Caroline looked at her intently and said with a sneer, "Isabel, have you ever thought that there is also a person in your family who participated in the rebellion. And, he's Lord Carlisle's standard-bearer! ”

"Do you think my father, mother, and Effie won't be sad and sad about what happened to the eldest son of this knightly family?" Isabel became agitated, grabbed the wine glass on the table, and slammed it against the stone wall of the house, along with the white wine.

There was a long stalemate between the two, and neither of them spoke but sat quietly on either side of the stand table. Perhaps because it was too late, Caroline stood up and looked at the other party: "Isabel, it's getting late, I'm going back." ”

Isabel turned around and picked up the wine glass on the ground, poured herself a glass of wine, took a sip and said, "Won't you feel better if Ernest were sent to the gallows?" ”

"I don't know, you and I are both victims of this pilgrimage."

"Kali, what I need you to know is that many noble families and knight families in the north have perpetrators, and the relatives in each family and family are victims."

Ernest Walton was given a week off and soon came to the afternoon of Day 6. After sunrise, Isabel and Ernest, along with four heavily armed manor guards, galloped from horseback to the county border with Westmoreland in the northwest of Richmond County.

Isabel, who was on a horse, looked at the road in front of her and looked at the quasi-lancer standard-bearer with a solemn expression: "Ernest, remember, you are not living for yourself. Behind you stands your family, all of which await the day when you become an official knight. ”

Ernest nodded solemnly: "Isabel, may God take care of you." I'm incredibly proud to have you as a member of the Walton family, and I'll remember that. ”

"I don't know how long the current chaos will last, so I'll have these guards follow you all the way to Carlisle Castle. If you want to shout 'Fight for knightly honor!' 'If you fight against a group of outlawless outcasts or tenant farmers, I think you should save your courage and strength to the real enemy. ”

"Isabel, are you always so calm? You should smile a little more, just like Miss Carolyn. ”

Isabel pouted and said, "Even if you like Carrie now, I'm afraid God won't please you." ”

"Really? By the time I became a nobleman, Miss Caroline was already a wealthy noblewoman. Well, I guess it's Miss Caroline like this that I'm in love with. ”

"Let's go, a would-be knight-bearer who will fall in love with a rich widow."

On her way back to Nottingham Castle, Isabel spotted the Duke of Richmond's heraldic flag flying from atop the castle's main building. Riding on the horse, he thought, "The red-haired boy is finally back." Perhaps, during this time, Henry VIII kept him at the court and gave him a lot of rewards. Then the redhead triumphantly ran off to the estate in Windsor for a few more days. ”

When she returned to the castle and came to the drawing room of the main building, she saw the Duke of Richmond, dressed in a new duke's costume, sitting on the throne and listening to the retainers. Standing outside the door, he straightened his hair that was blown by the wind without a helmet, and straightened up the armor and sword of the quasi-lancers on his body, and then was led into the parlor by the parlor servant.

As soon as she entered the parlor, Henry Fitzroy, who had seen her at a glance, smiled and exclaimed, "My truly credible Privy Counsellor has returned!" ”

Standing on the periphery of the conference circle, Isabel stood on the periphery of the circle and saluted, saying, "God bless you, Your Highness. ”

When she entered the parlor before, the first thing Isabel saw was a half-human-high T-shaped wooden frame placed in the open space to the left of the duke's throne, and on the crossbar at the top of the wooden frame was a small bird of prey that was only more than a foot long, short and stubby, and relatively compact. A male servant in the form of a falconer stood respectfully on the side of the wooden frame.

A closer look at this small bird of prey reveals that it is a female gray-backed falcon with dark brown feathers, well-defined white eyebrow lines, a white-eyebrow knight's imposing eyebrows, orange-yellow toes and black-brown claws.

Next, the Duke of Richmond did not turn the topic to the falcon, and Isabel, who was standing aside, naturally did not say a word. When the meeting was over and the retainers had left, Henry came to the wooden frame and looked excitedly at his adviser and said, "Look, Isabel, this is the Christmas present I bought for you from France. ”

"France? Your Highness, you went to France after the peace talks? Isabel was a little surprised.

"This is what I had someone bring back from France. Unfortunately, there are no falcons like the Greyback Falcon among the Kingdom's native birds. The Duke's face looked a little embarrassed, probably because he did not personally go to France to buy Christmas gifts for Isabel.

Isabel had already guessed that this was a grey-backed falcon suitable for female domestication. During the hunting season in the autumn and winter of the previous year, the Duke of Richmond had said that he would give himself a gray-backed falcon. The fact that the falcon was not bought back until this winter probably has something to do with the fact that England does not produce small birds of prey such as the grayback falcon.

"Thank you very much for your gift, Your Highness." Isabel saluted the Duke with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Edmund Girard, this is my Privy Counsellor, Her Excellency Isabel Walton. From now on, you will domesticate falcons exclusively for Your Excellency, you see? The Duke of Richmond turned his head and commanded the falconer.

The falconer hurriedly saluted Isabel and said, "Good day, Your Excellency, you can call me Edmond." ”

The Duke of Richmond commanded, "Edmund, go out first." ”

When only the Duke, Isabel, and Eugene, the valet in the corner, were left in the hall, Henry Fitzroy said softly, "Isabel, you've been busy dealing with chaos since I negotiated peace with the rebels until now, haven't you?" ”

Isabel walked to the window and leaned against the wall: "Yes, because this is my advice to you, and this is my best effort to protect my home." ”

"I can see your efforts. Believe me, the chaos caused by this rebellion will soon be over. ”

"The end? His Majesty has decided to arrest these rebel leaders? ”

The Duke of Richmond walked up to the wooden frame and admired the grey-backed falcon, and said in a good mood: "It's just a matter of time and decree." Then he added: "Last week, His Majesty invited the lawyer Robert Asker to the city of London for Christmas. ”

Isabel pondered the other party's words and walked to the side of the wooden frame: "Your Majesty hopes to gain the trust of the lawyer in a courtesy, this is probably a prelude to the arrest, right?" ”