Shadow of great britain

In the evening, the mayor's home was brightly lit, candlelight flickered, and the hall was filled with the smell of candle oil and barbecue.

Although the dining room in the mayor's home is not spacious and cannot be compared with a real high-end restaurant, traces of careful decoration can be seen everywhere in the details.

A large silver candlestick was placed in the center of the oak dining table. Five candles were inserted high into it. The firelight swayed, illuminating the food at both ends of the table and the faces of the guests.

The tableware was neatly arranged on the brocade tablecloth, and the material was obviously not bad. Each plate had a strange luster, and the blades of the knives and forks shone brightly.

The plate is made of exquisite blue porcelain, with elegant gold edges and complex floral patterns painted in the center. Today's first course is neatly arranged inside - a seemingly carefully prepared cold dish, with thin layers of Sliced ​​beef, pickled gherkins and steamed egg yolks.

The meat slices were neatly cut into thin slices by the cook, and the cucumbers were also cut into even rounds and arranged around the dinner plate. Each slice was lightly sprinkled with a layer of olive oil and spices, making it look particularly luxurious. Unfortunately, only It just lacks the most basic rustic taste.

The second dish that came immediately was hot soup served by the cook herself. The soup bowl is covered with a layer of gold, which complements the silver of the tableware. The warm breath blows on your face, letting people absorb a lot of heat in this cold winter.

However, if we follow the evaluation standards of the authentic gourmet Alexandre Dumas, this bowl of seemingly rich mushroom soup actually tastes mediocre, the color of the soup is dull, there seems to be no special seasonings added, and the rare aroma is just superficial.

Arthur put his finger on the edge of the soup bowl, picked it gently, pretending to be interested, and then wiped the corners of his lips with a napkin, as if he was silently performing some kind of eccentricity that only upper-class people have.

The mayor picked up his own tableware with a look of reverence, took the tray from the serving servant, and said in a low voice: "Colonel, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, today's dishes are specially prepared for you. What do you think?"

Arthur frowned slightly, gently raised his knife and fork, and picked some cold dishes, but he was obviously not in a hurry to eat them.

He looked around, his eyes lingering on each dish for a moment, with a somewhat pretentious look in his eyes.

"Well..." he said lightly: "The taste is quite good, but obviously the ingredients here cannot be compared with the banquet in St. Petersburg. Your spices seem not to be bold enough. At the banquet in the capital, every dish must be prepared with There's a strong aroma, but like I said, do as the Romans do, and by Druisk standards, it's definitely excellent."

The mayor nodded hastily: "You are right, your insights are really impeccable. Although our cooks here try their best to imitate the styles of St. Petersburg and Moscow, you still see through it at a glance."

The mayor's wife asked curiously: "After all, you are a nobleman from the capital, but when you are in Petersburg, do you usually go to restaurants more, or do you prefer to eat at home?"

Arthur pretended to analyze: "Madam, whether to eat at home or in a restaurant is mainly determined by status. When I was a ninth-rank official, I mainly ate in restaurants. After all, you know, That meager salary It is impossible for me to support a French cook. Although my parents want to support me with a sum of money so that my life will not be too tight, but I am a self-reliant young man, how can I let others chew on me behind my back. The base of my tongue says that I rely on my family What about people with ethnic backgrounds? Just because I have this ambition and this attitude, I can climb much faster than others. Since I became a colonel, my salary has increased a lot, even though I am an official. Unlike local officials, we don’t have many financial resources, but with wages, subsidies, and filial piety from time to time from the local government, we can at least support a groom, a French cook, a playful monkey, and a few more families. Teachers’ salaries are definitely more than enough.”

The mayor's wife raised the sleeves of her blue silk dress, covered her mouth in surprise and said, "You keep monkeys at home?"

"This is my little personal hobby."

Arthur analyzed seriously: "You see, monkeys are intelligent creatures. There is no animal smarter than monkeys in the world! Besides, the monkey I raised is the most intelligent among monkeys. There is Sometimes you may even suspect that he is no different from a human being, eating with a knife and fork. , likes to go to the theater, knows how to appreciate beautiful ladies, and will hold up a newspaper on the sofa from time to time, as if he can understand it if you put a tuxedo on him. Pretend to be a college student, add a few poems from Shakespeare and Byron, and become a civil servant. "

The mayor's wife was so amused by Arthur's serious expression that she burst into laughter: "You really know how to tell jokes. No matter how smart a monkey is, it can't be that smart, right? You are bullying me as an ignorant country woman. So you are telling lies on purpose."

Arthur replied seriously: "Oh, madam, although the countryside cannot be compared with Petersburg, you can tell at a glance that you come from a wealthy family. Look at your clothes. This blue skirt is a typical Parisian style. Sophisticated country women don’t have such good taste.”

The mayor's wife blushed slightly when she was praised by Arthur. She quietly straightened her waist proudly, but humbly agreed: "You have such good taste. When I bought this skirt in Moscow, they It is true that this dress was shipped from Paris. However, you really don’t dare to say that I am from a wealthy family... I am from a provincial city. Of course, a provincial city cannot compare with Petersburg, that is. A little bit better than Druisk.”

The daughter sitting next to the mayor's wife heard this and stared at her mother with resentment and muttered: "Mom... that skirt was originally..."

