‘York … yes,’ Henry went on. ‘If he brings his followers against me, the country will rise at his treachery. Every one of my companion earls, every duke, every baron, every knight and man-at-arms will take up swords and bows and lances against him. Every village, every town, every city! The king may not be touched, Somerset. The king is inviolate, anointed by God. Any man who stands against me shall burn in hellfire. That is the answer to men like York and Salisbury. I shall go north in peace, but I shall answer him with war if he stirs one step from his fortresses.’ King Henry stopped to knuckle pain from his temples, closing his eyes. ‘Margaret, would you be so good as to summon Hatclyf? He makes an excellent draught for pain, and my head is split apart.’
‘Of course,’ Margaret said, rising. Derry stood with her and she chivvied the men from the room to tend her husband, calling beyond the open door for the doctor’s presence. A servant rushed away to fetch him.
As the door closed at his back, Derry found himself in a much colder corridor, glancing briefly at Somerset and seeing his own worry reflected in the man’s face. Neither of them would mention the king’s sudden lapse, he was certain. The thought that Henry might have only a brief time before he was pulled back into his dreaming madness was too awful to contemplate, a horror that made Derry shudder and feel ill. To put words to that fear was to make it real. With silence, they could both tell themselves they had imagined it.
‘Can we avoid a war, Brewer?’ Somerset said suddenly.
‘Of course, my lord. The question is,
should
we avoid it? I’m half-convinced our angry young queen is right. Perhaps we should tear down the false garments of this Judicial Progress and march the king’s armies against York. Part of any victory is choosing the moment to attack. I do not want to miss the best chance we might ever see.’
Somerset was watching him closely as Derry spoke.
‘But …’ he prompted.
Derry’s mouth quirked.
‘But – oh, there are a hundred “buts”, my lord. “But” Queen Margaret is right that the king needs to be seen after so long absent from the realm. “But” York is not yet a traitor, for all the queen detests him. God knows I am no friend of his, but he made Margaret’s son the Prince of Wales and ruled with diplomacy and skill while he had the right. I would not trust Salisbury within a hundred miles of Earl Percy, mind you. They hate each other. York though? I cannot see him laying a hand on the throne. For all I dislike the man, he is yet too full of his own prickly honour. And if it does come to swords and bows and axes, we could still lose, my lord, with no second chance to come back to this day and choose a better path.’
‘Queen Margaret sees York as a threat to her husband and son,’ Somerset said. ‘I do not think she will be satisfied with any solution that does not mean his head on a spike.’
‘And she has the king’s ear,’ Derry said, looking away in thought. ‘Men like me – men like you or Earl Percy – can shout and argue from dawn till dusk, and she will still be there that night to murmur to him.’ Derry sighed aloud. ‘If we could put a wedge between York and Salisbury, or Salisbury and his son, we might lose only one and keep two, restored to the king’s good graces. I know Queen Margaret admires young Warwick and would not willingly see him brought down with his father. I could write to him, my lord, if I could find the right words. The right words are always there, if a man’s sharp enough to see them.’
‘Earl Percy was saying we should consider York’s son, Edward of March,’ Somerset said softly. ‘He wonders aloud whether York’s death from illness or misadventure might bring an end to all these threats.’
Derry looked into the other man’s eyes, seeing the tension.
‘And how did you answer him, my lord?’
‘Why, I told him to go to the devil, Brewer. I hope you would say the same, if he mentioned such a foul thing to you.’
Derry felt some part of him unclench in relief. He liked Somerset, a man who saw no shades of grey at all in his judgements. He inclined his head.
Doctor Hatclyf came rushing along the corridor then, pink and perspiring from running the length of the Tower grounds.
‘Excuse me, my lord, Master Brewer,’ he said. ‘The King has called for my presence.’
Both men stepped aside and the doctor bustled in, closing the door firmly behind him.
Derry turned back to Somerset when the man had gone.
‘York writes letters, my lord. I have seen some of them, copied out for me by those who distrust him.’
‘Treason?’ the duke demanded, his eyes brightening.
