‘Richard was simply a naturally charming man who did not misuse his undoubted effect upon others. Oh, you are bound to not agree, my lady, but I knew him. I was close to him, and saw him truthfully. Nothing and no one will ever induce me to speak badly of him. I fear his death is still too raw to me, because I cannot yet allow anyone to mention him without having to speak in his praise or defence. I crave your understanding if it offends you. Or the king.’
Margaret nodded. ‘I admire your faith in him, my dear.’
‘He deserved my faith, my lady. He earned every ounce of it.’
‘But he could not keep his throne.’
‘He was betrayed.’ By your husband, for one!
Margaret chuckled. ‘Oh, you share his courage and charm, my dear, although I would never have guessed it from the stony looks you and I have been in the habit of exchanging. I truly look forward to spending time with you at Coldharbour. Well, I must go to my son now.’ She rose. ‘Will you give your sister a little simple advice, Cicely?’
‘That depends what it is, my lady.’
‘I am not stupid, nor is my son. She has made it clear that she does not intend to approach their forthcoming marriage as anything other than a necessary evil. She is foolish. She has only to change her attitude to win his respect, if not his love. At the moment she has little more than his contempt, and that will not do at all. My son is susceptible to female charms, my dear, and the sooner your silly sister realizes it, the better.’
Cicely managed to nod agreement. Henry Tudor had clawed his way to the throne over Richard’s bloodied body. He could be as miserable as a plucked duck for all she cared.
‘If your sister sees sense now, before hatred sets in, there is a chance of happiness between them. Otherwise, any strife will be of her own making. Will you tell her that?’
‘I will try, my lady, but my sister and I do not see eye to eye at the moment.’
‘May I ask why?’
Cicely saw no reason not to tell the truth. ‘Because I have spoken to the king and she has not.’
‘So, there is hope for her yet. A little jealousy cannot be a bad thing.’ Margaret smiled again. ‘I think it would terrify him to think he had to take you on, my lady. He would never know what to expect next.’
Cicely almost wished she was to marry him. Oh, what a dance she would lead him. He would regret the day he ever returned to England!
Margaret lingered. ‘May I hope that when next we meet, my dear, we can be well disposed toward each other?’ she asked.
Cicely gazed at her for a long moment, and then nodded. ‘Yes, my lady, you may.’ But your friendship will not last long once you discover the truth about me.
When she finally reached her rooms, there was a page waiting to present a sealed note. She knew neither seal nor writing. Opening it, she read.
‘My lady, I believe it is time you and I spoke in private, for there is much that needs to be said. I will walk in the palace garden at three of the afternoon. Jon Welles.’
So, he styled himself Jon? She refolded the note and nodded at the boy. ‘Tell Sir Jon I will be there as he wishes.’
‘My lady.’
The boy hastened away again, and as the door was shut behind him, Cicely closed her eyes and exhaled. Sir Jon Welles seemed to be at every corner of her life at the moment.
Chapter Four
When three o’clock came, Cicely was ready to meet Sir Jon Welles. Her wardrobe from Sheriff Hutton had now arrived, and she chose to wear a cream velvet gown with pendulous sleeves lined with crimson brocade. Her dark chestnut hair she left loose, as always.
The September air was unexpectedly warm, but at least it was not spring again, she thought. The appearance of daffodils and apple blossom always heralded death. Or so she felt. She walked past the window where she had heard her mother plotting Richard’s downfall when he had been Lord Protector, and the apple tree where Bess had chased their little sister Bridget, and then she halted by the river wall, where she had once looked over and seen John of Gloucester’s reflection appear alongside her own. That had been immediately after the springtime death of Richard’s legitimate son, and heir, little Edward of Middleham. How broken Richard had been. And alone, unsupported by his wife, who had collapsed completely. He was a king without an heir, with a wife who could no longer provide him with another. Or offer him the comfort he had so willingly given to her. How careworn he had been, and how this niece had loved him, although without knowing it for a love that crossed too many boundaries.
