Arthur did not respond, he just placed the napkin beside him and looked at him calmly, as if waiting for something more sincere to be said.

Stockma paused momentarily, as if carefully weighing his words, and then continued: "His Majesty Leopold has always trusted you, the chaos last night made us all too tense. I shouldn’t have doubted your stance on this matter, your past actions, your loyalty to this country and the Royal Family has long been evident, my remarks earlier... I was truly out of line."

Stockma was afraid that Arthur would, in a fit of anger, side with the Duke of Cumberland, given that Arthur’s current position is not merely being trusted by Victoria.

Besides, his influence in Scotland Yard and Fleet Street was enough to secure him a spot in the battle for the throne.

Moreover, he might have the support of the Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel.

If this matter were true, rashly dismissing Arthur would only anger the Tory Party moderates who still have hopes for Victoria, causing them to resolutely support the Duke of Cumberland’s succession out of a deep sense of dismal political future.

If Stockma can represent the will of Belgian King Leopold I at Kensington Palace, then Sir Arthur Hastings is the spokesperson for the Peel Party there. Perhaps Arthur’s status is not so high, but from the perspective of assisting Victoria’s succession, he is absolutely indispensable.

Moreover, the Belgian Government can offer some appropriate chips to ensure he continues to stand by Victoria’s side.

Seeing he hadn’t stormed off, Stockma sat back down.

His tone softened considerably: "Your efforts for Her Highness the Princess, everyone has seen. His Majesty Leopold often says that if Kensington Palace had more calm and responsible figures like you, he could sleep several more hours peacefully even being far away in Brussels."

He chuckled, casually adding: "By the way, I just received a letter the day before yesterday, written by a member of the Cabinet in Brussels. He said the construction application from the England Electromagnetic Telegraph Company... the format was quite proper, the review progress was faster than expected, perhaps because the sunlight in the conference room was nice on that day, so everyone was in a good mood. However, these are trivial details, all left to be handled by subordinates, not needing to trouble you."

Arthur clearly felt better after hearing that.

This is the way he likes doing things, a reciprocal arrangement, mutual give-and-take, that’s what business is all about.

Unlike John Conroy, who only talks about raises, making him run to Scotland Yard to issue a gag order for Kensington Palace is somewhat unpresentable.

Over the past year, having secured membership in the Royal Society for Conroy, staged a solo performance for Conroy’s mistress at the Alhambra Theater, and saved Kensington from crises several times, boosting Victoria’s reputation among the populace – was it all just for the promise of a slight salary increase?

Apart from salary increases, Conroy mostly talks about securing a court position for Arthur once Victoria succeeds to the throne.

But...

Ha, such trivial promises hardly catch the eye of Sir Arthur Hastings.

In contrast, the Belgians offer a significant investment in telegraph line construction right off, followed by various government subsidies and long-term maintenance contracts, far surpassing what John Conroy has offered.

More crucially, it’s also appealing with the prospect of four more railway telegraph line contracts.

If Arthur does not align with the Belgians, he would simply be ignoring potential gains for the company’s stock.

"Your Excellency," Arthur finally spoke: "Ultimately, I am not someone who disregards sentiment. I believe your words, our wish is for Her Highness the Princess to safely get through this period. Therefore, I thought, if you are willing to come here in the rain, it shouldn’t be just to talk about a well-formatted document, right?"

He put down his cup and directed his gaze at Stockma: "What exactly happened last night? I’m not referring to what Colly and Officer Hoot stumbled upon, but deeper matters. What exactly is the situation in Kensington Palace now?"

Stockma asked back: "What do you think of Lady Leisen?"

"Lady Leisen?" Arthur began: "A very competent caregiver, her conduct and her steadfastness are quite fitting for the position of the Crown Prince’s Tutor."

Upon hearing this, Stockma nodded slightly and said: "I think the same. But, this morning, Conroy went to the Duchess of Kent and said Lady Leisen must leave Kensington Palace immediately."

Arthur’s finger was rhythmically tapping on the table, he was silent for a moment: "You want to keep Leisen?"

Stockma neither confirmed nor denied: "If you are genuinely considering Her Highness the Princess, you’d probably know what is right to do."

Arthur took a sip of coffee: "It seems Sir John Conroy indeed lacks popularity, His Majesty William dislikes him, His Majesty Leopold is not fond of him, and Her Highness the Princess both hates and fears him, now he has gained you as an opponent. But... I also really don’t understand why the Duchess trusts him so much. What excuse did Conroy use to force Leisen to leave this time?

Stockma realized Arthur’s stance; having this ally gave him more confidence to deal with Conroy: "The reason is not hard to guess, he said Lady Leisen was negligent, that she failed to supervise the princess, allowing her the opportunity to privately associate with inappropriate individuals. More importantly, he claims Lady Leisen has long lost her guidance over Her Highness in terms of education and spirit."

At this point, Stockma paused for a moment: "This incident indeed traces back to Leisen’s negligence, but to blame everything solely on her is quite excessive. Moreover, I think there’s hardly anyone willing to see a situation where Conroy dominates Kensington Palace alone. At present, Kensington Palace has Leisen, you, and I, there can be some checks on him. But you and I, unfortunately, can’t be stationed at Kensington Palace permanently, the only one who can be by Her Highness’s side all the time is Leisen. If she leaves the palace, no matter how hard we try from the outside, it would be difficult to pry open Kensington Palace’s mouth in the future."

Hearing this, Arthur finally got to the main point he wanted to hear.

Conroy wants to get rid of Leisen, Arthur and Stockma certainly want to resolve him as well.

"You’re right," Arthur spoke: "But, if we want to keep Leisen, relying solely on us is not enough. The one who truly has a voice in Kensington Palace is the Duchess, but you know, she practically obeys Conroy. If Conroy insists on doing this, you’ll find it difficult to persuade the Duchess to change her mind. And we cannot apply open pressure either, such court scandals, if spread, would benefit none."

"From your tone, have you already devised a solution?"

Arthur nodded lightly: "Matters cannot be raised by outsiders like us."

"What do you mean?"

"It must be Her Highness the Princess who speaks herself." Arthur took a sip of coffee: "And I think she certainly will speak for Leisen, after all now she’s daring enough to meet with Elphinstone at night, there’s no reason she wouldn’t dare to stand up for her closest friend."

Stockma pondered for a moment: "But that isn’t enough...we must also pressure the Duchess from other aspects."

"This is simple." Arthur said with a smile: "If you want to find trouble for her, just let the events of last night slip to His Majesty the King. Of course, I meant the one in Windsor Castle, not Brussels. His Majesty the King similarly dislikes Conroy; with his character, surely he won’t sit idly by regarding what happened to Leisen."

"And if His Majesty’s warning does not work?" Stockma hesitated and asked: "You also know, Kensington Palace and his relationship has always been poor, the Duchess may not yield to him."

Arthur laughed: "If this still isn’t enough, then don’t we still have Elphinstone? Haven’t you forgotten what the Duchess fears most?"