Jean Plaidy (26 page)

“And the outcome is…?”

“…that he refuses to relinquish his guardianship of you, and he will not give his consent to our marriage.”

“But surely, if the king will give his consent…?”

“George insists that Edward made him your guardian and as such his consent is necessary.”

“Then that means…”

“It means that I shall not allow George to prevent our marriage, but instead of the ceremony's taking place immediately, there will be some delay while I deal with George and try to make the king see the truth about him.”

“What of the cookshop people?”

“They have been allowed to go. George declares it is a monstrous charge and they did what they thought was best. They saw a homeless and what they thought demented girl on the streets; they needed a kitchen maid so they took her in. That is their story. A gently nurtured young lady was naturally devastated to find herself in such a position and when she tried to explain, they did not believe her and thought she was deranged.”

“I am surprised that this can be acceptable and allowed to pass as though it were a normal happening.”

“If George were not the brother of the king it would have turned out very differently, I assure you. George is powerful because the king does not want to offend him. He has affairs of state on his mind. He told me that he cannot have a quarrel between his two brothers. He needs our support—George's as well as mine.”

“How can he trust George who has already shown that he can be a traitor?”

“He doesn't really trust him, but he deludes himself into thinking that he does. Edward is the finest man in the world but he has a very soft part…and that is his heart. He is devoted to his family. I know he loves me…”

“And he should. Have you not always stood by him?”

“Yes, and he remembers that. But he loves George, too. He still thinks of him as his little brother. George would have to do something really terrible for him to turn against him.”

“I should have thought he did that when he was leading an army against him.”

“As your father did. But he, too, was forgiven in the end. That is Edward. And I love him dearly for it. He is the best brother a man could have.”

“I know how you feel for him, Richard, but he should return your devotion in some way. How can he placate George at your expense after all he has done, not only to me but to you and to the king himself?”

But Richard could only say, “That is Edward,” and he went on to tell me that George accused him of wanting to marry me for my fortune. “He has gained a great deal through Isabel and he does not want to share it. He wants it all.”

“What of my mother?”

“She is virtually a prisoner.”

“Richard, I want something done about her. I cannot be happy while she is shut away.”

“She is in sanctuary. No harm can come to her.”

“But she is accustomed to being with her family. She will be pining for us.”

“Something will be done. I know Edward will help us.”

“Providing it is not against George's wishes?”

Richard was thoughtful. “It might be that he will try to hinder your mother's release. After all, her fortune is involved in this.”

“He is monstrous. This is all because of George's love of money and power. I wonder Isabel is so fond of him.”

“George knows how to charm…just as Edward does. But Edward's affability comes from the heart. George puts on a mask whenever he thinks the need arises.”

“Only when we are married and freed of George shall I be at peace,” I said.

Richard understood and I think agreed with me.

Isabel came to see me at St. Martin's. I was shocked by her pallor and I could not help noticing how thin she had become.

“Oh, my dear Anne,” she cried. “I have been hearing about that terrible thing that happened to you. How could you have run away like that without telling me?”

“I was promised that I was being taken to Richard.”

“How could you go to him then? To leave us when we were looking after you!”

“Isabel, you don't understand. George was keeping me from Richard.”

“Of course he was not. Or if he were, it was only because Richard is after your money.”

“Richard was not after my money. That is George.”

“My dear sister, this has upset you. Let us not talk about it.”

I said with some exasperation, “Isabel, we must talk about it. It is at the heart of the matter. I want to marry Richard. I am going to marry Richard and no one—not even George—is going to stop us.”

“Anne, you are very young.”

“Oh no, please. Not that old theme. I was not too young to be betrothed to Prince Edward. Most girls in our state are married by the time they are my age. Why this sudden concern for my youth? I have been through a great deal. I am not a child and I want to marry Richard. I always wanted to marry Richard.”

“There are those terrible stories about him. Those children…and he is their father. What do you think of that?”

“That is over.”

“That is what he tells you.”

“Most young men have a mistress before they marry.”

“And what about the children?”

“Isabel, you know very well that there is nothing unusual in this. Richard will be faithful to me from now on.”

“What if he is like his brother the king? They say no woman is safe from him.”

“Simply because these women do not want to be safe from him. You know very well they go to him most eagerly. Richard is not like the king. George is more like he is.”

“Are you suggesting that George…?”

“I am not suggesting anything. But it is silly of you to talk thus of Richard. Richard is a normal young man and I know he will be a good husband. This thing that George did to me…”

“George did nothing to you except care for your future. He was very worried when you ran away.”

“It was his doing. He arranged it. He deluded me into thinking I was going to Richard. He made one of his servants trick me; he sent me to that horrible cookshop. Isabel, you can have no idea what it was like there…that kitchen…and I had to wash the horrible, horrible pots. It was the most menial of all the tasks. Imagine that.”

“It was horrible, but you should not have run away. You should have trusted us.”

“I trust you, Isabel, but I do not trust George. I know he is behind this and I know why. It is unfortunate that you and I are heiresses, Isabel.”

