And so I joined Richard.
My husband was so pleased to see me that I knew I had been right to come. I guessed that the defection of Buckingham was still very much on his mind.
"There is no one I can talk to as I do to you, Anne," he said.
"I know not whom else I can trust."
"I would not have believed this of Buckingham." I replied.
"I should have been more watchful of him. He was never stable. Sometimes I wonder I looked at him questioningly as he paused.
But he went on: "He was the one who was so insistent that I take the throne. He believed Stillington absolutely ... then to turn like that! And to Henry Tudor!"
"I have heard but little of this Henry Tudor."
"An upstart who thinks he has a claim to the throne."
"But how could he?"
"You know these Beauforts. They are so ambitious and strong. They are a bastard branch of the family and should never have been recognised as anything else. Their forebears were born before John of Gaunt married Catherine Swynford. But because they were legitimised ... well, it has given them ideas of their importance. Buckingham had these because his mother was one of them. And now Henry Tudor is another. He thinks he has a claim through Katharine, the French princess who married Henry the Fifth when he conquered so much of France."
"He is in Brittany now?"
"Yes, sheltered and aided by Duke Francis of that place. I have my enemies, Anne."
"And you have those who love you."
"I have you and Edward, that is true. Anne, what of the boy?"
I said: "He is a little better."
"And what thought he when I wanted you to be here with me?"
"He understood. I have promised him that when he grows a little stronger he shall be with us both."
"Ah, if only that could be! The people need to see him. They like to know their future king."
"That is for years and years ahead."
"It is for God to decide. But the people would like to see him."
"I fear his health would not allow him to come this time."
"Then we must pray that it soon will be. How goes Warwick at Sheriff Button?"
"Well, I believe. He rides and exercises well. Learning does not come easily to him." That is a pity."
"He is a pleasant, good-natured boy. It is just that he does not think quickly and is slow at his lessons. He cannot read yet. Edward is so different."
"Oh yes, our son lacks nothing in the head. If he could but combine the physique of young Warwick and his own learning, what a boy we should have!"
"We have the most wonderful boy in the world, and I am going to nurse him back to health. In years to come you and I,are going to laugh at our fears."
"I pray you will be proved right." he said fervently. I forced myself to believe it and gave my attention to Richard. I learned how deeply wounded he had been by Buckingham's disloyalty. The hurt was far greater then I had at first realised.
"Why, Anne?" he said to me on one occasion.
"He has even set in motion evil rumours about me."
"People listen to rumours but do they really believe them?"
"Rumour is pernicious." said Richard.
"People absorb the slanderous words and then in time some of them accept them as truth. Buckingham would have made me out a monster ... a man of no loyalty or principles, with no right to the throne of England."
"But it was he who pressed you to take it!""He could not say that I had arranged for Stillington to betray the truth, though I am sure he would have liked to."
"He would have Stillington to contend with."
"No doubt that was what made him refrain. But he has set about one very unpleasant rumour ... a very disturbing one."
"What is it?"
"I hardly like to mention it. He says I have caused the princes -Edward and Richard to be murdered in the Tower."
"Edward's sons! Your own nephews! People would never believe that."
"There are some who will believe anything, particularly if it is evil."
"But the princes have been seen shooting at the butts on the Tower Green ... so how can they be dead? People only have to see them to know that rumour is false."
"Yes, but I think they should not appear too much in public from now on. When a man such as Buckingham turns traitor, it sets an example for others to do the same."
"An example! To have their heads chopped off in the nearest market place?"
"I mean to revolt. People always think they will succeed where others have failed. Storms could easily blow up about those boys in the present atmosphere. The last thing I wish for is more trouble on that score. There is already enough. Buckingham's insurrection has been a shock to the nation. The country needs to settle to a sense of security. Buckingham must be forgotten along with scandalous rumours. I have planned to go on a progress through the country. I want to see the people, to talk to them. You must come with me, Anne. I cannot express how much it pleases me to have you with me."
I had to quell my anxieties regarding my son, and I gave myself up entirely to Richard's needs.
The winter was over and March had come. It was time for us to set out. Richard wanted to make sure of loyal support from all over the country in case, with the coming of spring, Henry Tudor should attempt another invasion.
We travelled through towns and villages and finally came to Cambridge where we intended to stay for a few days.
Richard was very interested in the university and for some time had been bestowing grants on it, with various gifts. We were received with great warmth. Richard was happier in such an atmosphere and so was I. For those few days I found peace in the cloisters, and I enjoyed listening to the discourse between the king and and the ecclesiastics.
I was really sad when we left and made our way to Nottingham.
I shall never forget Nottingham Castle. Little did I guess, as we approached it, that I should encounter such tragedy within its walls. Set in an almost perpendicular rock, it looked impregnable. I studied the intricate stone work on the north side with particular interest because it had been started by King Edward and finished by Richard, for Edward had died before its completion.
There were a great many ghosts in Nottingham Castle, for so many people in the past had suffered there. Edward the Second's queen had come here with her paramour Mortimer; I had heard that she slept with the keys of the locked fortress under her pillow every night so she must have been in a perpetual state of apprehension. King Henry the Second, King Richard the First... they had all been here.
It was the middle of April a bright sunny day with a promise of spring in the air. There was no spring for us. It was the end of hope.
It was late morning when the messenger arrived from Middleham. Eagerly Richard and I received him, but when we saw his face, a terrible fear took hold of us.
I heard Richard's whisper: "It is ... the Prince of Wales ..."
The man did not speak for a moment; he was afraid as all messengers are when they carry ill ridings.
"Tell me." said Richard harshly.
Why would not the man speak? Why did he hold us in suspense? Half of me was urging him to speak, the other half begging him not to. I knew what he had to tell us before he spoke. It was what I had been dreading for months.
The prince is dead, your Grace."
I heard the cry of anguish which Richard could not suppress. I went to him and took his hand.
We just stood there, stunned by the news which we had feared so long.
Richard waved his hand to dismiss the messenger. He could not bear the sight of him. Later we would hear how our son had died. We did not need to know now. We could see it clearly, as though we had been present. We had feared so much ... lived with the fear so long; we had waited with such great anxiety for messengers, terrified of what news they would bring. And now it had come.