"And when Gilly came to you?"

"Ah ... that woman. She had some trouble getting to me. Thank God she was not one to give up! She kept screeching your name. She cried out that they would be in trouble if they did not take notice of her and bring her to me, because she had news of you. At last she managed to reach me. I could scarcely believe her story, but I was determined not to pass over any possibility. So I came... and here you are now ... safe in sanctuary, thank God."

"And what of your brother?"

"He will not be able to reach you here. You are in sanctuary. This day I shall see Edward. I shall tell him what has happened. He will help me, I know. Once he gives his consent, George will be powerless."

I closed my eyes and was silent for a moment.

He said: "What are you thinking, Anne?"

"This time yesterday I was there ... hopeless ... helpless ... wondering if I would be there forever. And now, here I am, safe you. It has come about so quickly. I cannot believe it to be true."

"It is true and soon I shall take you away from here."

"I believe I shall never feel safe .. . from George."

"Once you are married to me, he can do nothing, and you will remain in sanctuary until that day."

"You understand. It is like a nightmare. It is over, I know, and yet I cannot believe it. If I close my eyes I think I am lying on the dirty pallet .. . dreaming."

He kissed me tenderly.

"It is over, Anne," he said.

"You will forget. When we are together it will pass from your mind."

I was not sure that it ever would. I felt I would always remember that hot kitchen, Tom's lecherous eyes, two women fighting in the yard. They had been written indelibly on my mind and would stay there forever.

I said: "What of those people in the cookshop?"

"They have all been arrested."

"Tom, Meg and the girl Jane?"

They will be questioned."

"And punished?"

"Surely they deserve it?"

"The real culprit is your brother. What will happen to him? I hope they will not be punished unless he is."  Richard was silent. Then he said: "This day I shall speak to Edward. The main thing is that you and I shall marry. I shall not feel really at ease until I am taking full care of you. At the moment my mind is at rest because you are here in sanctuary and I know you are safe. We have to be content with that for a while, Anne .. . but only for a little while."

"It is contentment enough for me to know that I am free of that place and with you." He held my rough hands and looked at the broken nails. Then he kissed them.

"These will heal." he said.

"You will grow away from it, Anne. I assure you of that. My first and most important mission in life will be to care for you."

Then he left me and I sat for a long time, marvelling at the chance which had been brought to me out of that nightmare.

I saw Richard next day. He had seen the king and told him the whole story of my adventure. Edward was deeply shocked, not only by what had happened to me but that Clarence should be suspected of having arranged it.

He sent for Clarence.

Knowing the three brothers as I did, I could well imagine the scene between them when Richard described it to me. I could feel Richard's smouldering anger; hear Clarence's lies, the implausibility of which he would try to hide with a persuasive charm; and I could picture Edward, hating above all things trouble in the family, seeking first to placate Richard and then George.

"I accused him of doing this dreadful thing to you," said Richard, "and he promptly denied it. He had the effrontery to say that you had attempted to run away because you were afraid of me. You did not want to marry me and thought you might be forced into it. He was so absurd that even he began to realise it. He said he knew nothing of the cookshop. He was your guardian. Edward had given him that right and duty and he intended to keep it."

"But what did the king say?"

"He could not believe George, of course, but you know how they have always been with George. When caught in some wrong doing he would flash that innocent smile on Edward or our sister Margaret and come up with some wild excuse, and he would be forgiven. That was how it was with Edward. He said, "Anne is safe now. She had a frightening experience, poor child. We must be kind and gentle with her." And he was ready to dismiss George's part in it. It was not that he believed George was innocent, but he did not want to know about it."

"But surely some action should be taken against him? And what of the people in the cookshop?"

Richard lifted his shoulders. He said: They were too frightened to talk coherently. Edward said, "Anne is safe. Let that be an end to the matter." And they were released."

"At least they were not the real culprits."

"No. But you suffered at their hands."

I shivered. Indeed I had. I said: "And George ... for his part in it?"

"My dearest Anne, George joined your father and fought against the king and for a while it cost Edward his throne, and yet when George came back and said he was sorry, it had all been a mistake ... well, it was like the parable of the prodigal son. We killed the fatted calf. That is my brother Edward, and do not forget he is king and his word is law."

"So this matter is waved aside, is it?"

He nodded.

"But the important thing is, Anne, that you and I want to marry and George is going to raise obstacles to that."

"And Edward will let him?"

"Edward wants to remain on the best of terms with both of us."

"Is it not a little difficult in these circumstances?"

"It is very difficult, but Edward is a master in such diplomacy. It is why he is the king he is. Conflict is something he abhors. It is ironical that he should have been at the centre of the War of the Roses."

"Do you think he will give his support to George and there will be no marriage for us?"

"I think he will prevaricate and that the speedy marriage we hoped for may be delayed."

"If George's misdeeds are going to be passed over as though they never happened he will try again."

"I think he has had a shock. I shall not allow his crime to be forgotten. He insists that you ran away and were kidnapped by the cookshop people and forced to work for them. That would not seem wildly impossible, except, as I pointed out, I had learned from you what had happened and that made nonsense of his tale."

"And the outcome is ...?"

"... that he refuses to relinquish his guardianship of you, and he will not give his consent to our marriage."

"But surely, if the king will give his consent...?"

"George insists that Edward made him your guardian and as such his consent is necessary."

"Then that means "It means that I shall not allow George to prevent our marriage, but instead of the ceremony's taking place immediately, there will be some delay while I deal with George and try to make the king see the truth about him."

"What of the cookshop people?"

"They have been allowed to go. George declares it is a monstrous charge and they did what they thought was best. They saw a homeless and what they thought demented girl on the streets; they needed a kitchen maid so they took her in. That is their story. A gently nurtured young lady was naturally devastated to find herself in such a position and when she tried to explain, they did not believe her and thought she was deranged."

"I am surprised that this can be acceptable and allowed to pass as though it were a normal happening."

"If George were not the brother of the king it would have turned out very differently, I assure you. George is powerful because the king does not want to offend him. He has affairs of state on his mind. He told me that he cannot have a quarrel between his two brothers. He needs our support George's as well as mine."

"How can he trust George who has already shown that he can be a traitor?"

"He doesn't really trust him, but he deludes himself into thinking that he does. Edward is the finest man in the world but he has a very soft part... and that is his heart. He is devoted to his family. I know he loves me "And he should. Have you not always stood by him?"

"Yes, and he remembers that. But he loves George too. He still thinks of him as his little brother. George would have to do something really terrible for him to turn against him."

"I should have thought he did that when he was leading an army against him."

"As your father did. But he, too, was forgiven in the end. That is Edward. And I love him dearly for it. He is the best brother a man could have."

"I know how you feel for him, Richard, but he should return your devotion in some way. How can he placate George at your expense after all he has done, not only to me but to you and to the king himself?"

But Richard could only say: "That is Edward," and he went on to tell me that George accused him of wanting to marry me for my fortune.

"He has gained a great deal through Isabel and he does not want to share it. He wants it all."

"What of my mother?"

"She is virtually a prisoner."

"Richard, I want something done about her. I cannot be happy while she is shut away."

"She is in sanctuary. No harm can come to her."

"But she is accustomed to being with her family. She will be pining for us."

"Something will be done. I know Edward will help us."

"Providing it is not against George's wishes?"

Richard was thoughtful.

"It might be that he will try to hinder your mother's release. After all, her fortune is involved in this."