The Shadow of Great Britain

”What did you say?!” Eld scratched his head anxiously: ”You bald-headed fool! Do you have to make people think you’re an eccentric? Can’t you keep something to yourself? You know, not everyone in this world is as open-minded as we are. If it were during Bloody Mary’s time, they’d have burned you at the stake for less!”

He threw the cards on the table: ”Alright, in my opinion, this marriage is definitely off!”

Darwin was flushed from Eld’s rant, but was somewhat touched by his genuine concern: ”Don’t be mad, Eld. Actually, before I confessed to Emma, my father advised me not to reveal my views to her. After all, ladies are frail and might not handle such strong stimulation... But... I really couldn’t lie to Emma, since I’m planning to spend my life with her...”

”Ha.”

”Ha?” Eld elongated the sound, kicking his chair back and crossing his arms, scrutinizing Darwin’s face plastered with ”honesty is virtue”: ”You could hide in London for your recovery and yet can’t keep anything from Miss Wedgwood? Charles, did you evolve from a chameleon? I even planned to go shopping with you tomorrow to look for a suitable wedding house!”

”No need to trouble yourself about the wedding house.” Darwin apologized embarrassedly: ”I had Arthur help me find one earlier. There’s a suitable house on Gower Street, nicely furnished, and reasonably priced, with an annual rent of 100 pounds.”

”Gower Street?” Eld was taken aback: ”Isn’t that near University of London?”

Darwin laughed sheepishly and nodded: ”That’s right, I forgot to tell you, I’ve accepted an invitation from the University of London. Although the specific position isn’t confirmed, Arthur says it will likely be in the field of Natural History or Zoology.”

”Great!” Eld was incensed upon hearing this: ”So not only did you secretly recover right under our noses, you also had Arthur find you a house and settled the rent?”

Darwin instinctively shrank his shoulders: ”I... I just thought these were trivial matters, and it’s embarrassing to bother you all the time. After all, don’t you often write in your letters that you’re now the director and barely have time for a cup of tea during the day?”

”So you think it’s better to leave me in the dark rather than worry me?” Eld gestured in the air with his fingers: ”Your health’s poor, you’re getting married, you’ve rented a house, you’re becoming a lecturer at London University, and all these are trivial matters? Yet when it comes to Miss Wedgwood, you have time to discuss species evolution and casually kick creationism into the fireplace?”

Dickens couldn’t hold back any longer and muttered: ”To be fair, Eld, Miss Wedgwood is going to be his wife...”

”Precisely because of that!” Eld spun around and pointed at him: ”I find it even more absurd!”

He looked back at Darwin: ”Charles, do you think friends can be casually dealt with? That we won’t drop you for saying something dangerous? Let me tell you, Charles, remember this, when things happen, girls aren’t as reliable as I am!”

Arthur lit up his pipe: ”Eld, I really can’t believe those words came out of your mouth.”

Dickens added, ”Given that Leicester Square hasn’t been busy, it’s not hard to understand.”

Disraeli nodded appropriately: ”Without much interaction with ladies, the mindset naturally changes.”

Eld looked at him in surprise: ”Diz, even you... aren’t you about to marry a rich lady? What’s with the attitude!”

With Eld’s remark, everyone’s focus immediately shifted to Disraeli.

”A rich lady?”

”This time it’s serious?”

”When did you hook up with her?”

Disraeli frowned at the questions: ”What’s with your attitude? Can’t I have a genuine relationship for once?”

Knowing Disraeli well, Arthur seized the opportunity to ask: ”Is she older or younger than you?”

Disraeli blew out a smoke ring: ”Twelve years older.”

Arthur nodded slightly: ”The age is just right.”

Eld chimed in: ”Fits your preferences.”

Darwin scratched his head: ”How do you two know?”

Disraeli rolled his eyes: ”Besides that, she has an annual income of 5,000 pounds.”

Dickens teased: ”It seems finances inevitably play a certain marginal role. Let me guess, did her husband pass away recently?”

Knowing the inside story, Eld faked a cough: ”Charles, how could you think that? Benjamin is marrying a friend’s widow. Mr. Windham Lewis was a political ally in the same trench, a stalwart for the Conservative Party.”

As soon as Eld said this, the room filled with a collective gasp of ambiguous significance.

”Oh...” Dickens drew out the word, with just the right amount of shock and respect: ”So that’s how it is. That changes everything.”

Disraeli coldly glanced at them: ”At least I’m not discussing friends’ widows behind their backs.”

”Portrait of Mrs. Mary Anna Lewis (Mrs. Disraeli)” Unknown artist, painted in the 1820-1830s

Arthur tapped his pipe: ”A friend’s widow, twelve years older, with a stable income—sounds like you’re not acting on a whim this time.”

”I’ve never been someone who acts on whims,” Disraeli said flatly: ”I just understand better than you guys that emotions, without a practical foundation, quickly turn into debt. You guys probably can’t grasp the fear and anxiety of having no fixed income to pay off debt. Waking up every day to owe another five or six pounds in interest—do you know that feeling?”

Traditionally-minded Darwin crossed his arms, stared at Disraeli for a few seconds, and finally shook his head: ”Alright, at least you didn’t choose an actress whose name you can’t remember. That’s better than Eld, at least.”