Chapter 160: One to Nil in the Opening Game

Chapter 159 Opening One to Zero
Greenwich District, on the street near Sundial Square.

Arthur sat in a rickety carriage wearing a full police uniform.

In his hand he cupped a copy of the London Social Guide, which he had traded in from a used bookstore, and read every word of it with great attention.

Although he had been in London for five years now, he had never attended a single proper party or ball.

The reason why this was so was also simple.

Firstly, it was a matter of character; he preferred to stay alone in his own cottage and read a bit of self-entertainment than to pile in and breathe the murky air of various social venues.

Secondly, it was due to the fact that once upon a time his social status was really too low.

Half a year ago, he was just an ordinary constable of Scotland Yard, and this kind of small role naturally would not attract the attention of the high society. The rich and powerful people like Elder who were willing to hang out with him would only appear on the campus of the University of London.

Therefore, since Arthur’s graduation, Elder in the Royal Navy in the time of training, his social activities is basically and Tom, Tony and other few friends to get together, and even drink a bottle of wine can not afford to order too many things in the restaurant.

After all, one of the two guys, Tom and Tony, had already started a family, and the other was working towards the Scotland Yard’s internal marriage requirement of ‘proving that you have at least twenty pounds in savings’.

Of course, even though Arthur had risen to the rank of Superintendent of Police and his level of personal wealth had grown by leaps and bounds, he hadn’t thought at all about moving into the social sphere before he’d agreed to General Codrington’s offer.

This is because the various social rules of 19th century British society are really cumbersome, and for Arthur, who is not a native of the country, and whose origins are not considered to be anything like proper English middle class, to fully understand these things is by no means something that can be done overnight.

Take this “Guide to London Socializing” that Arthur was holding in his hand for example, even though he had tried very hard to memorize it from the time he went to work early this morning, he hadn’t been able to figure it out completely until now.

And after reading the book, there was nothing Arthur was more thankful for than the fact that there were no women in his family and that he himself was a man all alone.

In the social sphere, these upper-class noble ladies or women from middle-class merchant families have to be more careful than gentlemen, and the interaction between men and women leads to a long list of taboos.

There are various written and unwritten rules for wearing dresses alone, which are divided into various types for balls, dinners, walks, car rides, etc. There are also special country outfits for visits to the countryside or gatherings, and the most gorgeous evening dresses are worn for grand occasions.

Of course, as varied as these outfits may sound, in reality it is perhaps the long black dresses that are most often worn by ladies and madams, as in this day and age they are expected to wear all black for a period of time almost every year, as a way of mourning their deceased husbands, parents, siblings, or in-laws’ families.

And when Arthur read the next paragraph about the rules for the socialization of men and women, he felt another heavy layer of marble weighing down his head, which had been filled with all sorts of cumbersome regulations.

When riding in a carriage, a gentleman never sat next to a woman who was not a relative, and was required to sit on the side with his back to the direction of the horse’s travel, giving the opposite seat to the lady. And always take care not to step on the lady’s skirt, when getting off, the gentleman should be first down and ready to help these ladies wearing a wide skirt support so that the mobility of the ladies out of the car.

Arthur was not too concerned about this, as he had little chance of encountering such an encounter anyway.

There were never any ladies in the car with him, but plain, ordinary gentlemen.

For example, the London University classics student who often began with ‘Fuck’ and ended with ‘Shit’, the master of the language of the Royal Navy sailors, and the greatest relic of Great Britain’s literary world in the nineteenth century, the ‘Walking on Earth’. ‘The Thames that walks the earth’ – Mr. Elder Carter.

Or the ‘French terrorist’ who wrote books all his life, but in the end was not as good as his six-year-old son, who often claimed to be peace-loving, but at the drop of a hat opened his arsenal and took out 3,500 tons of ammunition to bombard the Tuileries in Paris, and who doubled his value as a result of this led to having to moisten the curly-haired fat man in England –Alexandre Dumas.

And the science pope who studied theology at Cambridge for a few years and ended up not reading much of the Bible, instead taking up Lamarckianism and believing that priests farting around with creationism – Charles Darwin.

At the most, at the most, add another tabloid journalist who, although in the future would be hailed as the ‘living Shakespeare’, never quite made it into the eyes of Mr. Elder Carter, the first man of literary criticism in Britain – Charles Dickens.

It was true that one did not need to take as much care in socializing with these people as one would in high society, unless a few of them had the sudden intention of putting skirts on themselves.

Just when Arthur thought he could get away with it, his eyes fell back on the line below.

–Decent young unmarried women should not go out if unaccompanied, nor should a proper lady look around for acquaintances or stop to chat in crowded streets.

–If a young woman does see her gentleman friend in the street, and feels that she cannot turn a blind eye, she should offer her hand.

–And a gentleman, when he finds his lady friend, must not go up to him to greet him, but must wait until the lady recognizes him, and then take off his hat with the hand farthest from the lady in return.

-Note: If the lady extends her hand, it is regarded as an invitation, and the gentleman needs to turn and walk with the lady companionably at this time, instead of stopping there, so as to avoid embarrassment for both parties. The conversation between the two must also be careful not to be too enthusiastic and loud, but to discuss within the scope of the standards of etiquette, and to speak as briefly as possible, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, to avoid irreparable blows to the reputation of both parties.