Naturally, the mayor's wife couldn't let her daughter speak. She quickly pinched her daughter's legs under the table and taught her a lesson in a low voice: "Look! Look! It's started again! I know that beauty and pretentiousness will show up in the mirror all day long. I take endless front photos, either retouching here or applying paint there. I can be busy for two hours a day just to choose a dress. . That bottle of the best Paris perfume. Today Captain Potemkin comes, you have to spray a little, and tomorrow the inspector comes, you have to spray a little more. You pretend to be that they are all pursuing you and want to fight for you. It's better now. A colonel from Petersburg came today, and the perfume was ruined for you. Not only did you not have to spray it, but I also didn't have to use it! "

The mayor saw his wife busy arguing with her daughter and quickly took over the conversation, overriding her chattering voice: "Colonel, you said you hired a tutor at home? Does this mean you are married and how many children do you have at home? "

As soon as this question came out, the wife and daughter immediately stopped arguing and pricked up their ears to listen carefully.

Arthur sipped the bottle of Bordeaux wine that the mayor had found hanging from the ground: "I am not married, and the tutor was not hired for the children, but for myself. A German poet, a British scholar , after all, they taught me philosophy and natural philosophy respectively. Times have changed now. You can't get promoted just by being a waiter, especially at social banquets. You have to show some real talent! The ladies of Petersburg not only like men with medals on their chests, but also those who can Those who compose poems and understand electromagnetism.”

"Electromagnetism?" The mayor held his forehead and exclaimed: "Oh my god, this is a new word to me. You mean thunder and lightning? Girls from Petersburg can understand such profound things. ”

Arthur nodded slightly and said: "It's better if you don't understand. They just like things they don't understand. The more advanced the better. To be honest, I have only scratched the surface of electromagnetism. I don't know how to understand it." Just list a few calculations and say a few new words. But, in Petersburg. , they all praised me as a great scholar, saying that I was the leading figure in electromagnetics in Russia and the electromagnetic authority Artur Agaresovich Hestingov. There were many sixth-rank officials in Petersburg. But there are very few electromagnetists, so this title is much more useful than the sixth-grade official."

The mayor's wife blushed and complimented after hearing this: "You are so knowledgeable! Electromagnetism, this is really amazing! I only knew that the sound of thunder is scary, but I didn't expect that it has become a science now."

"It's nothing."

Arthur waved his hand and said: "You know, my cook is French. Every time I give him a holiday and let him go back to his hometown, I give him some money and ask him to bring me some local specialties when he comes back. Yes. Sometimes it’s French clothing, sometimes it’s pickled food and red wine. Last year, he came back from France and hadn’t even bought it yet. He shouted from outside: "Master, look what I brought back to you!" He handed a cloth parcel to me. I opened it and saw that it contained several novels and scripts. Among the previous gifts, these scripts and novels are my favorite. I have been fond of literature since I was a child, and sometimes I write it myself..."

The mayor's daughter blinked her eyes. She was so absorbed in listening that even her swan-like neck couldn't help but lean forward slightly: "Can you write scripts and novels?"

Arthur wiped his mouth with a napkin: "Yes, I sometimes publish articles in magazines. I have many works. Do you read newspapers and magazines? You can often read them in "Northern Bee" and "Moscow Correspondent" Go to my article. Because of work reasons, and as you know, due to political considerations, in order to monitor those bastards who are plotting to subvert the government, I often have the opportunity to go abroad when I go on business trips abroad. Opportunistic investment and foreign investment magazine. For example, "Antoni" is a work by the French playwright Alexandre Dumas. I helped to correct it. We have a good relationship, so he often teaches me to read his new works. Oh, by the way, also. There was the Prussian Heine. Originally I didn't like Heine's poems, but that guy heard my name from somewhere. He came to me in the heavy rain and said, "Brother, please show mercy and help me." Take a look at this "Beihai Collection".

The inspector interjected from the side: "I guess he knew that you were working for the Third Bureau. He wanted to distribute the work in Russia, so he found your way."

Arthur shrugged and said: "Who knows? But for me, this is all a matter of course. As I mentioned before, do as the Romans do. I never like to make things difficult for others, as long as they don't offend me, I am still willing to make friends with everyone. Even Xiao...well...Liszt has a good relationship with me. Do you know Liszt, the king of piano in Paris and the czar of European music?"

"Do you still know music?"

"I know a little bit of it." Arthur replied with a smile: "But I did create an opera "Turandot", which was adapted from Goethe's works."

"Oh my God!" The mayor was sweating as he listened to the opera: "Are you omniscient? No wonder you can become a sixth-rank official at such a young age."

"Do you think you can become a sixth-rank official with these? You are totally wrong! Music, literature, and science are girls' favorites." Arthur gave an example seriously: "But for someone like you, if you met such a young man in Druisk, would your first reaction be to promote him?"

"Isn't it?" The city judge, who had been silent for a long time, asked: "Such young people deserve to be promoted."

And the mayor Bakalkkin next to him understood what Arthur meant: "No, Nikolai I Ivanovich, a young man like this is probably a liberal. Even if he is not a member of the Decembrists, he is probably a reserve of the Decembrists. For such a person, not only should he not be promoted, but he should be monitored more closely! "

Arthur looked at the mayor with admiration: "Nikola Ivanovich, look! If you had the same awareness as the mayor, you would not have been transferred from Slonin to Druisk, and you would have been a sixth-rank official like me. Yes, the reason why I want to learn these things is not only to please the girls, but also to facilitate my work. This is all the hard work I put in to get along with the liberals! As for why I was able to get promoted quickly, on the one hand, it was because I did a good job, and on the other hand..."

Everyone present held their breath. After all, there are not many good people willing to share their experience in promotion these days.

Arthur's eyes swept over everyone's serious faces one by one. He slowly picked up his wine glass and shared his experience without reservation: "I think it's because I often attend parties and play cards. The Foreign Minister, the French and British envoys, we often play cards together. Once when I was in London, I even played at the Duke of Wellington's card table. And the director of our third bureau, Count Benkendorf's sister, Lady Leven, I danced with her a few times before. It is worth mentioning that she is particularly good at dancing the German waltz."