being shed. Yes, Richard must understand that. But he had not liked it. Clarence's execution had shocked him and Edward had to remember that Richard had been more closely brought up with him than he, Edward, had for they were nearer in age.
He must stop thinking of Clarence.
Richard then was in the North keeping the border safe, ever watchful of the Scots. He had some good men up there. He was not flamboyant like his brother but he did have a gift for binding men to him—some men that was . . . men like Francis Lovell the friend whom he had known since they were both boys. Lord Scrope and Richard Ratcliffe.
He was happy up there too—^always happier in the harsh North, he had often teased him. He liked the brash manners of the northerners rather than the more gracious ways of the South. One was honest, Richard said; the other far from that. Edward had laughed at him. Edward could put on a personality to suit all men. That was something Richard could never do.
Yes, he had brought things to a good pass, for while he had interested himself in trade he had not neglected the arts and his had become a cultured Court. He had furnished his Court so lavishly that he acquired some of the most beautiful works of art in Europe. His gold plate alone was worth a fortune; he had sets of arras representing the histories of the past—Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander and Biblical subjects; he was a constant customer at the goldsmiths' shops in London and all their best pieces were first shown to him.
He had started to build a new chapel at Windsor which he was calling the Chapel of St George and which he planned should exceed—or at least equal in splendour the buildings at Cambridge, built by his predecessor. He had gathered together some of the finest books in the world and was building up a magnificent library. He had monks in Bruges working on illuminating manuscripts for he particularly admired Fleming art. He had brought William Caxton to England. He had met Caxton during his enforced sojourn at the Court of his sister the Duchess of Burgundy and had then expressed great interest in the art of printing. At the time of Edward's exile Caxton had been working on a translation of the Receuil des Histoires de Troyes and as there had been such a demand for copies he had learned the art of printing that he might produce a large quantity. A few years ago Edward had persuaded him to come to England where he had
printed The Dictes and Sayings of Philosophers. Since then he had printed other books and Edward had let him know that he was always welcome at Court.
So the King had reason to be pleased. These were the good years. The sun was high in the sky; the King in all his splendour reigned over a happy and prosperous country.
The Queen was pregnant again. Elizabeth bore children with ease and her continual confinements left her as beautiful as ever. She seemed to have some special power to remain young. It was small wonder that people said she was a witch.
That spring it seemed as though the country had had too many blessings showered on it for news came to London that there was plague at several ports. People had never forgotten the terrible Black Death which had swept over Europe even though it had happened more than a hundred years before. There had been minor outbreaks since and everyone grew fearful at the very mention of the dreaded scourge returning.
The King and Queen had left for Windsor where the King was absorbed by the work on his chapel. But there was a melancholy atmosphere over the Court. Even Edward was affected by it. He too thought of the Black Death and was afraid that everything he had built up since his second coming to power might be swept away if this bout were anything like that of the last century.
It was not to be so. For one thing, they had learned during that terrible time that the plague was brought in from abroad so the first thing to be done was close the ports. Any inconvenience this caused was trivial compared with having the epidemic raging through the country so fast that it could not be controlled.
Edward's energy in sealing off infected areas was effective and the plague began to die out.
Little Prince George had begun to grow weak. There seemed to be no reason for it. His mother watched over him fearful that he might be suffering from a new form of the plague. The doctors attended him night and day, but they could not save him.
It was a great sorrow when the little Prince died. Elizabeth was deeply distressed for however cold and calculating she might be there was no doubt that she loved her children and could not bear to lose one of them.
Edward comforted her reminding her that they had six healthy children and there would soon be one more. God had blessed them and his beautiful Elizabeth was indeed as the fruitful vine.
She gave herself up to the preparations for the child about to be born.
It was a girl and they called her Catherine.
The King declared he was delighted with her. She had a good pair of lungs, said her nurses, and that was always the best sign.
Apart from the brief visitahon of the plague and the death of little George, it seemed that the good times had come to stay.
The King's sister Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, was proposing to visit her brother. Edward was delighted, not only because his family feeling was strong and he would enjoy seeing his sister, but because he believed that she might have some proposition to lay before him. Margaret was astute; moreover the situation in France was uneasy. England had been the ally of Burgundy—it was for this reason Margaret had married the Duke—but since Edward's treaty with Louis when he had received his pension and affianced his daughter to the Dauphin there had been a subtle shift.
Margaret had been of inestimable value to Edward when he had been in exile. She had been important to him as more than a sister and when the Duke had been alive she had kept the alliance between Burgundy and England firm. But when he had died and left her childless, his daughter Mary had become the Duchess of Burgundy and moreover the most wealthy heiress in Europe. It was at this time that Clarence had sought her hand in marriage and Margaret who had the strong family feeling of all the House of York had done all she could to bring about that match. The Queen had tried to secure the prize for her brother Earl Rivers, but that of course was not to be taken seriously. One of the reasons why Clarence had so hated his brother was because Edward had appeared to put forward Rivers' suit while he had declined to help Clarence's. This seemed to Clarence the height of family disloyalty though it should have been clear to him that Edward had pretended to help Rivers merely to placate the Queen while he knew full well that the idea of any match between the heiress of Burgundy and Rivers would be ridiculed.
As for Mary of Burgundy, she had declined both English matches and in due course had married Maximilian son of the Duke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor.
Edward was determined to entertain his sister lavishly. He never forgot what she had done for him when he was in exile so he prepared a series of lavish pageants for her amusement. He sent the fleet over to Calais to escort her to England and she was immediately aware that this fleet was under the command of a member of the Queen's family. Sir Edward Woodville. He was most splendidly atrired and his rehnue had been fitted out in purple and blue velvet especially for the occasion. A Woodville, of course! she thought. Edward had behaved as though he were bewitched by that woman and now it seemed her entire clan had him in thrall. Her brother George had told her of it, deploring it as undignified in a king. 'It is Woodvilles before York, sister,' he had said. And it seemed that this was so, for Edward had actually dared suggest Rivers for her stepdaughter. He could not have been serious of course, but he had done it ... to please his Queen, no doubt.