She sensed Sir Jon’s approach, and turned. He was young to be Henry’s uncle, perhaps two or three years older than Richard. Oh, how she judged every man by Richard. A good-looking man, with bearing and presence, Jon Welles cut a handsome figure, dressed as he was in mustard velvet, with a soft black velvet hat that was devoid of a brooch. He was tall and spare, with a straight nose and thin lips that were neither hard nor set, and his long hair was prematurely grey at the temples, but otherwise brown and wiry. His eyes were an incredibly dark, vivid blue, with a steady gaze that invited trust. It was hard to believe he was Margaret’s half-brother, because there was no resemblance at all. Perhaps he took after his father, not their shared mother, the Duchess of Somerset, whose third husband had been Lionel, sixth Baron Welles. Cicely knew Jon to be adroit, and was sure he had little difficulty dealing with any trouble that came his way.
‘Lady Cicely.’ He removed his hat and sketched a very courtly bow.
She accorded him a curtsey. ‘Sir Jon? It is J-O-N, is it not?’
‘My father wished me to be J-O-H-N, but my mother preferred Jonathan. The unfortunate result you see before you is a painful compromise.’ He smiled.
‘You wished to speak with me?’
He ignored the question and leaned back against the wall to look at her. ‘How are you, my lady?’ he enquired.
‘I am well, as you see.’
‘That is not what I meant.’
She blushed. ‘My answer remains the same, sir, although . . .’
‘Yes?’
‘I would prefer to feel better in the mornings.’
He smiled. ‘I am told that is the way of it. You have seen someone with knowledge? Someone who can make sure things are as they should be? Forgive me such impertinent interest, Lady Cicely, but your wellbeing is of concern to me.’
‘I am not your responsibility, Sir Jon, as I think I reassured you at Sheriff Hutton.’
‘I know what you reassured me, my lady, but that does not oblige me to walk away and pretend I know nothing. You are with child, and I think the father to be Richard Plantagenet.’
‘Do you expect me to confirm that?’
‘No, for I know you will not. Nevertheless, I am sure I am right. Yours is a very hazardous secret, my lady. The child of one Yorkist king and the grandchild of the other, with a mother who is the daughter and niece of both those kings? If a boy, he will be an uncommon magnet for future Yorkist rallying cries. If a girl, she will be an uncommon desirable bride for some ambitious magnate.’
‘Do you intend to tell on me, Sir Jon?’
‘What do you think I am, my lady, a petty schoolboy? If that had been my intent, I would have done it by now.’
‘Forgive me, I did not mean to offend you. Sir Jon, I hardly know you, yet you have my as yet secret condition in your palm. If you wonder if that makes me anxious, let me assure you that it does. I have met your king now, so I know full well the hazards that loom.’
He smiled. ‘Ah, yes, you have met Henry, and jolted him somewhat, from all accounts. Do you enjoy putting yourself in peril? I would not seek my nephew voluntarily, so what possessed you?’
‘I needed to, well, to—’
‘Estimate his character?’ he supplied.
‘Yes.’
‘I grant you are intrepid, but please do not attempt such a thing again. Henry is a dog best left lying, not prodded by a pretty toe.’
‘You have no need to warn me now, sir, for he left me i
n no doubt that a repeat would be very unwise indeed.’
‘He does not like to be caught off guard, because he likes to be the one doing it, my lady. To have it turned upon him is something for which he may well bear you a grudge.’
‘Do you think he does? I did not think so.’
‘Do not trust him, my lady. Keep your distance.’
‘You still have not said why you wished to see me. Was it simply to enquire after my health?’
‘No.’ He glanced towards the palace, and Cicely saw Margaret standing at a window, watching. ‘Take my hand, my lady,’ he said.
‘Your hand?’
‘The thing with a thumb and four fingers at the end of the arm I now extend to you. Do as I say, if you please.’
