SGB Chapter 125

## Chapter 125: The Ripple of a Butterfly Named Arthur

Lionel stood in the trading hall, holding a cup of coffee, watching Arthur and his companions leave.

Once he was certain Arthur was far enough away, he beckoned the elderly, white-haired servant standing behind him, asking, “Why would the Duke of Wellington suddenly requisition rooms at Regent’s Crescent? It’s not like him to do so. He usually prefers to keep a certain distance from us, doesn’t he?”

The old servant quietly recited, “Your father said it was a sudden situation. A guest of extraordinary nobility crossed the Channel and came here. The Duke of Wellington couldn’t find a suitable house for him, so he sent someone to ask us for help.”

“Crossed the Channel?” Lionel took a sip of coffee, pondered for a moment, and asked, “Is the guest from France?”

The old servant nodded slightly, “Not just that. The guest has recently abdicated, and he’s full of anger. It’s not right to not give him a good room.”

“Ah…” Lionel’s mind gradually cleared, “So the guest this time is that annoying Charles? Didn’t he always give Uncle James the cold shoulder in Paris? In the end, he still has the face to seek our real estate services?”

The old servant shook his head, “Young master, you’d better not address a former king like that. Even though he has lost his power, who knows if he’ll make a comeback?”

“Make a comeback?” Lionel scoffed, “There’s more than one Frenchman in Regent’s Crescent seeking a comeback. By the way, what room number does that Joseph live in?”

The old servant opened the file in his hand, flipped through it, and his expression quickly turned strange.

He held his forehead in pain and said, “Joseph Bonaparte lives next door to him.”

Lionel burst into laughter, his laughter so loud that the guests in the trading hall all looked at him with surprise.

Lionel took out his handkerchief and wiped the tears from his laughing eyes. He said, “Oh my… This is going to be fun. One is Napoleon’s brother, the other is Charles, the deposed king of the Bourbon dynasty of France. This must be God’s arrangement. It’s all destined. If you want to see the French civil war, you don’t need to go to Paris. There’s a show like this every day at Regent’s Crescent.

I can’t wait to see their expressions when they meet. Even the best playwrights couldn’t come up with such a divine plot. Arthur probably doesn’t know that his humility at Regent’s Crescent has brought such a surprise to the world.”

The old servant said, “Actually, even if Mr. Hastings hadn’t been humble, the subsequent plot would still be exciting. Have you forgotten? The Dumas gentleman by his side, his father was the Black Devil who followed Napoleon, General Thomas Alexandre Dumas. If he meets Joseph Bonaparte, it will surely be a real-life magical story.”

Hearing this, Lionel suddenly snapped his fingers, “You didn’t mention this, and I almost forgot. By the way, write a letter to Uncle James for me. Tell him to stop looking for suitable people to kidnap Mr. Dumas back to France. We don’t want to do this business anymore. Fred failed, so it’s over.”

The old servant nodded slightly, “That’s a wise choice. To win the trust of King Louis Philippe, there should be many ways in Paris. There’s no need to take such risks.”

Lionel shook his head, “You’re right, but that’s not the only reason. The most important thing is that Inspector Hastings, no, maybe it’s better to call him Inspector Hastings. Hmm… No, I should say, my friend Arthur has accepted my friendship so readily, and I can’t make things difficult for him, wouldn’t you say?”

The old servant hesitated, “But wouldn’t doing this conflict with the Rothschild family’s consistent upper-class route? The level of Inspector at Scotland Yard is certainly not low, but you don’t have to spend so much effort on him, do you?”

Hearing this, Lionel’s smiling face gradually turned cold, “Do you know what happened when my father went to see the Duke of Wellington the other day?”

“I do.” The old servant nodded slightly, “The old master went to 10 Downing Street happily, but when he came back, he was depressed. I noticed that his hands were shaking while eating, and he couldn’t even hold the fork. Since I followed the Rothschild family to London, I’ve never seen Mr. Nathan like this.”

Lionel took a deep breath and asked, “So do you know why he was like that?”

The old servant shook his head, “No.”

Lionel’s face showed a hint of anger, “We’ve been working hard to maintain good relationships with the royal family and Tory officials all these years. We provide them with all the economic support they need. But now, even the political restrictions on Catholics and dissenters against the Church of England have been lifted, but the rights of Jews remain stagnant.

So, the other day, my father went to see the Duke of Wellington with the petition for Jewish emancipation signed by tens of thousands of Jews, and discussed the issue with him. But what was the result? Guess what the Duke of Wellington said to my father?

He said, ‘I will not allow the government to make any promises on the issue of Jewish emancipation, and I strongly recommend postponing the submission of the application for Jewish emancipation to Parliament. If you insist on not doing so, the related risks and consequences will be borne by the involved groups, and I will not make any protection promises to you.'”

Lionel paused here, took a deep breath, looked at the servant and asked, “So now you understand why I’m betting on my new friend? The Rothschild family has been operating at the top level for 20 or 30 years in Britain, and this is what they’ve got. This shows that relying solely on the upper-class route, at least in England, won’t work.

