Passage to Pontefract

by Jean Plaidy

  Catherine joined them. Her beautiful eyes were uneasy; she knew how upset John was at the banishment of his son; and she feared that Henry might make trouble while he was on the Continent and that John would become embroiled in it.

  But she was happy at the prospect of having his grandsons in her care. She liked the boys, particularly Harry who was the brightest of them all. She was also relieved that John was getting older and no longer felt the inclination to take an active part in the troubles of the kingdom.

  She was apprehensive though when John said he was going to accompany Henry to Eltham to see the King.

  ‘For what purpose?’ she asked.

  He explained about the necessity to get the King’s agreement regarding his estates. She was depressed, for she knew that the question of the estates would only arise on John’s death.

  ‘He’ll be back long before there is any problem about the estates,’ she said rather angrily.

  John pressed her hand and said no more on the subject; but when Henry rode out he went with him.

  Richard received them at Eltham Palace. He could hardly turn his uncle away, particularly as John had supported him and had been for some time reckoned as his principal adviser.

  ‘This is a sorry matter,’ said John. ‘And one it is hard to understand.’

  ‘It is clear to me,’ replied Richard shortly; and John saw that it would be unwise to anger him.

  ‘I am saying farewell to my son,’ said John.

  ‘His time here is growing short,’ replied Richard coldly.

  ‘And there are one or two points which I want to clear up before he goes. I am sure you will understand my concern, for you will wish to be just to your cousin and to me.’

  ‘It is always my desire to administer justice,’ retorted Richard.

  ‘Then, my lord, I want your undertaking that in the event of my dying during my son’s absence, my estates will pass to him and not be forfeited to the Crown.’

  Richard waved his hand. ‘That request is granted,’ he said. Then he added: ‘Why Uncle, you have many years left to you.’

  ‘So I trust,’ answered John of Gaunt.

  ‘My father will care for my elder sons,’ said Henry. ‘Thomas and John are on their way to Leicester now. He will take Harry back with him.’

  Richard shook his head and regarded his cousin coolly.

  ‘Nay, nay,’ he said. ‘Not young Harry. I have grown fond of the lad.’

  John saw the stricken look in his son’s eyes.

  ‘My lord, his place is with his grandfather. He will be his guardian during my absence.’

  ‘I have decided to be his guardian … for a while,’ said the King.

  ‘You mean …’

  Richard was smiling gently. ‘I mean, cousin, that I love the boy so well that I would have him at Court. He shall have his duties there and you need have no fear for him.’

  He was making his meaning clear. No, Richard did not trust his cousin. He was holding young Harry of Monmouth as a hostage for his father’s good behaviour.

  There was nothing more to be said. Henry took his farewell of the King and his father rode with him to the coast.

  ‘You see what this means,’ said Henry. ‘Harry is to be a hostage.’

  ‘Richard grows wily … at last,’ answered his father. ‘You will have to be careful, Henry.’

  ‘I intend to take the greatest care,’ was the answer.

  ‘At least we made him swear that my estates shall not be forfeited to the Crown; and that was what we came to do.’

  ‘And to take Harry away.’

  ‘Do not fret about Harry. I tell you this, there is a boy who will know how to take care of himself.’

  Henry agreed with that.

  At the coast he and his father took a sad farewell of each other and Henry set sail for banishment and France.

  The loss of his eldest son whom he had looked on as the hope of the house of Lancaster had a marked effect on John of Gaunt. Richard had, out of compassion to him, shortened the length of exile from ten to six years. But six years! mourned John. Shall I ever see my son again?

  He loved his children, all of them. His Beaufort boys as he called them delighted him because they had a look of Catherine; but Henry his first-born son, his heir, royal Henry, had been the one on whom all his hopes were fixed.

  Richard was a failure. He had seen that for a long time. Richard was feckless and extravagant. He cared far too much for fine clothes and lavish displays. He gathered the wrong people about him. He had a talent for taking the wrong action – for instance marrying a child who could not be a wife to him for years. Was ever such a piece of folly committed by a King who needed an heir?

  Richard’s power could not last. He could see that as clearly as he could see anything. Richard would go. And Henry was in exile.

  This was particularly significant at this time because news had come from Ireland that Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March and Richard’s heir, had been slain in the fighting at Kells.

  The crown was perilously in danger of falling from Richard’s head. And who should wear it next?

  If only Henry were here! Henry should take the crown. Life was ironical. How he, John of Gaunt, had yearned for that very crown; and it had been denied him, although he had found crowns for his daughters and it might have been that the most coveted of all could have gone to his son.

  Life was bitter. Henry at this moment – this significant, this most fateful moment – was in exile.

  He brooded a great deal on Henry’s exile. He thought of young Harry whom the King kept at his side. Catherine busied herself with the others – delighted to have children to care for again. She was watchful of him but she was growing more and more anxious every day.

  There came a time when John took to his bed and Catherine knew that he must indeed be falling ill to agree to do this. He lay there, his eyes closed, and Catherine was filled with a terrible fear.

  He made her sit beside him and took her hand.

  ‘These have been happy years,’ he said, ‘these we have had together.’

