Chapter 302: Rothschild’s Gambling Table (K4)

Chapter 300 Rothschild’s Gambling Table (8K4)

Astley Amphitheater, somewhere in a small room on the second floor.

Lionel looked at Arthur as he familiarly wrapped himself in gauze and applied a strong and pungent smelling ointment, and with his unperturbed expression, Lionel couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he watched.

He leaned over the table and asked, “Not the first time you’ve done this? Arthur, you’re too skillful in this maneuver.”

Arthur pulled on his Scotland Yard uniform in a nonchalant manner and fastened the buttons one by one in the mirror, “If you are referring to acting out a feigned injury, it is indeed a first. But if you mean bandaging wounds, then I can’t remember how many times that’s happened.

Lionel, Scotland Yard’s job isn’t as easy as it’s made out to be in the Hastings Mysteries, and it’s not always very out of the ordinary. To be honest, something like investigating homicides is actually a beautiful job compared to patrolling the streets.

When I first entered Scotland Yard, I was often assigned to patrol the narrowest and most dangerous and darkest streets because I didn’t get along with the sheriff. As you know, there are quite a few docks in Greenwich, so I could often run into drunken sailors in the taverns in the training area as well as Irish forcemen carrying bags on the docks.

There was a popular game of drunken banter amongst these groups, where they would bet in groups of three or five that each man would put up a penny, and if any of them dared to beat up a patrolling Scotland Yard policeman, then they could have that money. Tom and Tony, both of them, got their asses kicked, and after I came on board, the target of settlement for this game was changed to me. Now, do you see why I’m so skillful at bandaging?”

Lionel couldn’t help but laugh at that, “I thought you were born to be such a good fighter, but it turns out you have such a bad past too.”

Arthur tightened his bandaged palms until he made sure they were securely fastened before speaking, “It wasn’t a particularly unforgiving time for me, better than rolling around in mud pits in the York countryside when I was a kid. Wrestling with Irish drunks really isn’t a particularly good memory either, though, and it’s from them that I learned: never, under any circumstances, take on more than two hoodlums, even if you think you’re very strong.”

Lionel laughed out loud, “But hearing you say that, I can finally understand why Scotland Yard has so many assaults on the police every year. What the newspapers say is really unfair to you police officers, who are obviously suffering from an unearned disaster, but still have to be accused of violent law enforcement. But journalists, being what they are, they also used to draw satirical caricatures of Rothschilds on their pages, depicting my father with a big belly and pockets full of gold coins.

I’m afraid that in a few years, when they get tired of drawing my father, they may have to replace me as the model for their caricatures. But it can’t be helped, life happens. So relax, Arthur, even His Majesty the King can’t escape their attacks, let alone you and me.”

Arthur snapped on his hat and surveyed himself in the mirror, “Regarding these attacks coming out of Fleet Street, I don’t think much of it. Because I can’t say that Scotland Yard is just completely clean up and down the line, and as far as I know, attacks on each other by Scotland Yard and the enforced are usually a two-way street.”

“Hmm?” Lionel asked, “How does that work?”

Arthur lifted the teacup beside him and said, “For example, in the borough of Tauerhamletts, which I used to supervise, east of Shoreditch Street, there’s a place called Old Nichol’s, which is inhabited by about 5,000 people, but it’s as bad as it gets in all of London. Even if you don’t make statements of the caliber of Scotland Yard, but express them in the words of the local vicar, you’d be hard pressed to hear anything good coming out of his mouth.

I went to talk to the local vicar about this on my first day in office, and he told me: ‘The moral benchmark in Old Nicol is incredibly low, and the content of people’s lives consists mainly of deception and concealment. Almost every family has one or more badly articulated reasons to fear the police.’ I was skeptical at first that the pastor’s statement was an exaggeration, but soon the residents of Old Nicolle shattered that suspicion with their actions.

