I could see that any further pursuit of the subject was pointless, and though I had expected this, still I was disappointed. As I had feared, where the government of England was concerned, from now on Henry would merely be a figurehead. The real work of making official appointments, ordering commissions and administering the law would have to be done in his name but not according to his will. I foresaw battles ahead between Warwick and Queen Marguerite and did not relish my role as arbiter. Henry would need me more than ever. Yet Wales would also require my presence. I was going to be busy.

Servants entered the room carrying the meal I had ordered for the king. I felt a sudden rush of emotion and reached out to press the fragile fingers that gripped the arm of his chair. ‘Do not worry, Henry,’ I murmured gently, as if comforting a child. ‘Marguerite will soon be back. Until then I will be here for you. Now you must eat something to regain your strength. Come, let me help you to the table.’

43

Jasper

Westminster Palace & Coldharbour Inn

BY THE THIRD WEEK of October, Warwick and I had assumed joint control of the kingdom, appointing ourselves King’s Lieutenants – effectively Regents for Henry – and the Earl of Oxford Constable of England and Steward of the King’s Household. Warwick had insisted on the appointment of his brother, George Neville, Archbishop of York, as Lord Chancellor. I had managed to persuade King Henry to move into Westminster Palace; meanwhile Warwick went north to reclaim his Yorkshire estates. He would return for an all-important pre-Christmas Parliament, when the attainders passed on us by Edward would be reversed and our revenues and titles reinvested. Lancastrians who had escaped attainder by taking Edward’s pardon and pledging him their loyalty began to gather at court, queuing up to reverse that vow and renew their oaths to Henry. Invitations were sent out for a re-coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, which was arranged for the end of the month.

Lady Margaret was anxious to introduce her son to the king as the first step towards recovering his Richmond estates and I arranged an audience but warned them both that Henry’s state of mind was unpredictable and they should not expect too much from him. They travelled by barge from Coldharbour to Westminster and I met them on the palace quay. Margaret had excelled even herself in style and presentation and I barely recognized Harri, who seemed to have grown in stature and confidence, standing taller and prouder than I had ever seen him, possibly on account of the splendour of the apparel his mother had procured for him, which had transformed a sometimes-diffident youth into a gleaming figure of nobility on the cusp of manhood.