Chapter 2398 - 316: What Are Ten Thousand Clocks to Me!

Leisen leaned back against the sofa chair, her posture looking much more relaxed.

"Sir Arthur. Do you know? I actually have always admired you. You rose from a patrolman at Scotland Yard to your position today; it’s not easy, it can even be called a miracle. No one knows how much you’ve paid for it, no one knows what you’ve sacrificed for it. But I know, a distinguished gentleman like you, who rose from the streets to the position of Permanent Undersecretary at the Home Office, possesses not just outstanding talent but must also be a rational person."

Most people would be somewhat flattered by such praise.

But for a competent court politician, no court conversation can be taken at face value.

Sure enough, Leisen paused for a moment, then continued: "Rational people all have one thing in common, which is that they wouldn’t destroy everything they’ve worked so hard for, over something unworthy. That’s why I believe you can never be involved in those disreputable rumors, even today I hold this belief firmly."

Although Leisen was ostensibly showing her support for Arthur, she was also hinting that Arthur should not forcibly stand up for Flora.

As for which aspect weighs more heavily, it depends on personal interpretation.

However, faced with the olive branch and threat from Leisen, Arthur made no response.

Lady Leisen watched him, waited for a while but did not get the answer she wanted, so she had to say, "Sir Arthur, I just want to say you need not worry about those rumors. The innocent will be innocent, and the guilty will be guilty. You don’t need to do anything, you don’t need to say anything; those rumors will naturally dissipate."

She paused deliberately and repeated, "You don’t need to do anything."

After Lady Leisen finished speaking, the reception room fell silent.

The fire in the fireplace crackled, sounding particularly clear in the silence.

Lady Leisen leaned against the sofa chair, a faint smile on her lips, her gaze fixed on Arthur’s face, as if waiting for something.

Waiting for him to nod, waiting for him to agree, waiting for him to say, "You are right, I don’t need to do anything."

Since Victoria’s accession, the sudden overwhelming power has fascinated this Hanoverian governess to the extent that she forgot the man in front of her was once labeled by Viscount Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary, as "the greatest black sheep in Britain’s diplomatic system."

Arthur did not move; he just sat there, his cane standing before his knees, his back straight, gaze calm, just as he had faced John Conroy in Ramsgate back in the day.

Lady Leisen waited a while, her smile still etched on her face, though a bit stiff: "Do you... have nothing to say?"

Arthur looked at her, at her well-made-up face, those icy-blue eyes, the slightly upturned but no longer natural corners of her mouth: "Madam, are you finished?"

Leisen’s smile stiffened: "Finished."

Arthur nodded: "Then I’ll say a few words."

The silver tip of his cane tapped gently on the floor as Arthur turned his back; his shadow was cast long by the firelight from the fireplace, falling upon her.

"You just said," Arthur’s voice was calm, as calm as stating a fact unrelated to himself, "You’ve known me for five years."

Lady Leisen’s eyelashes fluttered.

"Yes."

"You say, you know what kind of person I am?"

"Yes."

"You say, you are confident I wouldn’t do such things?"

"Yes..."

Arthur turned to face Leisen: "You are wrong."

Leisen’s smile vanished completely: "I... am wrong?"

Arthur did not answer; he simply took something out from the inner pocket of his coat.

A letter.

The paper was already crumpled, with frayed edges, seemingly handled many times, implying its reader had struggled and pondered long before making today’s decision.

Arthur held the letter in his hand, without unfolding it, just holding it: "Do you know what this is?"

Lady Leisen looked at the letter in his hand, a hint of wariness and confusion in her gaze: "I... don’t know."

"This is a letter from Flora to me."

Leisen’s complexion changed slightly.

"I don’t know what state of mind Flora was in when she wrote this letter," Arthur began, "but I noticed some unnatural creases on the letter paper. I believe she must have been crying while writing it."

Lady Leisen’s lips moved, but she remained silent, choosing to stay quiet.

Arthur paced the reception room with his hands clasped behind his back: "You said earlier, I am a rational person. That’s certainly true, and it demonstrates your wisdom and ability to judge people well. You said, a rational person wouldn’t destroy everything they’ve worked hard for, over something unworthy."

Arthur suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at Leisen: "In this regard, you are quite right."

Leisen’s eyes brightened for a moment, like a drowning person seeing a driftwood. Although fleeting, Arthur saw it clearly.

"But unfortunately... you and I have different definitions of ’worthy matters,’" Arthur continued, "You think that a person rising from a street patrolman to a Permanent Undersecretary is because he knows how to calculate, knows when to bow his head, knows what to do and what not to do. You think reaching the position of Permanent Undersecretary from a street patrolman is a tremendous success. This, I do not dispute. However... I believe success in life is more than just one dimension, that worldly success is just the natural result of opportunism, an incidental outcome, not the original goal I pursued."