They loved each other! Surely a child would come of it. But none did. Still, he did not berate her for it. And then in the spring a messenger arrived from the court with a letter for Adair from her half sister, Elizabeth.
The king had caught a chill and died suddenly on the ninth day of April. Her half brother, Edward, would be the new king, and the Duke of Gloucester was named his protector at the king’s deathbed, much to the fury of the queen. The priests had heard it, and declared it so.
Mama is furious,Elizabeth wrote.
You know how she and Uncle Dickon have always rubbed each other. She is rallying theWoodvilles as well as the rest of her supporters, andthey have sent for our brother, who has been in thecare of my uncle, Earl Rivers, and they have secured the treasury as well. I do not know how thiswill all end, but Mama is preparing to take ouryounger brother, Dickie, my sisters, and me intosanctuary at Westminster. Pray for us. The negotiations for my betrothal to the dauphin have ceased.
Mama and Lady Margaret return to the possibilityof a marriage between me and her son, Henry of
Lancaster. I think I should rather have an Englishhusband, Adair, and remain in England. I will, ofcourse, marry where I am told to marry. UncleDickon came in early December to see Papa. Hetold us that he made a good match for you, and thatyou are content. I am glad for it. Write me whenyou can, dear one. I remain your most devoted andloving sister, Bess.
Adair showed the letter to Andrew. “We must send to Middleham to see if we can be of any help to Uncle Dickon,” she said. “How typical of the queen to want her own way. She and her odious family would rule through my little brother.”
“I’ll go to Middleham myself,” Andrew said. “But the duke will already know that his brother is dead, and will have already ridden south to protect his interests, as well as those of the young king.”
“Follow him,” Adair said. “He will need all his good captains. I can manage here at Stanton.” Her lovely face was anxious. “The queen would cause a civil war if it meant getting her own way in this matter.”
The Earl of Stanton nodded to his wife. “Aye, you’re correct. I’ll go because I know you can keep Stanton safe in my absence, lovey, but I will miss you.”
Andrew Radcliffe departed his home the following morning. He rode with but six retainers at his side.
Reaching Middleham, he learned the duke had indeed gone south with all possible haste when he had learned of his brother’s unexpected death. The earl rode after him, as his wife had requested. Catching up with the Duke of Gloucester, he was welcomed. The news was not good.
The duke had received word from the late king’s lord chamberlain of what the queen had managed to do so far. Prince Edward had been proclaimed King Edward V but two days after his father’s passing. Preparations were already in progress for the boy’s coronation, whichwas now scheduled for May. The queen had sent to her brother, Lord Rivers, to bring young Edward to her with all haste.
“Aye, the young princess wrote the same thing to Adair,” Andrew told the duke.
Richard of Gloucester smiled. “Bess is a wise child.
She understands the danger her mother puts England in, and would do her part in an attempt to thwart the bitch. My niece knows her duty, and will always do it.
Do you not find it interesting that in this time of crisis a messenger was sent with obvious great haste to Stanton? Forgive me, Andrew, but neither you nor Adair is truly important in the scheme of things.”
The Earl of Stanton laughed. “Nay, my lord, we are not. And I believe I speak for my wife as well when I tell you that we are quite happy not to be important. But my loyalty is with you in this matter, and Adair agrees that with your other friends I should be by your side until the matter is settled.”
“Friends,” the duke mused. “If truth be known, Andrew, I have few men like you whom I can count upon as friends. I have not my brother’s way with the people; nor would I now seek to be like him. And you know that I did not approve of his licentious behavior, but I did love him. He knew it, else he would not have made me protector of his heir. And our first task will be to secure young Edward before his mother can cause any more harm with her machinations. We must ride hard to reach Lord Rivers before he reaches the queen.”
There had been other news in Lord Hastings’s missive. Not only had the treasury been secured, but so had the Tower of London. The city had been prepared for possible assault, and the queen’s brother, Sir Edward Woodville, had gone to sea with a fleet to protect the coastline from any possible attack. There was no doubt that the queen was making a grab for power, and attempting to exclude her brother-in-law from her plans.
The duke wisely swore a public oath of fealty to hisnephew in the presence of half a dozen priests and his troop of three hundred men. He sent a messenger with a letter to the queen reassuring her that all would be well. Then, joined by his ally, the Duke of Buckingham, they intercepted Lord Rivers and his party as they rode toward London. The earl was arrested and his men disbanded. The queen’s plot had been foiled, and the resistance crumbled. Sir Edward Woodville sailed into exile, and his brother, Anthony, Lord Rivers, was imprisoned.
The duke’s party arrived in London the first week in May. The royal council, the Parliament, and the people of London acknowledged and confirmed his place as protector of the young king. The queen remained in sanctuary with her other children, not yet ready to give up. A month later a conspiracy was uncovered that sought to replace the Duke of Gloucester as his nephew’s guardian. Additional troops had arrived from York at Richard’s request to help him secure the situation. The queen’s coconspirators were arrested, among them, to Richard’s sorrow, Lord Hastings, who had first come to his aid. He, Lord Rivers, and several others were, of necessity—and as a warning—put to death.
Young Edward had begged his mother to send his brother to him, and she was forced to comply. Both boys were lodged in the royal apartments in the Tower.
Richard had them secretly removed and sent to Middleham to be with their cousin. The powerful were now realizing the dangers of a child king with an ambitious mother. They sought for a way to put young Edward aside, and they easily found it with the aid of the church.
The late king, it appeared, had signed a marriage contract with Lady Eleanor Butler. The contract had not been rendered void, and the lady was still alive when Edward IV had eloped and married Elizabeth
Woodville. Therefore the king’s marriage had not been a true or legal one under canon law. His children weredeemed illegitimate. His sons were therefore not eligible to inherit.
At the end of June Parliament met and petitioned the Duke of Gloucester to take the throne. From her sanctuary Elizabeth Woodville screeched with outrage, but she had lost her grab for power. At Baynard’s Castle, where he was housed, the duke accepted the petition brought to him. He considered it carefully, for he knew that if he accepted Parliament’s request to rule, many slanders would be spoken of him. But who else was there? The heir to Lancaster? Never! On July 6 the duke was crowned Richard III at a ceremony attended by virtually all the peerage, including Lady Margaret Beaufort.
Andrew had watched the royal procession standing to one side in the front of the church. He wanted to be able to tell Adair everything. The new king had graciously dismissed him from his service once again. When Richard had been declared England’s legitimate ruler, the Earl of Stanton took horse and rode north for his home. Arriving, he found his fields green and thriving.
His cattle were fat, and the haying was already in progress. The warm greeting he received from his wife convinced him that he had been missed. They kissed each other heartily before the eyes of their delighted servants.
The earl’s horse was taken off to the stables, and Adair led her husband into the hall, giving orders as she came for food and wine to be brought for him. He sat at the high board and devoured a trencher of rabbit stew, fresh bread, and a goblet of ale while she waited patiently for his news. When he had finally finished Andrew sat back and sighed with pleasure.
