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

The angular roof, the intricately decorated triangular ivory white walls, the five-story marble staircase in front of the door, and the wide portico with spindle-shaped columns, complete with intricately carved double-opening redwood doors.

This luxurious residence will definitely stand out from the rest of London, but in Kensington, which is home to Kensington Palace, Knightsbridge, High Street and other political and business areas, it is nothing more than an ordinary residence.

And the hostess who lives here is the fifth-generation Mrs. Cowper, the object of Arthur's visit, Emily Cowper.

According to Arthur's information from Elder and his observations of Lady Cowper at the last banquet, the leading figure in London's high society was almost the polar opposite of her taciturn, reserved husband, the 5th Earl of Cowper.

As a woman of great importance in the Whig camp, her warm and gregarious personality naturally brought her a considerable following.

Even, because she was born in England, she was almost the most popular among the Olmark clubs.

She has to overshadow the veteran Mrs. Castlereagh and Mrs. Seffton, and she also has to overshadow Mrs. Levin, who is good at dancing with long sleeves but has suffered a loss of Russian nationality.

And in the contest between Mrs. Jersey and Mrs. Drummond-Burrell, who was about her age, Mrs. Cowper could almost be said to have won outright.

According to Held's information, Mrs. Jersey was so lively that she often appeared rude and uncultured, while Mrs. Drummond-Burrell was too obsessed with etiquette and form.

Only Mrs. Cowper has a good grasp of the middle point between the two, and is able to close the distance between people without offending the other party.

In short, Shakespeare's famous quote is not universal to Mrs. Cowper—woman, your name is weak.

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

Arthur held two gramophones in his hands, so he tilted his head and struck the bell hanging in front of the door with the brim of his hat.

A clanging sound was heard, and the mahogany door was pulled open from within, revealing an old butler with white gloves, a black tuxedo, and a white shirt behind the door.

The old butler looked the young man dripping water on his hat up and down: "May I ask who you are?" ”

Before Arthur could reply, a gentle female voice came from behind the old butler: "Cox, that's Mr. Hastings from Scotland Yard, bring him in." Today's rain is heavy, and if he gets sick because of the rain, it is estimated that the entire Scotland Yard will be paralyzed. The citizens of London could not afford such a loss. ”

Arthur's gaze fell beyond the old butler to the lady who was standing on the stairs with her hands on her belly.

Maybe it's because of the heavy rain today, Mrs. Cowper doesn't plan to go out, her makeup today is very elegant, and the skirt is not as wide as the one she wore on the day of the banquet, but even so, this light blue dress with real silk satin and velvet as the main material is probably not cheap.

Without further ado, it must have been fairly easy to top Arthur's salary for a few weeks.

As soon as he thought of this, Arthur began to think about finding Mr. Moscheles for a recital.

Although he is now the superintendent of Scotland Yard, his salary has also risen.

Even though his salary was more than £150 a year, as a gentleman living near Hyde Park, Arthur's income was not enough to match his expenses.

But although nominally he earns only £150, anyone who really thinks that a Superintendent of Scotland Yard is worth so much is underestimating the energy of the government department.

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

For example, enjoy the free delivery service provided by the General Post Office of the United Kingdom,

On major holidays, receive gifts and cash gifts issued by the Ministry of the Interior.

Get free newspapers from major newspapers such as the London Gazette, The Times, and the Manchester Guardian, discounted by about £25,

Although Arthur has not yet received the routine gifts of the various business associations and companies in the jurisdiction, according to the old superintendents, the total value of the gifts will fluctuate in the range of about 10-50 pounds, depending on the type, number and size of the companies operating in the jurisdiction.

Of course, as is customary, Scotland Yard is an agency of the Home Office, and police officers should have the same priority as the Home Office officers in the official apartments planned by the Urban Construction Committee of the Home Office.

However, perhaps because of the nature of the work and the low level of income in the department as a whole, Scotland Yard has not been treated well by its Home Office colleagues since its birth.

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

If you use the oriental concept to explain, the senior police officers of Scotland Yard are at most a career editor, and the patrol officers who are tired and tired on the front line are not even a career editor, they are a group of labor dispatch employees who can be fired anytime and anywhere.

And the office officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are serious civil servants, and Arthur cannot be regarded as a class compared to them.

Scotland Yard, a second-level department full of mud legs, also wants to divide the official apartments of the Ministry of the Interior?

There are no doors!

As for Arthur, a superintendent whose income level is higher than that of the ordinary officers of the Ministry of the Interior, he is even more eye-catching.

After all, as a superintendent of police with an annual salary of 150 pounds, his income has exceeded the minimum income of a civilian officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs, so why don't you know gratitude?

Arthur pondered the question of income as he went to the couch in the fireplace under the guidance of the old butler and made a fire.

