## Chapter 216: The Russian Maid
It was Friday, Arthur’s usual workday, but since relinquishing his direct jurisdiction over the police districts, he could now allocate his working hours to himself instead of being stuck in the office at 4 Whitehall Street.
Although his workload had significantly decreased compared to his previous duties, Arthur wasn’t exactly slacking off.
In an inconspicuous corner cafe in London’s West End, Arthur was sipping his tea, his sharp black eyes scanning the newly crowned Queen of the Tower Hamlets, Miss Fiona Ivan, sitting across from him.
Arthur found it amusing to see the fair-haired woman, who was outwardly fragile but possessed a fiery temper, sitting with her chin slightly lowered, head drooping, eyes darting nervously, and hands clasped on her lap, as if she had done something wrong.
Arthur spoke, “I told you to cut down on the laudanum. It does have a calming and pain-relieving effect, but excessive intake can lead to addiction, and in severe cases, seizures, dizziness, vomiting, and other adverse reactions.
Moreover, the pleasure it brings is always fleeting. Once the hallucinations fade, your mood plunges into a prolonged low. If this continues, your mental state will deteriorate.”
Fiona, in response to Arthur’s well-meaning advice, simply winked playfully with her deep grey eyes.
“Please, Mr. Hastings. I know I should control the dosage, but you have to understand how draining it is to manage a criminal gang of a hundred people.
If I can’t rely on some little life’s condiments to regulate my mood, I’ll be driven mad by those fools. You must have heard about the incident at the West India Docks last week?
One of my stupid donkeys actually got into a fight with a dock worker over a weaver, and they even used guns. Thankfully, no one died, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to explain it to you.”
Arthur took a sip of his tea, finding it a bit bitter. He reached for the tin pot filled with milk and added a little to his cup.
“How to explain it to me? It’s simple. Send him to Scotland Yard, and everyone will be happy. Don’t forget the rules we established. If your people commit minor offenses, I’ll turn a blind eye.
But if they commit serious crimes, or acts of treason, then I’m sorry, even if I want to help, I can’t. Although Tower Hamlets is no longer under my responsibility, Inspector Braeden Jones, who recently got promoted, should still be taking good care of you, right?”
Arthur’s voice sounded gentle. Combined with the bright sunshine and the scene of a man and a woman having lunch, it could almost be considered sweet talk.
However, to Fiona, who had been scrabbling in the bottom ranks for years, this was a subtle expression of dissatisfaction with her current work progress.
Although this criticism wasn’t harsh, Fiona dared not take it lightly.
She was well aware of how difficult it was for women to make a mark in this era.
For those living in the materialistic 19th-century London, everything was very real.
And this was even more directly and bloodily reflected in the underworld.
Rowan dared not touch Arthur not because he feared Arthur’s outstanding abilities, but because he didn’t dare to clash head-on with Lord Brougham and the upcoming London University faction.
Fiona’s ability to stay on top wasn’t due to her management skills, but because the thugs simply didn’t have the guts to challenge a Scotland Yard inspector.
Perhaps due to years of experience, Fiona had understood a truth early on – capable people abound, but those with connections are rare.
Many believe that when facing difficulties, ability can solve problems. But they overlook one point: to solve problems, connections can also be enough, and their usefulness goes far beyond that, which is something ordinary capable individuals cannot achieve.
Therefore, despite Fiona’s seemingly unstoppable momentum, her ability to make countless domineering thugs kneel before her with a flick of her skirt in Tower Hamlets, even if she ordered them to lick her shoes like lapdogs, they wouldn’t object.
But if Arthur withdrew his support, or even showed the slightest sign of wavering in front of her subordinates, then Fiona wouldn’t need Scotland Yard to intervene. She would soon be torn apart and devoured by sharks smelling blood.
At that point, even returning to her initial situation of partnering with her companions to run scams would be a good outcome for Fiona.
However, for this lady who had been mingling with men for years, instead of giving a serious answer, a few witty remarks would be more useful.
She propped her chin with her delicate wrist, adorned with a lace glove, and leaned slightly forward, bringing her scent of expensive lavender perfume, distinctly different from a few months ago, closer to Arthur’s nostrils.
She propped her chin with her delicate wrist, adorned with a lace glove, and leaned slightly forward, bringing her scent of expensive lavender perfume, distinctly different from a few months ago, closer to Arthur’s nostrils.
Fiona blew a breath into Arthur’s ear, “So, are you trying to punish me?”
