The Shadow of Great Britain

He hurriedly added, ”Of course, I’m not saying this is common, just occasional. A discrepancy between the account and the actual object doesn’t necessarily mean someone is lining their pockets. It might be just a timing difference, a delay in transportation, or a difference in clerical habits. But once the auditor starts to nitpick, they’ll assume there’s a problem here. Really, it’s just a flaw in the system, mere convention. We little clerks are just keeping the Empire’s gears turning.”

Great Dumas was clutching his stomach with one hand and slapping the table with the other, laughing so hard he could hardly breathe, ”My God! Eld! I thought your Navy Department always dealt with battleships, colonies, forts, spices, and gold, engaging in astronomical transactions. But in the end... you folks are comparable to mice, even stealing a few rolls of rope?”

Eld’s face turned red, his neck stretched in anxiety, veins bulging on his forehead, ”Nonsense! How can you call taking rope stealing? How can you slander someone’s innocence out of thin air?! The extra left by the system can’t be considered stealing... systemic allowances, can they be theft? And it’s not just the Navy Department, like when the Home Office or Scotland Yard purchases uniforms and equipment, don’t they also...”

Upon hearing this, Arthur hurriedly stood up and gestured for him to stop, ”Enough, Eld.”

Eld, still lingering, said, ”I’m just giving an example. Take Scotland Yard for instance, they...”

Arthur’s face darkened, resembling a pot’s bottom, as he couldn’t help but remind, ”Eld! You won’t last long in White Hall like this. If Sir John Barrow or the members of the Navy Commission hear what you said today, how do you think they would perceive you?”

Eld heard Arthur pull out the towering figures from above his head and finally shut his mouth sullenly.

He wrapped his shawl around himself, ”Enough, enough, if the Navy Department has leaks from the top, everyone can pretend to be blind together. But if there are leaks from the waist, they have to initiate a security investigation.”

Great Dumas couldn’t help but tease, seeing him in such a cowardly state, ”Eld, where’s the revolutionary who was shouting liberty, equality, fraternity on the coffee table just now? If you were on the Guillotine, I fear you’d kneel and beg for mercy even before the blade falls.”

Eld, now more practiced, resisted Great Dumas’ provocation, ”Come on, Alexander, I’ve pocketed the Guillotine’s parts, so whether it works or not is still up in the air.”

At this point, Eld suddenly had an epiphany, ”Wait a minute... you two haven’t told me how you found this place.”

Arthur slowly took off his gloves and placed them on his lap, ”Eld, finding a drunk in Paris and finding a thief in London, for me, it’s no different. Especially since I already knew you spent last night at a certain actress’s house.”

”Hmm?! Could it be...” Eld seemed to have heard some incredible news, he glanced at Great Dumas suspiciously, gritting his teeth, ”Damn! Alexander, is it you? Have you secretly stashed a directory of addresses of every actress in Paris?”

Great Dumas responded irritably, ”Stop accusing me! I don’t have such a thing!”

”You brat! Trying to fool me?” Eld stomped in anger, refusing to believe Great Dumas’ nonsense, ”If you have such a good thing, why didn’t you show it to me earlier?”

Great Dumas shook his finger, ”I said I don’t have it, and that’s it, but Mr. Francois Vidocq indeed has a complete one. As long as you’re willing to pay enough, he can even give you the one including male actors.”

”Male... male actors?!” Eld reacted as if stung by a hornet, half of his drunkenness was scared away, ”Alexander! How can you say that?!”

Great Dumas said seriously, ”This is Paris, as long as the price is right, whether you’re playing Juliet or Romeo, Paris treats them equally. Of course, some aren’t accessible even at the right price, like Franz Liszt. Speaking of Liszt, do you remember anything about him?”

”Liszt? Remember something?” Eld panicked upon hearing this, ”I... I don’t recall... After coming to Paris, I listened to a concert by Liszt, and I was with Mr. Heinrich Heine. We probably had a few drinks in the middle, but I don’t think we did anything outrageous, did we?”

Arthur calmly questioned, ”Are you sure? It’s never too late to recall, I’m not talking about the few drinks you and Heine had. Being a second-class clerk at the Navy Department, Eld, you’d best correct your tendency to jump to conclusions early.”

”Wha... what else could there be?” Eld was dumbfounded, like his secret had been exposed, he suddenly hugged himself, tightly wrapping the actress’s shawl across his chest, his face full of fear, ”You... don’t scare me! Arthur, you wouldn’t mean to say... Liszt? No, impossible! He’s so busy, how could he... be interested in me...”

Great Dumas feigned seriousness, ”Eld, own your actions alone, don’t blame Liszt.”

Arthur expressionless, seemingly ignoring Great Dumas’ jesting, simply added, ”You’d best recall carefully. Heine clearly heard you say that Arthur Hastings came to Paris just to teach that piano-playing boy a lesson.”