  ‘There are many left to us,’ she said firmly.

  He smiled at her. ‘It is not like you to hide your face from the truth, Catherine,’ he said.

  ‘You are not going to die. You are too great a man to die.’

  ‘And where is the logic in that? Greatness has nothing to do with death. One thing is certain – I shall die. As for my greatness that is not such a certainty. I have failed so often, Catherine.’

  ‘We have been happy,’ she reminded him. ‘You have just said so. To achieve happiness … is that not what we all seek, and to achieve it … that is the true success.’

  ‘You talk like a woman … you always did,’ he told her fondly.

  ‘Perhaps it is no bad way to talk.’

  She sat beside him holding his hand. He slept a great deal and when she looked at his face, so pale, so still, she felt a great desolation touch her for he looked as though he were already dead.

  ‘Oh John,’ she whispered, ‘don’t leave me. Now … we have come together … after all these years. Don’t leave me …’

  He opened his eyes and said: ‘There is trouble coming, Catherine. Richard cannot last. And then … and then …’

  ‘Don’t think of it, it distresses you.’

  ‘And then,’ he said, ‘what of Henry …? Henry banished … Henry should be here. It is Henry’s place …’

  ‘Let it take care of itself …’ she said. ‘Rest now. It is not for you to worry.’

  ‘It is true,’ he murmured. ‘I shall be gone … There is no peace, Catherine, for those who see the crown within their reach and yet cannot quite attain it.’

  ‘Rest. To please me. It matters nothing … now.’

  But it mattered still to him, she could see. He had longed for the crown. He would be happy if he could see Richard deposed and his son Henry reigning in his stead.

  ‘It is what Richard feared,’ he murmured. �
��That is why he sent him away …’

  She sat long by his bed. She would not leave him because she knew that there was not much time left.

  John of Gaunt was dead. It was like the passing of an age.

  Catherine was desolate. It was the end of life for her. Since she had first met him years before, he had dominated her thoughts. He had raised her to become his Duchess and that filled her with exultation, not because he had placed her specially high but because it showed his esteem for her. Their children had been legitimised and would play a big part in the country’s affairs. All that had filled her with pride but now she could feel nothing but this utter desolation.

  They had taken his body to the Carmelite in Fleet Street where it would lie until burial.

  In accordance with the wishes he had expressed in his will he was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral by the side of his first wife the Duchess Blanche. The funeral was a ceremonial occasion and Richard was present, expressing deep sorrow at the loss of this uncle who had played such an important part in his life.

  Chapter XVI

  THE RETURN OF BOLINGBROKE

  Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, who had lived very quietly for so long, much preferring to shrug off all responsibilities and enjoy life on his country estates, had been commanded to come to see the King and was in a state of some concern.

  Richard received him with affection and explained the reason for the summons.

  ‘Well, Uncle,’ said Richard, ‘you see me in the throes of great preparation. I am going to show the people of Ireland that I have had enough of their disobediences. I am going to avenge Mortimer’s death. You will preside over my government during my absence.’

  Langley was disconcerted and uneasy, but he saw at once that protest was useless so with his usual nonchalance he accepted what he must.

  ‘There is one matter of which I would speak with you, my lord,’ he said.

  ‘Could it possibly concern Lancaster’s estates?’ asked Richard.

  Edmund Duke of York said that it did.

  ‘You have not come to reproach me, Uncle?’ said Richard. ‘I see you so rarely. Must there be conflict between us when we do meet?’

  ‘Not conflict, I trust,’ replied York. ‘I merely wish to say that I hope what I have heard regarding the estates is not true.’

  ‘I have a feeling, Uncle, that it may well be true.’

  ‘Not that you have taken them! I understood from my brother that you had sworn they should not be forfeit.’

  ‘Your brother is dead, Uncle of York. The heir to these estates is in exile and will remain there for some years yet. Why should the Lancastrian estates be passed to an exile?’

  ‘Because he is the true heir to those estates and you gave your word that they should not be forfeited to the crown.’

  ‘You have stayed in the country overlong, Uncle. It does me good to see you here. But I like it not when you tell your King how he should rule his kingdom.’

  The Duke was aghast. What had happened to his nephew since he had last seen him? Where was the young man who had sought to rule his kingdom well? Richard was not only arrogant but foolish. Did he not realise the importance of this matter of the Lancaster estates?

  Henry was in exile it was true. But how long would he remain there if he found that the King had broken his word to his father? Might not Henry retaliate by breaking his word to the King?

  The country was not as peaceful as he might well believe it was. There was trouble brewing and if he was going to behave in this manner Richard was going to foment it.

  He took a step towards the King and at that moment one of the hounds which had been lying in the corner of the room sprang up and bared its teeth at Edmund.

  Richard laughed. ‘Come here, Math.’ The dog went to him, placed its feet on his shoulders and began to lick his face.

  ‘He was not going to harm me, Math. You would not have forgiven him would you, if he had?’

  He patted the dog’s head, and grinned at his uncle.

  ‘My faithful friend,’ he said. ‘He will defend me with his life. Let any come against me and Math will make short work of him.’

