The Shadow of Great Britain

Leopold was still pondering how to clarify this point for his niece when Victoria spoke first: "But you needn’t worry about that, because I find that many people dismiss the related reports, especially the Duke of Wellington."

"Oh?" Leopold had always had a good personal relationship with the Duke of Wellington; they first met over twenty years ago in Paris, when Leopold was the special representative of Emperor Alexander I and met with the Duke of Wellington, who served as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army: "What did Your Excellency, the Duke say?"

Victoria smiled and said: "Last month at the parade, the Old Duke assured me that he has faith in your character and concern for me. If necessary, he is always willing to step in to defend you. Also, he told me that although Viscount Melbourne is somewhat careless, he is essentially a decent and respectable man. However, the Old Duke’s greatest concern is my horseback riding at the parade. He insists I should attend in a convertible carriage because no one understands better than him how difficult it is to tame a horse."

Leopold also laughed upon hearing this: "He is the same as ever. Although his temper is rather straightforward, the Duke of Wellington has always been a supporter of the Royal Family, and I equally believe his concerns are sincere."

With this, Leopold asked: "The Duke will attend the concert tonight, right? If possible, I hope to have my seat arranged next to him."

"Of course!" Victoria couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought of what was going to happen tonight: "You will certainly sit together with him, and we have a special surprise for him tonight."

"A surprise?" Leopold pondered for a while: "What sort of surprise? Are there unexpected guests tonight?"

"Not unexpected guests, but a piece dedicated to the Old Duke, the ’Wellington March.’" Victoria lifted her finger to her lips: "You must remember to keep it a secret from him; this piece was intentionally left off the program tonight."

"’Wellington March’?" This was the first time Leopold heard of this, as Albert hadn’t mentioned it to him upon returning last night: "Is it a new work by Mr. Laburaki, your vocal teacher?"

Victoria smiled slyly: "It’s not Mr. Laburaki’s, but a piece co-written by Sir Arthur and Albert. Didn’t he tell you?"

"Sir Arthur and Albert?" Although Leopold knew his nephew was fond of music, he honestly didn’t know he had compositional talent. However, given Leopold’s shrewdness, he immediately understood what was happening with just a little association.

Arthur Hastings’s status as a musician is often forgotten, although he no longer performs on stage, the sheet music for ’Clock’ is already widespread across Europe, and ’Turandot’ is famously popular in Germany and France.

In other words, this great musician’s talent likely lies not only in playing the piano but also in composition.

With his musical talent, creating a ’Wellington March’ for presentation does not seem like a difficult task at all.

However, what Leopold did not expect was Arthur’s willingness to lend Albert a helping hand along the way.

You have to know that most musicians are quite protective of their creative rights and signatures, not to mention adding someone else’s name to their sheet music. Even if you paid them handsomely to compose a song in praise of someone, many self-proclaimed high-minded musicians would choose to refuse.

And yet Arthur Hastings...

Seeing Arthur going to such lengths, Leopold couldn’t resist taking advantage of the situation too: "You probably never thought Albert had musical talent, did you? But to be honest, I didn’t foresee him being able to enter the sight of a great composer like Sir Arthur Hastings, allowing Albert to learn music alongside him. Doesn’t a young man who understands music and can compose songs seem particularly charming?"

Victoria couldn’t help but feel pleased at the prospect of the Duke of Wellington’s reaction tonight.

But this did not mean the young lady couldn’t understand her uncle’s subtext; she obviously knew that her uncle had been strongly matchmaking her and Albert for several years.

However, compared to Albert, she preferred young men who were more handsome in appearance and was quite displeased with her life continuing to be arranged by others.

Under the influence of rebellious psychology, she actually had a bit of a mind to deliberately irritate her uncle: "Understanding music naturally increases charm, but this is a separate matter from being handsome... Uncle, I still don’t agree with your earlier view that Alexander of Wurttemberg is not handsome enough. I admit Alexander’s physique is rather burly, but overall he is well-proportioned and handsome. You have to know, ladies’ judgment of men’s looks is usually more accurate."