On his usual perch that bitter winter day, where Richard had always felt close to God, he had never felt so distant from the Almighty. The bleak, pristine-white landscape, the winter quiet and the wide gray sky reminded Richard how vast the universe was that God watched over and how small and insignificant he was. And yet he knew God saw into every single heart and observed every living creature. Richard had no doubt that his heart was of special interest to his Maker and was why he had been punished with a crooked spine. The burden of his great sin weighed heavily on him, and he pulled his cloak tighter. He nevertheless bravely begged the Almighty to bless his union, bless the child that would come into the world on such an auspicious day, and watch over his beloved wife in childbed. Dare he even hope that the loss of their first attempt might have been atonement enough for Henry’s death? He chose to believe it today, and murmured his thanks for his good wife and the child she bore. So, for a few pleasant moments he allowed himself to bask in his blessings.

But he could not banish the darker thoughts that crowded his brain every day. He had established himself as Lord of the North with relative ease, and had won praise for his generosity, not only for protecting his mother-in-law but for taking in as his ward the son of the traitor, Montagu. He was proudest of his rapprochement with the unpredictable lord of the borderlands, Henry Percy, the earl of Northumberland. With the two of them working in tandem to keep the peace in Edward’s northern territories, the often rebellious natives had gladly settled into a period of calm.

Richard still questioned some of Edward’s policies—especially the power the king had afforded his wife’s ambitious family, the Woodvilles, even superseding Richard’s jurisdiction in Wales. Elizabeth and her brother, earl Rivers, had taken over Ludlow Castle to establish the household of young Edward, prince of Wales. The prestigious position of governor of the prince was also given to Rivers, which Richard had the foresight to recognize was a dangerous move. Richard determined to tell his brother about the hostility the rest of the peerage felt towards the queen’s family, for it seemed Edward was oblivious and firmly under his wife’s thumb.

Puzzled why Elizabeth would put up with Edward’s infidelities, Richard harrumphed loudly, startling Rufus. He slapped his forehead. “Of course,” he muttered, “she lets him have what he wants in exchange for what she wants. And she wants power. How stupid of me.”