  The King sat down. Edmund remained standing. Richard said: ‘This is my favourite hound, my Math. He is a royal dog. He serves none but the King. He likes me to wear my crown. Do you not, Math? How excited you become when you see that bauble on my head. Has it struck you, Uncle, that dogs have an extra sense which we lack? They will not go to haunted places. They bristle, they draw back, they bare their teeth. Sometimes I think they are aware of coming events. What say you?’

  It was Richard’s way of telling Edmund that the matter of the Lancaster estates was to be discussed no more.

  Edmund asked for leave to retire and it was graciously given.

  The little Queen was restive. It was so long since she had seen the King. She lived for his visits. She thought he was the most handsome man in the world; and they always had such fun together. He would ask her how she was getting on at her lessons with a certain mock severity which would have them laughing so much that there would be tears in their eyes. Then they would talk about clothes and he would bring in the musicians so that they could dance together.

  Once he had played a trick on her and sent Richard Maudelyn to her. She was proud of the fact that she had quickly discovered him not to be her King, although she had had to admit that Richard Maudelyn played the part well.

  She was a little anxious because she fancied Richard was concerned about something. She did get scraps of information mostly by listening to servants. She knew that there had been a big quarrel between John of Gaunt’s son and the Duke of Norfolk and that Richard had sent them both into exile.

  Much nearer home so that it concerned her more was the departure of the Lady de Couci. It seemed that she had been spending too much money and behaving as though she were the Queen Mother.

  Well, perhaps she had. Isabella did not greatly regret her going. She had a new governess who was the wife of the Earl of March, a sad woman at the time – very different from Lady de Couci – because she had just lost her husband who had been killed in Ireland.

  Oh, if only Richard would come to see her! She would sulk a little when he did come. It had been such a long time.

  Every night she prayed: ‘Oh God, let him come tomorrow.’ But God took no notice of her prayers.

  But finally they were answered. She was at her lessons with her new governess when she heard the sounds of arrival; and throwing aside her books she dashed down to the great hall and there he was – handsome, fair hair glistening in the sunlight, standing there looking about him for his little Queen.

  She flung herself at him. ‘Richard! Richard! Are you indeed here?’

  ‘It would seem so. Is this the way to greet your King? Would you suffocate him?’

  ‘I would hold him so fast that he could never get away.’

  ‘Methinks he would be happy if you could do that.’

  ‘Richard … Richard how long you have been!’

  ‘Affairs of state, sweet lady.’

  ‘I hate affairs of state.’

  ‘I am often in agreement with you.’

  ‘I thought Kings sat on thrones with their Queens beside them and went riding out and the people cheered them … and they were always together.’

  ‘It rarely happens so. But here I am. Now tell me, how have you been faring?’

  Arm in arm they went into the castle.

  She said: ‘Feasts must be prepared. I must command them to roast the finest deer.’

  ‘I think they will do it for me, and leave you to be with me, little Queen.’

  ‘Yes, mayhap they will and I would not lose one moment with you. How long shall you stay?’

  He stroked her hair. ‘I leave today, dearest. I broke the journey just to see you.’

  ‘No!’

  ‘I fear so, my little one. I am going to Ireland.’

  ‘Is it because of the Earl of March?’

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nbsp; He nodded.

  ‘And when will you come back?’

  ‘Soon and then straight to you.’

  ‘Lady de Couci has gone.’

  ‘Does it grieve you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘She gave herself airs. She thought she was the Queen. Did you know she kept three goldsmiths, three cutlers, three furriers all at my expense.’

  ‘I must cost you a lot of money.’

  ‘The Exchequer groans under your extravagance.’

  She laughed and nestled close to him.

  ‘I am glad,’ she said. ‘It will stop you forgetting me.’

  ‘Do you think I should ever do that?’

  She threw her arms about his neck.

  ‘What, preparing to suffocate me again! They say a King’s life is always in danger. It would seem so.’

  ‘Don’t say it! Don’t say it!’ she cried, putting her hands over his mouth. He took them and kissed them.

  ‘Shall I tell you about Math?’

  ‘Oh yes, yes.’

  ‘He is such a naughty dog. When he sees me in my crown he leaps with excitement. Do you know I do not believe he would love me half as much if I were not the King.’

  ‘I would love you always.’

  ‘My dearest and most faithful Queen. Will you always love me then, Isabella?’

  She nodded gravely. Then she was laughing. ‘I pray you do not think you can deceive me by sending Richard Maudelyn to me again.’

  ‘Nay. I learned my lessons there.’

  ‘Richard, must you go today?’

  ‘I must.’

  ‘Ireland is so far away.’

  ‘As soon as I am back I shall come to you.’

  ‘Promise me that.’

  ‘I swear it.’

  Then she said: ‘Let us forget now that you are going to leave me. Let us be happy while we can.’

  So they were merry together, both pretending to forget that parting was imminent.

  They went to Mass together in Windsor Church and on leaving took wine and comfits at the door.

  There he must say his last farewell to her. He picked her up in his arms and kissed her again and again. She clung to him.