“Perhaps,” Edward humored his brother. “Then all we can do is wait here in safety for Pembroke and Devon.”

They waited in vain.

In the meantime, and unbeknownst to the Yorkists at Nottingham, the earl of Warwick, his wife and two daughters, George of Clarence, and Warwick’s brother-in-law John de Vere, earl of Oxford, had sailed from Sandwich to Calais, where, on the eleventh day of July, Archbishop Neville performed the marriage ceremony between Isabel and George.

There was now no doubt of Warwick’s treasonable intentions. The next day, Warwick and his followers issued a manifesto to Parliament in the form of a letter denouncing the king’s willful exclusion on his council of…princes of royal blood, in favor of the deceitful, covetous rule and guiding of certain seditious persons. In particular, they mentioned Earl Rivers, his wife and sons, and the earls of Pembroke and Devon. They did not dare include the queen. They have caused our said sovereign lord and his realm to fall in great poverty of misery, disturbing the ministration of the laws, only intending to their own promotion and enrichment.

Warwick declared his intention of returning to England to lay these grievances and proposals of reformation before the king.

How ironic that ten years earlier, Richard duke of York, Edward’s father, had set sail from exile in Ireland with exactly the same goal in mind: To reform the bad governance of a king.

Cut off from the south by the rebels, the king was unaware of these developments, all too easily—and expediently—choosing to believe that the silence from Pembroke and Devon meant they were making their way to Nottingham.

Twice Richard attempted to rouse his brother to be more aggressive in his intelligence gathering, and twice he was rebuffed. To Richard the silence was ominous, but Edward scoffed, “You are too pessimistic, Richard. If we are so outnumbered, why have the rebels not attempted to reach us? Where are they?”

Richard could only demur, but he was anxious to leave the castle. Part of him longed for his first foray into battle, and so far he had seen nary a sword unsheathed nor a cannon ball fired. But he was convinced Edward needed to gain the trust of his subjects again, and he would not do that by cowering behind castle walls.

Hastings spoke up then, voicing what Richard was thinking. “Go among your people, Edward. You are your own best advocate. I’ve seen you charm the surliest of men with a warm greeting or a friendly slap on the back. Be the people’s king once more. Dare I say, but you have lost the common touch that endeared you to all, which has allowed Warwick to exploit and gain from it.”

It was a bold pronouncement that earned Richard’s admiration, but both waited apprehensively for the king’s reaction.