Lady Lancashire used her knife to cut a small piece of venison from the plate in front of her. Then, putting down the knife, he elegantly picked up the piece of sliced venison with the thumb, index and middle finger of his right hand and put it into his mouth. No one found it strange that Lady Lancashire was acting during her meal. At the same time, the aristocracy of men and women seated around the huge, rectangular table was almost oblivious to the silver two-toothed fork that was placed on the left side of their plate.

This method of eating with the fingers was subject to certain rules: the educated nobles used three fingers to grasp, and the ring and little fingers should never touch the food. Only lowly civilians would use five fingers to grasp and eat. By the 14th century, forks had become common in Italy. By the 15th century, the Portuguese and some Spaniards also began to use the dinner fork, which first appeared in ancient Greece and Rome.

In the eyes of conservative English, Italians eat with forks because their fingers are not clean. So at that time, if someone used a fork to eat, they would be made fun of. A man with a fork would be considered a fussy guy or an Italian pretentious with no manhood. If a lady uses a fork, she will be seen by others as showing off her favoritely.

Isabel Walton was the only one who occasionally used a delicate silver two-toothed fork during the banquet, which could not help but give some opinion to her. As she focused on the question of who the second wife of the Earl of Westmoreland was, Lady Lancashire looked at herself and Isabelle's fork beside her, and whispered, "Isabel, if you may, you should not use this... Two-tooth dinner fork. ”

Isabel smiled, used her experience at sea as a cover, and said unhesitantly, "Ma'am, I know. Actually, these silver forks are cutlery from the Portuguese that I brought back from the Caribbean, and most of the time they are just for collection. You know, there's a funeral banquet today, that's why it's going to be used. ”

"Isabel, I've heard some anecdotes about the use of forks by the people of the Italian city-states. However, you should be aware that some people may think that your use of a fork is not a sign of being an aristocratic lady. ”

"Yes, ma'am, I see." Isabel casually agreed. In her opinion, the use of a fork while eating is a normal behavior to avoid contagious diseases. And, in the 10 years since she came to the North, she has been doing the same. Now, however, her use of the fork has attracted the attention of some nobles, most likely directly related to her title, status, and elevated status.

In front of some of the northern nobles present, she had to give up the use of the fork for the time being. Instead, use two knives to fix and cut all kinds of meat that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, and swims in the water, and then uses the knife to send the food to the mouth. Soon, her whispering with Lady Lancashire returned to the aristocratic marriage she had just had.

After eating two more pieces of fresh venison, Lady Lancashire whispered as she drank a sprinkle of fine grapes, "Elizabeth's marriage to the Duke of Norfolk has caused the Duke of Buckingham to lose face in front of Lord Westmoreland. In the end, the Duke had to agree to marry the Lord when his second daughter, Catherine, was 15 years old. It was, as I recall, probably in May 1520, that the Lord and Catherine were married. ”

When Isabel fixed and cut a small piece of lamb with two knives, she secretly glanced at Mrs. Westmoreland, who was only 39 years old and was sitting opposite, and immediately turned her gaze to Mrs. Lancashire, "So, what do you mean by ......?" ”

"Isabel, since your father is ready to marry you to Sir William, you should ask your father to complete the engagement with Sir William first. In this way, you have the right to remarry at any time. ”

"What if my father doesn't say yes?"

"I think you can tell your father when you are going to officially marry Sir William. With the official date of marriage, Lord and Mrs. Walton will not disagree with your request. ”

Isabel nodded, smiled and said, "Also, I can tell my father about Lord Westmoreland's marriage as a precedent. ”

Lady Lancashire glanced diagonally across from the Duke of Richmond and added, "Of course, you have to ask your lover to do something for you during the days you and Sir William are engaged. For example, by giving you a lot of jewelry, clothing, and all kinds of luxurious gifts, you accept your lover's courtship of you. ”

"What if he can't or doesn't dare to divorce at the moment, but just gives me a lot of gifts?"

"Can't get a divorce? Oh my God, I almost forgot about it. ”

The two aristocratic women spoke of the Duke of Richmond's marriage, and Lady Lancashire frowned and sighed softly, "It seems that you can only get your lover to divorce and marry you as soon as possible on the day of your engagement, with the protection of God." ”

In the end, Lady Lancashire was only half of Isabel's help. The idea of getting engaged is very good, but it can't be delayed for too long, probably only about a year. From now on, she must get the Earl of Essex to step up her pursuit of herself. Not only do you have to get the Count to give him expensive clothes, jewelry, and passionate love letters, but you also have to get the Count to speed up the divorce from the Countess.

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The banquet lasted from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. As the hours of daylight continue to get longer in summer, the sun does not set until almost 10 o'clock in the evening. Before sunset, several nobles who lived farther away left Baron Walton and his wife, and left the baron's manor on horseback or in a carriage.

The Earl and Lady of Lancashire, who lived about three or four hours away from the Barony, had no intention of returning to their domain, Thraland Castle, at once. Isabel took Lady Lancashire's meaning and led her to the rose garden on the north side of the estate. As soon as the two of them walked into the rose garden, which was in full bloom, a burst of fragrance came to their noses, and the roses, which symbolized the Tudor dynasty, looked beautiful, fragrant and charming.

Madame Lancashire, who had studied Latin and classical literature, knew what Isabel meant as soon as she entered the rose garden, and said slowly, "Miss Isabel, the Latin phrase 'Yarosa' (under the roses) is appropriate here, isn't it?" ”

Isabel looked at Lady Lancashire beside her as she walked, "Yes, ma'am, I hope our conversation will not be known to anyone else. ”