Chapter 27 #2
‘Precisely,’ Edward replied. ‘One way or another she will be dealt with when Parliament convenes. I wish I could say I will be strong enough to attend, but we both know it is unlikely. But John will speak on my behalf, as will others . . . Lying here for long periods gives me time to think matters through. Mistress Perrers is a pernicious influence and must be separated from my father. He will not dismiss her of his own accord, and she has hooked her claws deeply into the life of the court. But she can be dislodged. My father needs the Commons to grant him funds, but how will he spend the funds if they are given? If Mistress Perrers and her faction gain access to them they will never be used to good purpose. It must be stopped. My days may be numbered, but I shall do everything I can to pluck that woman from my father’s flesh.
You say I should leave it to you, that it is a woman’s place to deal with her, but the opportunity will not come again.
By the time the next Parliament is summoned, it will be too late – I will not be here. I will deal with this, here and now.’
Jeanette’s stomach turned over at his words, but it was true, and denial was pointless. If his goal was to remove Alice Perrers from influence, it could only be for the future good of the country.
Edward eyed John, who had recently arrived by barge from the Savoy to discuss the business of the forthcoming Parliament where he was going to be representing the Crown.
‘You must surely know how much mishandling of the finances has been happening under our father’s nose,’ he said.
He had managed to leave his bed to sit in a chair, but it had taken an almighty effort.
‘The figures from the treasury are damning. There is a great shortfall. We need money but we cannot obtain it without the consent of the Commons, and they will drive a ferocious bargain.’
John folded his arms and gently tugged his beard. ‘It is not of the best,’ he agreed.
‘Alice Perrers is dabbling in the treasury and has created a tangled web of alliances with men in office, in positions of trust, who are colluding with her in milking the exchequer and our father for all they are worth. He follows every suggestion she whispers into his ear. She has bewitched him. She visited me yesterday, possibly with nefarious intent in mind.’ He told John what had happened.
‘My father must be detached from her influence. It is causing discontent in so many quarters. The Commons should move to have her banished before they grant my father any more money. He needs to be free of her – and so do we.’
John’s blue eyes narrowed. ‘That is a dangerous road, brother. The demands of the Commons may escalate. What begins as a useful tactic can end up being the wedge in the door that diminishes our power.’
‘If our father is not detached from her machinations the situation will only worsen – you know it. Should I not be here, Richard is a vulnerable child, and Jeanette unprotected. What then will certain court factions do?’ Edward gazed hard at John, striving to imprint his will.
‘The situation is making my father and the Crown seem weak and subject to rule by pillow-talk!’
‘Jeanette shall not go unprotected, I promise you that,’ John said. ‘But we can go too far in appeasing the Commons. Give an inch and they will take a mile, and I am the one who must hold all of this in balance – not you, not our father.’
‘Do you think it pleases me to delegate?’ Edward snapped. ‘That I cannot perform my duty tears me in two. I have every faith in you, but I would far rather it be me negotiating with the Commons.’
‘I know,’ John said with mustered patience, ‘and I will do my best, but you must accept my authority in the final balance if you want me to do the task. I cannot be you. I cannot be our father. I have to hold the balance. It must be my way or not at all. I will do my best to strip Mistress Perrers down a layer, but it needs to be tackled carefully and considered from all sides.’
Edward conceded the point, although his jaw remained set. ‘Yes, very well, but tread carefully on my pride while maintaining yours.’
John’s lips curved in a sour smile. ‘Let us hope,’ he said, ‘that pride does not come before a fall.’
‘It had better not,’ Edward answered grimly.
Jeanette sat on a bench in the garden at Kennington with Edward, who was wrapped in furs even though the sun was a warm benediction on their faces.
He was barely eating these days and sleeping more than usual.
But she had persuaded him to share a bowl of wheat frumenty with her this morning, scattered with raisins and nuts, and then they had come to the arbour in the garden to sit and enjoy the sun.
The birds were singing amid a froth of apple and cherry blossom.
Soon the petals would be gone as the fruit started to set.
Edward’s eyes were closed in the gentle sunlight, but although his pose appeared relaxed, it wasn’t.
‘I am dying,’ he said suddenly. ‘However long I have left, this will be my last spring. Perhaps I shall not see the autumn, or even the summer, but I am grateful to God for giving me these moments with you.’ He opened his eyes and reached for her hand.
Jeanette linked her fingers through his.
She was finished with denial – she had the truth before her eyes – but was refusing to descend into the well of grief as she had done when Thomas died.
She had to be present for Richard; it was too dangerous to close the door on the world.
‘I am grateful too,’ she said. ‘I will take each moment as it comes – one at a time.’
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, and they sat in the birdsong and sunshine, neither speaking, for there was nothing left to say.
Having walked up from the barge mooring in the warm spring afternoon, Tom and Johan found the Prince and their mother sitting in the garden together holding hands.
Tom observed the contrast they made beside each other, his stepfather pitifully thin, a skeleton layered with skin, and his mother the opposite, all rounded folds and fleshy curves. His throat tightened with pity.
The Prince looked up and fixed him with eyes that were almost feverishly bright. ‘How has it gone in Parliament?’ he demanded, even before Tom and Johan could make a formal greeting.
Tom took time to stoop and kiss his mother’s powdered cheek, then sat down on the turf bench opposite, spreading his cloak to make a cover beneath him. Johan kissed his mother, bowed to Edward, and joined Tom, stretching out his long legs.
