Chapter 334: Early Human Love Problems

Chapter 331 – Early Human Love Problems
In the middle of the ballroom, Gladstone sat in the corner with a glass of red wine looking a little distracted.

He looked at the young face reflected on the blood-red liquor, and couldn’t stop shaking his head with one hand pressed to his forehead.

He muttered, “William, look what you’ve done. You proclaimed to your constituents that you were going to clean up corruption within the government, yet today you watched a case of corruption happen right in front of your eyes. You, on the other hand, are not going to do anything, are you not failing Sir Peel and the Duke of Newcastle by doing this?”

Speaking here, he couldn’t help but rub his face hard with his hands until his cheeks were apple-colored, and only then did he feel like his heart was going to feel slightly better.

Just as he was planning to go out for some fresh air, suddenly the rest of his eyes caught a glimpse of a beautiful red and black dress coming in front of him.

Gladstone was first stunned for a moment, then his lowered head slowly looked upwards, and there was none other than the girl he had longed for – Miss Catherine Rothwell.

Catherine looked a little nervous as well, her arms folded over her stomach as if trying to emulate the sophisticated ladies who were as comfortable in the social scene as they were in their own.

But a seventeen year old girl couldn’t act that way anyway, and no amount of expensive white makeup could cover the blush of her cheeks, not to mention the lace gloves that she was so nervous she was pulling out the creases.

“Will …… William, are you just going to stand by and watch me stand here in disgrace?”

“Ah ……”

Gladstone, who hadn’t yet come to his senses, sniffed and froze back, “Sorry, Catherine, you’re probably tired of standing, why don’t you sit next to me? You look like you could use a little sherry, I’ll go and get you a glass.”

Catherine looked at Gladstone with shame and anger when she heard this.

If it wasn’t for the fact that she had heard today that Gladstone would be here for the ball, coupled with the fact that her own father had soft-pedaled her, she would not have said anything to come to this place that was so stuffy that it made one’s heart flutter.

And in order to wait for Gladstone to invite her for the first dance, she even rejected several unintelligent suitors in a row.

However, she waited in the ballroom for half a day, but was late in seeing Gladstone come forward.

When she waited, she even realized that this young master had directly disappeared.

If it were not for the old pocket watch Mr. Rothwell stopping his daughter from going home, and the footmen not daring to disobey his lordship’s orders, Miss Catherine would probably be lying in her big bed in her own bedroom asleep by now.

However, after waiting for Gladstone to come, Katharine made up her mind to take the initiative, but got such a reply, which could not help making the conservative conception of Miss Katharine have a feeling of being insulted.

Mr. Rothwell, who had been staring at this side of the situation, found that the situation was not right, and hurriedly said goodbye to his friends and ran to round up the situation.

Mr. Rothwell rushed to his daughter’s side, who was on the verge of a breakdown, and first whispered in a soothing voice: “Don’t be angry, my dear, William and his father have an important business to attend to today. He is perhaps dizzy with business talk, and as I see he has not been inviting ladies to dance, that place must be reserved for you.”

At these words, the old pocket watch moved two more hands with a smile on its face to follow the graduated line to Gladstone, ticking off the social newcomer.

“William, why don’t you ask Catherine for a dance? She doesn’t have a partner for the dance tonight. It’s a great indiscretion to leave a lady lacking company at a ball.”

It was only when Gladstone heard this that his elm brain finally opened up, and he hurriedly got up and said, “Ah! Catherine, I apologize. I …… I was trying to ask you to dance, just just now …… sorry, really sorry, just now a lot of things happened, my brain is too messy.”

Catherine saw that Gladstone was not intentionally embarrassing himself, and the rich young lady who already had a favorable impression of him quickly unraveled the lump in her heart.

Instead, she began to wonder what on earth could have caused the ever-calm Gladstone to be in this disoriented state.

She boldly sat down next to Gladstone, “William, what is wrong with you?”

Mr. Rothwell saw the two slow-witted newcomers finally getting into the swing of things, and the old pocket watch quickly and leisurely tucked itself back into his pocket.