Slowly she did as he requested. ‘Why?’ she asked.
‘All will shortly be made clear,’ he replied, glancing at the window again and then drawing her palm to his lips.
‘How dare you take such a liberty, sir!’ Cicely would have snatched her hand away had he not held it so tightly.
‘It is no liberty, madam.’ He turned her to face him. ‘Now, behave as if you do not object,’ he said, putting his hand to her chin and raising her face a little. ‘Look soulfully into my eyes, if you please.’
‘Certainly not!’
‘You make this very difficult.’
‘Make what very difficult?’ she demanded.
‘Your wooing.’
She stared at him. ‘My what?’
He smiled and glanced surreptitiously at the window again. His half-sister had gone. He released Cicely’s hand. ‘Your moment of humiliation is at an end,’ he murmured.
‘What, exactly, do you wish of me, Sir Jon?’ she said icily.
‘Your consent to marriage, I think.’
She drew back. ‘I . . . must be misunderstanding you, sir.’
‘No, you have my correct meaning. I assure you I will make a reasonably competent husband.’ He said it with humour.
‘For someone else, not me.’
‘I think it has to be you, my lady. And I am not all that lowly for a Plantagenet princess. I am the king’s uncle, and have extensive lands in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. I am Constable of Rockingham, Bolingbroke and Castle Donington, and have various other posts. My duties are many and varied, and I will have to travel a lot in order to attend to them. I will expect my wife to accompany me. That is the life I offer. For your protection. If you would rather be exposed to comment when your condition becomes impossible to hide, that is your business, but if you are married at the time of the birth, and if your husband acknowledges the child, your reputation is saved.’
‘And you will be a laughing stock, sir, because I have been with child since June, whereas you and I met for the first time at the end of August.’
‘I am aware of that, which is why I think you and I did first meet in Nottingham in June.’
‘But we did not.’
He laughed. ‘Well, I do realize it, my lady, but as it happens my whereabouts in June are known only to me. I could well have been in Nottingham, and I could well have seduced you from the straight and narrow path of virginity. Do not look at me like that, for I am not entirely bereft of ability in that respect.’
‘I am sure you are not, sir, but nevertheless—’
‘I will be able to marry you, my lady. There is no impediment. I have only to express such a wish to my half-sister for her to be eager for it. She will convey her eagerness to my nephew. I may not be Richard Plantagenet, or indeed his courtly son, but I will do for the purpose in question.’
‘And you will rise much higher in royal circles, will you not? Brother-in-law to the queen and uncle to the king?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘A double-edged sword, unless your sister mends her ways. Be warned. The last thing you need is for my nephew to change his mind about her.’
‘Change his mind? And choose me instead? Sir Jon, the king is certainly not interested in me. Annoyed with me, perhaps even downright angry, but that is all.’
‘You do not know him. Going to him as you did was a very ill-advised notion in many more ways than one. Now you have pricked his interest, stimulated it even. You are not the usual pattern of princess or even court lady, and God alone knows, a man has only to look at you to want you. I would certainly not turn down the chance.’
‘You transgress, Sir Jon. Besides, you were speaking of the king. To imagine he wants me is quite ridiculous.’
‘Is it? You are like Richard in more than just colouring, my lady. You have his ability to engage others without very much trying.’
‘I do not want Henry Tudor. Richard is irreplaceable, Sir Jon, and I loved him in a way that I do not think you would wish to know. I lay with him, and wanted to again and again. He brought me to life, and I could not have enough of him. I did things with him and to him that I never dreamed could be. He was a considerate, passionate, patient, exciting lover, and he taught me more in a very short time than most men could teach in their whole lives. He could sustain my pleasure until I could scarce breathe of it. Do you understand? I have loved someone else far too much to be worthy of becoming your wife, Sir Jon. I am not suitable, deserving or worthy.’
