Shadow of great britain

"When the captain turned around, he saw Danglars standing behind him. On the surface, Danglars seemed to be waiting for his orders, but in fact, just like him, he was looking at the young sailor from a distance. These two people Although they are both looking at Edmond Dantès, the expressions and meanings in their eyes are completely different..."

The gramophone played here, and the sound of reading suddenly stopped.

The gentlemen and ladies present were listening with great interest. They couldn't help but said to Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, which novel is this? It sounds quite interesting."

Colonel Fitzroy, who serves in the Royal Navy, also asked with interest: "I like these novels in which the protagonist is a sailor, but there are not many such novels on the market. Most of them in bookstores now are It is a fashion novel. The protagonists are all weak nobles, or other types of romantic figures. Maybe other people like to read that kind of book, but for those of us who make a living at sea, that kind of book is really interesting to read. nothing."

Elder couldn't help but criticize: "Yes, like Lytton Bulwer's "Pelham; or, A Gentleman's Adventures", what is written about it, I don't understand why it can It’s selling so well. And Mrs. Gore’s That’s What Women Are; or, Etiquette of the Day, which I really wasted my money on.”

As soon as Elder said these words, he immediately attracted the rebuttal of many ladies and ladies.

"It is very rude of you to say that. Both Mr. Bulwer and Mrs. Gore are very talented writers in Britain."

"Yes, especially Mrs. Gore's "Women Are So; Or, Etiquette Today". Even the late King George IV said after reading it, 'This is the best and most interesting book ever published. A novel'."

"That's right! Although the late King made many mistakes during his lifetime, his literacy in literature is recognized by everyone as good. He purchased all Mr. Bulwer's published books and collected them in his every A residence. Moreover, when Mr. Bulwer's "Disconnector" was not published, His Majesty the King specially sent people to his residence twice to pick up the manuscript, and this was just to be able to read the latest chapter of it. That’s all.”

With just one word, Elder was instantly in a situation where the ladies were attacking him.

When Mrs. Cowper saw this, she could only smile and help the young man who had peed in her arms.

She changed the subject and asked Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, are there any more chapters? I would like to hear what will happen next."

The drunk General Smith also said in a daze: "That's right, Mr. Hastings, if you have any, please take it out quickly. I'm eager to hear it."

Arthur saw that the atmosphere was almost heated, so he smiled and took out several chapters of the manuscript that he had prepared long ago from his bag.

He asked: "Should you circulate it yourselves or should I read it to you?"

The navy captains shouted: "You'd better read it, everyone sits and listens together. On the ship, when we have nothing to do, we often find someone to read novels to the boys."

The ladies also expressed their opinions: "This is also the rule in the salon of the Blue Stocking Club. Scientists publish scientific research results and writers read their latest masterpieces."

Hearing this, Mrs. Codrington, who was an ardent fan of Paganini and a new fan of Hastings, quickly added: "Mr. Hastings is also a musician. It seems that after the salon ends today, we have to Have a small meeting in private and incorporate the latest music played by the musicians themselves into the new regulations."

Upon hearing this, the ladies of the Blue Stocking Club unanimously expressed their stance: "Agree!"

"Dear ladies, this manuscript is not my work. Who is its real author? I will introduce it to you slowly after I finish reading these new chapters."

After saying this, Arthur was no longer polite. He smiled and moved a round stool to sit in the center of the stage.

Not only the guests looked at him expectantly, but Mr. Moscheles and the musicians also put down their instruments.

For the musicians in the symphony orchestra, today’s work is very comfortable. Not only are their working hours shortened, but they also have attractive stories to listen to.

Arthur was seen sitting on a stool, reading the manuscript in his hand word by word.

He read it all in one breath, from Chapter 2 Father and Son, Chapter 3 Catalan Village, and Chapter 4 Conspiracy.

And when he read the wedding banquet in Chapter 5, the manuscript in his hand also reached the end.

The guests were so excited that they saw Arthur stop reading. They thought he was tired from reading. General Smith, who was addicted to listening, quickly poured a glass of wine and handed it to Arthur.

The drunken general paced unsteadily and said: "Mr. Hastings, take a sip of wine to moisten your throat, and quickly tell the rest of the story. Damn it, why did Mr. Dantès show up at the wedding?" He was arrested on the spot, so why is it related to Napoleon?

