In the Midland countryside after sunset, the entire Horton Manor and nearby villages were silent, except for the glow of a few oil lamps flickering in the darkness and the chirping of insects coming from the fields.

In the silence of the night, some people prayed their evening prayers before going to bed, some fell asleep on the large bed in the guest room, and a few people took advantage of the night to quietly walk the road from Horton Manor to the village of Heckerton to the northwest.

It is a Catholic ritual to kneel in front of the bed and look up at the dark roof before going to bed, and to pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ to express repentance or ask God to forgive one's sins. Isabel Walton, who had always considered herself a Protestant, did not bother with the Catholic norms. She felt that she could pray anytime, anywhere, standing, sitting, kneeling or lying on the bed, with or without a sound. No, it should be called prayer.

Protestants can pray three times a day, at regular times a day, or at any time. For the God of heaven is always by the side of the believers, all the time, all the time, and he can pray whenever he wants.

At this moment, Isabel was lying on her side on the bed with her eyes closed, and her mouth was reading: "Jesus Christ, I think I am not guilty, but I still can't help but confess my sins to you." I don't know what to confess. Fuck it, you think I'm guilty anyway, then I'm guilty. ”

"What the fuck are you talking about? I can't fucking hear you. Fuck you, you want me to repent? ”

"Well, well, how to repent? Let me think about it, I have an idea. ”

"Tomorrow is Saturday, and everyone here is going to fucking eat meat. Well, I repented of not eating meat today and thought of myself as a Catholic. ”

Lying on her side on the bed and settling in a comfortable position, she said again, "Hey, man, did you fucking hear me?" ”

"If you don't speak, I assume you agree. Tomorrow after sunrise, I'm going to have to fucking get to Windsor on a live horse. ”

"Brother, why did you let me come to this hellish place? I want to go home, I want to eat pizza, I want to drink Diet Coke, I want to brush my teeth with Colgate, I want to shave all the hair off my body with a razor......"

As she read it, Isabel fell asleep. While she was asleep, William Parr led five of his fellow guards from the Duke's Court of Richmond quietly along Horton Road, carrying an oil lamp. Fast, who was walking beside him, asked in a rough voice, "William, why don't we ride to the farm?" ”

"Quiet." William, who was still familiar with this path in the dark, spat out a sentence, "It's still Xingsi Five, and we have to slowly kill the remaining few hours." Once it's past 12 o'clock, no one will tell us what we want to eat. ”

William's implication was that he was referring to the "Law of the Six Creeds" that Henry VIII personally presided over last year. While he was still hesitating whether to believe in Catholicism or Anglicanism, Henry VIII suddenly resorted to such a ruthless trick that he had to continue to adhere to the Catholic faith.

"Brothers, why do you say that His Majesty the King enacted the 'Law of the Six Creeds'? I've converted to Anriganism, and now it's the cardinal's world, damn it! As Fast walked down the road, he whined something that must not be made.

"Say no more, Fast. We will do what Your Highness tells us to do. Baldwin, who was more composed, stopped his colleague at the right time.

"That's right, anyway, we live in the north, and the southerners don't dare to do anything to us." One of the guards called out two sentences as a matter of course.

"Even if we live in the south, do they have the guts to annoy His Highness? Everyone under this sky knows that His Highness is the son of His Majesty the King. Another guard was even more unscrupulous.

Although several people were walking in the dark, Baldwin's face still became a little stern, "Who is not allowed to cause trouble in Northamptonshire!" If William's father were to arrest you, would you want His Highness to be your enmity against Sir Thomas, the Magistrate in the service of His Majesty the King? ”

William, who had never spoken, cast a grateful look at Baldwin. Suddenly remembering that it was dark night after sunset, it was impossible for the other party to see his gaze, and hurriedly said to the others: "Brothers, I will pay for all the meat and wine I ate and drank today." ”

Hearing his words, Fast laughed and put his arms around his shoulders, "William, we came to your father's manor, and you should have paid the bills. Why, you weren't willing to entertain us in the first place? ”

William quickly reacted and smiled, "Of course not, I mean... Even if the brothers want to eat wild boar, I will not hesitate to entertain the brothers. ”

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From 9 o'clock after sunset last night to sunrise today, Isabel slept for 8 hours. She didn't need a servant to wake her up, or a village rooster to wake her up with a croaking, she sat up from her bed like an autorobot.

After dressing and washing, and tidying up, he went to the manor stable alone to put on his horse harness. Nearly two hours later, he led two horses to a gravel-covered clearing in front of the manor's gate. However, she didn't see a guard waiting for her.

At this time, Anne Parr and her father, Sir Thomas, came to see her off. Anne, who was standing in front of the gate, stared at the empty clearing very puzzled, "Isabel, where is the duke's guard you brought?" ”

After waiting for a long time, she saw Baldwin coming in a hurry. After saluting the three people present, he said shamefully: "Miss, William entertained us for a drink last night, so everyone got up late. ”

"." Isabel cursed and then commanded, "Go and call everyone up." Baldwin, I now command you to teach William Parr archery and riding within three days. ”

"If you can't make it to Windsor by Tuesday of next week, you and William will rush to His Highness's new estate to join us on our own."

"Yes, miss." After Baldwin left, Anne said to Isabel, "Isabel, wouldn't it be too harsh if you only gave William three days?" ”

Isabel turned her head to look at Sir and Anne, then turned to them and replied aloud, "Sir, Miss Anne, if you want William to be a good knight, you must make him accept the punishment of his willful deeds. ”

Sir Thomas looked at her for a long time before he said, "Miss Isabel, I only hope that William will survive the chaos of the North." ”

Isabel nodded, "Don't worry, Sir, I'll keep him alive." ”