John Dudley, Viscount Lyle, stared at Lady Ripley's calm expression, and he sensed that the opportunity to make a name for himself was in front of him. He believed that he had read the other side correctly, and he was very confident that the other side would provide him with the best naval combat advice. Otherwise, how could this noble woman, who had recently been given the title of nobility, serve in the ducal palace for as long as 10 years.

The admiral, full of fighting spirit, paced in front of Isabel and looked at her solemnly and respectfully, "Your Excellency, I believe that you have made a final decision, and this decision will assist Your Majesty's fleet and me in defeating the French. ”

Isabel Walton smiled and nodded, "Yes, Your Excellency. I have one condition, though. ”

"Conditions? Well, let's hear it. Anything I can get my hands on, I'll bring it to you. Viscount Lyle said with joy that in his opinion, as a woman, Lady Ripley wanted nothing more than gold and silver jewels, extravagant aristocratic dresses, falcons, hounds, fine wines, and fine food.

"Your Excellency, it is my condition that the Duke of Richmond take part in and command with you in this war against the French." Maintaining a reserved posture and exuding a charming, noble and aristocratic woman's charm, Isabel opened her lips and spat out a sentence clearly.

"Duke of Richmond? Your Highness? Viscount Lyle was a little puzzled and said with some disbelief, "Your Excellency, however, Your Majesty has already made a decision on this battle against the French, and I will take command of the royal fleet. ”

"Well, Your Majesty's decision is not wrong. In any case, Your Majesty has conferred upon you the rank of Admiral, and put you in charge of setting up the Maritime Affairs Committee, because you have been pleased with your performance in the siege of Edinburgh. Isabel still had a smile on her face.

Viscount Lyle just watched her in silence, pacing slowly with his hands behind his back. After a while, he stopped and looked at the other party, "Your Excellency, I... I will not be able to answer you until I have gone to the palace to meet Your Majesty. ”

In Isabel's opinion, it was not very difficult to go to Whitehall to obtain the authorization and permission of Henry VIII. Then, he added, "Your Excellency, why don't you let Your Highness, you and I go to the palace with you to tell Your Majesty?" ”

"Well, well, tomorrow I will send someone to Dalem Residence to tell you the time to go to the court."

"Your Excellency, I will await the arrival of your squire."

Viscount Lyle left the hall of the Winchester residence with his heart in mind, and then said goodbye to the owner of the house, William Parr, Earl of Essex. When William came to the door of the hall again, he saw Isabel coming out of the hall, "Your Excellency, you... Leaving? ”

Isabel glanced at the several earl's attendants and the duke's attendants who were standing outside the door, and nodded to William, "Yes, Your Excellency, I have some maritime affairs related to this war that I need to inform Your Highness. ”

Before supper, William Parr and Isabel sailed nearly a mile by ferry to the west of the City of London, on the embankment of the Durham House on Strand Street, facing the gate of the River Thames. When Isabel came ashore, William, who was standing at the bow of the ferry, looked at her silently, "Your Excellency, this is not the last time we will meet, will we?" ”

Isabel looked back at the Earl of Essex, who was overwhelmed by his first wife and marriage, and she felt a little confused about her relationship with the Earl of Essex. Standing calmly inside the gate of Durham's residence, he gazed at the Earl for a long time, "Your Excellency, I hope we can all follow the Lord's wishes and let our Lord decide all this!" ”

———————————

At dinner, the Duke of Richmond, who sat at the top of the table, and Isabel, who sat on the left, were quiet. The Duke of Richmond regretted what had happened to the Earl of Essex, and he was powerless to help Isabel change the status quo. Picking up his glass of wine, he saluted the other party, "Isabel, I just want you to be happy, even if you can't marry Lord Essex." ”

Isabel raised her glass and saluted the Duke, looked at the stone wall opposite and said thoughtfully, "Henry, when do you think the Parliament will allow Lord Essex to marry again?" ”

The Duke of Richmond slowly cut a small slice of roast veal with a knife, picked up the veal with three fingers, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. While munching on the tender veal, he looked at the other party, "It's unlikely at the moment." Perhaps, only the new king would allow the Lord's divorce bill and remarriage application to pass. ”

"The new king?" Isabel muttered, looking at the Duke of Richmond in a low voice, "Henry, Prince Edward must be the new king in the future." In addition, His Majesty also established a Regency Council for Prince Edward's succession. If one of the regents had objected to the Lord's application, the Lord and I would still not have been able to marry. ”

The Duke of Richmond put down the dinner knife in his hand, nodded and said, "Well, you're right, what are you going to do?" ”

"Henry, you are also a member of the Regency Council, will you assist me then?"

"There is no doubt about it. No matter which nobleman you marry in the future, I will assist you. ”

Isabel felt that her relationship and marriage with William Parr could only go so far, at least until the death of Henry VIII, she had no chance of marrying William at all. Towards the end of the dinner, she told the Duke of Richmond of her meeting with Viscount Lyle that afternoon.

The Duke of Richmond was very excited when he heard this, but soon became sad, "Isabel, the French have 400 warships, 30,000 knights and sergeants!" I... What can I do to defeat Francis I's army? ”

The pampered Prince Henry, the Duke of Richmond, was nothing more than a nominal admiral, and relied on the assistance of Viscount Lyle in his only two naval battles. Therefore, the Duke will inevitably be very frightened by this anti-invasion war, afraid that he is not an opponent of the French.

Isabel knew the Duke of Richmond and still encouraged him, "Don't forget, Henry, the French fought across the sea, and the commander of the fleet was never an admiral. ”

The Duke of Richmond took a large sip of his wine glass, looked at the other man again, and said, "Isabel, I promise you." ”

As soon as the words fell, he felt that the other party seemed to be very confident in facing this anti-invasion battle. Looking at the other party with a puzzled look, Lord Shi asked softly, "Isabel, you already thought about how to defeat the French when you were talking to Lord Lyle?" ”