shadow of britain

Chapter 116 What Interests Do You Have?
In the evening, in front of a townhouse on the outskirts of London, Superintendent Clemens, with a scab on his right cheek, stood outside the carved iron gate with gifts in the drizzle.

Although this was not the first time he had come to this place, it was the first time he felt so nervous.

He smiled apologetically at the doorkeeper, and said, "Do you remember me?"

The servant looked at him carefully, nodded with a smile, and said, "Of course, Superintendent Clemens. Did you just pass by today, or did you come here to visit His Excellency the Viscount? I remember that the Viscount didn't seem to inform me that you will come to the door today. visit."

Clemens smiled reluctantly, then took out the wallet from his pocket, took out a ticket and handed it along with the gift.

"I know that Viscount Palmerston has always been hardworking, but please tell him now that I have something urgent to talk to him about."

The servant accepted the gift, stuffed the ticket into his pocket, and nodded slightly: "Please wait a moment."

Clemens looked at the back of the servant leaving, and let out a slight breath.

He took out his pipe from his pocket and wanted to take a few puffs, but when he opened the matchbox, he found that the matches in it had been used up.

Holding the matchbox, he closed his eyes forcefully, raised his head against the drizzle, gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice: "Unlucky!"

He felt a little cold from head to toe, and didn't know if it was a symptom of excessive blood loss, or because he was in a terrible mood.

Fortunately, the servant didn't let him stand in the rain for too long, and soon, the servant's voice rang in his ears.

"Mr. Clemens, Your Excellency the Viscount, please."

Clemens opened his eyes, and asked the servant with a forced smile, "How is your viscount feeling now?"

The servant smiled slightly and said, "He has been in a good mood these two days. This should be because most things have gone very smoothly for His Excellency the Viscount."

Clemens heaved a sigh of relief, he nodded, and then walked towards the living room under the leadership of his servants.

The decorations in the living room are still the same. Compared with last time, the only difference may be that the deer head specimen placed on the wall of the living room has been replaced by a picture frame.

What is mounted in the picture frame is not a high-end oil painting, but a caricature cut from a newspaper.

The drawing skills of comics are not very good, but the content displayed is memorable.

It was a boundless railway track stretching all the way to the sky, and running on the railway track was the Duke of Wellington riding on the locomotive and the coffin with the name of 'William Huskisson' written in the carriage.

And at the bottom of the cartoon, its title is also indicated-the Duke of Wellington sent an urgent express to God.

This was probably the greatest possibility that Palmerston was in a good mood recently, and it was also an important reason why Clemens had to visit him today.

Clemens stared intently at the caricature until Palmerston's voice sounded behind him.

"This kind of painting technique is very vulgar, but I also have to admit that often only by using this simple and easy-to-understand form can I fiddle with the public's underdeveloped brains and arouse their rich and somewhat extreme emotions."

Palmerston, who was wearing a formal suit and a bow tie, glanced at the clock on the wall. He took off his hat and put it on the coffee table, then sank down and leaned on the sofa: "Sit casually, and talk quickly if you have anything to do. , I have to go to the banquet in a while."

Clemens was sitting on the sofa, he asked tentatively with a smile: "It seems that you already know about the incident at the opening ceremony of the Manchester-Liverpool railway."

Palmerston picked up his teacup and nodded, "All kinds of news are flying all over the sky, even if I don't want to know. Mr. Huskisson is really unfortunate. Although I don't like him, an outstanding talent really shouldn't get this ending."

When Clemens heard this, he opened his mouth slightly, hesitated for a long time, and finally said bravely: "I...Actually, I didn't remind Mr. Huskisson on purpose. After all, his death and I also have something to do with it. I know that you have been very worried that the Huskisson faction will return to the Duke of Wellington's command, so..."

Upon hearing this, Palmerston interrupted him: "Clemens, do you know what you're talking about? Mr. Huskisson's death was an accident, and at most the railway company and Scotland Yard work Dereliction of duty, what does this have to do with me? Do you want to say that I deliberately planned to murder a leader of the House of Commons and a former minister of state?"

"No, no, no." Clemens quickly denied, "Of course this has nothing to do with you, you have always had a good reputation. It's just that I ran into a little problem, so..."

Palmerston stared at him for a long time, then nodded slightly, he reprimanded.