‘Not at all. He honours the king in every word, but complains bitterly about you and Percy and the other lords around the king. He does not know this Henry. I think, in part, he still sees the king as he was: the lamb, the beardless boy. God knows, I want York to fall, my lord. I desire nothing more than to stand over his cold body on a cold field. While he lives, he threatens my king, simply by his strength and the support of the Nevilles – whether he ever dares reach for the throne or not.’
In frustration and weariness, Derry scuffed his foot at a small stone on the flagged floor, sending it skittering away.
‘I think I spoke the truth before. If swords are drawn, I cannot be certain of the victor. There must be another way, a solution to the problem of York. Between us, we’ll find it. Until the trumpets are blown, my lord. Until that moment, there is still a chance to bring York to heel. If they sound, we will have failed to find it.’
‘And if they do sound?’ Somerset asked, though both men knew the answer.
‘Then you and I will work to destroy York and anyone who stands with him. We will give our lives to take his, if it comes to it. If diplomacy fails, my lord Somerset, war must follow – and if it does, I will not see York triumph while I live.’ He smiled bitterly then. ‘After all, he would not let either of us remain alive for long.’
Somerset nodded thoughtfully.
‘You know, Derry, when I was a boy, I stole out one summer to visit a country fair, to chase the local girls and drink and have my fortune told. My father never even knew I had slipped away from my room. You must have done the same sort of thing.’
Derry grinned widely at that, shaking his head.
‘I suspect my childhood was a little less … noble, my lord, but go on.’
‘I drank too much mead and ale, of course, and I recall fumbling with some lass who insisted on being paid first before she let me lay her down. The night is a blur for the most part, but I remember a gypsy woman with her patterned tent. She read my palm in the darkness, while her tent swayed around me and it was all I could do to keep from vomiting.’
His eyes glazed in memory, and Derry folded his arms.
‘And you were robbed? Or was she the girl in the long grass?’ he prompted.
‘Good lord, I wasn’t
that
drunk. No, she told me Somerset would die at the castle, not on the battlefield, not from a chill or an illness. I hadn’t told her my father’s name, Derry, though she knew it anyway.’
Derry glanced at the signet ring that adorned the duke’s hand, carrying the crest of his family.
‘It is their craft to look for signs, my lord. I’m sure she took your coins for her promises and said much the same thing to the next man.’
‘You don’t believe in such things? I have fought in a dozen campaigns since that day and never taken a wound, Derry. Not a scratch. I have never been ill even, while I know a dozen men who died before their time, no, two dozen, sweating out their lives to some scourge of the flesh. Do you comprehend? I have led a charmed life, when others died all around me. And do you know why?’ Somerset leaned very close then, his eyes bright as he took Derry into his confidence. ‘I have never travelled to Windsor, not once in thirty years. It is the king’s own residence, the largest in the country. What other castle could be “the” castle, do you see?’
Derry laughed suddenly, barking out the sound so that the duke twitched in surprise.
‘I’m sorry, my lord,’ Derry said, making a wheezing sound in his amusement. ‘You are a man I respect and you have chosen to share this private thing with me. I should not –’ He broke off again, unable to control his amusement.
Somerset looked offended and his wounded expression left Derry gasping for breath and leaning against a wall for support.
‘I was going to say that York will not be the end of me, for all his dislike,’ Somerset went on stiffly. ‘I feared for a time while I was in the Tower. Predictions can be vague things and I thought that could have been the place I would die, but then I was delivered, sent forth once more to serve my king. Nothing else will make me afraid again, not York or Salisbury or … anything.’
‘I am sorry, my lord. I should not have laughed,’ Derry said, wiping his eyes and mastering himself. ‘I wish I had some magical talisman, or beggar-woman’s promise to aid me beyond my own wits, I really do. I wish I could know for certain whether the threat was York, or Salisbury, or some other devil I have not yet even noticed, hiding in a dark place.’
Somerset was far from appeased, the muscles on his jaw standing out.
‘There are some with real powers, Derry, whether they come from devils or angels, whether you choose to believe in them or not. I meant to bring you some small reassurance, not to make myself the target of your mockery. I will bid you good night.’ The duke inclined his head and set off, leaving Derry to stare in amusement after him.