On my first day in office, the Kingsland Road Police Station in Old Nicol presented me with a crime report for the first half of the year. The report showed that a total of 214 people were arrested in Old Nicol in the first half of the year, including 72 drunkenness and disorderly conduct, 35 assaults on police officers, 4 armed robberies, 3 indecent assaults, 16 assaults on wives and passers-by, 1 child abandonment, 27 burglaries and street pickpocketing, 33 public gambling, and, oh, yes, two suicide attempts. As for the rest of those charges of animal cruelty, selling alcohol in violation of a license and some other nonsense I can’t remember right now.”

Lionel, who was always sensitive to numbers, couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air when he heard this, “214 people? That means that in a six-month period, 4.2% of the residents of Old Nicole were arrested?”

“That’s right.”

Arthur took a sip of his tea, “And that’s just the arrests, judging by the lack of police resources at Kingsland Road Police Station, I’m inclined to think there must be quite a few more leaks in the area. These leaks have accumulated over the years, and I can’t say that the local vicar’s words are really an exaggeration. That old man has been living there for years, and his duties include listening to the residents’ confessions and counseling them, so he must know a lot more about crime than we police officers do.

I could only pray for him privately, hoping that when he returned to God, God would see to it that he had such a heavy workload and put him in a better position. It’s true that his workload is so much greater than that of the average pastor, and a day at Old Nicol is worth weeks at Westminster, so I think it’s perfectly understandable for him to grouse once in a while. Despite being an apostle of God, he still has a temper after all.”

Lionel couldn’t help but shake his head at that, “I thought the poor Jewish community in London was bad enough, but I didn’t realize there were worse places than it.”

“Yeah! London is always so full of surprises everywhere.”

Arthur chuckled to himself, “Whenever I find an area that’s bad enough, London always puts its arm around my shoulder and tells me, Hey! Buddy! You’re new here, aren’t you? Don’t fucking lament here, because the worse is yet to come!”

Agareth spoke up as he put his arm around Arthur’s shoulder, “Arthur, I don’t remember when I changed my name to London. Besides, I don’t really know London that well, I know Jerusalem from the ground up.”

Lionel asked, “What you just said about it being all about citizens attacking the police was a two way street, is it convenient for you to say the next part?”

Arthur refilled his tea, “It’s no big deal, just don’t spread it around. Or rather, it won’t matter much even if you do spread the word, since the Scotland Yard that made the impact has basically already dealt with it.”

“Already dealt with meaning? Dealt with the police?”

“Of course.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow, “Lionel, as unclean as we are internally, we still have clear regulations in place. And I won’t deny that the reason for the Fleet Street attack is that we do have a percentage of scum in our police force. Scotland Yard fires nearly a hundred employees every year, and Nicol’s Kingsland Road police station fired as many as six in the previous year.

I was literally humiliated by a case on Nicol Street last year where an officer ran into a tavern on Nicol Street during the course of his duty, got drunk, and assaulted a kid who was staring at him while he was drunk. And he also gave a contradictory account of the situation in court, a statement that brought shame on the entire Tauer Hamlets police district, and the head of the Tauer Hamlets police district, Inspector Klein, who was present at the hearing, became so furious on the spot that he was ordered to shut up and sit down straight away. As soon as the hearing was over, he directly announced the decision to dismiss him.”

Lionel asked curiously, “Why do you know in such detail, you were there at the time?”

Arthur nodded slightly and said, “I was in the gallery.”

Lionel smiled and asked, “So you’re not angry?”

“Of course I’m not, or even if I were angry I wouldn’t cuss in court.” Arthur lifted his white porcelain teacup and touched it with Lionel, and spoke calmly, “That’s something I’ve learned from you, Lionel. Remember? The time I went house shopping.”

Lionel’s eyes narrowed into a smile, “So says ……”

Arthur took a gentle sip from his teacup, “That’s right, I just called Inspector Klein to 4 Whitehall Street for a talk afterward”

“Hahaha.” Lionel asked, stifling a laugh, “What did you say?”

Arthur rubbed his temples, “Let me recall, I should have told Inspector Klein. There is a restless anxiety brewing within Scotland Yard, and while I don’t wish to impugn his work, there seems to be a heightened level of concern in the council and in the court of public opinion about the phenomenon of poor local policing and police enforcement. This has caused fellow Scotland Yard officers to question his reliability, but I, the Superintendent of Greenwich and Tower Hamlets, continue to trust him.

