The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 940: Chapter 35 Young Italy

The swaying carriage traveled along the Seine River, the gentle sunlight streaming through the window onto the novel in Arthur’s hands.

The mottled light and shadows were like scraps of paper, dividing the text into isolated islands.

Arthur had read Balzac’s novels long ago, but compared to the first time when he viewed them purely as entertainment, this time he read with exceptional seriousness and discovered many more interesting aspects.

Only now did he finally understand why later generations regarded Balzac’s works as a living encyclopedia of 19th century France.

His books not only reflected the lifestyle of Paris, but many characters also seemed particularly familiar.

The character named Putuoleng in the novel exuded the likeness of Victor everywhere, but perhaps due to the fan filter, Balzac wrote Putuoleng as much more handsome and aloof than Victor himself.

Lastinier is today’s high-ranking Senate President Thiers, from an initially struggling middle-class student upon arriving in Paris, to climbing social ladders with a Baroness, joining literary groups to earn his first fortune, and inadvertently developing an affair with a Marchioness.

And not just Victor and Thiers, Arthur also caught a glimpse of Hugo in ”Father Goriot”, with the leader of the small literary group Attez clearly modeled after Hugo.

After reading several of Balzac’s novels, from the owner of an East City carriage line, to market vendors, impoverished artists, to the two widows living in the apartments on Massarina Street behind the French Academy, all left an impression in Arthur’s mind.

In just a few hours, Arthur transformed from a young man from the provinces in the eyes of a coachman into a young man who grew up from the roots of the city of Paris.

He recounted the life of Paris with exquisite detail, as if he had truly witnessed with his own eyes the Directory, the Imperial era, and the Royal Restoration period.

The carriage stopped in front of the Breaux Detective Agency, Arthur paid the fare and was about to go upstairs.

Suddenly he saw a young noblewoman descending from upstairs, dressed in a pink knotted dressing gown over a white camisole, exuding waves of fragrance, her eyes glistening. Although not touching her, Arthur felt her hands must be exceptionally soft just by looking, and her slightly open dressing gown occasionally revealed a hint of pale pink bosom.

With a man’s and a detective’s intuition, Arthur believed that this lady must have just taken a bath.

Then he remembered, above the Breaux Detective Agency was an apartment offering board and lodging, so this lady must have come down from there?

Accompanying the young lady downstairs was a short man standing at five feet, and his appearance seemed exceedingly familiar.

It was none other than the President of the Senate of France — Mr. Thiers.

The noblewoman didn’t notice the carriage coming below, her attention fully on Thiers, she just said peevishly, ”Oh, Adolphe, you’re leaving?”

”My dear, I wish I could stay a while longer. But the dinner party at the Kaidao Sai Mansion is about to start shortly, I must go and check everything is in order before His Majesty arrives. Although Appel is currently the best banquet organizer in Paris, he’s never arranged such a grand event before, with celebrities from politics, business, and culture all in attendance, not to mention many guests from Britain, I can’t have His Majesty losing face in front of foreigners.”

The young lady didn’t speak, but her compliant expression unintentionally betrayed the whole of a woman’s mind.

Thiers descended the steps, and came face to face with Arthur, he paused for a moment, private matters being discovered always make one uncomfortable, especially given his five-foot height made him feel an invisible pressure in front of the stern Arthur.

Thiers didn’t even notice, he involuntarily took a step back onto a stair, before politely doffing his hat and greeting, ”I didn’t expect to meet you here, are you touring around the city of Paris?”

Arthur similarly doffed his hat, ”Sort of, but it’s not just a tour, I also took on some personal work in Paris. My friend Mr. Victor invited me to be a detective assistant at his agency, he just resigned from the Great Paris Police Hall, and at over fifty, he has to start his career from scratch, I have to lend him a hand.”

Thiers laughed amicably at these words, ”To echo the words of the petty bourgeoisie, Arthur, you seem very loyal, quite unlike a noble.”

Arthur removed his white gloves, patted off the dust, ”Thanks to His Majesty’s favor, I’m now a knight. According to the consistent standards of Britain, knights cannot be considered true nobility, at most they are citizens, and the gap from the petty bourgeoisie is indeed not very distant.”

Thiers smiled and politely replied, ”Long live citizens, Mr. Hastings, see you tonight at the Kaidao Sai Mansion.”

Arthur bid farewell to Thiers, watching this rising star of the Parisian political scene board his carriage and vanish into the bustling streets, he turned, ready to sit in the agency, but noticed that the young lady who sent Thiers off was still there.

She was examining Arthur with a scrutinizing gaze, the emotion revealed in her large dark eyes was one of curiosity.