shadow of britain

Chapter 183 Platonic Love?

Consciously or unintentionally, Arthur slowly told Mrs. Cowper about the departmental differences in the Ministry of the Interior, and inserted a few slightly modified legendary case-handling stories from time to time.

The ups and downs of the story development, coupled with all kinds of bizarre chemical knowledge, plus some reasonable but not beyond the boundaries of embellishment, all kinds of originally bloody and terrifying detective stories have become open Cowper stories in Arthur's mouth. Madam is the key to know the new world.

She listened to Arthur's story, and every time the plot reached a critical point, the London lady couldn't help but tighten the handkerchief in her hand.

"My God! So the innkeeper did it? He was an accomplice in helping the murderer kill the two whores?"

"Laughing gas is really a scary thing. What's even more scary is that young people nowadays often use it as a fashionable entertainment product. Who would have thought that this thing could be used to kill people?"

"No wonder you hate corpse snatchers so much, it turns out it's all because of that poor little girl. Alas... Maybe the responsible politicians in Britain should seriously consider the "Anatomy Act", even if the bishops are against it It, and I admit it's not fair to poor people who die in workhouses. But there's always a work out, for the living..."

"Oh! My God! You actually killed that Fred yourself? Mr. Hastings, I think you might consider publishing this pursuit on the high seas as a novel. This story will definitely be very popular."

In the exclamation of Mrs. Cowper, the time passed by every minute.

Perhaps it was because she was so fascinated by Arthur's detective stories that she forgot the phonograph she had been thinking about for a long time.

It wasn't until Arthur drank the last drop of water in the teapot that Mrs. Cowper sighed unsatisfactorily: "I really didn't expect that you, a 20-year-old young man, have had so many incredible personal experiences. I thought you The Faraday cage and the gramophone for the demo were amazing enough, but in retrospect, they are nothing compared to your experience at Scotland Yard. The newspapers can't praise you enough, you are Scotland Yard A legend, a living legend."

Arthur heard Mrs. Cowper praise him so much, but he still didn't dare to take it lightly.

He just said modestly: "You are really flattering me. I'm just doing my job. Just like Mr. John Locke said: the only legitimate purpose of establishing a government is to protect people's lives, property and liberty, and to Provide security and welfare for the people.

What I do is originally the responsibility of Scotland Yard, and your gratitude to me is also included in the police tax of the local parish. You take the money, I do the work, and everything is justified.

And I got a promotion as an added bonus, and as you can see, I'm a superintendent now.I have received such rich compliments, how dare I ask for more affirmation from you. "

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, the more she looked at the young man, the more she felt pleasing to her eyes: "Mr. Hastings, you can be regarded as the most gentlemanly 20-year-old young man I have ever met."

Arthur glanced at the sky outside the window, stood up and asked to leave: "Then Ma'am, why don't you come here today? Actually, I want to chat with you for a while, but Scotland Yard has a lot of business, and my leave is only for today." Afternoon, lunch break should be almost over now, I have to hurry back to work."

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she wanted to keep him, but she remembered what Arthur told her about the annoying regulations of Scotland Yard just now, so she finally decided to let him go back.

"Sorry to hear the news, but I understand you, young man, maybe I'm not quite right, but I sincerely hope that you can be transferred to a department that doesn't work very long. Scotland Yard's detective story is certainly wonderful , but from the perspective of people who have been there and women, I think staying there for a long time is not conducive to your getting a happy marriage."

Arthur just smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your blessing, then see you next time, madam."

Seeing Arthur get up, the servant at the side hurriedly brought him the coat and hat hanging on the coat rack.

After getting dressed again, Arthur walked out of Cowper's mansion under the polite guidance of the old butler.

He took a deep breath, and his tense nerves were relieved, perhaps because it rained in London today, the air after the rain has no dusty smell, nor is it mixed with any toxic industrial dust and feces, it is extremely fresh!

Breathing such high-quality air, Arthur's mood improved a lot.

A wobbling carriage slowly stopped in front of Arthur, and the footman sitting next to the driver jumped off his seat and opened the door. A yawning middle-aged man with gray sideburns stepped out of it.

The man seemed to be very afraid of the cold, and he was wearing very thick clothes. A tuxedo was hidden inside the silver-gray plush coat, and a sleeveless wine-red vest was put on under the tuxedo, and through his tight You can also see the collar of the white shirt in navy blue scarf.

When the man saw Arthur walking out of Cowper's mansion, he raised his eyebrows curiously at first, but soon, he seemed to have thought of something, so he could only suppress his curiosity, and the expression appeared on his face again. A lackluster expression due to sleeping too long.

Just as he was about to enter the mansion, he found Arthur standing on the side of the road smiling at him.

Out of politeness, the man could only smile and nod in response.

In such a strange atmosphere, the two passed by, Arthur returned to Scotland Yard, and Mrs. Cowper welcomed her own brother, William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne.

