ROYAL BLOOD
— 37. Shamed
1466
In the throne room of Westminster, Edward sat upon the throne with most of his royal subjects in the large room as well.
"Make way for Lady Nora FitzRoy," The guards announced loudly and the double doors opened.
Nora entered, a content expression on her face as she slowly walked in the direction of Edward, ready to be ennobled once and for all as the Countess of Pembroke and Richmond. She didn't quite like the idea of having the titles taken away from Jasper and Henry.
She even argued with Edward about it, but she knew there was no way the argument would get anywhere. Edward made up his mind and in a way, giving her such titles and lands would protect her from foes seen and unseen.
She stopped when she was standing in front of Edward, who wore his crown. Richard and George stood to Edward's left, both of them smiling at Nora.
Lord Warwick, however, stood to Edward's right, looking anything but happy.
Nora frowned, looking ahead to see the throne beside Edward's was empty. Elizabeth had obviously refused to attend.
Edward smiled at Nora, who politely curtsied before her king before dropping to her knees. He turned to Lord Warwick, gesturing for him to read the scroll he held.
Lord Warwick rolled his eyes, an unhappy look on his face as he was forced to read it. "To all and singular, as well nobles and gentiles as others to whom these presents shall come, it is the King's pleasure, by this patent, to confer on the Lady Nora FitzRoy, in her own right, and on her offspring, the noble title of Countess of Pembroke and Richmond. And also by this patent, to grant her lands worth..." He trailed off, his eyes widening slightly at the amount as he looked over at Edward almost angrily before back at the scroll, "two-hundred-thousand pounds a year, for the maintaining of her dignity."
Nora's eyes widened at the amount of money, but remained silent.
Edward smiled, rising from his throne before walking toward the woman. He held his open hands out to her and slowly, Nora grabbed ahold of his hands. "Arise, Duchess," he called out in a calm tone.
After all, even if she was now Countess of Richmond and Pembroke, she was still Duchess of Bedford first.
Gradually, Nora rose to her feet and before she could react, Edward kissed her in front of everyone.
She tensed up, but immediately kissed back while the court whispered amongst themselves. He pulled away soon enough and Nora turned her head to see Lord Warwick glaring at her hatefully and furiously.
He sighed in frustration, making his way over to Nora. "Your Grace," he was forced to say as he bowed to the woman who was now equal to her in rank, if not more powerful.
He handed her the scroll that contained the deed of lands, trying his hardest to maintain composure. Nora knew she'd be lying if she said it didn't please her to see him so angry.
Later on, Edward and Nora sat together in his chambers, earning their afternoon meal together. After plopping a grape into his mouth, Edward turned to Nora, a small smile on his face. "Did you see?" He asked her, causing her to slowly turn to look at him, "They were all looking at you."
"They were," Nora confirmed, smiling slightly at Edward, who tightly grasped her hand in his.
"I'm glad. I want them to look at you. I want them to be envious. I want them to know exactly how much I love you and what would happen to those who'd try to harm you," He explained, referring to the rumors spreading around about the Lancastrians wanting to get their hands on her, "The Queen in All but Name, they're calling you."
"At this rate, I'll have just as many titles as you and your brothers put together," Nora commented, causing them both to laugh.
"Well, you're richer than both of them now," Edward muttered under his breath, causing Nora to turn to him with a look of disbelief.
"Edward!" She scolded him loudly as she roughly slapped him on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Edward complained, turning to her with an annoyed look, "I thought you'd be happy."
"It's one thing now being the richest women in England, but richer than both of the King's brothers?! Have you gone completely mad!" She shouted at him, staring at him as though he were crazy.
"I've given you more lands in Wales than any man alive owns. What did you expect? That you weren't going to have a lot of money?" He argued, causing Nora to sigh in defeat.
"Warwick won't be happy," She muttered under her breath.
"You needn't worry about Warwick. I have him under control," Edward replied, causing Nora to slowly turn to him with a knowing look. He sighed when he saw the look she was giving him, knowing what it meant, "Oh, don't give me that look."
Nora quietly laughed, placing a piece of bread in her mouth while Edward rolled his eyes at her.
Present
It was around midnight. Maggie was led through the streets of London by John de la Pole until they arrived at their destination.
Once Maggie entered, John de la Pole left, causing her to frown in concern. She found herself glancing around, finding little Marie in the corner of the room, reading a book.
"Maggie. It is great to see you again," Nora spoke up, causing Maggie to slowly turn her head to look at her. She was standing near the window, looking out onto the River Thames, "All afternoon, I have watched these damned boats. I find myself wondering what is carried in each of them. Spices, perhaps? Maybe garments and jewels. Or perhaps even a secret army?" She asked, a smile forming on her lips, "It wouldn't be the first time and definitely not the last."