However, although I trust his ability and highly recognize the results of the work he has achieved so far. But considering the longstanding hostility of the magistrates towards Scotland Yard, I also understand that the work on the ground is not easy to do. Therefore, if he feels that he is a bit out of his depth, there is no need to push himself too hard; gold shines wherever it goes, and I am willing to politely convey to Director Rowan on his behalf the posting request for a transfer to a more suitable department.”

Lionel heard this with one hand over his stomach laughing so hard that tears came out of his eyes, “Arthur, I admit that I may have inspired you in the first half of the story, but this second half is mostly your own realization, you just have this talent, so you don’t have to ‘credit’ it all to my head. ”

Arthur poured the last bit of tea into his stomach as well, and he smiled back, “Lionel, you’re too modest.”

The Red Devil took a bite of sugar cane on Arthur’s shoulder, chewed twice, and spat out a mouthful of crumbs with a yuck, “Arthur, it’s you who’s modest. You little bastard was born to make deals with the devil. Keep up the good work, I’ve got my eye on you.”

Lionel pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes as he pressed on, “And was Inspector Klein encouraged after this conversation?”

Arthur nodded gently, “Highly encouraged. Incidentally, due to his outstanding performance in the past year, Inspector Klein has been promoted to Superintendent not long ago. He now carries a St. Edward’s Crown badge on his shoulder, just like me. As I said earlier, Inspector Crane is a very capable police officer and he deserves all this. It is a great loss for Towers Hamlets to lose him.

But fortunately we still have good local police commanders such as the newly appointed Inspector Jones or Sergeant Ledley at Whitechapel Police Station. Even Kingsland Road, which I have criticized before, has many officers of high moral character and social responsibility. As far as I can tell, the officers of Kingsland Road have a rather complicated relationship with the residents of Old Nicol.”

Lionel asked, “How so?”

Arthur spoke, “In addition to accomplishing their daily tasks, the police officers of Kingsland Road often volunteer to get involved in some jobs that should not be done by them. For example, using the medical knowledge learned from police training to perform some simple medical emergencies on occasions where doctors cannot be present. Or stopping domestic violence by preventing husbands from beating their wives and parents from abusing their children, even though this is not part of their role, either in legislation or in Scotland Yard regulations.

And as I said before, most of the residents of Old Nicol were so uneducated and had such unstable incomes that many relied on alcohol to get by. Parents are unable to fulfill their custodial duties while intoxicated, and of course, they rarely do so while sober. Because of this, children were often lost in the thirty or so streets of the area. Almost all of the little brats there have now learned to ask the police for help when they get lost, and residents will often call the police on their behalf so that they can collect the little things.

Perhaps because of the frequency of such cases, additional toys have been purchased at the Kingsland Road police station to keep the little ones quiet, and they have even taken out special funds to buy jam and bread for the thirsty and hungry brats. In this they probably do the best job in all of London. With the exception of some of the dregs, the rest of the officers of Kingsland Road have always been worthy of the uniform they wear, and their behavior is worthy of respect. They are a priceless asset to this often desperate and troubled parish.”

Lionel smiled and said, “Thank you for telling me so much. Arthur, on the basis of what you’ve just said, I have a feeling that the taxes I pay should not have been in vain.”

Arthur mulled it over and said with a slight modification, “All I can say is that a portion of the tax money was indeed not spent in vain.”

Lionel smiled and asked, “It’s always a pleasure to talk to you. But it’s getting late, so perhaps it’s time for us to go to the third floor for an audience with His Majesty. Your performance had some room for improvement, but overall it was a success, and at least His Majesty had a good time watching it, and I think that’s enough, isn’t it?”

Arthur asked as he walked, “Did Brother Angelo say anything?”

Lionel pressed one hand on the doorknob, “They did see something was amiss, but seeing as you used their swordsmanship, the two masters didn’t take it too personally. After all, they understand that this is just a play, not a real battle. If they really wanted to see you fight someone, they shouldn’t have come to the Astley Theater, but to the streets of Greenwich. And your opponents are not Bertrand, the Sword Saint of Paris, but groups of street hooligans with crowbars and short sticks in their hands.”

