In August 1541, Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, across the sea from France's last European fiefdom, France-Calais, ushered in the second summer after the Reformation of Henry VIII. At 10 a.m. on Monday, August 8, a young man dressed as a merchant walked to the entrance to the south boundary of the cathedral.

Raising his head and looking at the majestic and solemn three-story Gothic church, he quickly lowered his head and drew a cross on his chest with his right index and middle fingers. Then, he walked to the left side of the nearly two-person high gate of the Realm Building, and gently knocked three times on a small door that only allowed one person to pass through.

Then, a hermit dressed in a black monk's robe stood at the door and received the young man. When he took a rolled-up and sealed letter from his spacious coat and handed it to the monk, he whispered in a voice that could only be heard by each other, "I have a confidential matter here that needs to be reported to the archbishop. ”

The clairmit with his hands crossed and hidden in his sleeves glanced at the letter in the other's hand, "Sir, the archbishop is not in the cathedral at the moment, and all the affairs in the cathedral are supervised by the vicar bishop. ”

The young man glanced at some of the people who came and went, lowered the hood on his head, and said in an accentuated tone, "Monk, I have urgent business related to Her Majesty the Queen, and I need to see the Archbishop himself immediately. ”

The hermit's face was full of surprise, "Your Majesty? Sir, are you talking about Her Majesty Queen Catherine?? ”

Once again, the young man stressed the importance of the letter, "Yes, I cannot tell anyone but the archbishop himself. ”

"Come with me, sir, and I'll take you to the vicar at once."

"Monk, I appreciate your magnanimity."

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At this time, Queen Catherine, mentioned by Henry VIII and the young man, was still in the castle of Sharif Hatton. While the nobles, knights, squires, local officials and their wives of Yorkshire, as well as all the members of the Northern Council and their wives were in the castle hall, the Duke of Richmond, who was in the hall, stood quietly beside Her Majesty's private secretary.

Francis Deereham, who had a substantial marriage relationship with Queen Catherine, greeted the Duke with calm and sophisticated courtesy, "Good day, Your Highness." ”

The Duke of Richmond, of course, knew who the young, handsome man in front of him was, which his private secretary, Isabel Walton, had told him privately. The reserved Duke smiled indifferently, his lips squirming slightly, "You are Mr. Francis Durham, Her Majesty's private secretary?" ”

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I heard that you used to be the secretary of the Duke and Lady II of Norfolk at Lambeth Palace?"

"Yes, Your Highness, you remember it very well."

"I suppose that your ability to serve as Her Majesty's private secretary is inseparable from your dedication to the Lambeth Palace, right?"

Francis smiled quietly, "Yes, Your Highness." As you know, the Duchess was in and out of the court, so I was required to go out from time to time to attend to her affairs. ”

"Catherine, a mindless slut, would put her husband in the court. Slut, you and your secretary husband are going to hell soon. The Duke of Richmond scolded the new queen sitting next to his father in vicious language.

Glancing at his father, he said, "But how did you, who were able to do your best by the Duchess's side, become Her Majesty's secretary?" ”

Francis stole a glance at Henry VIII's bastard nobleman, and he felt that the young nobleman of the highest rank seemed to know a lot about his past. With a smile on his face, he replied calmly, "Your Highness, it is precisely because of my diligence and hard work that the Duchess recommended me to Her Majesty the Queen. ”

The Duke of Richmond wanted to know more and nodded, "My wife, Her Majesty's cousin, has told me that Her Majesty also lived in Lambeth Palace when she was young. So, you must have known Her Majesty the Queen before entering the court, right? ”

"How does this bastard prince know so much? Was it his wife who told him? Or was it told to him by the people in Lambeth Palace? Queen Catherine's private secretary could not help but say a few words, and was about to answer the Duke of Richmond when she saw a young and handsome king's attendant approaching him.

Thomas Culpeper, Henry VIII's chamberlain, came to the Duke of Richmond and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, His Majesty the King has ordered you to pass. ”

The Duke of Richmond was about to jump with excitement. Of course, the Duke was excited not because his father summoned him, but because Queen Catherine's old love and new love had appeared in his castle. The Duke nodded in agreement, "Yes, I'll go at once." ”

Nearly fifty years old, the bloated Henry VIII buried himself deep in his seat, and he wanted to get up and walk down the small stairs to hug his own son, the Duke of Richmond. However, the wound on his thigh made it impossible for him to stand up on his own. He smiled reluctantly and asked the bastard in a concerned tone, "Henry, has the work of the committee made you feel tired?" ”

The Duke of Richmond looked at his father's face wrongly, and one leg looked a little unnatural. Looking at the young queen next to her father, it seemed that the queen didn't care about her father's appearance at all. The Duke smiled calmly, "Your Majesty, all the members of the committee, including me, will be tired. However, it is my duty and that of my members. ”

"Well, that's good. So, what about the affairs of your territory? Is it your wife, Mary, who is in charge? ”

"Your Majesty, Mary's health is not fit for the weather in the north, so I let her go back to live in her father's territory."

"So, your retainers are doing their best to help oversee your territory?" Henry VIII was concerned about the personal finances and private life of his illegitimate sons.

The Duke of Richmond wanted to speak of the efforts of Isabelle, an important figure in the Duke's Palace, but in the blink of an eye he remembered what Isabel had asked him to do. Looking squarely at his father, he nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty, the gentleman I hired is doing their duty just as well as Yoman. ”

At this moment, Queen Catherine said softly to the king's husband, "Your Majesty, Your Highness seems to have forgotten a noble lady. ”

Henry VIII looked sideways at the young queen, "My queen, why do you think so?" ”

The young queen smiled, glanced at the Duke of Richmond and then at Henry VIII, "for this noble lady was once a good friend of mine." ”