Shadow of great britain

In the drizzle of late autumn, Arthur, wearing a big-brimmed hat, stood in front of a single-family house in Kensington, holding two gramophones.

The angular roof, the beautifully decorated triangular ivory-white walls, the five-story marble steps in front of the door, and the wide porch with spindle-shaped columns are paired with double redwood doors with intricate carvings.

This luxurious residence would definitely stand out in other areas of London, but in Kensington, which is home to political and business areas such as Kensington Palace, Knightsbridge, and High Street, it would be nothing more than a mediocre residence. Strange residence.

The hostess who lives here is Emily Cowper, the fifth generation Mrs. Cowper whom Arthur is visiting on this trip.

According to the information Arthur received from Elder and his observations of Mrs. Cowper at the last banquet, this leader of London's upper-class social circle was almost the opposite of her taciturn and reserved husband, the fifth Earl Cowper.

As a woman who held a pivotal position in the Whig camp, her warm and gregarious personality naturally brought her a considerable number of supporters.

In fact, because she was born in England, she can almost be called the most popular among the Allmark Club.

Her limelight will surpass that of the senior Mrs. Castlereagh and Mrs. Sefton, as well as Mrs. Leven, who is good at dancing but suffers from Russian citizenship.

In the contest between Mrs. Jersey and Mrs. Drummond-Burrell, who were similar in age to her, Mrs. Cowper could almost be said to have won completely.

According to information provided by Elder, Mrs. Jersey was too lively to the point of often appearing rude and uncultured, while Mrs. Drummond-Burrell was too obsessed with etiquette and formality.

Only Mrs. Cowper grasped the middle value between the two very well, and was able to close the distance between people without making the other person feel offended.

In short, Shakespeare's famous saying cannot be applied to Mrs. Cowper - woman, your name is weak.

Obviously, in front of Mrs. Cowper, Arthur is more like a weakling.

Arthur was holding two gramophones and had no spare hands, so he could only tilt his head and use the brim of his hat to ring the bell hanging in front of the door.

There was only a jingling sound, and the mahogany door was opened from the inside. An old butler wearing white gloves, a black tuxedo, and a white shirt appeared behind the door.

The old housekeeper looked up and down at the young man with the dripping water on his hat: "Who are you?"

Before Arthur could reply, a gentle female voice came from behind the old housekeeper: "Cox, that's Mr. Hastings from Scotland Yard. Bring him in quickly. It's raining heavily today. If He fell ill due to the rain, and the whole of Scotland Yard is expected to be paralyzed. The people of London cannot bear such a huge loss."

Arthur looked past the old housekeeper and fell on the lady standing on the stairs with her hands on her abdomen.

Perhaps it was raining heavily today and Mrs. Cowper did not plan to go out. Her makeup today was very elegant, and her skirt was not as wide as the one she wore on the day of the banquet. But even so, this dress was made of silk, satin and velvet. The light blue dress, whose main material is similar to Lolita style, is probably not cheap either.

Not much else to say, it must be pretty easy to cover Arthur's salary for a few weeks.

When he thought of this, Arthur began to think about asking Mr. Moscheles to give a concert again.

Although now he has become the Superintendent of Scotland Yard, his salary has also increased.

Even though his salary has exceeded 150 pounds per year, as a gentleman living near Hyde Park, Arthur's income still cannot match the expenses he needs.

However, although his nominal income is only 150 pounds, if anyone really thinks that a Scotland Yard superintendent is only worth this much, he is underestimating the power of the government department.

Because in addition to normal income, he also enjoys many miscellaneous subsidies and hidden benefits.

For example: enjoy the free shipping service provided by the British Post Office,

During major festivals, receive gifts and gifts issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs,

Receive free newspapers from major newspapers such as the London Gazette, The Times, and the Manchester Guardian, with discounts of approximately £25.

