Warwick nodded. “Aye, you have it right, my lady. The widow is her daughter. She is a beauty, in truth,” he admitted, “but she is naught but a commoner’s daughter, a mere baronet’s widow, five years Edward’s senior, and,” his voice rose to a crescendo as he expostulated, “not fit for a king!” And he pounded his fist on the table again.

“Gently, my lord,” his wife chided him, “we don’t want the servants gossiping. Why do you not calm down and tell us how this came about. Richard here appears as perplexed as I am. This has come as a shock to him, too.” Grateful for her concern, Richard nodded.

Warwick stood with his back to the fireplace, his restless fingers pulling at his lower lip as he stared into the middle distance trying to frame his thoughts.

“We had gathered at Reading for a Great Council mainly to discuss the scarcity of money in the mint. In the midst of what is being dubbed the ‘silver’ council, I was reporting on my progress with King Louis for Edward’s marriage to Bona of Savoy when Edward, from the throne, held up his hand for silence. Stretching out those endless legs of his, an infuriating smirk of satisfaction on his face, he allows that he is grateful for all my efforts but that marriage with a French princess was out of the question because…and he does stammer a bit here, having difficulty hiding his own guilt as he confesses…’because I am married already.’” He watched with grim satisfaction as both Richard and his wife gasped in shock.

“Pandemonium broke out, as you can imagine,” Warwick continued. “God help me, I stood there stupefied, my eyes bulging, my mouth opening and closing like some brainless carp.”

“Jacquetta Woodville is of noble blood, my lord,” the countess ventured. “Her brother is the count of St. Pol and she was duchess of Bed…”

“She married a commoner, madam,” Warwick interrupted her rudely, “which makes her a commoner and all her brats commoners. He sank down heavily on the chair at the other end of the table, his shoulders slumped over his clasped hands. “’Tis the end of my influence with the king, I fear. He has made it clear that he intends to rule without my guidance. I shall support him, I suppose, but I can never forgive him for this humiliation of me.”

Richard, shaken by the news, desperately tried to find an excuse for his beloved brother’s thoughtless action. Despite his inexperience in politics and diplomacy, he knew Edward had transgressed by squandering an important alliance with Louis of France.