shadow of britain

Chapter 494: Being in the Game

"Arthur, I heard you took another job recently?"

"Who told you that? Alexander or Heinrich?"

"It's a bit of both. Neither of them is good at keeping secrets. Alexander prefers to be straightforward and doesn't bother to plot. Heinrich is much better than him, but you know he's a talker. He only considers things seriously when he's short of money."

Arthur took out a matchbox and lit a cigarette, then leaned against a lamppost by the roadside and took a sip of the cigar. "I was born to work hard. I always feel empty if I don't have any work to do. The job of a diplomat is not like what we do in Scotland Yard. There is always free time, but little time to work. It just so happens that Mr. Victor thinks highly of me and invites me to sit in his office. I took his francs, so I have to help him solve his troubles. Taking money from others and helping them solve their troubles is a basic morality in my hometown."

Louis took the cigar from Arthur and lit his own.

Louis, who was born in the Palace of Versailles, originally did not know how to borrow fire from the common people. But in the past few years at Scotland Yard, he learned all these things and even got used to them.

Since his birth in 1808, he has been closely protected by his sensitive mother, who always keeps him by her side and raises him carefully. However, Louis' father, the former King of the Netherlands, doubted for a long time whether his little son was his own child.

However, it cannot be blamed on Louis' father for being suspicious, because he did not have a good relationship with Louis' mother, and during the period when Louis was born, he only met his wife during a trip to the Pyrenees.

Louis, whose bloodline had long been questioned, developed a calm, taciturn character because of this experience. He was not as passionate and impulsive as other brothers of the Bonaparte family. But such a child was obviously very likable, and Louis' mother's maids often praised this gentle, shy, generous and affectionate prince.

But perhaps due to his mother's over-indulgence, Louis made almost no academic achievements before he was 12. When his father found out that his son was so ignorant, he threatened Louis' mother that if his son's academic performance continued to be so bad, he would forcibly take his son away from his wife, who had been separated for many years.

Louis' mother naturally did not want to accept such an outcome, so she tried her best to find a teacher for her son who was extremely knowledgeable and had a decent attitude.

But by this time Napoleon's empire had already collapsed, and most of the knowledgeable people were unwilling to have anything to do with the Bonaparte family, and those who were willing to get together with the Bonaparte family might not be favored by Louis' mother.

So, after going through untold hardships, Louis' mother finally had to compromise on her political stance and invited Mr. Philippe Le Ba, who had once been a member of the National Assembly, to be Louis' teacher.

Why is this a compromise?
That's because Mr. Lebas was an out-and-out republican, and he had a famous friend named Robespierre.

With Mr. Leba's serious teaching, Louis finally got on the right track in his studies. Although he was not an excellent student, he was no longer the last one. He was a student with average grades like Mr. Elder Carter. Louis finished high school in four years, studied preparatory courses at the University of Augsburg, and finally completed his entire education at the military school in Thun, Switzerland.

In other words, he completed part of his school education in Switzerland, while his social education was thanks to the emphasis on training by the Greater London Police.

Borrowing fire, questioning, interrogating, asking questions and gathering intelligence; how to act the role of a gangster in a tavern; how to act the role of a sailor who has been cooped up for half a year and is anxious to go ashore to relieve his anger at the dock; how to pretend to shout slogans at a rally; and how to use the weapons at hand to protect yourself if you are discovered.

There are still too many clichés in the "Metropolitan Police Induction Handbook". If you really want to learn these, you have to experience them personally. Now, Louis has obviously graduated from this social university with qualifications.

Graduated is not the right word to describe it. Because before leaving Scotland Yard, Arthur, who had not yet officially stepped down as the principal of the London Police Academy, personally presented him with a certificate of outstanding graduate, even though Louis had never been trained in that school.

In terms of knowledge, he received rigorous training from Mr. Leba.

In terms of personality, the two people who had the greatest influence on Louis were his mother, Lady Hortense, and his superior, Sir Arthur Hastings.

Madame Hortense has always been doting on her youngest son and has not stopped him from indulging in vocal music and beauty. Of course, all this is based on the premise that her son's pursuit of carnal desires will not develop into a marriage that would be detrimental to his bright future.

