The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1740: Chapter 75: Summoning Scotland Yard’s Deputy Hasting to Court_3

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London, Kensington Palace, Rose Hall.

The fireplace in the classroom quietly burned, casting a gentle light on the desk beneath the velvet curtains.

Princess Victoria sat behind the small central desk, furrowing her brow as she transcribed Shakespeare’s passage annotations with a quill pen on the exam paper while Arthur stood by the tall desk behind her, holding a lesson plan in his hand, occasionally glancing at Victoria’s paper and the clock ahead, calculating how much time remained until the end of the test.

The Duchess of Kent, dressed in a gray-blue silk gown, sat with poise on the wicker chair by the window, holding a fan motionless, her eyes constantly fixed on her daughter, leaving no room for any distraction.

Lady Leisen sat beside her on a low stool, frowning slightly while organizing today’s thick stack of class notes to prepare for revisiting the day’s lessons if Princess Victoria decided to review them that evening.

Actually, before Arthur entered Kensington Palace, Victoria rarely made such requests, as subjects like mathematics, geography, or theology often sounded tedious.

However, Arthur’s grammar and rhetoric class was very welcomed by Victoria.

Heaven knows why this professor from the University of London could make the course so captivating, effortlessly weaving together classic scenes from dramas and novels with anecdotes of poets and scholars. It was not only intriguing to young Victoria but also kept adults like the Duchess of Kent and Lady Leisen engrossed.

Although Kensington Palace initially introduced Arthur as a teacher of Natural Philosophy, he now solely managed three courses.

Victoria, eager to hear more about classical literature from Arthur, dedicated herself to studying Electromagnetism and Constitutional History as Arthur revealed that the lectures on those subjects were limited. Thus, if Victoria completed them early, he would dedicate all remaining class time to teaching classical literature.

The only sound in the quiet Rose Hall was the rustling of Victoria’s writing.

Suddenly, an urgent sequence of footsteps broke the peaceful atmosphere of Kensington.

The Duchess’s lady-in-waiting, Miss Flora Hastings, hurriedly entered Rose Hall, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

She first offered a polite smile to Arthur and Victoria, then leaned down to whisper in the Duchess’s ear, ”Your Highness, Sir Herbert Taylor is here and has brought a command from His Majesty the King.”

The Duchess of Kent, upon hearing this, did not rise but lightly flicked her ivory fan, seemingly intending to let the royal envoy witness the high standards of education she provided for the Crown Prince: ”Let him in.”

Not long after, Herbert Taylor, led by attendants, entered the hall.

This Lieutenant General, who had participated in the Napoleonic Wars, maintained a soldier’s upright posture. After greeting the Duchess, Taylor spoke: ”Your Highness, His Majesty the King wishes for Her Majesty Victoria to come to Buckingham Palace at four this afternoon to personally report on her recent academic progress.”

The Duchess of Kent seemed to have anticipated this, her tone barely concealing her displeasure: ”I knew it would come.”

She closed her fan, stood with a smile, and returned Taylor’s greeting: ”Please convey to His Majesty that Delina and I will certainly arrive on time. However, why not join us for lunch, as it’s rare for you to come to Kensington?”

The Duchess thought Taylor would politely decline or readily accept, but Taylor hesitated slightly to say: ”There’s no need to rush the luncheon arrangement. However, forgive my intrusion, Your Highness, His Majesty’s actual words were: Please have Her Majesty the Princess come alone.”

Upon hearing this, the Duchess of Kent’s face immediately darkened, though still smiling, the expression seemed quite forced

”Delina is only fifteen, still a minor. Even common nobility girls shouldn’t meet alone before coming of age,” the Duchess’s voice heightened slightly: ”Is His Majesty planning something privately for Delina?”

Taylor strove to maintain his calm: ”Your Highness, His Majesty means no offense. I believe he simply wishes to understand whether Princess Victoria possesses independence befitting an heir.”

”Absurd!” The Duchess’s face turned pale: ”I certainly cannot agree! Please inform His Majesty that Delina happened to be unwell yesterday, and if anything urgent, it can be discussed another day. Alternatively, His Majesty may visit Kensington personally.”

Before she finished speaking, Taylor, slightly agitated by her response, calmly stated, ”If that’s the case, it’s all for the best. Because His Majesty was worried about the cooling weather causing Her Majesty the Princess to fall ill. According to His Majesty’s suggestion, should the Princess be too ill to visit, he himself might come to Kensington later.”

As soon as these words were spoken, silence permeated Rose Hall.

The Duchess of Kent hadn’t envisaged King William IV resorting to this approach and stiffened briefly, momentarily at a loss for words.

She understood very well that a personal visit from King William IV wouldn’t merely entail scrutinizing Victoria’s attire, manners, and choice of words—it might also mean an inspection of the seventeen rooms she had presumed to occupy, and the exceedingly disordered financial management at Kensington Palace.

With this realization, even the reluctant Kensington Palace had to acquiesce; the Duchess of Kent’s tone softened: ”Then... might Colonel Conroy accompany Her Majesty?”