Routine gifts from various business associations and companies within the jurisdiction. Although Arthur has not received these things, according to the old superintendents, the total value of the gifts varies depending on the type, quantity and scale of the companies within the jurisdiction. Appointments range from £10-50.

Of course, in fact, according to common practice, as Scotland Yard is an agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, police officers should have priority in enjoying the official apartments planned by the Urban Construction Committee under the Ministry of Home Affairs, just like the affairs officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

However, perhaps due to the nature of the work and the low overall income level of the department, Scotland Yard has not been well received by colleagues in the Home Office since his birth.

For most Scotland Yard officers, they can only be described as government employees, not government affairs officers.

If we use Eastern concepts to explain it, Scotland Yard's senior police officers are at best business officers, while the patrol officers who work tirelessly on the front line are not even business officers. They are just a group of dispatched employees who can be fired at any time.

The office-bearers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are serious civil servants. Compared with them, Arthur cannot be considered to be of the same class.

A secondary department like Scotland Yard, which is full of idiots, also wants to share the official apartment of the Ministry of Home Affairs?

There is no way!

As for Arthur, a superintendent whose income level is higher than that of an ordinary affairs officer in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he is even more jealous.

After all, as a police superintendent with an annual salary of 150 pounds, his income already exceeds the minimum salary for civil servants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Why is he still not grateful?

While Arthur was thinking about the issue of income, he was led by the old butler to the sofa in the fireplace to warm himself by the fire.

He sat on the sofa, looking at the Persian-style brown-red carpet under his feet, and just picked up the cup and took a sip of coffee.

Mrs. Cowper sat opposite him with a smile in her eyes. While looking at the two gramophones placed on the coffee table, she said: "Mr. Hastings, I'm really sorry for you. I took the liberty of sending someone to order a gramophone from you earlier. At the time, I didn’t dare to have high hopes. After all, there are so many people who want to order gramophones now. You must have spent a lot of effort to get two of them so quickly, right?”

Arthur waved his hand: "Madam, this cannot be said to be my credit. It is also a coincidence that Mr. Wheatstone happened to have two freshly made ones. He was originally reluctant to hand them over to me directly. Because the price was higher elsewhere. But after I told him that the order was placed by you, Mr. Wheatstone immediately decided to do your order first. In the final analysis, this was all because Mr. Wheatstone admired your reputation. , I’m just passing on a message for you.”

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, her eyes narrowed with laughter: "Really? I didn't know that my reputation could be affirmed by young and promising scholars like you and Mr. Wheatstone."

Arthur just smiled: "Madam, you underestimate the influence of the name Emily Cowper in London. Everyone knows that in addition to being a beauty who is proficient in dancing and good at communication, you have also always been keen on all kinds of new things. . We researchers in natural philosophy have all heard the story of your sponsorship of scientific research, so everyone respects you. To be honest, Mr. Faraday also mentioned you to me."

"Mr. Faraday mentioned me?" Mrs. Cowper pressed her hands on her chest in flattery: "Oh, God! I have never heard of such a thing."

When the Red Devil heard this, he imitated Mrs. Cowper and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Oh, Arthur! I've never heard of such a thing! And I bet Faraday has never heard of it either! "

While drinking coffee, Arthur glanced at the Red Devil and warned him with his eyes not to act recklessly. At the same time, he put down the coffee cup and said with a cheerful smile: "You don't know, Mr. Faraday is a shy person. If you ask him directly, He must be embarrassed to speak. Mr. Wheatstone is also shy, as are most of us philosophical researchers, and so am I."

Mrs. Cowper blinked her black eyes, and with the trembling of her eyelashes, she said teasingly: "Come on, Mr. Hastings, you must be teasing me. Everyone knows that Mr. Faraday will not take the initiative to praise. For other women, he reserved all his sweet words for his wife.

As for your shyness? I don't believe it. How could a Scotland Yard police officer be shy? If you are a shy person, how can you face criminals and solve so many big cases? I heard Colonel Fitzroy say that you killed seventeen pirates on the high seas by yourself. "

Arthur said seriously: "Madam, you don't know, the reason why I was able to kill seventeen pirates was precisely because I was shy."

