monarch

Mrs. Rocheford looked at the gloomy Duke of Norfolk beside him. He seemed to be on the verge of breaking out.The Duke's hands were clenched into fists, and his eyes were fixed on the room through the drapery, as if the next moment he would wring the necks of every man in the room with this sword-wielding hand.

"Your work is perfect, I congratulate you." The Duke's voice was like ice, and Mrs. Rocheford suddenly had the urge to turn around and run away.

"Your Excellency, please allow me to explain..."

"Oh, explain?" The Duke laughed mockingly, and he turned to look into the Queen's room again.

In the queen's chambers, the ladies of the maids gathered together, a group of people who gambled, wagering gold and jewels, and burst into shouts whenever the game came out; couples danced together, and some handsome Italian musicians accompanied them; some men and women hid in the dark corners of the room in pairs, and some ambiguous voices were heard from time to time, which made Mrs. Rocheford blush.

The queen was in the very center of the room, surrounded by a group of young men, enjoying their courtship to her.She is really at ease now, smiling coquettishly at the Sir for a while, and being attracted by a certain adult's witty talk for a while.Like a peahen, walking among countless male peahens with their tails open.

"If you want to explain, then explain." The Duke laughed angrily. "I would like to know how the queen's bedroom became like a brothel in the city of London within a few weeks." His voice was calm down, but his hands were still shaking.

"Her Majesty feels... bored." Madame Rocheford bowed her head deeply, "Her friends suggested to her some... plans to pass the time, and they said this is what they often do in Lambeth Palace Yes." She glanced at the Duke of Norfolk quietly, and found that his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.She sneered in her heart, your mother acquiesced in allowing these behaviors to happen under her nose, and I just followed her old routine.

The Duke looked at Mrs. Rocheford blankly. After a long time, he finally spoke: "She feels bored? Why?"

"His Majesty hasn't been here for several days, and you know, since the summer parade, there hasn't been any big event in the palace for a long time."

After the summer parade ended, the king's visits to the queen's bedchamber decreased significantly. When he first got married, he wanted to move to the queen's room, but when the summer ended, the frequency dropped to once every other day.Nowadays, the king only comes to the queen's room once every three or four days, and doesn't necessarily stay overnight.A teenage girl sitting around the house all day with nothing to do is undoubtedly bored.

The queen burst out laughing again, the two turned their heads to look, and found that a certain adult's joke made the queen cover her stomach with laughter, she leaned against the young man next to her without grace, her hair was loose A few strands of hair were wet with sweat and stuck to her forehead, and her clothes were also a little messy.The Duke stared at the scene: "This is not acceptable, it must not continue, His Majesty will not be happy..." The Howard family has just woken up, and they must not lose the king's favor at this time.

"Then... what should we do?" Mrs. Rocheford was at her wit's end. "After all, she is the queen, and we cannot prohibit her from doing anything."

The Duke lowered his head, and there was a look of hesitation on his face, as if he was making a difficult decision. After a while, he seemed to have finally made up his mind and raised his head.

"We need something to attract the queen's attention, make her quiet, and don't make trouble for me."

"You mean..." Mrs. Rocheford was confused, "but I really don't know what else the queen is interested in." Catherine looks very happy now, is there anything else she can bring her? Double the fun?

"Or ... a person." The Duke said meaningfully.

"A person..." Madam Rocheford still looked at the Duke in a daze, and suddenly her eyes widened, and a frightened expression appeared on her face: "My God, Your Excellency, you mean...a lover? "Historically, it is common for kings to like to ask for flowers and willows, but for the queen, this is a sensitive issue. It is hard to imagine the scene after Henry knew that someone had given him a green hat. She looked at the duke with fear in her eyes.

"Oh, I didn't say that." The Duke stopped looking at Mrs. Rocheford, "I just think the Queen needs some company." He smiled, "But after all, this is her magistrate, that is, you , something to worry about, isn't it?"

Mrs. Rocheford was a little angry. He meant to let her take all the risks?Did he think she was an idiot?Mrs. Rocheford was about to say no, when the Duke said again: "I think you've heard of the Duke of Klagenfurt in Austria?"

