Chapter 16

In Whitehall, Elizabeth sat at the dining table, carefully reading the letter from the Queen of Scots before handing it to William Cecil, the Secretary of State who was having dinner with her.

William Cecil was of humble birth, but he was extremely talented in governing the country and secretly helped Elizabeth when she was temporarily imprisoned by her sister Mary, thus gaining Elizabeth's trust.

After Elizabeth ascended the throne, he quickly gained her trust and became the Queen's political right-hand man.

“What do you think about Mary of Scotland wanting to reconcile with me?” Elizabeth asked.

Cecil adjusted his glasses and carefully read the heartfelt letter. He then said, “This is truly unexpected. Our ambassador to France had previously reported that Mary, Queen of Scots, was extremely competitive and arrogant, and unyielding. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have openly looked down on Catherine de’ Medici. I thought the Queen of Scots would remain firmly hostile to you.”

Elizabeth had her maid pour her another glass of wine. Holding the glass, she gently swirled the deep red liquid and said with a smile, "Perhaps my husband's death has finally made my sister understand what it means for life to be unpredictable. She had enjoyed eighteen years of smooth sailing in France, being arrogant and complacent for too long, to the point that she developed the illusion that the French crown would always be on her head, making her the eternal monarch of more than ten million people."

"However, a change of king in France brought Mary, Queen of Scots, back to reality. That queen didn't understand that a crown brought by one's husband is never secure enough, and can be lost at any time due to the will of the Lord. A truly secure crown is passed down from one's ancestors, which will never fade with time, but will only shine brighter, just like the powerful England that Your Majesty possesses. Without her husband, she was just a poor and weak Queen of Scots, to the point that she could only swallow her anger when she was humiliated by Catherine de' Medici at the funeral of the French king," Cecil continued with a smile.

Elizabeth drank the wine and laughed happily.

"In any case, she has two crowns. The days when France posed a threat to me are over, and with only Scotland's meager national strength, she will never be able to raise an army that could threaten me..." At this point, Elizabeth remembered something, tapped the table with her finger, and pondered, "...I remember last year, Spain intended to arrange for their Crown Prince Don Carlos to marry the Queen of Scots?"

Because of its pioneering role in the development of the New World, Spain was a powerful nation, not to be underestimated, just like France.

“That’s true. Austria also had such intentions, but the Queen of Scots, who was in grief at the time, rejected any marriage proposals from any country. It is said that she fell seriously ill and became cold and taciturn after waking up…” Cecil cut off a piece of swan meat, put it in his mouth and chewed, and continued, “…As for France, although the old alliance is still in place, thanks to Mary, the Queen Mother, Catherine de’ Medici, is unwilling to help Scotland much, thanks to Mary’s own actions. The Guise family of the Duchy of Lorraine is also busy maintaining their position in France and has no time to spare to help their niece.”

“We should still be more careful. I can’t let Scotland marry into another powerful country. I hope that Queen Mary and her husband’s relationship is as good as rumored, and that she is willing to spend the rest of her life remembering her husband,” Elizabeth said.

At the mention of marriage, William Cecil involuntarily leaned forward and said to the Queen, "Your Majesty, I urge you to consider marriage as soon as possible. The older you get, the more difficult it will be to secure the title of heir apparent in the future. Moreover, England needs a strong ally, such as Philip II of Spain..."

Elizabeth interrupted Cecil, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. She hadn't expected to hear a minister pressuring her about marriage during the short dinner time.

“Let’s not mention Philip II. I cannot allow England to become a puppet of Spain again, especially since he was once my brother-in-law,” Elizabeth said.

“And what about others? Ferdinand of Austria or the Duke of Anjou, the brother of the King of France, both of whom would be very helpful for the alliance between England and other countries…” Cecil glanced at Elizabeth’s uninterested expression, guessed at the Queen’s thoughts, and then continued, “…If you are worried that your husband will threaten your position and seize your rights in the future, then you can also choose some royal relatives and nobles from small countries, such as Sweden, Denmark, or the city-states and duchies of Italy.”

Elizabeth felt her headache getting worse.

"There's no need to say anything more. I won't consider any of these candidates," Elizabeth said.

Cecil was silent for a moment, then said with concern, “Your Majesty, please forgive my offense, but Robert Dudley is not fit to be your husband, and marrying him would greatly damage your reputation.”

“Robert Dudley has never been on my radar either, and I have no intention of getting married at the moment,” Elizabeth said.

“Marriage is an excellent card for a monarch,” Cecil advised.

"This card only has its greatest value when it's not played; once it's played, the outcome is decided. As long as I don't get married, my marriage is the best bait offered to all nations," Elizabeth said with a sneer.

William Cecil sighed silently, inwardly cursing the former King Henry VIII.

He was absolutely certain that the Queen's resistance to marriage stemmed entirely from the deep-seated trauma inflicted on her by that murderous maniac during her childhood.

If this continues, the Tudor family line will die out!

Although there was some disagreement regarding the Queen of England's marriage, Elizabeth and the Secretary of State reached a considerable understanding on how to respond to the Queen of Scotland's overtures.

That is the same enthusiastic gesture of goodwill.

