Richard was surprised to see the queen in attendance, and several times he saw her whisper behind her hand to Edward. When the verdict was given by Edward that Richard was free to wed Anne, he wondered how much influence Elizabeth had wielded. It was wise to be wary of her, although she had sided with him this time.

George walked away with the earldoms of Warwick and Salisbury as well as manors and lands, and eventually insisted that Edward award him the title of great chamberlain of England, taking it from Richard. Thus in the end, through the skewed division of property and titles, George of Clarence became the wealthiest magnate in the kingdom after the king himself, all this for a man whose treasonous ambition had sent his brothers into exile and caused a rift in noble loyalties that only Warwick’s death had overcome. How Edward could have rewarded George so richly when he had turned against his brother, coveted his crown, and caused so much bloodshed was the question that gnawed at Richard. He harbored so much ill-will towards his brother, it frightened Richard.

But for now Richard feigned contentment. He had achieved his main goal, permission to wed Anne, which meant he too would profit from her inheritance and that of the countess of Warwick, her mother. The latter prize was not his to win nor Edward’s to give, however. The Beauchamp inheritance, which included the vast Despenser lands, belonged to Countess Anne, and Richard, through Edward, was depriving her of it—illegally. But who would gainsay the king? It was one of the only times in his life that Richard was to behave dishonorably towards a woman, and his conscience may surely have pricked him given the kindness Anne Beauchamp had shown him during his years at Middleham. He finally shook hands with George but only after hours of debate and arguing. Was he as greedy for power as George? Nay, Anne may have been a great heiress, but she was the only noblewoman Richard wanted as wife, and in time he would learn to love her.

He looked into George’s face, studying the handsome, vain man standing before him. George’s smugness infuriated Richard, just as the jealousy and bullying had when they were young. Richard knew his brother had not changed, and he felt a lifetime of anger and resentment rise to the surface. Turning away abruptly, he bowed to the king and queen and quit the chamber without saying another word.

Edward’s magnanimity toward his faithless brother disturbed Richard. Did Edward not see how shallow George’s loyalty was? Richard had made up his mind long ago never to trust George again, family or no, and in some part of his heart it saddened him. Not for the first time Richard wished his father had lived a long life; York would not have allowed his three sons to fracture the family as they had.