The White Countess - The White Queen

Palace of Placentia, London, Greenwich, England, Spring 1455

She arrives like a tornado, just unleashed from a small room. Margaret of Anjou wastes no time. With the king now awake and able to do her bidding she orders the council of lords to release Somerset from the tower. Unable to refuse her they do not resist her orders. Then she and the king travel the palace of Placentia where they order the Duke of York to them. 

York, a man of his honor, is unable to avoid the summons and travels to London right into the hands of Margaret, a woman who has not been known to forgive anyone. He reluctantly resigned his position as lord protector and hands all the power inevitably back to Edmund Beaufort and the queen, while the king, still half witted from his illness, seems to have little to no clue about what is really going on.

Margaret is happy to see me too, or at least I think she is. She believes that I was forced into the the betrothal with Edward, or at least that's what she convinces herself, and she expects me to greet her as a liberator. I put on my best smile and try to stoke her ego, unwilling to risk her anger and knowing that I actually wanted this arrangement. She rips up the official marriage document right in front of me and announces that she won't recognize it. She also writes to the pope, asking that the dispensation that York ordered for our upcoming marriage be terminated. In return I write to the pope myself, informing him of the situation and begging him to be a mediator between Margaret and York and to stall or delay the termination and to go ahead with the dispensation.

I am lucky that the new pope, Callixtus III, is a family friend of my fathers and I beseech him in my letter:

Holy Father, you were there when I was baptized now I beseech you to do this favor for a humble friend and servant. My future and my happiness lies in your hands.

Then I wrote to my father and my grandfather. I beg them to come to England, to settle the dispute themselves for a while it still goes on I am in grave danger. I tell them of my engagement, recognized by one part of England and denounced by the other and say that my happiness is no longer the number one priority at court. I told him of my shake position and that I need a more secure future. That my godsons future is also in danger along with mine. I seal the letters and pray that it reaches them in time.

Margaret is elated. She has all the things she needs, or at least that what she tells me and Jacquetta, "Edmund says we have everything to play for now. We have the king return to health and willing to do whatever we say; we have a son in the air that nobody can deny; and we can teach York a lesson that he will never forget. Edmund says if we can just prove York was planning to usurp the throne, then he is a deadman."

Now Jacquetta is compelled to say something, "Your Grace, surely this is going to send the Duke of York into outright rebellion? He is bound to defend himself against such charges. He will demand that the council renew the charges against the Duke of Somerset, and then it will be the two of you and yours against him and his."

"No!" She replies imperiously. "For the king himself has declared before the Lords that Somerset is a true friend and loyal kinsman, and nobody would dare say anything against him. We are going to hold a counselor at Westminster, and York is not to be invited, and then we are going to hold a hearing against him in Leicester, or he will be accused in his absence. In the midlands are loyal to us, the London is sometimes uncertain. This is the end of the Duke in his pride, and the beginning of my revenge on him."

"But Your Grace," I say hesitantly, "we are wrong to think that the Duke of York will not turn this land upside down to defend his honor. Should we not think of more reconciliatory ways to solve this problem?"

She eyes me with a look so dirty I shrink back a little and says, "You of all people should be happy about this Eliza. We have freed you from that terrible engagement to his terrible boy. Now that I am in power will be prosecuted for what he did against you. There will be no need for reconciliation. All I want is revenge."