The flagships and vice-flagships of the Marshal and Admiral of France had been devastated by the heavy bombardment of the King's fleet of England. The other unarmed ships of the expeditionary fleet, which were mainly transporting expeditionary troops, suffered devastating losses. Interestingly, King Francis I of France claimed to have assembled 400 ships for an expedition to England, when in fact two-thirds of his fleet consisted of transports, large and small.

In fact, Francis I faced the same problem as Henry VIII at this time, he no longer had the funds and army to support the protracted Italian war. This time for the expedition to the Kingdom of England, he spent almost all of his money on assembling ships and piecing together an expeditionary army of 30,000 men. It was his last stand, and he had put all his hopes on this expedition. Eventually, his hopes were ruthlessly destroyed by an exceptional female nobleman conferred on him by Henry VIII.

The King's fleet, led by the Viscount of Lyle and the Duke of Richmond, withdrew from the naval battle of Le Havre as victors after successfully destroying the French fleet. Two days later, the King's fleet, with the captured French ships, returned to the military port of Portsmouth. A week later, the two fleet commanders and Viscount Ripley returned to the city of London with a large number of attendants.

On their return to the military port of Portsmouth, the three nobles had already sent the news of the victory to Henry VIII and his court in letters. Thus, the day after they returned to the city of London, the three nobles received an invitation from His Majesty the King to visit Whitehall. This time, the terminally ill Henry VIII actually showed a smile that had not appeared for a long time.

When Henry VIII and his Queen Catherine entertained the three nobles, the Viscount of Lyle and the Duke of Richmond were given the honorific title of "General". As for Ripley's Baroness Isabelle Walton, Henry VIII did not consider her to be suitable for the title, and gave her some extravagant gowns and jewelry. In addition, Viscount Lyle and Lady Ripley were given a special right: they could enter and leave Whitehall at any time to accompany the king and queen to play chess and cards.

In the third week of May, Isabel Walton began building her Ripley home on Strand Street. Her title, identity and status home is located near the River Thames, just 0.2 miles southwest of the Temple Church (the headquarters of the Knights Templar in England in the 12th century, with nine life-size stone statues of knights on the ground).

Of course, the current Templar Church no longer has the same appearance as the Knights Templar once had. When Henry VIII succeeded to the throne, he lent part of the church to the Law Society. namely, the Middle Temple (1501) and the Inner Temple (1505), which had the unique right to admit English solicitors and were revered as "noble societies".

Previously, she had envisioned building a home in Richmond, southwest of the city of London. However, after participating in the battle of the raid on the French fleet, she became more and more valued by the king and queen. It seems that she could only fulfill this wish after the death of Henry VIII, when Prince Edward would inherit the throne.

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One day in late May, Isabel was playing cards with Queen Catherine when she said she wanted to go to Plymouth on some personal business. Queen Catherine, gracefully playing her cards, asked with interest, "Isabel, I have never heard you speak of any relatives or other family members in Plymouth, Devon. Well, did you go there to buy land, real estate? ”

Isabel lifted her eyelids slightly, glancing at the ladies and attendants not far behind the queen. When she saw Elizabeth Brooke, the unmarried maid of William Parr, Earl of Essex, who was intent on seducing him, she just casually shifted her gaze to the Queen's face, "Your Majesty, I really don't have any relatives in Plymouth. However, one of my important business partners lives there and I would like to discuss some business matters with him. ”

The queen pursed her lips and laughed, shaking her head as she laughed, "Isabel, now you are a respected nobleman. Business affairs, that are the affairs that only inferior people do. ”

Isabel knew that the queen was well acquainted with business-related matters before she was forced to marry Henry VIII. In any case, before the queen's second husband died of illness, she took care of all the economic affairs of her husband's territory. Thinking of this, he smiled lightly and said, "Your Majesty, nobles also need to understand the economic affairs of the territory and other aspects. How can I serve Your Majesty if the territory granted to me by His Majesty does not provide me with sufficient food, property, and livestock and crops to sell? ”

"Isabel, you're saying a good job, and it's true." The queen did not object to the irrefutable remarks of the other party, but asked again: "Well, I remember that Plymouth was a port. Are you planning to run some maritime trade? ”

"Yes, Your Majesty. The maritime trade between Portugal and Spain proved that there was a great deal of wealth and fame to be gained through maritime trade. ”

"Well, I've also heard about the operations of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Spain overseas and some overseas territories. It's just that... You know, I'm not the same person I used to be. Queen Catherine said at the end, with a look of helplessness on her face. It is indisputable that she is still missing her true love, Sir Thomas Seymour.

Isabel could understand her frustration, and smiled as she glanced at the card in her hand and played another one, "Your Majesty, if you also want to know more about maritime trade, I hope to go to Plymouth in your name." ”

Queen Catherine, who possessed the wealth and luxurious clothing and daily necessities that almost all women in the kingdom coveted, was no longer interested in a large amount of gold and silver treasures. She only asked to accompany Henry VIII until his death, so that she could go and seek a true love life.

However, her good northern partner put forward her own ideas, and she was not willing to easily respond to the absolute party's request. Putting down the card in his hand, he leaned back in his chair and looked sideways at her maid-in-waiting, "Elizabeth, bring me and Lady Ripley two glasses of wine." ”

Soon, the unmarried maid brought two glasses of wine for the two of them, and Queen Catherine took a sip of the wine and nodded, "Well, I grant your request." Also, you're going to tell me what business you're running in Plymouth. ”