Chapter 158: The Seven Ladies of Ormak (K4)
Chapter 157 The Seven Ladies of Ormak (4K4)
36 Lancaster Gate, opposite Hyde Park, Bayswater, West London.
Through the cracks of the maple leaves and the glass of the white floating window, a man in a brand new tuxedo could be seen sitting at a desk on the second floor reading the papers in his hand.
A gust of wind blew through, opening the closed window and lifting up the scattered kraft paper bags on the desk along with stacks and stacks of papers and old news clippings.
Arthur didn’t look up, he just clamped two fingers together and yanked back the papers that were about to fly out along the edge of the window.
He stood up and reclosed the window, and the Red Devil, who had returned from his walk, finally got a good look at the titles of several of the papers on the table.
Amelia Stewart, Sarah Villiers, Emily Cowper, Maria Molyneux Sefton, Clementina Drummond Burrell, Theresa Esterhazy, Dorothea Levine.
Perhaps this dizzying array of names can be cloudy to look at, but when converted into common terms of address for people in social circles, these seemingly mundane names are instantly imbued with colorful meanings.
They are the Viscountess Castlereagh, the Countess of Jersey, the Countess of Cowper, the Countess of Sefton, the Countess of Drummond Burrell, the Princess of Esterhazy and the Countess of Levene.
These are the identities and names of the seven main patrons of the social club ‘Ormac’s Restaurant’, which holds the access to London’s top social circles.
In the past, like this kind of personal identity information, Arthur only needed less than half a page to fill it up, but for these seven ladies, even if they used up a whole page, they might not be able to write down their titles and social relations clearly.
Take Amelia Stewart, Viscountess Castlereagh, for example, this lady came from the Hobart family, a powerful English family.
Her father was John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, and her brother Robert Hobart was Secretary of State to the Governor General of Ireland, Governor General of Delhi in British India, and one of the three members of the Colonial Office’s Committee for the Administration of India when he returned home in 1812.
Her husband was Robert Stewart, Marquis of Londonderry and Viscount Castlereagh.
Viscount Castlereagh, as a politician in the history of Britain, in his decades of political career has served as the Chief Secretary of Ireland, the Secretary of State for War and Colonial Affairs, Foreign Secretary.
Internally, Viscount Castlereagh was involved in promoting the Act of Union of Ireland, which formally incorporated Ireland into Britain.
Externally, Viscount Castlereagh successfully promoted the Quadruple Alliance of Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia, which laid a solid foundation for the victory at the Battle of Waterloo. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, he also exerted his influence to facilitate the signing of the Peace of Paris, and dominated the process of the Congress of Vienna on behalf of the United Kingdom, laying down the framework of the European harmonization system for the continental countries.
But unfortunately, perhaps too much pressure had built up over the years.
Or perhaps due to the fact that in the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, he had taken a supportive attitude towards the bloody repressive policies of the then Home Secretary Lord Sidemus, which led to the public opinion as well as liberal literati such as Shelley and Byron attacking him, Viscount Castlereagh suffered from a serious mental illness shortly afterward, and eventually committed suicide by slitting his throat with a letter opener.
Although her husband’s death reduced Mrs. Castlereagh’s influence in social circles, the prestige she had built up over the years enabled her to hold a seat on the Board of Patronesses of the Ormac Club.
Among the seven hostesses, in addition to the local faction like Mrs. Castlereagh, there are also foreign factions like Princess Esterhazy and Countess Levine.
Princess Esterhazy’s honorary name can be seen from the fact that she comes from a royal family, she is one of the members of the rich and powerful German state princely family ‘Thurn Takhisis’, and her husband, Austrian Minister to the United Kingdom Paul Anton Esterhazy, is a prince of the Austrian Empire.
As for Mrs. Levine, her origins were not as great as Princess Esterhazy’s, but they were equally not to be underestimated.
Mrs. Levine’s husband was Count Levine, a member of the Tsarist Russian royal family who served as the Russian Empire’s ambassador to Britain, while her father was even more of a heavyweight.
Because Mrs. Levine’s father is exactly: the Russian Tsar Alexander I’s best friend, the German-Russian general in the war against France, the iron fist of feudalism in the suppression of the Decembrists’ revolt, the commander of the gendarmerie without tanks, the Cossack cavalry, the ostensible head of the third department of the Russian Imperial Imperial Office, the secret assistance to the Tsar to engage in the rule of the police and secret service of the clever, Scotland Yard’s guiding light! The French military and police who cried invincibility, Jeon Doo-hwan’s old-timer, Pinochet’s leading light, the Russian Imperial Cavalry Admiral who has always believed that it is troublesome to spy on the mind so it is better to eliminate the flesh, Count Alexander Khristoforovich Benckendorff.
