monarch

"Okay." Robert put the hat on Edward's head, he took the king's hand, and walked to the mirror across the room.

Edward looked at the figure in the mirror in surprise.The king's facial features have been inherited from his mother, so he looks rather soft. He is tall, but not muscular, and wearing this lady's attire doesn't look out of place at all.

The king lowered his head in embarrassment. The appropriate youthfulness reminded Robert of those girls who showed up at the ball for the first time, like a budding rose slowly opening its petals.

"You look so beautiful." Robert pinched the king's ear lightly, "Let me think about it...it seems that there is something missing."

He looked around the room, suddenly his eyes lit up, and strode to the chest of drawers by the fireplace, on which stood the only vase still intact.

Robert took a camellia from the vase, and pinned it lightly on the king's head.

"When I go out with you, all eyes will be on you." Robert looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction, "Men will be jealous of me, and ladies will be jealous of you."

"You should be satisfied now." The king raised his head and glanced at himself in the mirror, then lowered his head shyly, "Look at how much I have done for you."

"I'm very satisfied." Robert said, putting his arms around the king's waist from behind, "Actually, I regret it a bit now, I don't want others to see your current appearance at all, even through a veil... Just let me see it alone."

Edward lowered the veil over his face.

"How? No one should recognize me, right?" the king asked nervously.

"Others shouldn't be able to recognize you, but I'm different." Robert chuckled, "I can recognize you no matter what you are dressed in."

"Then let's go." Edward sighed resignedly.

"Permit me to take your arm, miss." Robert bowed to the king and held out his arm.

The king stretched out his foot and stomped hard on Robert's foot before putting his hand on Robert's arm.

Robert opened the door, and the two walked through the corridor to the stairs.Robert signaled the king to go first in a gentlemanly manner, while he held up the hem of Edward's skirt behind him.

Ponsonby and Robert's entourage were already waiting in the lobby on the first floor. Seeing Robert bring a young lady downstairs, everyone had a look of surprise on their faces.

Ponsonby also looked quite surprised, but soon there was a look of understanding in his eyes, and when the king walked by him, he cleared his throat, and a knowing smile appeared on his face, letting the veil The king's face grew even more crimson.

"Excuse me, my lord, this lady is..." one of Robert's entourage asked on behalf of everyone.

"She's a friend of mine," said Robert without changing his face. "This lady will take me aboard."

"What's going on here? Did Lord Robert and His Majesty..." A young clerk asked in a low voice to the person next to him, and his mouth was covered.

Robert pretended not to hear, and helped Edward through the gate of the post house and walked into the sunlight.

A carriage was parked in the middle of the yard. Robert supported the king and stepped on the pedals to get into the carriage, and then got into the carriage himself.

The door slammed shut behind them, the coachman yelled and whipped his whip, and the heavy wheels began to roll on the stone road.

The king watched the street receding rapidly from the window, and he gently pulled the lace of the cuff with his fingers, "I hope you will be vigilant after you go to Spain. You are a diplomat and represent Britain as an ambassador. The Spaniards should not Do something out of the ordinary, but I don't think you'll be popular with them either."

"I expected that," said Robert, "and the Spaniards, far from being guilty of being caught playing tricks behind our backs, would be outraged."

"A guilty person is always unwilling to be pointed out that he is guilty." The king said, his eyebrows were slightly folded, "I am not worried about the emperor, he is a rational person, and he knows that it is not good for him to turn against me now , I am worried about his son... Philip is a young and energetic religious fanatic. I even wonder if he has been poked in the head by a cross. If he becomes the king of Spain, he will go to war with all countries that do not believe in Catholicism. "

"But he's not yet a king."

"But it's coming soon. The emperor won't live for a few more years. Philip is now powerful and powerful. You have to be careful of him making trouble for you."

Edward grabbed Robert's hand, "He can't do anything to you by himself, but he has no obstacles in sending a few stunned youths with excess energy to provoke you."

"That means a duel." Robert took the king's hand backhand.

"I think there are many people in Madrid who are waiting to fight you. Even without Philip's instruction, they will come to you." Edward shrugged his shoulders, "For those bloody Iberians, A duel is nothing more than a way to let off steam, or a means of showing off in front of the woman they want."

"Since that's the case, then I can only do what they want and let them bleed with my sword." Robert smiled disdainfully, "Your Majesty should have confidence in my sword skills."

"I hope nothing goes wrong," sighed the king.

The carriage passed through the streets of Chatham City, a city that had woken from the storm and was bright and warm and alive again in daylight.