To Fiona’s implication, Arthur calmly put down his coffee cup and then nonchalantly pulled out the pride of a Scotland Yard officer, his “civilian cane,” from his trench coat and tapped it on the table. “Are you sure?”
Fiona looked at the cane, her eyelids twitching three times. “Although I know you’re always violent, but this…”
Arthur said calmly, “Cut it out, Fiona. You’re lucky today because my flintlock pistol is with Mr. Whiston. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be giving you a little lesson with a cane.”
The Red Devil, sitting at the next table, somehow managed to get hold of a blonde wig and even conjured up a pair of eyes like Fiona’s, after applying belladonna eye drops.
The Red Devil clasped his hands together, using his intentionally disgusting crimson lips to mimic Fiona’s inner monologue, “Damn it, who can tell this old lady, where the hell did this Arthur Hastings come from?”
Arthur’s hand, holding the porcelain teacup, paused. He stared at Fiona’s beautiful face and said, “If you want to curse me, feel free to say it to my face. I can handle that much. If you feel better after cursing me, at least you can drink one less bottle of laudanum when you go back, which will definitely be good for your work performance.”
“Curse you? No, no, Mr. Hastings, you must have misunderstood. I can’t help but admire you. You probably don’t know, guys like you are always popular with girls.”
Fiona’s smile was radiant, her face, covered in pale concealer, showed no sign of blushing. Moreover, she cooperatively raised her arm and compared it to the cane on the table.
“You see, even if I don’t look at your handsome face and strong physique, I have to fear your strength, right? Look, this stick is almost as thick as my forearm. If I get hit by it, I might be bedridden for days. A girl can’t withstand that. You better take that to deal with those toughest lads in London, like that Fred, for example.”
Arthur heard this, merely smoothing his hair. “Very good, Fiona. It’s one thing to crack dirty jokes in front of me. But you dare to question my sexual orientation? Do you really think I can’t tell?”
Fiona, hearing this, her radiant smile froze abruptly. “You… You actually understand… No, what are you saying? How dare I mock you, after all, there are thirty or forty girls in Tower Hamlets who rely on you for their meals. Why don’t I bring them all here for you to see, just because I don’t catch your eye, doesn’t mean they can’t.”
Arthur impatiently tapped the table with his finger. “Fiona, I’m not talking about girls now, I’m talking about you. You provoked me, what am I going to find them for?”
“You…” Fiona, hearing this, stared at Arthur for a while, then glanced at the cane on the table, and then showed a helpless expression. “Are you serious?”
Arthur shook his head. “Although I’m not very civilized, I wouldn’t go so far as to hit a lady directly. But you can’t just let those words go. Alright, I have a job for you. If you can complete it smoothly, then what happened just now will be forgotten. But if you screw up, then the reward for tailing Mrs. Hestherington and Norton will be…”
Fiona was furious when she heard this, after all this time, this Scotland Yard inspector, who was a few years younger than her, was just trying to cheat her.
She knew from the start, there were no good people in the police, and men were almost all bad. Even if these two identities were combined, they couldn’t make a positive.
But before she could finish cursing Arthur in her heart, she heard the gentle voice again.
Arthur smiled, “But Fiona, don’t be so quick to get angry. In return, if you can complete this next mission, not only will the previous mission reward be paid as usual, but I’ll pay you double.
The reason I’m telling you this is not because I want to shirk the reward you deserve. But the Criminal Investigation Department I’m in charge of has almost no office funds. And the other organization I control is a temporary one, so naturally, it doesn’t enjoy financial allocation.
But if you can pull this off, then I have confidence in applying to the higher-ups to turn the temporary organization into a permanent one. In that case, I will naturally have money.
Or, even if I can’t make it permanent, at least I can use this to apply to the Home Office for a special bonus. Once I have money, I can naturally pay you.”
Fiona, hearing this, gradually calmed down, she pursed her lips and put on a pure and bright smile again. “So, Mr. Hastings, what is the mission this time?”
Arthur pulled out a folded job advertisement from his inner coat pocket and threw it in front of Fiona. “Your last name is Ivan, and your father was a second-generation Russian immigrant to London. I really hope he taught you Russian or German before he passed away, otherwise, your beautiful exotic looks will be wasted.”
Fiona unfolded the advertisement, just glanced at it, and then looked up in surprise. “You want me to go to the Russian embassy to apply for a job as a maid?”
(End of chapter)