Chapter 51
Arthur, dressed in civilian clothes, stood at the entrance of St. Giles parish.
Closing his eyes, he could feel the worldly hustle and bustle, the cacophony of hawking and the chatter of passersby, as if this place were no different from the other opulent squares and streets of London’s West End.
In reality, St. Giles did indeed have its own glorious past.
In the 16th century, St. Giles parish was merely a rural area outside London, with only a few scattered villages and a few dozen families who had lived there for generations.
However, an act passed in 1541 changed the fate of this region. Due to the increasingly crowded living conditions in London, Parliament intended to expand the city towards its outskirts. A road was paved from Holborn Bar to St. Giles Church.
With the construction of this road, many of London’s upper-class residents began to frequent the area for leisure. They enjoyed hunting rabbits and foxes in the Marylebone Black Forest near St. Giles parish.
As these upper-class individuals arrived, St. Giles parish began to prosper, and its population began to climb steadily.
During the reign of Charles II, an upscale residential area called the Seven Dials was gradually established in St. Giles parish.
The number of houses here quickly increased from a few dozen to a target of 2,000.
In the 1720 London map, it was difficult to find any vacant land in St. Giles parish.
However, this luxurious upper-class community rapidly transformed into a gathering place for the poor and a haven for criminals after entering the 18th century.
The most important reason for this was the large-scale development of other parishes in London’s West End.
During this wave of development, St. Giles parish remained stagnant due to the chaotic ownership of land in the area, preventing it from undergoing any renovations.
Many houses became dilapidated due to lack of maintenance and upkeep.
The wealthy fled the area, and the widening gap between the rich and poor gave some individuals stronger purchasing power. They began to favor noble estates like country houses built in the suburbs, abandoning the once-favored St. Giles parish.
After the wealthy departed, the poor and the destitute discovered the value of St. Giles parish.
First, it was conveniently located, close to Covent Garden Market, Soho’s commercial district, Westminster Abbey, and the Thames River docks.
These places offered ample job opportunities, supporting a large population engaged in physical labor in the service industry.
They began to occupy the empty houses left behind by the wealthy. They came from diverse backgrounds: Irish, English, Scottish, and even French. Although their cultures differed, these individuals shared one commonality.
They were all foreigners who had been unable to make a living in their homelands and had been forced to seek work in London.
The landlords of St. Giles parish also saw the unique value in these individuals.
Therefore, since the influx of the poor began, the urban scale of St. Giles parish did not shrink; instead, it expanded even faster than when the wealthy lived there.
The construction of houses accelerated year after year, and the once-spacious avenues were squeezed by ever-extending shanties. Various unsuitable living spaces were built onto the existing houses.
The reputation that St. Giles had accumulated over two centuries was completely destroyed within a few decades.
According to statistics from the non-profit organization “The Society for the Suppression of Mendicity,” over a quarter of London’s beggars now came from this parish.
Yet, this was the place where young Adam had spent the first nine years of his life.
Arthur looked at young Adam, who was being led by Tom, and said, “Adam, I’m sorry to bring you back here.”
Young Adam was no longer the same person he had been in court.
His yellowish hair, which had once covered his eyes, was cut short. He wore a deep blue jumpsuit and a white frilled shawl sewn over his shoulders as decoration.
Although the texture of the clothes indicated that they were not made of expensive materials, the stitching on the shawl revealed that Mrs. Tom had put a lot of effort into it.
Adam looked up at Arthur and blinked.
“Mr. Hastings, you don’t need to apologize. Actually, I’ve always wanted to come back. I have some things left here. Maybe I don’t need them now, but I can give them to someone else.”
Hearing this, Tony couldn’t help but ask, “Adam, are you sure those things are still there? Didn’t your scoundrel mother take all the valuable things in the house…?”
Before Tony could finish, Tom glared and punched him hard in the stomach.
Tony winced in pain and couldn’t help but scold, “Damn it! Tom, what are you doing?”
Tom ignored Tony and squatted down to speak to Adam. “Adam, don’t listen to his nonsense. Your mother just went to visit relatives. You’ll stay at my place for now. Of course, even if your mother comes back, you can stay at my place. You can stay wherever you want.”
Adam pursed his lips, not saying a word, and simply walked in front of Tom.
Tom asked gently, “Adam, what’s wrong?”
Adam stared at his face for a long time, then suddenly reached out his arms and hugged Tom.
“Dad.”
Tom was taken aback for a moment, but tears welled up in his eyes instantly.
He hugged Adam, and the father and son cried together.
“Adam! My good son.”
Seeing this scene, Tony first laughed, then shrugged helplessly at Arthur.
Arthur glanced at the father and son, then pulled out his pipe from the iron box in his arms and lit it.
Since he wasn’t wearing his police uniform today, he rarely smoked in public.
Arthur took a puff of his pipe and said, “Tom, Adam’s adoption papers haven’t been finalized, have they? Just change his name. Let the past be the past. The past doesn’t matter. What matters is the present and the future.”
Tom wanted to answer, but he was crying so hard that he couldn’t even speak a complete sentence. He just nodded uncontrollably.
Tony saw this and was exasperated. “You can’t even speak a sentence! Tom, can you wipe your tears? We still have work to do!”
Seeing that Tom was useless, Arthur could only turn the conversation to his son.
“Adam, I remember when we were chatting before, you told me about an old man who specifically took in homeless children in this area. You also told me that you learned your pickpocketing skills from him. Can you take us to see him?”
Adam, held in Tom’s arms, wiped his reddened eyes and then spoke in a halting voice, “You mean Mr. Fei, Fei-jin? You, you’re going to arrest him?”
“Fei-jin?”
Arthur furrowed his brow, thinking. He felt the name was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Just as he was pondering, he suddenly heard someone greet him from ahead. “Arthur!”
Arthur looked up, and it was Dickens, wearing the hat he had given him and carrying a small cloth bag slung over his shoulder.
Arthur’s pupils constricted, and he turned his head towards Tom.
“Have you decided what to name Adam?”
Tom sniffed, his eyes red. “Just, just call him Oliver.”
(End of Chapter)