shadow of britain

Chapter 400 Prometheus Bound
Ding-ding-ding-ding.

The sweet doorbell rang, and the person who pushed open the apartment door was a young man wearing a white shirt and a black vest. He had some energetic freckles on his face and short brown hair on his back. His awkward movements made it easy to spot him at a glance. He should still be a middle school student studying.

He stared at Mrs. Shelley's eyes for a long time, and then he puffed up his chest and said with a blushing face: "Good afternoon, madam, are you...are you here to visit my sister again today?"

Mrs. Shelley smiled and nodded, and finally she introduced Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, this is Mr. Edward Moulton-Barrett Jr., Elizabeth's brother."

Arthur took off his gloves and held the other person's hand in a friendly way: "Nice to meet you, Edward."

"Mr. Hastings?"

Edward was stunned for a moment when he heard the name, and then suddenly said: "Are you the author of "Hastings"? The famous detective from Scotland Yard?"

Before Arthur could reply, the young man clenched his fists excitedly: "Great! My sister will definitely be very happy after seeing you! Mrs. Shelley, you really didn't break your promise, it's like you made the promise That brought this gentleman to us!”

After saying this, he turned his head and shouted into the room: "Sean, Emily! There are guests at home, go make tea and make some snacks!"

Immediately afterwards, Arthur saw seven or eight little heads popping up in several rooms in the back room. Among them were teenagers and girls, as well as children of eight or nine years old. There was even one lying on the ground with half of his butt exposed and crying. A naughty guy who wants his brother to seek justice.

At this point, the red devil suddenly leaned down and smiled with a big mouth: "Arthur, if you have to choose, do you want to be tied up on the Caucasus Mountains, push rocks up the mountain, fall into the sea, and be imprisoned in hell? Or support that damn sky with your head and shoulders?”

Agares adjusted his glasses, put his hands behind his back, walked around, and looked at the paintings on the wall one after another.

And because he failed to resist Zeus, he was punished to support the sky with his head and hands at the westernmost point of the world.

Mrs. Shelley explained: "There are twelve brothers and sisters in the Barrett family. Elizabeth is the eldest among them, and Edward is the eldest male. Since Mrs. Barrett's death, the family has become He looks like this. Although Mr. Barrett is well-educated and a moderately successful businessman, it is definitely not a good idea to let him manage the family."

Arthur poured a cup of tea: "I don't even have a choice. If I have to choose, I would rather lie on the ground and let the sky fall down and crush everyone to death."

As soon as I sat down on the walnut chair wrapped in cotton, I could notice the artistic taste of this family as soon as I looked up.

While talking, two servants, a man and a woman, walked out of the restaurant and took the guests to the reception room with smiles.

The reception room is spacious and bright. As soon as you step in, you are greeted by a balcony facing the garden and French floor-to-ceiling windows with carved decorations on both sides. The walls are decorated with brocade and silk wallpaper, and intricate plaster moldings and paneling can be seen in some corners.

"Edward, come and take care of Winston, he's snatching my toys again!"

Seeing this, Arthur asked while Mrs. Shelley was chatting with Ada: "What are you looking at? Aren't they all old-fashioned myths?"

"An old myth?"

The Red Devil smiled softly: "If you only understand these paintings this way, it would be too vulgar. The so-called myths are just exaggerated historical truths. The so-called historical truths are just the prelude to future stories."

The second-generation god-king Cronus overthrew the brutal rule of his father, the god-king Uranus, but was overthrown by his son Zeus, and was finally imprisoned in hell.

Sisyphus was punished by having to push a boulder to the top of a mountain for kidnapping the God of Death so that there would be no more death in the world.

Because he wanted to fly towards the sun, his wings made of wax melted in the sun, and he eventually fell into the sea.

Next to the fireplace are standing cabinets with various tea sets, built-in bookshelves, and display cabinets displaying porcelain and silverware.

The red devil did not continue to ask after hearing this, but patted him heavily on the shoulder: "My dear Arthur, you, it's better to be as great as you said."

Arthur did not respond to the Red Devil's words. As an old friend, he was tired of solving similar riddles.

"Oh my God!" Ada, who was following Arthur, couldn't help covering her mouth and exclaimed: "How many children do they have in their family?"

The five murals on the walls all have classical mythological meanings.

Prometheus was bound to the Caucasus Mountains by Zeus for stealing fire from the sky.

He just calmly picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, listening to the quiet conversation between Mrs. Shelley and Ada.

I don't know since when, he began to slowly get used to this kind of life, just like a shadow, he was clearly there, but he seemed not to be there.

Although the protagonists in the oil painting all have a tragic experience, in fact Arthur does not like to live under the sun like them.

We are a bunch of gutter rats. Where is the sewer? It's a place where no light can be seen.

——Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Internal Training Manual of the Police Intelligence Bureau of the Metropolitan Police.

However, from an outsider's perspective, they certainly couldn't figure out that Mr. Hastings was all about sewer rats.

Both Ada and Mrs. Shelley thought that the young police officer was fascinated by the painting "Prometheus Bound".

Seeing that he was looking so fascinated, Ada thought of Arthur's recent experience of being widely attacked by public opinion circles, and thought that he was being moved by the situation.

She asked softly: "Do you feel trapped too?"

Arthur looked at her puzzled expression and just laughed: "This is not a bondage, but a kind of destiny. A pair of devil's big hands pushed me here. However, I can't blame him entirely, some At that time, I brought it upon myself." Ada didn't quite understand what Arthur said. She usually didn't care about politics, but she still knew more or less about parliamentary reform.

"If you find those jobs annoying, why not quit them? You can play the piano, you can write "Hastings", you have many skills to support yourself, why choose one that makes you happy? What about the unhappy ones?"

