ROYAL BLOOD | THE WHITE PRINCESS

27

"We intercepted these at Greenwich," Bishop informed the group as he threw a pile of letters down on the table, "Signed and sealed by English Lords, addressed to Nora of Lancaster, pledging their support for the so-called 'York boy'."

Sir William reached forward, picking up the letters before he began to read over it.

"Well?" Henry asked, causing Sir William to turn to look at him.

"My men will make arrests," Sir William answered in a calm tone.

"We should have acted sooner," Margaret complained and Jasper lifted his hand to tell her to stop where she was.

"Uh, A handful of traitors does not make a rebellion," He reminded the woman and the rest of the group.

"Not yet," Henry pointed out to the group, feeling uneasy about the whole ordeal as he stared down at the table, "The letters. How do they name me?" He asked and Sir William remained silent, knowing the King wouldn't like the answer, "Go on."

"Your Grace—" He began to say, but was cut off.

"Go on," Henry demanded in a stern tone, knowing it must have bad if even Sir William didn't want to tell him.

"Henry the Pretender, Your Grace," Sir William answered as he avoided eye contact with the King.

"And him?" Henry questioned, a concerned look on his face.

"Prince George, Duke of York," Sir William informed the group, who was disappointed by the revelation.

Henry turned his back to the group, walking closer to the fireplace to take in the news.

Lizbeth's eyes widened at the revelation about the title of Duke of York being given to the Pretender posing as her brother.

"Our son, Prince Harry, is the Duke of York," Lizbeth complained, a look of disbelief on her face, "Ennoble him, Henry. Give people their rightful Duke once and for all. Let us celebrate our strength and show these traitors that my mother has no power over us."

"The Queen is right," Margaret suddenly spoke up, causing Lizbeth to turn to her with a shocked look, "We will make Prince Harry a Duke, and when Lady Pole returns from Burgundy, she will denounce the boy publicly."

"Very well," Henry answered softly, slowly turning to face the group, "Make plans. Do not arrest the traitors yet, I have..." He trailed off, an uneasy look on his face, "A different thought of how to deal with it."

"Henry—" Lizbeth began to speak up, only to be cut off as Henry left the room without another word said.

_____

Once they were informed of Maggie and her husband's arrival, Lizzie, Margaret, Cecily, and Nora wasted no time making their way outside.

Nora could see that Maggie visibly felt uneasy to be there and she didn't blame her.

When the married couple stopped in front of them, Nora was the first to step forward, a smile on her face.

"Lady Nora. Duchess," Richard and Maggie bowed to Nora and Margaret politely.

"Aunt Nora. Aunt Margaret," Maggie smiled at the two women politely before turning to Cecily and Margaret, "Lady Grandmother. Cousin Lizzie."

A smug smile on her face, Margaret held out her hand and Richard was forced to press a kiss to her knuckles, despite not wanting to.

"What a pity it is to see that the King and Queen could not join us," Nora spoke up in a taunting tone, a sly smile on her face, "But it is a pleasure to welcome my niece and her husband to court."