As a young man with great promise, a first mate and acting captain on a ship, there was absolutely no need for him to do such a self-destructive thing.

I guess someone must be setting him up! This must have been done by Danglars, the accountant on that ship. He wanted to replace M. Dantès as the new captain. Do you think I am right? "

General Cochran also nodded with the same feeling: "Yes, didn't you hear that clearly? This is the game they played for him, just like the time I did!

I was going smoothly and had a promising future, but one day, a bitch stockbroker came to me and told me that there were several good stocks worth buying that would definitely appreciate in value in the future. I was just too damn young to believe his lies!

As a result, less than a month later, I was sued to court. They accused me of manipulating the stock trading market. The amount involved was as high as 139,000 pounds. Moreover, my crime was damning easy to establish!

Then I was expelled from the military by the idiots in the Admiralty. My rank, position, medals and honors, and parliamentary seats were all wiped clean from top to bottom. I was forced by them to run to South America to make a living!

These fuckers who are hiding behind their backs and playing dirty tricks all have the same fucking virtues! Come and have a head-on confrontation with me! Look, I'll be fucked if I don't blow up the bomb ship! "

General Codrington heard this and quickly comforted him: "Okay, Thomas, you were punished because of your bad temper. If you hadn't gathered your subordinates to go to Mr. Burdett's mansion to support him, you would have beaten him." You injured several officers sent by the Army Department to capture him, how could those people care about you?"

Cochran glared and said: "Burdett is my brother. If I don't support him, who will support him? Besides, his case is also very unclear. Who can explain clearly the details in it? After all, these days there are frame-ups, There are so many conspiracy bastards out there!”

Cochran was emotional, but the ladies and ladies over there had different concerns.

Mrs. Milbank couldn't bear to say: "The hero, Mr. Dantès, is so unfortunate. He was clearly in love with Miss Plum Tess, but he was kidnapped on a happy day like the wedding ceremony. The one of Miss Plum Tess Cousin Fernand is too useless. He has a crush on Tess de Mer, so he is unwilling to fulfill their wish, so he joins forces with the accountant on the ship to frame M. Dantès."

Mrs. Cowper also blinked her beautiful eyes, and her trembling eyelashes also showed her mood: "Okay, okay, Mr. Hastings, please stop showing off, ladies and gentlemen can't help it anymore, you Just read on quickly."

When Arthur heard this, he just shrugged helplessly and said with a smile: "Sorry, everyone. It's not that I don't want to read on, but I don't know the next plot, because my friend Alexandre Dumas only wrote up to this point. . If you want to know the details of the funeral, you can only listen to him explain it next time."

"Ah? How can you be stuck here?"

"Oh! My God! Mr. Hastings, will you sleep tonight? I can't sleep anyway."

"If it doesn't work, you can just make up a paragraph later."

"Wait, is this an unfinished novel? Alexandre Dumas, I seem to have heard this name somewhere."

"Ah! Is this the Frenchman who was rescued from the sea by the Royal Navy and Scotland Yard?"

"No wonder the story is set in France, and the plot is related to Napoleon. Now I can understand it."

When Colonel Fitzroy heard this, he gradually came back to his senses: "Mr. Hastings, I remember that Mr. Dumas seems to be living in your house now, right?"

Arthur smiled and nodded: "Yes, Alexander lives in my house."

Miss Ada Byron, who had been immersed in doing the questions before, heard this and held her pen in her mouth with dissatisfaction: "Then please urge him more so that he can write out the following plot quickly. The story is stuck. Here, it’s even more uncomfortable than not being able to solve math problems.”

After hearing this, Arthur just raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Don't worry, I will put Alexander in a Faraday cage when I get back, and then connect him with high-voltage electricity outside. I won't let him go until he finishes writing the manuscript. He came out."

Elder thought about that scene and couldn't help shuddering. He muttered: "Otherwise it would have to be you."

Mrs. Somerville also sighed: "That's what I said, but without hearing the story behind it, I just feel itchy in my heart, and I'm not in the mood to dance."

"Mr. Hastings, I...I am definitely not as important a person as His Majesty the King, and I cannot force Mr. Dumas. However, if it is possible, after the subsequent manuscript comes out, can you let me get a copy of it?" Go for a share?”

"Mr. Hastings, I want one too!"