"What is it you want of me, Aunt Nora?" Maggie found herself asking Nora, a nervous look on her face.
"I summoned you here to see if you were willing to help me rescue my son. He is the rightful to the throne of England, after all, and his wife and child are there as well," She explained, beginning to walk toward Maggie. Though she didn't tell Maggie the truth of little Edmund. She wasn't a fool, after all.
"I wish I could, Aunt Nora, with all my heart, but I—" She began to say, only to have Nora interrupt her.
"I'm told they are keeping my boy in the King's Wardrobe," Nora remarked and Maggie nodded, trying to hide her uneasiness.
"Because the door locks to keep the royal jewels safe," Maggie confirmed and slowly, Nora began to walk toward her godchild.
"And I have looked down this river all day long and I have watched all the laundry barges, drifting back and forth from one bank to the other," She explained, stopping when she was standing in front of Maggie, "And all I can think about is my son sleeping on the hard wooden floor of that room with robes and linen all around him. That of which should be his, not the Usurper's."
"My lady aunt, if I could mount a rescue, my brother would be free," Maggie pointed out and Nora was quick to respond.
"They will never let Teddy out. Not while the Tudors are in power," Nora answered in a calm tone, causing Maggie to tense up, "And you're not safe either, whether you want to believe it or not. Your only hope of freeing him and ensuring your own safety is by putting George on the throne."
Nora sighed, noticing how terrified Margaret looked. She took a step toward her, placing her hands on Maggie's shoulders. "None of us are without fear, my little flower," She told the girl in a soothing tone, affectionately stroking the girl's cheek, "But we are women. We must do whatever we can to ensure the safety of our safe. And me? I would do things you couldn't imagine to protect my family. But I think you already know that."
"I do," Maggie replied, beginning to calm down a bit as she spoke to her aunt.
"You're my family, Maggie, and I love you. As I loved your father. He was like a brother to me. You must know that. I promised him I would protect you and your brother and I shall keep that promise. But I can only ensure Teddy's safety if the Tudors are no longer in power. Do you understanding that?" She asked and Maggie remained silent as she slowly nodded her head, "Good. Now, there's something I'd like for you to tell my son when you next see him."
Maggie nervously gulped, nodding slightly as she stared up at Nora.
____
Morning soon came around and when it did, Lizbeth stood in her chambers with her ladies. Maggie stood behind Lizbeth, tying the strings in the back of her cousin's dress.
"You look terrible," Lizbeth commented as she glared at Cathy, who stood in front of her, "God, what is wrong with your eyes?"
"I'm tired, My Lady," Cathy confessed and Lizbeth tensed up, recalling that Henry had never come to bed the previous night.
"They are dull and red. Your cheeks are blemished and your skin flakes. I don't understand why any men would want you," Lizbeth retorted, causing Cathy to sigh in frustration.
Lizbeth was angry and was taking it out on her, just as she did years prior with Lizzie and Cecily after Arthur had angered her. Instead of taking it out on Arthur, she tormented the next best thing.
"The king does," Cathy retorted with an attitude, "He asked for a prodigious night and so we had."
Lizbeth scoffed loudly, a part of impressed by Cathy's courage to stand up to her. No wonder George loved her.
If the past proved anything to her, York men liked strong, willful women. The women Arthur, Edward, and Richard fell for proved just that.
"So you think my husband likes you?" Lizbeth asked, shooting Cathy a threatening glare.
"I think nothing, Your Grace," Cathy replied quickly, only to tense up as Lizbeth began to walk toward her.
"You sure were thinking something when you made that remark about my husband," Lizbeth growled as she stopped in front of Cathy. She roughly grabbed her by the chin, causing Maggie to feel uneasy.
"Lizbeth, don't," Maggie pleaded, but of course, Lizbeth ignored her.
"Did you touch my husband, Catherine Gordon?" Lizbeth asked the woman in a low, threatening tone, "Did he touch you?"
"No, Your Grace," Catherine quickly answered, trying to hide her uneasiness.
"No?" Lizbeth growled, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "No? Are you sure? I will only ask once and if you are lying, I swear to you, you will regret it."
Lizbeth shot Cathy a glare before turning on her heel. She walked over to the glass of wine that was on her nightstand and picked it up.
She stared at Cathy with no emotion in her eyes as she poured the glass of wine on the ground. Still not done, she dropped the glass as well to the ground, causing it to shatter.
"Clean that up. Now," Lizbeth glared at the woman hatefully as she stormed out of the room, she knocked her chamber pot over as well, "And that."
As Lizbeth left the room with the majority of her ladies, Maggie remained still, exchanging a look with Cathy. "You do not want to get on her bad side, my lady," Maggie whispered to the girl, a fearful look on her face, "I've seen what she does to people she views to be her enemy. You don't want to end up like them. She has a hidden rage in her far worse than her mother's. She's been so ever since her father died. You don't want to unleash it."
