At this time, a French clockwork clock, placed on a delicate Gothic-style table, quietly pointed its only hand in the direction of nine o'clock, the Roman numeral IX. (9), in the dead of night. Although mechanical clocks had already appeared in the Kingdom of England at the end of the 13th century, the nobles of the upper class and members of the royal family still preferred French clocks that were known for their intricate craftsmanship and used to represent their aristocratic status.

With Augustine's title, status, and wealth, he was not yet eligible for rare French watches. So, the only possibility that this expensive, symbolic French clock could appear on his Gothic furniture was a reward from his lord, the Duke of Richmond.

Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, of course, got it from his high-flying father. As for where Henry VIII got it, it should be attributed to his wanton looting and plundering of ecclesiastical power in the territory of the Kingdom of England.

The extension of the Reformation to combat the power of the Church, that is, the confiscation of land and property against the church, developed to the point of frenzy of excavations and looting of graves, and Henry VIII and the LinkedIn army even excavated the tomb of the father of the Roman Emperor Constantine in Yorkshire, looting a large number of rare treasures of the Roman Empire.

The Duke of Richmond, in the far northeast of the kingdom, and the captain of his guard were unlikely to know about these things. The only thing the Duke knew was that Henry VIII had given him a large amount of monastic land and some possessions. The Duke, out of a moment of pleasure, gave the French clock to his loyal captain of the guard.

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Madame Sir had intended to let Isabel Walton come to see her after dinner. Because she wanted to know what kind of girl Isabel was, she could make her daughter almost give up a good dinner after meeting her daughter Euphemia for the first time.

Earlier, while Mr. Harder, the butler, was inspecting the effectiveness of the new knights' squire's work in the stables, Sir said to his wife, who was still in the drawing-room, "Madam, I wonder why you did not go to rest on time to-night?" ”

Antonia barely opened her tired eyes, glanced at the fine French table clock, and said slowly, "Oh, it's nine o'clock in the evening. Austin, isn't that girl done with her job yet? ”

Augustine placed the book on the small table beside his chair, took a sip of a glass of wine, and said, "She could have done her work sooner, but now she has to do the rest of my groom's work, so she should still be in the stable." ”

"Austin, why did she go to help the groom's son?"

"Sympathy, and perhaps pity. After all, she is not a girl from an aristocratic family, and she can probably understand the sad moaning of the peasantry. ”

"Oh, is she a Catholic, then?"

"Yes, ma'am. She also said that she had lived in a convent in Spain for 10 years. ”

"Okay. Since she still has work to do, let her come to me tomorrow. ”

When Mrs. Jazz left the drawing-room, she said to Jazz, "Austen, have you arranged her dinner?" Poor child, I guess she didn't eat dinner, right? ”

Augustine nodded and said, "I've already arranged it, ma'am." As my knight squire, it's normal for her to suffer a little. ”

Shortly after Antonia left, Bruce, the butler, led Isabel into the living room. After saluting the knight, Isabel used to put her hands on her lower back, hold her right wrist with her left hand and straddle in front of him. Just as she said to Euphemia, Sir Augustine had become her "boss", the commander.

Austen was pleased with her performance, and put the book on her lap and whispered, "Isabel, although you are now my knight's squire, it is time to rest. You can sit back and relax. ”

"Yes, Sir." Isabel then relaxed, walked closer to the jazz, and sat down in a Gothic chair with intricately detailed trefoil carvings.

"Isabel, you could have had dinner earlier, you know?" Augustine said after pouring a little more wine into his glass.

"I know. If it were just taking care of Jazz's two horses, I was sure I would be able to do my job very quickly. ”

"Good. So, now can you talk to me about Carter's son? ”

"Who?"

"That's the boy you helped, Yule."

Isabel smiled lightly, "I don't think it's anything. Yule was still a child, and his father was sick, so there was no reason why he should not visit his father. ”

Augustine looked at her in silence and said slowly, "Isabel, what do you think of the humanism that has been supported by His Majesty the King and his court?" ”

Humanism is a system of philosophical theories with different concepts. Isabel didn't know what Sir was trying to say, so she replied cautiously, "Sir, I don't know what you're trying to say." ”

"Actually, I thought of the national pride and self-confidence of the Italians based on the contents of this book, written by the poet Petrarch. What the psalmist means is that we should abandon the Christian fantasy of a "world state" and build an independent and unified Italy. ”

"Oh, then you mean to say that Mr. Petrarch is a humanist?"

"Maybe."

Isabel understood Jazz's thoughts at this time, and said calmly: "Sir, do you want to say that my help or sympathy for little Yule comes from the humanist concern for human personality and the maintenance of human dignity?" ”

Augustine was noncommittal, and added: "Actually, I think you are helping him out of Catholic teachings. ”

"Thank you, Sir. I hope it didn't cause you any trouble. ”

"Trouble? Well, a subtle excellent wording. ”

"Sir, actually, what I'm doing may not be as complicated as you think."

"Oh, tell me what you think."

Reflecting on her studies, living environment and social relationships in later life, Isabel says, "Actually, I think it's irresponsible to work while sick. If you don't agree with your groom resting at home. ”

In fact, she would like to say that we should respect other people's personal freedom, respect other people's personality, respect other people's labor, respect other people's interests, respect other people's time, and respect the government-protected individualism that she and her relatives, classmates, or friends have long been deeply imprinted in her bones.