Shadow of great britain

Arthur watched Elder put the brown paper bag into his pocket with great interest, and his eyes scanned everyone in the ballroom.

Suddenly, Elder's eyes lit up, he snapped his fingers, and spoke in a low voice to Arthur.

"Anyway, I don't understand so much. I'll write down all the things I know for you later. You can make your own choice about which ones are useful. As for the money issue, just give it as you see. Anyway, I earned it last time I went to sea. The money I got was enough to keep me happy for a while. By the time I spend all the money, you should have already judged the value of this information."

Arthur was unceremonious about Elder's generosity. He clinked glasses with Elder who was leaning on the sofa chair and said, "I wish our friendship."

"Wish my friend Arthur a speedy rise to prominence."

Elder drank the drink with a smile, then smoothed his tuxedo and said: "I won't spend more time with you. Today is a good opportunity to enter the upper class, so I'm going to work harder. You are the most important It's better not to sit around and get to know more about the lady, it will definitely be of great benefit to your future promotion."

After saying this, Elder stood up and walked towards Colonel Fitzroy, who was having a lively chat with the ladies. He planned to shamelessly ask Mr. Colonel to introduce him to him.

As soon as Elder walked away, the red devil immediately occupied the sofa chair where he was sitting.

Agares sat in the chair with his legs crossed and muttered: "Arthur, do you hear that? Stop sitting here and go to the madam to find something to talk about."

"topic?"

Arthur took a sip of the watered whiskey in the glass, and the spicy taste made him a little uncomfortable: "What can I talk to them about? I'm going to tell them what I used against those rats in the murder case. A cruel method? Or maybe I just sent my men to break the legs of some gangsters in the East End of London? Agares, my stories are far less attractive than their exciting experiences."

"Oh! My dear Arthur, you must not underestimate yourself so much."

Agares covered his mouth and snickered: "A boy with no background, a country bumpkin who only received a London University education, a desperate man who once wanted to leave his hometown and go to America, in just over half a year, with the help of Single-handedly, he transformed from an unknown patrol constable to the superintendent of the Metropolitan Police who dominates Greenwich and Tower Hamlets. Arthur Hastings, the meaning of this name There is only one and that is the legend of Scotland Yard.”

Arthur's eyes swept across the whole place, but his eyes finally fell on Mrs. Cowper, who was surrounded by stars like a moon in the center of the crowd.

He said calmly: "Mrs. Cowper will appear here today. It must be arranged by you, right?"

When the red devil heard this, he was surprised at first, but soon the surprise turned into a stronger smile.

"Arthur, I just said, don't underestimate yourself too much. You are one of the rare villains in the world who has both a shrewd mind and extraordinary control. We are very compatible. Don't always be too wary of me. I do this It's not malicious at all. I just want to use her to help you better. As long as you can gain her trust, you will get the admission ticket to the Allmark Club, as one of the seven female sponsor committee members of the club. , Mrs. Cowper has a decisive influence there."

When Arthur heard this, he just shook his head slightly: "Agares, you are too neurotic. I don't mean to blame you at all. On the contrary, I am very grateful to you. Do you remember what you told me before? If so? You said I always want to make money standing up."

When Agares heard this, he couldn't help but clasped his hands together. The red devil said happily: "So, you agree?"

"Yes, I agree. I agree with your point of view, but reject your suggestion. The reason why I thank you is that you gave me the ability to make money standing up. You have to know that not everyone in this world Everyone has the ability to make this choice. Since you gave me the opportunity to make money standing up, why don't I cherish it?"

The red devil was stunned when he heard this. He frowned and said, "Arthur, what do you mean?"

Arthur said calmly: "Generally speaking, opportunities always seem to be very tempting, but in fact, there are too many unattainable and wonderful things that are all deceptions. The best opportunities are often within your reach." By my side. It may be too overestimating to challenge the lady who has fascinated countless people from the very beginning. Therefore, I think the best choice may be to start from the side."

After saying this, Arthur suddenly stood up and walked towards a girl in a white dress who was sitting not far away with a nervous expression.

Agares was stunned for a moment. He was about to get angry, but the flames just shot up on top of his head and went out again in an instant.

There were a few wisps of green smoke floating on the red devil's head. He stared at the girl whom Arthur regarded as a low-difficulty target for a long time.

After a long time, Agares rubbed his chin, smacked his lips twice, and muttered with a bad smile: "Arthur, you little bastard, do you think that Professor Agares, who has no plan at all, didn't prepare a plan? ? This is the daughter of the parallelogram princess and the romantic writer. If you want to get in touch with her, I can only hope that you have really strengthened your mathematical skills when you are studying electromagnetism recently..."

