Shadow of great britain

"Arthur, I heard that you took on another job recently?"

"Who did you listen to? Alexander or Heinrich?"

"Both of them. Neither of them is the kind of person who is good at keeping secrets. Alexander likes to be straightforward and doesn't bother to calculate the plot. Heinrich is much better than him, but you also know his mouth. He only talks when he is short of money. He will consider it carefully."

Arthur took out the matchbox and lit a cigarette, leaned against the lamppost on the roadside and took a puff of his cigar: "I am born to be a hard worker, and I always feel empty when I don't have any work at hand. It's a diplomat's job. Unlike the work we did at Scotland Yard, where we had free time all the time, we had very little time to work. It happened that Mr. Vidocq looked up to me and invited me to sit at his place. I accepted his francs, so I had to. Helping him solve his troubles and using money to relieve others' misfortune is the basic morality of life in my hometown. "

Louis took the cigar from Arthur's hand and lit his one.

Louis, who was born in the Palace of Versailles, would not have known these rough-and-tumble tactics. But the past few years at Scotland Yard have taught him all these things, and he has even become somewhat accustomed to them.

Since his birth in 1808, he had been closely protected by his sensitive mother, who took him with her at all times and raised him with care. But Louis' father, the former King of the Netherlands, had doubted for a long time whether his youngest son was his own child.

However, this cannot be blamed on Louis' father being suspicious, because he did not have a good relationship with Louis' mother, and during the time when Louis was born, he only met his wife during a trip to the Pyrenees Mountains. noodle.

Louis, who has long been questioned about his bloodline, has developed a calm, calm and taciturn character because of this experience. He is not as passionate and impulsive as other brothers in the Bonaparte family. But such a child is obviously very lovable. Louis' mother's maids often praised this gentle, shy but generous and affectionate prince.

But perhaps due to his mother's over-indulgence, Louis made almost no academic achievements before the age of 12. When his father discovered that his son was ignorant to such an extent, he directly threatened Louis' mother. If the younger son's academic performance continued to be so poor, then he would forcibly take the younger son away from his wife who had been separated for many years.

Louis' mother was naturally unwilling to accept such a result, so she tried her best to find a teacher with superior knowledge and a decent attitude for her son.

But at this time, Napoleon's empire had long since collapsed, and most knowledgeable people were unwilling to have anything to do with the Bonaparte family, and those who were willing to get together with the Bonaparte family might not be able to catch the eye of Louis' mother.

Therefore, after all the hard work, Louis' mother finally had to compromise on her political stance and invited Mr. Philippe Leba, a former member of the National Assembly, to be Louis' teacher.

Why is this a compromise?

That's because Mr. Leba is an out-and-out republican, and he also has a famous friend named Robespierre.

With Mr. Leba's serious teaching, Louis finally got on the right track in his studies. Although he was not a top student, he was no longer a low-achieving student. He was a middle-grade student like Mr. Elder Carter. . Louis completed his secondary school course in four years, took preparatory courses at the University of Augsburg, and finally completed his entire education at the military academy in Thun, Switzerland.

In other words, he completed the school part of his education in Switzerland, and his social education was thanks to the intensive training of the Metropolitan Police.

Borrowing fire, interrogating, interrogating, using pretense and gathering intelligence, how to play the role of a gangster in a tavern, how to play the role of a sailor who has been holding back for more than half a year and is eager to go ashore to relieve his anger, how to pretend to shout slogans at a rally , and how to use the weapons at hand to protect yourself if discovered.

There are still too many clichés written in the "Greater Metropolitan Police Induction Manual". If you really want to learn these, you have to experience them yourself. Now, Louis has obviously graduated from this social university.

Graduation is not a word that is used to describe it. Because before leaving Scotland Yard, Arthur, who had not officially resigned as the principal of the London Police School, personally presented him with a certificate of excellence as a graduate, even though Louis had never trained at that school.

In terms of knowledge, he was strictly trained by Mr. Leba.

In terms of personality, the two people who had the greatest influence on Louis were his mother, Lady Hortense, and his commander, Sir Arthur Hastings.

Madame Hortense has always been pampering and doting on her youngest son, and does not prevent him from indulging in vocal music and beauty. Of course, the premise of all this is that her son's pursuit of carnal desires will not lead to a marriage that is contrary to his glorious future.

