Chapter 40
In a cozy coffee shop, Elder and Arthur were discussing matters concerning the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Arts.
Suddenly, Officer Tom, who had been listening to Darwin’s lecture, abruptly stood up, apologetically nodded to Darwin, and then approached Arthur, whispering.
“Arthur, I’d like to take a leave of absence this afternoon.”
Arthur questioned, “Leave of absence? Something going on at home?”
Tom crossed his arms and lowered his head, looking somewhat distressed. “Well… there is something… something I need to attend to.”
Tony, who was sitting nearby, couldn’t help but scold, “Tom! You’re always so timid! Can’t you stand tall like a man? If you need to take leave, just take it. Why are you acting like you’ve done something wrong? Arthur isn’t Willocks, you think he’ll dock your pay?”
Tom angrily turned his head and glared at Tony. “I’m just feeling a bit guilty towards Arthur. It’s only been one day since he transferred us to the District Police Station and I’m already taking leave. It’s just so awkward!”
Arthur didn’t mind too much, but he could tell that Tom had something on his mind.
So, he pointed at the clock in the coffee shop and asked, “Taking leave is no big deal. But it’s almost noon, why don’t you stay and have lunch before you go. Don’t be shy today, I’m paying for all four of you.”
Eldred, sitting opposite Arthur, heard this and said with a grin, “Oh! Arthur! Being a police inspector is different, you’ve become so generous. How much do you earn a year, on paper?”
Arthur glanced at him and said calmly, “About a hundred pounds.”
“Even without counting your secret earnings, you make a hundred pounds? Ha! I won’t be polite then!”
Eldred turned his head and shouted to the barista at the counter, “Bring me four more oysters! And remember, make sure to remove the leech eggs!”
After saying this, Elder cheerfully asked Tom, “Brother, what do you want to eat? I’ll order it for you.”
Tom repeatedly waved his hands, “I don’t need anything. I’m in a hurry. I’ll skip lunch.”
Arthur took a sip of his coffee and asked casually, “What are you going to do, in such a rush? Is your wife about to give birth? If she’s about to give birth, I can give you a few more days off, no need to rush back.”
Tom saw how concerned Arthur was and couldn’t bear to keep it a secret any longer.
He touched the back of his head awkwardly, lowered his head, and said, “My wife is still a while away from giving birth, you don’t need to worry. I’m taking leave because of young Adam, today is the day he’s released from prison.”
Arthur frowned and asked, “What does Adam’s release have to do with you? Are you going to pick him up?”
Tony also chimed in, “Oh, Tom, you’re such a good guy. It’s not like the kid’s been locked up for the first time. He knows the way home.”
Tom’s face turned red, he stammered for a long time before finally mustering the courage to say.
“Arthur, Tony, you two probably don’t know. The day before yesterday, Adam’s gambling addict father got drunk and started a brawl on the street, severely injuring someone.
Yesterday, the verdict of the court came out. The final judgment was fourteen years of exile in Australia, plus a twenty-pound fine.
When I went to Adam’s house to collect the fine, as ordered by the court, I found out that Adam’s mother had already run away with all the valuables in the house.
His father is exiled, his mother is missing. You know what kind of fate awaits a child in this situation.
Either they end up working as child laborers in factories and die on the production line. Or they continue to steal and rob on the streets, and if they’re unlucky, they could be beaten to death in broad daylight.
Either way, he won’t live to adulthood.
Last night, I told my wife about this, and she said that we might as well adopt Adam.
I thought about it, and what my wife said makes sense.
We’re poor, but… but a child is a child, one or two, it’s the same, it shouldn’t… shouldn’t be a big deal… ”
After listening to Tom’s story, everyone present remained silent, their eyes fixed on Tom, all of them breaking into smiles.
Tom’s face was burning red, he bashfully waved his hands, “What are you all staring at me for?”
Eldred, holding a toothpick in his mouth, gave Tom a thumbs up, “Awesome, brother!”
Darwin closed his book and said, “Officer Tom, you kept apologizing to me just now, saying you were too stupid and couldn’t learn no matter how much I taught you. But in my opinion, being stupid isn’t the problem, it’s lacking a conscience that’s the issue.”
Tony gave him a slap on the head, he casually laughed and scolded, “Damn it, you! I thought you were going to do something wicked! Why keep this to yourself?”
As for Arthur, he stood up, patted Tom on the shoulder, and said with a smile, “Tom, everyone says that I’m the most courageous man in Scotland Yard. But I disagree. Because in my opinion, you’re the most courageous man in Scotland Yard!”
Hearing this, Tom’s bright red face finally couldn’t help but show a hint of a smile.
He was sweating profusely, but that didn’t stop him from standing at attention and giving Arthur the most standard salute.
“Learning from you, sir!”
Arthur patted his arm, pulled out two banknotes from his pocket and stuffed them into his pocket. “Go. You can skip lunch, but you still have to eat my meal today. No refusal allowed, because this is an order.”
“Yes, sir!”
Arthur watched Tom walk out of the coffee shop, feeling that the dark clouds and drizzle outside had become somewhat beautiful.
“Everyone, feel free to order whatever you want.”
Just as he finished speaking, the bell in the coffee shop rang again.
A police officer in uniform pushed the door open, looked around, and when he spotted Arthur, he immediately ran towards him.
“Sir, someone came to the District Police Station and said they wanted to see you.”
“See me? Is it someone reporting a crime?”
The officer shook his head, “Probably not. That person has been coming for several days in a row. But you were on leave the past few days, so they missed you. Today, they knew you were here, and they insisted on seeing you.”
Eldred sucked on the oyster that had just been served, muttering, “What kind of person is that? So stubborn?”
The officer seemed to be just as speechless about the uninvited guest, he replied, “Anyway, he’s a weird person, but he doesn’t look like a thug. He’s dressed properly, and he’s wearing a cross on his chest, he looks like a priest.”
“A priest?” Eldred teased Arthur, “Don’t tell me it’s a member of the extreme pure sect of the State Church, deliberately coming to cause trouble for you, a non-State Church believer? Arthur, if you can’t outsmart him later, just convert on the spot, it’ll save a lot of trouble.”
Actually, Arthur himself didn’t care much about religious beliefs, he didn’t believe in the State Church simply because there were too many State Church churches in London.
Because Scotland Yard had a troublesome rule, if a police officer was a member of the State Church, they had to go to church for a service every Sunday morning in a group.
Arthur, in order to take a lazy day on Sunday, had pretended to be a Catholic.
And he had always claimed to be a fundamentalist, so for him, all the churches in London were not genuine, not authentic, and did not conform to his understanding of the church, so he refused to participate in any religious activities organized by Scotland Yard.
If it weren’t for the fact that non-believers were not yet fully accepted by society in this era, Arthur wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths.
He listened to the officer’s words and sighed helplessly, “Forget it, take me to meet him.”
(End of Chapter)