As the sun gently shone on the waters of the English Channel, a steam ferry decorated with an ornate flag slowly sailed away from the port of Dover and headed for Calais, France, on the other side of the English Channel.

The passengers on board, some for business, some for adventure, and some for romantic getaways, set out on a voyage to a foreign country with their own stories and expectations.

The bright sunshine and blue sky inevitably paint people's mood with a layer of pleasant color.

On deck, several young ladies held hands, chatting and laughing softly, their skirts gently swaying in the breeze.

A gentleman pulled out his sketchpad and tried to capture the serenity of the sea and the sailing ships in the distance.

Under the supervision of their parents, the children curiously observed the flight of the seagulls from the side of the boat, and from time to time they ran quickly on the deck with the flock of birds, making exclamations.

The 1832 ferry, although more rudimentary than modern ferries, still had cabins that were divided into different classes according to fares.

First class usually comes with more comfortable beds and basic food and beverage service, while second and third class conditions are more modest. The common areas of the ship include a small dining and lounge for guests to eat and socialize.

Although Britain had already set off the height of the Industrial Revolution by this time, this kind of travel across the Channel was still an extremely luxurious consumption for the average family.

So, most of the guys you can see on this ferry are businessmen, scholars, or officials who have official duties like Sir Arthur Hastings. As for the rest of the passengers, they have just finished their university education and are planning to embark on a European study tour according to tradition.

Needless to say, the family can have such financial resources for them to go to European countries to eat Hesse and buy art, most of these young masters either graduated from Oxford or Cambridge. Of course, you can occasionally meet a few graduates from Glasgow or Edinburgh.

In the dining room in the cabin, merchants sit around a round table and discuss their business. The cigars in their hands were smoky and mingled with the sea breeze outside their windows. A quiet traveler sipps tea alone in the corner, holding a yellowed map of Europe in his hand and a longing for the unknown in his eyes.

As time passed, the sun gradually became hot, and the sea glowed with a little golden light. Travelers are starting to feel the heat and are looking for shade to escape the heat. Some choose to be in the lounge of the cabin, where there is a fan that gently blows and brings a touch of coolness.

The shelves in the lounge are filled with a variety of books for guests to read. A young poet is immersed in his creations, the tip of his pen fluttering on the paper, recording his praise of the sea.

Among the travelers, there were a few gentlemen who looked very unpleasant, one was a fat man with unkempt hair and a cigar in his mouth, and the other was a gloomy young man with a seal beard and a Western sword hanging from his waist.

As for the remaining one, although he did not seem to be as dangerous as the other two guests, the discerning person knew at a glance that of the three, this young man with a kind smile on his face and a poker in his hand was the one with the highest status.

Arthur threw out a pair of threes, raised his eyebrows and motioned to his friend, "Louie, it's your turn." It doesn't seem right to you today, is it because you are getting closer and closer to France, so you are afraid of homesickness? ”

Alexandre Dumas took a puff of his cigar and puffed out a thick smoke: "Don't worry, Louie, with what I know about Louis Philippe, he won't do anything to you." This kind of superficial kung fu, he has always done very well. ”

Louis glanced at the two friends, raised his wine glass, took a sip of wine, and said, "Alexander, are you familiar with Louis Philippe?" ”

Alexandre Dumas nodded, "Of course, I couldn't be more familiar with him." When he was the Duke of Orleans, I worked for a few years as a scribe in his secretariat. Later, I made a name for myself in the drama and quit that job. Louis Philippe sent someone to congratulate me and gave me some small gifts to congratulate me. ”

Hearing this, Louis raised his eyebrows and asked, "Hearing you say that, Louis Philippe seems to be pretty good?" Then why do you scold him every day? ”

"It's different."