Mrs. Rocheford was taken aback. She didn't expect the duke to suddenly mention this to her: "Yes, I... heard about it." She subconsciously replied that the duke is now a red man under Emperor Charles V. people.

"I got the news that the Duke's wife has just passed away." The Duke seemed to be chatting with Mrs. Rocheford, "He is currently very interested in finding a rich woman to be his second wife."

"Now he is looking for a suitable partner all over Europe." The Duke glanced at Mrs. Rocheford with a half-smile, "By the way, my dear Jane, if I'm not mistaken, you are the richest woman in England It's one of them, isn't it?" As far as he knew, the snake had smuggled away a lot of assets when the Boleyn family was finished.

Mrs. Rocheford hesitated for a while, and after more than ten seconds, she spoke: "Does your excellency think that I am within the Duke's consideration?"

"Ah, I think so, after all, you are so famous and powerful," said the duke. "It is not a disgrace to a German duke to have the magistrate of the Queen of England as his wife. The duke and I also had With a little bit of friendship, I think I can recommend you to him." He looked at Mrs. Rocheford, "I think you should have enough enthusiasm to make our lovely queen happy now, right?"

Madam Rocheford gritted her teeth, this is the Duchess! "Yes, Your Excellency." She would pimp the queen one day, and Mrs. Rocheford now deeply felt that this place was more and more like a brothel, and she was the old bustard in this brothel.

……

When Catherine finished reading the letter in her hand, she passed the paper to the candle and watched it slowly turn to ashes.

"Mr. Thomas Culpepper... said he admired me?" Her tone was a little unbelievable, but more of a surprise.She never forgot those eyes, those eyes full of melancholy, those eyes that seemed to be talking.The handsome face of that person appeared in her mind, they are really a perfect match, just like Adonis and Aphrodite, one is extremely handsome, the other is charming, she couldn't help feeling a little moved.

Mrs. Rocheford looked at the queen's uncontrollable joyful face from the side, and she knew it was done.When she went to find Culpeper, she wanted to try her luck, but she didn't expect that the other party saw her temptation, but to her surprise, the young man agreed without hesitation. Undoubtedly, he was very aware of the risks of this matter, but he did not hesitate at all, so the only explanation was that he had already... Mrs. Rocheford felt that her luck was pretty good to the queen. "Yes, Your Majesty." She said, "I was so moved by his expression that I couldn't just sit idly by." She said this with a little nausea.

"Ah, yes, you are quite right," said Catherine, "I cannot bear to upset a man like Mr. Culpepper." He paused, and sighed, "but I cannot betray your Majesty, no right?" She looked sad.

Mrs. Rocheford sneered in her heart, she is such a hypocrite, maybe even a child like the Prince of Wales can see that you are just playing on the spot in front of the king, I am afraid that only the king himself is still confused. "Mr. Culpepper only wishes to see you alone tonight, after His Majesty rests."

Catherine knew exactly what that meant. What else could a man and a widow do in a room alone in the middle of the night?She is not inexperienced, after all, she and Direham have had more than one such night at Lambeth Palace. "No... Does anyone else know?" She was a little hesitant, afraid that the king would know, but also reluctant to part with those beautiful eyes.

Sure enough, thought Mrs. Rocheford, she and her uncle were really a family, and sure enough the Howards were vipers. "Only you and I know that when the time comes, I will let everyone go back to rest. I will guard at the door. When Mr. Culpepper arrives, I will personally take him to your room, and then guard outside until you I will take him out after talking, and there will never be a fourth person who will know about it."

Catherine hesitated for a while, and finally nodded: "Okay, thank you, ma'am." It turned out that she was the one he was talking about at the ball that night... Catherine smiled slightly, her Adonis, that The eyes belonged to her.

