The Shadow of Great Britain

When Arthur stepped into the study, Lady Leisen habitually took her leave from Victoria.

Arthur was accustomed to this by now.

Whenever the Queen’s ministers entered through one door, the Baroness, who was always close to the Queen, would leave through another door, only to return as soon as they had left.

No one knew, nor had anyone ever wished to know the extent of her influence on Victoria, nor what role she played in the life of the young Queen.

Although Leisen herself claimed she never discussed official business with the Queen, as the Queen’s governess, she was always concerned with personal matters, private letters, and personal trivialities.

There was no doubt that, if taken literally, she did not participate in official business, but for Victoria, the distinction between official and personal affairs was always quite ambiguous. For a monarch ruling a country, such distinction practically does not exist: ruling the country is the King’s personal affair, and from the Government’s perspective, the King’s personal affairs are always official business.

Moreover, considering Lady Leisen’s bedroom in Buckingham Palace adjacent to Victoria’s, this alone cannot be regarded merely as a personal matter.

Arthur stood in place, watching Lady Leisen leave.

The sound of the door closing was soft, yet enough to make one aware that the atmosphere in the study had transitioned from ”formal meeting” to ”private conversation.”

Arthur was not uncomfortable with this.

He did not even harbor a single extraneous thought.

Such comings and goings had long been an unspoken norm at Buckingham Palace.

Who was present, who left, often explained more than any words ever could.

At the moment the door closed, Victoria’s shoulders and back relaxed slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Arthur noticed this but didn’t point it out.

He simply bowed according to etiquette, stopping at the appropriate distance from the desk.

”Your Majesty.”

Victoria raised her head.

”Sir Arthur,” she said, ”Was your journey smooth?”

”Very smooth, Your Majesty.” Arthur sat down naturally, smiling as he asked, ”How did you find the gentlemen who visited Buckingham Palace to see you a few days ago?”

”The gentlemen?” Victoria seemed to recall the scene from that day: ”They were very pleasant. Mr. Carter and Mr. Darwin seemed a bit larger compared to when I first met them, but their personalities haven’t changed much. Mr. Carter speaks directly, sometimes even a bit... indiscreetly, but I don’t dislike that. After all, he graduated from the liberal London University, like you, and is a typical progressive type.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Before coming, he had been worried about Eld’s behavior that day. Not that he worried about rudeness, as Eld being rude at Buckingham Palace was almost a certainty. But it seemed Eld at least hadn’t offended Victoria. The only downside was Eld’s behavior seemed to give Victoria a strange impression about the quality of education at London University, and Arthur couldn’t understand why Victoria thought those who attended London University were necessarily impolite.

”Mr. Darwin is just the same,” Victoria continued, ”Whenever I speak with him, he seems to be talking to you, but half of his mind seems elsewhere. Yet he is very serious when answering questions; once he starts speaking, he won’t be perfunctory. I think he is more concerned with the matters themselves, rather than who he is speaking to.”

She paused slightly here, as if unconsciously organizing her impressions: ”Mr. Dickens is not quite as I imagined... When reading his works, I always thought he must be a lively person. I thought anyone who could write ’The Pickwick Papers’ must be always talking, always smiling, as if they would never stop. But when I actually met him, I rather found him... much quieter.”

Victoria paused here, seeming unsure of how to continue.

”He talked to me a lot about the creative inspiration for ’Oliver Twist’. At first, I thought he just casually mentioned it or would just say a few sentences about how the system needed improvement like others do.” She lightly shook her head: ”But he didn’t.”

Although Arthur had long known Dickens would discuss these matters, he still feigned surprise: ”Charles spoke with you about the English Poor Laws?”

”Well...” Victoria’s fingers tightened unconsciously: ”It wasn’t quite about the English Poor Laws. He just talked about specific individuals. Children growing up in orphanages, boys sent to be apprentices only to be returned, and those women who worked all day in workshops yet still couldn’t eat their fill. He told me these things happen every day and have been occurring for a long time.”

Arthur sighed gently, with a hint of just the right amount of helplessness, like a friend tidying up the aftermath for another, he spread his hands.

”Probably Charles’s old problem has resurfaced,” Arthur said, deliberately casual in tone: ”Once he talks about writing, he tends to lose sense of propriety. I think he most likely didn’t intend to make you uncomfortable; it’s probably something he himself isn’t aware of. Sorry, Your Majesty, I should have considered this earlier.”

These words weren’t heavy but just enough to take on the responsibility.

”No.” Victoria shook her head instinctively, her speech sped up a bit, as if afraid of being misunderstood: ”Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming him. Absolutely not — he wasn’t rude, nor did he force me to answer anything.”