Chapter Eight
Ionian scale in C – Lyrics to Light
Of all of the brightness the sunshine brings,
Your face is the only light I see.
In the sky, I can clearly see,
Your loving eyes gazing back at me.
—Iseobeau de Shera de Wolfe, 15th c.
Wellesbourne Castle
Warwickshire
Wellesbourne Castle was a little over seven miles south of Warwick Castle, seat of the Earl of Warwick, and the history between Warwick and Wellesbourne had always been one of allied harmony until the last few years.
With Warwick allied with Henry one day and Edward the next, that allegiance had been put to the test. Andrew Wellesbourne remained a staunch supporter of the true king of England, one of the more powerful barons in Henry’s arsenal.
It was well known in military circles that the Wellesbourne army was eleven hundred of the best trained and best supplied men in all of England.
They were usually the strike force, put out front in the event of a battle because they were usually very successful in surviving, and then countering, an enemy assault.
They had not been at Towton because four months prior, they had seen major action in another massive battle at Wakefield in Yorkshire that had seriously weakened the Wellesbourne lines.
Andrew had been given permission to return his army home to regroup and he was in the process of doing just that.
He’d lost almost three hundred men at Wakefield and through recruiting in the neighboring shires, he had managed to reclaim those numbers and more.
Now, Andrew had new recruits that were seeing serious training every day.
When Simon de la Londe and Declan de Troiu rode through the gatehouse of Wellesbourne in friendship, Andrew had no reason to think their visit was anything other than a welcomed social call.
Wellesbourne was a congenial man with dark hair and dark eyes, features his son Adam had inherited.
He was an old knight, but still quite powerful and spry even at his advanced age, and was still very active upon the field of battle.
Andrew Wellesbourne took no issue with being in the middle of a fight.
In fact, he welcomed it. Therefore, as the evening feast commenced, Andrew shared his table with de la Londe and de Troiu as an associate and fellow knight, not as a man who had once held a sword.
It was a companionable meal that started out with the dreadful news of Towton.
Andrew had heard pieces of news as told to him by travelers who had been to the north, or who had heard of the defeat from others, so it was something of a shock to hear the truth from de la Londe and de Troiu.
It was even more of a shock to hear of Henry Percy’s death and of Titus de Wolfe’s death.
Andrew had particular trouble swallowing that one; he knew Titus and considered the man a friend.
Based on the information from Towton, the pleasant evening meal turned into a depressing and serious affair.
But that was what de la Londe had planned all along.
In fact, he’d had days to plan on what, precisely, he was going to tell Wellesbourne to ensure he had the man’s attention when he brought up the subject of swearing fealty to Edward and the best thing he could come up with was to try and gain the man’s sympathy.
If he believed Adam had already turned to Edward, if there was some way to build up knightly angst against his own allies, then there might be a chance. De la Londe proceeded carefully.
“As you can imagine, my lord, the entire country is in upheaval after the battle at Towton,” he said seriously. “I have never seen so many dead. Someone said at least twenty thousand men and animals. And look at the wound to my face – that should tell you how brutal the fighting was.”
Andrew drew in a long, pensive breath, closing his eyes briefly as if to ward off the horror. When he opened his eyes again, it was to the badly damaged face of de la Londe. “Unfathomable,” he muttered. “And Henry Percy with them.”
De la Londe nodded. “Northumberland, Andrew Trollope, and others,” he said.
“Lancaster is all but defeated. We have heard that Henry has fled into Scotland where he will more than likely remain. Henry is finished and Edward now takes the throne. If, for no other reason, I am glad to make that statement because it means the death and destruction is over. Mayhap men’s lives will be spared now that the dominant king has emerged. ”
Andrew was watching him from across the table, over the glow of the flickering tapers. “The battles will never be over so long as a usurper sits upon the throne of England.”
