The Shadow of Great Britain

201: Chapter 137: Boudoir Secrets 201: Chapter 137: Boudoir Secrets Under the veil of night, stars filled the sky.

The banquet at General Cordington’s estate was also coming to its conclusion.

Lady Copper, tilting a lace wide-brimmed hat, dealt with other ladies’ compliments while aided by a servant as she stepped out of the wrought iron gates.

She was ready to board the carriage that had been waiting for her for a while, but before she could get settled, she saw a middle-aged male butler with a mustache, white gloves, and short blonde hair quickly approaching her.

The butler placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly, saying, “Lady Copper, our lady has been waiting for you for quite some time.

As it is still early, if you’re not busy, would you like to join her for a drink?”

Upon hearing this, Lady Copper couldn’t help but look in the direction the butler had come from, where a luxurious carriage parked across the street had already drawn back its curtains.

A breeze passing through the street lifted the strands of black hair beside the lady’s ears behind the curtain, the dim night and the muted streetlights only highlighting the blurred radiant face that had intoxicated countless movers and shakers of the European continent.

“Dorothea?”

Lady Copper was slightly surprised, but without saying much, she smiled at the butler and nodded, then followed him onto the carriage.

As she boarded, the butler quickly closed the carriage door decorated with a double-headed eagle emblem that symbolized Tsarist Russia for the two ladies.

The coachman sitting erect at the front snapped his reins, and the understatedly luxurious black carriage slowly started to move.

Lady Copper sat on the deep red velvet seat, admiring the leaf-shaped necklace adorned with bright blue topaz and green malachite that Mrs.

Liven was wearing around her pale neck, instantly captivated.

“What beautiful jewelry!

Who is the master artisan behind this piece?”

Mrs.

Liven simply smiled, “It’s not clear who the exact master is now, but when His Majesty the Tsar graced me with it last month, he mentioned that it was a piece from Catherine the Great’s collection.

So, it is probably the work of a royal craftsman from that time?”

“Catherine the Great?”

Upon hearing this, Lady Copper couldn’t help but gently lift the pendant hanging on Mrs.

Liven’s chest for a closer look, “On closer inspection, the style of this piece bears a resemblance to that heirloom set from Countess Castlereagh’s family, it may indeed be from the hands of the same royal craftsman.”

After listening to her, Mrs.

Liven chuckled and winked, “Now that you mention it, I remember that Countess Castlereagh’s father, Earl John Hobart of Kingham, was appointed as Britain’s ambassador to Russia, wasn’t he?”

Lady Copper smiled and nodded, “Indeed, the old Earl of Kingham stayed in St.

Petersburg from 1762 until 1765, he attended Catherine II’s coronation.

The emerald necklace that the Hobart family has was gifted during that time by Catherine II herself.

I was fortunate enough to see that necklace once when I visited their house.

If I remember correctly, the jewelry was centered around an octagonal cut emerald with a pear-shaped emerald, surrounded alternately by 14 cushion-cut diamonds and 13 rectangular emeralds.

Besides that, there was also a pair of pear-shaped emerald earrings.

The old Earl of Kingham left that jewelry set to her when Countess Castlereagh got married.

But perhaps because it was too precious, she only wore it on very important occasions.

I must say, that necklace and the earrings paired with a low-cut evening gown are truly exceptional!”

Lady Copper, once talking about jewelry, immediately opened up, even her tone livelier than it had been during the evening’s banquet.

The two ladies went from discussing jewelry to attire, and from attire to the latest fashion trends.

As they talked, Mrs.

Liven took out some red wine from the car’s cabinet and added a bit to the glass in front of her.

“But it is really curious, there was a dinner hosted by Henry at the club today, yet not only did you not attend, but you also went to General Cordington’s place for a Bluestocking Society meeting.

Was there something interesting here that caught your attention?”

Lady Copper laughed helplessly, “Mrs.

Cordington had invited me many times before, and it would have been too impolite to always make excuses.

Plus, because of my meddlesome sister-in-law who’s a member of the Bluestocking Society and her complicated affairs with Lord Byron, there had been some unpleasantness between the ladies and me.

This time I made a special effort to come here to ease relations with them.

After all, we all live in London–no use making things awkward every time we meet.

Besides, those two have already passed away.

Let the past be the past.”

“I see…” Mrs.

Liven covered her mouth gently, “But Henry was somewhat displeased that you didn’t come this time.

Without you, he was like a soul lost, completely distracted in everything he did.

Tonight, he even lost a significant amount of money playing cards.”

Lady Copper couldn’t help but blush at the words, pretending to be annoyed, she retorted, “Henry is always like this, 46-years-old and still throwing tantrums.

Besides, weren’t you and Lady Jersey there to accompany him?”

Mrs.

Liven sipped her red wine, and in the dimly lit carriage, her lips were even more strikingly red from the wine.

“Emily, everyone knows he’s yours.

He’s just playing around with me as a formality, and as for Lady Jersey–forgive my bluntness–she’s nowhere near your charm.

Don’t let Henry be disappointed.”

Lady Copper initially thought Mrs.

