With the departure of the two living room valets, Isabel plans to make a trip to the magistrate's court before making her rounds. Seeing that she was in a hurry to leave, Mary, Duchess of Richmond, hurriedly stopped her: "Isabel, you go to the magistrate's court, so what should I do now?" ”

Isabel Walton, who had not yet bowed Mary and left, faced the lordship of the lord and the lord's wife on the two small staircases. Looking down at Mary, who was sitting on the throne of Madame, "Madam, you can do some embroidery family affairs. If you really don't have anything to do, you can also play cards with your maid, play chess, bet on dice, ride horses, and go to the bow arena to practice your archery. ”

Mary thought about it and nodded, "Well, will you continue to inspect the castle and the territory after you return from the magistrate's court?" ”

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, there you go."

After Isabel saluted and left, Mary looked at her departing back and instructed Amy behind her: "Go and tell the butler, Miss Isabel will come and tell me as soon as she returns." ”

Mary Fitzroy, who was distinguished from other noble women, leaned towards freedom and independence in character, and admired Isabel's way of life. She had seen aristocratic women who were skilled in horsemanship, archery, and swordsmanship, and she had never heard of aristocratic women who were skilled in economic, administrative, judicial, and military affairs.

However, there was probably only one aristocratic woman in the world who could match her, and that was Mary's late cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn. Although her cousin was beheaded by Henry VIII on 18 trumped-up charges, her daughter, Miss Elizabeth Tudor, survived.

In September of this year, her cousin Elizabeth was 7 years old. At this time, she remained at court as a lady-in-waiting with the later Queen Mary I, serving the jewel of Henry VIII, the future Edward VI.

From the current situation of her cousin and niece in the court, the Duchess thought of the injustice and tragic end to Elizabeth's mother. An impulse rose in her heart, and for a moment she was willing to take care of her child for her innocently dead cousin.

On second thought, although her cousin and niece were still legally illegitimate at this time, she was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his cousin, and His Majesty would eventually recognize her as a princess and her right to inherit the throne. If you don't plan to admit her, why let her go into the palace to serve Edward?

The Duchess sat on the throne and pondered for a long, long time, and then looked up again at the unoccupied living room. Turning his head to look at the two maids who had been favored by him, "Amy, Kelly, do you think my cousin and niece will be crowned princess again?" ”

Amy, who had been standing behind him without saying a word, blinked, thinking quickly about the Duchess's intentions in saying this. After thinking about it, he hesitated and said, "Madam, your cousin and niece have royal blood, she will definitely be able to become a princess again." ”

Mary didn't respond, but just ordered, "You two come to the front." ”

As Amy and Kelly walked up to the Duchess, Mary stared at their expressions, "You say, what do you think if I want to take care of my dead cousin, her child, Elizabeth?" ”

Kelly raised his slightly bowed head, "Madam, you can do this with your current status, status, and rights. However, Miss Elizabeth was still working as a lady-in-waiting in the court at this time to take care of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall (the title of Duke of Cornwall forever belonged to the eldest son of the British Monarch), so she ......"

"I know all these facts about you. What I want to say is, what if Elizabeth still can't get the favor of His Majesty? ”

Amy and Kelly looked at each other, perhaps they had never thought about such a complex issue involving the royal heir. The Duchess looked at the two who were speechless and shook her head slightly, "You can't answer my question, I won't reprimand you." Why don't you make Miss Isabel my cousin's governess, and make her a good woman like her mother, what do you say? ”

Amy replied with some pleasure: "Madam, this is a very good opinion. Although Kelly and I have only been here for two days with you, I have discovered that Miss Isabel is indeed a wonderful, intelligent and aristocratic woman. ”

Kelly, who was on the side, also replied: "Miss Elizabeth is under your care, and Isabel has given her a good education, Miss Elizabeth will definitely be able to regain her mother's honor." ”

Mary's smile returned, "May God bless her." However, I need to watch Miss Isabel a little longer, and I want to see if she really has what it takes to be a governess. ”

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The purpose of Sir Augustine, the Magistrate, in bringing his daughter to court was, of course, to settle various criminal, juvenile and civil cases. It's just that this morning, my daughter let the two dukes escort the suspects and the whole case still have some issues to be resolved, mainly the conviction of the suspects

Now, the planning and construction of the Richmond County Magistrate's Court, at Isabel's suggestion, has become very similar to the federal courts of her time. The only difference from later federal courts is that magistrates do not need a jury to hear cases, and the procedure is simple and inexpensive, thus ensuring that all poor people in the county are treated fairly by the law.

Isabel rode her horse to the seat of the Magistrate's Court, just a mile north of the Duke's castle. Entering the courtroom, which is enclosed by several curtain walls, there is a courtroom with Gothic architecture to the west, a building for judges and court staff to work and rest on the north, and a very large building to the east for the security army. A large open space behind the camp houses a temporary detention center, stables for the security forces, and a school yard.

Isabel passed through the sergeant-guarded gate and went straight outside her father's room in the north house. However, she did not see her father in the room, and upon questioning, she learned that he was trying several civil cases.

She had no choice but to go to the courtroom's reception room and wait for her father to finish the case. About two hours later, a servant came to tell her that His Excellency the Judge had finished his case and was resting in his room. Isabel was led by the servants to her father's chambers, and Sir Augustine smiled and said when he saw his daughter coming as promised: "Son, when I sent for you, I thought that the Duchess had arrived at Her Highness's castle. ”