A lot of spectators gathered near the pier. Even in this busy commercial port, a large ship entering and leaving the port is an attractive event, let alone a fleet that will set sail from here today. .

The diplomatic fleet to Iberia consisted of eight ships, three of which were galleons with three masts, and the remaining five were smaller ships of more nimble stature.Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth have boarded two of the three galleons, and the remaining one is naturally reserved for Robert Dudley.

The two horses pulling the cart stopped in front of the pier. Robert, like before, jumped out of the cart first, and then he stretched out his arms, carried the king out of the carriage, and gently placed him on the wide stone floor of the pier. superior.

The surrounding crowd looked curiously at this young girl who was riding in the same car with Robert Dudley. Although she was wearing a veil, the half of her face occasionally exposed from under the veil lifted by the sea breeze was already It can be seen that she is graceful.This young lady's movements are quite elegant, she looks obviously from a high-class background, and her attire is also quite decent.The crowd murmured, and no doubt the subject of their conversation was speculation about the identity of the mysterious lady.

Robert didn't seem to notice these people, his eyes kept falling on Edward, as if he could no longer see anything except the king in front of him.

A small boat with an awning was moored to the shore, and a sailor was holding it with a chain.The king and Robert boarded the boat together, the sailor let go of the chains, and with a cry the four oarsmen slammed the boat away from the bank toward the ship anchored in the middle of the bend.

The oars slapped the water surface, causing a string of water droplets to splash around. This streamlined and elegant boat, like a sled on the ice in winter, glides on the mirror-like smooth water.

Summer is coming to an end, and the scorching sun in July and August seems to be much milder at this time. It makes people feel warm on the skin. This is really a good weather for going out to sea.Sea ships are moored on both sides of the channel from the shore to the middle of the river bend. Among them are large merchant ships bound for the Mediterranean Sea and the New World. Their white sails have all been furled and wrapped around the tall masts like a curtain; Those between Chatham and Antwerp and Calais were even shorter and fatter, their bottom stores full of cloth, wool and dyes.And among these big boats, there are countless small boats and rafts, on which are busy unloading merchants, sailors who are eager to go home and have a look, and officials in the customs building.

The small boat that Robert and Edward took passed through the ship formation like a street on the water at the fastest speed, and sailed into the middle of the open river bend, where the diplomatic fleet bound for Spain and Portugal was moored.

The battleship "Orion" was ready to set sail, and the sailors on the deck were pulling the black anchor out of the mud at the bottom of the river.In front of her, Princess Mary's "Sovereign" and Princess Elizabeth's "Invincible" have put down part of their sails and are slowly moving towards the mouth of the river weakly.

The boat gently leaned against the starboard side of the "Orion" like a calf snuggling up to a mother whale, and the gangway was lowered.

Robert helped the king to the side of the boat, "Hold on to the handrail, Your Majesty."

The king tightly held the rope used as a handrail on the side of the gangway, and climbed up step by step, for fear that he would step on the complicated skirt and fall straight from the gangway into the river.

Robert noticed Edward's nervousness, and he wrapped his arms around Edward's waist gently but unquestionably from behind.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will support you."

These light words made Edward feel a lot more relieved, and the gangway under his feet didn't look as steep as before.

"Welcome aboard, my lord." The captain took off his hat and stepped forward, "All the crew and I will try our best to make you have a comfortable journey."

Edward took a peek at the captain's young dark face from under the veil, and he remembered that he had met Captain John Hawkins once during the ship review a few years ago.

"Thank you, Captain." Robert nodded slightly.

"This is..." The captain looked curiously at the veiled beauty beside Robert. As soon as she boarded the deck, she attracted the attention of all the sailors who saw her.

"The lady will take me to the cabin, and then she will leave." Robert took half a step ahead, just blocking the captain's curious gaze on Edward.

The captain coughed lightly, and changed the subject obediently: "If your lord has no other arrangements, then I will take you to your cabin."

Robert gave a "hmm", and the captain immediately made a gesture of invitation, and led Robert and the king into the cabin.

Robert's cabin was in the stern of the ship, and it was the best one in the whole ship.The beds, tables, cabinets and other furniture in the room are made of lighter fir wood, and a wool carpet is even laid on the ground.

Edward scanned every corner of the room with critical eyes, and when there were only the two of them left in the room, the king immediately tore off the veil dangling in front of him.

"It seems to be okay." Edward said with some reluctance.

"This is the best cabin on the ship." Robert threw his hat casually on the bed.

"So, this time it's a real goodbye." Edward bit his lip, and he felt his eyes a little sour.

