The Duke of Richmond looked at his father, who was about to die, and did not speak for a long time, until Henry VIII lay down heavily on the bed before he spat out a sentence from his mouth, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will." ”

Then, he glanced twice at the palace doctors standing on the side, and whispered, "Your Majesty, God has been protecting you!" ”

Henry VIII, who was lying on the bed, nodded his head as he looked up at his bastard, raised his right hand slightly, and waved it out. After saluting Henry VIII, the Duke of Richmond quietly withdrew from the king's private bedroom. Until he left Whitehall and stepped onto a sleek riding horse that the squire had brought for him, the Duke of Richmond still looked dejected.

"Your Highness, do you now want to go back to the Winchester residence?" The sword attendant, who had brought the horses for the duke, said respectfully.

At this time, nobles, officials, or noblewomen rode in horse-drawn carriages or on horseback or, rarely, the Spanish sedang (chairs carried by two people) in the streets outside Whitehall. When every nobleman, official, or lady saluted the Duke, the Duke of Richmond always responded with a blank look.

When the Duke looked at the squire with his not very large eyes, he squirmed his lips, "Let Lady Ripley go and report to her." ”

"Yes, Your Highness." The saber attendant agreed, and immediately sent the other attendant on horseback and galloped in the direction of the Temple Church, to the northeast of Whitehall.

Soon, the duke's procession stopped in front of Ripley's residence. When the valet on duty outside the gate led the Duke to the hall, Lady Ripley rose from her seat. After the salute, Baroness Isabel Walton sat down beside the duke. Looking at the duke's sad face, he whispered, "Your Highness, is it... Your Majesty has ......"

The Duke shook his head slowly, "Your Majesty did not allow my pleading. Now, Lord Surrey and his father are probably over... Arrested. ”

Isabel didn't say anything, just sat in silence on the bench. When she saw that the Duke of Richmond's mood had stabilized a little, she said softly, "Your Majesty arrested Lord Surrey and Lord Norfolk's father, because of the new coat of arms?" ”

"Well, I can't think of any other reason Your Majesty would have arrested them than for that reason." The Duke of Richmond sank into the bench and stared blankly at the wall of the hall in front of him.

As for the arrest of the Earl of Surrey and his father, Isabel did not think that it was due to the strange temper flare of Henry VIII's illness, but she vaguely felt that there must be some deeper reason behind the arrest. At this time, a valet quietly entered the hall and stood near the gate to report that lunch was ready.

"Your Highness, I understand your affection for Lord Surrey. For now, I will accompany you to eat some food before dealing with Lord Surrey. Isabel leaned her face towards the other and whispered.

The Duke of Richmond stared sideways at her and said, "Will Henry eat his favorite food in the Tower of London?" ”

"Your Highness, don't worry, I can accompany you to the Tower of London to see the Lord in the afternoon."

"Well, okay."

———————————

While the two were still having lunch, the butler suddenly came into the dining room, and after saluting them, he went straight to Isabel and bent down and whispered in her ear, "Madame, Lady Surrey is here." ”

"Frances Howard?" Isabel frowned slightly, and looked sideways at the Duke who was sitting on the side, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I have some affairs that need to be dealt with immediately. ”

As Isabel followed the butler into the hall, Lady Surrey, who was sitting on the guest bench, immediately stood up and took the initiative to greet a special lady as a countess. When only two aristocratic women remained in the hall, Frances's tears finally fell. Looking at the Baroness with teary eyes, she said sad words in a choked voice, "Isabel, Henry has been captured by His Majesty's men, and I... What should I do? ”

Isabel looked at Mrs. Surrey, who was wiping her tears with a silk handkerchief, with unusual calm, and asked softly, "Did the man who came to arrest the Lord say anything?" ”

At this moment, Mrs. Surrey, whose brain was already in chaos, grasped Isabel's hand, her lips slightly open, and her face was full of horror and sadness. Finally, I finally spit out a sentence, "I... I don't remember exactly, presumably saying that Henry was guilty of treason?! ”

"Frances, you reminisce."

"Well, yes, I remember the court attendants with swords, shields, and bows and arrows saying so."

What is certain now is that Henry VIII did use the new coat of arms of the Earl of Surrey as an excuse to accuse the Earl of Surrey of treason. Isabel wondered if Henry VIII would execute the Earl of Surrey because of this incident, and what the motive for the execution of the Count was. At this moment, the hall was in a kind of sacred tranquility, and Isabel looked at Lady Surrey, who had stopped crying.

Suddenly, he said to the other party, "Francis, Your Highness told me about the arrest of Lord Surrey and his father when he came to me for lunch. Now, you have to tell me, did His Majesty give the order to arrest the Lord because of that new coat of arms? ”

"New coat of arms?? Isabel, this... How is this possible? ”

"I'm sorry, ma'am, at least that's what Your Highness told me."

Mrs. Surrey was puzzled by Henry VIII's reasons for arresting her husband, and could not find the right words to describe her feelings. As he slumped on the pew, he looked up at the fully bloomed, brightly colored Tudor rose on the ceiling and muttered, "Isabel, if Henry intercedes with His Majesty, will His Majesty pardon his sins?" ”

"Frances, have you had lunch?" Isabel suddenly said something that had nothing to do with the mood of the two at this time.

"No, after Henry's arrest, I wasn't in the mood to eat at all." At this moment, Frances's mind was full of thoughts about how to get Henry VIII to pardon her husband's crimes.

"Let's go, go get something to eat, Your Highness will have lunch with me too."

After lunch, the trio went to the Ripley Residence, located in a garden by the River Thames. Sitting under a tall tree, the three of them drank the wine in their glasses in silence. Isabel put down her glass and glanced at the Duke of Richmond opposite, "Your Highness, if you allow you, you can go to the Tower of London to see your partner now." ”

In fact, the Duke of Richmond had been pondering the true meaning of what Henry VIII had said to him. When he heard Isabel's words, he said something that was mindless, "Your Excellency, what does Your Majesty mean by asking me to remember my identity?" ”