“When George married me he did not think of that.”

I did not say what was in my mind but merely marveled that she had lived with him so long and did not know this. I think he was fond of her because she saw him as the George she wanted him to be rather than the one he was, and that suited him very well. And I knew that whatever evidence was brought against him she would never believe it.

I talked then of our mother.

I said, “Richard wants her release. Would it not be wonderful if she could come and live either with you or with me?”

“George thinks it is better for her to remain at Beaulieu.”

“She is more or less a prisoner there.”

“Oh no. She lives in comfort. She is very happy there.”

“Isabel, you know our mother. She will never be happy while she is parted from us. She always wanted to be with us in the old days.”

“Well, we are grown up now.”

“Richard will ask the king if she could be released and be with one of us.”

“Why don't
you
come back here with me?”

I looked at her hopelessly. What was the use of telling her that, having once savored something of George's “protection,” I was of no mind to try more of it. But she was his wife and theirs was what would be called a happy marriage. She would never look closely into George's motives. I wondered whether she was afraid she might see something that she would rather not.

How I wished that I could have talked to my mother!

Perhaps I should soon. Richard was a determined man. His methods were not impulsive like those of George, and I felt sure he would get his way in the end.

I talked to Isabel of the old days; we laughed a little. I could see that that was the best way and I was pleased to be with my sister again.

         

Time began to pass. The king would not give a decision. Richard explained to me that he felt he could not offend George. George was so hot-headed. One never knew what steps he would take. He had too much power and he had a following in the country.

“Bear with me for a while,” he said. “I promise you all will be well in the end, but we must proceed slowly in the matter.”

Going slowly was the last thing we wanted.

“There is, of course, the dispensation from the Pope,” Edward had said to Richard. “You should have that, you know.”

I wondered about George then. Would he have some plan to bribe the pope, to persuade him in some way to withhold the dispensation?

But in spite of all these obstacles that had to be overcome, I could not help feeling an immense relief every day to be in such comfortable surroundings. Always the memory of the cookshop must come back to me, no matter what happened, and I must say to myself, at least I have escaped from that.

It may be that such experiences bring some good to us since they make us less likely to complain about minor irritations.

Christmas came. I must spend it in sanctuary. Richard said he would not have a moment's peace if I were to emerge.

He told me that it had been a miserable festival at court. Edward was not pleased because of the strife between him and George, and whenever he and George were in each other's company they came dangerously near to conflict.

Edward was getting angry. “He is so lenient most of the time,” said Richard. “But he does hate trouble in the family. So you can imagine, Christmas was not what it should have been.”

Then came the day when Richard arrived at St. Martin's. I could see at once that he was very excited.

“Edward has a solution,” he cried. “I wonder if you will think it a good one.”

“If it means that I can leave here and we shall be together, I certainly shall.”

“The heart of the matter is, as you know, the Warwick inheritance. Edward feels that if George had the larger share of it he might be prepared to give his consent—as your guardian—to our marriage.”

“I do not care for the estates.”

“Nor I. It will make my brother very powerful, of course, and that is not good. He has enough already to make him a menace. Nothing will satisfy him but to have the bulk. He wants Warwick…the castle and the earldom…and Salisbury as well, which are the important ones, of course. And you and I are to have Middleham.”

I clasped my hands in pleasure. “Oh, that will be wonderful, Richard. How often have I dreamed of Middleham!”

“Yes. Middleham will be ours. The place we love best, and with it all your father's northern estates. And there is something else, Anne. Edward wants me to hold the north for him. He says there is none other whom he can trust to do it. Our home would be in the north.”

“In Middleham!” I said ecstatically.

“We should be back there in the place that has so many memories for us.”

“That makes me very happy. And George has agreed to this?”

“Not yet. It remains for him to do so.”

“Do you think he will?”

“He wanted everything, of course, and that is what he was planning to get.”

“But he failed to do so. Perhaps…”

“We must wait and see. But I have a feeling that he will take what he is offered. The earldom of Warwick will surely tempt him.”

“I long to hear that he agrees, but I cannot help thinking that he has come out of this far too well. When you think of what he did to me…I believe he intended to be rid of me altogether.”

“He would not have dared. Anne, what do you say to this chance? Are you sorry that I have told you Edward will agree to it?”

I shook my head. “I only hope George will.”

When the proposition was put to him George was a little hesitant, I heard. He had schemed to have the entire inheritance and no doubt felt he had been cheated of it. But, thanks to circumstances and Gilly, that plot had been foiled; and here I was, safe in sanctuary. And while his villainy had not brought its just deserts, he was still able to bargain; but at length he realized that he must settle for the larger share of the Warwick fortune.

Richard told me how Edward had sent for him.

“There were tears in his eyes,” he said, “and he turned to me and cried, ‘The Lady Anne is yours, and I wish you great happiness in your marriage. And now all you need is this dispensation from the Pope.' And when he said that there was a hint of mischief in his smile.”

“Why? What did he mean?”

“That he would not expect a man in love to give too much thought to such a matter.”