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

Mrs. Cowper sat across from him with a smile in her eyes, and as she looked at the two gramophones on the coffee table, she said, "Mr. Hastings, you have been very sorry. When I took the liberty of sending you to order a phonograph, I didn't dare to get my hopes up. After all, there are so many people who want to order gramophones these days, and it must have taken a lot of effort to get two of them so quickly, right? ”

Arthur waved his hand, "Ma'am, this is not my credit. It also happened that Mr. Wheatstone had two of them that had just been made, and he was reluctant to give them to me because they were bidding higher. But as soon as I told him that you had placed the order, Mr. Wheatstone immediately decided to make your order first. After all, it's all because Mr. Wheatstone admires your reputation, and I'm just passing on your words. ”

When Mrs. Cooper heard this, her eyes narrowed with laughter: "Really? I did not know that my reputation would be recognized by such young and promising scholars as you and Mr. Wheatstone. ”

Arthur just smiled: "Madame, you have underestimated the influence of the name Emily Cooper in London, everyone knows that in addition to being a beautiful woman who is proficient in dancing and sociable, you have always been keen on all kinds of new things. Those of us who are natural philosophers have heard the story of your sponsorship of scientific research, so we all respect you. To tell you the truth, Mr. Faraday mentioned you to me. ”

"Did Mr. Faraday mention me?" Mrs. Cooper, flattered, pressed her hands to her chest: "Oh, God! I've never heard of anything like this. ”

When the Red Devil heard this, he followed the example of Mrs. Cooper, and cried out in his voice, "Oh, Arthur! I've never heard of anything like that either! And I bet Faraday hadn't heard of it either! ”

Arthur glanced at the red devil while he was drinking coffee, and while warning him with his eyes, he put down his coffee cup and said with a smile on his face: "You don't know, Mr. Faraday is a shy person, if you ask him directly, he will definitely be embarrassed to speak." Mr. Wheatstone was also shy, and most of us philosophers are of this character, and so am I. ”

Mrs. Cowper blinked her dark eyes, and with the flutter of her eyelashes, she teased, "Come on, Mr. Hastings, you must be amusing me." As everyone knows, Mr. Faraday doesn't take the initiative to praise other women, he saves all the sweet words to his wife.

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

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

Mrs. Cooper put one hand to her lips and wondered, "What do you mean?" ”

Arthur sat down and said with a serious face, "Because if I let them come back alive, they will definitely tell me about my shy appearance." ”

When Mrs. Cooper heard this, she raised her hand slightly to cover her mouth, but the upturned corners of her mouth could still be faintly seen between her fingers.

"Thank God, Mr. Hastings, that God directed you to Scotland Yard, otherwise you would have been troubled by the fact that you had become a criminal with this troublesome shyness."

When Arthur heard this, he simply took off his hat and thanked him, "It's all right, ma'am, it's the same with me staying at Scotland Yard." ”

As soon as she said this, Mrs. Cooper could not hold it back, and her tears of laughter came out of her eyes.

She pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes as she spoke, "Sorry, Mr. Hastings, it's rude. But then again, Madame Levine was right about you, and you were a very special lad. A man like you, whether it is on the battlefield of Scotland Yard, Waterloo, or even in love, will succeed sooner or later. My unenlightened brother would not have let Lord Byron intervene in his marriage if you were half able to speak, and my deceased sister-in-law liked your type. ”

"Lord Byron?" Arthur, who knew the story of Lord Byron and Lady Ponzon, was just dumbfounded, and he said modestly: "Madam, you are really too famous, how dare I compare with the brightest literary star of the 19th century in Britain?" But is there a story between your sister-in-law and Lord Byron? ”

When Mrs. Cooper heard this, she half-opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but when the words came to her lips, she took them back: "That's it, it's all in the past, and it's normal that you don't know." After all, you were young at the time, and if I'm not mistaken, you seem to be only 20 years old this year, right? ”

Arthur nodded, "I'll be 21 on January 15 next year." ”

When Mrs. Cooper heard this, she couldn't help laughing, "You young people, you always hate to be bigger. And I, a really old lady, always hate to be younger.

However, you can also consider marriage at about your age, and it must be very easy to find a suitable girl if you have a stable job with a decent income, and you are so eloquent and physically strong.

Have you ever thought about this? Maybe I'm a bit presumptuous to say that, but don't mind, because my eldest son is also about to talk about marriage, so I will always think about this more or less. ”

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

Arthur sorted out some of his own needs, and thought about the possibility of the Whigs coming to power.

So, he took the opportunity to complain: "Madam, you should know that I am a police officer in Scotland Yard, and Scotland Yard is very busy with work on weekdays, and there are not many opportunities for vacation, so I don't have many opportunities to socialize on weekdays. ”

Mrs. Cowper blinked in surprise, "Ah...... Is that so? The patrolmen at Scotland Yard are really hard, I know that. But aren't you now the superintendent of Scotland Yard? Why is this still happening? I remember that high-ranking officials like you should be very idle! ”

Hearing this, Arthur somehow suddenly remembered the high-ranking people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the bad water in his stomach suddenly churned again: "Madam, what you said is actually not wrong. Some of the ministries of government are indeed laid-back, but not all of them.

Some departments, such as the Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance, or the Police Supervision Committee of the Ministry of the Interior, of course, can work late and early, lazily work 5-6 hours a day, with weekends and various Boxing days off. But some departments, such as Scotland Yard, work more than 10 hours a day, and people are exhausted and overloaded day after day.

But the intensity of the work at Scotland Yard is good, because we're really doing something. However, some departments are tired and tired, but what they do is to compile books and tables, respond to false stories, perfunctory to the top, and add chaos to the bottom. But in reality it is the same for the British government. ”

The next chapter is estimated to be a little later

(End of chapter)