"If you have any questions, you can just talk about them directly. Why do you talk about other things? Clemens, such a mother-in-law, doesn't look like you at all. Do you know why I like to use you when I was in the Ministry of War? It’s because you’re just a matter of fact, you resolutely carry out all orders, and you don’t have any other superfluous thoughts.”

Clemens was sweating on his forehead, and he said, "Yes, this is my fault, please forgive me."

Palmerston looked away from his face, he leaned on the sofa and took a sip of tea: "Okay, let's talk about the problem."

Clemens plucked up his courage, and he said, "To be honest, in order to complete your account, I may have pushed Fred a little anxiously. He wrote some of my things as a report letter and handed it over to Scotland Yard. .Minister Rowan was furious because of the train accident and this report letter, so he is now forcing me to voluntarily resign."

Hearing this, Palmerston took a deep breath, rubbed his face, and asked, "Clemens, I didn't take the initiative to mention Fred, how dare you have the nerve to mention it? I asked you to make sure that Fred Where did all your efforts go to get that Frenchman safely back to Paris?"

"I……"

Clemens was sweating profusely: "Your Excellency, this matter is very complicated. I planned to personally supervise this matter, but you don't know, I was suddenly assigned to Manchester to be in charge of the traffic opening ceremony the night before the operation, besides Even if I didn't get Fred's business done, at least I did something about Mr. Huskisson's..."

Palmerston slapped the coffee table and snorted, pointed at Clemens righteously and said, "If you really have something to do with Mr Huskisson's death, then I suggest you surrender to Scotland Yard as soon as possible. The life of an outstanding statesman is no child's play!"

"The thing about Fred..."

"What does Fred's matter have to do with me?" Palmerston asked with a smile: "Clemens, have you forgotten what I told you the last time we met? There is no forever Friend, only eternal interest. Have I any interest in Fred's business?"

"But you asked me to make sure Fred got that Frenchman..."

"Oh! Really? Why don't I remember this incident? Clemens, you are Superintendent of Scotland Yard, so you should know that evidence is always needed in every case. Besides, Fred transported that Frenchman Did you go back? He didn’t even transport anyone back, and he himself died on the high seas, are you going to drag his body out to court?”

"I……"

When Clemens heard this, his clenched fists suddenly tightened: "So, you don't want to come forward to protect me?"

Palmerston asked: "Not only for me, but for everyone, the only criterion for keeping a person is his importance, not what he once wanted to do but failed to do. Things. Clemens, if you want to protect yourself, the best way is to increase your own value.

Besides, I have no hand in the affairs of Scotland Yard, and you must remember that I am, after all, a Whig MP in opposition, though I have many old acquaintances in the Tories. "

When Clemens heard this, he also understood Palmerston's attitude.

He didn't want to argue any more with the other party, but stood up directly to bid farewell to Palmerston.

"Then, goodbye, Your Excellency the Viscount. I wish you a good time at the banquet tonight."

Clemens turned to go out when he found Palmerston's hand on his shoulder.

Palmerston walked up to him with a smile: "Taylor, don't be angry. If something goes wrong, someone must come forward and take responsibility. If you want to confront Director Rowan, I'm afraid you won't be able to." What a happy ending. A Scotland Yard superintendent, nothing to miss.

You go home and rest for a while, a few months or a year, and I promise that when the Whigs go up, I will still fulfill my previous promise and transfer you to the Ordnance Directorate.During this period of time, you should cultivate yourself well, and think about the gains and losses during this period in Scotland Yard, which will be helpful for your future development. "

Hearing this, Clemens turned around and asked, "You really mean what you said? What interest do you have in me?"

Palmerston smiled and said, "It's not a benefit, just a little old relationship. After all, you helped me in the matter of Peterloo back then. It's not that you are incompetent, you are just doing things. It still lacks a little thoroughness, so I will definitely need you in the future."

Clemens was silent for a moment when he heard this, and finally nodded slowly.

"Okay, I believe you. This time, if Rowan wins me, I will submit a letter of resignation to him."

Hearing this, Palmerston slowly shook his head: "How could Rowan beat you? Even if you resign, the vacated position will not fall into the hands of his subordinates!"

"You mean to say?"

Palmerston took the newspaper from the table and flung it into Clemens' hands.

He said flatly, "The one who stands out the most this time is the cronies that Peel cultivated along the way. The methods he uses are exactly the same, just like I cultivated you back then."

(End of this chapter)