He took a step backward, still encouraging towards the newcomers as he retreated, “Yes, it’s useful to chat to improve understanding, and socializing doesn’t always require dancing. Remember, William, don’t mention the Bank of England’s interest rate hike or the business of the Levant and the Americas. Unless it’s not a beautiful, attractive girl like Catherine you’re trying to attract, but an old man like me who reeks of brass.”

Catherine just glared at her old man when she heard this.

Gladstone, on the other hand, didn’t notice the little gestures, or maybe he did but didn’t volunteer them.

He similarly scooted his butt toward Catherine’s side, the aroma of beauty scurrying into his nose as the hormones of youthful exuberance kicked in, and his head, which had only just cleared somewhat, quickly became giddy again.

“Well …… it’s not really a big deal. I’m just a little put off by my father’s exchange with Superintendent Hastings ……”

Catherine sniffed and nodded in sympathy, “I don’t like my father’s speeches very much sometimes either, like just now …… Of course, William, I’m not talking about the part that’s directed at you.”

“It’s okay to take it personally.” Gladstone smiled as if laughing to himself, “I’ve actually kinda failed this year. I lost the party primaries to a Jew, and at the time I felt unconvinced, but now it seems that there was indeed a reason why he was able to beat me. Maybe he came off as pompous in his delivery, but at least he was much more pragmatic in his choice of campaign platform than I was.”

Seeing him so discouraged, Catherine spoke up and comforted him, “William, don’t say that, remember when you were a child? You and I said, Man, always look up to something. Pragmatic is good, but I always thought that was synonymous with vulgarity.”

Gladstone laughed, “Catherine, I didn’t say that, Kant did. And that’s not the only thing he said, he also said that you can’t make anything straight with a wood as crooked as human nature.”

Catherine nodded, “I know it was Kant who said that, but it was you who said it to me the first time, and that’s enough.”

“Katherine ……”

Gladstone looked at the beauty beside him and was momentarily lost in thought, “Thank …… you, you’re always so understanding. But thanks to you, I’m feeling much better now. I …… I ……”

Gladstone was about to continue, but his father’s admonition flashed in his mind.

He was silent for a moment with his mouth half-open, and Catherine could not help but ask when she saw this, “What’s wrong with you? Are you unwell?”

“Nothing.”

Gladstone laughed, “Usually, in social situations, it is the gentlemen who accommodate the ladies. But now it’s your turn to take care of my mood, how can that be? I heard from Mr. Rothwell that you love the life in London, you like the music, paintings, architecture and so on. By the way, do you know about the gramophone? I came back from London this time, and I happened to bring a few records for the gramophone. Although the records don’t sound as good as they do in concert, they’re good enough to take the edge off. I’ll send the stuff to you tomorrow.”

Catherine couldn’t help but be surprised to hear this, “So you like listening to records too? When the phonograph was just put on sale in London, my father sent someone to get one back, only that I didn’t have that many records at home, and only had a handful of tunes. Although they’re all very good, I’m getting tired of listening to them over and over every day.”

“Really? Then it looks like I really did buy the right gift.” Gladstone smiled and asked, “Which pianist’s tunes do you like? Mendelssohn, Barthes, Moscheles, or Clementi? Let me guess, it wouldn’t be Hastings, would it? The guys say you’re quiet, but I know that underneath your quiet exterior lies a passionate heart, and Mr. Hastings’ ‘The Bells’ is just right for you.” Catherine smiled back, “William, you really know me. Of all those records I have at home, that song ‘The Bells’ is my favorite. I spent a month or two trying to learn it, but it doesn’t come out nearly as stirring and powerful as Mr. Hastings. That said, is Mr. Hastings really planning to retire from the piano? He’s obviously so young, and he totally still has plenty of time to compose more great tunes!”

Gladstone couldn’t help but feel like teasing Catherine as he smiled and said, “Perhaps it’s because Mr. Hastings met Mr. Chopin? You’ve read the story of the farewell concert, haven’t you? Mr. Hastings said that he couldn’t muster the confidence to continue playing in front of Chopin, and that since he couldn’t do his best, he might as well give the stage to a brighter musical star.”