Liven was joking, but hearing this, she suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

“Did Henry really lose his temper?” she whispered.

Lady Livingstone nodded slightly, “His birthday is in a couple of days.

Why don’t you think of an unusual little gift to cheer him up?

I’m free tomorrow, how about I accompany you shopping to pick something?”

Upon hearing this, Lady Copper mused, “Dorothea, what do you think about giving him a gramophone, with a record adapted from ‘La Campanella’ by Paganini?”

“A gramophone?

A record?” Lady Livingstone asked in confusion, “What are those?”

Seeing her friend’s bewilderment, Lady Copper smiled and explained what she had witnessed at the party earlier that day.

Upon hearing this, Lady Livingstone suddenly seemed to remember something.

She couldn’t help but say, “Ah!

I think I saw that Mr.

Hastings you mentioned.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Mm-hmm, he left before you did,” Lady Livingstone winked playfully at her friend, teasing, “He’s very tall, with a well-built chest, and his face is chiseled.

He looks very refined and even though he’s only in his twenties…”

Lady Copper joked, “Dorothea, you couldn’t possibly have taken a fancy to him, could you?

I recall you don’t usually go for such young ones.”

“Hmm…”

Lady Livingstone pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear: “Oh, Emily, I tend to make my judgments after interacting with people; age really isn’t the most crucial factor for me.

And why do you think Mr.

Hastings is inexperienced?

Youth doesn’t necessarily signify inexperience.

Despite his polite demeanor and his status as a distinguished scientist, in every gesture, he resembles the very image of a typical British gentleman, but…”

“But what?”

Lady Livingstone lowered her voice, covered her chest with her hand, leaned forward, and mysteriously whispered into her friend’s ear, “I assure you, Mr.

Hastings has killed people before, and definitely more than one.

If his gentlemanly appearance has deceived you, you are certain to suffer later.”

“Killed people?” Lady Copper exclaimed in surprise, “How could you tell?”

“It’s quite simple.” Lady Livingstone smirked, “He has an air about him similar to my father’s.

No matter where he stands, he instinctively straightens like a sharp sword, and his swift movements are as incisive as blade strokes.

Although he tries his best to soften his demeanor, if he catches you off guard with a glance, you can still sense the danger lurking in his eyes.

If you hadn’t told me he was a scientist, I would have definitely thought he emerged from the bloodbaths of the Napoleonic Wars.”

Listenting to this, Lady Copper instinctively covered her mouth, “Dorothea, you’re so astute!

Mr.

Hastings’s actual job is as a police inspector at Scotland Yard, and he’s an exceptionally competent young inspector too.

You may not know this, but he’s only 20 years old and has already climbed to his position by himself.

Not long ago, he even took part in a sea rescue mission involving a Frenchman.

Today, I heard Colonel Fitzroy, the captain of the Beagle, say that he saw Mr.

Hastings take down seventeen pirates on the sea all by himself.

He also said that if Mr.

Hastings were willing to join the Royal Navy, he would inevitably end up as a general someday.”

“Ah…

So he’s a police officer from Scotland Yard too?” Lady Livingstone responded with slight surprise.

Lady Copper asked, puzzled, “What do you mean by that?”

Lady Livingstone explained, “It’s nothing, just that at the club’s dinner tonight, Henry also brought along two officers from Scotland Yard.

One was Charles Rowan, the head of the Greater London Police Department and an Army Colonel, and the other was Sir Richard Mayne, the Deputy Commissioner.”

Lady Copper couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this, “What’s going on here?

Are all the senior officers from Scotland Yard taking advantage of Sunday to relax?”

Lady Livingstone responded with a smile, but not directly answering the question, “Who knows?

But I think they do need to relax, especially Mr.

Hastings.

It just occurred to me that he’s overseeing several major cases at Scotland Yard this year.

With his busy schedule and finding time to participate in Mr.

Faraday’s scientific research, and even helping friends promote new works.

By the way, is that ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ you mentioned really that good?

And the talk about the gramophone has piqued my curiosity.

Shall we visit Mr.

Wheatstone’s music shop together some day and buy a couple for ourselves?”

Only then did Lady Copper suddenly remember, “Dorothea, I would have completely forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it!

Nearly all the guests at tonight’s party wanted to get a gramophone for themselves.

If we want to get one before Henry’s birthday, I’m afraid it won’t work to just go and order.”

Lady Livingstone also realized the predicament and said, “Did you get Mr.

Hastings’s business card?

Maybe we could send someone to plead with him since Mr.

Wheatstone is his friend, right?

If he speaks for us, Mr.

Wheatstone could reserve the next gramophone for us directly.”

After some thought, Lady Copper spoke up, “There’s no time like the present.

My carriage is available now, so I’ll send it immediately with money to reserve with Mr.

Hastings.

God, I hope that young man from Scotland Yard doesn’t keep too regular a schedule.

It would be best if he hasn’t gone to sleep yet.”

Upon hearing this, Lady Livingstone couldn’t help but smirk, “It’s okay if he’s asleep.

What we’re worried about now is that he might not be spending the night at his own house.”

Lady Copper burst into laughter at this, “Dorothea, you…”