Louis has always reassured his mother in this regard, and his mother's teachings are always echoing in his ears.

——The Bonaparte family should remember that all our strength comes from the will of the people, and we should wait for the people to express this will and obey it, even if it is contrary to the will of the people themselves. If the people feel pain, we must appear to be oppressed like them, and at the same time let them understand that only you can be saved. All in all, the Bonaparte family should play the role of friends of all living beings in the world. You must always be prepared until you have the power to create an incident yourself. Don't let anyone down, never surrender to anyone, and never reject anyone. Open your doors to all, even the curious, the adventurous, and the counselors, for these will all be of use to you in the future.

And this is also the reason why Louis took the initiative to find Arthur today.

In the past days when he was overwhelmed by huge surprises, when Louis looked back, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have refused too harshly when facing the old officer's suggestion that night.

He didn't want to be separated from Arthur, although the old officer seemed to be of little use now.

He wanted to continue to maintain this friendship, not only because of profit, not only because of his mother's teachings, but also partly because of his character.

He is a very nostalgic person.

Louis wasn't exactly an extrovert, so he didn't have many friends. Although one was born in the Palace of Versailles and the other in a pigsty in Yorkshire, he and Arthur had been through life and death together in London for more than two years, and they had often been under the care of this officer.

Louis took a puff of his cigarette and looked up at the clouds in the sky: "Then I thought about what you said to me that day, and I felt that my remarks that day might have been a bit arbitrary. No matter who they are, as long as they are willing to come to me, I will always try to help them as much as possible.”

Arthur took off his hat and fanned the wind: "It's not a big deal. Now that I think about it, I came to you so blindly and without any consideration. For you now, there is not much room for maneuver. You are not like me, I stare at you too much, at least more than I stare at you.”

After saying this, Arthur raised his eyebrows and winked at Louis: "There are quite a few people here today to keep an eye on them. There are two upstairs, and in addition there are three carriages on the street. Maybe I am still around here?" After all, the Paris Metropolitan Police has more experience than Scotland Yard in doing this kind of work.”

"So what can the Paris Police Department do if they have more experience?" Louis joked: "They haven't caught the murderer who blew up the Cai Dause mansion that day. In my opinion, the biggest reason is that they used all the redundant police forces. Used to look after me.”

Arthur asked: "What have you been busy with these days? Arranging plans to return Napoleon's coffin?"

"If that's the case, then I'll be relieved. It's much easier to prepare a travel plan than socializing at a banquet."

Louis sighed and said: "I suddenly missed the days at Scotland Yard. At that time, I could just do my job well and there was no need to be distracted and think about other things."

"Then you haven't lived a good life." Arthur joked: "Life in Scotland Yard is not easy. For me, the best life was when I was in the York countryside."

"Well...I've heard you mention it before, and you always say that raising pigs is very interesting."

"Raising pigs is fun, but not the most fun."

"Then what's the funniest thing?"

Arthur took a puff of cigarette, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes: "In the countryside of York, when the sun sets, many idle people will crowd on the river bank. Every summer, you can also see the following scenery - a flavorful farewell, A few minutes before the evening prayer bell rang, a large group of women gathered on the high embankment by the river. Just waiting for the evening bell to ring, everyone thought it was dark, and all the women gathered at the last bell. , they all took off their clothes and jumped into the water to take a bath.

As a result, shouts, laughter and laughter merged into one, and it was a great deal of fun. On the river bank, the men opened their eyes wide and stared at the bathing girls playing in the water from a height. Unfortunately, it was dark and they could not see anything clearly. In the deep blue river water, milky white hibiscus can be vaguely seen, which is enough for them to imagine. With a little imagination, it is not difficult to regard the current scene as Diana and the fairies having a heavenly bath, and there is no need to be afraid of themselves. Meet Actaeon's fate. "

Louis smiled and cursed: "How old were you at that time to still appreciate this?"

"Of course I don't understand." Arthur raised his eyebrows and said, "But I know that when they are concentrating on thinking about something, it is difficult to notice that there is a dirty little hand taking things out of their pockets."

Louis laughed loudly and said: "It seems that you were able to be canonized as a knight for a long time. Since you were a child, you have begun to spontaneously punish those bastards who offended the ladies' bathing."

