‘What of Gloucester?’
‘He is in the North. On the Scottish border. Far far away. We must wait until the King is crowned before we allow him to be aware of what has happened.’
‘It would be better so as Edward named him as the King’s Protector.’
‘The King already has his protectors and once a king is anointed and crowned, he is accepted as king.’
‘I fear Gloucester.’
‘I will deal with Gloucester,’ said the Queen. ‘Our first act must be to get the King crowned. Let us call a Council meeting in the new King’s name. We will show ourselves amenable and carry on as though the King was alive and then we will bring up the important matter of the King’s coronation as though it were a matter of course.’
Dorset was certain that his mother would succeed. After all, had she not succeeded in everything she did; and surely only the cleverest of women could have kept a man like Edward as long as she did.
The Council was called and all went as planned until the matter of the King’s coronation was brought up.
Dorset said: ‘May the fourth would be a suitable day, I believe.’ Then the protests started. It was far too early. The Duke of Gloucester would not be at Westminster in time. They should bear in mind that he was defending the Scottish border.
‘Then, my lords,’ said the Marquess, ‘we must needs do without the Duke of Gloucester.’
Hastings was on his feet. ‘It would seem that the terms of the King’s will have been forgotten.’
‘The King wished his son to be crowned at once,’ said Elizabeth.
‘What escort will bring him to London?’
‘That,’ replied the Queen, ‘is for the King to decide.’
‘You mean for Lord Rivers?’ asked Hastings. He went on somewhat heatedly: ‘The King should come to London with a moderate escort. He should not have more than two thousand men.’
Hastings clearly did not want the young King to march from Ludlow with an army. Very well, thought Elizabeth, let him have his way. Anything to get the King in London and crowned. For once he was crowned he would not need a Protector and therefore the King’s instructions that his brother Gloucester should take that role need never be considered.
As soon as the Council meeting broke up, Dorset sent his message to Rivers. The King must come to London with all speed and should arrive not later than the first of May.
Hastings had already sent a messenger to Richard in the North telling him what was happening in London and urging him to come with as many men as he could muster for it might be that he would need them.
With a clatter of hoofs the messenger rode to Middleham Castle. He leaped from his steaming horse and demanded of the astonished grooms to be taken at once to their master the Duke.
It was a stroke of good fortune that Richard should at that time be at home. He had returned only a week or so before from the Scottish border and his thoughts were fully occupied by the conflict with the Scots.
It was two months since he had seen his brother and then they had gone fully into the Scottish question. He should soon be on his way north again and was for this short period enjoying a little respite with his family.
His son Edward was not strong. He knew that Anne worried continually about their son. He had inherited his mother’s constitution and sometimes Richard wondered whether he would be better in a more benign climate. There was one other boy in the castle whom Richard watched with interest. The boy was several years older than Edward, and did not know it but he was Richard’s own son. His name was Richard and he had been educated by the schoolmaster whom his father had brought into the castle for the purpose. Richard would have liked to acknowledge him and promised himself he would one day. He was a little embarrassed about the situation; he was so unlike his brother and had rarely indulged in sexual relations with women. Strange that this one affair of this nature had produced two children. Catherine was with her mother in London, but Richard he had brought up here in his retinue. One day, he thought, he will be told.
He wished that he and Anne could have had another. The delicate looks of his legitimate son were a source of anxiety as were Anne’s own. She had been delighted to see him and heartily wished that the wretched wars could end so that they could all be together in the cosy intimacy of Middleham.
He had decided that he could indulge in a few more weeks of family life when the courier came.
He received the man at once and was astounded by the news.
‘My brother ... dead!’
‘My lord I fear so. He went fishing and caught a cold. He did not recover.’
‘A cold ... Edward to die of a cold!’
‘He had been ill before, my lord.’
Oh yes, he had been ill. Richard remembered their conversation. He could almost believe that Edward had foreseen his death. He had harped on it and had extracted a promise from his brother to look after young Edward, to be his Protector until such a time as the boy should be of fit age to govern.
‘When did it happen?’ he asked.
‘On the ninth of April, my lord.’
‘But this is a week ago.’
Thoughts passed quickly through his mind. What could happen in a week? A week already passed and by the time he reached Ludlow ...
‘Why did you not come before? Did not the Queen send anyone?’
‘The Queen sent no one, my lord. Nor did Lord Rivers. I come from Lord Hastings who sent me as soon as he knew that the King was dead.’
Richard was silent. He had turned very pale. He was seeing it all clearly: Elizabeth Woodville and her brother had withheld the information. They had not wanted him to know until the little King was crowned. The Woodvilles were waiting to take command. They would be planning now to rule the country.
He thanked the rider and told him he must go to the kitchens for refreshment; then he went to find Anne.
‘My brother is dead,’ he said.
She put her hands to her heart and turned pale.
‘And,’ he went on, ‘the Queen has not told me. Nor has Rivers. I do not like this.’
‘Why should they withhold the information from you?’
‘They want to get the King into their care. I shall have to leave for Ludlow at once.’
‘Oh Richard ... must you?’
‘Indeed I must. Edward left his son in my care. We talked when we last met. It was almost as though he knew. I gave him my promise ... moreover I can see that the realm will have to be protected from the Woodvilles. Now, I must lose no time. I have to prepare to leave.’
Before he left another messenger arrived from Hastings. There had been a meeting of the Council called by the Queen and it had been declared that the King should be crowned on May the fourth. Hastings had had great difficulty in getting them to agree that the King’s escort should not exceed two thousand. When Richard came he must come well prepared to face a company of that number.
Richard knew what Hastings meant. The Woodvilles were determined to rule. They were going to get the King crowned and then declare that there would be no need for Richard to fulfil his brother’s wishes that he should be the little King’s guardian. Richard could see that his presence was urgently needed and he must go to challenge them; he would take Hastings’s advice and go well armed.
Richard was within reach of Nottingham. He had decided that since the King was having an escort of two thousand, he would do the same. He wanted no suggestion that he came for conflict. He merely wanted the people to know that his brother had appointed him his nephew’s guardian and if Edward was to be escorted into London he was the one to do it.
In Nottingham a courier arrived from Lord Rivers. He sent courteous greetings to the Duke of Gloucester and condolences for his great loss. Lord Rivers knew of the affection the King had always had for his brother and was therefore deeply aware what Edward’s death had meant to Richard. He had left Ludlow with the King and planned to reach Nottingham on the twenty-ninth of April. It might well be that the Duke would be there at the same time. If Rivers arrived first he would await the coming of the Duke of Gloucester if that was his wish.