The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1807: Chapter 105: Hastings’s Plan to Break Up the Couple (Part 2)

It was not long ago that two young women accused the Duke of Cumberland of trying to ride them down on horseback. Although the Duke of Cumberland had ample evidence proving he did not leave the house that day and confirmed that it was his attendant who went out horseback riding, and the attendant stated he had never seen these two women, it did not stop Fleet Street from writing extensively about it.

Reading this, perhaps the discerning eye might sense something amiss.

Because, even though the Duke of Cumberland indeed has various notorious behaviors, many of the charges leveled against him remain unsubstantiated rumors.

And if one carefully examines the timing of these negative news reports, it’s easy to discern a fact: All these scandals were revealed during the Duke of Cumberland’s stay in Britain, while during his more than ten years in Germany, there was never any scandal, only when he announced plans to return to Britain did these scandals appear en masse.

As for who is spreading these rumors and slinging mud at him, it’s not particularly hard to guess.

Who else but the Whig Party?

Perhaps there’s also the influence of his elder brother, the former King George IV, since he equally disliked this brother, as for the reason... it’s said the Duke of Cumberland once laid hands on several of his sisters.

To be fair, putting aside the Duke of Cumberland’s similarly chaotic private life with his brothers and extremely conservative political views, he certainly counts as a diligent noble. Since he returned to Britain in 1829, the Duke of Cumberland has been the first to arrive at and the last to leave meetings of the House of Lords, and this isn’t merely occasionally putting on an act, but every day.

But perhaps it is precisely because he is too diligent that makes the Whig Party increasingly fearful that he might ascend to the throne one day.

You can have extremely conservative political views, or you can be very diligent, but if both, then the Whig Party simply can’t endure.

For this reason, Arthur thinks the Whig Party might well be more worried than him about Victoria losing her succession rights.

Although Lord Elphinstone is a rising star of the Whig Party, with strong family influence, if he insists on obstructing the succession issue, it’s almost certain the Whig Party will initiate a purge against him.

Now, Kensington Palace and the Whig Party are confirmed to stand on his side.

The only question is, what manner to subtly indicate to the Whig Party that a succession crisis might occur, and direct the focus towards Elphinstone.

After all, representatives of the Radical Party like Lord Brougham and the Earl of Dalmo within the Whig Party have already been categorized as needing to be diluted, so certainly this channel isn’t viable to convey the message. In that case...

Furthermore, Arthur also needs to gain the Conservative Party’s support, lest when the Whig Party decisively clears out Elphinstone, the Conservative Party might hinder them.

And to settle the Conservative Party, one must first win over the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel.

As for what these two are most worried about...

Perhaps the only way is to make them believe that the Duke of Cumberland’s ascension would affect the country’s stability.

In this regard, Arthur does have some ”innovative” ideas, after all the Duke of Cumberland’s reputation is already notorious enough, it wouldn’t hurt to have one more load, despite it being a hefty one.

London, Kensington, the cozy Dacha Cottage café.

As the door opened, a wave of warmth carrying the scent of toasted bread and pepper rushed in, keeping the chilly fog and rain outside.

Sir Arthur Hastings strode into the café, his cloak yet to be removed, water droplets quietly trickling down the hem onto the Russian carpet.

The man by the window was originally reading the Morning Paper, but now quietly put down the paper, revealing sharp blue eyes. The bartender wiping the glasses subtly paused in his movements for a moment.

Arthur noticed this, lightly pressed his hat down, acknowledging the plainclothes officers.

”Sir.” The young man, looking like a waiter, quickly approached and whispered close enough to be heard only by Arthur, ”Miss Fiona is already here, waiting for you in the private room on the east side of the second floor.”

”I know.”

Arthur ascended to the second floor, pushed open the private room door, and casually removed his gloves, tossing them onto the sofa by the window.

The air was infused with the aroma of cinnamon and tobacco, the fireplace burning oak logs, bathing the room in golden light.

Fiona Ivan, the most influential lady of London’s underworld, lounged by the window in a rattan chair, draped in a boldly cut black velvet robe, with a golden brooch at her chest. Her left index finger deftly twirled a strand of hair, while her right hand held a glass of golden noble rot wine.

Seeing Arthur enter, she glanced up with a teasing smile, ”You’re late, darling. I’ve been sitting here for thirteen minutes past the time you scheduled, just enough time to decide that if you dare stand me up again, not even begging on your knees will make me risk my head for your dirty work.”

Arthur smiled indifferently, sat on the sofa, and took the silver pot from the table to pour himself a cup of tea.

His tea wasn’t even brewed, when Fiona probed, ”Someone told me they saw you went to Yellow Chrysanthemum Street two days ago and passed by Pope Head Alley, you better tell me that’s not true.”