"If you had been here it could not have happened."
"It is war." cried my father.
"Yes, this is war between the Nevilles and the Woodvilles and that means war between Warwick and the king."
It was rarely that my father spent so much time at home, but these were days of activity. There was much coming and going at the castle. One of the first to arrive was Uncle George one-time Chancellor and now only Archbishop of York.
His anger was as fierce as that of my father but perhaps, I thought, that was because he was less able to control it. For my father there had been only hints and signs; for the archbishop there had been an unmistakable blow. He would never forget the insult of the king's arrival at his London palace to demand the return of the Seal; and at this time he was obsessed by the thought of revenge.
His rage had been exacerbated by a definite insult from the king. When Edward had discovered that Uncle George was in secret negotiations not only for the dispensation needed by Clarence and Isabel, but for the support of his election to the College of Cardinals, the king himself had put forward a candidate Thomas Bourchier, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury. What made this so intolerable was that Bourchier was elected and Edward sent a personal message to Uncle George telling him so.
Uncle George said: "It is time the king was taught a lesson."
"That is so." agreed my father.
"But we should have to be very sure of success before we undertook the task of doing it."
Members of the family were gathering at Middleham. Even the most obscure were making their way to us to assure my father of their loyalty to the family.
Clarence came and, to my great delight, Richard was with him.
Richard was bewildered. I was sure he did not know what this was all about. His brother had brought him with him and Richard at first had clearly expected this to be a friendly call on the man whom, next to his brother, he admired more than any other in the kingdom.
Isabel said to me when we were alone: "It is because of our marriage that they have come. I think the king may try to stop it now that he is not on friendly terms with our father."
"Oh, Isabel, I do hope it does not go as far as that."
"Think of the way the king has treated Uncle George! My George is very angry with his brother. He says the Woodvilles have ruined him and he is too weak to resist them. What sort of a king is that?"
"Be careful what you say."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"George says that Edward is showing himself unworthy to be king. George says ..."
I turned away. George was a very indiscreet young man. I had always suspected that, and now I knew it was true.
When Isabel and I were alone with our mother, she said: "I want to talk to you girls very seriously. You know there is trouble between the king and our family. You must not listen to gossip and you must guard your tongues. You must not be tempted to say anything that could be construed as treason."
"Is my father going to war with the king?" asked Isabel.
"Hush, hush! I never heard such nonsense. Of course not. It is just a difference of opinion. Your father is the king's most loyal subject, as he always was."
Isabel pursed her lips and smiled. She had her own views and I could see that my mother was very disturbed.
Isabel talked indiscreetly but I hoped only to me, which did not count. George was evidently equally indiscreet if what she told me was true.
"George says his brother is ruining the realm," she said.
"He spends most of his time with women ... not the queen ... though she knows about it and says nothing. She never protests as long as he lets her family have all the best positions in the country. That's no way to rule a kingdom. So ... well... what if he were no longer king ...?"
"What do you mean?" I cried. There are others who could take the crown,"
"You mean ...?"
She smiled and I followed her reasoning. She was seeing herself in a crown, receiving the homage of her husband's subjects. Isabel, Queen of England.
"And you ... well, after all, you are my sister. George has a brother and I think you do not exactly dislike him."
"Richard!"
"Why not? With our father and all the Nevilles ... and the brothers of the ex-king... his sons-in-law. Well, you see ..."
"It is not possible."
"I tell you, it is ... and we are going to see that it is."
"Who?"
"George ... my father ..." she answered.
That was wild talk, but I was not entirely dismayed to hear it. I was of an age when many girls in my position would find themselves betrothed to men whom they had never seen before -yet so far nothing had been said about a husband for me. If Isabel was suitable for the Duke of Clarence then I could be for the Duke of Gloucester. In the old days it might have been a possibility but that was before this unhappy state had arisen bringing strife between my father and the king. Richard would have to marry where his brother, the king, wished him to, and so would Clarence.
I did have an opportunity of talking to Richard, and I felt a little embarrassed when I did so.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Everything seems different."
There has been trouble. You know my Uncle George is no longer Chancellor."
"Yes, but it is the earl, your father, who has changed."
"He has much on his mind."
"He is constantly in the company of my brother George."
"Well, they were always good friends."
"But I was brought up here. I feel sure that the earl wants to tell me something. I am not sure what."
"I think he probably wants to explain his side of the question."
"Side of what question?"
"You must have seen that the king and my father have not been quite on the old terms for some time."
"Not since Edward's marriage, you mean. Your father did not like that, I know. But it is for a man and in particular a king to say whom he will and will not marry." "Kings are in very important positions."
"Certainly, but it is not the duty of subjects to show displeasure at their choice."
Richard would always support his brother. He might imply that he would have preferred his brother to have married more suitably, and that he deplored the manner in which the Woodvilles were seizing power, but his brother had given them what they had and that was an end of the matter.
I realised that I could not tell Richard of my fears and I tried to assure myself that they were unfounded.
I said no more on the subject and tried to behave exactly as I had in the days of that deep friendship between the king and my father. It was soon after that talk when guards riding at the head of a company of men-at-arms arrived at the castle.
They had come, they announced, to conduct the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester to the king who had need of their company. Clarence hesitated and was about to refuse to go, but on my father's advice he left with his brother.
Isabel was very upset at their departure. She shut herself in her room and when I went to her I found her weeping bitterly.
"You know what this means," she said.
"The king has heard that we are arranging to get married. Oh, Anne, he is going to try to stop us."
"Perhaps he will agree when the dispensation comes." She could not be comforted. She was sure this sudden and peremptory call meant that the king had heard of the arrangements and was determined to put a stop to them. It was more than a month later when Clarence came to see my , father. He looked very serious and determined. My father greeted him as though he were indeed his son and then took him away to his apartments where they were in conference for a long time. Isabel eventually learned what had happened and told me about it.
She was more cheerful now. She had been right, she said. The king did want to stop the marriage, but her gallant and faithful lover was determined to snap his fingers at his brother if need be "George is wonderful," she said.