shadow of britain

Chapter 97

On the outskirts of London's West End, a townhouse with a garden outside.

The servant on duty outside the carved black iron gate saw a carriage slowly approaching.

The wheels stopped suddenly, and a gentleman with a big brim hat, a black dress, and a beautiful gift got out of the car.

His back looks very broad, his waist is also straight, and he walks in a rigid manner, as if he is walking in a marching formation. From this posture, he knows that he has served in the army.

The servant saw the face of the person coming, and hurriedly greeted him with a smile. He first took the gift from the other person's hand, and then bowed slightly.

"Superintendent Clemens, Mr. Viscount has been waiting for a long time."

Clemens straightened his straight collar, nodded and said, "Please take me there."

Under the leadership of the servant, the two walked through the garden path and walked into the living room of the villa.

The living room is not particularly large, but the decoration is very delicate and substantial. There is a deer head specimen hanging on the fireplace facing you, and there is a line of labels below it. The label records that this deer head was hunted in Broadlands in 1811. .

On the opposite side of the fireplace, there are several sofas and an exotic circular rug.

Just as Clemens was about to sit down, he suddenly found out with embarrassment that there was actually a pair of translucent briefs with lace trim hidden in the gap of the sofa.

Judging from this style and design, it should belong to a lady with a high status.

Seeing this, the servant hurried forward and put his underwear into his pocket. He apologized politely to Clemens in embarrassment.

"You know, Mr. Viscount has always been very charming. The wives of the Almark Club like him very much. They often hold reading salons here, and it is normal to leave some belongings occasionally."

Hearing what the servant said, Clemens could only pretend to be confused. He nodded and said, "When your Excellency the Viscount was working in the Ministry of War, he took good care of my cavalry regiment. You don't need to ask I have explained so much, I can be regarded as his old subordinate..."

Although Clemens didn't dare to inquire too much, he couldn't help the gossip after all.

He sneaked a glance at the stairs leading to the second floor and the door of the next room, and only after confirming that the Viscount hadn't arrived did he venture to ask carefully.

"However, although I know that His Excellency the Viscount is very popular with ladies, but after all, he is so old, this time I don't know..."

Seeing that he was so curious, the servant had to look around mysteriously, and then whispered: "The wife of the Russian ambassador, Princess Levin..."

"Ah..." Clemens suddenly realized: "Then it makes sense. I have heard of Princess Levin. My wife mentioned it to me. She said that the noble ladies in London call her..."

When Clemens just said this, the servant coughed suddenly, and the witty inspector quickly stopped talking.

Sure enough, just as he shut up, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"What are you doing standing up, Clemens? Sit anywhere you want."

Clemens turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in casual clothes wiping his wet hair with a towel.

After the man wiped his head, he handed the bath towel to the servant beside him, found a sofa and sat down, looked at the stunned Clemens and asked, "Are you sick? How do you feel about your spirit today?" Something's wrong? Would you like some gin?"

Seeing his appearance just after taking a shower, Clemens' heart sank slightly.

Princess Liwen hasn't left yet, has she?
He hurriedly found a sofa facing away from the room and the stairs and sat upright, and then he said, "Scotland Yard has too many jobs recently, you should have read it from the newspapers, right? The homicide case has disturbed Scotland Yard." It's turned upside down.

Sir Peel was furious at the incident, and the Duke of Wellington ordered the military and police to be involved in the operation.The big guy has been busy for a month, and it was completely over a while ago. "

The Viscount picked up the teapot on the table to pour tea, and said, "Oh! Peel just likes to compete on such insignificant matters, grabbing a hot spot and making great efforts to distract the public's attention.

The little policeman who gave a speech in the court before was the same for this case of murder and body robbery. There are more people dying in London every day. If he really wanted to crack down on these gangs selling corpses, why did he push the "Blood Act" before? What about the repeal?
If I were to do this, I'd be sure to kill all those who stole the corpses.Can't touch the doctors, can't I touch the gang of grave-digging mice?
snort!Peel is a combination of contradictions. On the one hand, he is soft-hearted, and on the other hand, he wants to establish order.Where in the world is there such a good thing? "

Clemens couldn't help but feel his heart tighten when he heard this.

The Viscount was holding a teacup and was about to take a sip, but when he looked up, he noticed a subtle change in Clemens' expression.

So, he stopped drinking tea, and asked with a teacup, "Clemens, are you not involved in this case?"

"No, of course not." Clemens said, "As you know, although I like wealth, I still don't like this kind of thing."

