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stand by him. Gloucester did not know, of course. He and your late uncle Clarence were the last two men your father wished to have in on such a secret. Clarence because his son was in fact the rightful heir, Gloucester because Edward valued his loyalty and support, which might not be so freely given if this great lie were to be discovered.’
    She paused. Speaking of it at last was both purge and greater weight. ‘All might have stayed well and hidden had your father not given offence to the Earl of Warwick, whom he taunted about me. You see, the earl—who was often called the ‘Maker of Kings’, because whoever he supported did indeed ascend to the throne—had been instructed to negotiate a French marriage for Edward. Warwick was justifiably incensed to find he’d been sent on such an empty and insulting errand. He left the court and took Clarence, by then his son-in-law, with him. Clarence was married to Warwick’s daughter Isabel, and Anne, whom Gloucester had wished to marry, was the wife of the Lancastrian heir, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. Whether York or Lancaster, a daughter of Warwick was destined to be Queen of England.’
    Cicely’s brows drew together. ‘So Lady Anne has had two husbands? I thought she and the Duke of Gloucester had been a love match since childhood.’
    ‘She certainly turned willingly from him to marry Prince Edward. She was in love with the prince, or so it was believed at the time. Edward was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. By then she was almost fifteen, and Richard seventeen, maybe eighteen, I do not know for certain. Anyway, Richard took her back and they have been married ever since. God help him for having such a cool marriage bed.’
    Bess smothered a gasp. ‘How can you say this? It is known that the duke and his wife love each other very much!’
    ‘And maybe he does.’ Elizabeth’s eyes met her eldest daughter’s. ‘It is whether she has ever fully returned that love that is in question.’
    Bess turned away, as if she had learned something momentous.
    Elizabeth went to sit down again, and leaned her head back. ‘We wander from the point, for I was speaking of Warwick. Your uncle Clarence had been certain the Maker of Kings would turn upon your father and put him on the throne instead, but Warwick went over to the mad Lancastrian King Henry VI, to whom I and my family once adhered, but by then poor Henry did not know what day of the week it was. So Clarence, realizing Warwick was now aiming to put the House of Lancaster back on the throne, crept back to the House of York and made his peace with your father. At least, so it seemed on the surface. Clarence somehow sniffed out the truth about Lady Eleanor Boteler and tried to use it to his advantage. George was unscrupulous, tactless, foolish, faithless and much given to drinking, and believed he had discovered something that would ensure the crown passed from Edward to him, and thence to George’s own son. Not to Edward’s illegitimate son by me. He even came to taunt me in person.’ The queen smiled reflectively. ‘He said I was no better than the king’s other doxies, and he was right, as a confrontation with your father soon revealed.’
    Cicely felt an odd need to offer comfort, something her mother would never have done in return. ‘But you did not know, Mother. You were tricked.’
    ‘Oh yes, but it was probably no better than I deserved. I thought I manipulated your father into marrying me, but in the end it was he who manipulated me. The king warned Clarence to hold his tongue or face the consequences. But Clarence either did not believe the threat or did not care, and continued to drip his poison. Your father eventually lost patience and arrested him on a charge of treason against the realm. Easy enough to do, given George’s past waywardness. That was when Richard of Gloucester came with all haste from Yorkshire, unable to believe the sorry state of affairs between his