‘If that was supposed to repel me, my lady, you do not know men very well after all. The thought of what you have just described is . . . highly provocative. At this precise moment it would be entirely gratifying to get you between the coverlets. Provided you were willing, and could be persuaded to imagine I am Richard III.’
She blushed again. ‘That was not my intention.’
He smiled. ‘If you do not wish to excite ardour, the very last thing you should do is speak so eloquently of your carnal dealings with your own uncle. Men may outwardly pretend to be shocked and disapproving, and carve crosses through the air, but in truth they would be heartily aroused. We are a poor lot, driven by our lusts.’
‘Including you?’
‘I have my faults, like the rest of my sex, but that does not mean that I do not have your wellbeing in mind when I propose this marriage. It is still possible to protect your good name. If you say that you and I first met in Nottingham, and that we lay together there, I will confirm it. I will claim the child as my own and it will be born in wedlock. Is that not better than the alternative?’
‘Sir Jon . . .’ She looked at him. ‘How can you want me? I have sinned very much, and the child I carry is that of my own uncle. How can you possibly even think of doing this?’
He reached out as if to touch her cheek, but then drew his hand away again. ‘My lady, I may not appreciate the finer points of incest, but I do know I admire you. The defiance you showed at Sheriff Hutton was something to behold. So young, and yet so valiant. And when I saw how you shielded your unborn child, without even knowing you gave yourself away, I was even further impressed. I do not expect you to love me, nor indeed can you expect me to love you, but I do respect you. If I can help you when you need it, please accept my offer.’
‘You are a very honourable man, Sir Jon Welles.’
‘You know nothing of me. I could well turn out to be a monster who beats you and forces himself upon you night and day.’
‘I do not think so, Sir Jon.’ She searched his dark blue eyes. ‘But a wife is supposed to warm her husband’s bed, is she not?’
‘Ah, well, we will leave that to fate. I will not make any demands of you. My proposition is merely to rescue you. That is all.’ He straightened. ‘I imagine you will need a little time to consider this. I know you will decide to accept me in the end, because to do otherwise would be disastrous, for you and Richard’s child. If nothing else you will think of the latter. It is too early in your grief for you to be anything other than overwhelmed by your loss. I can wait for an answer, but do not leave it too long. Every day you delay in something like this makes it more difficult for you. And for me, because I will be perceived as being unwilling to attend to my responsibility to you.’
‘You will
have your answer soon, sir.’
Chapter Five
That night, as Cicely lay in her bed, watching the shadows of the night lamp move against the bed hangings, she thought of Sir Jon’s offer. What would Richard advise? Would he tell her only a fool would decline?
‘Yes, he would, Cicely.’
He stood beside the bed, in the light of the night light on the table, and she opened her arms gladly as he leaned down to kiss her. His hair was against her skin, his lips were warm and giving, and his arms were loving. He was so blessedly real that she knew she held him again; held the man, not the image.
‘You do not really need me here in order to clear your mind.’ He drew gently away and straightened.
She sat up, wanting to say so much, but what came out was completely incongruous. ‘Henry wears your ring.’
‘And he sits on my throne, which is much more to the point.’
‘And his vile mother has your book of hours.’
‘May it make a true Christian of her.’ He smiled.
She slipped slowly out of the bed, drinking in everything that made him so dear to her. ‘I have so wanted to see your face and hear your voice again,’ she said.
‘Both are always with you, sweetheart,’ he said gently, and then added, ‘although you may not care for what this voice has to say to you tonight. For one thing, you have to curb your overt support for me. Bess showed so little restraint that it attracted attention. You are in danger of doing the same.’
‘It is impossible not to defend you.’
‘I am beyond defending, Cicely.’
‘They tell lies of you!’
He smiled again. ‘That is nothing new. There will always be lies about me. The events that led up to my reign, and continued through it, are bound to cause controversy. I knew it even as I made my decisions and then acted upon them. You are still the great private truth of my life, sweetheart, but it must remain private. Well, maybe known to a few.’
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