Richard rose painfully from his chair, unwilling to answer possible questions about any rumors of the pre-contract. Later, he thought, I will tell them later. His discomfort was overriding his usual logic or he might have understood that the longer he waited, the more his detractors would view him as coveting the crown.

Fortunately, no one was surprised when he left the meeting early. It was true, Richard did not look well; he had hardly slept since the execution. He had taken to downing several cups of wine to help make him drowsy, but it just gave him headaches in the morning.

“I am haunted by bad dreams if I do manage to sleep. Ah, Anne, how I wish we could just ride home to Middleham,” he confessed later that night. “How I long for the life we had there, away from such turmoil.”

“Aye, and to see Ned,” Anne agreed. She rubbed willow-bark balm on Richard’s back and massaged his tense muscles. If the truth be told, she was frightened, but she would not let Richard see her fear. Katherine had told her of the whisperings among the servants: that the lord protector sought the crown for himself. “Make sure you tell them it is not true, Katherine. Your father just wants to safeguard the king and his realm from those who would do harm to both,” she had admonished the girl and then had tried to allay her own fears.

“What is next, my love?” Anne asked Richard now.

“Canterbury will be removing Richard of York tomorrow. I wish you would come with me when I take him to be with his brother. The boy will be afraid, and the way I look now, I don’t blame him. Edward greets me cordially enough—he is a very self-assured and intelligent boy—but not with any affection; he still pines for his Uncle Rivers. Perhaps you can change that, my dear. I would be grateful if you would try.”

Thus, Anne was by Richard’s side two days later when the two brothers were reunited in the royal apartments at the Tower, and Edward thanked Richard graciously for arranging it.

“I hope they are looking after you well, my dear Edward,” Anne said, gliding forward and putting her arm around the boy, “and the food is to your liking?”

“Too much fish!” cried the rambunctious duke of York, riding his wooden hobby horse around the room. “It’s always fish, fish, fish!”

Anne and Richard glanced at each other and burst out laughing. And Edward joined in. “He must have driven my sisters mad in the abbey,” he whispered to Richard behind his hand. “Maybe I will not be thanking you at this time next week, Uncle.”

“There, you see,” Anne said as they walked towards their waiting mounts after the visit. “Edward is warming to you. And the way Richard hugged you when you lifted him up to say goodbye is a very good sign.”