monarch

When the cold autumn wind with murderous intent rolled up the yellow leaves on the increasingly bare branches and scattered them in the air, the gradually swollen belly of the first queen could no longer be concealed.

In the Hatfield Palace, the first queen lived in seclusion, and the intense morning sickness reaction made her weak, and she just retired to her bedroom every day, and she couldn't even leave her bed at all.

She wasn't the only one living this reclusive life in the palace, however.Sir Thomas Seymour, the new master of the palace, also hides in this palace with his new wife, unwilling to see outsiders.

Sir Thomas, who lost his big ugly face at the ship review, has become the joke of the whole society, the whole country, and even the whole of Europe in recent days. After-dinner conversation at the Sultan's court in Constantinople.The London City tabloids portrayed him as a clown, or a fool who dragged his wife's skirts up.

Although Sir Thomas still retains the titles of Second Sea Lord and Admiral, his career is effectively over.It was a rare opportunity for the king to pull out the last nail of the Lord Protector's faction in the navy, and he did it without breaking a sweat.Sir Thomas' older brother, the Lord Protector, had neither the ability nor the intention to keep the brother he hated.So an imperial edict asked him to go home to "recover from his illness", or to suspend his duties.

Sir Thomas’s office in the Admiralty Building is still cleaned every day. The servants light the fireplace every day and put fresh flower arrangements in the vases as if he was still in the house. However, he never dared to step into the Admiralty again. The door was closed, and the muffled jeers were driving him mad.So he could only go back to the country mansion, away from the crowd, wandering alone like a ghost in the empty halls and long corridors.

Sir Thomas was undoubtedly full of resentment and jealousy, and he began to envy everyone, especially his brother.Flames of anger and jealousy clouded his mind, and his relationship with the first queen began to take a turn for the worse - and his status as the first queen's husband did not help him at all.In Sir Thomas' eyes, the marriage had really done him no good except for the considerable dowry.So after only a few months of marriage, Sir Thomas began to regret it, without considering that he was now living in his wife's palace, spending his wife's money, and serving him by his wife's servants.

Everyone in the court wants to be more involved with the royal family.It is needless to say that Sir Thomas married the first queen for this, in addition to her vast fortune.Unfortunately, the king seems to have a mediocre attitude towards his stepmother, and Princess Mary is even more disgusted with the first queen, which also puts the first queen in a somewhat awkward position in the royal family. Husband, Sir Thomas felt ten times more embarrassment than his own wife.

As the second son who lived in the shadow of his elder brother all his life, Sir Thomas envied and hated his elder brother, the Lord Protector, but all the reverence and status he got came from his elder brother.This sense of humiliation underpins his unscrupulous climb up the ladder of power.

Now the road of first queen may not work, but Sir Thomas does not intend to give up.Fortunately for him, another sky-reaching Qingyun ladder is now living under the same roof as him.

In the marriage market throughout Europe, the two daughters of King Henry VIII are undoubtedly one of the most attractive gems.However, Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of the previous king, was over thirty years old, and her mother, Catherine of Aragon, gave birth to a baby boy who either miscarried or died. Many potential marriage partners have doubts about Princess Mary.

Compared with her older sister, Princess Elizabeth is obviously much more sought-after.Elizabeth is only 15 years old now, and has just entered the golden age of marriage, and her appearance is considered to be at the top level among the princesses in Europe today.As the biological sister of the King of England, her status also made her one of the most valuable marriage partners in Europe.

A royal marriage, however, is more a diplomatic act than a marriage.A marriage usually means that two countries with the same interests are determined to form an alliance, or two countries that are enemies are determined to shake hands and make peace. However, according to the current foreign policy of England, there are not many objects that Princess Elizabeth can marry: Spain It is hoped that the marriage between Princess Elizabeth and Crown Prince Philip will be facilitated. The two of them are similar in age, and apart from religious differences, they are really a good match.But the king is currently in a close relationship with France and Spain, and he will never favor one over the other and marry the princess to one of them.Marrying Crown Prince João Manuel of Portugal would have made sense in cementing England's age-old alliance with Portugal, but the king would never marry his sister to a man so morbid because of inbreeding Weak boy.In addition, the remaining marriage partners, apart from the little princes in the German region, are only the big nobles in the country.

For foreign marriage partners, marrying the princess is at most a diplomatic benefit; and if a domestic nobleman is lucky enough to marry the princess, his family has since then claimed the throne. Once the royal power declines, Then they may not be unable to think about the taste of St. Edward's crown.

As a veteran in the field of love, although Sir Thomas is nearly forty years old, he still looks suave and suave, which also gives him a ticket in this competition.However, for Sir Thomas, the real trump card in his hand is his status as the stepfather of the princess.

As the middle of the king's three legitimate children, Princess Elizabeth has not always received much attention from her own father.The king naturally loves his only son like a treasure; and Princess Mary also enjoyed the king's exclusive favor in her early years. After she and the king had a complete fallout, the friction and mutual dislike between the two also seemed quite vigorous.

But the second daughter of the king has always been a little transparent. Before she was born, King Henry thought it was a boy and was full of joy. Therefore, her birth brought only disappointment to King Henry, and her mother gradually became more and more happy after that. If he fell out of favor, if he hadn't finally given birth to a son for His Majesty, he might not even be able to save his life.Therefore, although Princess Elizabeth has always enjoyed luxurious treatment materially, King Henry has never paid much attention to this lacking daughter.

Sir Thomas saw an opportunity in this. As Princess Elizabeth's stepfather, he had the unique opportunity to play the role of a loving father to the princess.

