Jean Plaidy - The Sun in Splendour

And he, Rivers, was at the head of the family. He would have been chief adviser to the King.

Gloucester knew it; that was why Rivers’s fate was inevitable.

Of course Gloucester might have had his head on the spot as he had Hastings’s. That would not have been wise. He might have had the country against him if he had. He wanted to go cautiously, which he had done. He had by the arrest of Rivers and Grey taken over the King; he had delayed the coronation; he had set himself up as Protector, and as the last thing the people wanted was a bloody conflict, for heaven knows they had had enough of that with the Wars of the Roses, they had accepted him. They saw in him a good and steady ruler, and that was what they wanted.

So now there was only one logical fate which could possibly await Rivers. The only question was when would it come, and he guessed it was at hand when the Earl of Northumberland arrived at Sheriff Hutton.

The trial was brief. He was accused of treason and condemned.

It would not have been so easy for them to find him guilty if a quantity of arms had not been found in his baggage which indicated clearly that he was ready to do battle.

He spent his last night in making his will, praying and writing poetry.

‘My life was lent

Me to one intent.

It is nigh spent.

Welcome fortune ...’

He wrote and found some pleasure in musing and writing down how Fortune had treated him and at last brought him to the state in which he now found himself.

He had been told that he would be taken to Pontefract where Richard Grey was being held and Thomas Vaughan would be brought there from Middleham, so that they should all lose their heads in the same place on the same day.

Lord Rivers then asked that he might be buried beside his nephew, Lord Richard Grey.

The request was granted and on the twenty-fourth day of June Lord Rivers, Lord Richard Grey and Sir Thomas Vaughan were beheaded at Pontefract.

Buckingham was growing impatient. A volatile man, impulsive, always seeking excitement, he wanted events to move fast and if they appeared to lag he was always ready to act in such a way as to speed them on.

Richard told him of Stillington’s revelation and Buckingham now suggested that Richard should make this known to the people and then take the crown.

This was a big step which Richard had had in mind for some time, but he hesitated to take it. In the first place it seemed disloyal to the brother whom he had revered for to declare his sons illegitimate would have enraged the late King. On the other hand he must have known the truth – who more than he? And he had had Clarence despatched when Stillington had let the truth slip to him; and Stillington himself had been imprisoned in the Tower.

It was the truth and the fact was that Edward the Fifth had no right to the throne.

The trouble with the country now was that there were rival factions conspiring against each other which was due to the minority of the King. But if the true King were proved to be a grown man, a man who had the ability to govern, what a boon that would be for the country!

Buckingham was right. He should state the truth and tell the people; then he would be proclaimed Richard the Third.

It would save the country from possible civil war – and the country had had enough of that.

He discussed the matter with Buckingham; he pondered the position deeply. It was right that the truth should be known. It was best for the country.

How should the secret be revealed?

‘Let the Lord Mayor of London make the announcement from Paul’s Cross,’ suggested Buckingham. ‘The Londoners will listen to their Lord Mayor as to none other and Sir Edmund Shaa is a good man for the job.’

‘My brother knew him well and thought highly of him.’

‘Indeed he did. Shaa is a prosperous goldsmith and you know how your brother liked such men. Didn’t he find Jane in a goldsmith’s shop? Shaa is a member of the Goldsmiths’ Company and now Lord Mayor, so let us see him and tell him what is required of him.’

‘Yes,’ said Richard. ‘Send for him.’

Sir Edmund Shaa came to Baynard’s Castle for the Protector had moved there from Crosby Place about the time when young Edward had taken up residence in the Tower.

Shaa listened. He had known the late King at the time of his obsession with Eleanor Butler and he could well believe that a marriage had taken place. Yes, he saw that if that were so, the true King was Richard and what a good thing it would be for the country if this was generally accepted to be the case.

