After a night of in-depth discussions, Isabel was lying in bed tossing and turning, thinking about her second career over and over again. At that moment, she almost had the idea of packing up the domain, the manor, and the workshop to sell to the duke's other retainers. Because she felt that she was not a person who was good at dealing with the economy in the first place, it was better to do her job in the Duke's Court with peace of mind than to make herself physically and mentally exhausted.

When he was sleeping in a daze, he suddenly heard Anne, the personal maid, seem to be whispering to herself: "Isabel, get up quickly." ”

"Well, wait." Isabel promised to lie on her side on the bed with her eyes closed, and then she felt as if a hand was on her left arm and gently pushed, "Isabel, it's already 5 o'clock in the morning, hurry up." ”

Isabel, whose arm had been touched, nervously rolled over and sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking at Anne who was packing her clothes, "Good morning, Anne." ”

"Good morning, Isabel." Anne, who is now 16 years old this year, neatly packed up and glanced back at her, "I remember what you told me to wake you up at 5 o'clock every morning for knightly training." ”

"Oh, thank you." As Isabel walked barefoot to the door, dressed in a linen short-sleeved underwear and linen shorts, she heard Anne say from behind her, "Are you going to walk out of the room like this?" Your arms, your legs, and so many places have skin exposed! ”

Isabel looked back and smiled, "It's okay, the sun doesn't go down until after 4 o'clock in the morning." Now, there is still a long time to go before today's sunrise, a long period of darkness to be passed. ”

Waking up at 5 a.m. every morning and taking a short walk in the back garden of Asker Manor is a habit that Isabel Walton has maintained over the years. In order not to forget that she was once an officer who graduated from the Annapolis Military Academy, she put herself in the state of a first-year cadet every day.

Of course, the first step is to find a tailor near Nottingham Castle to make some linen track clothing. In this era, there were no sneakers to wear, so they ran barefoot. If you're worried about seeing your bare arms, thighs and neck, you can go for a run in the back garden of the estate. More importantly, her "debauchery" and "shameless" image must not appear in the daylight.

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Today is Sunday Mass, and while her family and Baron Latimer's eldest son were attending Mass in the chapel on the estate, she had already arrived at the Nazareth Chapel at Nottingham Castle to attend Sunday Mass with Duchess Mary. When she, Mary, and the retainers walked out of the church, Beard Smith Jr., who had become a retainer of the Duke, came to her.

Beard Smith Jr. has been working as an apprentice at a grocery store in London since being encouraged by Isabel six years ago. Two years later, he was introduced to work as an agent in the firm of a well-known furrier in the City of London. In his first year as a deputy, he was recommended to the Duke of Richmond by his father and his father's colleagues, and became a young retainer in the Duke's Court.

Little Beard, dressed in a London merchant's attire, came to the Duchess, saluted and smiled: "Madam, Your Highness's Goodwood Manor in the west of Sussex is now fully completed, and you can wait for Your Highness and Madame to parade at any time." ”

Mary nodded with satisfaction, "Beard, you have done a good job, you and your father are both retainers loyal to His Highness. ”

"Madam, I still have some affairs in His Highness's new realm that need to be discussed with His Excellency the Advisor."

"Okay, you're done." Mary turned her head to look at Isabel, "Come to me after you're done talking to Beard." ”

When the rest of the retainers and Beard's father left, Isabel led Beard Jr. to her advisor's office. After the two of them sat down one after another, little Beard watched Isabel report on the construction of the new manor and the territory, "Your Excellency, after three years of construction, the cost of building His Highness's new manor is a lot of money. ”

Isabel nodded, "How much did it cost?" ”

"The cost of building houses, schoolyards, hunting grounds, churches, gardens, paving roads, digging waterways, planting flowers and trees, purchasing luxury carriages, light wagons, and other things, amounted to £19,000. Fortunately, these fees do not include the cost of land grabbing. ”

"This territory was given to His Highness by His Majesty the King, and of course there will be no more fees for enclosing land."

"Yes, Your Excellency. However, such a large expense... Your Highness won't blame me for that. ”

Isabel leaned back in her seat and looked at little Beard, "This amount of money is indeed not small, about the sum of His Highness's land income for 6 to 7 years. However, His Royal Highness is a royal duke, unlike other dukes and nobles, so this money must be spent. ”

Then, he smiled lightly, "Don't worry, Your Highness and Duchess will definitely love the new manor." ”

Little Beard blinked, "I should do it to satisfy His Highness and the Duchess." Your Excellency, when do Your Highness and the Duchess plan to make a tour of the new estate? ”

"I don't know. If Your Highness returns today, you can report to Your Highness in person about the various matters concerning the construction of the manor. ”

"Oh, Your Highness will be coming back from Durham Castle today?"

"Perhaps, after all, the Duchess has come from the south to the north, and Her Highness and Madame always have to meet."

Mary Fitzroy had expected her husband, the Duke of Richmond, to return to Nottingham Castle on horseback from Durham Castle before lunch. While the Duke was still galloping on the road, he sent two quasi-lancer guards to the county to inform the Lady Mary and Isabel.

After Isabel brought the two guards to the Duchess, Mary looked at her in surprise, "Your Excellency, Your Highness will be in the county later?!" Why didn't Your Highness write to me in advance? ”

"Madam, Your Highness has sent a guard to inform you of your return."

"Okay." Mary, who was sitting on the throne of the lord's wife in the living room, looked at the guards in front of her again, "When can Your Highness return to the county?" ”

A guard hurriedly said, "Madam, Your Highness has arrived at Darlington Castle. ”

"All right, go down and rest."

"Yes, ma'am."

After the two guards left, Mary quickly stood up and beckoned the privy counsellor and led the two maids out of the living room, "Isabel, come back to the room with me, I want to change my dress." ”