Arthur smiled and spoke, “Lionel, you know your business. If you get tired of making money one day, perhaps you might consider coming to Scotland Yard for the experience.”

Lionel laughed out loud and pulled open the door to the room, “I’d rather not, I can’t beat up street hooligans.”

Arthur and Lionel were chatting when suddenly, they heard a rapid clattering of footsteps descending the stairs outside. This was quickly followed by an outburst of furious shouting: “You two ruffians, don’t run away! Guards! Catch those two a**holes for me!”

Hearing this, Arthur subconsciously raised his hand in preparation to draw the officer’s knife at his waist, but just as he gripped the handle, the tight touch from the bandage on his hand still made him unable to stop his hand from letting go.

Just as he hesitated to make a move, he suddenly saw two black shadows scurrying out from upstairs.

Judge Norton crashed through Arthur and Lionel in a single bound, snatching a path through the gap between the men.

And Bernie Harrison, who was right behind him, saw Arthur and froze at first, then took off his hat with an awkward and impolite smile, “Good evening, Mr. Hastings. I’m sorry about tonight, things seem to have gone a little badly.”

With that, Harrison didn’t wait for Arthur to reply and rushed off after him with his hat in hand. His figure had not long disappeared, and soon another four or five burly men in decent tuxedos rushed down from the upper floors, who were the manservants of Viscount Palmerston and Mrs. Levine, respectively.

Since His Excellency wanted to create a more private and secluded space to get along with each other, these servants had also run to the public balcony to chat and smoke earlier.

If not for that, with their athletic hands, it would have been impossible for them to let the two fellows, Norton and Harrison, pull out such a far body position.

Seeing Lionel and Arthur blocking the entrance of the building, the manservants hurriedly opened their mouths and asked, “Sir, did you just see two miscreants escaping from here?”

Arthur nodded slightly and casually pointed to the window to excuse himself, “It may be too late for you to chase after them now, I just saw from the window sill that they had already fled to the carriage to be picked up, so I guess it must be an organized criminal gang. It’s not uncommon for such things to happen in the theater, and these people you ran into today shouldn’t be the first time they’ve committed this kind of case, the way they slipped away was all very familiar.”

Arthur was speaking when, suddenly, he looked up and saw a man coming down the stairs in a rage.

The man was still stroking the slightly wrinkled jacket on his body as he walked, and it was none other than Viscount Palmerston.

When Palmerston saw Arthur, his anger was gone, and he asked with a happy face, “Oh, Mr. Hastings, with you here, I’m sure that those two insolent people must have been caught just now, right?”

Arthur also didn’t know how on earth those two fools had provoked the Foreign Minister, he pondered for a while and decided that it would be better to explore first.

Arthur regretfully pointed at his gauze-wrapped arm and said, “I’m sorry, Your Excellency, if it was any other time, I would have been able to take down those two thugs. But today I’m injured, I really can’t exert any power, please forgive me for not being able to do my best.”

Seeing Arthur’s injured arm, Palmerston slapped his head and said, “Oops! How did I forget this matter? It is true that you cannot be blamed for this, but you asked Bertrand to take a direct shot. Now that you’re strong enough to walk on the ground, how can I blame you for not catching those two assholes? By the way, how is your wound?”

Arthur laughed softly, “The doctor took the pellet out and medicated me, so other than a little pain, it’s nothing serious. By the way, Your Excellency, although I can’t help you catch those two thugs, fighting crime is my duty after all. Since you’re here, why don’t you explain the case to me first, and save you a trip to Scotland Yard tomorrow.”

Palmerston sniffed and said with fake concern, “That …… isn’t very nice ……”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” Arthur also pretended to endure the pain and pulled out a pen and paper from his inner pocket, “Just try to be as concise as you can.”

Palmerston saw that he insisted, so he stopped discouraging him.

He introduced, “Don’t worry, in fact, the case was originally not complicated. I was originally enjoying tonight’s program in the box when, all of a sudden, I heard a sound of a room door being kicked open from behind me. I turned my head to see that the ones kicking the door were the two men who had just fled down.

