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 would need someone positively evil, unnaturally cruel and malicious and,’ she added, tapping her first finger on her notes for emphasis, ‘extraordinarily ambitious. A gamesman capable of running with the hare or the hounds and able to wait, bide his time, then strike at the appropriate moment. Someone who would be eloquent enough and most of all, capable enough to tell the “big lie” and get away with it? He would need to be handsome and charming too so as to draw others in easily; like a spider might a fly.’
Laura paused, reached into her bag, extracted a cigarette and lit it while Gail watched her every move, knife and fork poised in the air, the remainder of her meal momentarily forgotten. Leaning back, Laura prepared to enjoy her cigarette, seemingly oblivious to Gail as she idly watched a couple pass by on their way out of the restaurant. The cigarette was more than half finished before Gail could stand it no longer.
‘Who do you think?’
‘Come on, Gail. There aren't that many characters on the stage. Who must it be? Who would have the personal power, the opportunity, the trust; all the things necessary to get close to those boys? I’ll give you a clue. He killed for his own ambition, not another's.’
Laura watched dispassionately as Gail shifted through the possibilities. ‘Buckingham,’ she said triumphantly.
Laura smiled and nodded. ‘Bingo - Henry Stafford, second Duke of Buckingham.’ Then her face clouded. ‘You know, he was a strange man. The more I read about him the less I like him. Arrogant and vain, he was unpopular at court during King Edward's reign and stayed more or less in the background until recent events. It was Buckingham who saw to Hastings execution; Richard wasn't even there.
‘Richard left on his tour around the tenth of July, but Brackenbury wasn't appointed Constable of the Tower until the seventeenth, so who was in charge in between? On the fifteenth, Buckingham was made Lord High Constable of England which meant that he was responsible for all the fortifications and defences of the realm. All the strongholds came under his jurisdiction, including the Tower of London.
‘Now, John, Lord Howard, was also very ambitious. He apparently wanted the title of Duke of Norfolk which just happened to belong to young Richard, Duke of York. It seems obvious that he hoped to regain his hereditary rights through Richard once he was on the throne. John Howard was a powerful man politically but hot-tempered, violent and cruel by nature. A most curious entry appears in his household books on May the twenty-first, 1483. It has to do with six men working for three days, three beds, sacks of lime, nails and lengths of timber.
‘There may be absolutely no connection whatsoever with the Princes but let's try a scenario. Suppose those men were busy doing something else besides making three cheap beds and whitewashing walls, which the entry suggests. Suppose that Buckingham approached Howard in that week after Richard left London and told him that Richard wanted the boys dead at the first opportunity. Howard had received his reward from Richard on the twenty-eighth of June and was now not only Duke of Norfolk but also hereditary Earl Marshall of England. As I said, the title of Duke still technically belonged to the younger Prince and was not really up for grabs unless …
‘Unlike Richard, perhaps Howard felt that it wasn't enough to just lock the boys away so when Buckingham approached him, he was eager to help, thinking he was doing Richard a favour as well as following orders. Besides, he had fought long and hard to achieve his new title and he wasn’t about to let a bastardised brat of a ten-year-old spoil things for him.
‘There’s no firm evidence that Buckingham accompanied Richard on the royal progress. In fact, his name is conspicuously absent from the list of guests present at a dinner in the King's honour at Magdalen College, Oxford.’
‘So, you're saying Buckingham stayed on in London?’ Gail asked.
‘Yes, but for the life of me I can't understand why Richard would allow a loose cannon like Buckingham out of his sight; and then to appoint