ROYAL BLOOD | THE WHITE PRINCESS

28

"By my father!" George exclaimed happily, remembering that night as if it were yesterday, "Yes, that's right. I had nearly forgotten. I was still young, then, and was not allowed at most of the feasts. Thomas usually was, but after getting into trouble with Mother, he was stuck remaining with the twins and me in their nursery. We grew bored and Thomas came up with the idea of sneaking into the feasts to take a bottle of Burgundian wine. My mother still hadn't come down for the feast. He said it meant we wouldn't get caught. I was uneasy about doing such a thing in the first place, but Thomas convinced me that we should. I always wanted to impress him. He always claimed I was too uptight and responsible like Arthur. He and Lizbeth used to always tease me about such things. They were always getting into trouble and I wanted to impress Thomas this one time."

George smiled, exchanging a lingering stare with Cathy Gordon, who was smiling at him. "Arthur wasn't there to tell our mother about what I've done so I agreed. I was nervous as we stole the wine, but Thomas wasn't. He didn't care. He was never afraid. He was always doing things like that. He carried it under his coat as if it were nothing as we returned to our rooms. We nearly got there, but we were soon caught by Father. He was sneaking to see our mother, I assume, just as he always did," He explained, causing Cecily, Nora, and a few others to laugh at the mention of Edward's constant need to ditch celebrations to spend time with Nora instead.

"I was terrified at that moment, thinking he was going to yell at us. He wasn't angry, though, as our mother would have been. He merely laughed in amusement. He found it funny, remembering himself doing the same with his brothers Edmund and George, your father, when they were Thomas and I's age. He let us go and simply told us not to get caught, especially by our mother. She could be quite strict sometimes," He explained and turned to look at his mother. She smiled back at him, playfully rolling her eyes as the crowd chuckled, "But I understand why. She wanted to protect us. And I don't blame her. After getting past our father, we had to get past the maid and we did. She didn't think anything of it when we snuck in either."

"I...I forget the maid," Maggie spoke up and George turned to look at her with a smile on his face, "What was her name?"

The crowd watched him closely, especially Richard Pole. He thought that would be where Maggie would finally catch George in a lie. How wrong he was.

"Mary," He answered in a calm tone, much to Maggie's shock since he answered it without struggling in the slightest, "The daughter of the maid who once took care of my mother when she was a child being raised at Westminster. For me, she was not easy to forget. She was quite good-looking," She told the court, who laughed at his comment, "My brother Thomas used to agree with me on that. It would make my brother Arthur and Lizbeth quite annoyed."

George chuckled, smiling at the thought of his siblings when they were all still happily together. And alive.

"Christmas was my favorite time to visit," Maggie suddenly spoke up, causing George to turn to her with a curious look, "We used to gather around, sing. Oh, on one occasion I recall your mother and King Edward getting quite drunk together. They sang a song together that made everyone laugh, which is what they intended to have happened. They even convinced the servants to join in."

"An evening I recall well," George confessed, a smile on his face.

Maggie's smile faded and she frowned at George. "Forgive me, My Lord, but you agreed that we have never met."

Despite being called out, George smiled anyway, ready to prove his cousin wrong. "Just because I wasn't invited to celebrations like Lizbeth, Arthur, and Thomas were, doesn't mean I wasn't there to witness it. I lived at Westminster all my life, after all. While my elder siblings, all except Grace, were allowed to attend the feasts, the rest of us weren't. Not just because we were younger, but because we were still considered bastards at the time and my mother did not want the attention on us while Elizabeth and her children were in attendance," he explained and Maggie's mouth gaped open, shocked by how quick he corrected her, "I watched from the balcony, though. Just as I always did. It was one nearly identical to my mother's favorite place, but it overlooked the large dining hall at the castle. Whenever I couldn't attend the feasts, I'd watch everything that went on from that balcony."