As the saying goes, the old man is a hero and the old woman is a beautiful woman.
Mrs. Levine not only fully inherited her mother’s fine blood, fell a delicate and beautiful pretty face. And also out of the blue but more than blue inherited his old man engaged in secret service work expertise.
As a well known socialite in London’s high society, Mrs. Levine took full advantage of her looks and status, not only becoming the first foreign patron of the Almack Club since its founding in 1765, but also, as a Russian of German descent, incorporating the German waltz as an option for the club’s balls.
When her husband was in London, Mrs. Levine was able to fulfill her duties as a good wife and mother, and when Earl Levine was away, she was able to provide a little extra spice in her dull life from time to time with the Austrian Chancellor, Metternich, and the Viscount Palmerston, who came to London on business.
And with the intimate relations she maintained with the most important statesmen of Europe, she was able to obtain a great deal of ‘accidental information’ for Russia. And at the Russian court she was considered at least as important politically as her ambassador husband, if not more so at times.
Even the current Tsar, Nicholas I, regularly exchanged letters with her and sought her advice on a number of issues, and the importance the Tsar attached to her emphasized her influence in the diplomatic world.
Arthur flipped through the personal information of the seven wives one after another, as well as the gossip and past experiences about them cut from various old newspapers. After reading for a while, he finally couldn’t help but tsk and wonder.
“If it wasn’t for Elder telling me, I wouldn’t have known that there are actually so many women lurking in the small city of London that can’t be underestimated. This Mrs. Levine in particular is filled with an enigmatic aura. It seems those street tabloids Elder usually reads aren’t entirely useless; if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to determine just how many politicians maintain intimate relationships with Mrs. Levine beyond normal social distance.”
The Red Devil’s eyes squeezed malice into the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he heard this, and he asked with a grin, “Arthur, are you sure? This woman can be far more complicated than what you read in the newspaper, I advise you to stay away from her, or else you’ll end up being eaten up by her, and you’ll still be dumbfounded as to what exactly is going on.
I admit that you belong to a very capable category among human males, but Mrs. Levine’s methods are also far harder than you think. Finally, I will attach another truth to you, capable women are always good at finding the weaknesses of capable men.
Especially with regard to ability in intrigue, the minds of men and women who manipulate this matter are not at all of the same order of magnitude, and where intrigue is concerned, a woman’s danger is unknown to be many times greater than a man’s.”
Hearing this, Arthur tilted his head and leaned back in his chair, “What you’re saying, why does it sound somewhat familiar to me? It’s like I’ve seen it somewhere ……” He frowned and pondered for a while before he snapped his fingers and stared back at the Red Devil and spoke, “Agareth, how could you plagiarize a sentence from Alexander’s book? Aren’t these some of the little phrases of inspiration he casually jotted down in his accompanying notebook specifically to elevate the tone of The Count of Monte Cristo?”
Hearing this, the Red Devil shook his finger rather unsatisfactorily, “Arthur, you have to know where Alexander got his inspiration from in the first place. Providing inspiration for writers is part of my ability as a devil.”
Arthur sniffed and couldn’t help but squeeze a breath out of his nose, “Heh, really? I see you want to make a name for yourself in history, right? You should also be able to see that the fat man’s soul presence is not vulgar, so you can’t help but stuff some of yourself into his pen? Agares, I really didn’t know that the devil also has this kind of vanity.”
But the Red Devil was not the least bit bothered by Arthur’s ridicule, he instead took it as a compliment.
Agares pushed his glasses proudly, “Arthur, don’t forget that the devil is a collection of desires. So, do you want to find a chance to play at the Ormac Club? With all due respect to the ladies of the Blue Sox Club, while they have a distinctive flavor in the academic sense, you still have to find a way to squeeze yourself into the Olmac Club if you want to make a name for yourself.”
Hearing this, Arthur glanced at him and spoke, “Agareth, as soon as you get carried away, all of your little ulterior motives slip out. Didn’t you just advise me to stay away from Mrs. Levine? And now you’re urging me to push my way into the Ormac Club?”
