Shadow of great britain

The center point of the connection between St. James's Palace and Piccadilly Circus is the elegant, comfortable, pleasant environment and commercial atmosphere of St. James's Square. Located on King Street in the southwest of the square, it is The Allmark Club is a favorite among London's socialites.

Not far from the Allmark Club stands the National Library of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which has rich collections, as well as the Royal Navy and Army Servicemen's Association, where British officers can communicate and deal with problems, and the Royal Navy and Army Servicemen's Association, which is dedicated to Naval Military Club, Royal Navy Entertainment.

Elder looked up at the postal code marked on the black iron door plate on the white wall - SW1Y 6SL.

A few unremarkable letters are enough to describe the prime location it is located in.

Although the weather today was not good, dark clouds covered the sun, and there was a cold drizzle on the road. The cold wind blew up, lifting the corners of Elder's windbreaker.

"Ah sneeze!"

Elder sneezed and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his nose while looking around unsatisfied.

"Damn it! Where did Arthur go? Could he have really sneaked in? He didn't know where to wait for me. He just went to a banquet and now he has learned to eat alone."

Elder was cursing, but he was already at the door. At this time, he was really unwilling to let him go back.

Mr. Carter paced back and forth in front of the Allmark Club with his hands behind his back. After much thought, he decided to wait a little longer. Maybe Arthur would have a conscience and come out to pick him up?

The guard standing guard at the door stared at the suspicious young man for a long time. After a while, he and his companions looked at each other, and finally couldn't help but walked up and asked: "Sir, have you received the club's ticket?" Invitation, guest by invitation?”

"Ah..." When Elder was asked this question, he just responded vaguely: "No...that's right, I received the invitation. Aren't I waiting for my companion to come over?"

"Your companion?" The guard thought for a moment and asked politely: "Can I be lucky enough to know your name? We have records here of all the people who are qualified to visit the Allmark Club. If we verify it correctly , why don't you go in and warm yourself up first, it's too hard to wait for your friends outside. Look at you, you're even sneezing."

"My name?" Elder was not sure whether he should tell the truth to the other party. He hesitated for a while and did not speak.

Seeing how embarrassed he was, the guard pursed his lips and asked, "Or your friend's name will do."

"My friend's name..." Elder held it in for a long time, still not knowing how to respond.

Seeing his appearance, the guard immediately concluded that this must be another guy who wanted to enter the club to eat and drink for free. The smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by a cold and serious expression.

"Sir, if you don't understand clearly, please leave here immediately."

Elder was so irritated by him, and the young man's arrogance suddenly rose. He glared and said: "Isn't it just my friend's name? I didn't say it because I didn't want to offend his honorable name before, and I was afraid of scaring you if I said it. .I think about you so much, but you are so ignorant!"

The guard impatiently took out the short stick from his waist: "So, who is your friend? If you can't tell, I will have to treat you to something delicious."

Elder glanced at the stick, made some calculations in his mind, snorted, raised his head and said, "Tell you, my friend is the famous Arthur..."

The guard raised his eyebrows: "Arthur what?"

"Arthur... uh... Arthur Wellesley!"

"Arthur Wellesley?" the guard asked in surprise: "The Duke of Wellington is your friend?"

Elder turned his head away guiltily: "At least that's what I think. Whether he sees it that way has nothing to do with me."

"Oh! Damn you!" After hearing this, the guard immediately raised his hands angrily and prepared to teach Elder a lesson.

But before his arm could fall, a big calloused hand had already grasped his wrist.

The guard looked up in astonishment at the gentleman who appeared behind Elder, dressed in a neat dinner party tuxedo, wearing a monocle, oily hair, and a black top hat, and asked blankly: "Who are you? ?”

Arthur stretched out two fingers and took out a business card from his coat pocket and handed it over: "Please inform the owner of the club that Mr. Moscheles of the London Philharmonic Society is suddenly unwell and may not be able to come and perform as invited today. I am Arthur Hastings, the pianist here to replace Mr. Moscheles. This is my business card. Please take a look at it."

The guard took the business card and took a look at it. It clearly said——

Name: Arthur Hastings

Position: Pianist of the Third Orchestra of the London Philharmonic Society

Even the business card was stamped with the red seal of the London Philharmonic Society.

But I don’t know why, the name card seems to have just been printed, and the ink still feels wet when my hand presses it.

Maybe the weather is too humid?

The guard thought this and his expression softened. He smiled and replied: "It's Mr. Hastings. You are probably a new member of the band, right? I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Moscheles is unwell." The news, but you seem to have mistaken the time. We usually only ask the pianist to play in the evening. Moreover, why did you forget to bring other accompaniments when you came today? "

Arthur smiled and said: "You misunderstood the purpose of my visit. I came here today not to play, but to try out the piano. You also guessed it. I am new here and I am not familiar with the instruments in the Allmark Club. I I was afraid that I would mess up the performance, so I came here to audition in the afternoon when there were not many people.”

