The Shadow of Great Britain

And this implicit understanding naturally comes with prerequisites.

The first is that the couple has already produced a legitimate heir.

The second is that the infidelity must be discreet, so as not to create a scandal. You can chat and walk arm-in-arm with your lover in public, and even openly invite him to dinner at your home, but you must not let everyone notice that your relationship is unusual. If a situation like that of Lord Byron and Lady Ponsoby years ago arises, then if the husband does not handle it, how can he maintain his face in the upper society?

The third point is an extension of the second: the wife’s lover is preferably a person of social status.

If the lover is a person of status, generally speaking, those who know the inside story dare not excessively gossip about the relationship. For instance, those former royal mistresses of King George IV, although everyone knew what was happening, all pretended to be blind, and no one would make fun of their husbands. In this way, the husbands can naturally be at ease, not to mention Viscount Melbourne who was even promoted because his wife was the king’s mistress.

Moreover, if the lover’s status is high, even if the relationship is eventually exposed as a scandal, the lover clearly has many ways to resolve these scandals. If speaking harshly, the husbands might even seize the opportunity to extort a sum.

However, if the situation is reversed, and the wife’s lover is someone with neither status nor money, once the scandal is exposed, it is really a business of all losses and no gains. Just the fact that the wife ran off with a poor lad can be told as a joke for ten years.

In Sir Sikes’ view, though the Sikes family is not the top family of Britain, the baronet position of the Sikes family has been passed down for now three generations. His grandfather once held a high position in the East India Company, bringing back a huge wealth of 300,000 pounds upon returning to Britain, and built one of the finest estates, Basildon Manor, in Berkshire.

And Disraeli, although the lad is Jewish, he is a promising young Conservative Party Member of Parliament. Despite starting late in politics, he has already served as the Vice Minister of State at the Foreign Office in the collapsed Pier Cabinet last year. Disraeli accomplishing this at the age of 31 shows a hopeful future. Therefore, Mrs. Sikes choosing him as a lover seems quite respectable.

Yet, the obscure Irish painter, Daniel MacLise, someone who has to stand on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of high society, does he really deserve to step into the grand entrance of Basildon Manor?

Thus, upon discovering his wife’s new affair, the infuriated Sir Francis Sikes immediately prohibited her from any contact with her lovers and directly took her to France, hoping Mrs. Sikes would clear her mind during isolation.

Mrs. Sikes’ sister hurriedly wrote a letter to her, warning her that rumors were already circulating at London’s social gatherings. If she did not decisively cut ties with her lovers, she might risk being ”driven away” by upper society.

Though Mrs. Sikes’ sister didn’t state it outright, everyone active in the circle understood: even though most people in the circle have lovers, their reputations must be maintained. No club, no host of a social dance would allow or invite guests with a poor reputation.

This is also why Arthur did not want to get involved in the emotional entanglements between Disraeli and Mrs. Sikes. The situation was indeed too complex, and would offend people regardless of action. Whether concealing or revealing the ongoing relationship between Disraeli and Mrs. Sikes, pretending to be blind and dumb is more cost-effective.

In other words, everything he said earlier was entirely true.

He preferred to not know Disraeli and Mrs. Sikes at this moment.

Because according to Countess Lyndhurst, Sir Francis Sikes has firmly declared he can no longer tolerate his wife’s behavior and is seriously considering divorce. Furthermore, due to her adultery with Daniel MacLise, Sir Sikes refuses to address his wife’s debt issues, intending to reclaim the 2000 pounds he handed over at her request last year.

Where exactly did this 2000 pounds go? As a renowned economist who once handled complex cross-national financial transactions in Paris, Sir Arthur Hastings could deduce the destination of such a large transfer with just a brief analysis.

Disraeli, this lad, having invested in American mining companies and run a printing plant, accumulated a large debt, albeit improving his financial state somewhat after founding ”Hearst.” However, it barely stabilized for debt payments. For his parliamentary campaign, he needed large sums for electoral funds.

Last year, the Conservative Party raised 350 pounds for Disraeli’s campaign, and friends like Arthur assisted with several hundred pounds, which was enough to manage the campaign naturally. However, this was insufficient to help Disraeli clear loans and certainly couldn’t let him maintain such high standards and frequent social life.

Thus...

Forget it.

Sir Arthur Hastings rarely chose confusion.

The restaurant lights flickered in rhythm with the waves, as Arthur sat near the porthole, unconsciously stirring the cooling fish soup with one hand and propping his chin with the other, gaze fixed on the untouched fish fillet before him.

”Weren’t you hungry?” a gentle voice with a hint of doubt sounded beside him.

Arthur came back to himself, turning his head to find Miss Flora Hastings scrutinizing him with her customary pose, fingers lightly gripping a teacup, the rose-red liquid inside quivering slightly, a charming reflection of her slightly skeptical eyes.

She wore a dark green tweed dress today, fastened properly at the collar with a small silver pin; she remained as dignified and quiet as ever.

Though Arthur said nothing, Flora’s skill in discerning moods, honed at Kensington Palace, naturally made her realize Arthur was not quite himself.

”Thinking again?” Flora smiled slightly: ”Or feeling unwell?”

Arthur tugged at his mouth, as if wanting to smile but ultimately not doing so. He merely put down the spoon and sighed: ”Nothing, I’m just a bit worried about Her Royal Highness.”

”Her Royal Highness?” Flora nodded slightly, placing the teacup back on the saucer and leaning a bit closer to Arthur: ”Is it about those letters? Have you shown them to her?”

Arthur seemed troubled: ”Although Her Highness told me ’it’s enough’, who knows whether she truly let it go. If possible, it would be best to find her a sufficiently suitable replacement soon... By the way, hasn’t Kensington Palace arranged some suitable candidates for her in the past six months?”

”Naturally arranged,” Flora spoke softly: ”Not only Kensington Palace but His Majesty the King, as well as the Belgians, everyone has their own plans.”

”How so?”

Flora paused: ”You know His Majesty the King favors the Orange-Nassau family from the Netherlands, but the Belgians do not wish for this to happen. His Majesty Leopold of Belgium prefers Her Royal Highness to select a suitable husband from their Saxony-Coburg family. As for the Duchess...”

Arthur pressed: ”What is the Duchess’ attitude?”

Flora replied softly: ”This is one of the matters the Duchess hopes you will assist with; she and Conroy wish Her Royal Highness to choose William from Prussia.”