The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1839: Chapter 118: This Is No Ordinary College Student Anymore

If you were to ask the Whitehall bureaucrats where they prefer to dine during lunch breaks, you’d get different answers from different departments and different ranks.

Departments like the Treasury and Foreign Office have internal kitchens with chefs and servants dedicated to cooking exquisite meals like cold cuts, hot soup, and lamb chops for senior officials. Consequently, these high-ranking civil servants can avoid the hassle of going out and enjoy gourmet food and fine wine at any time.

Back when the Duke of Wellington was Prime Minister, Arthur once had the privilege of dining at the Treasury. However, dining with the Duke of Wellington wasn’t exactly a pleasant task—not because the chefs lacked skill, but because the Duke was exceptionally fond of cold meats. No matter how delicious, once it’s cold, it loses some of its flavor. Yet Arthur couldn’t casually refuse an invitation from the Duke, as typically, the Duke only invited his closest subordinates to accompany him for meals.

Of course, not all departments have the wealth of the Treasury, nor do they all have the prestige of the Foreign Office. More importantly, not all officials have the privilege of dining in the department’s small kitchen.

For most young civil servants and MPs who lack access to the small kitchen, lunch is usually a simple affair, often no more than a sandwich and a drink to tide them over. They save their appetite for a feast at the gentlemen’s clubs around five or six in the afternoon.

Certainly, if you neither want a simple meal nor have grown tired of the kitchen’s flavors, there are still a few mainstream places to choose from.

Benjamin Disraeli and other young Tories often frequent the Thatched House Tavern, although it’s located on St. James Street, a bit far from Whitehall. This doesn’t discourage them from gathering there for discussions and alliance building.

The Traveler’s Club on Pall Mall Street is the regular haunt of diplomats and envoys stationed abroad.

Meanwhile, the Athena Club, also on the same street, is popular with intellectuals. Perhaps because the aristocratic atmosphere isn’t as strong there, over time, it became the preferred dining spot for high-ranking civil servants. Should you visit during lunchtime, you’d easily spot some prominent bureaucrats who make the small Whitehall bureaucrats tremble.

Nonetheless, if Sir Arthur Hastings were to pick his favorite dining spot near Whitehall today, it would neither be the Athena Club where you might run into ”major figures,” nor the Traveler’s Club with its dubious diplomats. Although the Thatched House Tavern on St. James Street boasts great flavors, he disliked walking so far, leaving him with only Simpson’s Coffee House on Strand Street.

Originally a Fountain Tavern, in the 18th century, it was the main gathering place of the famous literary group, the Kit-Cat Club, where renowned British writers like William Congreve, John Locke, and John Vanbrugh used to dine and drink.

However, in 1828, this old tavern was refurbished into a smoking room before transitioning into a coffeehouse. This was precisely when Sir Arthur Hastings was rising rapidly at Scotland Yard, making him naturally discover this new spot and become a member.

As a member-only restaurant, members can enjoy the facilities and coffee for free after paying an annual fee of 1 Guinea.

If visiting as a non-member customer, you’ll need to pay an entrance fee of six Pennies. If you spend an additional 1 Shilling, you can enjoy a gentleman’s set including coffee and cigars.

At first glance, charging 6 Pennies just for a visit might seem steep.

Nevertheless, Simpson’s Coffee House remained fully booked each day, as it not only serves meals, coffee, and cigars to guests but also hosts London’s top chess competitions.

No one knows quite when it began, but mentioning coffeehouses inevitably brings chess to mind. In London, every coffeehouse holds chess competitions regularly, and they even compet against each other. Losing an inter-house match can make a coffeehouse hang its head for weeks.

Thus, every coffeehouse naturally finds the motivation to sponsor top players, paying them to represent them in matches.

Among all the coffeehouses in London, Simpson’s Coffee House boasts a roster that could be called a ”Galactic Fleet.”

The London chess twin stars, authors of ”London Practical Chess”, William Walker and his brother, London’s strongest player at present, George Walker.

The creator of the ”Evans Gambit” opening, ”Captain” Evans, who defeated British champion Alexander McDonald in just 20 moves.

All of these individuals are the ”mercenaries” of Simpson’s Coffee House.

And now, Simpson’s Coffee House has attracted a great new ally.

In the chess room of Simpson’s Coffee House, the clock ticks steadily, yet Eld Carter’s expression remains unchanged.

He is like a knight trapped in the center of the chessboard, with armor fallen, horse lost, and only the unyielding King in hand.