Princess Elizabeth is just a young girl now. When the thing she has been asking for all this time is held in front of her on a silver plate, the poor girl immediately fell.In just a few months, she has developed a very close relationship with her stepfather.Sir Thomas knew very well that the king would never take the initiative to let his sister marry a 40-year-old man, so the only way for him was to make the princess fall in love with him.

A 40-year-old man should be cautious when dealing with a 15-year-old girl. However, Sir Thomas has bad intentions, and the first queen is pregnant and it is inconvenient to be a director, so no one can stop this very inappropriate behavior in time .As we all know, there are no secrets in the palace, and some messages that damage the princess's reputation have begun to spread in a small area, and it is only a matter of time before it becomes known.

On a cloudy autumn afternoon, the sky began to darken from two o'clock in the afternoon, and a storm was obviously brewing. There was rumbling thunder on the distant horizon, which seemed a bit unusual in autumn.

Sir Thomas walked down the grand staircase with a frown. In the hall, he waved to a servant who stood like statues on both sides of the hall.

"Is Princess Elizabeth riding back? It's going to rain."

"Not yet, sir."

Sir Thomas snorted with some displeasure, "There will be a storm soon, please send someone to bring His Highness back."

Just at this moment, there was a sound of horseshoes and a girl's coquettish laughter at the door.

As if wearing a mask, the expression on Sir Thomas's face changed completely in an instant, from a mean master to a loving father. He straightened his collar slightly and pressed his cuffs with his hands. Make it appear straighter.

The door was opened, and with it a strong gust of wind nearly blew out all the candles burning in the hall.

Two girls walked into the room talking and laughing, the one at the head had hair between ginger and red, and the blood of nymphs seemed to flow under that fair skin; the girl following behind looked a little shy and nervous. With a bookish look, when she entered the room, she hurriedly began to straighten her wind-blown hair, a shy blush appeared on her face.

Sir Thomas walked towards the leading girl with a smile, "Your Highness, did you enjoy riding the horse?" He stretched out his hand towards Princess Elizabeth.

Princess Elizabeth was untying the tie of her cloak. She took off the robe that had been soaked in a lot of rain, and threw it on the ground. "Ah, we were having so much fun that we barely noticed the storm was coming!" She smiled and took Sir Thomas's hand, "Didn't you, Jane?" She turned to look at her daughter. Companion, said with a smile.

Lady Jane Gray smiled almost from the same mold, "Yes, Your Highness."

It was naturally the idea of ​​her ambitious mother, the Duchess of Suffolk, to send Ms. Jane Gray to be the companion of her cousin, Princess Elizabeth, and the purpose is undoubtedly to make Ms. Jane Gray and the royal family To get closer - in a way, King Edward VI's situation is very similar to that of his sister: a marriage to a foreign princess would greatly damage the current foreign policy, so from From this perspective, the future queen is likely to be selected from among the ladies of the great noble families, and the Duchess of Suffolk naturally hopes to make her daughter stand out.

Sir Thomas nodded to Miss Jane Gray, and then turned to Princess Elizabeth: "Your hair is completely wet." He reached out and stroked his beautiful long hair, and stroked a few crystal drops of water from it.

"I didn't realize it! You see, I'm so stupid." The princess laughed and said, "We rode so well that we didn't even hear the thunder until the raindrops began to hit us. I just realized it, and started to ride back desperately. You see," she said, pointing to her skirt, which was covered with mud spots splashed by the horse's hoof.

Servants came forward with trays containing whiskey to warm up and dry towels to dry their hair with.

Princess Elizabeth picked up the crystal glass, raised her neck, and drank the golden liquid in the glass.

Sir Thomas gazed absently at the graceful curve of that handsome neck.

Princess Elizabeth let out a long breath, her face flushed from the strong alcohol.She put the quilt back on the tray and reached for a dry towel to wipe her wet hair when Sir Thomas held down her hand.

"Let me do it," said Sir Thomas, picking up the towel with his right hand, and with his left a lock of the Princess' long hair.

There was a playful light in Princess Elizabeth's eyes, which disappeared in an instant. "Thank you then." She gave another sweet smile, like a white rose in bud, its slightly open petals attracting butterflies, bees, and of course the buzzing hornets.

Sir Thomas reverently took his stepdaughter's hair and dried it gently.Miss Jane Gray at the side was brushing her hair quietly, watching her nose, nose, and heart, as if she hadn't noticed the scene around her at all.

When the princess' hair was all wiped clean, Sir Thomas reached over and dropped the towel back on the tray where it had been. "Dinner is ready, Your Highness, please take a seat, just eat some hot food to keep you and Miss Jane Grey out of the cold."

Princess Elizabeth was a little surprised, "But I haven't changed my clothes yet." She pointed to her riding clothes.

"It's just the three of us at dinner tonight, and Catherine won't be there." He stood up and blinked thoughtfully as he said, but the movement and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes looked like a shutter was opening and closing, "so we You can be more casual."

"Is something wrong with Ma'am?" Princess Elizabeth's face showed just the right amount of worry.

Sir Thomas shrugged. "She has a bad morning sickness, but don't worry, the doctor said there is nothing serious." He held out his arm to the princess, motioning her to come up to her.

Princess Elizabeth smiled slightly, "Very well then." She put her hand on Sir Thomas's arm, and Miss Jane Gray followed them to the dining room.None of them noticed the figure that flashed past the entrance of the corridor on the second floor and disappeared into the unlit corridor.