Chapter 397: Chapter 391: The Pure-hearted Prince Bonaparte
When Brigadier General Fleurie and his entourage boarded the steamship, Jerome Patterson stood at the bow, smiling and reaching his hand out to Fleurie and the others.
"Patterson... Your Highness!" Brigadier General Fleurie hesitated as he shook hands with the young Jerome Patterson, uncertain about how to address this "unusual" member of the Bonaparte Clan. Ultimately, Fleurie decided to call Jerome Patterson "Your Highness."
Since the Emperor had chosen to send him to receive Jerome Patterson, it indicated that the Emperor himself had a friendly attitude towards him.
Furthermore, Fleurie had heard some rumors that the Emperor planned to appoint this visitor from afar to an "important position."
Although Fleurie wasn’t particularly fond of Jerome Patterson, he didn’t want to offend this member of the Bonaparte Clan.
"I’m not a digital copy yet, just call me Jerome Patterson!" Jerome Patterson said with a kindly smile and a calm tone.
Before Jerome Patterson arrived in France from the United States, he had learned from his grandmother about the "difficulties" faced by his branch in their desire to return to the orthodox Bonaparte Clan, given that the current head of the Bonaparte Clan was his enigmatic "uncle"! His grandmother had told him that only by doing his utmost to please his uncle could they be allowed to return to the Bonaparte Clan.
Jerome Patterson could understand Fleurie’s conundrum about how to address him and didn’t wish to cause them any trouble.
After all, the ruler of this country was his uncle Jerome Bonaparte.
Without a formal acceptance into the Bonaparte Clan by Jerome Bonaparte, it was entirely normal for others to avoid extensive contact with him.
Jerome Patterson’s empathetic words caused Brigadier General Fleurie to feel a slight fondness for this "Prince" before him, and he quickly said to Jerome Patterson, "Mr. Patterson, the carriage to welcome you has been prepared!"
"Thank you very much!" Jerome Patterson nodded lightly and followed Brigadier General Fleurie off the ship.
After leaving Calais Port, they hadn’t walked far before they came upon a four-horse carriage. The carriage was entirely black and adorned with the Eagle Flag emblem representing the House of Bonaparte, obviously meant for Jerome Patterson. Beside his carriage were a few smaller ones for Fleurie and his entourage.
Jerome Patterson looked at this carriage with a hint of surprise. From the style and model of the carriage, it seemed only Queen Victoria’s carriage could compare. It was apparent that his uncle living at Tuileries Palace had a largely friendly attitude towards him.
With this in mind, Jerome Patterson couldn’t help but feel a bit more favorable towards his uncle whom he was about to meet, and he was also filled with expectations for his future.
Seeing this, Brigadier General Fleurie appropriately elevated the Emperor’s image, saying, "His Majesty knew you were coming and specifically ordered me to bring this carriage! Usually, His Majesty himself often rides in it!"
"Hmm!" Jerome Patterson grew even more curious about his uncle.
Subsequently, Jerome Patterson invited Fleurie to ride in the carriage with him.
After repeated refusals, Brigadier General Fleurie couldn’t resist Jerome Patterson’s invitation and agreed to ride together.
During the carriage ride, Jerome Patterson, who was intent on pleasing the one in power within the Bonaparte family, frequently asked about Jerome Bonaparte’s character and preferences, while Brigadier General Fleurie, sitting opposite Jerome Patterson, cautiously answered his inquiries.
The journey from the port to the temporary station wasn’t far, and the convoy soon reached the temporary station near the Calais Railway Station.
At the temporary station, soldiers were everywhere, surrounded by boxes of cargo waiting to be loaded. The steam train sat silently on the tracks, with all but one passenger car dedicated to freight.
Once Jerome Patterson’s carriage arrived, soldiers began loading the train, carrying the boxes and stacking them in the freight wagons.
After Jerome Patterson and Brigadier General Fleurie disembarked and handed over the carriage to the station’s soldiers, they sat in the passenger car behind the steam train.
When all the cargo was loaded, the soldiers also drove the carriage into the freight car and pulled the door shut.
As the steam engine let out a loud whistle, a large cloud of white steam spewed from the locomotive, and the powerful force generated by the internal steam pushed the pistons in the cylinders back and forth, causing the steam train to slowly start moving, gaining speed.
Sitting inside the car, Jerome Patterson curiously inquired about the types of cargo loaded in the rear freight cars.
Fleurie, careful not to reveal the true nature of the situation, could only vaguely reply that it was local specialties from the Calais Region.