Louis has always made his mother feel at ease in this regard, and his ears are always echoing with his mother's teachings.

- The Bonaparte family should remember that all our power comes from the will of the people, and we should wait for the people to express this will and obey it, even if it is contrary to the will of the people themselves. If the people feel pain, we should appear to be oppressed like them, and at the same time let them know that only by relying on you can they be saved. In short, the Bonaparte family should play the role of friends of all people in the world. You should always be prepared until you have the power to create events. Don't let anyone disappoint you, never rely on anyone, and never reject anyone. Open the door to everyone, even those who are curious, those with personal calculations, and those who give advice, because these people will be useful to you in the future.

And this is also the reason why Louis took the initiative to find Arthur today.

During the past few days when he was overwhelmed by the huge surprise, when Louis looked back, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have rejected his old boss's suggestion too harshly that night.

He didn't want to create a rift with Arthur, even though the old commander now seemed to be of no use.

He wanted to continue this friendship not only out of interest, not just because of his mother's teachings, but also partly because of his personality.

He is a very nostalgic person.

Louis was not an extrovert, so he did not have many friends. Although one was born in Versailles and the other was born in a Yorkshire pigsty, he and Arthur had been through thick and thin together in London for more than two years, and he was taken care of by this officer.

Louis took a puff of cigarette and looked up at the clouds in the sky: "Later, I thought about what you said to me that day. I think my remarks that day may be a bit arbitrary. No matter who they are, as long as they are willing to come to me, I will always try my best to give them some help."

Arthur took off his hat and fanned himself. "It's no big deal. Now that I think about it, I came to you without thinking. You don't have much room to maneuver. You are not like me. There are too many eyes staring at you, at least more than at me."

Arthur raised his eyebrows and winked at Louis. "There are quite a few people here today. There are two upstairs, and there are three carriages on the street. Maybe there are more around here that I haven't discovered. After all, the Greater Paris Police has more experience in this kind of work than Scotland Yard."

"So what if the Greater Paris Police Department has a lot of experience?" Louis joked, "They still haven't caught the murderer who blew up the Chateau des Cahiers that day. In my opinion, the biggest reason is that they used the extra police force to look after me." Arthur asked, "What have you been busy with these days? Arranging a plan to bring back Napoleon's coffin?"

"If that's the case, then I'm relieved. Planning a trip is much easier than attending a banquet."

Louis sighed and said, "I suddenly miss the days at Scotland Yard. At that time, I just had to do my job well and didn't have to think about other things."

"Then you haven't had a good life." Arthur joked, "Life in Scotland Yard was not good. For me, the best days were when I was in the countryside of York."

"Well... I've heard you mention it before. You always said raising pigs was very interesting."

“Raising pigs is fun, but it’s not the most fun.”

"What's the most interesting thing about it?"

Arthur took a puff of cigarette, his eyes revealing a look of reminiscence: "In the countryside of York, when the sun sets, many idle people will crowd the river bank. Every summer, you can also enjoy the following unique scenery. A few minutes before the evening prayer bell rings, a large group of women gather on the high embankment by the river. Just waiting for the evening bell to ring, everyone thinks it is dark, and all the women take off their clothes and jump into the water to take a bath when the last bell rings.

Then, shouts and laughter merged into one, making a great deal of noise. On the river bank, the men opened their eyes wide and stared at the bathers from above, but it was dark and they could not see anything clearly. In the deep blue water, they could vaguely see milky white lotus flowers emerging from the water, which was enough to inspire their imagination. With a little imagination, it was not difficult to regard the current scene as Diana and the fairies bathing in the sky, and there was no need to worry about meeting the same fate as Actaeon.

Louis laughed and cursed: "How old were you at that time? Do you know how to appreciate this?"

"Of course I don't understand." Arthur raised his eyebrows and said, "But I know that when they are concentrating on thinking about something, it is difficult for them to notice a dirty little hand taking things out of their pockets."

Louis laughed and said, "It seems that your canonization as a knight was a foreshadowing. Since you were a child, you have spontaneously begun to punish those bastards who offended ladies bathing."