I thought they were in the wrong room and was trying to warn them, but the man in the purple tuxedo jacket yelled and insulted my female companion, ‘You bitchy, lowly whore! I knew you were up to something like this!’

As you know, a brave gentleman would never allow himself to be subjected to such insults, much less tolerate his companion being vilified as a whore, so I fought my way out after him.”

Arthur heard this and clenched his jaw in deep thought for a while.

He seemed to have understood the whole story, there was no longer any way to describe Norton and Harrison in terms of talent, these were simply two geniuses.

He had clearly told Harrison the room number explicitly, kicking in a door can be kicked crooked to come?
For a moment, Arthur also felt that this matter was a bit tricky.

After all, if he really arrested Norton because of this, Norton would definitely give Harrison up.

If Harrison is confessed, with his integrity, in nine cases out of ten, he will have to involve Arthur again in the court of law.

In order to keep the matter from getting out of hand, Arthur had to find another way to get Palmerston to back off.

Arthur first inquired, “May I ask if you have a good look at the offender?”

Palmerston shook his head, “It was an emergency situation, plus the lighting in the room was rather dim, so the most I could do was to recognize both of them by their clothing attire, and their faces were not visible.”

The Red Devil rode on the stair railing and wagged his tail with a bad smile, “That’s good to know.”

Arthur faked a serious investigation and said, “Your Excellency, the situation you just described is actually quite common in the East End of London. From your description, my preliminary analysis suggests that this may be a game of badger juggling by a brothel …… roving fraud gang. Of course, I am afraid that such a cultured and elegant gentleman like you does not know what a badger game is, nor do you need to know. But I beg your permission to take your lady friend back to the police station for questioning; it is very probable that she is involved in this crime.”

“My female companion?” Palmerston heard that Arthur wished to take Mrs. Levine away, and at once rose to the idea of withdrawing the case.

It was humiliating enough to have the door kicked in at the Astley Theatre box, and if Scotland Yard were to take Mrs. Levine, the wife of the Russian Ambassador, away for investigation, it would in all probability make the headlines of tomorrow’s Times.

Bernie Harrison’s whoring incident has only been over for a short while, and if the news of the Foreign Secretary’s seduction of a married woman breaks out at this time, then Londoners will have something to talk about for the next month after dinner.

Although Palmerston has never been the religious persona of Bernie Harrison, and even from the beginning of his involvement in politics, he has always been a playboy. But it does still seem a bit exciting to be making headlines with the wife of a foreign minister in such a blatant and daring manner.

Combined with the usual fuck-ups of those London journalists on Upper Fleet Street who liked to make big news, Palmerston could even imagine what kind of headlines would appear on his desk tomorrow.

The Tender Land of Heroes and Heroines? It’s Viscount Palmerston’s ‘Gunboat’ Diplomacy!

“St. Petersburg is Continuing to Exert Dirty Garnet Influence on Britannia’s Foreign Policy!

‘Poland or Russia? Bernie Harrison and Viscount Palmerston each give a different explanation

“I am very concerned about the recent upsurge of treasonous tendencies among politicians.

Check it out for the rest of the Parliament!

“The only good thing to come out of the recent foreign news is that Arthur Hastings defeated François Bertrand in a duel last night.

A cold sweat broke out on Palmerston’s head at the thought.

He smiled and waved his hand, “Never mind, on second thought, it’s just a little unfortunate hiccup in the middle of a beautiful night tonight. The officers have all had a hard night on duty, and I shouldn’t trouble you any more than I have to. I have dedicated myself to the service of all of Britain, and naturally the police of Scotland Yard should be included in that. Wouldn’t you say that’s true, Superintendent Hastings?”

Arthur said in a serious voice, “I appreciate your understanding, Your Excellency. But I must also emphasize that it is also Scotland Yard’s duty to protect the lives and property of the citizens of London. You are also a part of the citizens of London, and we absolutely have the obligation to protect you. Therefore, you should stop excusing yourself.”