The Viscount stared at him for a while, then put down his teacup and said, "Okay, I believe you. But I still have to remind you that you are not particularly old, and you are still very promising. The Tory Party is about to fail. , After Wellington goes down, the Whig Party will be able to come to power.

From what I have observed in the party and what I know of the situation, it should be the Earl Charles Grey who, once the Whigs come to power, will take over as Prime Minister.

My relationship with Earl Grey is not bad, and my position in the party is fairly stable, so I may get a cabinet position from him, either in the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of the Interior. Of course, I personally hope to take it It was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But no matter which position I get in the end, you should be promoted. This is a reward for your loyalty and an affirmation of your perseverance when I was in the opposition.

Clemens, you've done a great job and I've had a lot of great information out of your mouth since I left the Cabinet. "

The Viscount picked up his teacup and touched Clemens. He smiled and said, "I wish our best."

Clemens was about to drink tea with a smile at first, but when he heard this, his smile froze suddenly, and he asked, "Your Excellency, Viscount, you really like to joke, don't you usually say 'I wish our friendship'?"

The Viscount smiled lightly, he shook his head and said, "Friendship is all fiction, and only benefits are real. Clemens, you have been with me for so long, why do you still not understand my personality? For me, No permanent friends, only permanent interests.

Why would I defect to the Tories if it were not for my personality?Wellington, Peel, George Canning, William Huskisson, they are all too clueless.A qualified politician should do good things, whether it is for the country or for himself.

They should have thought of this outcome in advance when they were planning to challenge me for the Cambridge University seat in the party election.

I have a strong desire for revenge. If anyone offends me, I guarantee that he will not be able to live. "

Clemens smiled reluctantly, and he echoed: "You are talking about it, Lord Palmerston. The reason why I am here today is precisely because I want to solve your problems, and I have found a person who can help you." Chances of defeating Wellington's cabinet."

"Oh? Have you found a way to sabotage the settlement between Wellington and Huskisson?"

Palmerston took a sip of tea, shook his head slightly, and said, "With all due respect, that kind of level is not something you can participate in. I tried Huskisson's tone some time ago, and Wellington didn't know what to give him. Ecstasy Soup, he seems to really plan to bring his group of people back."

"It's not Mr. Huskisson's fault. His reconciliation ceremony with the Duke of Wellington, and the opening of the Manchester-Liverpool railway are being carried out by Sir Peel's confidant, Inspector Hastings, and I have nothing to do. So there's no way to create problems between them."

Palmerston propped one arm on the arm of the sofa and read to himself.

"Hastings? That Arthur Hastings? The lad is climbing so fast, and Peel is willing to entrust him with such an important job. If he continues to work for a few years, I'm afraid the Metropolitan Police He must be the director, right?"

Hearing this, Clemens knew that Palmerston was beating himself, and he smiled and complimented: "I'm not worried about this, he has Sir Peel, don't I have you here? I can guarantee , this thing must be very valuable to you."

Palmerston immediately became interested when he heard the words. He leaned forward and asked, "What did you find?"

Clemens took out a document from his purse and handed it over respectfully.

"Please take a look, this is the information I got from Fred. It took me a lot of effort to pry his iron mouth open. This kid recently took a big job from the French government and tied him up." A French republican is ready to send back."

Palmerston took the document and glanced at it, and couldn't help snapping his fingers happily: "Fred, a bastard, I can't think of doing such a good thing. It seems that I ordered him to retire immediately. It's still a bit harsh, if I had known this kid is so promising now, I would have kept him."

Clemens smiled and said: "Your order is not strict, Fred asked for it himself. Although leading troops should be strict, but he directly whipped two recruits to death, such behavior is still It's too violent."

Palmerston pursed his lips and nodded: "That's true."

He stood up and patted Clemens on the shoulder: "It's okay without Fred, don't I still have you? Clemens, I want you to make sure that Fred can transport that Frenchman at all costs." Arrived in Paris.

As long as he can successfully complete this order, I guarantee that the next day the entire London newspaper will report this matter overwhelmingly.As soon as Wellington's cabinet falls, I can get you a good job whether I end up in the Foreign Office, the Home Office or the Treasury.

Hmm... Maybe these titles are too polite for you.How about this, are you interested in regaining control of military affairs, I will consider finding someone to transfer you to the Ordnance Directorate.

Although the General Administration of Ordnance does not care about cavalry and infantry, they are also responsible for engineers and artillery. "

Hearing this, Clemens couldn't help showing a gleam of joy on his brows. He stood up and saluted, "There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests!"

Hearing this, Palmerston leaned on the sofa with a teacup in his hand, and smiled softly: "Clemens, I'm optimistic about you."

(End of this chapter)