164 Ace against the King
Despite the lack of my saber and fighting with a rapier to which I was not used to and being under the influence of alcohol, the duel was not difficult, I also had no bad intentions towards my opponent, he was irritating and stupid, but I made him a laughingstock at the banquet.
After a short exchange of blows, my opponent fell to the ground... and to ridicule him even more, I hit him in the butt with a rapier without causing any wound... I did it three more times and finally, bored with my opponent, I cut my own hand and declared him a winner.
Making someone a fool sometimes hurts more than a real wound, and it happened in front of many people, especially in the presence of the king, so the humiliation had to be even greater. One of the maids led me to the bathroom to dress my hand, as the wound was not deep, it was enough to clean it and wrap a bandage... So I used this opportunity to score my first away goal. I offered the maid more gold than she deserved... at first she resisted, but the more coins I showed her, the more open her legs became. Less than half an hour later I returned to the banquet lighter... by a few ducats. As they say, for money the woman will sell herself and the priest will pray.
"Prince, I did not know that you are such a good swordsman..." (Lady Clifford)
"Lady, I wasn't good, Earl was bad. In my youth I had more difficult training than this duel." (MC)
It was true, as I recalled Jacek Dydynski's training methods ... the more you sweat and bleed in training, the less you will do it on the battlefield... sadist, I missed him a bit, after returning to Poland I will have to find him . If I remember correctly, he should now be in the service of Stanisław Krasicki.
"Please forgive me, Lady. Our conversation reminded me of an old friend whom I hadn't seen in over 15 years..." (MC)
"Anyone interesting?" (Lady Clifford)
"Only such people are worth knowing. And the Lady is an example of this, there are many beautiful women at the banquet, but only one is beautiful and interesting." (MC)
Direct eye contact, a few nice words, a random touch... and I already knew there would be 2 to 0 for Poland. Lady Clifford offered to drive me in her carriage to Hampton Court because of my hand wound and the impossibility of riding a horse... but we didn't wait. In the morning I woke up next to my new prey... which, surprisingly, was awake.
"I was so stupid... I have a husband. What I've done?" (Lady Clifford)
"First, you started kissing me in the carriage, then you lifted your dress up..." (MC)
She glared at me with a slight embarrassment on her face.
"Oh, that was a rhetorical question... If you don't tell your husband anything, I won't tell him either." (MC)
"And the rumors? Many saw us leaving together." (Lady Clifford)
"Because I was hurt and you have a good heart." (MC)
Despite the initial resistance, I managed to persuade my new mistress to the rematch.
Unfortunately, nothing good lasts forever. In the afternoon I was to go back to the Queen's House for a private audience with the King... I was a little curious about what he might want from me, my affairs and interests did not in any way collide with the interests of the Kingdom of England. With one exception, but that was a long time ago and there are no witnesses... unless they made it to Venice.
The audience took place in the garden of the Queen's House and we were really alone... apart from a few soldiers standing several meters from us, King Charles showed great trust and courage... before the soldiers would help him, he would be dead, killing him made no sense... he didn't know it yet, but he was already dead.
"Prince, what do you know about Bohemia?" (King Charles)
So what Earl said yesterday was no coincidence. It was to be expected, in politics things do not happen by chance.
"Beautiful country, beautiful women, good beer." (MC)
"That's not what I meant..." (King Charles)
"I know, Your Majesty. Earl Rivers asked me the same yesterday." (MC)
In such moments I was glad that I knew history, maybe in the 21st century it was not something very useful, but now... to have an ace up my sleeve against the King of England.
"Your Majesty, let's agree that I will tell you what I know first, and if I make a mistake, please correct me." (MC)
The king nodded.
"Your interest in Bohemia does not come from caring for your sister or her children. If it was caring, you could help her sooner... In the Kingdom of England, not everyone is happy with how you exercise power, many of them also consider your sister's son, Charles, for someone who would be better suited to be king. I did not see him at the banquet either, I asked a bit and found out that he had returned to The Hague. So He probably asked you for help in the Palatine and you either refused or said that it would be better for him to regain the throne of Bohemia... Your Majesty did not interrupt me, so am I right?" (MC)
"Bravo, Bravo... so much did the Prince find out after such a short stay in my kingdom? I am impressed and I need a good minister, maybe you would be interested?" (King Charles)
"Hahaha... Catholic minister in England? There are easier ways to commit suicide." (MC)
"Does Catholic seduce married women?" (King Charles)
The king knew about my affair with Lady Clifford, so there is no point in denying it... maybe even he sent her.
"This Catholic yes, not only married women, but also widows, virgins bore me. I am sinful man and I do not deny it... but I am not stupid to meddle in matters for which I will gain nothing." (MC)
"Gain nothing? First, you'd gain a wife." (King Charles)