## Chapter 163: Royal Scandal and the Little Boy
The old man, leaning on his cane, shuffled along, his gaze wandering. Suddenly, he raised his head and spotted Eldred ahead.
“Good afternoon, Eldred!” he greeted, with a casual wave of his hand. “How’s your uncle doing these days?”
Eldred doffed his hat, offering a stiff smile. “He’s doing well, thank you for asking. Unfortunately, he was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet last month, otherwise he would have been here for the party today.”
The old man nodded slightly, then turned his attention to Arthur. “And who is this?”
Eldred hastily introduced him. “This is my friend, Arthur Hastings, a scientist invited by General Codrington for today’s gathering. He’s also a Scotland Yard Inspector.”
“A policeman?” The old man scoffed, a disdainful curl to his lips. “I despise policemen.”
With that, the old man, leaning heavily on his cane, continued on his way, leaving Arthur and Eldred behind. A short while later, they heard a commotion coming from the drawing-room.
“General Smith, you’re here?”
“Why, can’t I be?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just heard from my colleagues at the Admiralty that you’ve moved to Paris, so I thought you wouldn’t be in London.”
“Don’t you know Paris is in the throes of revolution? It’s not exactly peaceful these days. I’m an old man, I can’t handle all that commotion, so I came back to London for some peace and quiet. I’ll go back when things calm down. Hmm… who’s this? Oh, Cochrane! I thought you swore you’d never return to Britain. What’s this? Looks like you’ve finally caved to the Admiralty?”
“That’s all in the past, General Smith. Remember how I supported you and General Pellow in Parliament when you blockaded Toulon? You could at least be a little gentler with your words.”
“Toulon? You dare mention Toulon? You were the one who suggested using ships loaded with explosives to attack Toulon in a suicide mission! You haven’t been on the front lines commanding a fleet, so you have no idea what kind of bullsh*t you’re proposing.
Thank goodness the Admiralty, for once, actually used their brains and didn’t listen to you. If we used all our ships for suicide attacks, are you going to have me command a fleet of sardines?”
“It was my suggestion, but you have to consider its merits. I used fire ships to successfully defeat the French Brest fleet led by Allemand in the Basque Roads campaign.
If Gambier, that bastard, hadn’t forced me to retreat, I could have completely wiped out the French, achieving a victory no less glorious than Trafalgar, or at least something like the victory at the Nile.
But Gambier, that goddamn cur! He rejected my fire attack plan before the battle, accusing me of ‘cruelty’ and ‘warfare against Christian morals’. When he saw the success of my fire attack, he immediately ordered me to stop pursuing and retreat.
The most ridiculous thing is that he sent me to a court-martial afterwards. Tell me, isn’t he a f*cking bastard?”
“Alright, alright, calm down. It’s been twenty years. But I agree with you, Gambier is a f*cking bastard. You, me, and Eliab Harvey, we all agree on this. James Gambier simply doesn’t have the military skills and basic competence to command a fleet.
He just relies on his seniority. He joined the Royal Navy in 1768, finished his apprenticeship, and happened to catch the tailwind of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. So, right after passing the Admiralty exam, he landed a captain’s position.
Even with constant battles, it still took him almost 20 years, until 1794, to get promoted from frigate captain to battleship captain. Then, this dog, relying on his seniority, was promoted to rear admiral. Next, he got a cushy office job at the Admiralty.
You know what happened next. Our honest and loyal General Gambier suddenly received God’s favor, rising from rear admiral to vice admiral to admiral in just ten years.
By the way, I heard Codrington say that Gambier, together with Williams-Freeman and Charles Pole, were promoted to Admirals of the Fleet this year. Has the Admiralty lost their minds?”
“What can we do? Our Admiral Gambier is close to the King. You know, our King served in North America for twelve years…”
Eldred turned his head towards the drawing-room, his face contorted in disbelief.
Soon, he noticed the three naval captains who had been in the drawing-room earlier, emerging with sweat dripping down their faces.
Arthur, seeing them, couldn’t help but ask, “Did you guys run out of matches too?”
The three captains exchanged wry smiles.
Captain Fitzroy spoke up, “Compared to being stuck in that drawing-room, buying matches might be a better option.”
Franklin complained, “Why isn’t General Codrington here yet? Only he can make those two calm down.”
Sir Elliot, hearing this, sighed helplessly. “Forget it. Thomas Cochrane, although junior in rank, refused to obey even Admiral Gambier’s orders back in the day. He was court-martialed, and he directly called Gambier a coward and indecisive in court. He then went on to criticize the Admiralty in Parliament for its corruption, incompetence, and rigid management.
As for Sidney Smith, he’s older than Codrington and retired as an admiral.
Most importantly, when he was in the Mediterranean, he didn’t even take Nelson seriously. His detachment went wherever it pleased, entering and leaving Egyptian waters without requesting permission from Nelson, the commander of the Egyptian waters. He repeatedly bypassed the Foreign Office and secretly signed armistice agreements with the French army. You can let Codrington deal with the Ottomans, but he’s definitely not going to handle these two.”
