The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1777 - 90: New Talents Rise in Every Generation (Part 3)

Looking forward to meeting you soon and awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and health in your residence

Your sincere kinsman,

Sir Arthur Hastings

...

As the carriage passed the intersection on the east side of Belgravia, Arthur put down the materials in his hand and exhaled softly.

Although he didn’t particularly like that fellow Ledley, he had to admit, setting aside his two-faced nature, that this young man from Scotland Yard was indeed a very effective tool.

A week ago, he asked Ledley to help gather information on the Hastings family, and Ledley managed to sort everything out and deliver it to him within just three days.

Of course, Arthur initially hadn’t planned to involve Ledley.

But considering Hutter had just returned from Russia and was unfamiliar with the situation in London...

As for Field, Plunkett, Tom, and Tony, they excel in handling cases, patrolling, and riot control, so asking them to gather intelligence would indeed be a bit challenging.

Admittedly, Fiona’s Nightingale Mansion is an important channel as well, yet Fiona’s intelligence collection method mostly involved passive reception, and short-term active investigation wasn’t her forte.

Arthur glanced at the stack of documents on his lap, nearly thick enough to be used as bricks, detailing the activities of the second-generation Marquis of Hastings, George Rotton-Hastings, who was only two years older than Arthur but married quite early. The Marchioness was the 20th baroness of Greydruisin, Barbara Rotton-Hastings (née Yelvaton), and the couple had one son and one daughter after three years of marriage.

This Marchioness’s family background is rather interesting.

Perhaps because the British aristocratic circle is small, everyone is somewhat related, Arthur actually heard of her family before she got married, and it was Eld who told him.

All of Eld’s friends know that the reason this fellow studied classical literature was purely due to admiration for Lord Byron.

Eld was almost fluent in Byron’s collections if not completely memorized them backwards, and his various rumors about Byron were his key interests to inquire.

And the Marquis of Hastings’ wife’s father, the 19th Baron of Greydruisin, Henry Yelvaton, was a friend of Lord Byron and was rumored to be Byron’s teenage crush.

Of course, Byron’s bisexual inclinations have always been street rumors, and whether he had such inclinations or ever secretly admired the father of the Marchioness, only Byron himself might know.

And the Marchioness probably wouldn’t worry over her father’s "rumors" because compared to these old stories, the terrible financial situation of the Marquis of Hastings is what she most needs to worry about. They already have two children and likely more in the future, but their family assets are quite limited, even to the point of preparing to sell ancestral properties.

"The troubles of the nobility aren’t that much different from those of ordinary people."

Arthur thought to himself, as he leaned against the car window and glanced at the soon-to-arrive grey stone mansion. Tall, tidy, with no obvious signs of decay, yet few carriages at the entrance and no visible marble statues common in noble courtyards, likely already sold.

He muttered: "Knowing how to shrink their battle lines shows this family isn’t completely foolish."

As Arthur’s carriage had just stopped, the butler waiting at the door immediately stepped forward to open the car door for him.

"Welcome to Donington Mansion, Sir Arthur."