"Yes, the price is not a problem. I just ask you to ask Mr. Dumas to write faster. He has opened my wallet now. He only needs to move his pen and he can take out the banknotes from my pocket. go out."

When Arthur saw this, he knew that he had achieved his promotional purpose.

He smiled and held his arms in front of his chest, bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for your support. I think my friend Alexander will be very happy when he finds out about it. But gentlemen and ladies, don't be so anxious, because in two weeks, Alexander will officially open his own story column in the newspaper. If you don't mind, you can leave me your business card, and when it is determined which newspaper it will be serialized in, I will send people over to inform you one by one."

After Arthur said this, he looked up at the sky outside the house and said goodbye: "It's getting late. I've finished my scientific demonstration and it's time for me to go home. I would like to apologize to everyone. You should You know I'm a Scotland Yard police officer and I have to be at the Metropolitan Police before eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Only then did Mrs. Codrington remember the small request that Arthur had made with her. She nodded quickly and said: "It's okay, Mr. Hastings, we can understand. It's work-related, and there's nothing we can do about it."

When Arthur heard this, he smiled and nodded and left.

But before he could leave the ballroom, he saw Miss Ada Byron wink at him.

She put the scratch paper in his hand, and then said to him: "The music played by the gramophone is very nice, but I think it is better if you play it yourself."

Arthur nodded with deep understanding: "You know art very well, Miss Byron, because I think so too."

After saying this, he paced out and walked out, but before he could go out, someone called him again, it was Mr. Moscheles.

Mr. Moscheles chased after him eagerly and shouted: "Mr. Hastings! Do you want to stop thinking about the London Philharmonic Society? You come to us and only need to attend two performances a month. Just know it. You may not know that since Mr. Paganini started the concert craze, the income level of musicians has also increased.

I guarantee that with your talent, your income from joining our band will never be lower than what you would earn from the Metropolitan Police. How about this? How about I go back and discuss it with several committee members of the association. As soon as you arrive, we will pay you the appearance fee according to the standard of a skilled pianist.

After one concert, your income should be around ten to fifteen pounds. Based on twenty-four concerts a year, your income should be around three hundred pounds. Moreover, this income level will continue to rise in the future. If you work harder, it will definitely not be a problem for your annual income to exceed one thousand pounds in the future. I really implore you to seriously consider my suggestions. "

Arthur originally wanted to reject Moscheles' proposal, but when he heard that the income of musicians was so high now, even several times that of a police superintendent, he hesitated when it came to his words.

"this……"

Seeing his hesitation, Moselles immediately understood that there was something to this. He quickly added: "Or, even if you don't want to work full-time, you can occasionally make a guest appearance or do some part-time performances. We will never treat you badly in terms of remuneration. you."

When the Red Devil, who had been eating and drinking in the ballroom, heard this, he took out the handkerchief on his chest and wiped his oil-stained mouth, and said, "Arthur, what are you still hesitating about? You can work part-time at a concert. You can make ten pounds, which is almost as much as what you earn from working at Scotland Yard for a month. It’s not a big deal to use your rest time to do some side work. This is not starting a company or doing business, and it doesn’t violate your Scotland Yard policy. House Regulations.”

When Arthur heard this, he thought about it for a while, and finally took Moscheles' hand: "Mr. Moscheles, you may not know that music has always been my dream. Thank you for giving me An opportunity to touch your dreams. I think people should work harder when they are young. Sometimes being too realistic is not good."

When Moselles heard this, his hanging heart finally relaxed. He shook Arthur's hand with a smile on his face.

"You are right, Mr. Hastings. So, as a matter of fact, when you are free some other time, just come to me directly at the London College of Music. You should have passed by there when you came here. General Codrington's house is not far away, just off Baker Street."

"Okay, see you later, Mr. Moscheles."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief. Just when he thought he was finally about to end today's tiring journey, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a low-key carriage with a hint of luxury parked in front of the mansion.

There was a reddish light shining in the corners of his eyes, and he always felt as if someone was observing him through the curtain of the car window.

But before he could think clearly, he heard the hired coachman of the London High-end Carriage Rental Company, who had been waiting impatiently for him, say: "Mr. Hastings, can we go back?"

Arthur hesitated for a moment, but in the end he did not walk to the luxurious carriage across the street.

He got on his carriage and straightened his collar in the cold wind of the autumn night: "Let's go back."