Had she been his daughter Katherine thus heartsick, he would have taken her in his arms and soothed her. Instead he rose abruptly and turned his back to her, not wanting to hurt her further by his grim resolve to end this foolish fancy. “Nay, Bess, I have never desired you, and I would never have wed you. It may be that I will be counseled to take a new wife, but it will not be before I have ended this Tudor threat and found a suitable alliance for England.” Now was not the time to raise the topic of her so-called betrothal to Henry, although later he would request that she promise never to see it through. He turned back to her, his expression impassive. “My devotion was always to Anne from the day that I married her until the day she died. I dare any man to say I was untrue to her—and especially with you. You must forget your childish infatuation.”

With tears running down her face, Bess shook her fist at her uncle. “I hate you, Richard, I truly hate you!” She jumped up. “I will marry Henry of Richmond, and won’t you be sorry!” she cried and ran from the room, leaving Richard cursing himself for his cruelty. He moved to the bed and sank into its softness, wishing for the thousandth time that Anne was still there. He stared at the flowers embroidered on the silk canopy above him and pondered Bess’s final remark. Should he not make her unavailable to the Tudor wretch? He sat up. Aye, first he would send her with the youngest members of the family to Sheriff Hutton for safe-keeping and then he would find her a suitable husband. There was no doubt that she might be a rallying cry if a promised alliance between York and Lancaster were used to attract supporters to the Tudor cause.

Henry Tudor himself must have been relieved upon learning of the public denial. While he may have urged his English supporters to vilify Richard with the false rumor, surely he would not have sanctioned pushing Richard and Bess together to his own cost?

Richard was determined to stamp out the spiteful falsehoods that were spreading throughout the kingdom, vowing to punish anyone caught perpetuating rumors of any kind or who published seditious articles about him or any of his household.

A man named Colingbourne was given the grisly traitor’s death of being hung, drawn, and quartered for attempting to send a message to Henry Tudor in France encouraging him to invade England, and for having written the malevolent couplet tacked to St. Paul’s door slandering Richard’s closest friends:

The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our dog

Rule all of England under an Hog.