“It is unfortunate that Ned saw fit to place his heir in Woodville hands,” Richard said to Anne, as she tweaked his black doublet and brushed some lint from it before they set off to observe the obsequies for Edward at the Minster. “Poor boy will not know which uncle to listen to once we get to London. And Elizabeth is bound to want control, too.”

“You have two boys of your own, my dear, and John is almost the same age as young Edward. Just talk to him the way you do John.”

Richard gave a reluctant smile—he found it hard to smile these days—and agreed. “As well, I know what it is like to lose a father as a boy, so I shall be easy with him.”

He wished his work could be as simple as being kind and mentor to the lad—he would enjoy that, but he was well aware that the Woodvilles must be worrying about their position at court now Edward was gone. As they should, he thought, but that makes them dangerous. He felt his own anxiety mount at the thought. Of one thing he was certain: he would not sanction any interference in his governance of the young king from Elizabeth or her family. But with what consequences? Richard knew he was one point of a triangle of power: himself in the north; the new king under a Woodville in Wales; and the council in London under the Woodville queen determined to be regent. He needed to find the right balance between respecting maternal instincts and removing the boy from the overly possessive, power-hungry woman that Elizabeth was. And he had to gain young Edward’s trust to carry out the task fairly. He tried to assess who on the old king’s council would support him, but other than Hastings and Jack Howard, he had no real idea how the others viewed him. Yet more doubts to unsettle him.

“Stop fiddling with your ring,” Anne said, slapping his hand playfully. “You are such a worrier.” When he did not smile, she looked at him anxiously. “What are you fretting about now, my love? Until Edward is old enough to take the reins, you will have all the power.”

Richard pushed his fears aside and gave his wife a kiss. He would not speak of his concerns to Anne, but he wished he had at least one prominent nobleman he could fully count on to back him up in council.

“Harry?” Richard murmured when he saw the golden knot of Stafford emblazoned on the messenger’s tunic. “What does he want?”