shadow of britain

Chapter 783 He is a king, and I am a king too!

A thin layer of mist hung over Kensington Palace as Arthur arrived at Rose Hall on time, as usual.

He removed his gloves and coat, handing them, along with his silver-inlaid cane, to the Kensington Palace servant who was responsible for tidying up guests' clothes.

He was just about to take out the teaching materials from his calfskin bag when he noticed that the atmosphere at Kensington Palace seemed a little different than usual.

The two young maids who usually loved to giggle at the corner of the stairs were suddenly silent today. The three ladies-in-waiting walked side by side without saying a word. The maids' eyes darted around, and even the kind, plump cook who was usually in charge of serving tea had lost some of her smiles.

The entire palace exuded an eerie atmosphere, and a sniff revealed a pervasive sense of tension and awkwardness.

Arthur frowned. Before Victoria arrived, he made an excuse to go out and get some sun. Just as he stepped outside the Rose Hall, he ran into a familiar face.

That was a lady-in-waiting he had recently become quite close to, or rather, his distant cousin, Miss Flora Hastings.

Flora was dressed unusually conservatively today. Her purple-brown lady's dress almost completely concealed her waist. Her hair was neatly combed, but her expression revealed a hint of fatigue.

Arthur nodded slightly. "Good morning, Flora. Kensington seems quieter than usual this morning."

"You noticed?" Flora forced a smile, her voice heavy with weariness. "It seems Lezen was right; you are indeed a thoughtful gentleman."

"People who grow up in the countryside may not have a keen sense of smell, but they often have sharp ears," Arthur said half-jokingly. "Has something happened at the palace?"

Flora looked at him, her gaze hesitant.

But then she remembered that this gentleman was not only the Crown Prince's tutor, but also a member of the Hastings family, her dear cousin, not to mention that he had just helped her family resolve a thorny issue. Logically and emotionally, she had no reason to be wary of him.

Seeing that she hadn't spoken, Arthur took off his hat and apologized, saying, "I apologize for asking so abruptly, Miss Hastings. Please consider me as someone who is here to teach today."

"Ah, please don't misunderstand." Flora looked at her cousin, still feeling a little awkward. She blushed for some reason and said, "I... I just haven't changed my mind yet. Please forgive me. After all, I didn't expect you to actually be my distant cousin."

Arthur didn't blame her, but just chuckled: "It's not your fault. After all, our kinship is indeed quite distant. If we really want to trace it back, we have to go back to the eighth Earl Huntington, which is a whole three generations away."

Flora naturally remembered this incident as well. After all, in order to find out Arthur's blood relationship, her younger brother, the Marquis Hastings, had mobilized the entire family and spent two whole weeks to finally figure out what had happened.

According to the lineage, Flora and the second Marquis of Hastings' father was the first Marquis of Hastings, whose uncle was the tenth Earl of Huntington, who was the son of the ninth Earl of Huntington. The eighth and ninth Earls were brothers.

This lineage shows that the eighth Earl of Huntington had no legitimate children, but that does not preclude him from having illegitimate children.

This illegitimate son was named Henry Hastings. Although he was not the legitimate heir of the 8th Earl, he grew up at the Hastings family’s Lexington estate in West Yorkshire, and his adoptive mother was the 8th Earl’s sister, Elizabeth Hastings.

As a result, Henry Hastings received a good education from a young age, and later served as the treasurer of the York Christian Knowledge Association.

Arthur's York country gentleman uncle was the youngest son of Henry Hastings, an illegitimate child.

“It is indeed a bit far,” Flora agreed softly, but a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on her lips. “It’s a pity that if we could have found out about this relationship earlier, you might have been able to fight for the Earl of Huntington’s title in Parliament in 1819.”

Arthur smiled and shook his head: "I haven't thought about inheritance. After all, if I really sat in the Upper House, I probably wouldn't be as comfortable as I am now."

Flora chuckled softly upon hearing this, "You seem quite open-minded. If it were someone else, they would have already boasted about even the slightest trace of kinship."

Flora paused again, recalling how she had first heard at the palace that Arthur was coming to teach, assuming he was just another opportunist who had climbed the ranks through letters of recommendation. But after spending the last six months with him, she found it hard not to change her opinion. This Dean of Studies at the University of London was truly talented and a gentleman, having done Kensington Palace a great service on numerous occasions, yet she had never heard of him asking the Duchess for any rewards or special treatment.