The Red Devil grinned and rubbed his hands together, “Wow! My dear Arthur, you don’t understand that whether I advise you to go, or advise you not to go, I am thinking of you. The reason I advise you not to go is that I am worried that you will fall into the flowery garnet skirts of those mature ladies and thus ruin your own reputation, and even your life which is not easy to go on the right track will also be buried cleanly.
But I urge you to go because I believe that everyone is a bit curious. Although the ladies are very scary, but in case they are looked at by them, not to say in the future promotion road as smooth, even if you directly do not want to make an effort, those ladies look at the sake of your handsome little face and robust body, but also not impossible to agree to you ah!”
Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but skim his lips, “Agareth.”
The red devil smiled, “What’s wrong?”
“Luckily it’s me who made a contract with you, if Elder had heard those words just now, sooner or later he would have to be cheated out of even his pants.”
Who knows that when Agares heard these words, he didn’t feel honored but rather ashamed, he frowned and wagged his finger sarcastically, “Arthur, you can question that I’m not harboring good intentions, but you can’t question my vision and ability to select the person I’m going to work with. With all due respect, I’m afraid that the only one of the seventy-two pillar demons who can pee with Elder is that lustful Ben Lust of Asmundis.
It’s not true that I want the souls of my contractors, but if the one who signed a contract with me is Elder, I’m afraid his soul will end up in the hands of Mrs. Levine. I have no interest in helping an indentured servant find a woman to redeem his pledged soul.”
Arthur smoothed his hair, which hung in front of his eyes, and held them back behind his head, revealing his hairline, which was below the general British standard.
“Now I realize that your requirements are also higher than the Classics Department at the University of London, so it does seem to be a miracle that Eldad was educated at all in his life.”
Agareth followed up with, “So, Arthur, are you interested in the Ormac Club or not?”
Arthur huffed as he stared into the red devil’s glittering red eyes and spoke, “It seems like there are indeed some good things in there that interest you! It’s the first time I’ve seen you this active.”
The Red Devil smiled wickedly, “Wow! My dear Arthur, doesn’t that interest you?”
Arthur nodded, “Of course I’m interested. It’s just that this fancy club located on King Street is not for everyone, and from what I’ve learned, although there is a very exclusive ball held there every Wednesday night, the Olmac Club has been a very private organization since its inception in 1765.
Only with the approved consent of a committee of seven patronesses and the payment of ten guineas a year as dues is one entitled to set foot there. On top of that, I had to learn a little more about the odd assortment of rules there.
So, right now, although I can barely squeeze by financially, it’s not something that can be done with a few cases to get the consent of the committee of female patrons.”
Hearing this, the Red Devil was instantly filled with joy as he revealed a smug expression of triumph in his plot.
“Whoa! My dear Arthur, have you forgotten who you are? You are Professor Agareth’s favorite villainous disciple, as long as you want something, I can satisfy you with conditions.”
Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but frown, “Agares, conditional fulfillment wouldn’t be called fulfillment, it would be a normal transaction. That’s why, being the disciple of you, the most knowledgeable professor in hell, in the end, you still can’t take advantage of anything.
Well …… now I seem to almost understand why you were easily driven out of hell by Baer. Maybe it’s because you’re too stingy, so when Baal kicked you out, none of the other devils were willing to help you.”
Hearing this, Agareth couldn’t help but push up his glasses, “Arthur, you have to understand that even Britain’s Apprentice Morality and Education Act only guarantees apprentices the right to education for two hours a day, and the rest of the ten hours they still have to continue to do their work honestly. Compared to your Act, my willingness to deal with you on an even footing is already very recognizable.”
Who knew that when Arthur heard this, he stood up and stared at the Red Devil without saying a word; he only sighed.
The Red Devil was puzzled by him, and he pursued, “What are you sighing for?”
Arthur looked at him with a complicated expression and spoke, “Agareth.”
The red devil frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Arthur patted his vapors and let out a long sigh to the ceiling, “Capitalism has gotten you into trouble!”
With that, he locked all the papers on his desk into a drawer, and then left the room with big steps.
Agares froze for a while before reacting to what had happened, he angrily yelled towards Arthur’s back, “Arthur! The soul that exists here with me, you asked me to calculate the interest for you, I came to you for a business deal and asked you to shell out a shilling you were not even happy about it. What I signed with you is an equal soul trading contract, not a fucking Tsarist serf selling contract!”
There should be another chapter later.
(End of chapter)