A Dangerous Inheritance

‘I did not see her. Your father broke it to her that she was no longer queen, and himself tore down the canopy of estate from above her head. She took it well, saying she put off her royal robes far more willingly than she had put them on – and then she asked if she could come home. At that, knowing he had to do all he could to preserve our lives and fortunes, your father left her, and went to Tower Hill, where he proclaimed Queen Mary. Then we made all speed to return here.’

They had escaped and left Jane behind. They hadabandoned her to her fate. That made two of us they had used for their own ends and ruined. Suddenly I am no longer a child, unquestioningly accepting the wisdom of my elders; suddenly I have become aware that they have feet of clay.

My lady is pacing up and down now, her muddied train swishing behind her.

‘Where is my father?’ I ask.

‘He has gone into hiding,’ she tells me. ‘It is better for you that you do not know where. If the Queen’s men question you, you can say with truth that you have no idea where he is. But it will not come to that.’

‘Why?’ I ask.

‘Because I am going to the Queen! I am going to plead for Jane and for your father, and convince her that they were forced by Northumberland to act against their wishes. Northumberland is finished. His capture is only a matter of time. Nothing I say now can make any difference to his fate.’

‘But what of me and Harry?’ I cry. ‘Will you not plead for us, my lady?’

‘You must have patience. There are matters far more pressing, and you are not the only one to be abandoned. Your sister Mary has been repudiated by Lord Grey.’

‘That is no loss to her! Harry and I love each other, and it is a fit match. We are wed in the sight of God!’

My mother’s eyes narrow. ‘Sometimes one has to achieve what one wants by subtle means. If I can persuade the Queen to pardon your father, and she takes him into favour, as I pray she will, then Pembroke will know it, and your marriage may be mended.’

My heart feels instantly lighter. There is, after all, hope, something I abandoned forever earlier when I left Baynard’s Castle. How strangely that wheel of fortune revolves. All may not yet be lost! My mother is still my mother, fierce, omnipotent and capable. Once again she is in control, and the world may right itself – and my sweet Harry and I be reunited.

Kate

22–26th June 1483. Baynard’s Castle, London.

‘Never, in all my days, did I think to hear that vile calumny again!’ the Duchess Cecily stormed, her habitual calm shattered. She had burst into the solar like an outraged black crow. ‘Conceived in adultery, eh? How could he do this to me? It is Clarence all over again. Was ever mother so betrayed by her sons?’

A

‘Now, my lady,’ A

‘My chamberlain has just returned from Paul’s Cross, where he goes every week to hear the Sunday sermons,’ the Duchess related, less agitated now, but still angry. ‘Today, it was the Mayor’s brother, Dr Shaa, who mounted the pulpit. And do you know what he took as his text? The multiplying brood of the ungodly shall not thrive, nor take deep rooting from bastard slips.’ The Duchess was shaking. ‘He has corrupted that preacher, who did not blush to say, in the face of all decency, that the sons of King Edward should be instantly eradicated, for neither could be a legitimate king, nor could King Edward’s issue ever be so.’

A

‘Who has corrupted Dr Shaa?’ she cried.

‘My son – your husband,’ the old lady said contemptuously. ‘That I should live to see yet another day when my own blood should so shamelessly slander me!’

‘Oh sweet Jesus!’ exclaimed A

The Duchess snorted. ‘That priest had the effrontery to claim that my son, King Edward, was the fruit of my adultery – and was in every way unlike my husband York. Then he said that Richard, who altogether resembles his father, should come to the throne as the legitimate successor. It was then that Richard – I will not call him my son any more, for he is no son of mine – it was then that he made an appearance with Buckingham, but they had miscalculated the mood of the crowd, who booed and jeered at them, and yelled at Shaa that he was a traitor. How can I ever show my face in public again, after Richard has publicly insulted and slandered me?’

A

‘It is not to be borne!’ Cecily raged.

‘You should lie down. This has been too much for you. Let me assist you to your bed.’

‘Lie down?’ the Duchess retorted. ‘Nay, I am going to the Tower to see Richard and demand an explanation, and then I am going to complain to all the noble men who will hear me of that great injury that he has done me. Nay, do not think to prevent me. I will have my chariot made ready now.’

‘Are you sure this is the best course, my lady?’ A

‘It is the only course,’ the Duchess answered emphatically. ‘Richard owes me filial obedience and honour, and I will remind him of that!’

A

Her grandmother stalked out of the room, an outraged and determined figure in black. When she had gone, A

‘This slander is no new thing,’ she said. ‘Your uncle of Clarence and my father Warwick dreamed it up many years ago when they were plotting to overthrow King Edward. You see, they hated the Queen and the Wydevilles. My father thought that he, the greatest nobleman in the realm, should be the King’s chief counsellor, and he resented the Wydevilles bitterly, as did many other lords. So there was a rebellion, and King Edward was deposed and fled abroad. When he came back, there was a big battle at Barnet.’ Her voice tailed away. ‘My father was killed. Of course, no one believed the slander about your grandmother. My father and Clarence had claimed that she’d betrayed York with a common archer called Blaybourne, but it was mere propaganda; there was no truth in it. What made it doubly shocking was that it was her son Clarence who put this tale about. And now, it seems, another son has repeated the slander.’

‘But why? Why would my father do that to his own mother?’

‘Because,’ A

Kate sat stony-faced, listening, unwilling to believe what she was hearing.

‘There was something that did not ring true about those weapons that my lord claimed the Queen’s party were plotting to use against him,’ A

‘But it is my father of whom you speak,’ Kate protested.

‘And my husband, who has become as a stranger to me,’ A

Truly her father had changed: he was no longer the gentle and loving lord of Middleham, but Kate loved him still and would defend him to the last. She could not believe all this of him, even though A