Arthur didn't know how to explain this problem to Ada. He thought about it and replied half-jokingly: "Madam, I am not as powerful as you think. The reason why I have those skills is because I have gone to Current position. It’s easy to go up the mountain, with some hardship at most, but if you want to get down before the sun sets, you have to choose free fall.”

Mrs. Shelley couldn't help but worry when she heard this. Her early years with Shelley made her understand many dirty things in politics.

She asked softly: "Have things gotten this bad already?"

Arthur did not comment on this, but replied in a confused manner: "Madam, no one in this world will seize power in order to abolish power. Power is not a means, but an end."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs.

The footsteps were obviously much slower than the sound of Edward rushing upstairs just now, and they sounded cautious.

Not long after, Arthur saw a wisp of white dress outside the door of the living room. It was a slender and frail girl being held in Edward's arms.

Being paralyzed in bed for a long time made her skin appear unhealthy pale, and her dark brown hair was combed into an elegant bun at the back of her head.

Compared with the intricately decorated skirts that other ladies often wear, her skirt looks extremely simple. It has neither wide skirts nor scattered small decorations. It is just a comfortable and loose dress with long sleeves and high collar.

Although her mobility was limited, Elizabeth still smiled and nodded gently to the guests as a courtesy.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Shelley. I like the book "Prometheus Unbound" you gave me last time. It is Mr. Shelley's version of Aeschylus's original work "Prometheus Bound". "Jius" is composed from a different perspective. I can hardly tell which one I like better. I keep both books by my bedside and read them again every night before going to bed. "

Mrs. Shelley was relieved when she heard this. She stood up with a smile and said: "Elizabeth, it is really gratifying to see you so obsessed with literature. When I saw you at the Quaker Church, your condition was It’s so worrying, I’m afraid you’re going to do something stupid.”

Edward hugged his sister and gently placed her on the sofa chair, and then said: "It's all thanks to you recommending "The British" to us. The story on it is simply too interesting. "Blackwood" Although poetry is elegant, reading it too much will always make people depressed. But "The Englishman" is different. It contains many stories about fields, cities, villages and foreign countries. Each one is very interesting to read. It makes people feel that there is still more to enjoy.”

Having said this, Edward did not forget to ask Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, I have always wanted to ask you why "The Hastings Detective Collection" has not been updated recently. I am still waiting to see the perfume murderer. What’s the outcome of the case?”

Arthur heard this and replied with a smile: "To be honest, Edward, not only you, but also I have been waiting for the outcome of this case."

"Ah?" Edward said in surprise: "You mean, you haven't figured out the next plot yet? You don't know how to arrange the death of the perfume merchant?"

"Hmm..." Arthur recalled the image of Bernie Harrison during his lifetime, nodded slightly and said, "That's right."

Seeing her brother chasing after her, Elizabeth quickly stopped him softly: "Edward, this is so rude."

When Edward heard his sister say this, he was not immediately discouraged. Instead, he turned to chase Arthur and asked.

"Mr. Hastings, that...you...actually my sister has also written a lot of literary things. You may not know that she started writing poetry when she was four years old. We both received the same tutor when we were young. Education, but she learned much better than me. When she was thirteen, she wrote a four-volume epic "The Battle of Marathon". My father was very proud of it and even paid someone to print fifty copies. Give it away. You happen to be here now, why don’t I go get the book and show it to you?”

"Edward!"

Elizabeth endured it for a long time, but when she heard that her brother was planning to show her humble work to the famous author of "The Englishman", she immediately interrupted her brother with a blushing face and shame.

Edward saw the annoyance in his sister's bright eyes, and could only sneer and touch the back of his head and step aside: "Okay... maybe there will be a chance next time. I'll go see if the snacks are ready. You guys can chat slowly. "

As soon as Edward disappeared into the living room, he heard Ada say in surprise: "Is this how the relationship between brothers and sisters is? If possible, I also want a younger brother. He seems to care about you very much. .”

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. She stared at Ada, who was as bright as a rose. Her mood that had just calmed down suddenly started to ripple again: "Edward is indeed a warm-hearted person. In the past, when I was in good health, the rest of us The brothers and sisters often ride horses and have picnics on the manor. It is indeed a blessing to be born in the same family as him. Don’t you have such brothers and sisters? "

Ada blinked: "I heard from my mother that I used to have a half-sister, but she died when she was five years old. I also have a cousin, like you, she is also named Elizabeth. .I have met her several times, but we are not familiar with each other."

"Don't you often interact with your relatives?"

Ada shook her head as if she didn't care: "I actually still want to interact with them, but every time I meet them, my mother looks very sad, as if she has recalled many unbearable memories. So. , since I discovered this, I rarely let my mother take me to meet relatives."

Mrs. Shelley heard this as if she heard herself.

She held Ada's hand and said: "Ada, you don't have to do this. I believe that compared to memories, your mother must think that your happy life is the most important thing. Memories are things in the past after all. Since they are in the past, then Just let them pass. Those are all matters of our generation and have nothing to do with your generation."

Ada felt the kindness shown by Mrs. Shelley, but she only felt uncomfortable all over.

The rebellious young lady said truthfully: "Madam, it would be fine if it was someone else. But my cousin Elizabeth Medora Lee is the daughter of my aunt Augusta Lee."

As soon as Ada finished speaking, Arthur, who was drinking tea, choked and coughed repeatedly.

According to the gossip rumors learned from Elder, Augusta Lee and Byron were not only brother and sister, but also a pair of inseparable lovers. The reason why Byron married Ada's mother, Mrs. Milbank, was to cover up the incest scandal.

Byron went to Greece because the scandal was finally exposed, making him unable to stay in Britain. From this perspective, it makes sense for Ada not to see her cousin.

(End of this chapter)