September 9, 1859, Quebec

The new capital (for the second time) of the Province of Canada

Arthur Kirkland was stressed more often than he was relaxed, and the tension he carried in his shoulders alone could've fired an arrow clear across the Indian Ocean. Still, to him this seemed a small price to pay for enjoying a throne atop the rest of the known world. Unfortunately, for all others not named The British Empire, Arthur Kirkland's stress quickly became their stress when the Englishman decided to pay a visit.

Matthew didn't mind. It'd been decades since he'd seen Arthur in person, and despite everything, he'd missed his mentor terribly. Sure, his stomach had turned in several terrified flips when he'd received the letter announcing Arthur's imminent arrival, and sure, Canada hadn't exactly been a docile place for England's Empire types in recent decades, but Matthew was beyond proud of the progress they'd made since Arthur had last visited. Back in the 20's, the Act of Union hadn't been enacted yet—so much had happened in the last nineteen years alone! Matthew was ready to show off his accomplishments: massive railway networks, new trading routes, new trading treaties, prosperity even in the midst of a recession, and most of all, Anglophones and Francophones living together under one united government.

"Do you know, I've never visited Quebec whenever I can possibly avoid it," was the first thing Arthur said to him when he got off the train. The steam hissed loudly all around them, but Matthew could still hear the distaste in the Brit's voice. It was always so when Arthur had to listen to French. "You really ought to stop relocating your capital, especially to these god-awful French parts. I do hope you've done something to improve the place."

If it was as close as he'd come to a compliment for the next three weeks, Matthew would still be willing to accept it.

They took their business to a local restaurant—an Anglophone establishment, Matthew assured Arthur—a short stroll away from the train station. Matthew tried not to look shocked when he realized he was now as tall as Arthur, and tried to distract Arthur from noticing this same fact by pointing out new buildings in town and explaining each river barge and the treaties it observed as it passed by.

Once seated and waiting for lunch, Matthew ceded all conversation to Arthur. The Empire had come here expressly to let off steam, so Matthew said nothing while he ranted about his new Prime Minister, his new Parliament, the frustrations he felt because of the disagreements between Victoria and her new head of state. He complained about Australia, and India, and even of Canada—though in far softer tones than with the others. Matthew knew that Arthur complained of government, not of nations themselves. Arthur had never held anything but affection for Matthew, and Matthew was well aware of this distinction. Arthur could never hate him, just as deep down, despite whatever he said, Arthur had never hated and could never hate—

"Your brother has become something of a sticking point with this new fellow, Temple," Arthur confided in sour tones. Matthew held his tongue. Whenever he kept company with an irritated Arthur, the conversation would always come around to Alfred, one way or another. "He seems to think that England is only so strong as America is weak. What a pillock. Honestly, has he done any reading into history?"

Matthew chose to sip at his tea and let Arthur rant. He refused to fuel Arthur's grudge. Alfred's economic prosperity was Matthew's prosperity. Their 1854 treaty had solidified that much. Though Matthew detested Alfred in a myriad of ways, he still loved his brother dearly, a love which he knew Arthur also held but would never own.

"Alfred isn't interested in stealing business from you," Matthew said after a while. Arthur had a tendency to assume the world revolved around him. While Matthew appreciated this may be true in Europe, the New World operated on its own terms. "I assure you, he's too caught up in his own affairs to be bothered."

"His own affairs?" Arthur had asked. Whether he'd been offended or confused, Matthew could not distinguish. "What affairs has he to be concerned about?" After a moment of consideration, Matthew shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure," he'd told Arthur truthfully. "It's been a few years since I saw him in person, but in his letters he always seems troubled by something or other. Complains of headaches often. Says the bickering of Congress makes him sick." Matthew thought that such a report would give Arthur, who'd always been a little bit of a sadist, satisfaction. He was surprised, then, to see such blatant concern play out on Arthur's face.

"Headaches?" the Empire repeated. His thick eyebrows drew low over his summer-green eyes. "What, because of the elections?" Arthur had always been terrible at tracking American politics. Matthew shrugged.

"I don't think so. There aren't any big ones this year, last year was only midterms," He said. "There's been shakeups here and there, but nothing catastrophic." Matthew had never given much serious thought to Alfred's comments, as his twin loved to complain. "The headaches have been around longer than the electorate, I think." This must've been the wrong thing to say, because the vague concern on Arthur's face escalated into something more serious.

"For how long? Did he speak of anything else?" Matthew was surprised by Arthur's interest; he usually avoided talk of Alfred at all costs.

"I don't know. As I said, it's been a few years since I last saw him," he said, giving a shrug as he tried to remember. "In '54 he stayed with me and was acting a little odd. Scatterbrained, really. He kept forgetting where he was and what he was supposed to be doing." Matt shook his head ruefully at the memory. He wasn't used to playing governess to his fully-sovereign twin. "As in his letters, he complained about migraines almost daily."

"Daily?" Arthur interjected. Matt looked up to meet his eyes. Arthur looked frightened.

"Well, yes," Matt said. What have I done wrong? Hell, what has Al done wrong? "But it wasn't a big election year," he demurred, or tried to. "It was just some senate races. I'm sure he was just being melodramatic, you know what he's like." Though Matthew had been trying to assuage Arthur's apparent worry, this only seemed to make it worse.

"Has he since spoken to you of anything else? Fevers? More migraines? Blackouts?" Matthew set down his fork and stared at Arthur. He'd never seen the elder nation become so worked up about Alfred since 1814, and certainly never out of pity.

"I have no idea," Matthew said, wishing Arthur would snap out of it. "And to be honest, even if he's still got something to complain about, he hasn't complained to me, and I'm grateful." Then, hesitantly, "why do you ask?"

Arthur looked up at Matthew, and for a split second the younger nation thought the Empire would deign to give him a full, truthful response.

"It's no matter," Arthur said instead, lips thin and taught like they always were when he was keeping secrets at bay. Matthew strove to not look disappointed. "Tell me more about this railway of yours. I hear it goes all the way out to Montreal. Where else does it go?"

Given such an opportunity to boast his own accomplishments, Matthew pushed aside all thoughts of Alfred and his headaches and related all the boons or having a shiny new railway network.

Historical Notes:

1. "Quebec" here refers to the city (now Quebec City), not the modern Province. At the time, The Province of Canada consisted of very roughly the regions of what is now Ontario and Quebec, with the other colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, Newfoundland) remaining separate. The region had up until 1840 been referred to as Upper Canada (The southern portion of Ontario and Quebec, around the Great Lakes) and Lower Canada (the southeastern portion of what is now Quebec, in addition to Labrador). The regions experienced considerable division between Francophone and Anglophone spheres of administration and civilian life. The Act of Union joined the two under one government, a measure that is often interpreted as an attempt to establish the supremacy of English over French by establishing it as the language of administration in the entire Province of Canada.

2. Canada experienced an economic boom in the middle of the 19th century which both coincided with and benefited from the establishment of the first large railways in the colony. A 1854 Treaty of Reciprocity (also called the Elgin-Marcy Treaty) between all colonies of British North and the United States was a large step toward free trade between the two entities. Near the beginning of the American Civil War, many of the railway companies (notably the Grand Trunk Railway) suffered losses during an economic downturn. Nevertheless, Canada continued to grow, particularly in the main Provincial region.