Even when the Duchess wanted to raise his salary to 1400 pounds, Arthur strongly refused. Only after much persuasion did he reluctantly agree to raise it to 1200 pounds. Moreover, he repeatedly emphasized that 1200 pounds was enough and that it should not be raised any further under any circumstances.

After he acknowledged his ancestry, there was no record of him using the Hastings family name to seek any benefits for himself. On the contrary, he helped his cousin Charles Hastings out of his predicament and took the initiative to find him a position at the University of London.

Even without the help of his family, such a person would already be a knight.

Given time, Flora felt that he would almost certainly become the first nobleman with some title.

Thinking of this, Flora's tone softened considerably: "I just wanted to confirm whether you were truly related to us by blood, but I never expected..."

"You didn't expect me to be real?"

"I never expected to like your way of speaking, my relative from another place," Flora chuckled softly. "Although... sometimes you talk in circles, which is really hard to understand."

“Well… since you don’t like me talking like this, Flora, I’ll just ask directly,” Arthur joked. “Did Kensington Palace lose its bookcase again?”

Flora glanced around briefly, making sure no other servants were approaching, before slowly saying, "Last night, there was some trouble in Windsor. His Majesty the King and His Majesty Leopold had a rather unpleasant argument at the banquet."

"Hmm?" Arthur's interest was immediately piqued: "They used guns?"

Flora was both amused and exasperated by her cousin's unfounded speculation: "Don't talk nonsense. The two emperors are not so lacking in manners. They just had a simple argument."

Arthur raised an eyebrow: "I don't think arguing in front of a room full of guests is very classy. At least drawing swords and guns shows some chivalry."

“Perhaps,” Flora sighed. “The two lords argued over a glass of water. You may not know this, but His Majesty Leopold never drinks alcohol.”

“Oh…” Arthur couldn’t help but pinch his chin. “I think I know where the problem lies. Normally, not drinking is fine, but this is His Majesty the King’s banquet. He would never allow anyone to drink water at his banquet.”

Flora nodded slightly and said, "When His Majesty the King asked His Majesty Leopold what he would like to drink, his face immediately fell when he heard 'only water.' Especially considering their already strained relationship, His Majesty probably felt that His Majesty Leopold was deliberately targeting him. However, because there were many guests present, he held back for a moment and asked again, 'Your Majesty, what would you like to drink? We never entertain guests who only drink water.' But His Majesty Leopold simply replied, 'Water is fine, Your Majesty. It's my habit, and it doesn't violate court etiquette.'"

Flora paused slightly at this point.

As for Arthur, he could imagine just how turbulent the scene would be.

Flora shuddered at the memory: “His Majesty’s eyebrows shot up, and he was practically roaring: ‘To hell with etiquette! Your Majesty, to come to Windsor as a guest and not drink is the height of my absurdity!’ His Majesty Leopold insisted: ‘Perhaps it is my fault, but I have never drunk any wine, nor have I caused any trouble for anyone.’ Then His Majesty abruptly stood up and smashed his glass on the floor: ‘Trouble! Your Majesty, your sister, her arrogant steward, those presumptuous trips, and those utterly foolish cannon salutes! Your family has certainly given me a hard time!’”

Even Arthur, who had committed the Caucasus incident, couldn't help but change his expression upon hearing this.

William IV's words were far more impactful than what he said to Tsar Nicholas I. At best, it was a breach of monarchical decorum; at worst, it was a diplomatic incident.

Arthur asked, "Didn't Queen Adelaide try to persuade His Majesty the King at that time?"

“Of course I tried to persuade him, but it was no use. His Majesty was furious and wouldn’t listen to anything.” Flora trembled slightly. “His Majesty Leopold was also somewhat frightened. He tried to ease the tension, saying, ‘Your Majesty, these are trivial matters, not worth your anger.’ But when His Majesty heard this, his anger flared up again: ‘Trivial matters? Oh, yes, my brother, from your Coburg family’s perspective, these are indeed trivial matters! After all, your relatives, especially those young princes, have been coming to London one after another, while my niece has been indoctrinated with some ideas? Perhaps you feel comfortable wearing the Belgian crown, but I have no intention of taking off the British crown and giving it away prematurely! To hell with it!’”

(End of this chapter)