Catherine couldn’t help but sigh, “What a romantic. His musical career was short, but it was called legendary. A song called ‘The Bells’ announced his emergence into the world, and a Chopin song called ‘To Hastings’ became his swansong. But what will Mr. Hastings do for a living if he stops playing the piano? Pianists like him usually start studying music at a very young age, and it’s safe to say they can’t do anything but play the piano and take care of themselves. I really hope that the record of The Bells will bring him enough money, or he will have to starve and freeze in the future.”

Hearing this, Gladstone couldn’t help but choke for a moment as the image of his father sending Arthur a large suitcase of money flashed through his mind.

He took a deep breath and spoke back, “Catherine, you are still so kind. But you don’t have to worry about Mr. Hastings’ livelihood at all, he is an anomaly among musicians. Playing the piano is just a passing interest of his, his main job is Senior Superintendent of Scotland Yard and he was just sent to Liverpool to check on smuggling not too long ago.”

“Senior Superintendent? Checking smuggling?”

Catherine stared at first, then thought of something.

The rich young lady’s eyes widened and she craned her head to look at the smoking room on her left, “So ……”

“That’s right.” Gladstone smiled bitterly, “The one inside the smoking room is.”

“My God!” Catherine covered her heaving chest and didn’t know if she was excited or thrilled, “I have to go tell Sophia and Vivian and the girls, they’re going to faint with joy. William. They are both avid fans of Mr. Hastings.”

Gladstone was puzzled, “I don’t find it hard to understand that Mr. Hastings has fans, but it shouldn’t be to the point of fanaticism, right? After all, as a pianist, his works are still too few for the time being.”

Catherine shook her head, “William, have you forgotten Sophia and Vivian’s interests? The two of them, apart from liking music, also like natural philosophy, especially the most up-to-date and cutting-edge field of natural philosophy. They say that Mr. Hastings is not only an outstanding pianist, but also a young master in the field of electromagnetism, who has even published several papers in the monthly journal of the Royal Society, and has co-signed them with Mr. Faraday. Can the two of them not be fanatical about such a figure?
You know, they were fanatical enough about Mr. Faraday before. Before the railroad opened, they had to take a carriage to London every once in a while to listen to Mr. Faraday’s lectures. After the opening of the railroad, whenever Mr. Faraday appeared, they never failed to attend his lectures. I hear that last year they even bought property in London, near Gresham College, where the Royal Society is based, and that was only to make it easier to listen to the lectures.”

Gladstone couldn’t help but take a sip of sherry at that, “In that case, they do have a reason to be fanatical about Mr. Hastings, and even a little more so I think. After all, in addition to being a researcher in electromagnetism and a pianist, he has also just defeated Bertrand, the Sword Saint of Paris, on behalf of Britannia. Did you see that sword at his belt? That’s a royal gift from His Majesty the King.”

Catherine could hardly contain her excitement as she asked, “Can you introduce Mr. Hastings to me later?”

As soon as Gladstone heard this, he couldn t help but feel a little twisted in his heart, “Do you …… like him very much?”

Catherine looked at Gladstone’s reluctant expression, her heart felt a little happy on the one hand, and a little smug on the other, she snapped, “William, I was trying to introduce him to Vivian and Sophia. Of course …… I personally also existed some small thoughts, but …… not in terms of men and women, I remember that he and Mr. Chopin are very familiar, right?
In fact, “The Bells” is only second in my mind, my favorite is the song “To Hastings” by Mr. Chopin. I would like to ask him to ask for me, although this is a bit rude, but I really want a copy of Mr. Chopin’s score of ‘To Hastings’, and if it can be accompanied by his autographed one, that would be even better.”

“So it is!”

Gladstone’s mood instantly improved upon hearing this, “Catherine, don’t worry, I’ll take care of this. Even if I put my life on the line, I will get you back such a copy. But what I didn’t expect is that your taste is actually on the same level as the royal family. You know what? Before I returned to Liverpool I heard that His Majesty the King seems to be planning to invite Mr. Chopin to take up the position of the Royal Pianist, and that the King and Queen were completely conquered by Chopin’s music.”

