The Shadow of Great Britain

”Petition against Viscount Melbourne?” Arthur loosened his collar: ”Eld, what gives you the impression that I’m of such an impulsive nature? We’re not young anymore, nearly thirty, can you be a bit more steady in your actions?”

”Be a bit more steady?”

Eld clearly didn’t take Arthur’s words to heart, perhaps because they were not in the office of the Navy Department, and there were few on the ship who knew him, so Eld didn’t even bother to pay attention to his posture. He leaned back on the chair, almost putting his feet on the table like a careless sailor: ”If you were truly steady, you wouldn’t have broken into Albion Villa so recklessly in Ramsgate. Come on, Arthur, stop beating around the bush, what’s going on with you?”

Arthur did not deny Eld’s guess: ”You do understand me quite well.”

”I thought so, no wonder you’re rushing off to Paris.” Eld leaned in with a grin: ”Let me guess, is it about Miss Flora Hastings over there...”

”No.”

”Then, is it Miss Fiona Ivan...”

”Neither.”

”Neither?” Eld pondered, holding his chin: ”Could it be something to do with Miss Byron from the Bluestocking Society...”

”That’s even less likely.” Arthur corrected him: ”And she’s no longer Miss Byron; she’s now Countess Lovelace.”

”I know she’s Countess Lovelace now, but I had heard...” Eld suddenly stopped mid-sentence: ”Forget it, I better not say more, after all, she’s now Countess Lovelace.”

Seeing his irritating demeanor, Arthur almost wanted to knock him on the head with his eagle-headed cane: ”You’ve already started; is there any point in speaking halfway and then stopping?”

Eld chuckled and said: ”I knew it, frankly, Arthur, that guy who tried to elope with Miss Byron a few years ago was you, wasn’t it?”

”Me? Elope?” Arthur’s mind didn’t turn around for a moment: ”When did that happen?”

”You don’t know?” Eld asked suspiciously: ”So, did I guess wrong? Wasn’t it you who was the scoundrel trying to elope with her in 1833?”

Arthur replied irritably: ”1833? I wasn’t even in London at that time! Eld, how did you connect me with something like elopement?”

”True enough...” Eld mused: ”After all, you’re not a patrolman at Scotland Yard anymore, leaving your current position is quite difficult. But then, who else is a close natural philosophy researcher with Miss Byron?”

Arthur rolled his eyes: ”There are plenty of options, Andrew Cross, Sir David Brewster, even Charles Wheatstone, Mr. Faraday, and Mr. Babbage also have great relationships with Miss Byron, and their achievements in natural philosophy are even more admirable than mine.”

”By the way, who did you hear the rumor of Miss Byron’s failed elopement from?”

”You mean the original source? Of course, it came from her father’s friend.” Eld replied: ”Sir John Hobhouse, the Minister of the Army in Count Grey’s cabinet, a close friend of Lord Byron, and also the cousin of Henry Hobhouse, Your Excellency on your Police Commission.”

”Hmm...” Arthur wasn’t sure how to comment on this news: ”I thought she was just lively in character, maybe gambling on horses at most; I didn’t expect her to be so passionate in her emotions.”

”Gambling on horses? Does she gamble on horses too?” Eld was incredulous: ”I thought ladies didn’t care much for that sport.”

”It’s not strange. Her thinking has always been rather eclectic. One big reason she is interested in Mr. Babbage’s difference engine is because she wants to use it to create mathematical models to calculate the success rates of large bets.”

”So, was she successful?”

”Needless to say, if she succeeded, the richest woman in Britain wouldn’t be Her Majesty The Queen right now.”

Eld scratched his head: ”Since it’s not Miss Byron, nor Fiona or Flora, which lady are you rushing to Paris to escape from?”

Arthur shook his head and sighed: ”Eld, is that the shallow image of me in your mind?”

”So you’re hastily running off to Paris for reasons unrelated to a lady?”

”If you have to put it that way, there could be a lady involved.”

Eld chuckled: ”As I said...”

Arthur saw his dismissive look and couldn’t help but emphasize: ”But this lady is different.”

”Yes, yes.” Eld smoothed his hair: ”Alexander always said that at the beginning of every relationship.”

Arthur, seeing that he was about to be grouped with the fat Great Dumas, had to stop promptly: ”This lady is the Queen.”

Eld shivered involuntarily at the words: ”My God! Arthur, I know you study history, but could you stop spouting such last-century romantic lines all the time? They’re so cringe-inducing, I’m feeling seasick.”

”What nonsense are you talking about?” Arthur nearly slapped him: ”I’m talking about Queen Victoria, I’ve had a fallout with her!”

Eld was stunned, as if a sudden cold wind within the ship had chilled him to the bone.

He stared at Arthur with wide eyes for a long moment before suddenly understanding something crucial, and blurted out: ”Ah?”