monarch

The time soon came to the next day, and in the afternoon before Christmas Eve, people in Lisbon were already in panic, and all kinds of rumors spread like cholera and plague.It was said that the Spanish army had reached the gates of the city and would enter the city the next day; there were rumors that Queen Elizabeth had fled north to join her accomplice, the Duke of Braganza; He died prematurely in the palace, and now the Britons are keeping their mourning secret, and are planning to control the political situation in Portugal by way of coercion.Therefore, when the palace Christmas party began to welcome the guests on time at five o'clock in the evening, the citizens who gathered around the palace trying to get first-hand information could not help but be surprised.

The sun had gone down, and the windows of the old palace, which usually darkened like monster eyes after nightfall, were now brightly lit in every one.All the courtyards in the palace were packed with gorgeous carriages. Some of the nobles who remained in Lisbon, some out of curiosity, and some to hear the news, accepted Queen Elizabeth’s invitation to come to this Christmas party to have a look. after all.

The halls of the palace were filled with people adorned with jewels, and the scent of the powder on their bodies was so strong that they seemed to suffocate themselves and others.The nobles who had hooked up with the new ruler from Spain looked radiant. They came here to witness the end of a dynasty, just like watching an execution.As for those unlucky ghosts who haven't found their way yet, they are all worried.A dark cloud gathers on their brows, like bells hanging from a leper's body, and everyone who encounters them stays at arm's length.After all, what is coming is a change of dynasty. At this time, there are always a few people who will be unlucky, and if you get too close to the unlucky ghosts, then the bad luck may be attached to yourself.

The only exception was Queen Elizabeth, who was supposed to be the worst of the unlucky, but those present noticed in disbelief that she looked more cheerful than ever.The queen was wearing a sky-blue silk palace dress, which was tailored very well. Although the eight-month pregnant belly could not be concealed, as long as she didn't deliberately look at it, she could forget its existence.She is like a butterfly in high spirits, flying among the flowers formed by groups of guests, playing the role of hostess, so that the conversations and card games in every circle will not be silent.

The queen's abnormal behavior has aroused countless speculations from the people below. Is she bluffing, or does she really have another backhand?Different people choose the answer they want to believe because of their position.The momentum of the dynasty has dropped to the lowest point, and Queen Elizabeth's stability in the face of danger has finally brought it back up, but it will take time to reveal the mystery of whether it is extremely prosperous or whether it will return to glory.

When the bell in the palace bell tower struck eleven, Queen Elizabeth confessed to everyone, claiming that she was going back to her room to rest.There was nothing suspicious about this move. For a pregnant woman who was eight months pregnant, Queen Elizabeth was already full of energy, and her departure did not arouse any unexpected reactions among the crowd.Everyone thought that the queen was indeed exhausted and was going back to her room to rest.

Queen Elizabeth returned to her dressing room. She waved her hand to signal all the maids to go out, leaving only Miss Susan Wendell, her personal maid brought from Britain, to serve her to bed.This maid was a confidant of the queen, and had often been left alone before, so the remaining maids were not surprised by this, and they obediently left the room without asking any questions.

As soon as the footsteps in the corridor disappeared completely, Queen Elizabeth winked at Miss Wendell.Immediately Miss Wendell slipped softly to the door and bolted it.

She went to the closet again, opened the closet, and took out two ordinary black silk palace dresses from it. These two sets of clothes were decent for ordinary ladies, but they seemed too much for a member of the royal family. Shabby.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Miss Wendell said, "You asked for it too urgently, and there is no time to make new clothes. These two clothes are second-hand."

A look of disgust flashed across Elizabeth's face, but it was gone like lightning.

"Now that we're running for our lives, there's no time to worry about that." She spread her arms, motioning for Miss Wendell to change her clothes.

Miss Wendell hastily came forward with the newer-looking set, and changed into this palace dress for Queen Elizabeth. As for the expensive dress she was wearing, it was hastily crumpled up and stuffed into a ball. into the corner of the closet.