Catherine sniffed and a lot of light shone in her soft gaze, “William, you are truly an angel ……”

Her words of thanks were just in the middle of her sentence, but the rest of her eyes glimpsed that there seemed to be a few more people in front of the door of the smoking room.

If the daughter’s taste was high, the old man’s taste was naturally not low either.

The old Mr. Pocket Watch had his eyes and ears on all sides, and not only did he always pay attention to the dynamics of his daughter and his dragon rider, but he even managed to take the time to pace outside the smoking room to get close to Arthur and the others who had just stepped out.

“Mr. Hastings, I can’t believe you’re using a Rothwell pocket watch, you’ve got a great eye for picking ours out of all the great brands in London. How is it? Our pocket watch is much smoother to use than the usual low-end goods, isn’t it?”

Arthur mused, “Well …… it wasn’t actually my discerning eye, but a friend of mine who recommended it to me. He really likes Roswell’s personalized service, and while there are quite a few pocket watch brands in London, there aren’t many that can pull off helping him engrave the pattern he wants on the inside cover of his pocket watch.”

Dumas concurred, “That’s right, that pocket watch of Elder’s is worth a fortune. So much so that he didn’t dare to take it out in public to see the time, and every time he wanted to take a glance at what time it was, he had to find an unoccupied corner and lift the slit to scrutinize it.”

Heine took the pocket watch from Arthur’s hand and looked at it twice: “Is the Roswell pocket watch that good? Then why don’t I order one here as well, the quality of German pocket watches is outrageously poor, I used Swiss goods before. Mr. Roswell, take these three guineas, and if they are not enough, I will add to them. Listen to my pocket, it’s full of gold coins, and I don’t mind it.”

Louis raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Heinrich, the gold coins are already in your pocket. You should be able to control your mouth this time, right?”

Heinrich weighed the weight of the pocket watch in his hand, “In London I mainly scolded Germany and France, the issue of Britain will be discussed when I return to Paris.”

Louis sniffed and shrugged his shoulders, “Well, then when we get back to Paris, you’ll at least remember to add anonymity.”

Heine lifted her pocket watch to the chandelier and looked at the gold plating on it and read, “For the sake of the pocket watch, I’ll agree to this little request. Incidentally, can my article in belaboring be distributed in Britain?”

Arthur spoke, “Certainly, but it may require a few more drafts and a specific analysis of corruption in other countries to accompany the article.”

“Alright.” Heine bristled, “On the bright side, this is at least a much more relaxed publishing environment than Austria and Germany. In Austria, even if you talk about other countries, they think you’re insinuating and shady.”

Dumas asked, “Isn’t it?”

“So what if it is?” Heine emphasized, “At least I’ve stopped outright calling Metternich’s ass a German hemorrhoid with accompanying urinary incontinence.”

Roswell heard this and smiled as he was about to continue with a few compliments.

Unexpectedly, there was a sudden commotion in front of the ballroom door, and several servants in charge of the guards were roughly blocking a man who wanted to break free and rush indoors, and behind the man stood a shivering teenage boy.

“Sir, I’m warning you for the last time, this is a private ball, you’re not among the guests, then you can’t enter this place.”

“Let me in, I want to see Mr. Hastings! I have much more important things to say than this damn ball, it will save many lives!”

“What the hell are you guys grumbling about? Why don’t you get this man out of here!”

“Sorry, Mr. Walker, we’re on it. Damn it! You bastard, you can’t listen to a good conversation, can you? Then don’t blame us for being rude!”

The man shouted angrily, “Mr. Hastings, I want to see Mr. Hastings!”

Seeing that the man was about to be lifted up and thrown out the door by the guards, Arthur stepped forward and put his hand on the guard’s, “It’s so cold, let him come in and have a drink. There’s still plenty of time left in the night, there’s no need to rush guests out the door so quickly.”

(End of chapter)