The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1837 - 117: Ants on a Hot Pan

Sunset is a law of nature, but similarly, so is sunrise, something no one can stop.

——Arthur Hastings, "Fifty Years of Life"

Victoria almost instinctively rushed over, kneeled beside Elphinstone, but the next second, she suddenly became aware of several gazes piercing into her back.

At that moment, her expression changed from astonishment to disbelief, then instantly flushed, her eyes flashing with anger, shame, panic, and an unspeakable worry and fear.

She instinctively took a half step back but stumbled over Elphinstone’s boots.

"You..." Her voice trembled: "Do you know what you’ve done?"

The two plainclothes officers clearly didn’t expect this reaction from her. Hoot still wanted to step closer with a smile, but was immediately pulled back by Colley, who used his elbow to firmly press against Hoot’s chest, seemingly also realizing something was amiss.

"Your Highness." Colley’s mind raced, he swallowed his saliva, and asked cautiously: "Didn’t he approach you? Intelligence from Scotland Yard indicates that recently a group of miscreants is plotting to abduct you... We did this for your safety..."

Victoria quickly steadied her breath, forcibly suppressing the panic and anger in her heart: "Is it him? You say he plotted some wrongdoing?"

Hoot immediately stepped forward: "Yes, Your Highness! At that time, he suddenly pulled you into the alley, we feared you were in danger, so we just..."

"You got the wrong person! Didn’t you see that the thief has already fled?" Victoria pretended to be angry and said: "That scoundrel just grabbed my cape, dragged me into the alley, if this gentleman hadn’t arrived timely and driven him off, what you see now would not be this scene."

Hoot was stunned for quite a while: "But, Your Highness...the one who pulled you into the alley was clearly..."

Yet before Hoot could finish speaking, Colley immediately and discreetly lifted his boot and stomped on his foot.

Colley raised his hand in salute: "In such a late hour, with the light so dim, perhaps we were mistaken. Apologies, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Victoria immediately felt a measure of relief: "You are Officer Mike Colley, right? I still remember you. No need to apologize, I understand your actions were due to responsibility, though sometimes it seemed overly impulsive."

As soon as Victoria finished speaking, anxious shouts from the attendants and maids suddenly echoed from the street corner: "Your Highness, are you here?"

The bullseye lantern illuminated the alley entrance, and Lady Leisen saw Victoria standing in the alley. An unknown man was lying on the ground, while Officers Colley and Hoot stood awkwardly nearby. Such a scene shocked her, causing her to forget lifting her skirt to avoid the ground’s dirt, and she hurriedly trotted to Victoria’s side.

"Your Highness!" She almost instinctively reached out to support Victoria’s arm, eyes filled with undisguised panic and concern: "How could you run here alone? Oh my God, what happened? Are you hurt?"

Victoria couldn’t help but feel guilty in front of Leisen: "I’m fine, Leisen, just... there was a misunderstanding just now."

"Misunderstanding?" Leisen glanced at Elphinstone on the ground, then at the two embarrassed officers nearby, her expression turning stern: "What exactly happened here?"

Victoria hesitated for a moment. She knew she couldn’t overdo her concealment, so she softly explained: "When I got out of the carriage at the back door of the theater, a stranger suddenly grabbed my cape and dragged me into the alley. At the time, I was terrified. It was this gentleman..."

She slightly turned and pointed at the fallen Elphinstone: "He happened to pass by and drove the man off. Because the incident happened so suddenly, these two plainclothes officers mistakenly thought he was attacking me, so they acted."

Leisen listened, her brows furrowing with lingering fear. She gazed at Victoria with a hint of reproach, but more so with concern: "Were you scared? Are you cold? Did you fall?"

Victoria gently shook her head: "I’m really fine. This gentleman was injured, please quickly send someone to take him to the hospital."

Seeing her relatively calm expression, Leisen finally sighed slightly, then turned to the maids behind her: "Bring that woolen shawl over, and have someone call a doctor. Also, prepare the milk... no, hot tea, milk irritates Her Highness."

While Lady Leisen was instructing the attendants to prepare hot tea, Victoria suddenly interrupted her, her tone more urgent than before: "Don’t worry about me, Leisen, call someone to send this gentleman to the hospital quickly. His head is bleeding, and he’s seriously injured; it can’t be delayed anymore."

She said this as she half-turned, her gaze falling on Elphinstone’s face, her fingers involuntarily twisting the hem of her cloak.

Even though Victoria had tried her best to keep her voice calm, someone like Sir Arthur Hastings with seasoned insight could easily detect the panic in her every word.

What Sir Arthur could see, of course, couldn’t be hidden from Lady Leisen either.

Although she didn’t have Arthur’s extensive interrogation experience nor had she pored over stacks of criminal records under night lamps, Victoria was someone she had watched grow up. In terms of understanding Victoria, neither the Duchess of Kent nor Sir John Conroy could compare with Lady Leisen.