by Renee Duke
“You are doubtless wondering how I come to have my brother’s favourite ring,” said Dickon, following his gaze. “’Tis his favourite no longer. ’Twas one our Uncle Richard did give him, and Ned does not hold Uncle Richard in very high regard these days. ’Tis a pretty thing, however, and I am not loath to wear it.”
“It’s a good thing you aren’t,” Paige said as the attendant closed the door behind them. “That’s what our medallion connects to whenever we visit you.”
“Is it?” said Dickon. “How interesting. Our sister Bess has a bracelet in the same design. ’Twas a gift from the Seigneur de Gruthuyse, whom our royal father did stay with whilst in exile. Our Woodville grandmother told her it had mystical powers and ’tis said she knew much of such things.”
“How long has it been since we were last here?” Dane asked him.
“Long enough for my brother to be deprived of his throne and the two of us to become little better than prisoners here,” Dickon replied.
“Is he all right?” said Dane, nodding toward Ned.
“His health is much improved from what it was. He contracted the same malady I had in Sanctuary. It struck him harder, however. Dr. Argentine was in daily attendance upon him for a time.” He grinned. “’Twas probably not necessary, but Ned has ever been one to think the worst will come of his ailments. He spent almost all his waking hours in prayer, attempting to smooth his soul’s passage to the hereafter.”
At this, Ned raised his head and glared at him. “’Twould serve you better to spend more time in prayer than in perfecting dance steps, brother. What opportunities have we had for dancing of late?”
“Mayhap there will be dancing when we go to Sheriff Hutton.”
“Who’s Sheriff Hutton?” Dane asked.
“No one,” said Jack. “Sheriff Hutton isn’t a person. It was one of Richard the Third’s castles up north.” He glanced uneasily at Ned as he said this.
“Seek not to spare me,” said Ned, standing up. “I, better than any other, know that Uncle Richard is now King of England. My reign lasted but ten weeks. But of course, you know that.” He gave them a hard look. “Since you come from our future, everything which occurs in our time is history to you. You left us preparing for a coronation you knew would never take place.”
Dickon’s eyes went wide. “Is that so?” he said. “Did you indeed know the crown was about to be taken from Ned?”
Dane sighed and nodded.
“And you did not warn us?” said Dickon indignantly.
“Peace, brother,” said Ned, moving toward him and putting a hand on his arm. “’Twould not have profited us to know. Forewarned or not, we would have found none to support us against the rightful king.”
Paige looked at him in astonishment. “You consider your uncle the rightful king?”
“Not in my heart, but the law deems him so. ’Tis well known that an illegitimate line cannot inherit the throne.”
“An illegitimate line? What does that mean?” Dane asked.
“It means that Dickon and I were not born of a lawful marriage. Our father was betrothed to a lady named Eleanor Butler before he married our mother. Their troth-plight was binding and never legally broken. Our parents were therefore never legally married.”
“How does that stop you from being king? You’re still King Edward’s oldest son.”
“That we and our sisters are indeed his children is not in dispute. But since our mother is no longer recognized as his lawful queen, none of us can lay claim to his crown. That had to pass to his only surviving brother.”
“If the fact that your father was betrothed to someone else before he married your mother was so important, how come no one’s ever brought it up before?” Paige demanded.
“The betrothal was a secret one. None knew of it save our father and Lady Eleanor. And Bishop Stillington, who officiated at it.”
“So why didn’t Lady Eleanor and this bishop say something?” Paige inquired. “I know your parents’ marriage was a secret at first too, but she could have spoken up later, after word got out.”
“For reasons known only to herself, Lady Eleanor did not come forward when our mother was acknowledged as queen. Had she wished to assert her rights, the bishop would doubtless have supported her. Since she did not, he chose to keep his own counsel.”
“He must, however, have disclosed something to our Uncle George,” said Dickon. “’Tis now thought he was executed because he had knowledge of the pre-contract and planned to use it against our father. Bishop Stillington was imprisoned around that time as well. He was not released until he paid a fine and agreed to say naught of the matter. Nor did he until he met with Uncle Richard the last day you were here.”
“Shortly after that we were proclaimed illegitimate and barred from the succession,” said Ned. “Since there were many who were not pleased with the prospect of having a boy king, the lords of the realm were quick to offer the crown to our uncle. ’Tis said that he was none too eager to accept it. But he did, and methinks he finds the wearing of it pleasant enough.”
“Or safer, mayhap,” said Dickon. “’Tis no secret that our Woodville relatives sought to deprive him of the protectorship. Even after he secured it, their intrigues did not come to an end.”
“Why should they have? ’Twas while he was still Protector that he had Uncle Anthony beheaded,” Ned said harshly. “Along with our half-brother, who might, or might not, have been involved in some plot against him and…and Sir Thomas. The good Sir Thomas, whose only crime was his love for me.” His eyes filled with tears. Remembering the kindly old man they had ridden with from Ludlow, Dane, too, felt saddened.
“How often does your Uncle Richard visit you here?” Paige asked after an awkward pause.
