As soon as Richard looked up and saw her, his spirits lifted, and he could not help smiling. Francis, who had stayed long enough to usher Kate through the door, hurried out with relief.

Kate curtsied as Richard, having retrieved the ring, stood up, but her face fell when she saw the reddened eyes, the shadows of grief, and new deep lines of worry etched on his face. She went to him then and, cradling his head between her hands, kissed him tenderly on both cheeks. “How truly sorry I am, Richard,” she said, “about Anne.”

Tears pricked, but Richard allowed himself to be gentled into a chair. She knelt on the floor beside him as she had done so many times. Although he would not touch her, he experienced a calmness he had not felt since Anne’s healthy days.

“Is that why you came, Kate?” he finally asked, toying with the ring in his palm. “Did you think I would not receive your condolence unless you sent the ring?”

“Oh, no, Richard, it was not that at all. I could have sent you a letter if I had only wanted to express my sympathies.” She rose, agitated now, as her mission was far more sensitive. “I came because I hear you have been somewhat…um…contrary of late. ’Tis hard to gain an audience with you, I’ve been told, and then it’s not pleasant. In truth, I should be flattered you agreed to see me.”

Richard looked surprised but then gave a reluctant grin. “Is that what they say? I suppose ’tis true.” He motioned her to sit on a stool. She listened quietly as he spoke of his grief and, hard though it was for her to hear, of his love for Anne. “But after all my many sins—and there have been some heinous ones, including wishing for your arms about me more times than I care to admit—I truly believe God has forsaken me. He took Ned, he has taken Anne, and soon Henry Tudor will take England from me. I know it.”

“Fiddle-faddle, Richard!” Kate retorted. “I cannot speak for God, but I hear what people say in villages and towns, where you cannot go. They praise you for your concern of us, the common people. They will not want the unknown Tudor who has not set foot in England for nigh on fifteen years. Your throne is safe, I am certain of it, and you are loved.”

Richard smiled at her naïveté, but he did not contradict her. Instead, he gave her back the ring and asked: “Enough of my woes. So why are you here, Kate?”