After the successful raid on the French fleet at Le Havre, every crew member of Henry VIII's King's fleet was overjoyed, and the two commanders of the fleet and the Baroness Ripley, who had joined the battle, were in a cheerful mood. When Isabel was returning to Portsmouth Military Port with the Duke of Richmond on the Vice-Flagship, she said something rather cheerfully.

With her back to the railing on the port side of the lookout on the stern of the Mary Rose, Isabel turned her face to look at the Duke of Richmond beside her, and said with a smile, "Henry, I thought, maybe I can't ask a question. ”

The Duke of Richmond, who was in a good mood, leaned over the port side fence and looked sideways at her with a smile on his face, "What do you want to know, Isabel?" ”

Isabel looked at the sails on the mast at the fore of the stern, twisted her neck from side to side, and pouted as she said, "The noblest Prince Henry, the noblest Duke of Richmond, is about 26 years old this year. However, the Duke still does not have an heir who can witness his birth, growth, and succession to the Duke's title. ”

"Isabel, why don't you just ask me if I'd like to have an heir?" The Duke of Richmond shook his head and smiled, laughing as he spoke.

"Yes, that's right. So, would you like to have an heir or two with the Duchess? Isabel asked with a smile.

Actually, she wasn't going to ask the question. At the very least, she didn't want the Duke to think that she was interfering in his marriage and the birth of several heirs. However, the Duke of Richmond and his Duchess have not lived together for 5 years. An ordinary nobleman can get at least 3-4 heirs in his life for up to 5 years. The Duke of Richmond and his Duchess never seemed to have thought about a problem.

The Duke of Richmond quietly gazed at the rough sea, and asked softly, "Isabel, you would love to have one or two heirs to Mary and I, don't you?" ”

Isabel also turned around, bowed beside the Duke of Richmond and leaned against the fence and stared out at the sea, saying, "Henry, if you are not willing to let the Richmond family with royal blood continue, I don't think I can bother with it. ”

"I know that if you weren't friends for 10 years, you really wouldn't be able to ask this question." The Duke of Richmond stood up, straightened his upper body, leaned on the fence with his hands, and said, "Isabel, I am probably the same kind of person as Your Majesty, and I will only have an heir with the woman I like. ”

Isabel didn't expect the Duke of Richmond to think so. However, he was also right, his biological father Henry VIII did only give birth to an heir with his favorite second and third wives (the birth of Princess Mary Tudor with his first wife should be attributed to the nature of all young men that Henry VIII had at the time).

The Duke's ideas were indeed very advanced, and she could not find a reason to refute the Duke. The two were silent for a while, and Isabel just smiled softly and said, "I think you should bring the news of your victory over the enemy to your own wife." Regardless, you are a knight of the highest rank with the Order of the Garter. ”

"News of victory? Well, you're quite right. The Duke of Richmond recalled the naval battle at Le Havre, nodded and laughed, "Isabel, to whom will you bring the news of the victory?" Your father, Lord Walton and your loved ones, your godson, Lord Latimer, or your business associates, Lord Lancashire and Lord Montigall? ”

"Henry, did you deliberately not mention Lord Essex? If so, it means that you have Lord Essex in your heart. ”

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After the two returned to the city of London, the Duke of Richmond finally agreed to let his Duchess live with him. By this time, Duchess Mary Fitzroy had been serving Queen Catherine Parr for nearly two years as a lady-in-chamberlain. Mary's arrival in the City of London was also due to the fact that Henry VIII, who was seriously ill, needed the care of his family.

In this way, Isabel moved out of the extravagant former bishop of Durham's ornate home. The problem of accommodation after she moved out of the ornate home was also resolved with the "enthusiastic assistance" of William Parr, Earl of Essex. The Earl's offer was to let her live in his Winchester house until the construction of her Ripley house was completed.

The Earl of Essex was very generous in not limiting the amount of time she could borrow, and was even willing to pay for all the living expenses during her stay. However, Isabel was well aware of the Count's purpose. When the two negotiated their living expenses during the loan, she insisted that she would pay for her own expenses. If the money brought from the north and the reward of Henry VIII were not sufficient, she would also make an IOU after borrowing from the Earl and return it at a fixed date.

During her stay at William Parr's Winchester house, Isabel inevitably talked to each other about happy and unhappy things, and was under the same roof as the Earl as a friend of many years. When she talked to them about a trip to Plymouth, the Earl became very excited.

The day after their audience with Queen Catherine, Isabel and the Earl of Essex left the city of London with their respective attendants. Once upon a time, Isabel never cared if she had many attendants traveling with her. Now, however, she was subject to the rules of the House of Heraldry on aristocratic matters, enforcing the long-standing rules of nobility in all aspects of her private life.

Given the distance of the trip to Plymouth, William Parr saw it not only as an opportunity to pursue Isabel, but also as a great opportunity to show who he is and what he is. He selected 200 squires and servants from among his 310 domestic servants who wore the earl's insignia to form a vast procession of county counts.

And because Isabel had recently been knighted as Lady Ripley, she did not have her own noble residence and domestic servants in the city of London. Therefore, this is a fact that the Earl of Essex, who is pursuing her, does not want to see, and he will certainly not let Isabel, as a nobleman, fail to reflect the power and prestige of the nobility when she is on the tour. So, he selected another 50 squires from his traveling party to serve as Ladyelle Ripley's acolytes for the time being.

Prior to this, the Duke of Richmond had temporarily handed over 50 of his 50 attendants to Isabel as attendants. So, Isabel left the Winchester residence with a party of 100 attendants wearing two types of uniforms.