Eldred couldn’t help but mutter, “Are those the most famous things about Smith? I heard he was rumored to have gotten Caroline, the Queen, pregnant back in his younger days.”
Captain Fitzroy, hearing this, quickly glared at Eldred, warning him. “Don’t mention that. It’s still unclear how that happened. Smith was just involved, but didn’t it also involve Sir Thomas Lawrence and George Canning?”
Eldred was shocked. “What! Those two were involved too?”
Hearing this, Arthur quickly pulled Eldred away, apologizing to the captains behind them as they walked. “Sorry, we need to step out for a moment. Eldred and I need to buy matches for General Cochrane.”
With that, he quickly led Eldred out of Codrington’s mansion. Only when they reached the street, with the setting sun and the flow of carriages in view, did Arthur’s pace slow down.
They stood by the red wall on the side of the road. Arthur took out his pipe and matchbox, taking a long drag.
Smoke billowed up, and Arthur tossed the matchbox to Eldred.
Eldred was about to light his cigarette, but before he could strike a match, he heard Arthur ask, “About Queen Caroline…”
Eldred, upon hearing that name, almost burned his hand with the match.
He spat out a mouthful of saliva, replying, “You’re so eager to hear this, why did you drag me out here?”
Arthur shrugged. “The person involved is sitting inside. I was worried he might hear it and affect your great future.”
Eldred, hearing this, didn’t mind. He replied,
“It’s nothing really. Our old King George IV, when he was still Prince of Wales, had a strained relationship with his wife, Caroline. They even formally separated after Caroline gave birth to Princess Charlotte. And when George IV became king, he wanted to kick her out completely.
You know, Caroline fought a long legal battle for her title. With both her spirit and body empty, wouldn’t she seek comfort from other arms?”
Arthur, hearing this, nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Makes sense. Continue.”
Having received Arthur’s affirmation, Eldred began to recount, with a gleam in his eyes, the gossip he had gathered from various sources.
“You heard earlier, Caroline’s rumored lovers were three.
George Canning was the most prominent politician in Britain at the time,
Sir Thomas Lawrence was considered the best portrait painter in England,
And Sidney Smith was a shining star alongside Nelson, a famous eccentric in the Admiralty.
While those rumors might not be true, these three men had many enemies because of their personalities and achievements. Perhaps those rumors were spread by their political rivals to attack them.
But it’s confirmed that Caroline’s belly grew while she was separated from the King, and she was close to those three men during that period.
As for whether those three men were actually responsible, that’s unclear. But in my opinion, the most likely candidate might be Sidney Smith.”
Arthur, hearing this, looked at Eldred with a newfound respect. “Eldred, I think I finally understand your capabilities. You’d be wasting your talent if you didn’t do intelligence work. Your dedication to research and pursuit of minute details is truly remarkable!”
Eldred was startled. “What? Are you suggesting I join the Admiralty’s Geographical Survey and Topographical Information Statistics Department after I return from my global voyage? They do nautical intelligence. But I heard it’s quite demanding. I’m not sure if my free-spirited nature can handle it.”
“Of course it can,” Arthur laughed. “Listen to me, would I ever lie to you?”
As Arthur finished speaking, he suddenly felt a bump against his waist.
He turned his head sharply, only to see a young boy, about ten years old, with his hands clasped, wearing a torn felt hat and a dirty face, standing behind him.
The boy blinked, speaking in a Scottish accent, different from the London dialect, in a broken voice. “S-sir, please, please have mercy on me. I haven’t eaten in two days.”
Arthur first looked around at the crowd, making sure there were no police nearby, before reaching into his pocket and placing a coin in the boy’s hand.
“Son, if you come to the West End to beg, you shouldn’t do it on this street. The police patrol here very frequently. If they catch you, you won’t be thrown in jail, but you’ll definitely get a beating or be sent to the workhouse.”
The boy stared at the silver coin in his palm, barely believing his luck.
It was a half-crown, worth two and a half shillings.
“Is… is this really for me? S-sir, I’ve never seen anyone as generous as you.”
Arthur just smiled and gestured towards Eldred beside him. “Generous? No, you think I’m generous because you haven’t met the gentleman beside me. Let him show you what true generosity is.”
Eldred wanted to make a hasty retreat, but Arthur’s words, combined with the sight of several ladies and gentlemen getting out of their carriages and smiling at them, forced him to reach into his pocket and pull out a silver coin even larger than Arthur’s, placing it in the boy’s palm.
“Take this, a crown. It’s a token of my gratitude, my boy. Go get something good to eat.”
The boy, seeing this, couldn’t help but smile with joy. He doffed his hat and bowed. “Thank you, kind sir.”
Just as he was about to happily take his newfound treasure and enjoy a good meal, he suddenly heard Eldred calling out behind him.
“Wait! Boy!”
Eldred rushed to the boy, glancing at the ladies and gentlemen who had already walked away, then awkwardly took the half-crown Arthur had given the boy. “Son, you forgot to give me my change.”
(End of Chapter)