‘There is another matter,’ he said. ‘I had heard that your brothers, Edward the King and George Duke of Clarence, were not the sons of the Duke of York, and that so incensed was the Duchess of York when the King married Elizabeth Woodville that she said she would make it known that she had taken a lover while the Duke was away on his many campaigns and that Edward and George were the result of this liaison.’

Richard shook his head, but Buckingham was excited. ‘It strengthens the case,’ he said. ‘Both the late King and his son bastards! My lord, we have to think of the country. We want a good case. We must end this strife, for if it goes on it could well result in civil war.’

‘That,’ said Richard, ‘must be stopped at all events. England is more important than anything. A boy King is the biggest danger which can threaten us.’

Buckingham nodded to Sir Edmund. This was tantamount to the Protector’s consent to give the full details at Paul’s Cross.

Buckingham was exultant. The plot was going to work. Within a few days Richard would be proclaimed King of England.

‘I would not wish it without the people’s consent,’ said Richard.

‘My lord, they will be begging you to take the crown.’

From St Paul’s Cross the Lord Mayor spoke to the people. He had grave news for them. A great discovery had been made. The little King who had not yet been crowned as Edward the Fifth was not the true King after all. King Edward the Fourth had already been married when he went through a form of marriage with Elizabeth Woodville.

This had been proved and the King’s real wife was none other than the Lady Eleanor Butler, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury – a lady of higher rank than Queen Elizabeth Woodville at the time of her mock marriage. Of course everyone knew how the Woodvilles had risen since that time but let the people consider, they owed their rise to a ceremony which was invalid and should never have been performed at all. The truth was that the young boy whom they called King Edward the Fifth was a bastard and therefore should never have been called King.

There was only one true King of England. They knew him well. He had done good service in the North and held back the Scots. He had served his country and brother with absolute loyalty and devotion. And he was the true King of England.

There was one other matter. Edward himself had been a bastard. The Duchess of York had taken occasional lovers during her husband’s frequent absences. Both Edward the late King and George Duke of Clarence were bastards. The Duchess herself had threatened to reveal this at the time the late Edward the Fourth went through a form of marriage with Elizabeth Woodville, so shocked had she been that one of what she called such low birth should marry her son. She did not, however, for that would have meant exposing her own dishonour; but now that the King – and make no mistake he had been a great and good King – was dead, they need not despair. What was past was done with. They had a new King, one who had proved his ability to serve them well.

They had King Richard the Third.

There was silence in the crowds about Paul’s Cross. This was the most astounding revelation and if anyone but their Lord Mayor had made it they would have thought he was a madman.

The King married already! The little King a bastard! And those slanderous things they were saying about the Duchess of York!

They wanted to get away to talk together. It was astounding. They did not believe it.

Sir Edmund Shaa watched them walking away, whispering together.

In Baynard’s Castle Buckingham and Richard discussed the people’s reactions.

‘What did their silence mean?’ asked Richard.

‘That they were shocked of course. Although we have heard the rumours they had not. They will take a little time to get used to the idea.’

‘I like it not,’ said Richard. ‘The announcement should never have been made. I liked not the slander against my mother. I’ll swear it is a lie.’

‘The important thing is the King’s pre-contract. You believe that, I’m sure.’

‘I do.’

‘Stillington must be brought forward to show proof.’

‘There is no proof. Only Stillington’s word.’

‘What reason should he have to lie?’

‘He might think it would bring him advancement in a new reign.’

‘He would never dare to lie in such a matter. We must strike again quickly. I will take some of my men with lords and knights to the Guildhall on Tuesday. There I will make a declaration. The people will have crowded into the hall and will have assembled outside. There I shall state the facts again.’

‘I forbid you to mention my mother.’

‘There is no need to. All that matters is that the boy is known as a bastard, and that you are the rightful King of the realm.’

Buckingham went to the Guildhall as he had said he would. There he spoke with the utmost eloquence on the situation which had arisen through the disclosure of Bishop Stillington, and when he had assessed Richard’s claim to the throne, he cried out: ‘Will you accept Richard of Gloucester as Richard the Third of England?’