Robert walked towards the king, his boots stepped on the wooden floor, and the sound of his heavy footsteps was even more oppressive in the small cabin.

"Aren't you willing to say goodbye to me?" Edward said, stretching out his hand towards Robert, but the other party picked him up with iron-like arms and put him on the desk.

Edward screamed and kicked the opponent's thigh fiercely, "This table is not strong at all, you will break it apart!"

"It doesn't matter, I don't need to write anything anyway." Robert threw the king's lady's hat on the ground.

"Of course I want to say goodbye to you." In the dim light, the king couldn't see Robert's expression clearly, he could only hear his hoarse voice, "but I will do it in my own way, in a way you will never forget Way."

Edward wanted to say something more, but his lips were blocked by a fierce kiss.

When the green dress and corset fell to the floor, Edward finally resigned himself to lying on the desk, and after a moment of symbolic defense, England opened again.

An hour later, there was finally a knock on the door.

"We are about to set sail, my lord." Captain Hawkins' voice sounded at the right time.

"Understood." Robert said while fastening the belt on Edward's back.

Edward felt that his waist was almost broken. In this small space, his body showed an unbelievable flexibility.He felt a burning pain in his back, and the rough and hard surface of the desk and floor must have left a lot of bruises on his back.

"I regret it a bit." He gave Robert a stern look. "I shouldn't have come last night."

Robert finished the last bow, "You are really a liar with a double-spoken heart." He held his heart artificially, "Why don't you want to admit it, you don't regret it at all?"

The king coughed several times to hide his embarrassment, "It's a pity that it's not convenient to take a bath here."

"Your skirt is thick, no one can see anything." Robert's hands began to be dishonest again.

"I'm really leaving this time." The king sighed and wrapped his arms around Robert's neck.

"I look forward to the day when I return to you." Robert played with a lock of the king's hair. "We will try some new ones at that time. What do you think?"

"I think your brain is completely broken." The king snorted coldly.

"How is it, Your Majesty? Promise me, then I will come back as soon as possible, because I know what kind of reward is waiting for me."

"What if I don't agree? Did you stay in Spain?"

"Then I will come back as soon as possible." Robert's eyes were extremely scorching in the drowsy room, "Because I know that His Majesty will grant any request sometimes."

Edward stared straight into Robert's eyes, and suddenly he laughed out loud, but along with the laughter, large teardrops dripped uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes.

He bit Robert's lip hard, and the taste of blood melted on the tip of his tongue.

Trembling all over, the king took Robert's hand and put the veil on himself again.

"I'll take you up there," Robert said.

"No." The king shook his head. "You'd better stay here...or those sailors will start speculating about our relationship again."

The king lifted the hem of his skirt and opened the door.

"Then, goodbye." He nodded towards Robert, then rushed up the stairs without looking back, and disappeared in front of Robert's eyes.

Robert stared blankly at the empty corridor. After a long time, he dragged his heavy steps and closed the door gently.

Edward returned to the deck, where Captain Hawkins was waiting for him. His attitude seemed much more respectful than before. It was obvious that some ideas had just formed in his mind.

He bowed deeply to Edward, "I'll help you down."

Edward shook his head, and he waved to the captain, beckoning him to come forward.

"No matter what you think you saw today, it's just your illusion, understand?"

The captain bent himself even lower.

The king left the ship along the gangway, which was still as rickety as before, but Edward's footsteps became more and more steady.

He boarded the boat, went to the stern and sat down.

The boat moved away from the side of the big ship.

The sun, which is gradually changing from golden to red, is sinking towards the water surface, and the sparkling waves are dyed with the light of the red sun, which looks like a dancing flame, burning on the water.

The "Orion" opened the mainsail on the middle mast, the jib on the bow and the tailsail on the backmast, and gradually sailed towards the mouth of the river.

Not long after, the boat docked at the place where Edward had just boarded.

Ponsonby was already waiting there with the carriage, and as soon as he saw Edward come ashore, he immediately came forward to meet him.

"Going back to the palace, Your Majesty?" He helped the king into the carriage.

"No, go to the customs house." Edward ordered.

The customs house is located in the square in the center of the city, and it took 5 minutes for the carriage to arrive there.

Ponsonby followed the king, and together they climbed the belfry of the customs house, which was the highest point in the city.

The king stood on the edge of the clock tower, his eyes searching the distance for the big ship carrying Robert to the vast Atlantic Ocean.

He watched silently as the tall mast and huge hull became smaller and smaller, until an hour later, the ship finally turned into a black spot on the distant horizon, completely blending into the early night fog.

Act V Poseidon's Crown