11
Richard of Warwick reached Ludlow Castle in late April, bringing his brother John and just over twelve hundred men to add to the forces arrayed around that fortress. Six hundred of those with him were prime archers, who knew their worth and walked the streets with cocky self-assurance. In a short time, they had set up archery butts around the castle grounds, practising their skill for all the hours of daylight. The rest were axe and bill men, levied and armed from the incomes of Warwick’s midland and northern estates, called to his service as their feudal lord. To the amusement of York and his father, Warwick had dressed every man in bright red tunics over their mail-shirts, dyed the colour of blood with the madder root. As their commanding officer, he wore the colour himself, inlaid with a white stripe.
York’s mood had improved on seeing so many added to the forces at Ludlow. He had fretted over weeks of inaction, writing letters and sending messengers, trying to gather supporters while the king regained his strength and prepared for his Great Progress from London. York insisted on celebrating the arrival of Salisbury’s sons with a feast that first night, emptying the fortress cellars of ancient French barrels to make sure every man had a full cup to toast their leaders.
The following morning, York was to be found snoring in his rooms. Warwick and his brother were less affected, both young men rising at dawn to hunt with their father. They rode out through a vast array of tents and soldiers breaking their fast over small fires. The men stood respectfully in the presence of nobles before settling back down to eat, polish, mend and sharpen. Despite the splitting heads that morning, Warwick’s arrival had increased the tension in the camp. Armies were not gathered in such numbers to sit around in the spring sunshine.
‘They make a pretty company, your red men,’ Salisbury called to his son as they rode along a farm track. ‘I think in the field, our enemies will fall back from their glory alone.’
Warwick rolled his eyes for the benefit of his brother John. Both of Salisbury’s sons were enjoying being out that morning. The sun was up and they were in good health, with an army at their beck and call.
‘I want them to feel they are one band, one battle of men, father. The tunics will mean they can see each other on the field, know friend from enemy with just a glance. You’ll see, if it comes to it.’
Salisbury gave a derisive sniff, though his pride in his son was obvious to both of them.
‘I imagine an archer would enjoy such gaudy targets as well,’ Salisbury said.
‘My bowmen wear the same red,’ Warwick replied. ‘They’ll answer any mockery with shafts of their own. It cost me a fortune in dyes and broadcloth, but they walk taller in the one colour, father, I swear it.’
The three Neville men rode beyond the sentries and scouts around York’s castle, though not so far that they could not have raced back if they were spotted and hailed by some enemy. The roads around Ludlow were empty of thieves and brigands that year, moved on to towns that did not have a host of armed men camped on their doorsteps. Yet there were always threats. London was more than a hundred miles away – another country almost, for its distance from Ludlow. Yet two of the Nevilles had been present for the Percy attack on John’s wedding, and only a fool would have ridden without care and caution.
Salisbury reined in at a small wooden bridge across a stream, beckoning to Richard and John so that they came close enough for him to speak quietly. The day was growing warm, and red and green dragonflies darted above the water, drawing the eye as they snapped insects out of the air.
‘We are alone here,’ Salisbury said, looking around him, ‘and there may not be another time to talk as one family.’
His two sons glanced at each other, pleased to be included in their father’s plans.
‘Our friend York no longer champs at the bit. I think he can be brought close to King Henry with his men, but he still hopes for some resolution without a drop of blood being shed.’
‘And you, father?’ John asked. At twenty-four, he was the shortest of them, dark-haired and slim at the waist, though his shoulders were wide. At home, his wife, Maud, was heavy with their first child. John had come to Ludlow for one reason and his cold tone made it clear he did not enjoy hearing of any softening of intent.
‘Be at peace, John. You know better than to doubt me. Was I not there? I know what we owe the Percy family. The old man will be at the king’s side and at least one of his sons with him. I expect he has left his eldest boy at Alnwick. Egremont will surely ride with his father – the man we want most of all, though I do not doubt Earl Percy gave the order.’