What we need is not just the friendship of bigwigs like the Duke of Wellington, but also the friendship of rising stars like Arthur. To maintain the friendship of bigwigs, we need to spend tens of thousands of pounds, even hundreds of thousands of pounds every year.

But for rising stars like Arthur, maybe it’s just a loan of 350 pounds and a few little pieces of information. Of course, maybe I need to pay a little bit of insignificant emotion.

I’m tired of my father’s groveling in front of those bigwigs. Compared to groveling endlessly to those people, I prefer to chat and do business with people like Arthur, who are willing to be equals with me.

Lionel put on his hat, straightened his clothes, and then said to the servant, “Go and take care of Arthur’s property documents this afternoon. Send them to Greenwich Police Station before dusk. In two days, go to his residence and send him a letter. I’m going to invite him to join my hunting club. I’m tired of flattering those old hunters who are about to meet God. Compared to them, I prefer to be with young friends. I need to find some fun in my life!”

The old servant asked, “Is this also to win Mr. Hastings’ friendship?”

“No!” Lionel seemed a little angry, “It’s just for fun. Can you stop being like my father, and stop making my life so utilitarian? Arthur seems like a decent guy. It’s better to hang out with him than those arrogant old men. I need to find some fun in my life!”

With that, Lionel strode out of the trading hall angrily.

“Young master!” The old servant called out to him, but Lionel ignored him.

Seeing this, the old servant could only shake his head helplessly, “He’s still not mature enough. A Rothschild man can’t be so childish.”

…

The setting sun cast a golden glow over the city. A public carriage, its roof piled high with luggage, contained four large men crammed together.

Elder whistled, grinning, “Arthur! Your new home is actually at Lancaster Gate. That’s not far from my uncle’s house.”

Arthur leaned against the window, replying nonchalantly, “Alright, alright, I know you live in Mayfair. You can walk two steps and see Buckingham Palace. You can even see St. James’s Park from your window.”

Elder rolled his eyes, “Arthur, I’m not trying to show off today!”

Arthur glanced at him, “Then that means you were showing off before?”

Elder laughed and poked his chest, “Can you be a little less petty, man? It’s my uncle’s property, not mine. Hey, I want to talk to you about something. Can I move in with you?”

“Sure!” Arthur agreed without hesitation.

Elder’s face lit up with joy, “Really?”

Arthur nodded, then pulled out the loan documents and glanced at them, then reached out to Elder, “Rent, 3 pounds 8 shillings a month.”

“Are you kidding me?” Elder glared, “I thought I was living in gold! Two shillings a week, I can’t afford more.”

Arthur scoffed, “Fine, then you sleep in the bathroom.”

Elder flattered, “Arthur, don’t be so ruthless. For the sake of our friendship, three shillings a week.”

Arthur stared at him for a long time before finally nodding helplessly, “It’s really hard to get a good deal from you.”

“You agreed?” Elder hurriedly pulled out two one-pound notes from his pocket and stuffed them into Arthur’s hand, “I’ll pay for thirteen weeks in advance. The extra shilling is a gift from me.”

Seeing this, Darwin scratched his head, which was already showing signs of balding, and pulled out two notes as well, “It’s that cheap? Then I’ll rent one too.”

Arthur held the four one-pound notes in his hand, his eyes glancing at Dumas, “Fatty, what about you?”

Dumas said, “Mine? It’s an honor for me to live in your house. Don’t be ungrateful, you Brit.”

Arthur sighed, shaking his head, “Do you know why the British hate the French?”

“Why?”

Arthur stuffed the notes into his pocket, “It’s because the French don’t know how to be humble.”

“Humble?” Dumas scoffed, slapping his chest, “No one is more humble than the French!”

Seeing this, Elder couldn’t help but burst into laughter, pointing at him, “Exactly, that’s what we’re talking about.”

The four of them were chatting and laughing when suddenly, the carriage came to a sudden halt. Dumas didn’t stop in time and pressed Elder under him.

Elder was crushed and couldn’t help but roar, “Fatty! Get off me!”

Arthur knocked on the front window and asked the driver, “Sir, what’s going on?”

The driver took off his hat apologetically and replied, “There’s a bit of a traffic jam ahead. It might take a while.”

“Where are we now?”

“Marble Arch. If you’re in a hurry, you can get off here. I see you four gentlemen are all in good shape. You should be able to carry the luggage from the carriage to Lancaster Gate.”

Arthur stuck his head out and took a look. Sure enough, there was a long queue ahead.

He sighed and said to his companions, “Alright, let’s get off here. We’ll walk the rest of the way. It’s good exercise.”

The four of them opened the door and took the luggage off the carriage.

Just as they had unloaded everything, Arthur heard a passionate speech.

He turned his head and saw, across the railing on the other side of Hyde Park, a young man in a black tailcoat. He was giving a passionate speech to the audience below.

Unfortunately, compared to his excellent speaking skills, his audience was very small.

“I don’t care about any party or no party. I have no party affiliation. I stand here independently! But at the same time, I am a Conservative. I advocate for conserving everything good in our system. Furthermore, I am also a Radical. I radically demand to abolish everything bad in our system! Gentlemen, ladies, please vote for me. Voting for me is voting for the future of Great Britain!”

(End of chapter)