De la Londe could see, in that moment, that convincing Wellesbourne to join Edward’s cause was not going to be a simple thing. Not that he believed it would be, but he had hoped the gloom and doom of the defeat at Towton might give Wellesbourne pause to think. De la Londe sipped at his wine.
“I suppose you have to think about it from the point of view for the good of England,” he said, smacking his lips at the tart taste.
“Henry is quite mad. We know he is quite mad. Because he is mad, his wife, Margaret rules for him. That means, essentially, a French whore rules England. That does not sit well with me or many other men. Edward, at least, is not mad and he does not have his French wife ruling in his stead. He is skilled, an excellent warrior, and possesses a keen mind. Those are all attributes of a man I would wish to have sitting upon the throne of England.”
Andrew should have sensed something was afoot but he did not; he simply viewed de la Londe’s statement as his opinion. He shrugged his big shoulders.
“Possibly,” he said. “But the fact remains that he is not the rightful king.”
De la Londe cocked an eyebrow to make a point. “Edward has a very strong claim to the throne. More than that, he has more support than Henry does. It is only a matter of time before Henry, and his supporters, are completely wiped out.”
Andrew considered that for a moment. More than that, he was now starting to suspect something. He wasn’t sure yet, but it was clear that de la Londe was advocating Edward for the sake of the argument. Calmly, he poured himself more wine.
“Is that what you truly believe, Simon?” he asked.
De la Londe nodded, glancing at de Troiu, who hadn’t imbibed any alcohol the entire meal. De Troiu’s mind was still quite clear and when he caught de la Londe’s expression, he spoke up.
“Towton was a disaster,” he said. “So many dead, including Titus de Wolfe. It was a horrible scene. There are not many Lancastrian supporters left and there is a great deal of talk among those who remain about ending these wars and throwing their support behind Edward. Now with Northumberland gone, his ranks of knights are discussing what is to be done now. There is now a twelve-year-old boy at the helm of Northumberland’s armies and the lad is not a military leader like his father was.
It has caused the Northumberland knights to rethink their loyalties, including Adam. ”
Andrew’s head came up and his dark eyes focused intensely on de Troiu. “My son?” he questioned. “What has Adam said?”
De Troiu cast de la Londe a long look, a purposeful move, as if to imply he did not want to tell Andrew the truth. It was an obvious gesture that only made Andrew more suspicious of their motives.
“Like the others, he is considering supporting Edward,” de Troiu said softly. “He has sent us here to ask you to consider the same.”
Andrew sat back in his chair, surprised. “He has?” he asked. “Why did he not come personally?”
De la Londe spoke, an off the cuff answer because he had not expected Andrew’s question, nor had he expected de Troiu’s suggestion that Adam had asked them to approach his father on a change in loyalties.
That was not how he and de Troiu had originally discussed approaching the subject and he silently cursed de Troiu for changing the rules of the game mid-stream.
Now, they were forced to come up with believable answers in a hurry.
“Because he was injured at Towton,” de la Londe lied. “He cannot travel. He asked us to come in his stead.”
Andrew looked stricken. “Why did you not tell me he was injured when you first arrived?”
De la Londe shook his head. “It is not a terrible injury,” he assured the old man.
“But it is best that he not travel for a time. The physic wants him to rest. We are all considering swearing fealty to Edward’s cause, Andrew.
In fact, Declan and I have already sworn fealty to him.
Adam and the others will soon follow. We need you with us, Andrew.
As it is, you support a mad king who has very little support.
If you attend battle for him again, you will be terribly overwhelmed.
I do not want to see you slaughtered if I can help it and neither does your son. ”
Andrew simply sat there, digesting everything he’d been told.
His son had been injured, the king’s supporters had been defeated at Towton, and now knights that he had known and fought with for years were telling him that, out of necessity, their loyalties were shifting.
That in of itself held warning for Andrew; he had accepted these knights into his home as allies.
Now, they were telling him that it might not be the case.
If they were not allies, they were enemies.
He was very concerned with enemies in his home.