“Not at all, at the moment. He and Aunt Anne have gone on a royal progress. They have been travelling about the realm for some time. They are now far away in the north. They were held in high regard there long before our uncle became king, and he is soon to give the city of York the pleasure of seeing his son invested as Prince of Wales. I, of course, no longer hold that title.”
Since this topic seemed likely to prove as contentious as the demise of Earl Rivers, Dane decided to change the subject. “You said something about going to Sheriff Hutton, Dickon. What’s that all about?”
“We have been told we are to dwell there with some of our cousins,” said Dickon.
“’Tis likely that our presence in London unsettles the common people,” Ned said grimly. “Uncle Richard has kept us from them as much as possible.”
“Even so, he told the Constable of the Tower that the three of you were to be permitted to see us if you asked,” Dickon said to Dane and the others.
“Did he?” said Jack. “That’s interesting. Did he say anything else about us?”
“Why should he?” said Ned. “His head was full of plans for the royal progress. And the thought of going back to his beloved north.”
“Mayhap we will like it there, too,” Dickon said soothingly, seeming as eager as the others to keep Ned from brooding. “We are to be conveyed to Sheriff Hutton sometime within the next fortnight.”
“Is there some place we can stay until you leave?” said Dane.
Dickon nodded. “I do not much care for two of our new attendants, but Miles Forrest and Will Slaughter serve us well, and they are here today. One of them will find you lodgings.”
“Forrest is a northerner,” said Ned, looking sulky. “He came down to London with that vast horde our uncle summoned to his coronation.”
“Northerner or not, I like him,” said Dickon. “Shall I call him in, Ned?”
Ned flung himself back onto his window seat. “Do as you please.”
Dickon sighed and gave the other three an apologetic look. “His black mood has returned. He will stay in it for hours now. Come. We will talk to Miles. He will get you settled in the town and see you gain entry to the Tower whenever you so desire.”
Chapter Fourteen
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br /> Dane was expecting Miles Forrest to find them a room at a nearby inn, but he did much better than that. A barge took them to Baynard’s Castle, a riverfront mansion owned by Ned and Dickon’s grandmother. They did not actually meet the old Dowager Duchess of York at any point, but Miles told them she had agreed to the king’s request that they be allowed to stay at Baynard’s if they happened to visit London while he was on his royal progress.
“Richard the Third isn’t at all like I imagined,” Paige said as they were getting ready for bed that night. “I mean, he’s a king. You wouldn’t think he’d concern himself with the comfort of some kids he’s only met once.”
“Or let us anywhere near Ned and Dickon now that they’ve been barred from the throne and he wants people to forget about them,” said Dane.
“I rather liked him,” said Jack.
“Me too,” Dane agreed.
“And me,” Paige chimed in. “It’s hard to believe he’s the one suspected of doing away with the princes.”
“I don’t think he did,” Dane stated. “Why should he? They’re no threat to him. He’s got the throne now. And he has a legal right to it—even Ned admitted that.”
“Yeah, and who’s to say the princes ever really disappeared?” said Paige. “They’re supposed to be going north in a day or two. It could be that no one bothered to keep track of them after that.”
“Someone would have bothered,” Jack declared. “Princes couldn’t possibly live out their lives without having at least one of the chroniclers of the time write something about them. Not even ex-princes. They did disappear, and I’ve got a feeling it’s going to happen very soon.”
“On this trip north?’ Paige queried.
“Possibly. If they go. Someone could be planning to make sure that they don’t.”
“Who?” Dane demanded.
“I don’t know. Lots of things don’t seem right. The princes were supposed to have been staying in the Garden Tower when they disappeared. Theirs was one of the grisly fates that made people start calling it the Bloody Tower. There’s even a Mystery of the Princes exhibit in there. But that isn’t where they are right now—and won’t be if they go north.”
Concerned for the princes, Dane spent a restless night. Beside him, Jack tossed and turned, and Dane thought it safe to assume that Paige was not getting much sleep either. Early the next morning, they returned to the Tower, walking along the riverfront. They had no way of paying for a barge as Miles had the day before. The only money in the small purses attached to their belts came from their own time. It was of no use to them in the fifteenth century.
It was a dull day but not raining. A breeze blowing from the river carried the odour of fish, a smell almost as disagreeable as those created by the garbage and raw sewage in nearby streets.
“I’ll say one thing for our time,” said Paige. “It smells better.”
“No, it doesn’t,” said Dane. “These are just big city smells. Ludlow wasn’t as bad as this. Rosebank didn’t smell much either. Stench and all, the air here’s probably a lot purer than ours. Ours is full of industrial pollution.”
“And this is probably full of cholera and typhoid. If we’re going to make a habit of this time travel thing, I think we should go and get shots.”
When they got to the Tower, they passed through the gates unhindered until they came to the one leading to the Inner Ward. The guard there told them he could not permit them to enter it but hinted that a penny or two could weaken his resolve.
“You pay him no mind,” said Miles Forrest, coming up behind him. “And no penny, either. He knows full well that you have right of entry.”
