## Chapter 144: The London Command Bureau’s First Order
**144. Chapter 144: The London Command Bureau’s First Order**
London, Bayswater, 36 Lancaster Gate.
Night had fallen, and the stars were out in full force.
A gentle breeze swept over Hyde Park, causing the branches of the maple and birch trees to tremble in unison.
Inside the dining room on the first floor, a long ivory table was laden with steaming dishes.
Alexandre Dumas, pointing at the covered food platter in front of him, proudly introduced the evening’s meal to the assembled guests, who were holding forks and knives.
“Gentlemen, and ladies who exist only in my imagination, allow me to proudly present to you the main course of tonight!”
Charles Darwin, who had been completely captivated by Dumas’s culinary skills these past few days, couldn’t contain his eagerness.
“Alexandre, stop teasing, what are we eating tonight?”
Eldred chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “We’re eating something good tonight. After Fatso and I saw a play in the West End, we were planning to go hunting in the countryside, but we actually stumbled upon something good!”
Dumas couldn’t help but glare at Eldred. “I should really give you a good scolding, but considering you threw yourself into the river to catch the prey, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Eldred, chewing on his spoon, said, “Come on, Fatso, hurry up. I’ve been looking forward to this meal since I got home. Lift the lid, or the meat will get cold.”
Dumas, hearing this, didn’t waste any time. He lifted the lid, revealing a white steam rising from the pot, and a bowl of golden-colored soup with oil floating on top appeared before everyone.
He cleared his throat and said, “Allow me to introduce to you this grand meal – Black Swan Stewed with White Radish, with a side of Ukseilles Sauce!”
Arthur, who had been reading the newspaper with a cup of tea in his hand, was startled, almost spilling his tea all over himself.
“Black Swan Stewed with White Radish?” Arthur put down his newspaper and looked at the soup bowl. “Where did you get the swan?”
Darwin, also taken aback by the name, shuddered, his face turning pale. “Eldred! Alexandre is clueless, but you should know better. Why didn’t you tell him? Don’t you know that all the swans in Great Britain belong to the Royal Family?”
Dumas was bewildered. “Why do you British people always have these strange rules?”
Eldred’s face also changed color. He winked at Dumas while trying to smooth things over. “What black swan?! Alexandre, can you stop talking nonsense! This is clearly just a duck! Didn’t we agree on that?”
He then picked up a piece of meat with a soup spoon from the bowl, pointing at it and saying, “Besides, ask it yourself, is it a swan? It looks like a wild duck at first glance! Charles, you can’t even tell the difference between a duck and a swan, and you dare call yourself a naturalist? If ducks and swans are the same, then are you and a monkey the same species?”
Darwin’s face flushed red under Eldred’s words. He snatched the soup spoon, picked up the piece of meat, and threw it into his mouth. He chewed for a few bites before widening his eyes and angrily cursing, “Eldred, you think I haven’t eaten duck before? This thing can’t be a goose!”
Eldred, seeing this, quickly pointed at Darwin and revealed to Arthur, “See, Arthur, you saw it yourself. Charles ate the King’s swan.”
Arthur, seeing this, could only put down his newspaper and said awkwardly to Darwin, “Charles, I know this might be a bit difficult. But if you’re not willing to change your story, I can only work overtime and send you to the Scotland Yard jail. But don’t worry, I’ve checked the jail food menu for this week, it’s black bread with potatoes, it’s not as good as the white radish stewed with black swan, but it won’t starve you.”
Darwin, hearing this, was forced to suppress his rising anger. He scratched his ‘wisdom peak’, which was becoming increasingly sparse with vegetation, smacked his lips, and asked hesitantly.
“Could it be that I did eat a duck?”
Arthur nodded sympathetically. “Charles, you’re still young, we allow you to make mistakes. Don’t even mention mistaking a duck for a swan, even if you said Eldred was a monkey, I would still give you full understanding.”
Darwin, hearing this, could only cover his eyes and said insincerely, “It’s indeed a duck, not a swan.”
Dumas, uncomfortable, pursed his lips. “You British people are so troublesome. All the swans in the country belong to the Royal Family, such a rule, you wouldn’t know if you thought I was in the Middle Ages. In France, we treat these things like dogs, it’s not something precious.”
Arthur loosened his neck and said, “You’re right, it’s indeed a law passed down from the Middle Ages. It’s just that Parliament has been too lazy to amend it, and no one wants to offend His Majesty. After all, the King of England is now almost a mascot, it’s not a wise move for a mature politician to anger the Royal Family’s sensitive nerves for such a trivial matter, especially since their power has been shrinking.”
Dumas helped himself to a bowl of soup. “Why don’t you revise a Civil Code like Napoleon? Simple, clear, and easy to check. Frankly, a modern country still using medieval laws, it sounds like a joke.
I finally understand why your judges place so much importance on past precedents, maybe they just don’t want to dig through a pile of junk to find centuries-old laws. Maybe they’ll even find Jesus’s shroud in there.”
He spoke while picking up a piece of meat from his bowl with a soup spoon, suddenly, Dumas frowned. “Why does it feel like there’s not enough? Arthur, did we have mice in the house?”
Arthur glanced at the Red Devil who was leaning against the windowsill, comfortably belching, and the book cover with a raven painted on it that he was holding in his hand. He just shook his head slightly.
He picked up his fork and sent his piece of swan meat into his mouth. While savoring its taste, he frowned and said, “It tastes like a regular goose?”
