Her lovely face fell when she saw him, and he was concerned. “Are you ill, Kate?”

She shook her head. “Nay, Richard, not I. But I see that you are. You appear to have had no sleep for several days.”

“Weeks, if truth be told,” Richard admitted. “I look that bad, do I?”

Kate nodded. “Do you have something important to tell me, Richard. You have never before summoned me. Has it to do with John or Katherine?”

Richard smiled. “Aye, but I think you will be pleased. I have found a husband for Katherine. William Herbert is the earl of Huntington and a loyal Yorkist.”

Kate’s eyes lit up. “An earl? Can this be true? My Katherine?” Then, in her inimitable frank fashion, she added, “but does he know she is a bast….?” and immediately clapped her hand over her mouth.

Richard chuckled. “Aye, he knows of her birth, Kate. But as he is an impoverished earl, he will be glad of the dowry I will bestow on my beloved only daughter. She is a beautiful and kind young woman, and we should be proud of her.”

“I am,” Kate replied, “and I always have been. She was created with much love.” She lowered her eyes to her hands, wondering if she had overstepped a line. Richard watched her absently turning the gold filigree ring he had given her the day they had parted. Suddenly looking up, her eyes met his, and as if he were reading her thoughts, Richard pulled out the écu on its leather cord. “Aye, I still wear it.” He hesitated, averting his troubled gaze. “Although I am not certain it has always brought me good fortune.”

Kate felt emboldened to go to him and take his hands, encouraging him to talk as they had done so many times during their affair. She gently removed his soft velvet hat and stroked his dark hair, noticing its flecks of grey. “What is it, Richard? What is worrying you? Tell me.”

Feeling her so close again and sensing her love for him, he broke his resolve and allowed her to lead him to the window seat. He could trust so few these days, but Kate he trusted with his life, and so, with difficulty, he disclosed the fate of the young princes to her.

Certainly Kate was not unmoved by the tragedy. “’Tis one of the most hideous tales I have ever heard,” she pronounced, but her concern was all for her beloved, and she guessed he did not need her sympathy; he needed her counsel. She took his hand. “Richard, you must not brood so,” she began. “Do not allow your enemies to see you so low. ’Twas not your fault. Lord Buckingham’s evil is not yours.”

Richard jerked up his head. “God knows I did not order their deaths, but because Harry did it for me, I must carry the guilt. Do you see?” He implored her to understand. “It will always be my fault.”