We heard vague rumours and we did know that the; Burgundians were in England and being well received by the king while my father was being feted by the enemy of Burgundy in France which was a strange situation.

Visitors to Middleham told us how the Woodvilles were very much to the fore, making sure that the visitors from Burgundy noticed them; and they made it clear that they had the friendship of this powerful family which had so recently come into evidence. Meanwhile the king showed his regard for the Burgundians by inviting them to the opening of Parliament. My mother was worried, I knew, though she said nothing.

"Who cares about the Burgundians!" said Isabel.

"As soon as we get the dispensation, George and I will be married. And once we are, nobody can stop us."

"Do you think it will be easy to get the dispensation?" I asked.

"Of course."

"I think what our mother is worried about is that the king has all these people at court while our father is a guest of the King of France and he is not friendly with Burgundy."

"What do you know about it?"

"Very little. But then, what do you know?"

"I know I am going to marry George and that is all that matters to me."

I knew Isabel well, so I was fully aware that she did not want to think of all these conflicts because in her heart she knew that her fate was not in her own hands or even those of George; but in those of my father and the King of England.

Then something rather alarming did happen. If my father had been in England, it might not have come to pass, but he was away and, although Uncle George was determined to fight for the family of Neville, he was not sure how to do it. We learned of this through a visitor to the castle. It was some distant cousin who had called to tell my mother the was and I suppose to assure us that our most humble connections "ever forgot that they belonged to the House of Neville. My mother sent for refreshments for him, but before they were brought, he blurted out: "The Archbishop of York is no longer Chancellor, my lady."

"What?" cried my mother. She had turned so pale I thought she was going to faint.

"My lady, when the archbishop knew that the Burgundians were going to attend the opening of Parliament, he sent a message to say he was too ill to deliver the Chancellor's address."

"But it is the custom." stammered my mother.

"Yet... if he were ill..."

"My lady, they say that the king did not believe he was ill and looked upon it as an insult to Burgundy."

My mother put her hand to her head.

"And ... so the king has taken the Great Seal?"

"Yes, my lady. My Lord Herbert rode with the king to the archbishop's palace and asked him to give it up."

The earl will be ... angry."

"Yes, my lady."

"And what of the Great Seal?"

"It has been given to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, my lady."

"Is that all?"

"My lady, it is enough."

"What does this mean!" I asked my mother later.

"It is a slight on the family."

"If my father were here ..."

"I don't know of anything that he could have done. It is another instance of the king's declaring that he will go his own way."

"But to take the Chancellorship from Uncle George ..." I said.

"Your father will regret leaving England."

Isabel had not spoken. I knew she was wondering what effect this would have on the dispensation.

I think that incident, more than any other, brought home to us the fact that our father was no longer the most powerful man in England.

The entertaining of the Burgundians came to an abrupt end when news reached England of the death of Duke Philip of Burgundy and the emissaries prepared to leave. Duke Philip was succeeded by his son, Charles, which made the proposed match with Margaret of York, the king's sister, even more desirable, for now she would be marrying the duke himself instead of his heir. My father returned from France.

At Middleham we waited in some trepidation to see what would happen next. I know my mother wished we were at Warwick Court in London rather than Middleham, so that she would have been closer to events. As it was, we had to wait until news was brought to us, which was very frustrating.

It seemed a long time before my father arrived at Middleham and when he did, none could help but be aware of his smouldering rage: and in the heart of his family he let it burst forth.

"The King has chosen Burgundy!" he said.

"He will now be the enemy of France. Everything I have worked for has been thrown away at the instigation of these traitors."

We all knew that the traitors were the Woodvilles, for all the troubles dated back to the king's marriage. If only it had ended there. But the woman whom the king had married was surrounded by scheming relations and they had determined to set themselves up and rule England in place of the Nevilles. The great disaster was that they were succeeding. I learned what had happened later. It seemed certain that the king's sister was destined to become the Duchess of Burgundy. Moreover, when an embassy from the King of France arrived in England its members were coldly received.

"There was no one to meet them," said my father, "except myself and Clarence! Clarence has been my friend in this." That pleased Isabel.

"Of course, he would be father's friend," she said.

"He is going to be his son-in-law."

I looked at her sadly and prayed she would not be disappointed. She would be miserable if anything stopped the marriage she had set her heart on.

"I asked the king to see them and he agreed," I heard my father tell my mother.

"He was reluctant, but it was less trouble to see them than make an issue of it by refusing. But all the time he was listening to them he appeared bored and inattentive. Clarence was a great help with them. They thought him charming but, of course, it could not make up for the king's manner. I apologised to them. I told them I was ashamed. Do you know what they said to me?

"Do not distress yourself, my lord earl. You will be avenged." My mother tried to soothe him, but there was little she could do.

"Our enemies have taken the Great Seal from my brother," went on my father.

"Do you realise what this means? The king has declared for Burgundy and most blatantly has he done this while I was on a mission to France."

"It is very upsetting." replied my mother.

"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."