____
Outside, Lizbeth was walking with many people of the court after morning mass, including George and some privy council members.
Just then, she frowned, turning her head as Henry suddenly walked past her, looking to be in a rush. It was nearly noon now. She hadn't seen him since yesterday afternoon and this was how he treated her? She couldn't believe it nor would she stand for it.
"Quite a night I had with Lady Catherine," Henry suddenly spoke up, causing Lizbeth to turn to him with wide eyes, just before her eyes became consumed with betrayal.
It was what happened with Arthur and Lizzie all over again. She felt as though her heart was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces.
While everyone else continued to walk, including Henry, Lizbeth slowed her pace and Henry continued on with speaking of the night before.
"I am spent," Henry boasted and as George turned his head, he didn't look at Cathy as Henry expected him to. He looked at Lizbeth instead, sending her a sympathetic look.
He knew Cathy would never betray him such a way. He knew Henry was trying to get to him. In truth, though, it wasn't what Henry was saying about Cathy that was bothering him, it was that he dared to shame Lizbeth in such a way.
All her life, Lizbeth feared that she'd fall for a man who wouldn't be completely loyal to her. After all, no matter how much she admired the love her father and mother had for each other, it didn't mean Edward didn't bed others. Lizbeth hated that and the reason she loved Henry so much was that he promised that she would always be the only one for him.
Had that changed?
Lizbeth turned her head, seeing her brother giving her an apologetic look. She sighed, turning her attention toward her husband instead. "Henry?" She called out, causing Henry to immediately turn to face her.
Henry stopped walking, allowing Lizbeth to finally catch up to him.
"How could do you such a thing?" Lizbeth asked her husband, beginning to glare at her, "How could you dine alone with her?" She paused, waiting for Henry to answer, but he didn't, "What, do you wish to cuckold him? Humiliate him? Make him weak in her eyes and England's?"
"She seemed amenable to approach," Henry confessed, shrugging his shoulders without a care in the world.
Lizbeth scoffed, giving her husband an amused look. "Surely you can see how smitten they are with each other. You cannot believe she would betray him and her child. Whatever you do with her won't change that loyalty and love she has for him. You do know that, right?"
"He leans on her," Henry confessed in a hushed tone, "Just as Arthur leaned on Lizzie and your father leaned on your mother. She is his weakness as Lizzie was Arthur's and as your mother was King Edward's," He explained and Lizbeth hummed in response, "I must turn her against him. Take away his strength."
"By making her believe you desire her?" She questioned, trying to contain her anger.
"You have seen his manner, Lizbeth. Eternally as though God in heaven shines a blinding light on him," He explained, looking ahead to see George exchanging a lingering look with Cathy as she walked past him, "He draws the eyes of noblemen and women everywhere he goes. Surely, you've heard the stories of Thomas Fitzroy, your grandfather. I know I have. George holds himself in the same way he did. The people smile at him. They bow their heads. He taunts me with his dazzle. Even you. As I taunt him, his eyes wander to you apologetically and you return it."
Henry paused, taking a step closer to Lizbeth as he continued on, "I will snuff that dazzle out and thrust him into darkness."
"And in doing so, you shame me," Lizbeth spoke up, causing Henry's eyes to widen when he saw genuine tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "Do you know how watching you spend all this time with Cathy Gordon affects me? How you announcing to everyone about how much fun you have had with her affects me? How the people at court now look at me?" She asked and Henry's face fell as he began to frown, "No, you wouldn't. Because you don't care what happens to me. You only care about this jealousy you have toward the boy."
"Lizbeth—" Henry began to call out, a concerned look on his face. He began to reach his hand out toward her, only to have her roughly slap it away from her as she glared at him threateningly. "I am not my mother. I will not share the man I love with anyone."
Lizbeth shot Henry one last glare, just before she began to walk away. As she did so, Henry sighed in defeat, feeling guilty for what he had done.
However, that feeling faded as he witnessed George speak up the moment Lizbeth walk past him. "Don't let it get to you, Lizbeth. You're far too strong for that. Don't give him the satisfaction of letting him hurt you like that," He whispered to her and for a split second, Lizbeth had froze, exchanging a look with the boy who happened to be her brother before she walked away once more.
George turned his head, noticing Henry was hatefully glaring at him. He clearly had seen George talking to Lizbeth and didn't like it in the slightest. George sent him a small glare, just before walking away as well.
At that moment Henry realized something.
Cathy Gordon wasn't the key to defeating George. Lizbeth was.
He just thought it was George playing the part of 'protective brother', but it was, in truth, because he was. He was her brother and he didn't enjoy watching his sister's husband treat her so badly that she even began to cry.
It was known that the children of Nora and Edward had a closer bond with one another than Edward's children with Elizabeth had.
