A Dangerous Inheritance

There is an air of palpable relief in the chamber as she seats herself on the throne and Northumberland, expansive with triumph, kisses her hand and swears allegiance even to death, with all the lords following in his wake.

She is calmer after that, and when it is my turn to kiss her hand, she embraces me and whispers in my ear that I should rejoice, for the true faith will now be preserved in this kingdom, and that I must come and serve her as soon as it can be arranged. And now I am overwhelmed with excitement and jubilation, for my sister has accepted the crown and is acknowledged the true Queen of England – and I am now, as her recognised heir, the second lady in the land. One day, I too might be a queen!

Kate

15th June 1483. St Paul’s Cathedral and Crosby Place, London.

The press of people outside St Paul’s was solid, and Kate and Mattie congratulated themselves on slipping out after early Mass and securing a place near the front of the crowd. They were not supposed to be here, and Kate had concocted a tale to explain their absence, telling her father that they were going out to walk along the Strand to see the great houses that lined it. The Duke had looked at her fondly.

‘How grown-up and beautiful you are becoming,’ he reflected. ‘I will soon have to find you a husband. But not just yet. I would keep you with me a while longer to enjoy your company.’ It was some time since he had spoken to her so tenderly, and she was filled with the familiar rush of love for him. He wasjust the same as ever; there was no need to worry. He had not changed: he was just preoccupied with the heavy cares of his office, and the plotting of the men and women who coveted his power. His eyes were sad, troubled. Impulsively, Kate hugged him. ‘We will be back in time for di

It was he himself who had let out the news that Mistress Shore was to be punished as a strumpet and sorceress, and that this morning she would do public penance at St Paul’s Cathedral. Both Kate and Mattie were agog to see this immoral witch who had cast a spell on the Duke and fornicated with the late King and Lord Hastings, but they knew instinctively that any request to watch the woman doing penance would meet with disapproval. Well-brought-up young ladies were not supposed to take an interest in such things.

They made their way through the bustling London streets, wearing plain unadorned gowns so as not to draw attention to themselves, and waited impatiently outside the cathedral. Soon there was a shout. ‘She’s coming!’ A small procession came into view, escorted by guards marching before and behind the sheriff and his prisoner, and as the people caught sight of that unfortunate woman, a hubbub broke out. For Mistress Shore was barefoot and dressed only in a thin sheet that she was clutching tightly around her voluptuous body, while in her other hand she carried a lighted taper, a symbol of her penitence. People were pointing and catcalling, and most of the men were whistling and making lewd remarks.

‘Drop your sheet, love!’ bawled a coarse individual in homespun standing at Kate’s left.

‘Now we can all see what King Edward saw in her!’ his companion observed.

Indeed, as Mistress Shore passed, Kate could see that she was beautiful, with long honey-coloured hair and flawless skin. She had dainty hands and feet, and plump white shoulders, while the rest of her shapely body was clearly delineated by the thin fabric of the sheet. ‘Made for bedsports,’ Homespun was saying.

‘She doesn’t look like a witch, does she?’ Mattie said in Kate’s ear. Kate giggled.

‘What did you expect? A haggard crone with a black cat and a broomstick? No, she’s very pretty. Looking at her, I find it hard to believe she has it in her to cast malicious spells, but my father the Duke would not have accused her falsely.’

Mistress Shore looked embarrassed as she struggled to hold the lighted taper upright and preserve her modesty. There was misery in her eyes.

‘What will happen to her?’ Mattie wondered.

‘The Duke said she would go to prison,’ Kate told her. ‘But it will not be for long. It’s just to make an example of her.’

The shameful procession moved on into the cathedral. It would not emerge for some time.

‘We’d better not wait,’ Kate said. ‘We should get to the Strand, so that we can speak of what we have seen.’ Pushing their way through the crowd, they set off down Ludgate Hill and into Fleet Street.

They arrived back at Crosby Place late for di

‘So the Strand was interesting? You’ve been gone a long while,’ he said.

‘We stopped to pray in St Clement Danes,’ Kate said.

‘Very fitting. I am pleased to see you are growing up to be pious.’ Her father smiled. He himself was very devout, an example to them all. Kate felt guilty that she had lied to him.

Gloucester turned to his wife.

‘I’ve had a letter from my solicitor, Lynom,’ he said. A

‘The fool wants to marry Mistress Shore,’ the Duke told her.

‘Will you allow it?’ she asked.

‘I don’t see why not. I’ll let that harlot cool her heels in prison for a week or so, then let her go. Master Lynom can vouch for her, and keep an eye on her.’

‘She will have performed her penance by now,’ A

‘Aye, and I hear that a lot of the good men of London were most appreciative of the spectacle,’ Gloucester stated wryly. Kate said nothing, but kept her eyes on her plate. She hoped her father might not guess the reason for her being late.

She was saved from any speculation on his part by the arrival of a burly man in the Duke’s livery.

‘Pardon me, my lord, but there is news. The Marquess of Dorset has fled the sanctuary at Westminster.’ The Marquess was the Queen’s elder son by her first marriage; it was his brother, Sir Richard Grey, whom her father had imprisoned at Pontefract.

The Duke leapt to his feet. ‘Where has he gone?’

‘No one seems to know, my lord. Your man Pickering thinks he might be in hiding near Westminster.’

‘Surround the area with troops, take the dogs and carry out a thorough search!’

‘Yes, my lord.’

The man hastened away and Gloucester sat down, his face taut.

‘Dorset must be found,’ he declared. ‘He is as much of a danger to me as Hastings.’

‘Doubtless he has fled because he heard of what happened to Lord Hastings,’ A

‘That will depend on what he has to say for himself.’ The Duke’s tone was clipped. He sat there brooding, toying with his goblet but never raising it to his lips. ‘I must tighten security at the Tower,’ he said at length. ‘Who knows what Dorset is plotting? He may attempt to seize the King.’

‘But he would have to rely on the help of the King’s servants, and you chose them yourself,’ A

‘Are they?’ he retorted. ‘I can trust no one these days. Who knows, those servants may have been corrupted already by my enemies. There is danger from every side, Madam. The King’s attendants must be removed forthwith.’

A

Richard’s mouth was set, his eyes steely. ‘I will appoint new servants, and I have resolved to send his brother York to keep him company.’

‘Think you the Queen will let him leave sanctuary?’

‘If the Council ordains it, she must.’

‘But no one can force someone to leave sanctuary; once that right is claimed, it is sacrosanct,’ A