Jerome Patterson clearly did not believe such a response.
Still, since Fleurie was unwilling to divulge the truth, Jerome Patterson was also unwilling to continue pressing the matter.
At present, his identity is rather sensitive; knowing too much can be unwise.
The train raced along the tracks at over 40 kilometers per hour, and Jerome Patterson arrived in Paris that night.
Upon disembarking at the Paris Railway Station, Jerome Patterson was informed by Brigadier General Fleury that he would be taken to the Saint-Gratien Mansion by Angangi Lake without any rest.
"Your Majesty, isn’t the Emperor at the Tuileries Palace?" Jerome Patterson asked Brigadier General Fleury with a puzzled expression.
Looking at the somewhat adorably naive "heir," Brigadier General Fleury responded helplessly, "Your Majesty has concerns about your safety; that’s why it’s specially arranged to meet you there! The owner of the mansion is Your Majesty’s sister, Princess Mathilde, who is your aunt!"
"I understand!" Jerome Patterson nodded to show his understanding.
The carriage departed from the temporary Paris Railway Station, following the winding course of the Seine River into the Paris Inner Circle and soon arrived at the gates of the Saint-Gratien Mansion.
At this moment, the entrance of the Saint-Gratien Mansion was illuminated by two exquisite gas lamps burning brightly, their glow spreading outward from the pale blue core to light the path at the mansion’s entrance.
Standing at the gate and looking into the garden beyond the fence, one could faintly see the distant stars coming from the mansion.
That was Jerome Patterson’s destination—the Saint-Gratien Mansion.
Led by Fleury, Jerome Patterson slowly walked down a path paved with cobblestones, listening to the chirping of crickets from the grass on both sides.
"Knock knock knock!"
Arriving at the main entrance of the Saint-Gratien Mansion, Jerome Patterson gently knocked on the door. Shortly thereafter, a woman dressed as a maid appeared at the door, glanced at Jerome Patterson and Brigadier General Fleury, then bowed and said, "You must be Mr. Jerome Patterson!"
"Yes, I am!" Jerome Patterson nodded in response to the maid.
"Please follow me!" The maid invited Jerome Patterson into the mansion and then asked if Brigadier General Fleury wished to enter as well.
Fleury decisively declined the invitation to enter the mansion, turned around, and disappeared into the night.
Fleury’s departure imparted a surge of fear within Jerome Patterson. As he followed the maid into the second floor of the mansion, he could only continuously reassure himself that it was merely a routine meeting, just like when he met the Duke of Wellington with his grandmother.
As Jerome Patterson was lost in thought, the maid’s voice reached his ears, saying, "Princess and Prince are inside!"
"Oh! Oh!" Jerome Patterson nodded with a simple expression and watched the maid depart.
After a while, Jerome Patterson’s mood returned to normal from apprehension, and he gently pushed open the door.
An elderly man and a woman in her thirties appeared in Jerome Patterson’s view.
With the words from the earlier maid, Jerome Patterson immediately understood that the two people before him were his grandfather, Prince Monfort, and his aunt, Princess Mathilde, one showing a loving glance, the other a hostile demeanor.
Upon entering the room, Jerome Patterson was promptly subjected to Mathilde Bonaparte’s sharp questioning. Mathilde, in an unabashedly arrogant manner, said to Jerome Patterson, "Are you Jerome Patterson? The grandson of that woman?"
Faced with his domineering aunt, Jerome Patterson couldn’t help but feel a bit angry.
Just as he prepared to counter Mathilde with the same attitude, his grandmother’s words once again surfaced in his mind, and he could only suppress his humiliation and respond humbly to Mathilde, "I am Jerome Patterson! My grandmother is Elizabeth Patterson!"
In stark contrast to the harsh Mathilde, Prince Monfort spoke with a trembling voice to Jerome Patterson, "Child! Come to me, let me have a look!"
Jerome Patterson obeyed Prince Monfort’s command and approached him.
Prince Monfort looked at his grandson, who bore some resemblance to him, and through Jerome Patterson’s eyes, which had traces of resemblance to Elizabeth’s, he recalled once again the scene from decades ago when he abandoned Elizabeth Patterson, causing his heart to fill with a sense of pity.
"Good child! Good child! You’ve had a tough journey!" Prince Monfort spoke to Jerome Patterson with a trembling tone while holding his hand.
"It’s nothing!" Jerome Patterson responded to Prince Monfort while half-squatting.