But Edward was not listening.
It was impossible to stay away. He had to be there again. He could find no delight in any other woman. He had made several attempts. They all ended in failure.
He would go hunting, he said, in Whittlebury Forest. He had found the game there as good as anywhere in England. Hastings said that he could remember nothing special about it and had thought their efforts had been even less rewarding than usual.
Edward looked sharply at his friend. He was not amused.
Heaven help us, thought Hastings, he is taking the widow very seriously indeed.
Usually Edward liked to laugh and was prepared to do so, within reason, against himself. Now, he was very definitely not amused.
Caution, Hastings warned himself.
Of course he left the party and Hastings knew well enough not to try to follow him. Let him go alone to Grafton and call on the reluctant lady.
Edward felt frustrated and wretched to discover that Elizabeth was not at Grafton. She had gone to Bradgate. Lord Rivers was also absent. But Jacquetta was there. She received him with a great warmth and declared that she was honoured indeed.
‘Elizabeth went off to Bradgate with such joy,’ she told him. ‘She lived there with her husband, you know. Both the boys were born there. She says she could never be grateful enough to you for your goodness in restoring her estates.’
‘She did not seem to be over grateful.’
‘Oh, my dear lord, you mean because she would not be your mistress. It is quite impossible for a lady of her upbringing. You are not still thinking of her in that respect, are you?’
‘I shall never cease to think of her.’
‘You must. It is the only way. I daresay she may marry again in due course. She will marry for love, I do believe. There is no other reason why she need now that you have been so good to her.’
‘Do you really think she had some regard for me?’
‘Some regard! My lord, she thought very highly of you. She admitted to me that she had never seen a man so handsome, so kingly ... so much to be admired save in one respect.’
‘And that respect?’
‘In making suggestions to her which she considers immoral, you hurt her a little.’
‘I hurt her! I would rather lose my crown than hurt her.’
‘Do not speak of losing your crown. That is unlucky talk. Let us talk sensibly as people such as we are can do. The fact is, my lord, you are the King. When you marry it must be a royal Princess and you must take her because my lord Warwick will choose her for you and it will be for the good of the country.’
‘Why should my lord Warwick choose my bride?’
‘Because my lord Warwick makes all the decisions for the good of the country, does he not? And he would consider the marriage of the King a matter of the greatest importance to the country and one which only he could decide.’
Edward was staring blankly ahead of him. There was a certain twist to his mouth which was not lost to Jacquetta. She laid a hand on his knee and then withdrew it with an apology.
‘Forgive me. I forget my place. I have grown so fond of you. I am beginning to look upon you as a son ...’
She turned away and then stood up. There was a faint pinkish colour in her face.
‘My lord,’ she floundered, ‘I think you must excuse me ... I am overcome by the honour you do us. I ...’
‘Pray sit down. Your affection moves me. Do not apologise for it.’
She smiled at him. ‘Then I will be frank. You must not try to see Elizabeth again. She is my daughter and you know I am of the royal House of Luxembourg. I have brought her up to have a great regard for herself. I married as they said beneath my station. I did not consider it so. I married one who was the best husband in the world to me. But in doing so I lost my standing. I was no longer considered royal. And that is the plain fact. Elizabeth will never be your mistress and you could never make her your wife ... which is the only way that you could be together. It is a cruel hard fact, my dear. Listen to an old woman whom you yourself have called wise. Go away from here. Make the marriage Warwick will arrange for you and try to be happy. I know you will find it very hard to forget Elizabeth. But it cannot be, my dear dear lord. The only thing that could make her yours is that which you, in view of your position, cannot give her. There, I have said it and now I am overwrought. I have spoken too clearly. I have forgotten to whom I speak. I pray you forgive me. Give me leave to go and you, my lord, must join your friends. It is better for us all if you never come here again ...’
With that she rose and kneeling before him kissed his hand.
Then she left him.
She went to her bedchamber and from her window watched him ride away.
I wonder, she thought. Is it possible? No, Warwick will never allow it. But if it did come to pass, what great good fortune their beautiful Elizabeth could bring to the Woodvilles!
Chapter II
THE SECRET MARRIAGE
There was an air of suppressed excitement in the household of the Duchess of York. The King was coming. He had promised his family that he would be with them for a while and he was always one to keep his promises. Cecily, the Duchess, now mother of the King, was said to be the proudest woman in England. She would naturally have been happier if her husband had lived and taken the crown, but that Edward should have it was the next best thing of course. Cecily’s greatest ambition had been to become Queen and when she thought how narrowly she had missed it she was filled with regrets.
But now she revelled in her new state. She would never forget that there was royal blood in her veins for her mother had been Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford. It had seemed only right that her husband should take the throne, descended as he was from two branches of the royal family, and it had been a great tragedy when he had died at Wakefield. She could not bear to think of that day when she had heard that they had stuck his head on the walls of York with a paper crown perched on it. Ah, it was different now; and their son, their beautiful Edward, was King.
Handsome Edward had always been her favourite. He had always been a big boy and now growing to his full height he towered above all those about him. He had not taken after his father who had been dark and rather short in stature. Edward was the golden Plantagenet born again. It was wonderful to contemplate that he took after his ancestors the sons of Edward III, Lionel and John of Gaunt. Edward was the perfect Plantagenet. He was a popular king. He looked like a king; and while he had good advisers like her nephew the Earl of Warwick he would act wisely and well.
She was proud of her son. It had turned out well for the family – if only Richard had not been so foolish at Wakefield in taking an unnecessary risk. He would not have done that if she had been there. But he had lost a battle and his life and deprived her of the title of Queen. But her glorious son had taken that honour and she lived now with the state of a queen even if she had failed to win the title. Everyone must treat her with the ultimate respect. Her women must kneel to her; they must behave in every way in which they would had she been a queen in name.
She knew that behind her back they called her Proud Cis. Let them. She was proud. Proud of herself and her family and most of all proud of her beautiful son who was the King.
She had three of the children with her in London now and it was rarely that they were together. There was Margaret who was eighteen. They would find a husband for her soon, and that should not be difficult as she was the sister of the King; George was also with them; he was fifteen, her least favourite among her sons. George was inclined to be plump, self-indulgent and somewhat arrogant but she had to admit he had his share of the Plantagenet good looks; he was fairish and tall of stature but not as tall as Edward of course. Next to Edward her favourite was young Richard. Richard was quieter than his brothers, a serious boy given to learning. He was shortish and dark, taking after his father in looks. He lacked that gaiety which was a characteristic of Edward and George; he lacked their impulsive ways. He was serious, thoughtful and she had always believed cleverer than the others. He would always hesitate before giving an answer and one felt he wanted to weigh all points of view before speaking.