The guard gave him a sullen look but let them pass without argument.
Miles escorted them as far as the White Tower and instructed them to wait there until the princes came down. He said the two boys were in their chamber with the Duke of Buckingham, who was making the arrangements for their journey north.
The duke’s visit was a short one. He swaggered out of the White Tower about ten minutes later. Watching him, Dane shivered. “I’m with Ned. I don’t like him.”
“’Twould be better for my master if he didn’t either,” Miles said with a grunt. Before going off about his business, he advised them that Ned and Dickon were usually taken out to play in the gardens at that time of day and would probably join them shortly.
The princes did not show up, however. After a while, Dane became impatient and suggested it would be a good idea to go in and get them.
“You think that’s allowed?” Paige sounded skeptical.
“Let’s find out.”
As before, there were two men outside the princes’ chamber. Their manner led Dane to think they were probably the attendants Dickon disliked.
“What do you want here?” one of them snapped.
Aware that members of the wealthy merchant class were the social superiors of servants such as these, Dane drew himself up and informed him they had the king’s permission to see his royal nephews.
“Not so royal now,” the other man said with a smirk. “Mayhap you should make it worth our while to escort you into their presence.”
“And mayhap we should seek out Miles Forrest and see what he has to say about it,” Paige snapped back, coming up with a look even more scornful than her brother’s.
The first man scowled and looked uneasy. “’Tis not necessary,” he said. “We were but jesting.” He opened the door. As they went through it, Dane heard him make a low but angry retort to his friend.
“There be naught wrong in looking for a bit extra,” the other muttered back. “’Tis not as though the brats be of any importance now.”
As the princes came forward to greet them, it was obvious that Ned was in a much better mood than he had been the day before.
“You seem pretty happy,” said Dane. “Are you starting to enjoy the Duke of Buckingham’s company?”
“His company affords me no pleasure, but what he had to say has lifted my spirits. Our journey north is close at hand.”
“We are to leave tomorrow night,” said Dickon excitedly.
“You’re leaving at night?” Dane felt a prick of uneasiness. “Isn’t that a little strange?”
“’Tis not strange at all,” said Ned. “Uncle Richard is scarce likely to want the people of London to witness our departure. And the cover of darkness suits us well enough, as it will allow us to see our mother before we go.”
“Isn’t she still in Sanctuary?” Paige inquired.
Ned nodded. “’Tis kept close guarded, but Uncle Henry says we will be able to get in. Lady Stanley is in daily contact with our mother and offered to make the arrangements. I doubt Uncle Henry would have thought of it had she not approached him.”
“We will be spending the night at her house and setting north early the next morning,” said Dickon. “Oh, how good it will be to be free of this cursed Tower.”
“’Twill also be good to see our mother,” said Ned. “’Tis now September, and I have not spoken with her since last Christmas.”
Dane exchanged an uncertain look with Paige and Jack.
Ned frowned. “Is something amiss?”
“It could be,” said Dane. “Up until now we’ve only been able to meet you in places history says you were. There’s no record of this trip you’re so excited about.”
“What of it? Records oft go astray. Do you fear that, without one, you will not know where to find us after you return to your own time? Sheriff Hutton be a long way off, but now that you know we are to dwell there, you can journey to it as you did to Ludlow.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to say.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Just that, you and Dickon might not…get there. One or two records might go astray, but from here on in, there aren’t any. Not of you. A few possible references maybe, but nothing specific. I don’t know how it happened, but the two of you just disappeared after this point. It could be that someone’s pla
nning to…well, to make you disappear.”
“Is there anyone you’re afraid of?” said Jack. “Anyone you don’t really trust?”
“’Tis those I do trust who are in short supply,” Ned replied, his bitterness momentarily returning. “Though my reign was not a long one, I met with enough betrayal to learn a king has few real friends, and a former king fewer still.” He smiled sadly. “Your warning is appreciated, but of little use. Fortune’s wheel is ever turning. We cannot alter its spin.”
“Of course you can,” Paige said. “You must know this Tower really well by now. Can’t you find some way to get out and make a run for it?”
“Run? From whom? And to whom?”
“I don’t know,” said Paige, “but there must be something you could do. Have you asked any questions about this trip north? Does your uncle, the king, even know about it?”
“I would assume so,” said Ned. “’Tis by his order.”
“Are you sure?” Dane persisted. “Have you seen anything with his official seal on it?”
“I do not have to. That a household was to be established at Sheriff Hutton was known to us before he went on his progress. And the Constable of the Tower would not allow anyone to remove us without proper authorization. ’Tis only our visit to our mother that our uncle is likely to have no knowledge of. ’Twill doubtless vex him, but what care I for that? ’Twill have happened by the time he hears of it.” Ned paused and sighed. “The actual journey north holds less appeal for me, but he is the king. If he wants us to go there, we can scarce refuse to do so.”
“’Tis enough for me that we are to be quit of this place,” said Dickon. “I think we shall like the north. ’Tis a wild, rugged land.”