Chapter 2383 - 310: Court Scandal

"Miss Hastings’s belly has grown?"

Viscount Melbourne, initially disinterested, slowly widened his eyes at the words. He sat up straight and asked, "Henry, do you know how despicable it is to slander the reputation of a noble lady?"

Although the relationships among the upper class are chaotic, it doesn’t mean that noble families don’t care about their reputation. From a certain perspective, family reputation directly determines their status in social circles, which in turn influences their wealth and power.

In short, in the upper society, you can be morally corrupt and have a chaotic private life, but you must keep it concealed.

Furthermore, since women in noble families are often seen as the link for exchanging wealth and interests between families, noble families have exceptionally strict moral requirements for their female members. Any behavior that violates social norms may be considered a disgrace.

Premarital pregnancy signifies a departure from society’s expected moral norms for women, and this shame can affect the entire family’s social relationships and image.

If such a scandal breaks out involving a noble lady, it would not only lead to her being ostracized by high society, but her family may also be expelled from social circles, affecting the marriage prospects of other family members.

For this reason, once such a situation occurs, family members will usually choose to make the scandal-ridden woman leave the family, cutting off all ties with her to protect their family’s reputation.

Moreover, since the living standards and economic conditions of noble women largely depend on the family’s support, once they lose this support, they usually soon fall into poverty.

Of course, expelling the scandalous member is not the only solution.

In some cases, noble families will grit their teeth and deal with it by cooking the rice or muddling through.

Simply put, they will arrange a rapid marriage to restore the family’s honor.

If the culprit responsible for impregnating the noble lady is also from the noble class, then the person is left with two choices: either take responsibility and marry her quickly, or a new feud begins.

If the culprit is from the lower class, due to its extremely vile nature, the handling methods for both parties are rarely made public, but one can imagine, this solution is far simpler than the aforementioned scenario.

Viscount Melbourne may be oblivious to many political issues, but he possesses extraordinary acumen in noble scandals.

As for the reason, it’s not hard to understand.

After all, his late wife once embroiled him in a scandal that disgraced the entire family.

Moreover, since his wife’s affair was with Lord Byron, the scandal’s fervor soared incredibly high, and its spread wasn’t limited to the British Isles, as many European countries across the sea also kept track of new developments in the incident.

If not for that, Viscount Melbourne wouldn’t have squandered 20 years as a backbench MP, only appointing as the Secretary of State for Ireland in the George Canning Cabinet at the age of 48 in 1827.

Melbourne understood the devastating effects such scandals could have on personal reputation, as did Palmerston.

Although he didn’t know who was responsible for making Miss Hastings pregnant, just associating it with Arthur was enough to ruin at least ten years of his political career. In other words, even if Arthur decides to stand as a Conservative candidate in the next election, he won’t pose any threat.

Palmerston spoke, "William, I am not one to casually defame a lady’s reputation. However, I believe I have an obligation to inform you, as the Prime Minister and Her Majesty the Queen’s private secretary, of this news. After all, Miss Hastings is not an ordinary noble lady; she is also the Chief Lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Kent. I think no one would want a scandal to break out at court, especially right after Her Majesty’s coronation."

Viscount Melbourne looked up at Palmerston, then said deeply, "Do you have any evidence? If you don’t mind, I’d like to know from whom you heard about Miss Hastings’s condition."

"There are many sources, but for now they remain in the realm of court gossip." Viscount Palmerston leaned back in his sofa chair, crossing his legs: "But I wish to remind you, William, the Clerk of the Privy Council, Greville, already knows about this. He’s the one who told me."

"Greville?" Viscount Melbourne couldn’t help but frown: "That old gossip..."

"Though I don’t know where Greville got his information, as you know, he is close to many people in the palace." Palmerston set down his wine glass: "I suspect the news mostly leaked from the palace. My personal suggestion is that on your next audience, you should inquire about this matter with Her Majesty."

"Hmm..."

Viscount Melbourne stood up, standing at the window with hands behind his back: "Even if Miss Hastings truly... we can’t conclude it’s Arthur Hastings’s doing yet, right? William, I know you are dissatisfied with him, but if we don’t have conclusive evidence, once this matter is exposed, it will be difficult to control!"

Hearing this, Palmerston knew the other had essentially accepted his plan. He laughed heartily, stood up: "How could I present decisive evidence in such matters? However, if you only need me to provide evidence, I do have some."