At this point, the Red Devil couldn't help but shook his head and shrugged: "Human society may really be making progress. At the time of King Solomon, who would have thought that chatting with a beautiful girl would require you to be able to solve advanced mathematics problems? "

As soon as Arthur walked near the girl in the white dress, he saw the other girl standing up. She had her hands behind her back, as if she was hiding something.

Seeing this situation, Arthur couldn't help but ask: "Excuse me, do you need any help?"

The girl's eyes seemed a little panicked, and she stammered: "No, it's nothing... I'm fine. I won't bother you, Mr. Hastings."

The girl's strangeness soon attracted the attention of her mother, who was standing not far away talking to Mrs. Cowper.

The lady in the sky-blue pleated skirt quickly apologized to Mrs. Cowper and said, "I'm sorry, there seems to be something wrong with Ada. As you know, this child has been troublesome since he was born. .”

Mrs. Cowper smiled and replied: "It doesn't matter, Mrs. Millbank, you can go with ease. As for what you just mentioned to me, I agreed. When Ada comes of age next year, I will serve as a chaperone at Buckingham Palace. He introduced her to the entire London social circle at the Shuyuan Ball."

When Mrs. Milbank heard this, she was a little surprised at first, but then she was filled with gratitude: "I really didn't expect you to agree so readily, after all..."

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she just raised her lace-gloved hand and interrupted: "Let the past be bygones, and it was all caused by two incompetent guys of our generation, and The child Ada has nothing to do with it.

Madam, you were the most talented lady in the entire London upper class. Even Professor William Fred of Cambridge commented that your knowledge base in literature, philosophy, and mathematics was far superior to that of the average Cambridge student.

If you hadn't been entrusted to someone else, you would definitely have a more brilliant life than me.

And your daughter Ada seems to have fully inherited your bloodline of equal parts beauty and intelligence. I am truly honored to be your daughter's chaperone for Shuyuan's ball. "

Hearing this, Mrs. Milbank couldn't help but sigh: "I am very grateful for your generosity. My whole life has been ruined by Ada's bastard father. Now I just hope that she can have a good ending. She My future husband can have any hobbies and any identity, but he cannot be a poet. You should feel the same as me, there is no good thing among poets."

After saying this, Mrs. Milbank took the initiative to ask Mrs. Cowper to leave, and then walked towards Arthur and her daughter.

She soon noticed the awkward atmosphere in the air. Mrs. Milbank first nodded to Arthur, and then asked her daughter: "Ada, what's wrong with you? What's hidden behind you?"

Ada's face turned red. She hesitated for a long time, and finally, under her mother's strict order, she reluctantly took out the gadget hidden behind her back.

It was a scrap of paper, densely filled with all kinds of calculations that gave Arthur a headache just by looking at it.

When Mrs. Milbank saw the manuscript paper, she first breathed a sigh of relief, and then said angrily: "Look at you, you are so mysterious, I thought you were writing poetry. Liking mathematics is nothing to be ashamed of. Thing is, when I was young, I was just like you devoted to studying mathematics, but I didn’t spend more than ten hours on it every day.

Ada, you are almost an adult, and you have to spend some of your time on other things, such as chatting with others. Fortunately, today is a meeting of the Blue Stocking Club. If you were in a normal social situation, you would definitely be regarded as a weirdo by others. "

When Ada heard her mother's accusation, she could only lower her head and admit her mistake: "I know."

Ada had admitted her mistake, but Mrs. Milbank was still dissatisfied. She turned around and asked Arthur at the side: "Mr. Hastings, do you think what I said is right?"

When Arthur heard this, he could only touch the back of his head in embarrassment. He didn't know whether he should express his opinion on other people's housework.

He thought for a while and could only reply in a compromise way: "To be honest, madam, this is my first time to attend such an occasion, so I don't particularly understand the behavior of the gentlemen and ladies at the banquet. I just started seeing Miss Ada. When I did this, I thought that this kind of behavior was actually quite normal at the banquet.”

When Mrs. Milbank heard this, her eyes widened in surprise: "Don't you often socialize in your daily life?"

Arthur replied sincerely: "Madam, you may not know that my job is as a police officer of Scotland Yard. In addition, I am also a scientific researcher. Dealing with these daily tasks every day is already killing me. "If I hadn't been transferred to the Metropolitan Police headquarters recently, I wouldn't have much time to attend social occasions."

When Mrs. Milbank heard this, she remembered the experience of Arthur that Mrs. Codrington had introduced to her before.