Nora and Edward's children had been brought up as highborn bastards. In the castle, at most times, all they had was each other. They were protective of one another. They always had been. Especially when it came to the sons protecting their sisters.
And as a supposed 'son' of Edward and Nora, Henry supposed George was simply playing the part of protective brother when it came to Lizbeth. Little did he know.
____
At lunch, the royal court sat in the large dining hall, eating their afternoon meal as the musicians played their instruments.
Lizbeth sat beside Henry while directly across the room, Cathy Gordon sat beside people she did not know.
"Lady Catherine," Henry suddenly called out, causing Lizbeth to frown in concern, "Dance for me. Delight me with your grace."
As he was pouring wine, George suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock. He glanced over at Cathy briefly, just before looking over at Lizbeth.
She was beginning to tear up, causing him to clench his jaw in anger. He knew the stories. Despite not being there when it happened, after returning to his mother, she told him all about what happened during his brother Arthur's reign.
To help get people to stop looking at what his mother was doing with Richard, Arthur had publicly began to involve himself with his own half sister just to protect his mother. Richard and Nora needed to work together to help him stay on the throne and if it meant ruining his own reputation, Arthur had been fine with it, as long as the rumors about Richard and Nora stopped.
However, during that time, it seemed as though Lizbeth was affected by it the most. Arthur had treated her like garbage as it happened and she despised it.
At that moment, as his eyes laid upon his sister, Richard knew his sister must have felt the same she did back then, now.
Hesitantly, Cathy stood up and walked to the modding of the dining hall. Lizbeth watched on, gulping the entirety of her glass of wine down.
Cathy stood in front of them, politely curtsying to Henry before she began to dance. Just then, Henry rose from his seat, ready to join Cathy in the dance as Lizbeth tried her best to conceal her anger.
"What do you hope to gain by this?" Margaret asked her son in a hushed tone and Henry stopped briefly to turn to look at her.
He leaned toward her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he began to whisper in her ear. "You said that you gave me cards to play. How would you have me play them, Mother?" He told her lowly, just before joining Cathy in the dance.
Lizbeth watched on, jealously, which Margaret was quick to notice and in all honesty, it made her feel satisfied.
Lizbeth scoffed loudly, forcing a smile on her face. "She means to influence the King. That is all," She told Margaret, trying to contain her anger, "The stupid girl that doesn't even realize that she's the one who's being dandled like a puppet."
Margaret turned to look at Lizbeth, who trying her hardest not to lash out with anger as she watched Henry and Cathy stare deeply into each other's eyes while dancing closely to one another.
"She is beautiful," Margaret spoke up, solely to anger Lizbeth, who was on the verge of both crying and snapping with anger, "The King seems very taken."
"It is an act," Lizbeth managed to get out, forcing an unbothered look on her face as she shook her head, "She will be sent away soon."
"When the boy is sent to the Tower. That is when she will go," She informed Lizbeth, whose eyes widened at the news, "Lady Catherine and the King. Sounds a lot like Lady Nora and the King," She paused, purposely referring to Nora and Edward because she knew it would hurt Lizbeth, "You must not object."
"What would I object to?" Lizbeth asked as she turned to Margaret in concern.
"He is the king. You must not mind. Just as Elizabeth Woodville was expected to never mind when she was your father's queen and he was with your mother." Margaret explained, causing Lizbeth to begin to glare at her as tears filled her eyes.
"I may do whatever I want to do. What I will not do, though, is be shamed and humiliated by my own husband," She argued, taking one last look at Henry and Cathy before she stood up.
The moment Lizbeth stood up, the people of the court were forced to do the same. Henry continued to dance with Cathy while the rest of Lizbeth's ladies followed her on the way out.
Henry froze slightly for a split second, letting out a small sigh as he watched her leave. He didn't even seem to notice that she was not only fleeing in jealousy, but she was also crying.
As Lizbeth left the room, George began to follow after her, which Henry was quick to notice.
"Do not rise to it. He shows his fear," He whispered to her, causing Lizbeth to briefly stop walking to turn to look at him, "He would stoop so low as to shame you to hurt me. Do not give him the satisfaction of showing him that it bothers you."
Lizbeth forced herself to turn away from her brother, just before walking away with her ladies.
Maggie, however, slowed her pace, taking the time to speak to George before he walked back into the dining hall. "There is a plot to rescue you. Your mother and the Duchess in Burgundy are in London."
"And my son?" George asked worriedly as he turned to Maggie briefly, "What of him? He is with royal midwives, guarded day and night. I will not leave him in Tudor hands to save my own skin. I am the king. And whether you want to believe it or not, I am winning."
With that, George walked back into the dining hall. Maggie turned her head, only to feel uneasy when she saw Lizbeth standing close by. She exchanged a look with Maggie, just before continuing to walk.