Alexandre Dumas replied: "If you mean in terms of human relations, Louis Philippe was undoubtedly a great friend, generous and in most cases tolerant of the difficulties of others. But this does not mean that his nature is like this, if it is difficult to say, he knows how to use some small favors to buy people's hearts and manipulate people's movements to stabilize his position and win a good reputation. In a way, he is more of a British politician than a French political conspirator. ”

Speaking of this, Alexandre Dumas couldn't help but tease Arthur: "What does our Sir Arthur Hastings say? Striking a balance in compromise and then resting his ass on two chairs of different heights, Louis Philippe knew the traditional art of Britain. ”

Arthur ignored Alexandre Dumas's cynicism, but folded the playing cards in his hand and spoke.

"Louis, as Alexander said, you don't have to worry about what the French government will do to you. Before, when you and Alexander said that you wanted to go out with me, I had already sent someone to ask Mr. Talleyrand, and they replied to me that there was no problem.

If you still have security concerns, I can escort you out of France to Brussels in Belgium when we arrive in Calais, which is not far from the border anyway, so you can leave in half a day.

You can spend some time in Brussels and stop by a visit to your mother at a Swiss estate. When you get tired of Switzerland, you can come to the Kingdom of Hanover at any time. ”

When Louis heard this, he immediately refused: "Arthur, what do you think of me?" The men of the Bonaparte family would not leave their homeland for fear of death. Whatever Louis Philippe wants to do to me, I won't take him seriously. ”

"Really?" Arthur quipped, "Well, Louis, would you mind accompanying me to the Tuileries Palace when we arrive in Paris?" ”

"Tuileries Palace?" When Louis heard the name of the place, he immediately became alarmed: "Arthur, didn't you sell me?" ”

Arthur replied with a smile: "Louie, don't think so badly, I don't have the habit of betraying my friends, not to mention what good can I do if I sell you?" I didn't take Lionel's 5,500 pounds, and I took you to the Tuileries for the 50,000 francs of the French government? ”

"Well......" Louis had just put his mind at ease, but in an instant he realized that something was wrong: "Fifty thousand francs?" Where did you hear this number? ”

Dumas couldn't help laughing when he heard the conversation between the two, and he asked Arthur, "Did the French government really give you money?" ”

Arthur pouted and shook his head slightly, "Stuffing money? Alexandre, Monsieur Talleyrand would not have liked this statement, told me that the money was only a small thank you for cementing the unbreakable friendship between France and Britain. Of course, the French government had prepared a hundred thousand francs, but Monsieur Talleyrand told me that he intended to take half of the commission as an intermediary. ”

Louie snapped up and said, "Fuck off!" How many times has the old cripple betrayed the Bonapartes? Arthur, how can you be in the same boat as him? ”

Arthur waved his hand and said, "Louie, don't be angry yet, I didn't say I promised Talleyrand." If I had agreed to him, I would not have offered to send you to Belgium. I confiscated the fifty thousand francs, so that the hundred thousand francs of friendship were now in Monsieur Talleyrand's pocket. I told him that I would ask for your opinion, and if you don't want to, then there's nothing I can do. However, listening to Monsieur Talleyrand, he did not intend to return the hundred thousand francs. If you don't end up going to the Tuileries, he'll probably report to Louis Philippe, but I, the second secretary, don't do anything and don't have any credibility. ”

Alexandre Dumas raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Arthur, you finally understand what it's like to be friends with that old lame man, right?" You were bitten by a snake, and you couldn't argue! ”

Arthur didn't care much about this: "Whatever, what is Louis Philippe's attitude towards me, and what does it have to do with me?" I am Second Secretary of the Legation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Kingdom of Hanover and not the Cabinet Secretariat of the Kingdom of France. ”

Arthur and Alexandre Dumas were so engaged that they both noticed that dark clouds had gradually gathered on the horizon of the sea, and the sun was obscured by heavy clouds. The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and the waves are starting to surge.

Louis looked up at the choppy window, and suddenly said, "If Louis Philippe really wants to see me so much, then I will accompany you to meet him." ”

"Huh?" When Arthur heard this, he suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked at Louie.

