Chapter 202: Scandal
What the Greeks considered the right choice undoubtedly pleased neither side. It could be said they had offended both camps.
The Russians could still reluctantly accept it. No matter where the Greeks were fighting, they were tying down part of the Ottoman Empire's attention. At this critical juncture, one more ally meant one more measure of strength and a greater chance of victory.
The British and French, however, could not tolerate it, especially the British. In their eyes, Greece's actions were naked betrayal.
The London Government ignored the conflict between the two countries in 1850. They overlooked the fact that the two had already fallen out years earlier, when Palmerston ordered the blockade of the Port of Piraeus.
Of course, John Bull did not want to provoke the Greeks at such a time either. If they threw caution to the wind and marched straight for Constantinople, cutting off the coalition forces' supply lines along the way, the allied armies on the Balkan Peninsula would be finished in less than half a month.
Just as the London Parliament was discussing the opening of a new front, Foreign Secretary Palmerston got himself into trouble. He failed to keep his lower half in check and got involved with one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting.
That alone was nothing much. The nobility had no shortage of sordid affairs; one more made little difference. A private affair was just that—a private affair. So long as everyone turned a blind eye, it would pass.
Unfortunately, the pair had a tryst in the palace itself. Worse still, Prince Albert happened to catch them in the act.
With the matter dragged into the open, it became a court scandal. Prince Albert was furious, and Queen Victoria was furious as well.
If they did not make an