Suddenly, her face showed a look of joy: "Oh! Sorry, Mr. Hastings, I only remember that you are a scientific researcher, but I forgot that you are also a superintendent of the Metropolitan Police Department. Ada I feel relieved to have a well-trained police officer like you taking care of me today.”

After saying this, Mrs. Milbank gave Arthur a graceful skirt-lifting ceremony, and then went back to contact all the ladies for her daughter's coming-of-age ceremony next year.

Arthur is baffled by Mrs. Millbank's behavior.

It was true that he was a Scotland Yard officer, but the Police Manual did not include babysitting for others.

And even if he was looking after the child, he would at most take care of the seven or eight-year-old Adam for Tom because of the old friendship. What was wrong with Mrs. Milbank simply leaving an almost adult daughter to him?

Arthur was a little angry at the lady's careless behavior. He was about to turn around and leave, calling Elder to Mrs. Milbank to let her see the dangers of society.

But before he could take a step forward, he heard Ada muttering next to him: "She scolds me every day and says I don't understand etiquette. I don't think she understands much herself. I play math for ten hours a day." That’s true, but don’t you also play for eight hours every day? There doesn’t seem to be any difference if you lose two hours.”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help turning around and asked: "Do you really spend ten hours a day on mathematics?"

Ada was frightened by Arthur's sudden question. She stared into Arthur's eyes, and then nodded slightly hesitantly: "I...I'm just playing. The questions I did can't be like this with you." of professional researchers.”

Arthur glanced at the scratch paper that Mrs. Milbank had thrown on the coffee table. He could understand the Arabic numerals on it, but if they were put together with a lot of calculations and symbols, he would be confused.

Arthur just took a heavy breath: "I think you are too modest. Mr. Faraday told me before that the Blue Stockings are not as pure as they were more than ten years ago, but after I really arrived today, I realized that even if they are no longer Purely, the level of the ladies still exceeded my basic expectations.”

Hearing this, Ada couldn't help but widen her shining black eyes, and her eyelashes trembled slightly, as if questioning.

"Are you really not complimenting me? I think a professional scholar like you will definitely be better than me in mathematics."

"No, no, no." Arthur waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm not as smart as you think. I'm just a Scotland Yard policeman who graduated from the University of London. And it's not just me. You saw the horse following Colonel Fitzroy in front. Are you a bitch?"

Ada looked in the direction of Arthur's finger, and it was Elder who was holding a wine glass with a flattering smile on his face.

"What happened to that gentleman?"

Arthur said without blushing or heartbeat: "To be honest, that gentleman graduated from Oxford, and he can't beat you in mathematics. Or if we go down a level, that gentleman's attainments in mathematics are not as good as mine." He graduated from the History Department of the University of London."

When Ada heard this, she actually nodded in agreement: "I know this. My tutor, Mr. Augustus de Morgan, also said that Oxford's mathematics education is indeed not good."

When Arthur heard this, he asked almost without thinking: "May I ask if Mr. Morgan graduated from Cambridge?"

Ada was shocked and covered her mouth: "How do you know? Mr. Morgan did graduate from Holy Trinity in Cambridge."

Arthur shrugged: "You know, I am a Scotland Yard police officer. To become a qualified police officer, you need to have enough insight and logical thinking skills, just like you solve math problems. The opposite of Cambridge is Oxford, and the sum of the two equals zero.”

When Ada heard this, she pointed at Elder in confusion and said, "But what about the gentleman who graduated from Oxford? I heard him laughing at his alma mater, Oxford, in a conversation with others before."

When Arthur heard this, he was silent for a while, and then said: "Miss, that one is an exception, and his judgment on the quality of education is also uncertain. I...how should I explain this problem to you?

Well... right, it's like there is a woman standing in front of Mr. Carter now. Before Mr. Carter knows whether this woman likes Cambridge or Oxford, we can't be sure whether Mr. Carter will slander Cambridge or Oxford. This phenomenon is generally referred to by me as the 'Elder Carter Uncertainty Principle'. "

When Ada heard this, she couldn't help covering her mouth and laughed. Her eyes were as crescent-shaped: "Mr. Hastings, just tell Mr. Carter if he is eager to court a mate. I didn't know it before. It turns out that Oxford of graduates are like him.”

"That's right." Arthur said calmly: "That's how it is in Oxford. However, I also forgot to ask you how to address you. Calling you by your name directly seems disrespectful."

After hearing this, Ada blinked. She picked up the draft paper, pointed to a line of beautiful handwriting on the side and said: "This is rude of me, Augusta Ada Byron, if you don't mind, Just call me Miss Byron. Also, please don’t tell my mother that I took the initiative to reveal my name to you, otherwise she will definitely get into trouble with me again."