’t history learn to listen to the truth?”

”If history only listens to you, then when Victoria ascends, it’ll probably be credited to your dreams,” Heine sarcastically wiped his hands on the orange peel. ”I just asked Alexander if we should write you into the next novel, giving you a cape and mask, named ’Carlton Hero’, stealing Whig Party’s districts.”

Dumas immediately chimed in: ”By day a member of Parliament, by night caped and masked as ’Benjamin Truth’, sneaking into pro-Whig newspaper offices to alter headlines.”

”You guys...” Disraeli didn’t get angry with them, just shook his head helplessly: ”You’re envious.”

Heine snorted twice: ”Didn’t you just take five seats in London? I thought your party won the entire election! London has eighteen seats, the Tory Party took seven but still lost eleven, what’s to celebrate?”

Disraeli laughed derisively: ”What does a Prussian like you understand? Last election, we didn’t take a single seat in London. Do you know when the Tory Party last took seven seats in London? That probably dates back to last century! The Tory Party’s stronghold is in rural districts; if the Whig Party wasn’t dominant in town districts, why do you think they were so keen on demanding Parliamentary reform, trying hard to cram seats into urban districts?”

At this point, Disraeli swayed over to Arthur’s side, casually draping an arm over this old friend as he spoke: ”Moreover, although we only took seven seats in London, considering the two Westminster seats are under control of London University’s Lord Brougham and Earl of Dalmo, technically we lost only two seats to the Whig Party in London. Round that up, we’re pretty much evenly matched with the Whig Party in London.”

Heine scoffed: ”Oh... Mr. Disraeli, I never realized that joining the Tory Party could help one become a mathematician.”

This remark immediately provoked laughter throughout the room.

Arthur smiled, walked to the sofa, and took the bottle of cognac from Dumas.