The fear of liars lies not in their deceit, but in their knack for telling us what we want to hear.
——Arthur Hastings
Tom lowered his voice further: "Miss Yvonne has been waiting upstairs for almost an hour. Initially, she wanted to bring the snacks down herself, but seeing that you were holding a eting with us, she restrained herself. But just now... you saw what happened."
Arthur did not reply, his gaze drifting to the window as if rely enjoying the night view.
Seeing his silence, Tom continued: "Arthur, don’t bla for being vocal. No matter how fiery her temperant is, she is ultimately a girl. Over the past year, news about you and Miss Flora Hastings has spread throughout the city, and she must feel uneasy about it. If it were rely emotional issues between you two, it wouldn’t be a big deal; a few kind words would smooth things over. But you know well that Nightingale Mansion is her asset, tied to nurous people, and our secret networks..."
Tom paused: "If this emotion truly breaks out, not only will your relationship suffer, but the whole situation will be affected. Among the information lines I know, four or five are entirely under her control. Yet, I understand that the lines I know likely represent only a small fraction within Nightingale Mansion; only you two probably know the exact amount of information she holds. If she decides to let go in a fit of anger, or on a whim... we might not even have a chance to redy."
Finishing his words, Tom sighed gently, as if relieving himself of a burden, yet he dared not speak further, quietly waiting for Arthur’s reaction.
After a few seconds, Arthur finally turned around, tapping his fingers lightly on the window fra, and with a smile, he said: "Firstly, Tom, I’m very grateful that you spoke to today because it shows that deep down you still regard as a friend."
Arthur opened the liquor cabinet and poured Tom a drink: "Furthermore, you are indeed right on this matter. After all, issues arising from mishandling male-female relationships are not particularly rare in London."
Arthur’s words were not rely to appease Tom, but also to state facts.
In London, whether it’s the Whig Party or Tory Party, from the King to the commoners, many have made a ss of their romantic entanglents.
So were purely unlucky, like Viscount lbourne, who married the disruptive and reckless Lady Caroline Ponsonby.
Others simply exhibited improper conduct themselves.
Indeed, finding soone upright in high society is inherently challenging.
However, if you must count them on your fingers, Robert Peel and his wife are undoubtedly the top choice.
In an era marked by impulsiveness, political marriages, and mistress culture, Peel and his wife stand out starkly against the social norm. Mrs. Peel is not keen on socializing and rarely engages in politics, which coincidentally matches Sir Pier’s cautious and low-profile character. Their relationship is so harmonious that even their Whig Party opponents do not bother attacking it.
Even the most anti-Peel liberal newspapers reluctantly praise Peel as a respectable father and husband.
Yet Peel represents a minority in matters of affection within high society.
The rest, even forr Pri Minister Count Grey, much admired for stability, was quite the Casanova in his youth and fathered a daughter with Lady Greyville, George IV’s mistress. However, after Grey marries, he quickly settles down.
Moreover, Grey’s wife, Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, always presents herself gracefully and appropriately in public, managing many relationships within the Whig Party, contrasting sharply with her cousin, Viscount lbourne’s late wife, Caroline Ponsonby—an important reason Grey ascended to Pri Minister ahead of lbourne.
Compared to political advancent due to dostic harmony, incidents of temporary or permanent withdrawal from politics due to scandals in romantic affairs are countless.
Like Henry Fitzroy, the uncle of Beagle’s captain, Colonel Fitzroy. In his youth, he was a promising MP, but after an affair with an actress and subsequent scandal, his father Duke of Grafton was furious, cutting off financial support, leading Fitzroy into gambling and debauchery, ultimately causing his exit from politics.
Though his life is not worth recording extensively in history, it doesn’t prevent him from being a regular feature in gossip tabloids and third-rate novels (excluding "The Shadow of Great Britain").
Moreover, today’s Ho Secretary Lord John Russell was reprimanded in his youth by party elders for allegedly enticing a Duchess, which, though he never succeeded, slowed his progress significantly, leaving him out of the Whig Party’s core circle until the 1832 parliantary reforms.
If citing a recent example, one might discuss Arthur Hastings’s ntor, Lord Brougham.
Since leaving the High Chancellor position, Lord Brougham has been vacationing on the European Continent, currently in Paris. Nevertheless, rumors have surfaced about his close ties with a dancer in Paris, prompting extensive newspaper coverage and analysis, with so even suggesting he has a secret family in France.
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