Castle on about the eighth of August. Green met him there and told him of Brackenbury's refusal. Richard should have been furious but instead, More paints a picture of him sitting on the loo muttering, “Whom shall a man trust? Those that I have brought up myself fail me, and at my commandment will do nothing for me.” Shades of Henry the Second, will no one rid me of this turbulent priest.’
Gail nodded. ‘Thomas Becket.’
‘Yes. Anyhow, a page heard all this and suggested that Sir James Tyrell might be just the man Richard was looking for. Tyrell was one of Richard's confidential servants. He had escorted Richard's mother-in-law to Middleham way back in 1473, had been knighted after the Battle of Tewkesbury, acted as Archbishop Rotherham's jailer in June and was currently Richard's Knight of the Body, which basically meant that he slept outside the bedroom door to ensure that his master was not disturbed. Totally trusted by Richard, he was still just a dog's body and knew it. More suggests that Tyrell was jealous of Ratcliffe and Catesby, two relative new comers who were enjoying rewards which he felt he deserved. Tyrell craved advancement, revenge on his rivals, a special place just for him at Richard's side and, who knows, the keys to the executive washroom and a parking spot close to the door.’
Gail's head shot up.
Laura began to laugh. ‘Sorry, thought I’d throw that in for comic relief.’
‘Get on with it,’ Gail huffed.
Laura took a sip of wine before continuing. ‘September eighth had been selected for the investiture of Richard's son, Edward of Middleham, as Prince of Wales. According to both More and Vergil, Tyrell was sent to London to collect the necessary robes and wall-hangings for the ceremony to be held in York. A perfect cover-up, if you will excuse the pun, for Tyrell's true intentions in London.
‘More's account of events suggests that Tyrell rode to London in company with a John Dighton who was Tyrell's own horsekeeper, a big, broad, strong knave. More also states that Tyrell carried a note from the King to Brackenbury, “by which he was commanded to deliver to Sir James all the keys to the Tower for one night, to the end he might there accomplish the King's pleasure”. This Brackenbury did, no doubt aware of Tyrell's intentions, but powerless to stop him.
‘More's description of the death of the two Princes is graphically detailed, which to me suggests that his tendency to poetic license exceeded his grasp of reality. But, here it is. Tyrell engaged Forrest and Dighton to help him. Around midnight, his two accomplices came into the chamber and suddenly lapped them up among the clothes, so bewrapped them hard into their mouths, that within a while smothered and stifled, their breath failing, they gave up to God their innocent souls into the joys of Heaven, leaving to their tormentors their bodies dead in the bed. Which, after that, and after long lying still, to be thoroughly dead, they laid their bodies naked out upon the bed and fetched Sir James to see them.’
Gail uttered a low groan as she leaned back in her seat, her eyes averted as she slowly shook her head. Laura watched her, concerned. This was old news to Laura. She had read a great deal on the subject, both fact and fiction, but for Gail this account was her first real introduction into the realm of actual possibility. She was not dealing with a Shakespearean play here but a concerted stab at historical fact. She sat quietly, head bowed, obviously thinking things through. Laura waited. Finally, she raised her head while at the same time drawing both hands close to the edge of the table, forming them into two tight fists.
‘Tell me something,’ she said, staring at Laura. ‘If, for the sake of argument, Elizabeth of York had been taken from sanctuary to Europe and married to Henry Tudor, would Richard have considered it a disaster? If the two boys were alive in the Tower, it seems to me that they would be more of a threat to Tudor, then Richard. I mean, I doubt if Tudor would be interested in fighting for his bride if he had to hand over the rewards of his victory to Elizabeth's brother, Edward. It doesn't make sense. Besides, you said that Richard was experienced in the field of battle so he would have welcomed the chance to prove his valour in hand to hand combat, and win the throne officially.’ She shrugged. ‘Why kill the boys?’
Laura smiled. ‘And that, my dear, is the logic behind the pro-Richard camp and, on the surface it makes a lot of sense. The redoubtable More not only decided that Richard was some kind of monster but he also assumed that he was incredibly stupid, which he was definitely not. In his haste to lay the blame at Richard's feet, he produced a morality play with holes in it big enough to run a double-decker bus through.
‘Elizabeth of York was the female heir to the throne. For Tudor to marry her, she would first have to be declared legitimate, and in doing so, both her brothers would regain their claim to the throne in preference to her. It would be in Richard's best interest to ensure that both boys remained in excellent health, but naturally, closely guarded as I said before. Closely guarded and bastardized, that was the way Richard wanted it. Tudor, on the other hand, would only succeed if those boys where declared legitimate and dead.’
Gail smiled as she rubbed her hands in glee. ‘I knew Richard didn't kill his nephews.’ She was positively expansive now, having helped prove Richard instantly innocent of the crime.
Laura was bewildered. ‘Excuse me just a minute. Are you forgetting the ruthlessness of the man? What about Hastings, Vaughan, Rivers? If Richard could murder without trial, then don't you think that at least he was a force to be reckoned with? Why are you so sure that he didn't kill the Princes?’
‘I'm not,’ Gail said, ‘but I hate the idea of someone like More, years after Richard's death, going around saying with impunity and no doubt Tudor support, that Richard was a child killer, a deformed monster, et cetera. It isn't fair and besides, logic has determined for us that Richard was an unlikely candidate. I remember studying Henry the Seventh in school. He was a cold, calculating, suspicious man. Wasn't he the one that instituted the Court of the Star Chamber - political terror wrapped in a cloak of legalese?’
‘All right,’ Laura said, taking a different tack. ‘Who did kill the boys?’
‘I don't know for sure,’ Gail said with a wicked smile on her face, ‘but, I think you’re about to tell me.’
They were on their main course by then; their waiter expertly removing dishes in such a manner that their conversation went totally uninterrupted. They ate in silence for awhile, each savouring the food and the chance to think through what had been discussed so far. When Gail looked up, Laura was sitting there with chin in hand, elbow resting on the table, staring vaguely in the direction of Gail's plate. She had given up on her salad and had in fact moved it away, allowing more room for her notes. Helping herself to a bread stick, she took a bite then waved it in the air.
‘Okay, so let's assume that Richard left London with the knowledge that the two Princes were safely tucked away in the Tower under close guard. They were apparently seen afterwards, playing in the Lieutenant’s garden. Let's assume also that Richard had decided to put off whatever plans he may have had for them until he returned to London in a couple of months or so, after he had secured the realm and won over the hearts of the people. Declared bastards, they were no threat to him and rescue or escape was impossible.’
Placing her right hand on top of her notes, fingers spread, Laura continued. ‘What we need,’ she said, ‘is someone else with a good motive for wanting to murder the two Princes. Note I said murder, as in “cause a scandal”. A murder so foul and inhuman that it would make otherwise loyal, trustworthy men switch their allegiance. We have to think in terms of a deed so nasty that it could be spoken of only in hushed whispers behind closed doors; rumours and whispers sufficient to rock the very foundations of a kingdom and destroy a monarchy.
‘We
