Jean Plaidy by The Reluctant Queen: The Story of Anne of York

and she could not understand why this had been necessary.
    None of us knew what it meant, but we did hear that the people had given our father and the Duke of Clarence a warm welcome. They believed that they had returned to England because there was trouble in the north, and between the Earl of Warwick and the king, the trouble would soon be dealt with. It was quite clear that they had no notion at this stage that there was such deep-rooted trouble between Edward and my father.
    However, we were concerned with settling in and it was not very long after we returned when Isabel announced that she was pregnant.
    She was delighted though somewhat apprehensive.
    â€œGeorge wants a son,” she said. “I am sure we shall have lots. Why look! We have not been married long and already one is on the way.”
    My mother was delighted and there was little talk of anything else but the coming baby.
    Isabel settled down to enjoy the fuss, which I think helped to compensate her for the loss of George.
    Sometimes during those days I wondered what was happening and whether the king had made friends with my father and Clarence and whether they had put down the rising in the north. Occasionally there were visitors and they would bring a little news.
    We allowed ourselves to believe that the relationship between the king and our family had returned to normal. True, the king could not have liked to hear of Clarence’s marriage, since he had forbidden it, but it was done and the king was not one to hold grudges; he must be the most easy-going man in the kingdom, so therefore it was reasonable to suppose that all was now well. After all, that was what we wanted to believe.
    Meanwhile Isabel had passed out of the first stages of pregnancy and her condition was becoming obvious. My mother was constantly supervising the ladies and we were all making clothes for the baby. We heard how Isabel and I had come into the world and what a blessing we had been; and the greatest joy a woman could have was to bear a child.
    It was all very cozy and comforting and Isabel, being at the center of it, revelled in it.
    Then certain items of news filtered through to us and they caused a shiver of alarm. Robin of Redesdale was proving to be no insignificant leader. He was surrounded by determined men and it was startling to learn that all the leaders of the expedition were connected with the House of Neville. There was my father’s nephew, Sir Henry Fitzhugh, his cousin Henry Neville, and Robin himself, Sir John Conyers, who had married one of the Neville girls. Their main grievance was that the king had estranged the great lords of the land for the sake of the lowborn, insignificant Woodvilles, who had sought to rule to the country’s detriment.
    Isabel had lapsed into contentment and did not want to consider anything that might disrupt it. She was sure the king would accept her marriage. Considering the fortune she was bringing to her husband, how could the king complain about the daughter of Warwick not being a worthy match for his brother when he himself had married most unwisely a woman of no standing and fortune?
    Each day she looked for Clarence’s return. She wanted to talk to him about the baby.
    So the weeks passed and after a while we were lulled into a sense of security, and then one day a company of men came riding to the castle. They had been with the army and they were Warwick men, for the badges of the Ragged Staff were prominently displayed.
    It transpired that they were on the way to join my father’s army and it was during supper when we sat at the big table with our mother that Isabel and I heard what was happening.
    It was a terrible shock, for we realized that our father was at war against the king.
    â€œIt was at the Battle of Edgecot that the Earl of Pembroke was captured, my lady,” said the captain. “My lord Warwick was not present, but we met the victors at Northampton later. It was on the earl’s