After Queen Elizabeth changed her clothes, she took off all the jewelry on her body, leaving only a few inconspicuous ones. Now she looks like an ordinary lady who came to the palace to attend a party.

She left Miss Wendell where she was and changed into another set of clothes, and she went through the door and came to the bedroom.

Queen Elizabeth took down a small watercolor painting on the wall. The wall behind the watercolor painting has been hollowed out, and a black safe is hidden in the cavity.

Elizabeth took out a small key hanging around her neck, inserted it into the lock hole on the safe, and opened the door.

There is a box made of Brazilian fragrant wood in the cabinet, with a small silver plate inlaid on it, a crown is carved on it, and the letter ER is carved under the crown, which is the abbreviation of Queen Elizabeth/Queen in Latin (Elizabeth Regina) .Although the silver plate has not been corroded, it has been covered with a faint black layer, like a black veil hanging in front of a widow.Apparently she had started to think of herself as a queen or even a queen a long time ago.

Elizabeth slightly twisted a mechanism on the box, and the lid popped up.

The first tier of the casket was filled with diamonds, precious stones, and pearls the size of eyeballs in such excellent condition that even Ali Baba's jewels found in the treasure cave were in a condition that was incomparable, and they reflected in the candlelight. Intriguing luster.Elizabeth touched these jewels lightly with her fingers, and the crisp sound they made when they collided was like fairy music, which was incomparable to the works of any musician in the world.

She opened the lower part of the box again, which was filled with various securities and bonds.Among them are cashier's checks signed by the most reputable bankers in London, as long as the checks can be used to withdraw gold coins in any bank in Europe, only need to attach a small discount; It has become the most reputable bond in Europe, and it can even be used like cash on most occasions; the rest are stocks issued by several famous British business houses, even the stocks of the British East India Company and Hudson's Bay Company that were just established last year. can also be found there.

Queen Elizabeth closed her treasure box and tucked it under her arm. The wealth in this small box will not be less than 300 million pounds after being realized.

She walked back to the dressing room, and Miss Wendell had already changed her clothes.

The two of them waited quietly in the dressing room for about 5 minutes, and finally they heard three knocks on the door.

"It's me." A familiar voice came from the keyhole.

Queen Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

"Open the door quickly," she ordered Miss Wendell.

The door was opened, and Robert Dudley walked into the room. He was wrapped tightly in a black traveling cloak, and a sleeping man was carried on his back.

"I gave your husband a little sleep aid." He put King João Manuel I on the nearest armchair and breathed a sigh of relief. If you yell, it will be troublesome."

"What a nuisance." Queen Elizabeth glanced at her husband's slobber dripping from the corners of his mouth in disgust. If you don't have him, the Spaniards don't even want to get him."

"Then tomorrow Prince Don Carlos of Spain will become King Don Carlos I of Portugal." Robert sneered, "Your husband is very useful, maybe you don't want to admit it, but he is actually more useful than you many."

Elizabeth blushed angrily, but she wisely said nothing more.

"Okay, ladies, let's go now." Robert said in a commanding tone, "It's very cold outside, please put on your traveling cloak, are there any less conspicuous cloaks here?" He looked at Miss Wendell.

"I have prepared two." Miss Wendell nodded, ran to the closet, and found two thick black wool cloaks from inside after a while.

Robert watched Queen Elizabeth and Miss Wendell put on their cloaks, and when their bodies were completely hidden under the cloaks, he nodded in satisfaction and put King Joao Manuel on his back again.

"Let's go," he whispered, "step lightly."

The three walked out of the room, and Queen Elizabeth held the casket in her arms, tightly against the child in her belly.

Miss Wendell was last, and she locked the door leading to the dressing room with a key, so that if someone tried to open the door, it would be assumed that the Queen had something she didn't want others to know, and locked the door from the inside.

The three of them went down the small stairs that Robert walked through when he came to the palace for the first time to the garden entrance on the first floor, where the usual guards had long since disappeared, and a carriage was parked here.

