The Duke of Richmond, who had been raised with great grace and aristocratic manners, looked like a prince of England with royal blood (a royal mongrel recognized by the aristocratic class) and turned his head and smiled softly at the Lady Quasi-Knight, "Isabel, I know. Well, Your Majesty knows it too. ”

Wearing a jewel-encrusted crescent moon hat, a string of pearl necklaces around her neck, and a baleen detached straitjacket and a hoop skirt, Isabel Walton put her hands on her lower abdomen, slowly stopped and turned to look at the Duke of Richmond, "Henry, you tell me that His Majesty once married Queen Anne in this house. Now, I'm living here, does that sign anything? ”

The Duke of Richmond tilted the corners of his mouth and looked at the other party, "Isabel, I do read from your face what you want to say to me. You're not going to be a second Anne Boleyn, though. ”

Isabel listened intently to the shouts and sounds of the sailors coming from the Thames outside the courtyard, and nodded, "Henry, I trust you as much as I trust myself. ”

As the two continued to walk slowly, they talked about a few things that mattered most, and Isabel asked the duke, "Henry, my betrothed husband is dead now, but he is the last heir of the Ingle family. You... Can you get His Majesty to withhold his castle, estate and land for the time being? ”

The Duke of Richmond looked at the flowers and plants in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, shook his head slowly, and said, "Guardianship income is a very important part of the royal family's income. Therefore, I cannot get His Majesty to change his mind. ”

Since Henry VIII could not be expected to change her mind about the income from the custody, Isabel planned to defend her husband-to-be's castle, estate, and land by other means. While pondering, he asked cautiously, "Henry, if His Majesty wants to sell Sir William's land, then at what price?" ”

The Duke of Richmond, who had been with Isabel for many years, thought that he knew her better, nodded and thought about it, and said, "From some of the cases of land transfers that I know, only a very small part has been given to nobles or ministers as gifts by His Majesty. Most of the rest of the land acquired from the church and the rebellious nobility would be sold for an income of not less than 20 years. ”

"No less than 20 years of income?" Isabel could not help but be a little surprised by the price at which Henry VIII sold his land, and then said to herself as if she were to the Duke of Richmond: "William is a knight, and his annual land income should be 200 pounds." 20 years of land revenue, His Majesty the King will sell it to someone else for 4000 pounds?? ”

The Duke of Richmond nodded at her, "Yes, you calculated correctly. ”

Immediately, he smiled and whispered, "Isabel, tell me, do you want to buy your husband's land?" ”

At this time, the two came to an ancient tree in the courtyard. After the two of them had sat down on the benches on either side of a small Gothic table, Isabel replied to the Duke earnestly, "If Sir William had not known me, he and his family would have remained in the north." Therefore, I think it is my duty to protect Sir Sir's castle and land. ”

The Duke of Richmond glanced at her disdainfully, "Isabel, Sir is only engaged to you, he is not your husband. ”

"Henry, I am only the daughter of a baron. What do you think I can do to keep myself from being left with nothing in the face of the current kingdom laws? Isabel's face was a little gloomy, and it was clear that she was a little unhappy with the Duke of Richmond's attitude.

The Duke of Richmond looked at her and was slightly stunned, and immediately thought of the inheritance of the noble family. After the other party calmed down a little, he just said gently, "Isabel, you... Misunderstood what I meant. I would say that if you need to get some land to support yourself, there are still a lot of church lands in the north that His Majesty has confiscated to buy. Even if you don't have enough money to buy land, I think I can finance some of it. ”

Isabel glanced at the other party, she could see that the other party did not mean to deceive her, but just shook her head, "In this secular society, Sir was the first man to die for me. I, I want to do something for the dead knight, as atonement. ”

"Don't worry, Isabel, I'll assist you in the guardianship court."

"Henry, it would be nice if the price was lower. You know what a huge expense the 4,000 pounds is for a lowly nobleman or knight. ”

The Duke of Richmond couldn't help but laugh to himself, smiling as he put his hand on his chin and looked at the other man, "Isabel, I know. However, you spent half a year in the overseas territory of the Spaniards and earned me 100,000 pounds. I think. For this 4,000 pounds, you only need to sell goods to the Spaniards a few times. ”

Glancing at the smiling Duke of Richmond, Isabel thought to herself, "This idiot really thinks that he can make so much money selling goods." What would he think if I told him that he had made money from the slave trade? ”

However, the words came out of her mouth, "Henry, the French are about to invade the kingdom, aren't you going to do something for His Majesty?" ”

The Duke of Richmond leaned back on the pew, looked up at the sky of the City of London, and said regretfully, "Your Majesty trusts Lord Lyle, which is why he will be in command of the battle against the French." As for me, His Majesty only wants me to stay in the North forever, to make me a king of the North who can never wear a crown. ”

"That's good, too. In any case, no one in the entire North has dared to ask me for a duel. Isabel pursed her lips and said deliberately.

"Hahaha... Isabel, I also miss you a little bit when you were in a duel. Why don't you duel for me again? ”

"Yes, Your Highness, which nobleman or knight do you want to kill?"

The Duke of Richmond laughed even more happily, and said in a loud voice, "What do you think about killing Lord Montigall of Lancashire?" I am sure that Lord Montigall will come to Yorkshire to pursue you upon learning of the death of your husband-to-be.

On the fourth day of Isabel's residence in Durham, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Lady Surrey, visited the Duke of Richmond. The two high-ranking nobles, both of whom have royal blood, have been good friends since childhood, and when they meet, they are of course laughing and whispering.

And Lady Francis Howard, Lady of Sarry, naturally pulled Isabelle, who had been a good friend for many years, to talk about intimate topics between aristocratic women in the courtyard. However, Isabel didn't understand what the other party told her.