Seeing that Arthur did not understand his meaning, Palmerston could only hint politely, “I can assure you that my lady friend is innocent, and I have known her for a long time. She is a very rich lady, and definitely does not look down on this property in my hand, let alone doing anything to extort me. Remember what I told you before? I was broke when I was young, but that wasn’t the only time I was broke, I was in financial trouble a few years ago, and it was that lady who helped me out of it. So, what happened tonight was just a random outburst, and that’s the end of it. Arthur, young man, just get well and don’t labor over such trifles. You’re not an ordinary junior officer now, you’re a Scotland Yard Superintendent, and it’s time to start thinking about the bigger picture.”

Lionel heard this, and understood at once which lady Palmerston had mentioned.

He also smiled and came up to intercede, “Arthur, I assure you that His Excellency the Viscount’s testimony is all true, so let’s forget about this matter.”

Arthur pretended to be embarrassed for a moment, and then sighed: “Since you all said so, then …… alas ……”

Arthur sighed and put the pen and paper back away, “The feeling of watching two villains slip through your hands is really unpleasant. Your Excellency, you really shouldn’t be so kind. Take my advice, this gentleness and kindness of yours will one day get you into trouble.”

Palmerston smiled and smoothed back his hair, “I know that too, but it can’t be helped, I can’t see the misfortune of others. Those two gentlemen may have just wanted to take their chances, and if they would have approached me in a more tactful way to ask for it, I would not have been able to resist doling out a few shillings to them. But at the time, you understand, I was indeed exasperated. But let bygones be bygones, I don’t really care.”

At the end of his speech, Palmerston also reached out his hand to bid farewell to Arthur, “Farewell then, Mr. Hastings. Your duel tonight was very impressive, and Mr. Chopin’s playing was very soothing to listen to, and I hope the proceeds of his performance tonight will help the Polish people. May God be with Poland.”

Arthur watched Viscount Palmerston leave the stairwell with his servants until he was sure they were far away, then he turned his head and inquired at Lionel, “And his lady friend is?”

Lionel glanced around to make sure no one was around before speaking, “Mrs. Levine.”

“Then the one he said used to be broke a few years ago ……”

Lionel smiled mysteriously and spoke, “Around 1825, Palmerston did experience a financial bankruptcy, he owed quite a lot of money, the Rothschild Bank’s, the Bank of Baring’s and other bits and pieces of borrowing totaled about ten thousand pounds. There was no one else willing to continue to guarantee his loans, so the Viscount approached his old friend Mrs. Levine. Mrs. Levine told him that he could try his luck at a casino, so Viscount Palmerston went to a casino in St. James’s Street, and in two days’ time won the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds. Arthur, remember what I told you? People with power have always had good luck, so you know, Viscount Palmerston is a power player too.”

Arthur couldn’t help but inhale at that, “Twenty-five thousand pounds? Mrs. Levine is really willing to put down the money. I just don’t know if this is just a whim, or is she making a long-term investment for the Russians, or both? But then again, Lionel, how did you know about this?”

Lionel smiled back, “Because the casino was owned by a Jew, Mr. Jacob Hart, whom I know. Mr. Hart is also on the official payroll because of this bet, he was just appointed by the Foreign Office earlier this year as Britain’s Consul in Leipzig.”

Arthur couldn’t help but smile at his words as well, “It seems that the return on this investment is quite high! What Mrs. Levine, the majority shareholder, got, there’s no way to draw any conclusions now. But Mr. Hart, the minority shareholder who followed the investment, has successfully cashed out with these shares.”

Lionel laughed as he pulled out a cigar and lit it, “Isn’t that so? Arthur, have you wanted to play a couple of hands lately? Unlike Mr. Hart, I’m planning to hold for the long term.”

When Arthur heard this, he just took off his hat and fanned himself as he shook his head, “Lionel, you can’t keep injecting money all the time, if you keep doing that, my own stake is going to be pretty much diluted.”

Lionel laughed as he sipped his cigar and exhaled smoke rings, “Arthur, you don’t have to worry so much. It’s like you said, I’m not just making an investment, there’s also an element of impulse. The board of directors are dominated by yourself, I’m not going to take the weights on the gambling table to pinch you and not let you play on. Unless …… you yourself still want a bigger table ……”

— Second shift to be posted tomorrow morning —

(End of chapter)