He told Louis this to scare the boy off and make him honestly go back to Switzerland to visit his mother. But he didn't expect that the arrogant French emperor would actually agree.

No matter how different Louis looked from his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte, at least he has the courage to show today with a bit of Bonaparte's boldness.

But then again, if Louis insisted on seeing Louis Philippe, it would probably not be too much of a problem.

Because Arthur had already informed the Foreign Office of his itinerary and entourage in advance, and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was now not only a member of the Bonaparte family, but also a British citizen.

The combination of these dual identities meant that if Louis Philippe ordered Louis to be detained, it would cause a rather serious diplomatic incident between Britain and France.

Britain and France, two enemies and brothers across the Channel, had just experienced a considerable degree of social upheaval in June 1832, and neither of them wanted to make a fuss at such a time.

Louis Philippe certainly had his intention to meet Louis at the Tuileries Palace, but definitely not to lock him up.

I have to say that the world is so funny sometimes.

Who would have thought that more than ten years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Bonaparte family would be supported by the British, who personally buried the hegemony of the Napoleonic Empire?

Louis saw that Arthur didn't speak, and finally couldn't help but speak: "Arthur, Alexander, I thank you for your concern. But I've been in a bad mood lately, not because I'm afraid Louis Philippe will cut off my head. But...... Austria, I received a message from Vienna. I didn't want to tell you, but even if I didn't, you'll probably know when you get to Paris. ”

Arthur asked, "What's wrong with Austria?" ”

Alexandre Dumas remembered Heine's sour words to Austrian Prime Minister Metternich: "Could it be that Metternich's German hemorrhoids have been committed again?" And it comes with urinary incontinence? ”

But Louis obviously didn't have the intention of joking, he put one hand on his forehead and shook his head slightly: "My brother, Napoleon's own son, the Roman king of the French Empire, the Prince of Parma of the Austrian Empire and the Duke of Lech Staad, François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, died in Vienna due to tuberculosis. ”

Outside the cabin, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and as soon as Louie's words fell, there was a dead silence in the cabin.

While the rest of the passengers in the restaurant were afraid of the rough sea, lightning and thunder, Arthur and Alexander were keenly aware of some of the changes that were taking place within the Bonaparte family.

Napoleon died, as did his sole legitimate heir.

According to the law of succession, the head of the Bonaparte family naturally fell into the hands of Louis' uncle, Joseph Bonaparte, the former king of Spain, who now lived in the Regency Crescent in London.

The subtle point is that Joseph Bonaparte had no legal heirs. And because of the collapse of Napoleon's empire, it is unlikely that any royal family in Europe will choose to marry the Bonaparte family again.

This means that Joseph Bonaparte's branch will also be extinct.

When Louis's uncle died, the leadership of the Napoleonic family would pass to Louis's father.

Louis's father had two legitimate children, but unfortunately Louis's eldest brother had died in last year's charcoal revolt in Rome, so he ......

Arthur and Alexandre Dumas exchanged a glance, and then their eyes fell on Louis's face, which was slightly pale in the light of lightning.

His hair was soaked with rain seeping through the window, and his body and eyes were shaking with fear or sadness.

The Red Devil put his arm around Arthur's shoulder, and Agareth smiled and bowed his head and whispered in Arthur's ear, "Arthur, look at that look, is it sadness?" Maybe there is sadness, but I think the most emotion is excitement. ”

Former police secretary of the Police Intelligence Bureau of the Royal Metropolitan Police Agency, personal assistant to Sir Arthur Hastings, second secretary of the Legation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Hanover, second in line to the throne of the Bonaparte family, and the highest heir in the second generation of the Bonaparte family - Charles-Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, a young man with wet hair sitting in front of Arthur and Alexandre Dumas.

Arthur stared at Louie, shook his head suddenly, took out the towel in his hand and handed it over: "Louie, this is really unfortunate news. ”

Louis was stunned for a moment, then took the towel, and there seemed to be artillery fire burning in his eyes: "Yes, this is really unfortunate." ”

(End of chapter)