Arthur shook his head slightly and said: "No, Louis, I don't have such noble thoughts. In fact, although I couldn't understand it at that time, I would want to look at a beautiful girl a few more times when I met her. But so far away, the twilight was hazy, You can’t tell which one is the old woman selling oranges in the river, and which one is the most beautiful Bohemian girl.”

"Bohemian girl? You still have bohemian girls there."

"Um."

Arthur nodded and said: "She is a milkmaid in the pasture. The Spanish often say that a beautiful woman must meet thirty conditions. In other words, she must be worthy of at least ten adjectives, and each adjective must also apply to There are three parts of her body. For example, she must have three black eyes, black eyelids, and black eyelashes, and three thin fingers, thin lips, and thin hair. And that girl is such a beauty, and she meets all these conditions.

Although her skin is very smooth and soft, her complexion is almost brassy. Her eyes are large and beautiful, her lips are slightly thick, but have extremely beautiful lines. Every time she smiles, she reveals teeth whiter than almonds. The hair was black, long and shiny, like a crow's wings reflecting the blue light. Especially her eyes, which are both seductive and fierce, just like the eyes of a cat hunting sparrows, making you dare not look at her. It wasn't until a long time later that I realized that those were the unique wolf eyes of bohemian beauties. "

Louis couldn't help but regret hearing this: "It sounds like she is indeed a rare beauty. Unfortunately, she must be very old now. But don't be discouraged, you can also find bohemian beauties in Paris." , wandering around the streets when you have nothing to do, maybe you can meet a girl from her hometown. "

Arthur pretended to be surprised when he heard this: "How did you know that I met a Bohemian girl on the street?"

"Huh?" Louis originally just said it casually, but Arthur's words caught his attention: "Have you seen such a girl?"

Arthur nodded and said: "I did meet one, her name is Clara. I was drinking in the tavern with Heinrich and Alexander, and I accidentally found this girl sitting down next to me. Her appearance was the same as mine. She is exactly the same as the Bohemian girl you met when you were a child, especially the look in her eyes. Once you see her, you will never forget her. "

Louis smiled and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder: "I heard you say that, you succeeded?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "No, I almost got her way."

"What do you mean? You mean you were pushed down by a girl?"

When Louis heard this, he didn't care about the arrangements for today. Arthur's story had completely aroused his interest.

Arthur saw that he had taken the bait, so he used the words he had prepared before: "I invited her to drink a glass of wine first. She told me that the weather was a bit hot today, so I asked her if she wanted to go to a cold drink shop and have an ice cream. Something like that. I was so fascinated by her that I didn't notice her looking at my gold pocket watch. When she and I left the cold drink shop, the night had completely fallen, most of the shops were closed, and there were almost no pedestrians on the street.

We walked across the bridge in front of Notre Dame and stopped in front of a house on the street that was anything but luxurious and respectable. A child came out to open the door, and the girl said a few words to him. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but later I found out that they were speaking some Bohemian patois. The child left immediately after hearing this, leaving us in a rather spacious room with a small table, two small stools and a cupboard, as well as a jar of water, a pile of oranges and a bunch of onions.

There were only two of us in the room. The Bohemian girl took out a deck of well-worn playing cards, a lodestone, a dried four-legged snake and several other magical objects from the cabinet, and told me to hold a coin in my hand. She made the sign of the cross, and then began to practice magic. She was mumbling words without detailing them. Judging from her posture and movements, it was obvious that she was definitely not a half-baked witch..."

Louis put his hand on his forehead: "Arthur! My good brother! Is the purpose of you going home with her so that she can help you with divination? Or is this some special custom of the Bohemians? "

Arthur waved his hand: "Don't worry, I haven't finished speaking yet."

"Then keep talking."

Arthur coughed and said, "It's a pity that the ceremony was interrupted before long. Suddenly, the door suddenly opened, and a man wrapped in a brown cloak with only two eyes exposed came in and treated the girl very rudely. He scolded loudly. I didn't understand what he was saying, but his tone showed that he was annoyed. When the girl saw him, she was neither surprised nor angry. She just greeted him with the same mystery she had just said in front of me. I talked a lot of dialects incessantly..."