His friend was pleasing enough to look at, Richard thought, with ruddy cheeks and curly, light-brown hair, but he would not flutter the ladies’ hearts, it had to be said. But Rob had been the first in the dormitory to befriend Richard, and Richard had been wary but grateful. It had taken him a few weeks to feel comfortable among his peers. Many avoided him, mistaking his shyness for arrogance. To be fair, they could not have known Richard had believed anyone who did speak to him was merely wanting to curry favor with the king’s brother, and so he kept to himself in those first weeks. However, it was not long before the rigors of training put them all on the same plane, and competition among them sorted the strong from the weak, the loners from the team players, and the leaders from the followers. What was surprising to John Lacey, master of henchmen, was how quickly the smaller duke of Gloucester showed leadership qualities, with the older Rob Percy becoming his first follower. It is doubtful Rob was aware, but to the experienced Master Lacey, the situation was not unusual. Some people were born to lead, and, despite his apparent shyness, Richard of Gloucester was looking to be one of those.

“It is surprising how much you eat for a shrimp,” Rob teased the younger boy.

Richard glared at him, the familiar shame flooding him. “If you and I are to be good friends,” he snapped back, “I would ask that you not call me ‘shrimp,’ or ‘runt,’ ‘small fry’ or…or anything similar. Why do you think I eat so much? I’m doing my best to grow, and I will,” he insisted. “After all, I’m only twelve and you are fourteen.”

“Temper, temper! Aye, I see ’tis a sore subject,” Rob replied. “It shall not happen again, and I will horsewhip anyone who mentions such ‘shortcomings’ in my hearing, I swear.” He said with mock severity and winked at Richard.

Richard grinned. “You don’t need to go that far, Rob—and I will excuse the pun this once,” he said grinning, “but a black eye might be nice.” He picked at the moss and admitted, “My brother George never let me forget how much smaller and younger and weaker and…oh, it doesn’t matter. He is hundreds of miles away now.”

Rob took note of the bitterness in Richard’s voice and felt sorry for the boy.

Richard sighed. “For all Ned has given him, it seems George is never satisfied. Before I left London, he told me he resented my chance to learn from the great earl of Warwick and be far from Ned’s huge shadow.”