"Sir William Ingleby...?" The Duke of Richmond turned to look at Isabel, who was three or four paces away from him, and asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Henry, I just wanted to tell Sir that his brother Sir Ernest had died in battle." Isabel seemed very calm. Of course, she only said half a sentence to the Duke of Richmond, and the second half of the sentence was a bit bloody, and it may be very unpleasant to say.

Isabel nodded to the duke, but as she left, she thought of something else, "Henry, is the dinner party celebrating your victory still tonight?" If so, I will immediately arrange for the Guards to inform the members of the Committee and your retainers. ”

The Duke of Richmond could not bear to see the sadness and sadness of Isabel's loss, and he could not bear to bear the fact that while he was holding a grand celebration dinner, her father, Baron Walton, was playing a mournful lament. Pacing gently in front of her, he gently placed his right hand on the other's left shoulder and looked at her for a long time, "Isabel, I only hope that when I have a grand dinner, you will not hate me for my brother's departure. ”

Isabel finally had a smile on her face and nodded, "Henry, I understand. It would be better to have a dinner tomorrow, and your retainers will come to the castle tomorrow for a meeting of the retainers. ”

"Well, you'll decide. Also, I remember that your brother brought you a very special gift from Scotland. Lord Latimer will pass the gift to you. ”

"Spoils of war? Henry, I see. ”

"Uhh God, could it be that Ernest thought about this before he died? ”

"Well, it must have been Henry who gave me the loot in the name of Ernest."

After thinking for a moment, he immediately walked over to several of his father's guards standing in the corridor outside the hall. Glancing at several guards wearing cuirasses and ordinary handguard swords, "Prepare the horses, let's go to Ripley Castle." ”

To the south of the courtyard where the Duke of Richmond's guards and servants lived, was a large stable. At this moment, a cuirassier took out from the stable a pure white war horse, the Andalusian horse, equipped with noble and splendid harness. This is a descendant of a Spanish horse and one of the finest horse breeds in the world, with a very prestigious status in Spain. Later, the Andalusian horse landed in the Americas with the Spanish colonizers, and in turn passed on its influence to the American horse and many European horse breeds.

As England and Spain are still in an alliance, Isabel could easily buy a dozen thoroughbred Spanish horses from Leeds and York for her and her family to ride. Even his father's guards rode Iberian horses with Spanish horse pedigree.

Spending a certain amount of money on horses, harnesses, coats, and stables was a rule of the aristocracy that Isabel and the Walton family behind her had to follow. Owning a luxurious carriage and traveling on it is a symbol of the identity and status of the owner of the carriage. In the same way, outings and hunting on expensive horses with excellent pedigrees were also essential choices for the aristocracy. Because of the requirements of its aristocratic status, it is actually a means for the nobility to maintain its own status. It can be said that the embodiment of aristocratic demeanor lies not only in his inner bloodline, but also in expensive outfits and pomp.

Isabel was, of course, now the most wealthy lady of the northern aristocracy, and her pure white Andalusian horse with a full set of harness cost her a full 40 pounds. For £40, it would be almost possible to build a brand new St Michael's church; It is also possible to allow a southern hired worker, who earns only £6 a year, to stay in the family for more than six years without working, and to eat, drink and be merry all day.

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Driven by the proud and brave Andalusian horse, which can show explosiveness and grace, Isabel led 10 cuirassiers from leaving the Duke of Richmond's castle towards Ripley's castle in the southwest. After a little over an hour of riding, the team rode expensive Spanish horses to the gravel paved road outside Ripley's Castle.

As she went, Isabel, who was on horseback, saw the wall on the right side of the road and the tower at the corner from a distance, and immediately ordered the two flag guards at the front of the group to report to the sergeant or servant guarding the city gate. Soon, she rode a pure white horse to the three-story city gate, looking up at this little-known, small and delicate medieval castle.

"Gah... Ga... "As the gates of the old castle slowly rose upward, Sir William Ingleby strode out with his butler and seven or eight servants.

The lord of Ripley's castle didn't quite understand the purpose of Isabel's visit to his castle, and after saluting, he smiled softly and said, "Miss Isabel, are you out on horseback today?" ”

When Isabel saw Sir William's smiling face, she couldn't help feeling a great sense of disgust in her heart. Glancing at Sir who was standing in front of him, he said coldly, "Sir, I have some business to talk to you about today. ”

With that, with a gentle knock on the horse's belly with the spurs of both heels, the Andalusian war horse obediently walked into the castle gate in front. When the team reached the main building on the left side of the castle's internal square, Isabel jumped off her horse and looked at Sir William walking behind her, "Sir, take your sword and go with me to the lake." ”

The serious expression, the haughty and conceited eyes, made people shudder, and Sir William had some doubts about the purpose of the noble lady standing in front of him to come to his castle. Smiling lightly, he said politely, "Miss, you... Are you going to try your hand at swordsmanship with me? ”

Isabel saw her brother when he died in battle, and when she thought of her brother and Sir William when he was talking about brothers, she couldn't help but feel a surge of blood in her heart. Holding the scabbard of the saber at his left waist with his left hand, his right hand suddenly pulled out of the scabbard and pointed it at the other side, gritting his teeth and roaring, "Sir William Ingleby, if you think you are worthy of the title of 'knight', you should draw your sword!" ”

This action of hers frightened everyone present, and for a moment there was silence in the square, and no one dared to speak to stop her actions. Sir William naturally wore a sword, but he did not draw it. Staring intently at the other party's sword in mid-air, he thought and said, "Miss Isabel, I will not stab a noble lady with a sword. ”