Speaking of which, Arthur couldn’t help but ask, “Alexandre, by the way, is your manuscript finished?”
Dumas replied leisurely, “Didn’t I go out with Eldred today?”
“What about yesterday?”
“Yesterday? Yesterday was even more interesting.”
Dumas said cheerfully, “After I finished lunch yesterday, I went to the Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park to digest and find inspiration. I met a very interesting guy there, his speech attracted a lot of listeners. Even many street vendors couldn’t help but put down their work and stand outside the wall to listen to his speech, the expressions on their faces clearly showed they weren’t paid to be there.”
Arthur, hearing this, immediately felt something was wrong.
He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. “Really? What did he talk about?”
“Nothing too serious, just encouraging workers to fight for their rights, persuading factory owners to reduce working hours. Oh, he also advocated for the establishment of pre-school education, sending eligible children to school to learn things.”
Arthur, after taking a sip of tea, said, “I think I know who you’re talking about. That speaker, was it Robert Owen? He’s been traveling around, engaging in various political activities and leading the workers’ movement since he returned to Britain last year.”
Dumas was stunned. “You know him? Oh, but of course, you’re a Scotland Yard policeman. It would be strange if you didn’t know him. If it were in France, Mr. Owen would have been invited to the Paris Police Headquarters for a chat. Damn it! Maybe I shouldn’t have told you this. Now that you know he’s giving a speech in Hyde Park, you’re probably going to go chase him away tomorrow, right?”
“Chase him away? Not really.” Arthur held his teacup and said, “Although I’ve always thought Britain is a cesspool, the good thing about a cesspool is that you can throw anything into it. Otherwise, how could you, a Republican, live in a constitutional monarchy like Britain?
Maybe Mr. Owen’s ideas are a bit too radical for the authorities, but as long as they don’t pose a significant threat, he can stay here.
Like I said before, the King is almost a mascot now, so the old days of arresting people based on personal preferences are gone.
Not to mention, there are a few members of Parliament who support some of Mr. Owen’s views. Besides opposing the idea of communal property, they have some supporters in reducing working hours and establishing juvenile education.”
Eldred, hearing this, also said in disgust, “Why should we have communal property? My money is made on the ship, day by day! I don’t want to share my hard-earned money with those idle Irish drunkards.”
Arthur asked, “What if it’s your and your uncle’s property that’s being shared?”
“My uncle?” Eldred’s eyes lit up. He slapped the table. “How could I have missed this! So communal property is a choice?”
Darwin, hearing this, shrugged helplessly. “Eldred, that’s not communal property, that’s highway robbery. And you don’t want to use a knife, but you want to steal from your uncle.”
“Ha!” Eldred rolled his eyes. “Turns out this Robert Owen just wants to use my hard-earned money to feed those rough Irish people.”
Dumas, hearing this, couldn’t help but ask Arthur with interest, “I thought you weren’t interested in this issue, but you seem to know a lot about it.”
Arthur leaned back in his chair and stretched. “It’s just part of the job. After all, if you don’t even understand your potential work targets, what’s the point of being an inspector? Anyone can do the job of carrying handcuffs and arresting people.”
Dumas saw him starting to joke again and pressed further, refusing to give him any leeway. “So what do you think about communal property?”
Arthur just smiled. “I’m a Scotland Yard policeman, I don’t have personal political views.”
“Really?” Dumas was somewhat disappointed. “I thought you were different from other policemen. But then again, how could I have the illusion that there are good people among the police?”
Arthur, hearing this, took a sip of tea and said, “However, I can relay some other people’s views, such as John Locke’s famous saying.”
“Oh? What did he say?”
Arthur smiled and put down his teacup. “Property cannot be communal, power cannot be private. Although I think Mr. Locke’s statement may be too absolute, but if you say it the other way around, if property is communal, it will lead to private power, which is another novel understanding.
Mr. Owen’s ideals are indeed beautiful, but he ran communal farms in America for several years, and everyone saw what happened in the end. Maybe the beautiful new world he talks about will be realized one day, but I’m pessimistic, I’m sure I won’t live to see that day.
So rather than his grand slogans, I’d rather see the few proposals he actually put forward, like reducing working hours and establishing juvenile skills schools. If these are realized, I think at least the problem of juvenile crime in London will be greatly alleviated.”
The Red Devil, hearing this, couldn’t help but rub his hands together and step forward, smiling. “Oh! My dear Arthur, why would you not live to see that day? As long as you want it, heaven will appear before your eyes.”
Arthur, hearing this, just took a sip of tea. “Those who promise heaven to mankind often bring hell to earth. I have no illusions about heaven, because I know what world I live in.”
Dumas, hearing this, thought for a moment. He asked, “Are you interested in going to listen to Mr. Owen’s speech tomorrow?”
Arthur smiled and pulled out a Home Office document from the bag behind him.
“Actually, even if you didn’t invite me, I would still go, this is my focus for the next while.”
Dumas’s eyebrows twitched, he vaguely saw the word ‘Top Secret’ on the document.
“You’re going to monitor Mr. Owen? Don’t you British people love to talk about freedom? Is this British freedom?”
Arthur wrote a few lines on the document first, then glanced at him.
He smiled, rested his hand on the table, and clasped his fingers together, resting his chin on them. “What do you think, Alexandre? Freedom isn’t about doing whatever you want, it’s about being able to not do whatever you don’t want. Besides, it’s better for me to monitor Mr. Owen than for the Army to do it, isn’t it?”
(End of Chapter)