–A gentleman should not smoke in the presence of a lady, nor should a lady walk up to a gentleman while he is smoking, as this is likely to cause the other to extinguish a good cigar, and both are unseemly.

Seeing this, Arthur could not help pulling out his own pipe and looking at it, muttering under his breath, “Luckily I smoke cheaper.”

And as his gaze continued to move downward, he finally began to understand why the old butler of the Rothschild family had strongly advised him to hire a few experienced servants when he paid a visit that day. -If the reader of this book is moving to a new home, especially to an upper-class neighborhood, he or she should keep in mind that the servants who are sent to you will be walking around and leaving business cards in the mailboxes of the neighbors.

–The recipients of the cards usually return them within a week or visit the house directly, which will help to enhance your reputation and influence in the social circles of the place where you live.

–If a lady is moving into a new house, or if an adult male in the family is unable to visit the new neighbors, the lady should travel in a carriage, and your manservant should carry the card, which he should then pass on to the owner.

–A lady who is married and has changed her name should carry one card with her own name on it, two cards with her husband’s name on it, and if there are unmarried daughters or tenants in the house, their cards should be forwarded with them.

–Note: The name of the unmarried daughter should be written at the bottom of the mother’s card.

Arthur only felt goose bumps all over his body as he looked at these dense regulations.

To reasonably integrate into the upper class social circle and use it to expand his sources of information and influence, this matter seemed to be far more difficult than he had imagined.

He closed the book and rubbed his sore eyes.

Agareth sat in the seat across from him and crossed his legs, “What? Finished reading it so soon?”

Arthur shook his head rather frankly, “I’m not as good at reading and memorizing as you’d think, especially with all this stuff on the tedious etiquette side of things, and it’s not easy for me to read on.”

The Red Devil sniffed and snapped his fingers, and a thorn-covered cane was suddenly in his hand, which, by the look of him, he seemed to be using as a whip.

Unsatisfied, the Red Devil tapped the cover of the copy of the London Social Guide and urged, “Arthur, this is not good. If you can’t manage a Codrington party, how are you going to squeeze into an Ormac Club party in the future? You’ll have to learn to dance in addition to all that, the German waltz, the Viennese waltz, the French quadrille and salon, the Britannia Regency, the Scottish reel ……

Oh yes, you’d better learn the traditional male dances of Britannia again – the Ancient Roman Sword Dance and the Morris Dance, both of which are just right for a master swordsman of your strength and skill.”

Arthur said helplessly, “Take your time to learn. This is my first time anyway, didn’t that old Rothschild housekeeper say that Mrs. Codrington was one of the members of the ‘Blue Stocking Society’?
The Blue Stocking Society has always been lenient with young scientists and has granted some of them privileges, after all, I can even show up at banquets wearing blue socks, so a little transgression in etiquette shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Besides, isn’t Elder going to be there tonight? Although that kid has always been out of tune, he’s at least a noble young master of the Carter family, and he definitely remembers these basic social etiquettes clearly. If we encounter any uncertainties, I’ll just go ask him.”

Hearing this, the Red Devil couldn’t help but cover his mouth with a bad smile and said, “Arthur, are you sure?”

Arthur originally still had some expectations for Elder, but when the Red Devil asked this, it instantly put him out of his mind.

He always liked to rely on his own knowledge and power to do things, relying on other people’s power this is still the first time, and this first time the object is actually still Elder, which makes Arthur how to think of all feel weak.

He covered his forehead, gritted his teeth and said: “There is a saying in the East, called ‘Born to be useful’, and the Western Bible also recorded ‘When God closes this door, he will definitely open another door for you’, Elder can’t be a man who transcends the East and the West. Elder can’t be an exception that transcends the Eastern and Western systems, can he?”

The Red Devil didn’t answer as he sniffed, he just spun around in place, and in an instant he was seen changing into an elaborately detailed black dress.

He squared the red bow around his neck and rushed Arthur.

“In accordance with social etiquette and your affinity with Codrington, I suggest you arrive at Codrington’s mansion between three-thirty and four o’clock in the afternoon.

My price is quite fair, one soul for a dance, and a little more expensive for a crash course in social etiquette, ten souls I’ll take care of for you. If your balance is insufficient, I can also accept credit, but interest must be calculated.”

With that said, the Red Devil pushed up his own sleeve, glanced at his wristwatch, and spoke with a smile, “Don’t worry, Arthur. Now, you have two and a half hours to think about it.”

Arthur looked at Agares and couldn’t help but shake his head, “Agares, if you keep up this appetite, it won’t be long before I can’t afford you.”

The Red Devil clasped both hands and pressed them to his chest, pretending to be complimentary, “Wow! My dear Arthur, you must not underestimate yourself. As long as you can be ruthless, you little villain is invincible.”

“Invincible?”

Arthur shook his head as he raised his hand and pointed out of the car window at the factory looming just outside of it, and a group of workers with smiles and muddy spots on their faces, playing soccer, the very destination of Arthur’s trip.

He had specially come to this place in order to count the guns, ammunition and other weapons that the Greenwich Police District had deposited here during the workers’ riot a few days ago.

The Red Devil glanced outward, “Aren’t they just a bunch of kick-ass recreational workers from the Woolwich Arsenal? What are you pointing at them for?”

Arthur shrugged helplessly, “From what I know and remember, I’m not invincible, but the team formed by the workers of the Woolwich Arsenal, their ‘Arsenal’ is the one that’s invincible.”

(End of chapter)