Mrs. Cowper put a hand to her lips and asked doubtfully: "How do you say this?"

Arthur sat upright and said seriously: "Because if I let them come back alive, they will definitely tell me about my shyness."

After hearing this, Mrs. Cowper raised her hand slightly to cover her mouth, but the upturned corners of her mouth could still be vaguely seen between her fingers.

"Thank God, Mr. Hastings, thank God for guiding you to go to Scotland Yard. Otherwise, with your troublesome shy character, if you become a criminal, you will definitely disturb the peace of the whole of Britain."

When Arthur heard this, he just took off his hat and said thanks: "It doesn't matter, madam, it's the same if I stay at Scotland Yard."

As soon as these words came out of her mouth, Mrs. Cowper finally couldn't hold it in any longer, and she burst into tears with laughter.

She took out her handkerchief and wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, and said, "Mr. Hastings, I'm sorry, I'm rude. But having said that, Mrs. Leven's evaluation of you is really right. You are indeed a very special young man. A man like you will succeed sooner or later, whether he is placed on the battlefield of Scotland Yard, Waterloo, or even in love. If my ignorant brother could speak even half as well as you, he would not have asked Lord Byron to intervene in his affairs. When it comes to marriage, my deceased sister-in-law liked the type like you."

"Lord Byron?" Arthur, who knew all about the story of Lord Byron and Lady Ponsonby, just pretended to be dumbfounded. He said humbly: "Madam, you are really exaggerating. How dare I talk to that 19th-century British star?" How does it compare to the brightest literary star? But is there any story between your sister-in-law and Lord Byron?"

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she half-opened her mouth to say something, but when she reached her lips, she took it back: "Well, it's all in the past. It's normal that you don't know. After all, you were still young at that time. If I remember correctly, you seem to be only 20 years old this year, right?"

Arthur nodded and said: "I will be 21 on January 15th next year."

When Mrs. Cowper heard this, she couldn't help laughing and said: "You young people always wish you could be older. But a really old lady like me always wishes you could be younger.

However, you are almost at this age to consider marriage. If you have a stable job with a decent income, and you are so eloquent and physically strong, it must be very easy to find a suitable girl.

Have you ever thought about this? Maybe I'm a little presumptuous in saying this, but don't mind, because my eldest son is about to get married, so I will always think of this aspect more or less. "

When Arthur heard this, he immediately smelled a hint of the possibility of getting a ticket to the Allmark Club.

Arthur sorted out some of his needs and thought about the possibility of the Whig Party coming to power.

So, he took the opportunity to complain: "Madam, you should know that I am a police officer of Scotland Yard. Scotland Yard is very busy at work and doesn't have many opportunities to take vacations, so I don't have many opportunities to socialize on weekdays."

Mrs. Cowper blinked in surprise: "Ah...is that so? Scotland Yard patrol officers are indeed very hardworking, I know this. But aren't you already the superintendent of Scotland Yard? Why are you still there? Like this? I remember that senior officials like you should be very free!"

Hearing this, Arthur somehow suddenly thought of the superiors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the bad water in his stomach suddenly started to boil again: "Madam, what you said is actually not wrong. Some departments in various government ministries It's really laid back, but not in all departments.

In some departments, such as the Audit Office of the Ministry of Finance or the Police Supervision Commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they can of course start late and go off early, working lazily for 5-6 hours a day, with weekends and various holiday breaks. But some departments, such as Scotland Yard, have daily working hours of more than 10 hours, and everyone is exhausted and overloaded day after day.

But Scotland Yard's high-intensity work is good, because we are really doing something after all. However, some departments work extremely hard, doing tasks such as compiling lists, filling in false stories, perfunctory when dealing with superiors, and creating confusion when dealing with subordinates. But in fact, the operation of the British government is the same with or without it. "

The next chapter will probably be a little later