‘It has been fraught,’ Tom said with a grimace.
He and Johan had been attending the parliamentary session in Westminster since just after dawn that morning.
‘The Commons say that before demanding money from them, the King should seek within his own household for funds rather than squandering money on undesirable and corrupt people. They are refusing to grant him anything until the issue is addressed and those responsible dealt with.’
Edward leaned forward. ‘Were the people concerned named?’
‘They were indeed. Your father’s own chamberlain William Latimer for one, and John Raby his steward, and Richard Lyons as Warden of the Mint.
They all stand accused of malpractice and robbery.
’ Tom drew a deep breath. ‘Alice Perrers is accused of being involved in their schemes and of taking more than three thousand pounds from the royal treasury.’
A short silence ensued. Edward paled and his eyelids fluttered. Tom began to rise in concern, as did his mother, but his stepfather waved them to sit down. ‘Go on,’ he said hoarsely to Tom.
‘If you would rather rest . . .’ Tom began.
‘I have said I am all right,’ Edward snapped. ‘Carry on.’
Tom cleared his throat. ‘Speaker de la Mare said it would be a great profit to the kingdom if the lady was removed from the King’s company, so that the royal income could be applied to funding the war with France and not disappear into a woman’s web of intrigue and deceit.’
Edward looked grimly satisfied. ‘Then what?’
‘Nothing as yet,’ Tom answered with a shrug.
‘The Duke of Lancaster is considering his next move and listening to the evidence. Latimer and Lyons have been selling licences to wool merchants that enable them to avoid paying their full dues on their export fleeces. They have also apparently been lending money to the Crown that belonged to the Crown in the first place, they have just moved it into their own coffers, and it appears Mistress Perrers had full knowledge of this and may have been involved in more than just knowing. They face arrest, but not without further deliberation.’
Hannekyn arrived with a flagon of wine and some fried batter pastries which Tom and Johan were swift to set upon. Their mother joined in too, but the Prince abstained, looking slightly nauseated.
Tom wiped his hands on one of the linen napkins Hannekyn had provided.
‘The King will need to know what has happened, and that the Commons are refusing to vouchsafe him any more money until these men have been taken prisoner, and Mistress Perrers banished both from court and from his presence. Everyone has retired to consider their positions, and that is how it stood as we left.’ He reached to his cup.
‘I do not know if the condemnation is sufficient to unseat Mistress Perrers, but I suspect that arrests are going to be made – I cannot see any other way out.’
Shortly before dusk, John of Lancaster arrived with his entourage.
Jeanette provided his men with food in the hall and brought him to dine in the private chamber with her and Edward and their immediate family, where they spoke in more detail about what had happened in Parliament.
John’s handsome face was serious, with new lines of care webbing his eye corners.
‘I shall talk to my father tomorrow about Mistress Perrers,’ he said.
‘He will be reluctant to give her up and may refuse. I hope I can bring him to see that he must distance himself from her, at least for now.’
Edward eyed him sharply. ‘What do you mean “for now”? That woman is a pernicious influence. Do you think men such as Lyons and Latimer would have gained the hold they have over funds without her assistance?’
‘Indeed not, but there must be further investigation. Those who have taken advantage shall be dealt with as soon as evidence has been gathered. All I can do meanwhile is speak with our father about Alice and try to make him see sense – but it is going to be difficult. He dotes on her and will not hear a word said against her.’
‘The Commons will not be swayed on this matter,’ Edward warned. ‘If these men have done as claimed, they must pay and be removed from office.’
‘I know,’ John said testily. ‘I know what must be done, but the fact remains that it undermines our authority and shows our weakness. In the past I have regularly cooperated with these men and trusted their opinions. Our father will not like this one bit.’
‘And I am sorry that this burden is yours, but we have no choice. Even if you have worked with Latimer and Lyons and others in the past, it must be shown to all that they have crossed a line. What they have done makes us weak too.’
Edward retired to bed soon after, his mood disgruntled.
John had promised to report every day by messenger and visit when he could, and had received a grunt for his attempts at conciliation.
Jeanette walked with him to the jetty to see him on to his barge for his return to the Savoy.
In the fine May evening the sunset glinted on the river and the lush scents of the park filled the air.
It seemed so incongruous not to have hope.
‘He does not have much time,’ she said to John as his attendants kindled the lanterns on the barge and bats flitted overhead in the gloaming, chasing insects.
‘I know,’ John said sombrely. ‘I can read the signs. But while he asks and is able, I shall continue to tell him everything – and not spare him argument either, for he would not thank me for it.’
‘Indeed not. I am glad you did not take offence just now.’
He gave her a wry smile. ‘My brother and I know each other too well for that,’ he said. ‘Disagreement yes, offence no.’
‘I hope you can find a way to make this right.’
‘I shall do my best.’ He kissed her cheek. ‘A word of advice. Speak with Bishop Brinton of Rochester. You may find him an ally in the matter of Alice Perrers. He preaches a good sermon.’ He gave her a meaningful look. ‘I do not always see eye to eye with him either, but he might be of assistance.’
‘Then I shall seek him out,’ she said, ‘and thank you.’
She waved the barge on its way in the twilight and remained at the jetty for a short while to collect herself before drawing a deep breath and returning to the manor.