The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 866: Chapter 7 Louis Bonaparte’s Ambition_2

“Louis, just as Alexander said, you needn’t worry about the French Government taking any adverse actions against you. Earlier, when you told Alexander about wanting to go out for a stroll with me, I already sent someone to ask Mr. Talleyrand. The response I received was that there’s no problem.

If you still have doubts about safety, when we arrive in Calais, I can first escort you to the border and head to Brussels, Belgium. After all, Calais is not far from the border; we can leave within half a day.

You can tour around Brussels for a while, and then visit your mother at the estate in Switzerland. When you get bored in Switzerland, you can come to the Kingdom of Hanover to find me at any time.”

However, upon hearing this, Louis immediately refused and said: “Arthur, what do you take me for? A Bonaparte man would never leave his homeland out of fear of death. No matter what Louis Philippe intends for me, I won’t pay it any mind.”

“Is that so?” Arthur teased: “That’s good, Louis. When we get to Paris, do you mind accompanying me to the Tuileries Palace?”

“Tuileries Palace?” Louis immediately became alert upon hearing the place: “Arthur, are you perhaps selling me out?”

Arthur replied with a smile: “Louis, don’t take me for someone so despicable. I don’t make a habit of betraying friends, and besides, what benefit would it bring me to sell you out? I didn’t even take Lionel’s £5,500, so why would I bring you to the Tuileries Palace for the French Government’s fifty thousand francs?”

“Hmm…” Louis was just relieved but quickly noticed something was off: “Fifty thousand francs? How did you know about that figure?”

Great Dumas, hearing their conversation, couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He asked Arthur: “Did the French Government really try to bribe you?”

Arthur pouted and shook his head slightly: “Bribe? Alexander, Mr. Talleyrand wouldn’t like that term. He told me that the money was just a trivial token of thanks to solidify the unbreakable friendship between France and Britain. Of course, the French Government actually prepared one hundred thousand francs initially, but Mr. Talleyrand told me that he, as the middleman, intended to take a fifty percent commission.”

Louis slammed the table and shouted: “Damn it! How many times has that old cripple betrayed the Bonaparte family? Arthur, how can you consort with him?”

Arthur waved his hand and said: “Louis, don’t be angry. I never said I agreed with Talleyrand. If I had agreed, I wouldn’t have suggested sending you to Belgium. I didn’t accept the fifty thousand francs, so the one hundred thousand francs still sits in Mr. Talleyrand’s pocket. I told him I would ask for your opinion, and if you were unwilling, there’d be nothing I could do. However, from what I gathered from Mr. Talleyrand, he doesn’t plan to return that money. If you don’t go to the Tuileries Palace, he will probably tell Louis Philippe that I, a Second-class Secretary, took the money but failed to deliver, thus lacking credibility.”

Great Dumas raised an eyebrow and snickered: “Arthur, now you finally understand the taste of being friends with that old cripple, right? You’ve been bitten by a snake and couldn’t defend yourself.”

Arthur didn’t seem to mind: “Who cares? What does it matter to me what Louis Philippe thinks of me? I am a Second-class Secretary at the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland’s Embassy in the Kingdom of Hanover, not a clerk of the French Cabinet.”

Arthur and Great Dumas were bantering, but soon they noticed the sky over the sea had started gathering dark clouds, the sunlight being obscured by thick clouds. The sea breeze had become stronger, and the waves began to surge.

Louis looked up at the stormy scene outside the window and suddenly said: “If Louis Philippe really wants to see me so badly, then I’ll accompany you to meet him.”

“Hmm?” Arthur raised his eyebrows and glanced at Louis upon hearing this.

Arthur’s intention behind that conversation was to scare off the young man, hoping he would obediently visit his mother in Switzerland. But he didn’t expect this proud French Emperor would agree so hastily.

No matter how different Louis looked from his uncle, Napoleon Bonaparte, at least today he showed some of the courage befitting a Bonaparte.

That said, if Louis insisted on meeting Louis Philippe, there shouldn’t be much problem.

Arthur had already reported his itinerary and accompanying personnel to the Foreign Office, and Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was now not only a member of the Bonaparte family but also a British citizen.

This dual identity meant that if Louis Philippe ordered Louis’ detention, it would cause a significant diplomatic incident between Britain and France.

Britain and France, these two erstwhile enemies and brothers separated by a channel, both experienced substantial societal unrest in June of 1832, so neither wanted additional complications at such a time.

Louis Philippe must have his reasons for wanting to meet Louis at the Tuileries Palace, but it definitely wouldn’t be to imprison him.

It must be said, sometimes the world is just this ironic.

Who would have thought that just a few years after the Napoleonic Wars ended, the ones backing the Bonaparte family would be the very British who buried the Napoleonic Empire’s hegemony?”