When Mrs. Cowper saw him coming, the two gave a simple face-to-face salute, and then Mrs. Cowper could not help complaining: "William, didn't you agree to take your nephews and nieces to lunch today?" ? Why did you come so late?"

The Viscount of Melbourne said helplessly: "I didn't expect it to be delayed until this time. It stands to reason that the prime minister's inquiry should end at 12:30. But the situation is different today. The two sides are arguing about the reform of the parliament. The Duke of Wellington, who is willing to speak more, has turned on his horses. Emily, I swear to you, I have never seen His Excellency the Duke speak so much in one breath in my life."

Mrs. Cowper heard the overtones in her brother's words: "This...Henry seems to have mentioned this to me a while ago. He said that the Whig Party will completely defeat the Tory Party in the Prime Minister's Inquiry. It seems that, Did you succeed?"

The Viscount of Melbourne tilted his head and licked his ears: "It should be about the same. I fell asleep when I was sitting in my seat and heard Henry say that he would launch a no-confidence motion against the Wellington cabinet. Later, we probably quarreled for a while about this matter." .But that's irrelevant. The Duke of Wellington has offended too many people with the Catholic Emancipation Act and his opposition to parliamentary reform. The end of the Tory era is certain."

"So..." Mrs. Cowper's happy eyes narrowed into crescent moons: "It seems that you and Henry will play important roles in the cabinet soon, right? Henry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and you are the Minister of the Interior?"

The Viscount of Melbourne looked at his sister in a little surprise: "You are quite well informed, you know everything about the party."

"Of course, don't forget what the Almark Club is for." Mrs. Cowper said with a smile: "All kinds of news spread far faster in the mouths of the ladies than in your party, as long as I want to , I might even find out how the Tories intend to fight back against you."

"That's not necessary, my lovely sister. The Tory Party should not think about fighting back now, but how to ensure that they lose as few seats as possible in the next general election. With all due respect, in the next general election, they All religious and university constituencies must be lost, and the Archbishops of the House of Lords may fall to us."

Mrs. Cowper just shook her head: "William, I don't want to worry about the general election. But you have to promise me that you will save a good position for your nephew in the Ministry of the Interior. It is best if you can exercise and earn money. At the same time, it’s not too tiring. A place like Scotland Yard is definitely not good. Although that place exercises people, it’s really too tiring.”

The Viscount of Melbourne asked puzzledly, "Of course I will arrange things for Mike, but why did you suddenly think of mentioning Scotland Yard?"

Mrs. Cowper said, "Didn't you meet him?"

"Who?"

"It's the young man who just went out. He is Constable Arthur Hastings of Scotland Yard. You must have heard his name? He has appeared in the newspapers several times this year."

"This..." The Viscount Melbourne's face suddenly became a little strange when he heard this. He looked around and asked in a low voice: "Although I shouldn't ask about these things, but... I can confirm that you and him relationship?"

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she felt angry. She said unhappily: "William! Mr. Hastings and I respect each other, but it is definitely not to the same level as Henry and I. Can't you see Is it his age? I can be his mother!"

"Ah..." Hearing this, the Viscount Melbourne just held his forehead and smiled helplessly, "Sorry, maybe I'm a little nervous."

Mrs. Cowper admitted his mistake so quickly when she saw him, so she didn't care too much about him. On the contrary, she still felt a little bit sorry for what happened to her elder brother in the past few decades.

"William, although I shouldn't bring this up, let the past be the past. The woman in the Ponsonby family is dead. Although she didn't fulfill her obligations as a wife when she was alive, at that time At least she still holds the name of Mrs. Melbourne. Now, although you are no longer young, you are far from old! The days to come will be long, and you have to consider renewing your strings, and you cannot let Ponson compare you If it’s ruined, the Melbourne family still depends on you!”

When the Viscount of Melbourne heard this, he just felt uncomfortable: "Emily, you don't understand how I feel. Marriage or something is more like a burden to me now. In fact, it's fine not to get married. .If two people can't help each other understand, why bother to get married?"

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she couldn't help thinking of her marriage to Earl Cowper. After a short silence, she sighed: "Perhaps what you said is right, but you can also find someone who can understand now." Your woman."

"Hmm..." The Viscount of Melbourne pondered for a while, and finally couldn't help but smile after his sister's kindness. He revealed the biggest secret buried in his heart during this period: "Actually, I already have a friend who can talk to you." I have a female friend with you, but she and I are not in the kind of relationship you imagined..."

As soon as Melbourne said this, the Red Devil, who had been lying on the fireplace and did not leave with Arthur, couldn't help but nodded.

The Red Devil pushed his glasses and said to himself: "Yes, yes! I believe you, there is a platonic love between a man and a woman that does not involve any physical contact. Tch, this kind of nonsense can only be said to I'm such a devil to listen to..."

(End of this chapter)