……

Mr. Thomas Culpepper stood in the dark corridor, looking inexplicably at the closed door of the queen's apartment at the end of the corridor.He hesitated, should he knock on the door?Today he felt as if he was in a dream, everything was going too fast.When the queen's chief attendant, Viscountess Rocheford, found him this morning and hinted to him that the queen was interested in him, Mr. Culpeper's first reaction was that this was a trap, maybe someone was going to set him up?But the only one who supported Mrs. Rocheford was the Duke of Norfolk. What reason did he have to do so?Could it be that the king wants to test his loyalty?It doesn't look like it either.Is all this true?The woman he admired in his heart also happens to be pleased with him... Is this possible?Mr. Culpepper tried to convince himself that it made sense that she should be married to such an old man, walking on eggshells every day, while the King's interest in her was fading, was it not?This delicate rose could not lose the dew of love, or it would wither, and yes, it would all make sense... He heard himself agreeing to Mrs. Rocheford, even though his mind was still a mess now Messy.

The soldiers of the changing guard passed a short distance in front of him, but none of them noticed Mr. Culpepper hiding in the shadows.The next wave of soldiers won't show up until 10 minutes later, so if he's going to knock on the door, this is his best chance.Mr. Culpepper closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and after a moment, finally making up his mind, stepped out of the shadows.

……

In the queen's drawing room, Mrs. Rocheford was sitting anxiously.Although it was already autumn, fine beads of sweat still formed on her forehead.All afternoon her mind was filled with dire scenarios: Culpepper was caught outside the door by patrolling guards; the king came in at their private meeting; The king informed... She didn't eat much supper, and finally waited until eleven o'clock in the evening, so she rushed the other maids to bed, and she stayed here, waiting in fear.

"Crack", there was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Rocheford was startled, her heart beating in her throat.

"Pa", another sound.

"Pa", the third sound.

Mrs. Rocheford finally breathed a sigh of relief and knocked on the door three times, exactly as they had agreed before.She immediately rushed to the door, unlocked it, and opened the door a crack.

It was Mr. Culpeper outside.

"Come in," she whispered.Mr. Culpepper looked around. The corridor was empty.He squeezed his way through the gap opened by Mrs. Rocheford.Lady Rochford immediately closed and locked the door.She sighed and picked up the candle on the table. "Come with me," she said.

The two walked lightly through the queen's living room and the living room. There was a little light in the crack of a door that was half-hidden in front. "She's waiting for you inside," said Mrs. Rocheford.

Mr. Culpepper gave her a look. If it was a trap, it was too late for him to get out now.He didn't hesitate anymore, stepped forward to open the door, and entered the queen's bedroom.

The lighting in the bedroom was very dim, and it took a moment for Culpepper to see clearly as he walked into the room.The furniture is all fashionable French style, and there are several paintings hanging on the wall. I can't make out what they are, but they seem to be Cupid and Muses.He walked towards the center of the house, where there were hanging curtains and candles burning inside, and there seemed to be a figure... He bowed slightly. "Your Majesty," he greeted.

The shadow inside the curtain spoke: "Call me Catherine, Thomas."

This Thomas was very useful to Culpepper. "Okay, Catherine." He took a few steps forward. "May I lift the curtain?" he asked.

"If you want." There was a girlish chuckle from inside, and Mr. Culpepper felt his blood rushing to his brain. If he could see it now, his face must have been red like bleeding.With nothing to think about, he drew back the curtain.

The queen was behind the curtains, she was wearing only a nightgown, a white petticoat, and she was standing barefoot on the carpet. "You are here, Mr. Culpepper." Culpeper couldn't see her face clearly. What is she looking like now, excited, shy, or eager to try?He looked around to see if there were any other candles he could use to light it.

The queen looked at Mr. Culpepper who was looking around strangely: "What are you looking for?"

"Candle." Culpepper said, a little afraid to look at the queen's face, "we need a little light when we talk." He accidentally knocked over a vase next to it, and hurried to help it.

The queen smiled, took the only candle she had, and went to Culpepper.She was so close that Mr. Culpepper could feel her breath touch the tip of his nose.The queen lifted the candle up to her face, and Culpepper saw her laughing happily, her face was slightly flushed, and she was more beautiful than he had imagined.

"We don't need this." The queen blew lightly, and the candle went out.

The room was plunged into darkness.