Viscount Canning and one of his men were sitting in the driver's seat. Seeing Queen Elizabeth and his party appear, he quickly jumped out of his seat and opened the door.

Together with Viscount Canning, Robert put King Joao Manuel, who was in a coma, into the carriage, and then he held the hands of Queen Elizabeth and Miss Wendell, and sent them to the carriage one after another. Finally, he himself He stepped on the pedal and got into the car, closing the door behind him.

Viscount Canning jumped into his seat, and the men beside him waved their whips, and the horses pulling the cart began to trot.

The palace is not too far from the port, and it only takes a quarter of an hour for the carriage to cover the distance.During this time, the four people in the compartment were relatively silent.King Joao Manuel was snoring against the back of the chair, with an innocent smile on his face that could only be seen on the face of a child; Queen Elizabeth looked at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, if nothing unexpected happened It was probably the last time she saw the streets of Lisbon; Miss Wendell sat beside her mistress with her hands clasped awkwardly, and Robert sat impassively on his own. In his seat, his eyes were fixed on the opposite compartment wall, as if he wanted to poke a hole in it with his gaze.

When Robert and his party arrived at the pier, the "Lusina" was already ready to go.It was a handsome ketch with a pointed prow and a slender hull that many would classify as a racing boat used in regattas.It was a boat suitable for sailing on a sunny day, but a thousand miles in the stormy Atlantic seemed a little risky.

"This boat is well maintained." Queen Elizabeth gave her own comment after looking at the boat with indifferent eyes.

This comment was indeed fair. The metal parts of the entire ship were polished brightly, the rigging was newly replaced, and the deck was wiped clean without any trace of dirt.The captain, Colonel Felix Bundy, is the captain of the damaged battleship "Leto". The other four sailors are the most experienced men he has drawn from the two battleships. They are strong-willed and highly skilled. .

The living quarters for the guests are located at the stern. It is a square cabin. The walls are sunken inwards to form several beds. In the center of the room are a table and a few chairs. Burning candles.

Queen Elizabeth watched Robert and Viscount Canning work together to put King Joao Manuel on one of the beds. She went to the table, wiped the dust off a chair with a handkerchief, and sat down.

"It's better than I thought." She looked around the room. "At least it's clean."

"We will try our best to satisfy you." The captain bowed slightly to Queen Elizabeth, "but unfortunately, we can only provide you with such conditions."

"I'm very grateful for that." Elizabeth smiled and nodded.

"Then, Your Majesty, we are ready to set off, but before that, I have an unkind request." The captain's face showed embarrassment.

"Speak, Mr. Captain, this is your ship, and you have the right to say whatever you want."

"Then I hope that His Majesty can stay in the cabin as much as possible during this voyage...Of course, I'm not saying that you can't go to the deck to breathe fresh air or something, but please don't stay outside for too long. My men are all Loyal and loyal men, but they are sailors after all, and sailors are generally very superstitious..."

"They think it is unlucky for a woman to go on board, especially a pregnant woman." Queen Elizabeth finished the second half of the sentence for the captain.

"That's right, Your Majesty. It's fine in normal times. This voyage is really risky. I don't want them to have any psychological burden. This is for the safety of all of us."

"Don't worry, I will try my best to stay in the cabin." Queen Elizabeth untied her traveling cloak and asked Miss Wendell to spread her on the bed. "I don't want to embarrass you."

"That would be great." The captain laughed awkwardly, bowed awkwardly to Queen Elizabeth, and left the cabin as if fleeing.

Robert walked to the far side of the cabin away from the door, "I had someone prepare a curtain in the room." He pulled a rope hanging from the edge of the bulkhead, and a curtain immediately fell from the ceiling, wrapping the narrow "You two ladies can have some privacy."

Elizabeth let out a "hmm", she understood very well that this was already the best arrangement that could be made under the current conditions.

The sound of the anchor chain being pulled up to the surface came from outside the cabin, the cable was untied, and the "Lusina" lowered the front and rear masts and jibs, and the sails were immediately full of wind, pulling the boat into the dense night fog.