Mary Stuart is now just a weak Queen of Scotland, under the control of her half-brother, the Earl of Maurice, and poses no threat whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the Earl of Maurice was constantly being secretly bribed by Elizabeth with large sums of money, maintaining close ties with London in secret.

Under such circumstances, in order to ease tensions with the Catholic Church and incidentally enhance her own good reputation, Elizabeth naturally had to take good care of her cousin.

...

Shortly after Mary signaled reconciliation, a similarly warm and friendly letter departed from London, bringing with it the friendship of the Queen of England.

Like Mary's heartfelt letter, Elizabeth also poured out beautiful sentences, filling an entire page.

She stated that she no longer cared about the misunderstanding from the past. As the closest relatives to each other, dear Mary, they should of course continue to interact and strive for harmony between the two countries.

The letter was signed at the end as "Yours truly, your loving sister Elizabeth."

In addition, as a symbol of the friendship between the two sisters, Elizabeth also sent a diamond ring with her letter, which was more precious and beautiful than the one Mary had given her.

When British Ambassador Randolph once again entered Holyrood Palace with Queen Elizabeth's letters and gifts, he was no longer as anxious as before.

As expected, after reading Her Majesty Elizabeth's letter, the Queen of Scots smiled happily and immediately put the gift—the sparkling diamond ring—on her finger.

“I swear to God, to bear witness to our friendship, I will wear this ring every day from this day forward,” Mary told the British ambassador.

Having successfully completed his mission and witnessed the improvement in relations between the two countries, Randolph was immediately relieved and overjoyed to hear the Queen of Scots say this.

He bowed repeatedly before leaving the Scottish court, intending to return and write to Queen Elizabeth to report on her reaction to the gift, thus demonstrating that he had fulfilled his duties well.

...

The gold band of this ring features exquisite relief carvings and painted enamel, with a diamond in the center that sparkles in the sunlight, and two smaller rubies set on either side, giving it an overall luxurious and precious appearance.

Mary's fingers were long and slender, and the ring accentuated their exquisite beauty.

Standing by the sunlit window, Mary examined the familiar yet unfamiliar ring again and again in the sunlight. After a long while, she let out a mocking laugh.

In her past life, Elizabeth extended an olive branch of reconciliation to Mary out of consideration for easing tensions. Mary then took the opportunity to correspond with Elizabeth, and although they both knew they were acting, they still presented a picture of deep kinship, which prevented conflict between England and Scotland for several years.

Back then, just like they do now, they exchanged diamond rings as a symbol of their sisterly bond.

Later, when she was overthrown on the throne by Scottish nobles, she took the ring to England and pleaded with Elizabeth to grant her the right to political asylum, out of consideration for that past relationship.

If Elizabeth is unwilling, then please set her free and allow her to seek refuge in the Spanish or French court.

Elizabeth neither granted her refuge nor her freedom, but instead, after announcing her scandal to the whole of Europe, imprisoned her for a full eighteen years as a criminal.

Eighteen years later, because Catholic forces in England and abroad used her name to instigate rebellions against Elizabethan rule, Elizabeth could no longer tolerate it and once again fabricated charges against her for assassinating the Queen of England, sentencing her to death and sending her to the guillotine.

Mary also took out this diamond ring in the courtroom where she was sentenced to death, but it was still of no use.

Given the inherent antagonism between the two, Elizabeth's actions were entirely justified.

Looking back now, Mary is amazed at how foolish she was when she was young, and wants to laugh at her past self.

Not far from the window, on the training ground, the Scottish Guards were conducting their daily drills.

The soldiers took turns riding on tall horses, training themselves on how to use spears and swords, as well as the accuracy of firing matchlock muskets.

This is also one of the characteristics of the army in this era: the alternation of ancient cold weapons with advanced artillery/guns, the combination of the last vestiges of the Middle Ages and the technological development brought about by the Renaissance, forming such a unique landscape.

Mary couldn't help but comment in a modern tone, then turned her gaze to Albert Destin, who was also training.

As he practiced using the musket, he chatted with those around him in broken Scottish, unsure of what to say, which made everyone around him laugh.

With his handsome appearance, this blond youth stood out among the soldiers, much like the knights sung about in 11th and 12th century songs. Many maids in Holyrood Palace had already fallen for him.

Logically speaking, he was Italian, and as an outsider who came out of nowhere, and who didn't speak the language with the native Scots, he should have faced some discrimination.

To Mary's surprise, he was quite popular in the Scottish Guards. There were even people willing to patiently teach him Scottish, and Boswell also admired the Italian and recently promoted him to be his deputy.

The power of the army cannot be held solely by Boswell, and Mary is considering further promoting the Italian if the opportunity arises.

With that in mind, Mary asked her confidential secretary, Roller, to summon Albert.

"Your Majesty, good day," Albert said.

Mary didn't want to waste time and went straight to the point: "What are your thoughts on John Knox?"

“He is the leader of the Protestants, has a high reputation, and has not committed any heinous crimes such as treason…” At this point, the blond youth placed his hand on his neck and gently rubbed it.

“That is my opinion, Your Majesty,” Albert said with a smile.

There's a saying from later generations that goes something like that.

If you can't solve the problem, then get rid of the person who caused it.