"Ah! That's it."

The guard suddenly realized: "You are really serious about your work. Come in then, I will accompany you to audition, as long as you don't touch other things."

After saying this, the guard made way for Arthur. Arthur looked at Elder who was winking at him, just took off his coat and threw the clothes into his hands.

Arthur tugged at the collar of his shirt: "Elder, come in with me."

The guard asked doubtfully: "Mr. Hastings, who is this next to you?"

This time, before Arthur could speak, Elder rushed to answer: "I am Mr. Hastings' piano assistant. You may not know that Mr. Hastings will be promoted to orchestra conductor soon. I will take over his position as pianist."

The guard saw his stinking look and originally wanted to say something, but he glanced at Arthur next to him and finally swallowed the curse words on his lips.

He said: "Sir, forget it this time, but if you come here again next time, please dress up and attend."

After saying that, the guard led Arthur into the front hall with a smile on his face. Elder stared at his back with wide eyes, and couldn't help but cursed: "Oh! Damn it, you're a janitor." Yes, why are you so arrogant?"

Arthur walked into the Allmark Club and glanced back and forth at the furnishings.

The hall here was much more spacious than he expected. The first thing that caught his eye when he walked in was several bookshelves leaning against the wall. There were several coffee tables and sofa chairs beside the bookshelves, and through the aisles paved with mahogany floors, there was another There are several card tables for entertainment, an independent tea room, a spacious restaurant and a dance hall are also set up here.

Not far from the ballroom, there is an ivory-white spiral staircase decorated with various carvings. Judging from this situation, there should be many things on the second floor of the club that are unknown to outsiders.

Maybe it was because it was too early, or maybe it was because the weather was bad.

At this time, the flow of people in the Allmark Club was not too large. In the spacious hall, there were only a few gentlemen who could easily be seen as old gamblers. Each grabbed a handful of pokers and sat around a green cloth with a scoreboard. 'Cribbage' was played at the card table.

Of course, this may not necessarily mean that they don’t want to experience other ways to play, but it’s just that in broad daylight, they really can’t take out a pair of Italian tarot cards to play Tarocchi, or use French poker cards to play Piquet.

Gamblers naturally like to experience new games, but due to the influence of the Poker Act, Britain strictly prohibits the import of foreign poker cards.

Although in private, gamblers will still play secretly, but in broad daylight, they still have to pay attention to the impact.

After all, taking out a pair of poker cards with different specifications in public can actually be regarded as smuggling strictly speaking.

In broad daylight, we should still play more British patriotic poker.

The old gentleman facing Arthur in the gambling ghost raised his head and glanced at the somewhat unfamiliar Arthur. He threw out a J and muttered: "I thought it was my sandwich delivered. That's the only bad thing about the club. Even if there are few people at noon, at least a cook must be posted to guard it."

Arthur didn't say much when he heard the words. He just smiled and nodded at the other party, and then led by the guard to the piano placed in the center of the ballroom.

The guard took off his hat politely and said: "Please wait here for a moment. Mrs. Cowper happens to be here today. I will report the situation between you and Mr. Moscheles to him."

After saying this, the guard hurriedly turned around and went up to the second floor.

Elder, who arrived for the first time, seemed a little nervous. He used his arm to punch Arthur: "Have you really joined the London Philharmonic Society?"

Arthur took off his white gloves and breathed into his palms, trying to soften his frozen palms: "I'll join in."

"Ah?" Elder's eyes widened: "What about Mr. Moscheles?"

Arthur turned his head and glanced beside him, motioning for him to lower his voice: "Of course I made it up."

"Aren't you afraid of being betrayed when you do this?" Elder looked back and forth, and he didn't know where to put his hands: "Damn it! If I had known you went home and changed clothes, I would have gone back and changed too. I'm wearing If people look at me like this, they think I am an errand boy from a nearby restaurant."

As soon as he finished speaking, several gamblers at the gambling table not far away greeted him: "Hey! That one over there! Where are the sandwiches we ordered?"

When Elder heard this, he couldn't help but slapped his face: "Arthur, Arthur! Look, what did I say? Damn it, these people really treat me as a food delivery person."

Seeing this, Arthur just said relaxedly: "Think on the bright side, Elder. Those who can come here are either rich or noble. You go and run errands for them. Maybe these old gentlemen have taken a fancy to you and it is best to marry your daughter off." Maybe you can. Since you are not good at interacting with girls, why don't you change your mind and start with their old father?"

"Huh?" Elder rubbed the stubble on his chin: "This... seems to make sense!"

"Hey! That guy over there! Aren't you the waiter at the restaurant?"

"No, I am." Elder was as quick as a gust of wind. He ran over and took out a pen and paper from his pocket. He straightened his back and said seriously: "I'm sorry to inform you gentlemen that all the sandwiches are sold out. , I wonder if some of you would like to eat something else?"