Arthur shook his head slightly and said, "No, Louis, I don't have such noble thoughts. In fact, although I didn't understand it at that time, I would also want to take a few more glances at a beautiful girl when I saw her. But at such a distance and in the dim twilight, you can't tell which one is the old woman selling oranges in the river and which one is the most beautiful Bohemian girl."

"Bohemian girl? You still have Bohemian girls there."

"Ah."

Arthur nodded and said, "She is a milkmaid on the ranch. The Spanish often say that a beautiful woman must meet thirty conditions, in other words, she must be worthy of at least ten adjectives, and each adjective must apply to three parts of her body. For example, she must have three blacks, black eyes, black eyelids, and black eyelashes, and three thins, thin fingers, thin lips, and thin hair. That girl is such a beauty, and she meets all these conditions.

Although her skin was very smooth and soft, her complexion was almost coppery. Her eyes were large and beautiful, her lips were slightly thick, but the lines were extremely beautiful, and every time she smiled, she would reveal a mouthful of teeth whiter than almonds. Her hair was black, long, and shiny, just like the wings of a crow reflecting blue light. Especially her eyes, which were both charming and fierce, like the eyes of a cat catching sparrows, making you dare not look at her. It was not until much later that I realized that those were the wolf eyes unique to Bohemian beauties. "

Louis couldn't help but say with regret when he heard this: "It sounds like she is indeed a rare beauty. Unfortunately, she must be very old now. But don't be discouraged. You can also find Bohemian beauties in Paris. When you have nothing to do, walk around the streets. You may meet a girl from her hometown."

Arthur pretended to be surprised when he heard this and asked, "How did you know I met a Bohemian girl on the street?"

"Hmm?" Louis originally just said casually, but Arthur's words caught his attention: "Have you seen such a girl?"

Arthur nodded and said, "I did meet one. Her name is Clara. I was drinking in the tavern with Heinrich and Alexander when I accidentally found this girl sitting next to me. She looks exactly like the Bohemian girl I met when I was a child, especially her eyes. You will never forget them once you see them."

Louis smiled and put his arm around Arthur's shoulder: "From what you said, you succeeded?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "No, she almost got me."

"What do you mean? Are you saying you were pinned down by a girl?"

After hearing this, Louis no longer cared about the rest of the day's arrangements. Arthur's story had completely piqued his interest.

Arthur saw that he had taken the bait, so he used the words he had prepared before: "I first invited her to have a drink. She told me that the weather was a bit hot today, so I asked her if she wanted to go to the cold drink shop to sit and have ice cream or something. I was fascinated by her at the time and didn't notice that she was looking at my gold pocket watch. When she and I left the cold drink shop, the night had completely fallen, most of the shops were closed, and there were almost no pedestrians on the street.

We passed the bridge in front of Notre Dame and stopped at a house on the side of the street that was not at all luxurious or respectable. A child came out to open the door, and the girl spoke to him a few words, which I could not understand, but I later learned that they were speaking some Bohemian dialect. The child immediately left us in a fairly spacious room with a small table, two small stools, a cabinet, a pitcher of water, a bunch of oranges, and a bunch of onions.

There were only two of us in the room. The Bohemian girl took out a deck of well-worn cards, a magnet, a dried lizard and several other magic tools from the cabinet, and told me to make a cross with a coin in my hand. Then, she began to perform magic. She muttered something in her mouth without saying it in detail, but judging from her posture and movements, it was obvious that she was not a half-baked witch..."

Louis put his hand on his forehead and said, "Arthur! My good brother! Did you go home with her just to have her tell fortunes for you? Or is this some special custom of the Bohemians?"

Arthur waved his hand: "Don't worry, I haven't finished yet."

"Then keep talking."

Arthur coughed. "Unfortunately, the ritual was interrupted before it lasted long. Suddenly, the door of the room opened suddenly, and a man wrapped in a brown cloak with only his two eyes exposed walked in. He shouted at the girl in a very rude manner. I didn't understand what he said, but his tone showed that he was very annoyed. When the girl saw him, she was neither surprised nor angry. She just greeted him and said a lot of things in the mysterious dialect she had just spoken in front of me..."

(End of this chapter)