The Shadow of Great Britain

”Portrait of Duchess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg” was painted in 1838 by Scottish artist William Ross

When Feodora was 11, she came to Britain with her remarried mother, and thus Lady Leisen was also her nanny in childhood. She lived in Kensington Palace until she was 21, and then, under the matchmaking of Queen Adelaide, she married Ernst I, Duke of Hohenlohe-Langenburg of Germany.

In fact, given Feodora’s circumstances, she could have chosen a husband with better conditions rather than the Duke of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, who had already lost his actual domain. However, she was clearly also tired of the oppressive life at Kensington Palace, like Victoria, so she decided to marry him after only meeting her future husband twice.

However, life’s events are unpredictable. Although Feodora married somewhat hastily and the couple’s assets were not very substantial, they could only live in the spacious but simple and old Langenburg Palace. Yet their married life was quite happy, and within seven years of marriage, they had five children.

What Feodora was most concerned about was her sister Victoria.

If their brother, Prince Leiningen, didn’t understand the situation within Kensington Palace, then Feodora was more than familiar with the internal conflicts here.

Like Victoria, she had endured Conroy’s oppression, so whenever she saw this Irishman angry, her body couldn’t help but tremble.

Afraid that Conroy might take the opportunity to dismiss Lady Leisen, Feodora hurriedly wrote a letter and entrusted someone to deliver it to the Duchess of Northumberland in London, imploring her to use her influence to help resolve this issue.

Upon arriving at the beaches of Ramsgate, that’s all Arthur knew.

After all, he had already been given a dismissal order by Conroy, and although the hotel he booked was not far from Victoria and the others’ residence at Albion Villa, this was not London. Ramsgate had no Scotland Yard police he could mobilize, or rather, Ramsgate didn’t even have a police station.

As for gangs or riffraff, Ramsgate might have a few, but if those guys had the capability to enter Albion Villa, would they still need to continue being gangsters? Wouldn’t it be better to run for office?

Therefore, during this time, if Arthur wanted to know the internal situation of Albion Villa, he could only rely on accompanying Miss Flora Hastings during evening strolls to inquire from his dear cousin.

Flora did not withhold from her cousin. She was frank and candid, but perhaps due to deliberately keeping a distance from Conroy after listening to Arthur, she had only a vague sense that Conroy seemed to be plotting something but lacked enough details to piece together the truth.

The one thing he knew was that a few days earlier, the Duchess of Northumberland had come all the way from London, but when Conroy noticed that the Duchess was attempting to speak kindly on behalf of Leisen, she soon received the same treatment: As Victoria’s appointed governess, she could no longer meet Victoria alone and had no way to deeply understand her feelings at the time.

Conroy’s actions naturally enraged this granddaughter of ”Indian Conqueror” Lord Clive. According to Flora, the Duchess of Northumberland’s face turned pale and she trembled with anger, but she still, with her own demeanor, coldly submitted her resignation to the Duchess of Kent and vowed never to endure such humiliation again.

Aside from these troubling matters, the vacation life in Ramsgate was quite satisfying.

The vast ocean, with France on the other side, the towering and magnificent White Cliffs, whose beauty only stands out not on sunny days but during a tempest, remaining steadfast amidst rampant winds and torrential rain, revealing their true charm.

In leisurely times, strolling on the streets for shopping, one could hear residents discussing matters about Victoria.

According to local residents, Victoria first came to Ramsgate for vacation when she was four years old.

At this point in the story, townspeople often enthusiastically point to the nearby beach and vividly describe to tourists: ”It was on this noble beach that she, wearing a simple straw hat, carefreely played with other children. Of course, sometimes she would sit on a little donkey for a ride, and it’s said that donkey was a gift from the Duke of York.”

Besides this, Mr. Lewis, the owner of the ”Rare Treasure Hall” store, Mr. Burgess, the founder of the local library, and Mr. Clamp, the owner of a seafood restaurant, all claimed that the Princess was a regular visitor. Charles Fisher, the pharmacist on the street, also claimed the Princess had visited his pharmacy and even added a royal emblem to the pharmacy’s sign.

While the claims of the aforementioned gentlemen might be dubious, Mr. Fisher’s claim as a pharmacist was supported by concrete evidence because not long ago, indeed, someone from Kensington Palace had been sent to his pharmacy to procure medicine.

As a veteran officer who started in the criminal investigation department, Sir Arthur Hastings never overlooks any clue related to the case.

He immediately went to Mr. Fisher’s pharmacy to subtly inquire about what medicines Kensington Palace purchased from him.

Fortunately, Fisher had no intention of hiding this matter from the start, even if the customers buying medicine didn’t ask. He would enthusiastically turn the topic to the order that made him a ”royal medicine supplier.” For someone like Arthur actively seeking information, Fisher, of course, spilled the beans like peas from a bamboo tube, even placing the purchase order directly in front of Arthur.

Laudanum, valerian root powder, lemon balm tea, fragrant benzoin tincture, and a small amount of ergot wine.

Although Arthur was not a professional doctor, his long tenure in the police department handling numerous murder cases and even dealing with the Liverpool cholera incident and studying chemistry under Faraday at the Royal Society made him familiar with the effects of some basic medicines.

The so-called laudanum is actually a variant of opium tincture flavored with saffron and cinnamon, commonly known as a painkiller and sedative in 19th-century Britain, almost a staple in household medicine cabinets.

Fragrant benzoin tincture is an inhalable medicine used for respiratory inflammation, and many perfumers add it to perfumes to adjust the fragrance.

Valerian root powder and lemon balm tea have been common sedatives since the Middle Ages, very popular on the market now, and many women use them to brew tea to relieve emotions.

But ergot wine...

This is relatively new, an elixir invented by a French doctor more than ten years ago, supposedly primarily used for treating women’s issues...

But as to which women’s issues specifically, Arthur was unclear.

Nonetheless, the suspicion of someone in Kensington Palace suffering from a women’s ailment was already shocking enough.

Also, apart from the ergot wine, Arthur was baffled as to why Kensington Palace needed to purchase so many sedatives. Did another issue arise between Victoria and the Duchess of Kent? Had their nerves become so strained that such a quantity of sedatives was necessary for relief?

Arthur found himself completely puzzled.

Moreover, perplexing him further was noting that Kensington Palace’s doctor, Clark, had been sent back to London by Conroy the week before last. If so, who was prescribing these medicines?

However, as one of Great Britain’s most outstanding former officers, Arthur knew the importance of leaving expert matters to the experts.

To decipher the actual problem within Kensington Palace, a professional assessment was needed.

And among professional doctors Arthur knew and trusted, there was really only one...