Chapter 29

After the negotiations had been deadlocked for two or three months, Mary, who was starting to get impatient, reached out and broke the deadlock.

Mary sent someone to ask Elizabeth who the English nobleman she had chosen for her was.

Queen Elizabeth's response this time was far below her usual political sophistication, leaving all the Scottish lords at Holyrood Palace bewildered and wondering if this choice was a joke or an insult.

—Lord Robert Dudley.

Mary "..."

Whether in her past life or this one, Mary could hardly understand Elizabeth's decision. Why would she arrange for her lover to marry her rival? Was she trying to create a messy love triangle?

...

Robert Dudley was the fifth son of the Duke of Northumberland and had no right to inherit the title. In theory, such a person would only receive a small piece of land or liquid property after reaching adulthood, then marry, have children, and live an ordinary life.

But Mary knew that he and Princess Elizabeth were very close playmates during their childhood, and that during the religious upheavals in England a few years earlier, he and Elizabeth were imprisoned by Mary I and left to die, just like Elizabeth. During that time, they had formed a deep friendship.

After Mary I died, Queen Elizabeth unexpectedly became Queen of England, and Robert Dudley's good days began. He enjoyed unparalleled prestige at the British court, with his noble suite right next to the Queen's room, and he was even granted the honorary title of Lord Garter.

At that time, rumors were circulating throughout Europe that Queen Elizabeth intended to marry him.

Just as this rumor was at its peak, Robert Dudley's wife, Amy, fell down the stairs and died. Then people began to say that the Queen and Robert Dudley had conspired to kill the poor and unfortunate wife so that they could marry each other.

Queen Elizabeth had no choice but to distance herself from Robert Dudley in order to quell the rumors and salvage her reputation.

However, when she contracted smallpox last year and thought she was going to die, she ordered the Privy Council of England to appoint Lord Dudley as regent of the Lord Protector. After she recovered, she recalled him and promoted him to Privy Councillor.

In Mary's memory, the emotional entanglement between the two men would last a lifetime, with endless separations and reunions. Even after Robert Dudley's death, Elizabeth would keep his handwritten letters in a box by her bedside for fifteen years, until her own death.

If the Virgin Queen loved anyone in her life, it must have been Lord Robert Dudley.

...

However, turning our attention to the present, no matter how much Queen Elizabeth favored Lord Robert Dudley, in terms of status, was just an ordinary minor nobleman, without even a trace of royal blood.

To propose that such a minor nobleman marry a queen of a country is quite absurd.

Mary couldn't help but think that Robert Dudley might be one of the rare instances in Elizabeth I's life where she set aside political scheming and acted purely on emotion, just as she had wanted to marry Boswell in her previous life, even at the cost of giving up everything for it.

Thinking of this, Mary looked at Boswell, who was sitting at the other end of the long table.

This man looked exactly the same as in his previous life, as brave, strong, and imposing as ever when wearing armor.

But it's strange. In her past life, she thought this man was perfect and was almost madly infatuated with him. But now, when she looks at him, she feels calm and unmoved. She thinks he is just an outstanding and loyal subject, and she can even find some flaws that ordinary people have.

Boswell misunderstood the Queen's gaze. He was initially puzzled, but then his expression changed to one of realization. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up to question the British ambassador, Randolph, sternly asking if his mistress was intentionally insulting their Majesty, a Queen who was favored by God to rule Scotland!

Upon seeing Earl Boswell do this, Maitland, Melville, and the other nobles who had pledged allegiance to the Queen exchanged glances, assuming that this was also a tacit instruction from Her Majesty the Queen, and began to criticize her unreasonable choice of person.

They mocked Lord Dudley, saying he was nothing more than a lover abandoned by Queen Elizabeth, while our Queen's former husband was the King of France. Was they trying to lose Scotland's friendship forever by handing such a man over to the Queen of Scotland?

Randolph, who had been living a smooth life for the past few years, almost collapsed under the force of the furious crowd and began to offer a stumbling explanation.

"God is my witness, Her Majesty Elizabeth truly loves Queen Mary and has absolutely no intention of insulting Scotland. Lord Dudley, though of lower rank, is Her Majesty's best friend and is loved by Her Majesty as if he were her own brother. That is why Her Majesty wishes for the two of you to be together..." Randolph said.

“I think I should first thank Elizabeth for her care and concern, but Lord Dudley is indeed of lowly status and has a bad reputation for murdering his wife, so he is not a good match for me,” Mary replied.

Standing in the hall facing the many boorish Scottish nobles, Randolph was also inwardly cursing the incomprehensibility of this choice.

But in order to complete the Queen's mission, he had to wipe the sweat rolling down his forehead and force himself to say, "Rumors in this world will always hurt an innocent person. Your Majesty, I can assure you that they are all just rumors. The real Lord Dudley is of noble character and outstanding talent, and is worthy of your noble and unparalleled demeanor."

Mary raised her hand to stop the ministers who were about to make trouble, and said, "Randolph, what you said makes sense. Here's what I'll do: I will soon send my Foreign Secretary Melville to London to investigate Lord Dudley's character and discuss the marriage with your Queen."

Sending an envoy to London would be great. Then, whether or not this outrageous marriage can be negotiated will no longer be his concern. Let the English nobles in London figure it out.

Thinking of this, Randolph eagerly bent down and agreed to Queen Mary's proposal.

“Your suggestion is very wise, and I believe that Her Majesty Elizabeth and all of England will be more than happy to welcome your envoy,” Randolph said.

...

After the meeting, Mary called James Melville into her study.

Melville was Scotland's Foreign Secretary, having served for many years at the courts of France and Germany. He was a rare and intelligent man, perfectly suited to speaking to people in any situation, whether they were human or ghost.

Upon entering the study, Melville tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, after I go to England, do you really want me to seriously negotiate the marriage with Lord Dudley?"

“Of course not, this is just an excuse to go to London. You need to appease Elizabeth temporarily and make her think that I am really seriously considering her proposal,” Mary said.

Melville gave a meaningful smile and asked, "So, what do you need me to do in secret?"

"Discuss my marriage to Don Carlos with the Spanish ambassador, and find out if Philip II is considering other crown princesses besides me. At the same time, you must bring Lord Darnley, who also has Tudor blood but is below me in the line of succession, to Scotland," Mary instructed.

She needs to place bets on both sides simultaneously, switching back and forth, to see which candidate can bring the greater benefit.